Open House Summary Notes

Transcription

1 Open House Summary Notes Project: DART Cotton Belt Regional Rail Project Subject: Date: North Dallas Community Open House Monday, Sept. 25, 2017 at 7 PM Location: Parkhill Junior High School, Shady Bank Dr., Dallas, TX Attendees: DART Gary Thomas, President/Executive Director David Leininger, Chief Financial Officer Tim McKay, Executive Vice President, Growth and Regional Development Michael Miles, Vice President, Government Relations Stephen Salin, Vice President, Rail Planning Morgan Lyons, Assistant Vice President, Communications and Community Engagement Chad Edwards, Assistant Vice President, Capital Planning Nate Morgan, Assistant Vice President, Trinity Railway Express (TRE) John Hoppie, Cotton Belt Project Manager Kay Shelton, Capital Planning Project Manager Hans-Michael Ruther, Project Manager Victor Ibewuike, System Planner II Eron Linn, Federal Relations Manager Jessica Lennon, Community and Education Outreach Manager Judson Meshack, Community Engagement Rosa Rosteet, Community Engagement Chris Walters, Community Engagement Dawn Dorman, Community Engagement Tracy Cantu, Administrative Assistant General Planning Consultant (GPC6) Tom Shelton, HDR Mark Martin, HDR Chris Phonpituck, HDR Israel Crowe, HDR Kris Lloyd, HDR Sara Moren, HDR Luke Bathurst, HDR Erin Hatchett, HDR Dave Towers, noise consultant Derwin Brouchton, KAI Veronica Castro de Barrera, KAI Selena Asire, HNTB Emily Riggs, K Strategies Dianne Tordillo, K Strategies These notes document the north Dallas community open house and presentation for the DART Cotton Belt Project held at Parkhill Junior High School on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017 at 7 p.m. Several attachments are included as listed below. Attachments Community Meeting Notification Presentation 1

2 Sign-in Sheets Overview A series of three community open houses were held Sept , 2017 in north Dallas, Richardson and Carrollton. The north Dallas 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.) Project topics (vehicle, schedule, ridership, etc.) Funding and financing There were 131 members of the public recorded on the sign-in sheets, including two elected officials and one DART Board member. Dallas Councilwoman Sandy Greyson Coppell Mayor Pro Tem Wes Mays DART Board member Michele Wong Krause Attendees were able to meet one-on-one with project staff and DART representatives during the open house portion. At approximately 7:30 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 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 2

3 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 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 What is grade separation? John Hoppie Grade separation is a type of structure that will lift the rail above streets or other impacts. Michelle Cohen (808 Blue Jay Ln., Coppell, TX 75019) A lot of the places that the track is going through are heavily traveled by school buses. What will DART do to ensure safety along the school bus routes? John Hoppie We will implement safe crossings throughout the corridor, including added safety at quiet zones. Our goal is the have safe rail crossings that account for blind spots, take train speed and roadway speed all into account. 3

4 Chad Edwards We also have a display board in the back of the room that details safety measures and quiet zones. Christopher White (16835 Davenport Rd., Dallas, TX 75248) There were a couple slides regarding mitigation and community integration. Are these items included into your budget and will these be funded with the entire project? Chad Edwards DART will pay for some of the trails along the corridor, and other sources will cover the rest. These sources could include cities, the North Central Texas of Governments (NCTCOG) and other local entities. Integrations and mitigations will be part of the process, many of which will be determined through public input and comments. John Hoppie We will determine specific mitigations and where they are needed when DART identifies the impacts along the corridor. There are programs in place that will help us develop attractive rail lines, but that is still a work in progress. Philip Lindquist (4215 High Star Ln., Dallas, TX 75287) Generally, how wide will the corridor be and will DART require any additional land? John Hoppie In most places the corridor is 100 feet wide. We have most of the land we need, except for the four areas in which we diverge from the original corridor, as well as at some stations. However in many places, stations already exist from light rail. Allyn Kramer (5928 Twin Coves, Dallas, TX 75248) I live near the Prestonwood Road Station. For the mitigation involving walls, will these walls be tall enough to deter light from the trains and the rail? John Hoppie The height of the wall will depend on a lot of things including the purpose for the wall and where it is along the corridor. For example, if it is for noise it will need to be a certain distance from the track and that could determine how much light is visible from houses. Allyn Kramer At the last meeting, I was told trains would run every 20 minutes, and now tonight I am hearing every 30 minutes. Which of these is correct? John Hoppie To begin with, we expect trains to run at 30-minute headways during peak hours, and one-hour headways during off-peak hours. As you move forward, trains will ultimately run at 20-minute headways during those peak hours. Boris Gremont (5912 Still Forest Dr., Dallas, TX 75252) I feel that sharing the rail line with freight is a problem and I have a few questions: Freight trains are slow and delayed; how will you keep your schedule? I heard tonight that you will have single track; how does that work with freight movement? I hear a lot of talk that it takes too long to get from DFW Airport 4

