1995 transit system plan lrt line to farmers branch and ...€¦ · final environmental impact...

Final Environmental Impact Statement 1-5Chapter 1 Purpose and Need

Preliminary Engineering / Environmental Impact StatementNorthwest Corridor LRT Line to Irving and DFW Airport

while the central option was a tunnel under DFW Airport. As of now, the northern access optionappears to be favored. However, airport access options will continue to be studied and evaluated,and are not proposed to be part of this EIS.

In October 2006, DART updated its 1995 Transit System Plan in accordance with the DART2030 Transit System Plan. This plan reflects the latest year 2030 demographic projects fromNCTCOG and identifies projects to be undertaken by DART through the year 2030.

The LRT Line to Farmers Branch and Carrollton Final Environmental Impact Statement wascompleted in October 2003. The project received a Record of Decision (ROD) in February 2004.Final design has been completed on this 17.6 mile, double-tracked light rail extension fromdowntown Dallas to Carrollton. DART began construction in 2006 with operations scheduled to bephased in from 2009 through 2010. The Irving/DFW LRT Line begins north of Bachman Station onthis line.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) developed the Mobility 2030 Plan(January 2007) using demographic projections for the year 2030. Mobility 2030 describes theNorthwest/Irving Rail Corridor as a light rail system from Northwest Highway (Bachman Lake) toDallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the same as the Build Alternative considered in this FEIS.

1.3 OVERVIEW OF THE CORRIDORThe transportation system in the Irving/DFW LRT Line Corridor includes a major internationalairport; several freeways; a tollway; a network of arterial roadways and local streets; a bus systemoperating daily on surface streets and freeways; a portion of a commuter rail line; two freight raillines; and a people mover system serving the Las Colinas Urban Center.

DFW International Airport, which is foreseen as the ultimate terminus of the Irving/DFW LRT Line,is one of the busiest airports in the world. According to information provided by the airport, DFWhandles nearly 2,000 flights per day and serves 57 million passengers per year. The airline servesas a hub for Fort Worth-based American Airlines. The airport also has the newly-opened SkylinkSystem automated people mover serving passengers and employees traveling between the sixexisting terminals. The bi-directional system has two stations at each terminal and operates duringairport operating hours. A connection with this system is intended in the later phase of the LRTline.

Several freeways interconnect within the project corridor. Texas Stadium serves as a focal point ofthe confluence of four freeways (SH 114, Loop 12, SH 183, and Spur 482). In addition, IH 35Ecrosses the eastern end of the alignment and SH 161 (the President George Bush Turnpike)crosses the western end of the alignment. The principal freeway in the area, SH 114 (JohnCarpenter Freeway), is part of a system of highways that radiates from the Dallas CBD freewayloop, and runs in a general northwest direction through the study area to the north edge of DFWAirport and rapidly-growing suburban communities such as Grapevine, Southlake, Coppell andFlower Mound. The proposed LRT line would parallel this freeway for much of its alignment. Thebusiest freeway within the project corridor is SH 183 (Airport Freeway), which connects northDallas with north Fort Worth and provides access to the south entrance of DFW Airport. At theeastern end of the Irving/DFW LRT corridor, there are few arterial roadways due to the Elm Fork ofthe Trinity River. Towards the western end of the corridor there are more arterial roadways. Aregular, grid street pattern does not exist within the corridor.

The bus system currently includes two express, eight suburban circulator, one rail-feeder, andthree cross-town routes in the corridor. Typically, express routes provide service to downtownDallas, but one of the express routes is a cross-town route that provides east-west service on IH635. The suburban circulator routes operate between transit centers in outer Dallas and in the



suburbs; several of these routes serve Irving. Cross-town service into Dallas, Farmers Branch, andCarrollton is available, but cross-town service to other cities surrounding Irving does not exist asthey are not DART member cities. The single rail feeder route feeds into the TRE. There is onetransit center, the North Irving Transit Center, within the corridor which provides park-and-ridefacilities and serves as a major bus transfer center. It is served by two express bus routes and fivecirculator bus routes on weekdays, and five different circulator bus routes during the weekend.DFW International Airport also operates a free terminal link van service.

In addition to bus service, there is a commuter rail line operated by DART that travels just south ofthe corridor. The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) rail line links downtown Dallas and downtown FortWorth. Located south of SH 183 on O’Connor Road, the closest TRE station to the project corridoris the South Irving Station, which also contains a bus transfer center served by eight bus routes onweekdays.

