By BJ Austin, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-878199.mp3
Dallas, TX –
Tonight's "Big D New Year's Eve" party in Victory Park is expected to draw as many as 40 thousand people for entertainment, food, drink, and fireworks-at-midnight. KERA's BJ Austin says there could be three challenges to the celebration: the cold, a new wristband requirement, and a parking place.
Parking is going to be scarce before about 10:30 because of the Stars game at American Airlines Center. Organizers encourage people to take DART light rail, which stops at Victory Park and the West End, a few blocks away.
DART's Morgan Lyons says some changes have been made after last New Year's Eve, and after the recent "overload" the trains experienced Texas OU weekend.
Lyons: This year, we'll run more trains. Everything will be a two-car train set. And another thing helps us is most of the fleet has now been converted to the super-light rail vehicle fleet. And that has about 50% more capacity.
After the midnight fireworks, DART will run trains an extra hour until 2am. The TRE's last run to Fort Worth is immediately after the fireworks.
Wristbands are required this year for the FREE event. It's for crowd control. You can get them at the American Airlines Box office, and a limited number will be available at the event gate, which opens at 6. And bundle up. Temperatures tonight near freezing with north winds gusting to 25 miles an hour.