<\/p>\n
People board the newly inaugurated DART Silver Line as it prepares to depart for the next station following a ribbon-cutting to mark its opening, on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Addison.<\/p>\n
Shafkat Anowar\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
Last fall, Addison was celebrating the newly opened Silver Line<\/a>, hosting a ribbon-cutting at the Addison station and breathing a sigh of satisfied relief after years of advocating to bring more rail service north of Dallas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Months later, the same City Council who posed by the tracks for a celebratory photo opted narrowly to put membership<\/a> in Dallas Area Rapid Transit to a vote, just weeks after the council originally voted against calling the election<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIt is kind of baffling,\u201d said Addison resident and transit advocate Tyler Wright. \u201cIt seems, in the context of Addison\u2019s history, quite a fast turnaround.\u201d<\/p>\n Though proposed reforms and financial agreements convinced three other cities to cancel<\/a> their withdrawal elections, Addison voters will decide May 2 whether DART service continues in the city or if trains and buses will move through without stopping.\u00a0<\/p>\n Addison Mayor Bruce Arfsten has seen animosity bubble between residents as competing groups campaign for and against DART<\/a>. It has brought the city\u2019s regional role and future with microtransit into question, a multimillion-dollar inflection point that has riled a community still finding its place and defining its values.\u00a0<\/p>\n Addison resident Valerie Collins said DART is not worth the money<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 it\u2019s not truly a regional service and there are adequate alternatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Make Dallas News a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe need a system, there\u2019s no doubt about it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe totally believe in public transportation. We just don\u2019t believe in DART.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what\u2019s at stake in Addison as voters consider leaving<\/a> the public transportation system.\u00a0<\/p>\n A history betting on DART<\/p>\n Over a decade ago, Arfsten remembers residents donning bright yellow T-shirts advocating for rail service in Addison, traveling in groups to DART\u2019s headquarters to make their pitch.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The city has bet big on transit<\/a>. Addison\u2019s City Council recently approved a $240 million mixed-use district with plans for an office building, hotel and entertainment space anchored around the Silver Line train station.<\/p>\n \u201cHow effective will the development be<\/a> without the transit adjacent to it?\u201d asked Arfsten, who voted against calling an election to leave DART. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be as effective.\u201d<\/p>\n Addison Mayor Bruce Arfsten, (center right), Gary A. Slagel, (third from right) Board Chair of DART Board of Directors, and other officials cheer as they take part during the progressive ribbon cutting to mark the opening of the Silver Line, on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Addison.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n DART reported about 225,000 rides on its services in Addison from October to December, including 16,000 rides on the Silver Line, nearly 205,800 on buses and nearly 400 rides on paratransit services in the city, which sits about 15 miles north of downtown Dallas and is home to more than 17,000 residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n For a relatively small population, Addison\u2019s \u00a0DART station stays busy because the city \u201cis a powerful economic engine<\/a>,\u201d Wright said, with a buzzing restaurant scene and popular annual events.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis historical understanding of the value of transit doesn\u2019t seem to be recognized by the current council,\u201d said Wright, founding vice president of transit advocacy group Dallas Area Transit Alliance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over two dozen former Addison mayors and council members endorsed a \u201cYes DART Addison\u201d campaign letter asking residents to \u201ccontinue to be part of the transportation solution<\/a>\u201d in the region and vote to stay in the system. \u00a0<\/p>\n Madison McNair, an advocate for the disabled community and a DART rider, pictured at Addison Transit Center, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Addison.<\/p>\n El\u00edas Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Jim Duffy, a former Addison council member and treasurer of the Addison Way Forward political action committee, signed on to the letter.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cLiterally decades of leadership was in support<\/a> of staying in DART,\u201d Duffy said. \u201cDecades of investment in DART shouldn\u2019t be walked away from.\u201d<\/p>\n A \u2018troubling\u2019 financial commitment<\/p>\n Tom Donohue, treasurer of the Addison Deserves Better political action committee, said it\u2019s time to cut ties with DART.\u00a0<\/p>\n As an Addison resident and a fiscal conservative, he said it was \u201cquite troubling\u201d to learn how much his city pays<\/a> into the system, considering what an EY study found in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The firm reported DART spent $9.5 million on services in Addison while taxpayers contributed $16.3 million in sales tax to the agency<\/a> in the 2023 fiscal year. The study didn\u2019t consider the economic impact of the Silver Line and its methodology has been criticized. But leaders in smaller, suburban cities have criticized DART for the imbalance.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe suburbs were picking up the tab,\u201d said Collins, who plans to vote to leave DART. \u201cWe need the tax dollars in Addison.\u201d<\/p>\n If Addison leaves DART, the city will continue paying a one-cent sales tax to the agency to cover debt and obligations associated with the city\u2019s contributions. Addison leaders estimate it will take around three years to pay off.