There are two active freight rail lines operating within the project corridor. One of these rail lines isnow owned by DART and the other is owned by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad(BNSF). Currently there are active freight operations on both of these rail lines. The primary rail linealong the eastern edge of the corridor is the DART-owned UPRR line, along which construction ofthe new light rail line to Farmers Branch and Carrollton is proposed. The BNSF RR is a majornorth-south rail line that runs through the corridor. It runs through Irving and into Dallas andeventually Farmers Branch and Carrollton, where it intersects with the UPRR line.

Within the Las Colinas Urban Center there is a 1.4-mile elevated people-mover system thatconnects several office buildings. The Las Colinas Area Personal Transit (APT) System, morecommonly known as the Las Colinas people-mover, operates between 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM onweekdays and serves four stations in area office buildings.

DFW International Airport operates the Skylink secure-side, elevated people-mover betweenexisting terminals. The bi-directional system has two stations at each terminal and runs duringnormal airport operating hours.

Existing transportation services and facilities are illustrated in Figure 1-2.

The proposed Northwest LRT Line to Irving/DFW is included in the third phase of expansion toDART’s LRT system. The initial phase included the 20-mile LRT Starter System that was openedin 1996. The second phase included the extensions along the North Central LRT Line toRichardson and Plano that were completed in late 2003, and the Northeast Line to Garland thatwas completed in late 2002. The third phase of LRT development includes the Northwest Corridorto Farmers Branch and Carrollton and the Southeast Corridor, which are in final design, as well asthe Northwest LRT Line to Irving/DFW. Planned and programmed LRT improvements are shownin Figure 1-3.

The Northwest Corridor LRT Line to Irving/DFW branches off of the LRT Line to Farmers Branchand Carrollton at Bachman Station, and parallels several highways, including Spur 482 and StateHighway 114, as it makes its way through Irving and to DFW Airport. The corridor is linked at thesouth end via the Farmers Branch/Carrollton line to the Dallas Central Business District with120,000 jobs, and a variety of employment, education, health, entertainment and residential areas.Major Activity Centers along the corridor include Texas Stadium, The University of Dallas, LasColinas, North Lake College and DFW Airport. In addition to these Major Activity Centers there is avariety of residential, industrial and commercial uses along the proposed alignment.

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Figure 1-2

NW Corridor LRT Line to Irving/DFWEnvironmental Impact Statement ´Existing Transportation Services and Facilities

0 8,000 16,0004,000Feet

Source: Parsons, 2005; DART 2005

LegendBus RoutesTrinity Railway Express StationNorth Irving Transit CenterExisting RailroadsExisting DFW SkylinkExisting Las Colinas APT

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Source: Figure 1-3Planned and Programmed

NW Corridor LRT Line to Irving/DFWEnvironmental Impact Statement

DART, 2007

Light Rail Transit Improvements

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IH 635

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SH 183

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Southeast Corridor

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Northwest Corridorto Farmers Branch

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Existing LRT

Future LRT Expansion

Trinity Railway Express



1.3.1 Population and EmploymentThe Dallas/Ft. Worth region is growing at a tremendous pace, placing significant demands on thetransportation system. Population in the region is forecast to grow by almost 80% between 2000and 2030. Employment in the region is forecast to grow by almost 72% in this same time period.Growth within the area within one-half mile of the proposed LRT alignment will be strong as well,especially in terms of employment. In 2000, employment in the vicinity of the proposed alignmentoutnumbered population by over 41,600 jobs. In 2025, the surplus of jobs over population in thissame area is expected to grow to more than 87,200. When the area is expanded to include theentire Las Colinas and DFW Airport areas, the surplus of jobs over population in 2030 jumps to272,300. Current population and employment and forecast growth are shown in Table 1-1.

