News Update
Future of Cotton Belt project uncertain
Image courtesy of city of Plano -- This artist's rendering shows what the Cotton Belt rail station at 12th Street in Plano might look like if the project gets off the ground as planned. The city anticipates many redevelopment opportunities at the station if the rail is constructed, but Fort Worth's lack of interest in the creation of a special district along the corridor may put the brakes on the project's early arrival.
By Conner Hammett, chammett@starlocalnews.com
It has been a complicated two weeks for the Cotton Belt rail project.
When March began, hopes were high for the early arrival of the line, which would stretch 62 miles from Plano to Fort Worth.
But the project was dealt a serious blow last week when the Fort Worth City Council rejected a resolution supporting the creation of a special taxing district along the Cotton Belt corridor.
Then, a last-minute upswing came for supporters Nov. 7 when state Sen. John Carona (R--Dallas) filed legislation to create the special district just ahead of the legislative filing deadline.
Steven Polunsky, a spokesman for Carona, said the senator filed the bill to provide a framework for public discussions about the project, adding that Fort Worth's involvement is important to its success.
"On the surface, this proposal has a lot of potential," he said. "It's something that could, by bringing the private sector to bear and being done cooperatively with the municipalities along the route, happen without the use of imminent domain. It could happen with minimal intrusion, and Sen. Corona felt there was enough potential merit that it should be allowed to be put forth and see what we can develop."
The bill creates a governing board comprised of 16 stakeholder representatives with the power to issue bonds and collect revenue from any tax increment finance zones established by individual cities to fund the rail. The district may also levy property taxes, but only with the approval of voters and individual cities.
In Plano, enthusiasm for the Cotton Belt has been high. The city purchased land for a future rail station at Shiloh Road near 14th Street in November, and the City Council approved the special district resolution the following month.
Frank Turner, deputy city manager for the city of Plano, said Carona's bill will not look nearly as strong if Fort Worth stays outside of the picture, though the filing of the bill lends itself to optimism and there is still potential for the western city to re-enter the fold.
"The bill was only introduced last Thursday, so this is early in the process, but there's no real time to lose on this," he said, adding the city is currently reviewing Carona's bill to see if it will garner the city's support. "The Legislature is about halfway through its session, so it's definitely time to sit down and try to, again, create a regional view in support of needed legislation."
The west side's story
Last week, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported council members in Fort Worth cited potential negative impacts on funding for the city's own TEX Rail, which runs along the same corridor as the Fort Worth portion of the Cotton Belt, as well as public confusion over the need for two projects on the same tracks, when it rejected the resolution.
Ron Natinsky, a consultant for the project, said Fort Worth's stance surprised project planners who believed the city to be in support of the rail. The concept of the project would be undermined without Fort Worth's participation, he said.
"There's certainly a ridership and connectivity advantage by doing the entire ... corridor, and certainly from a financial perspective they could probably get the line built quicker utilizing our methods than they could do on their own, and there would be more certainty to getting the line built and actually operating," he said.
Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, said the current focus is on trying to coax Fort Worth back into the picture. The city's inroads to federal funding, combined with contributions from its municipal transit authority, provide the kind of commitment that would make the public-private partnerships envisioned by supporters possible in the absence of significant funding from DART until 2037.
"Without Fort Worth's support, because of the magnitude of the revenue coming from the western side, it would be very difficult to advance the whole corridor, and without the legislation it may be very difficult to advance the western side of the corridor, which is our interest in having conversations with Fort Worth," he said.
The Plano plan
While the Cotton Belt may not end up arriving as quickly as some officials had hoped, the potential local impact of the rail is not lost on Plano officials.
The city's only existing passenger rail is the DART Red Line, which runs north-south alongside U.S. 75 through Richardson and Dallas and ends in Plano at Parker Road Station.
The Cotton Belt is envisioned to span Tarrant, Dallas and Collin counties from Plano to Fort Worth, and its east-west connectivity to several DART rail systems would provide more direct access to several job-rich areas, Turner said.
"From Plano, you could take the Cotton Belt and you could go not only to Richardson and Addison but eventually Carrollton, where you could get on the [Green] Line going into Dallas or north to Denton, or continue on to DFW (Airport) and Fort Worth."
There are side benefits, as well, Turner said. He points to the redevelopment of downtown Plano as an example of the positive impact commuter rails can have on redevelopment, though not every station will reap the same results.
"I think that rail stations have a great opportunity to be a catalyst for development," he said. "All stations are not equal, let's put it that way. Some have greater potential than others, but we think Plano will benefit from development around the stations that are proposed in Plano."
The Cotton Belt would bring two stations to Plano. In addition to the Shiloh station, a second platform will connect the Cotton Belt with the Red Line at 12th Street and K Avenue.
The potential for a 12th Street station is called out in the 2013 Downtown Plano Vision and Strategy Update as "a magnet for new development" that is "well-suited for infill projects, including townhomes, live/work space and small offices and studios."
