Regional transportation officials are exploring a possible extension of the M-Line Trolley into Knox-Henderson, but key questions such as who it would serve, where it would run and when it would be completed remain unanswered.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments is conducting a feasibility study with the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority to determine possible routes, ridership, costs and infrastructure needs.
The study is set to begin this month and finish next August, with the goal of outlining a funding and implementation plan.
“We are generally looking at any possible route or alignment in the vicinity of McKinney and Cole Avenue between Blackburn Street and the Knox-Henderson neighborhood,” said Ezra Pratt, the council’s principal transportation planner.
Factors considered in the expansion include population density, access to commercial developments such as restaurants and shops, estimated costs and whether streetcar infrastructure would fit in the specific corridor. However, methodology and criteria for the study have not been finalized.
The M-Line Trolley operates seven vintage streetcars along a 4.6-mile route through Uptown and downtown Dallas. Since launching in 1989, the trolley has extended to include Klyde Warren Park and several Dallas Area Rapid Transit stations.
The extension would improve connections between Knox-Henderson, Uptown and downtown Dallas, and provide better access to the Katy Trail and Cole Park.
According to DART, the last extension took place in 2015, and created the trolley system’s southern loop, connecting it to the rail system’s St. Paul Station.
Funding for the study comes from the federal surface transportation block grant, administered by the Texas Department of Transportation. Future funding for the extension itself would come from a wide variety of federal, state, local and private sources, said Pratt.
The council will host public hearings to discuss the possible extension, but specific dates have not been released.