FTA Pilot

DART Red Line and Blue Line TOD Planning

The Federal Transit Administration awarded NCTCOG a $1.4 million planning grant in 2016 to help the region enhance accessibility and development around 28 Dallas Area Rapid Transit stations along the system’s Blue and Red lines through the FTA TOD Planning Pilot Grant program. NCTCOG is coordinating closely with DART and the cities of Dallas, Garland, Plano and Richardson on this study which includes three major tasks: a first/last mile study; a parking study; and a survey.  The TOD Pilot program objectives include:

  • Address substantial barriers to TOD in the corridor to increase rail ridership 
  • Identify infrastructure needs to increase pedestrian and bicycle connectivity to rail stations
  • Further enable dense mixed-use development and advance economic development of the station areas

 

This assessment of streets, sidewalks, and other routes connecting to rail stations will review pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure needs.  The planning work will identify priority first/last mile corridors for needed improvements along with an engineering analysis of costs, recommended investments, and phasing for implementation.  The goal is to improve access and connectivity for residents and workers, thus increasing potential transit ridership. 

Data collection of private automobile parking utilization, policy, and management practices at existing transit-oriented developments along the DART Red Line and Blue Line. The report provides recommendations supporting transit-appropriate parking ratios and other parking management best practices for TODs.

TOD Parking Study [pdf]
Interactive Best Practices Toolbox Website 


 


The survey includes residents, businesses, and their employees near the 28 DART stations and focuses on their perceptions and behavior related to transit and related urban development. The findings provide a sense of trends and patterns in the demographics, stated preferences, and behaviors of those living and working near the rail stations, better informing the opportunities for local government policies and programs supporting TOD.

Report Document [pdf]


 
Staff contact: Travis Liska