TABLE 1-1FORECAST POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT GROWTH

Population EmploymentArea 2000

12030 % Difference 2000 2030 % Difference

DFW Region2 5,067,400 9,107,900 79.7% 3,158,200 5,416,700 71.5%

Dallas County 2,232,476 2,817,191 26.2% 1,745,100 2,529,400 44.9%City of Dallas 1,202,592 1,404,847 16.8% 1,038,314 1,390,219 33.9%City of Irving 196,632 225,714 14.8% 165,435 276,941 67.4%DFW Airport Area 4,962 4,950 -0.2% 48,785 85,212 74.7%Las Colinas Area 25,066 38,203 52.4% 77,992 142,985 83.3%Irving/DFW Alignment

316,473 21,850 32.6% 58,081 109,106 87.9%

1NCTCOG estimate adjusted from 2000 Census count; does not include group quarters

2Ten-county region as defined by NCTCOG

3Defined as the geographic area within one-half mile of the proposed LRT alignment and based on NCTCOG Traffic

Survey Zone dataSource: NCTCOG 2030 Demographic Forecast, 2003

1.3.2 Travel Patterns and CongestionThe primary flow of traffic within the corridor is north and south along the major arterials withinIrving (Belt Line Road, MacArthur Boulevard, and O’Connor Boulevard), and northwest andsoutheast along the central freeway of the corridor, SH 114, as well as Spur 348 (NorthwestHighway). SH 114 and Spur 348 exhibit traditional commuter traffic patterns in that most traffic istraveling southeast towards Dallas during the AM peak, and most is traveling northwest away fromDallas during the PM peak. However, the Las Colinas Urban Center is a center of employmentwithin the corridor which causes some reverse commuting on SH 114 between Las Colinas andDallas. Finally, SH 161 (the President George Bush Turnpike) provides a cross-town route, whichis an alternative to the more heavily traveled IH 35E when traveling from IH 635 to SH 183 or thesouth DFW Airport entrance.

Traffic volumes in the Dallas urbanized area are considered some of the highest in Texas. Theproject corridor is bounded on the east by IH 35E, which carries an average of 226,000 vehiclesper day north of the corridor. In addition, the project corridor is just south of IH 635 (LBJ Freeway)which, when it travels through north Dallas, carries the highest volumes of traffic in the Dallasurbanized area with approximately 300,000 vehicles per day. The busiest freeway in the projectcorridor is SH 183 which carries an average of 177,000 vehicles per day near Texas Stadium. SH114 carries an average of 86,000 to 100,000 vehicles per day, and SH 161 carries an average of35,000 to 47,000 vehicles per day. Traffic volumes on most of the arterial roadways in the studycorridor are also high, with some carrying over 30,000 vehicles per day. Along many of these majorarterial roadways, high traffic volumes contribute to congestion delays. The high volume-to-capacity ratios on many of these arterials result in unacceptable traffic operating conditions asdefined by local and national standards.



Historically, traffic volumes on Dallas freeways have increased five to ten percent per year between1995 and 2000. Growth slowed in the first years of this decade due to a general economicrecession, but is expected to increase again through the year 2030. Within the project corridor,traffic volumes on the mature freeways (IH 35E, Loop 12, and Spur 482) are projected to grow atabout one percent per year, while traffic volumes on SH 114 are projected to grow at about fourpercent per year. With the connection of SH 161 to the main portion of President George BushTurnpike being opened in late 2005, traffic on this section of the turnpike will increase rapidly in thenext few years. The traffic volume statistics for the major roadways serving the corridor are listed inTable 1-2. These statistics include the existing traffic volumes, existing levels of service, projected2030 traffic volumes, and their projected 2030 levels of service. The level of service is a measureof the relative delay and congestion experienced on a roadway, with level of service A being thebest, and anything worse than level of service D being unacceptable.

TABLE 1-2EXISTING AND PROJECTED TRAFFIC VOLUMES1

Roadway Location 2000 2030Freeways ADT2 LOS3 ADT2 LOS3 %Change

IH 35E (Stemmons Freeway) South of Spur 482 134 E 170 E + 26.9Spur 482 (Storey Lane) East of IH 35E 54 C 72 C + 33.3Loop 12 (Walton Walker Freeway) North of SH 114 130 E 194 F + 49.2

North of Spur 348 1004

D 1914

E + 91.0SH 114 (John Carpenter Freeway)

South of Spur 348 914

E 1814

F + 98.9SH 161 (Pres. George Bush Tpke.) Valley View to Beltline 47

4B 207

4F + 340.4

ArterialsTeleport to O’Connor 6 B 11 B + 83.3

Riverside DriveO’Connor to Spur 348 21 C 27 D + 28.6

O’Connor Boulevard West of Riverside 25 D 13 B - 48.0Loop 12 to Luna Road 36 E 54 F + 50.0

