Open House Summary Notes

Transcription

1 Open House Summary Notes Project: DART Cotton Belt Regional Rail Project Subject: Date: Carrollton Community Open House Monday, Sept. 18, 2017 at 6:30 PM Location: DeWitt Perry Middle School, 1709 Belt Line Road, Carrollton, TX Attendees: DART Michael Miles, VP Government Relations Chad Edwards, Assistant Vice President Capital Planning John Hoppie, Cotton Belt Project Manager Dwight Burns, Treasurer Victor Ibewuike, System Planner II Brittney Farr, Local and Regional Relations Manager Judson Meshack, Community Engagement Rosa Rosteet, Community Engagement General Planning Consultant (GPC6) Tom Shelton, HDR Mark Martin, HDR Israel Crowe, HDR Shane Valentine, HDR Kris Lloyd, HDR Luke Gublo, HDR Derwin Brouchton, KAI Veronica Castro de Barrera, KAI Emily Riggs, K Strategies Stefanie Tapke, K Strategies These notes document the Carrollton community open house and presentation for the DART Cotton Belt Project held at DeWitt Perry Middle School on Monday Sept. 18, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. Several attachments are included as listed below. Attachments Community Meeting Notification Presentation Sign-in Sheets Overview A series of three community open houses were held Sept , 2017 in North Dallas, Richardson and Carrollton. The Carrollton community open house included display boards and roll plots, which are detailed below and can also be viewed online at Alignment plan and profile maps Specific alignment coordination areas (DFW Airport, Cypress Waters, Downtown Carrollton, CityLine, facilities) Stations (platform concepts and site layouts) Noise and vibration (methodology, measurement sites and existing conditions) Environmental topics (historic, water resources, etc.) 1

2 Project topics (vehicle, schedule, ridership, etc.) Funding and financing There were 101 members of the public recorded on the sign-in sheets, including multiple elected officials: Kevin Falconer (City of Carrollton Mayor) Doug Hrbacek (City of Carrollton, City Council Member) Young Sung (City of Carrollton, City Council Member) Ivan Hughes (Mayor Pro Tem, Town of Addison) Al Angell (Town of Addison, City Council Member) Gary Roden (City of Coppell, City Council Member) Attendees were able to meet one-on-one with project staff and DART representatives during the open house portion. At approximately 7 p.m., Lawrence Meshack invited attendees to sit for the formal presentation given by John Hoppie. Prior to the presentation, a video was shown that included Gary Thomas, DART president and executive director. The video can be viewed at DART.org/CottonBelt. The presentation included: Overview of the corridor o Potential station locations o Headways Preliminary grade separation analysis, proposed grade separation at: o South Belt Line Road o BNSF o Midway Road o Coit Road o US 75 o Plano Parkway Community Integration o Fences o Walls o Trails! DART will work with cities across the corridor on implementation! Will be in DART right-of-way (ROW)! Working in cooperation with the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG)! Typical sections o Landscaping Process Overview o Currently in the Preliminary Engineering/Environmental Impact Statement (PE/EIS) process o Develop engineering to 10 percent design to support EIS and future design-build work o Details on the EIS and what it will accomplish:! Will clear the project for full double-track (initial project will be single-track with some double-track)! Will document the project design! Will identify impacts! Will outline mitigation commitments to address impacts 2