5 to downtown Dallas on the red line; will you have that same issue on the Cotton Belt line, or will there be express trains offered? John Hoppie I will start with your last question first. At this time there are no plans for express trains on the Cotton Belt, as this would result in a lot of missed passengers. There are three freight operators on the Cotton Belt currently, and freight has actually been abandoned in the north Dallas area, from east of the Dallas North Toll Way to the Richardson area. We do not foresee freight being re-introduced in north Dallas. On the eastern and western portions of the Cotton Belt, DART will be managing all freight dispatching and will only allow them to operate when the DART schedule allows it. DART is also currently working through the operations modeling to see where there is opportunity to have single track. You should understand, however, that all bridges and stations will have double track to begin with. This will allow for passing opportunities. Bahman Bahramnejad (6604 Duffield Dr., Dallas, TX 75248) I live very close to the track and I am concerned about noise levels and the insightfulness of the tracks. Can you discuss what the mitigations are in that specific area? Can you also confirm that with the headways you discussed earlier there will be two trains in each direction every hour, meaning four trains an hour total? John Hoppie That is correct regarding the number of trains for a 30-minute headway. Once we hit 20-minute headways that will rise to six trains an hour in both directions. We are studying future conditions, such as noise at this time, and we will identify those and the mitigation efforts that will be used at the next round of meetings. Bahman Bahramnejad Will the current level of the tracks be the same? John Hoppie Generally, yes. Andrew Ross (6714 Kings Hollow Crt., Dallas, TX 75287) I am concerned about the ridership numbers you have shown for I don t see how you will have 12,000 riders a day in Chad Edwards These ridership numbers are generated using the NCTCOG model, which has been used on numerous projects in the past. Demographics are also provided by the NCTCOG. They do a lot of background work to determine growth across their 12-county region. Deb Tarantino (7011 Wester Way, Dallas, TX 75248) How accurate is the NCTCOG ridership model on past projects? What is the ridership from DFW Airport to downtown Dallas? Chad Edwards There are about 20,000 passengers per day on the orange line. The model is pretty accurate on the corridor level and determining ridership at a snapshot in time. There are a lot of things that can change these numbers. For example, development, new jobs, changes in roadway infrastructure and how 5

6 people get to stations/bringing more people in to the region. It is all interconnected and we have to remember we are looking at a snapshot in time here. Michele Wong Krause (DART Board member) Has DART finished with sound measurements, and if so where can they be viewed? If not, when do you expect to have them finished? Chad Edwards We have current noise conditions and sound measurements from DFW Airport to Plano. These measurements are on the display boards in the back (points to the area). We do not have future noise levels once trains are running. We are working through those studies now and will be finishing that up before the next meeting. We also have Dave Towers in the back who is the sound engineer and can answer and specific questions later. Matt Bach (15746 Covewood Cir., Dallas, TX 75248) Are there any plans for this to connect into the future Midtown Development? Chad Edwards We do have plans for a connection here in the 2040 System Plans that identify a connection from Midtown, under I-635, to Addison. There is still a lot of work to be done there starting with studies. John Hoppie The Knoll Trail Station will likely be the closest to the Midtown Development and we will work with bus routes to bring that connection into the development from the Cotton Belt station. Stacy Cushing (18819 Cedar Creek Canyon Dr., Dallas, TX 75252) What incentives are you planning to get people to ride the train to help alleviate north-south traffic? What will the timings be? John Hoppie We do have boards in the back that show timing from station-to-station. Amado Soto (306 Star St., Rockwall, TX 75087) My family has property in Coppell that will be directly affected from this project if it moves forward. What can I do to change this alignment? If nothing, when should we expect to get an offer letter? John Hoppie This project is moving forward and advancing the Cypress Waters alignment. We can put you in contact with our real estate department. We cannot officially discuss property and give offers before we receive the record of decision from the federal agencies. The City of Coppell did come out with a resolution in support of this alignment and multiple cities are involved in this divergence from the corridor. It is not a done deal, there are still many approvals that are needed, but we are advancing the alignment here. Tom Wood (6341 Southpoint, Dallas, TX 75248) You mentioned the potential of Amazon coming to Dallas and potentially at the Valley View (Midtown) Development. Is DART willing or at a place to change the alignment to run from CityLine to I-635 to accommodate Amazon. It is my understanding there is already a tunnel along this route. 6

