The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system, with the financial backing of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the form of $26 million in federal TIGER grants, has begun operating a 1.6-mile streetcar route that is, according to DART, “a starter line [that] traverses the Trinity River corridor, which separates southern Dallas from the city's largest employment centers. Specifically, the project targets commuters in mixed-use districts adjacent to downtown and helps connect them to transportation choices available in the city center.”
DART said backers of the streetcar program include the city of Dallas, North Central Texas Council of Governments, Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration. The initial route runs from Union Station across the Trinity River to Methodist Dallas Medical Center in the Oak Cliff area.
This route is being touted as the first motion in a five-year, $50 million project—againm largely funded by federal TIGER grants.
The second phase of the plan will extend the route to the shopping and dining of Oak Cliff's Bishop Arts District; completion is expected by early 2016. A third segment will expand the streetcar line to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and Omni Dallas Hotel.