3 Schedule overview o Working toward 10 percent preliminary design in 2017 o PE/EIS phase expected to be complete in spring 2018 o Design-build with final design and construction is expected to begin in 2018 with final completion at the end of 2022 o Testing is scheduled to occur throughout 2022 o Revenue service is expected to begin in December 2022 Key milestones in the PE/EIS o August 2016: project kick-off o May 2017: Concept design and identify key issues for draft EIS o September 2017: Five percent PE and draft EIS existing conditions o Fall/Winter 2017: Five percent to 10 percent PE and Draft EIS o Early 2018: 10 percent PE and Draft EIS public hearings o Spring 2018: Final EIS What happens after the PE/EIS o DART will engage final design team o DART incorporates Mitigation Monitoring Program (updated quarterly and reported to Federal agencies) o Community and agency involvement throughout Design-Build process How to stay involved and informed A questions and answers session followed the presentation. Below is a summary from this portion of the evening: Did not disclose name Do you have a time frame for when trains will be running to DFW Airport? John Hoppie Yes, we expect to open the entire corridor for revenue service by the end of Michael Perry (3201 San Sebastian, Carrollton, TX 75006) Earlier I spoke with Tom Shelton concerning mitigation of train horns and quiet zones. It is my understanding that it will be up to the residents to notify our cities and representatives to push for quiet zones. It was also my understanding that the city will have to pay up to 50 percent of the cost associated with quiet zones. That puts too much pressure on the homeowners associations and the cities. John Hoppie The cities will not be paying for the quiet zones that will be part of the Cotton Belt Project. Citizens are not responsible for identifying the quiet zones. The project team will determine impacts that require mitigation and will work with cities on where quiet zones are needed. However, cities will have to apply for the actual quiet zone, but DART will pay. Carol Gathings (2521 Stone Mill Cove, Carrollton, TX 75006) How firm are the station locations? Could any property acquisitions change station locations? John Hoppie Locations are pretty much locked in place and all are being cleared environmentally. Cities have been involved in station plans. The only ones that may really shift at this time are some in the north Dallas area. 3

4 Al Angell, Addison City Council (14540 Wingwood Rd., Dallas, TX 75254) There will be two stations at DFW, correct? Will both connect directly into the terminal? If not, signage will need to be very clear so travelers do not get off too early. John Hoppie The Terminal B Station will link directly into the airport. The other will be at the DFW North entrance and will link to TexRail. We will be sure to have detailed signage and direction. Barbara McAvinch (2813 Quail Ridge Dr., Carrollton, TX 75006) How will parking work for those traveling to the airport? Will there be more parking in downtown Carrollton, and will there be extended parking? John Hoppie Some stations have parking and some do not. We are looking to add additional parking in downtown Carrollton. We are working with cities/towns throughout the corridor on parking needs. In addition, there will be transit-oriented development that will increase parking; for example Addison, UT Dallas and CityLine. There will also be extended parking for those traveling to the airport. Pamela Boyd (4910 Goodman Ave. #2919, Addison, TX 75001) For the privately owned Cypress Waters development, how much did the Billingsleys, who own the development, contribute to DART to divert the rail from the original alignment? How much of it is included in their area? John Hoppie It is not solely the Cypress Waters Development who is contributing here. Coppell and the NCTCOG are also contributing. The North Central Texas Council of Governments is contributing about 100 million dollars and the contribution from the Billingsly development and Coppell have not been fully identified. We are still in some negotiations. Kal Yella (929 Crestview Dr., Coppell, TX 75019) As you are drafting the EIS, what guidelines and criteria do you follow for the assessment? John Hoppie I will discuss specifics with you following the presentation. All guidelines and criteria will depend on what the resource is, what type of noises, how far, etc. Jerry McSpiritt (1332 Coral Dr., Coppell, TX 75019) How much is Coppell contributing to this project? John Hoppie It has not been fully determined yet, but it will likely be through land transfers and not any sales tax. Jerry McSpiritt Where are we on funding? Dwight Burns The DART Board moved forward on a debt resolution on Sept. 12 that gives DART staff the ability to secure debt funds. We will ask for $900 million from the Federal Railroad Administration, which will be paid back through the sales tax. At this time, DART has submitted a 300-page pre-application for this loan, and the final application will be submitted once the final EIS is available and a record of decision has been given. A contingency plan would be to implement bonds if the loan does not go through. DART 4