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The city could then hold an election to decide to spend its penny sales tax on things like public safety projects, lowering property taxes<\/a> or economic development initiatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of the reasons the Friscos and the Allens and the Prospers \u2026 exploded,\u201d said Addison council member Randy Smith. \u201cThey have twice as much sales tax revenue for economic development as the rest of us do. So it\u2019s time for us to start catching up.\u201d<\/p>\n For those skeptical of remaining in DART, the 13-member system is hardly a regional entity\u00a0\u2014 growth is creeping north<\/a>, where many cities are not in DART\u2019s service area.\u00a0<\/p>\n And the Silver Line<\/a>, Smith said, \u201cis not going anywhere.\u201d Its Knoll Trail Station, situated in Dallas but less than one mile from the Addison Transit Center, would not shutter if Addison voters chose to leave the system.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Addison Mayor Bruce Arfsten, (center right), Gary A. Slagel, (third from right) Board Chair of DART Board of Directors, and other officials take part during the progressive ribbon cutting to mark the opening of the Silver Line, on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Addison.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n Some residents also hope the federal dollars tied to the Silver Line project might protect the Addison station from shuttering if voters choose to leave DART.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a statement, DART officials said \u201cexcept under specific circumstances, DART cannot operate services outside of its service area,\u201d and the agency intends to comply with the rules requiring it to stop operating the Silver Line in cities that leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n Microtransit alternative\u00a0<\/p>\n Addison City Council approved a six-month contract with Via, the same transportation company Arlington uses to provide on-demand, rideshare-style service. Plano has also contracted with the company<\/a> to supplement DART service.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Called Addison Orbit, the service is slated to begin April 24. The contract, which will cost the city no more than roughly $872,000, could be ended if voters choose to stay in DART. The proposed fare structure includes free travel to and from \u201crally points\u201d that connect to DART service.<\/p>\n Donohue said Via could be a \u201cgood alternative for a suburban<\/a>, small town like us.\u201d Duffy is concerned the service isn\u2019t the \u201cdoor-to-door\u201d solution leaders claim it will be.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really door-to-DART service, picking up people and taking them to the edge of Addison and dropping them off at a DART location,\u201d Duffy said. \u201cWe\u2019re proposing to discontinue paying for DART but continue to use it.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Arfsten worries about the loss to regional connectivity and efficiency in replacing DART services with microtransit.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just an additional stop for the rider,\u201d he said. \u201cHow much of an inconvenience is that going to cause?\u201d<\/p>\n Madison McNair, 29, lives in Oak Cliff and relies on DART paratransit services<\/a> because of her disabilities. Several times a month, she uses DART to go to Addison to visit her sister or go to medical appointments. She has concerns about Via\u00a0\u2014 commutes traversing different systems get more complicated, costly and lengthy, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cDART is our freedom,\u201d she said. \u201cLosing a member city of DART could be detrimental to a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Madison McNair, an advocate for the disabled community and a DART rider, poses for a photo as A DART Silver line train arrives at Addison Transit Center, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Addison.<\/p>\n El\u00edas Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Council member Howard Freed said the Via service can be renegotiated, unlike DART membership, which can only be voted on every six years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe beauty of Via is it\u2019s expandable or shrinkable with our needs,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s a much more breathable, much more living system than the mammoth that DART has become.\u201d<\/p>\n On either side of Addison\u2019s DART debate, voters want the opportunity to decide for themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should be a decision the voters choose,\u201d Freed said. \u201cWe pay more for this than we pay for police or fire or any other government service in Addison.\u201d<\/p>\n Key dates<\/p>\n Early voting<\/p>\n Monday, April 20, 8 a.m.\u00a0\u2014 5 p.m. Election day: Saturday, May 2, 7 a.m.\u00a0\u2014 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
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![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775016909_917_rawImage.jpg\" "\\"#\\"")
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\nTuesday, April 21, No voting will take place for San\u00a0Jacinto Day
\nWednesday, April 22 to Friday, April 24, 8 a.m.\u00a0\u2014 5 p.m.
\nSaturday, April 25, 7 a.m.\u00a0\u2014 7 p.m.
\nSunday, April 26, noon\u00a0\u2014 6\u00a0p.m.
\nMonday, April 27 and Tuesday, April 28, 7 a.m.\u00a0\u2014 7 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nFirst day to canvass: Tuesday, May 5
\nLast day to canvass: Wednesday, May 13
\nIn any city that withdraws from DART, service ends the day after votes are canvassed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People board the newly inaugurated DART Silver Line as it prepares to depart for the next station following…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255644,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[160,162,161,88573,90635,90556,93544],"class_list":{"0":"post-255643","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plano","8":"tag-plano","9":"tag-plano-headlines","10":"tag-plano-news","11":"tag-tp-traffic","12":"tag-tp-addison","13":"tag-tp-dart","14":"tag-tp-voter-resources"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}