Transportation

I love writing about transportation because explaining its wonky policy details can help readers improve their daily routines and quality of life. Covering Dallas Area Rapid Transit, I learnt that the problems of public transit are often a microcosm for the issues that cities face like homelessness, fiscal deficits, flawed implementation of technology and sprawled urban development that incentivizes car travel. In addition to public transit, I've also covered parking, high-speed rail planning in Texas, bicycle infrastructure and plans to reconnect neighborhoods divided by an elevated highway. Writing about these issues, I became familiar with the ins and outs of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), USDOT grants and transit funding formulae. 

Filters & Sorting
Dallas News •

DART is not a piggy bank to solve Dallas’ pension woes

Some Dallas City Council members’ idea to reduce the city’s sales tax contribution to DART by 25% to help cover a $3 billion shortfall in the police and fire pension fund is wrong-headed. Dallas is one of 13 cities that the transit agency serves, but nearly three-quarters of its riders are residents of Dallas. Half of all DART riders don’t have access to their own vehicle. The city needs to solve the pension issue, but it has a separate, longstanding responsibility to DART and ultimately Dallas residents who rely on public transportation to get to work.
Dallas News •

Transit plan offers smart ways to reconnect Fair Park to downtown Dallas

A railroad junction brought economic prosperity to Deep Ellum in the late 1800s. But in the 1940s, the railroad was torn out to make space for a new highway, and many residents were displaced. Today, Interstate 345 and Interstate 30 divide Deep Ellum and Fair Park from downtown Dallas. A plan to improve transportation links between downtown Dallas and these neighborhoods is promising, but planners could have reached out to South Dallas residents earlier.