Light Rail in Fort Worth: Bring It

Dan McGraw's FWWeekly story on light rail got me all tingley this morning because it looks like light rail is back on the table at City Hall after being shelved in 2001.

Sayeth Dan: "Next week, the Fort Worth Central City Redevelopment Committee, which deals with issues relating to downtown development and infrastructure, will recommend the city invest in urban light rail. The panel wants Fort Worth to build four 'ultra-light-rail' lines, trains that would run on rails built into the street and powered by overhead electric lines. And because the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (“The T”) has problems finding the money for such projects, the committee wants the city to study ways to pay for the system itself, and then turn over operations to The T once the lines are up and running.

"The four lines recommended would stretch to all areas of the inner city. One would go out West 7th Street to the Cultural District and use Farrington Field as a park-and-ride hub. A second line would link the Hospital District with downtown, and another would go out North Main Street to the Stockyards area. The fourth line would go through the Evans/Rosedale area, ending at Texas Wesleyan University."

Funny, we just talked about this in a recent podcast. Behold the power of the the Fort Worth Blog Cabal!

Podcast: Light Rail in Fort Worth

Pete from Cowtown Chronicles, your next City Council member from District 9 Bernie Scheffler, Kevin from Fort Worthology and yours truly have combined our blogging powers to bring you another podcast on life in the Fort. This week's topic is mass transit and light rail.

 

 Standard Podcast [36:54m]

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Odds and Ends from the Startlegram

Knights of Pythias Hall Update: The developer claims it is too costly to renovate the Knights of Pythias Hall at Third and Crump that is in danger of demolition. The two-story structure just east of downtown is on Historic Fort Worth's list of Most Endangered Places. John Roberts, a vice president with Historic Fort Worth, said he'd like to see the owners use federal tax credits and other monies offered for preservation projects to save the property. The city's Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission must weigh in before demolition can go forward.The commission's next meeting is scheduled for July 9. Please take time to contact the Commission and get them to prevent this.

Fort Worth Rail Meetings: Public meetings are scheduled for next weekon the proposed Cottonbelt Rail Line. The line would run from Altamesa Blvd./Dirks Rd. in Southwest Fort Worth to D/FW Airport. Other Fort Worth stops would include I20/Granbury Rd., Berry St./TCU, Medical District, T&P Terminal, ITC, Stockyards/23rd St. and Beach St.

The Time Is Now For Light Rail in FW

So sez Fort Worthology. And I agree with him.