5 will also seek another 100 million dollars from other federal grant programs, the NCTCOG and other agencies. Jerry McSpirrit Will Coppell be helping to pay back this loan through sales tax? Dwight Burns No, because Coppell is not a member of DART. Jack Henderson (617 Pheasant Ln., Coppell, TX 75019) What is the duration of the loan? Dwight Burns With the loan coming from the Federal Government it could be up to 35 years long and interest will be one point above treasury, which is a very good rate. Did not disclose name So this will now be a public debt. How will you pay it back with the waning ridership on DART? Dwight Burns As treasurer, I see all funds that come through DART, both sales tax and fares. The current sales tax revenue is the dominant figure. We work through feasibility, number crunching and stress tests to ensure we would be able to pay these back and there is not a problem. Curtis Kling (1418 Northridge Dr., Carrollton, TX 75006) How will the downtown second alignment (D2) and the Cotton Belt both be funded at the same time? Dwight Burns The 20-year plan that the DART Board approved gives preliminary budgeting and approval for both projects, using conservative rates (meaning that they over-estimate costs). We have to show our lenders that our budget covers debt and operating expenses for an extended time. Lavone Norwood (1333 Coral Dr., Coppell, TX 75019) Historically, have property values increased or decreased when rail lines are constructed adjacently? John Hoppie Studies show that properties within a quarter mile of rail lines tend to increase in value. Outside of that, there is little to no impact. Since this is an existing rail corridor, we do not expect property values to fluctuate much. Did not disclose name How will the wall going up behind my house affect my property and the look? Chad Edwards The wall is there to help take away the noise and also block the view of the corridor. Did not disclose name My question is regarding elevated versus at-grade scenarios. Are there any studies to show differing values here? John Hoppie Not to my knowledge, but there are very few grade separations along the corridor. I have never seen a 5

6 study that shows values dependent on this one-way-or-the-other. Once again this is an existing rail corridor, so we do not expect much property value change in general. Steven Lewis (13700 Noel Rd., Dallas, TX 75242) Is there concern for cars running or pedestrians crossing closed arm guards on low-traffic streets, and if so, how do you plan to avoid this safety issue? John Hoppie We hope that people will follow the laws, but we will be looking at higher-level security arms, which will be monitored by the FRA and the Federal Transit Administration. Maintenance is also handled promptly and mitigated. We will also look at adding signalization. Steven Lewis Will any bus routes be eliminated once the Cotton Belt is up and running? John Hoppie At this point we do not envision any routes being eliminated but we are working with bus operations so they could work as feeders into the Cotton Belt stations. If there are any changes in the future, public meetings and hearings will be held prior to. Lawrence Meshack concluded the question and answer session and invited attendees back to the open house portion of the evening to address any additional questions with staff and consultants. 6

7 Notice of DART Community Open Houses Cotton Belt Regional Rail Corridor Project You are invited to attend a community open house to review the progress of the Cotton Belt Regional Rail Corridor Project. DART, in cooperation with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the impacts and benefits of passenger rail service on the 26-mile long Cotton Belt Corridor from DFW International Airport to Plano. Open house displays will include: Updated alignment drawings and station layout; Results of Traffic/Grade Separation Analysis; and Identification of existing conditions along the corridor including, parks, cultural resources, land uses, etc. This series of open house meetings will focus on existing conditions along the corridor and information learned in the data collection phase of the project. Future public meetings will focus on corridor impacts and mitigation. Dates & Locations Monday, September 18, 2017, 6:30 p.m. DeWitt Perry Middle School Cafeteria 1709 East Belt Line Road, Carrollton, TX (Parking and entrance off Warner Street) Wednesday, September 20, 2017, 6:30 p.m. Richardson Civic Center 411 West Arapaho Road, Richardson, TX Monday, September 25, 2017, 7:00 p.m. Parkhill Junior High School Cafeteria Shady Bank Drive, Dallas, TX For More Information Please visit DART.org/cottonbelt or contact DART Community Engagement at

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