7 Chad Edwards There is not a tunnel currently in place. There is a space that was left for a future tunnel, but that is still an extensive project. DART will also not change this project for an Amazon development. The Cotton Belt Project has been on the books as we know it today for many years. We cannot build a new project fast enough for Amazon. Philip Braithwaite (6935 Middle Cove Dr., Dallas, TX 75248) Has traffic analysis been performed at Hillcrest and Coit roads? Will they be grade separated? Hillcrest will be a mess if it is not grade separated. John Hoppie We are doing a detailed traffic analysis right now. We know that Coit Road warrants grade separation. Hillcrest may not be grade separated but other mitigations will be implemented. Andrew Ross How much money has been promised from the federal government and what happens if it doesn t go through? David Leininger We are currently looking at using a Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan. This is not a grant. The RRIF is currently the most attractive financing option, but we could also go different routes if this changes. The Cotton Belt Project is not dependent on the federal government and we can pursue private financing options. We are in more control with this project than with the downtown second alignment (D2) since that will look at using grant monies. DART will pursue the financing option that has the cheapest interest and best terms. If we go the RRIF loan process that will take about nine months, a process that has already begun and will be finally submitted after a record of decision, which we expect in spring of If we did general or private financing, that would be a much shorter process since it is not going through the federal government. Christine McNamara (6720 Summer Meadow Ln., Dallas, TX 75252) Is there a preliminary budget? I personally am scared of the subsidiary issue. I do not know anywhere in the world where transit systems pay for themselves, they drain cities. Chad Edwards We do have a preliminary budget of $1.1 billion. DART is one of the few transit agencies that has a 20- year plan that accounts for future projects, operations, maintenance, etc. This plan is in place to ensure that we can afford projects like the Cotton Belt for years to come. Christine McNamara Does this budget include maintenance and running the train? David Leininger We build the budget using construction, rail application, etc. It is really pretty straightforward on projects like these. We also prepare a healthy contingency fund upward of 30%. On the operating side we do a 20-year rolling forecast that includes operations and debt. The Cotton Belt Project is not our first rodeo when it comes to commuter rail as we run the TRE. We have a good indication of what that operations budget will be and will build it from headways, maintenance, the vehicle fleet, etc. and will take into account inflation and expenditure dollars such as fuel. 7