Spur 348 (Northwest Highway)O’Connor to SH 114 28 E 38 F + 35.7

Hidden Ridge Dr. West of SH 114 9 B 18 C + 100.0SH 114 to MacArthur 15 B 18 C + 20.0

Walnut Hill LaneEast of Belt Line Rd. 22 C 27 D + 22.7

Belt Line Road South of Valley View 32 E 41 F + 28.11

Along major roadways paralleling and crossing the proposed LRT alignment2

ADT = Average Daily Traffic volume (in thousands). All freeway traffic counts were collected in 2003, all arterialtraffic counts were collected in 2003 or 2004.3

LOS = Level of Service, a measure of traffic flow and delay. LOS “A” is free flow/no delays, LOS “F” iscongested/long delays. Level of Service determined by NCTCOG.4

Includes traffic on main lanes and frontage roads

Source: Parsons Transportation Group, NCTCOG. 2006

1.3.3 Existing Transit ConditionsThe Irving/DFW LRT corridor is served by a network of 14 bus routes. The bus routes travelingthrough the study corridor have a total average ridership of more than 220,000 passengers eachmonth, almost 91 percent of which use the system on weekdays. These routes account for aboutseven percent of DART’s total system-wide bus ridership. The two highest ridership routes areactually suburb-to-suburb services which travel between the North Irving Transit Center and theCity of Garland.

Several types of transit use occur within the corridor. Some transit users drive to a park-and-ride lotand board a bus bound for downtown Dallas, a cross-town destination, or destinations within thecorridor. Other transit users walk to bus stops near their homes and board the bus bound for theirplace of employment. Depending on their destination, some of these latter transit users may usethe transit center to transfer from one bus route to another in order to reach their final destination.Finally, some transit users use the commuter rail that travels just south of the corridor. These users



are primarily long-haul commuters who drive to the park-and-ride lot in south Irving and ride thetrain into downtown Dallas or downtown Fort Worth.

The first type of transit user described above is usually a resident of the northwestern suburbs ofDallas who would rather drive just part of the way towards their employment destination and usethe transit system for the remainder of it. These transit users are likely using the system to reachemployment centers in and around downtown Dallas. As residential development increases withinthe corridor and to the northwest and as employment opportunities increase in and arounddowntown Dallas, more and more long-haul commuters will likely choose the park-and-ride optionrather than driving in the increasing traffic congestion that will likely occur on highways leading intoDallas.

The second type of transit user described above is usually a “transit-dependent” person who doesnot have access to an automobile. DART’s transit system enables these people to work atemployment centers all over the Dallas area that would normally be accessible only to someonewith an automobile. This allows transit-dependent people living in the corridor to work outside thecorridor, and vice versa. Considering the large amount of employment within the study corridor,DART’s transit system is very important to the economic vitality of the corridor. It provides jobopportunities for people from all areas and demographics, and it provides employers with a widerrange of the labor pool. As employment opportunities increase within the corridor and transit-dependent residential development increases, the transit system will become even more importantto employers and employees alike.

The third type of transit user often prefers the speed and reliability of a train over other forms oftransportation. The implementation of a light rail will provide increased opportunities for this type oftransit user.

1.4 NEED FOR ACTIONCurrent and projected travel patterns, levels of roadway congestion, growth in population andemployment in the region and in the corridor require that the proposed project be built in order toaddress the need for transportation improvements.

The need for transportation improvements is illustrated by the following:

The Dallas-Fort Worth region is currently (as of April 2005) designated as a Serious non-attainment area for 1-Hour Ozone and a Moderate non-attainment area for 8-Hour Ozone bythe Environmental Protection Agency;

The entire study area falls within a region identified for the year 2030 as an “area of severepeak-period congestion” by the Mobility 2025 Plan (Amended April 2005) and the Mobility2030 Plan (January 2007) produced by the North Central Texas Council of Governments(NCTCOG);

Existing and planned roadway improvements are insufficient to meet the demand within thiscorridor;

Travel time delay and congestion levels in the corridor are increasing; and

A significant amount of employment and population growth is forecast for the corridor.

1.4.1 Specific Transportation Needs in the CorridorThe SH 114 corridor, bounded by IH 35 E (Stemmons Freeway) on the east and The George BushTurnpike (SH 161) on the west, is an important and growing employment center featuring high-

1995 transit system plan lrt line to farmers branch and ...€¦ · final environmental impact...

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