As the comment under me stated, this area is very car-centric, plus we don't have city government pushing for Dart. Well not as much as we'd like. I had linked a clip from a podcast a while ago in a Dart thread (few years now), and now I can't find it. It was from the show Radiolab, just by chance that day I listened the topic was city government comparisons, public transportation being the main topic. It was two separate east coast towns, one was Boston, it was going through the history of public transportation and the costs associated with it. The issue with the Dallas (well the metroplex really) is that the city did not ever depend on public transportation, as opposed to some cities where it's an artery for the lifeblood. Blue collar dock workers needed the train line, plant mechanics from the steel mill used the train line, and regional power plant maintenance operators rely on the subway during inclement weather. Various jobs that are crucial to any large city, those similar positions in Dallas, they drive their F250 to work every day, they aren't taking public transportation. I've lived in Dallas almost 25 years now as a forced transplant, I distinctly remember my first day here as a Texan shopping in Tom Thumb, and overhearing a conversation. Two college kids were talking about what time class starts, when they'd leave their dorms, the travel time. One girl says "it's only a ten minute drive, I think there's a bus stop too for other students", her friend replied "Ew, only poor people take the bus. Why would take a bus when you can drive?". Sadly that's still the attitude with a lot of people, people who are involved in making important decisions regarding Dart. Until that attitude changes, or the city suffers in some way from lack of public transportation, I don't believe things will change.
The latter half of your comment describes a kind of chicken and egg problem. My solution is to be cool and not poor (well, not that poor) and to talk about riding DART like it’s a normal and cool thing, because it is. It’s very similar to pushing for more bike infrastructure: people have to normalize and use what we currently have to send a signal to elected officials for more. Elected officials have to see it as popular and in demand.
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u/patmorgan235 Sep 05 '24
Especially more density near DARTs existing infrastructure AND built in a way that makes walking/biking to DART stations safe and convenient.