More major DART changes could be on the way.
Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nearly two months after the Addison City Council decided not to move forward with asking voters whether the city should remain part of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) agency, city leaders have changed their minds.
On Tuesday evening, despite icy roads, dozens of Addison residents ventured out to urge the council not to wade into the DART debate yet again. Still, in a 5-2 vote, the body ultimately decided to ask voters in May whether the city’s relationship with DART should be ended.
The vote makes Addison the sixth North Texas city to schedule a spring vote on DART’s future. Plano, Irving, Farmers Branch, Highland Park and University Park will also put the issue on the ballot in May. If each of the elections result in support for terminating DART, the transit agency could see its membership base halved nearly overnight.
Addison Mayor Bruce Arfsten, one of the two members who voted against putting DART on the ballot, appeared frustrated that a May election was once again being discussed with only three months’ notice. DART officials have stated that cities that vote to leave the agency will lose services such as bus routes and train stops as soon as the election is certified. Arfsten said Addison officials do not have time to arrange a contingency plan for riders by May.
Still, the mayor acknowledged that Addison’s current arrangement with DART has not been “100%,” inspiring the widespread frustrations.
“There are drawbacks to what we have now, to begin with. And I’m all for allowing people to vote, I just don’t understand the rush to May,” Arfsten said. “You can’t just throw something together and say, ‘Hey, this is gonna work.’ And wouldn’t we want the most informed electorate possible whenever they go to the polls? Do you want them going in and semi-understanding what the future looks like? Because right now we only semi-understand what the future looks like.”
Many of the conversations surrounding the city’s financial relationship with DART have lamented the millions of dollars the city has paid to the agency, despite some people’s feeling that the service hasn’t been returned. Agency data shows Addison paid $16.7 million in sales tax to DART during the 2023 fiscal year, while just over $9 million in services were provided to the city.
That is the wrong way to think about transit, said Arfsten; rather than expecting a return on investment, he believes that city leaders should view public transportation as a vital city service that may never profit, such as a library.
Tuesday’s crowd was fairly split in its support for DART. Some audience members stressed the need for public transit, while others argued that the one-penny sales tax that funds DART could be used for things more directly beneficial to the average Addison taxpayer. An even larger contingent seemed uncertain of how they felt about leaving DART and asked for an election to be held in November, to allow for more information to be made available and to see the results of the elections that have already been called.
They also referenced concessions made by DART, suggesting the agency is willing to negotiate with member cities to avoid a possible electoral exodus. One potentially major change has been floated by the Dallas City Council. Dallas officials have suggested giving up some of the city’s long-held power on the DART governing board to better appease suburbs that feel underrepresented.
“Addison is the glue that keeps DART together. Our critical position links the fast-growing northern suburbs to each other and to downtown Dallas,” said Addison resident Liz Oliphant. “With some thinking on our part, we can leverage that position by waiting until later this year to call an election if one is even needed by then.”
Others called for the city to wait until November so the new Silver Line’s impact on major events such as Addison Kaboom Town and Oktoberfest could be measured.
Still, the majority of the council seemed unconvinced that the money spent on DART was worth continuing to pay even through November. Council member Darren Gardner, one of the five members who voted in favor of putting the DART issue on May’s ballot, emphasized that the decision “isn’t the end” just yet.
“It’s part of the process. It doesn’t mean we’re leaving DART and it doesn’t mean we can’t get back in, that we can’t negotiate,” said Gardner. “But if we don’t make a move, nothing changes.”