By Bill Zeeble, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-964398.mp3
Dallas, TX – In Fort Worth, none of the five candidates for mayor would have voted to end a downtown streetcar study last December. But that's what the City Council did when it decided there wasn't enough money to keep going in this economy. KERA's Bill Zeeble reports on the candidates' views on the streetcar and other public transportation issues.
Roderick O'Bryant stands in front of Fort Worth's Intermodal transit station at 9th and Jones, downtown. This is where Fort Worth buses and the Trinity Railway Express connect. O'Bryant loves the idea of a downtown streetcar.
Roderick O'Bryant: Buses and stuff, they have all kind of smoke and stuff coming out of them. Can't breathe, get all in your clothes and stuff. It's economical, that's how I look at it.
When cancelled last December, that nearly million-dollar streetcar study had already gone through two phases. It looked into laying track for a 6-mile roundtrip line from the near north to near south sides as it sliced through downtown. It would connect riders to buses and the TRE at the intermodal station. Research also showed business would bloom along the tracks.
The council stopped it, fearing that in this down economy, the close to $100 million project could NOT be funded, despite 25 million federal dollars. On the other hand, the Mayoral hopefuls wanted that streetcar study continued. Candidate Dan Barrett says he would go one better, and ok building the line.
Barrett: If we don't connect the downtown business sector to the 7th street corridor and to the north side and southeast side and the near south side, all of which are in the process of development, then we'll stifle that development. One of the reasons we have to commit our selves to the public transportation plan, including streetcars, is that we've got to encourage development of the urban village concept.
Barrett says research reveals funding would have been there for the line, despite concerns. As a result, he says Fort Worth gave back 25 million federal dollars. Candidates Nicholas Zebrun, Jim Lane, and Cathy Hirt also wanted the study to continue. So did Betsy Price, the former Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector.
Betsy Price: For a growing vibrant city, you have to have public transportation. You have to look at long range planning. I think the street car was probably pulled down solely because of the funding, because the economy went south. But overwhelmingly, the citizens have said they want streetcars.
Price offers no plan to revisit the streetcar idea until finances improve. Candidate Cathy Hirt, a past City Council and Fort Worth Transportation Authority Board member, holds a similar position, but also is optimistic about clean fuel options.
Cathy Hirt: I think it's easy to want to assume that light rail is the only alternative. But there are many others that we can look at. Other cities have gone to more efficient naturally gas powered smaller bus vehicles that have more variable routes. So those are important decisions we have to make but we're going in the right direction.
Candidate Nick Zebrun also says he likes the streetcar idea and other rail options. He believes if you build it, the money will follow, but would not commit to building the streetcar.
Nicholas Zebrun: We have to be the first to invest in major rail. Whether it's light rail or commuter rail. Whether its expanding the T, which I do support, we have to do it quickly. People want this.
Former Fort Worth city council member and past Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Lane also says mass transit is essential for a healthy Fort Worth. In fact, he suggests the city is ten to fifteen years behind.
Lane: Fort Worth is a great city and we have great vision. We have not had much vision on mobility, though. If we're not careful, we'll stifle ourselves. We won't be able to move. In fact I think we're already there. Anybody that tries to go from Fort Worth to Dallas at eight in the morning, you may or may not get there by noon.
Like the others, Lane believes in mass transit and more of it. But he says it'll be a hard sell getting Bubba out of the truck.
Lane: I don't like to look to Dallas as great example but their DART system is phenomenal and Fort Worth needs the same.
Fort Worth transit rider Leonard Powell agrees. He rides the bus and TRE to Dallas for school. He wishes a Fort Worth streetcar were on its way.
Leonard Powell: I think that would save a whole lot of time. Better than waiting for a bus, compared to when I'm over there in Dallas. I ride the rail over there also. It's a lot quicker.
Powell and nearly every "T" customer we talked to said the same. They want the next mayor to put more emphasis on a streetcar and better public transportation.
For more information on the candidates and video clips of them talking about transportation issues, go to the Voter's Voice page at KERA.org
Related Links:
Forum Posting: Trains, Streetcars, and Fort Worth's Past