8 Did not disclose name What is a quiet zone? John Hoppie If you are familiar with freight and the horns they blow, the quiet zones will alleviate the horn. Quiet zones add in extra safety features that reduce risk factors and increase safety without the use of the horns. This includes using safety or quad gates that make it impossible for cars or people to enter the tracks. Sue Robinson (3 Green Park, Dallas, TX 75248) What happens if interest rates increase before financing is solidified? David Leininger We currently have a 3.5 percent interest rate built in to our budgeting. The RRIF loan has a much lower rate than that. As we monitor interest rates, we have seen that they are trending down for 30-year terms. If an abrupt increase were to occur we would certainly revisit the plan as any responsible agency would. Kenny Wilks (7302 McKary Blvd., Dallas, TX 75248) For either the RRIF or convention loans, does DART have the authority to enter into debt? David Leininger The authority for DART to enter into debt was given on Sept. 12, 2017 by the DART Board through a resolution. Of course all debt is subject to the record of decision, which will put most things in motion following the final EIS in spring Cookie Peadon (7111 Debbe Dr., Dallas, TX 75252) I know DART has a figure for each passenger that enters a vehicle. What is the subsidiary value per passenger per trip? David Leininger It will depend on ridership. It will be comparable to passenger rail. All of the rates are calculated by mode. Passenger rail is far from breaking even on all systems across the US. Commuter rail presents the highest ratio and I believe it is in the seven to eight range. Once again it varies based on actual ridership. Based on the 2023 revenue service, I cannot give you that figure off the top of my head. We link everything to our sales tax revenue, which is the dominant figure. We cannot issue more debt than what would create a two times ratio. We focus all of our modeling on sales tax in the year of receipt and debt in the year of payment. Cookie Peadon What does this do to the affordability? David Leininger It is clearly affordable. The nature of how this all works will depend on how D2 is funded. We will be able to afford the Cotton Belt for the years to come. Councilwoman Sandy Greyson On one of the slides it mentions that only substantive comments would be included in the EIS. Who determines what is substantive? 8

9 John Hoppie In general, we get a lot of comments such as good job or I don t want it. Those types of comments that don t really have any bearing on the final decision may not be included. However we are sure to count the aversion and avocation. Councilwoman Sandy Greyson Do they actually read them? If the federal government gets 500 comments against the project, does it matter? John Hoppie I cannot speak for the federal government, but all comments from both advocates and the opposition are included. Since this is an existing rail line it would be hard for them to not move forward, though. Bahman Bahramnejad This may be a little late in the game to ask this, but why wasn t the I-635 corridor considered? John Hoppie Both corridors were considered back in 2008, but the City of Dallas rated the Cotton Belt as a higher priority and the two corridors serve different audiences. Christine McNamara How much will it cost to ride the train and how much is subsidized? David Leininger Currently, a two-hour pass is $2.50. There is fare increase coming, which will raise it to $3 in the next year or so. An all day pass is $6. This is a commuter rail, but currently we have standardized pricing across all modes. We have had standardized pricing since 2011/2012 in an effort to make connecting more seamless. The $3 rate does not cover subsidizing. So including that it would be about $8 to $9. It is important to remember the standardized pricing however as that comes into play depending on the mode. Debt service is excluded from this rate as we rely heavily on sales tax revenue. Boris Gremont For both projects, $2 billion seems like a significant amount. How much of the material is sourced in the US and how much construction will be local. What is the impact from that standpoint? Tim McKay For rolling stock, there are no manufacturers in the US, but most European manufacturers do have factories here. Generally 60% of materials must be sourced in the US and built here. With respect to rail, we are lucky in that we have three major mills in the US and they are great quality and highly durable. Contractors are openly solicited, but generally must be bonded in the US and have local knowledge. I do not think that we have ever had a foreign prime. We also will work to have a 35 to 45 percent minority and women-owned business sub contractor goal for local firms. Deb Tarantino How much will it cost to deviate from the original Cotton Belt corridor? Also is it possible to get all submitted comments online? 9

10 Chad Edwards We do not have specific costs for each deviation at this time. That is still being fully developed. We should have preliminary costs available for that at the next meeting. We can also work to get the comments online within the next few weeks. They will also be part of the EIS, which is a public document. Bob Moore (6313 Southpoint, Dallas, TX 75248) I live adjacent to the rail and was wondering if a public-private partnership had been considered for this project. Tim McKay There have been many discussions surrounding this idea of a public-private partnership (P3). We began the design-build solicitation a few months ago, and earlier this summer the NCTCOG held a meeting to discuss innovative ideas in regards to a P3 on this Cotton Belt Project, but nothing worthy came forth. We do not foresee a P3 happening here. Bob Moore Let s say the P3 did end up occurring. How would that change the EIS? How much input would they have? Tim McKay P3 teams generally do not clear the corridor environmentally. We would continue through this process and then the project would be handed to them to take it through final design and construction. The P3 is highly unlikely, though. 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. 10

11 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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