"In the case of 12th Street, most of the property is already developed," Turner said. "Fortunately we won't need a whole lot of parking in that location, so only 2-3 acres of property will be necessary at 12th Street."
Morris said no meeting dates have been set with Fort Worth, though the RTC hopes to update the city at a future council meeting.
When March began, hopes were high for the early arrival of the line, which would stretch 62 miles from Plano to Fort Worth.
But the project was dealt a serious blow last week when the Fort Worth City Council rejected a resolution supporting the creation of a special taxing district along the Cotton Belt corridor.
Then, a last-minute upswing came for supporters Nov. 7 when state Sen. John Carona (R--Dallas) filed legislation to create the special district just ahead of the legislative filing deadline.
Steven Polunsky, a spokesman for Carona, said the senator filed the bill to provide a framework for public discussions about the project, adding that Fort Worth's involvement is important to its success.
"On the surface, this proposal has a lot of potential," he said. "It's something that could, by bringing the private sector to bear and being done cooperatively with the municipalities along the route, happen without the use of imminent domain. It could happen with minimal intrusion, and Sen. Corona felt there was enough potential merit that it should be allowed to be put forth and see what we can develop."
The bill creates a governing board comprised of 16 stakeholder representatives with the power to issue bonds and collect revenue from any tax increment finance zones established by individual cities to fund the rail. The district may also levy property taxes, but only with the approval of voters and individual cities.
In Plano, enthusiasm for the Cotton Belt has been high. The city purchased land for a future rail station at Shiloh Road near 14th Street in November, and the City Council approved the special district resolution the following month.
Frank Turner, deputy city manager for the city of Plano, said Carona's bill will not look nearly as strong if Fort Worth stays outside of the picture, though the filing of the bill lends itself to optimism and there is still potential for the western city to re-enter the fold.
"The bill was only introduced last Thursday, so this is early in the process, but there's no real time to lose on this," he said, adding the city is currently reviewing Carona's bill to see if it will garner the city's support. "The Legislature is about halfway through its session, so it's definitely time to sit down and try to, again, create a regional view in support of needed legislation."
The west side's story
Last week, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported council members in Fort Worth cited potential negative impacts on funding for the city's own TEX Rail, which runs along the same corridor as the Fort Worth portion of the Cotton Belt, as well as public confusion over the need for two projects on the same tracks, when it rejected the resolution.
Ron Natinsky, a consultant for the project, said Fort Worth's stance surprised project planners who believed the city to be in support of the rail. The concept of the project would be undermined without Fort Worth's participation, he said.
"There's certainly a ridership and connectivity advantage by doing the entire ... corridor, and certainly from a financial perspective they could probably get the line built quicker utilizing our methods than they could do on their own, and there would be more certainty to getting the line built and actually operating," he said.
Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, said the current focus is on trying to coax Fort Worth back into the picture. The city's inroads to federal funding, combined with contributions from its municipal transit authority, provide the kind of commitment that would make the public-private partnerships envisioned by supporters possible in the absence of significant funding from DART until 2037.
"Without Fort Worth's support, because of the magnitude of the revenue coming from the western side, it would be very difficult to advance the whole corridor, and without the legislation it may be very difficult to advance the western side of the corridor, which is our interest in having conversations with Fort Worth," he said.
The Plano plan
While the Cotton Belt may not end up arriving as quickly as some officials had hoped, the potential local impact of the rail is not lost on Plano officials.
The city's only existing passenger rail is the DART Red Line, which runs north-south alongside U.S. 75 through Richardson and Dallas and ends in Plano at Parker Road Station.
The Cotton Belt is envisioned to span Tarrant, Dallas and Collin counties from Plano to Fort Worth, and its east-west connectivity to several DART rail systems would provide more direct access to several job-rich areas, Turner said.
"From Plano, you could take the Cotton Belt and you could go not only to Richardson and Addison but eventually Carrollton, where you could get on the [Green] Line going into Dallas or north to Denton, or continue on to DFW (Airport) and Fort Worth."
There are side benefits, as well, Turner said. He points to the redevelopment of downtown Plano as an example of the positive impact commuter rails can have on redevelopment, though not every station will reap the same results.
"I think that rail stations have a great opportunity to be a catalyst for development," he said. "All stations are not equal, let's put it that way. Some have greater potential than others, but we think Plano will benefit from development around the stations that are proposed in Plano."
The Cotton Belt would bring two stations to Plano. In addition to the Shiloh station, a second platform will connect the Cotton Belt with the Red Line at 12th Street and K Avenue.
The potential for a 12th Street station is called out in the 2013 Downtown Plano Vision and Strategy Update as "a magnet for new development" that is "well-suited for infill projects, including townhomes, live/work space and small offices and studios."
"In the case of 12th Street, most of the property is already developed," Turner said. "Fortunately we won't need a whole lot of parking in that location, so only 2-3 acres of property will be necessary at 12th Street."
Morris said no meeting dates have been set with Fort Worth, though the RTC hopes to update the city at a future council meeting.
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