Mass Transit

I am a supporter of mass transportation systems. I think they have the potential to save vast amounts of energy supplies and reduce pollution. I have heard arguments against them, saying they actually consume more energy in total than cars, but I doubt that. They certainly reduce congestion. They make for less stressful travel. They allow people watching. And they can permit people to read and otherwise be distracted during their commutes.

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system has been improving over the years. While buses remain a very tough way to get around Dallas (due to schedules, routes, etc. being designed by people who don't use the roadways...ever), the trains are really slick. Apparently, when DART first proposed a system of light rail throughout Dallas, one of the lines was to have run from DFW airport through Carrollton and up through Addison and into Richardson. But, after North Dallas residents got wind of the plan, they balked, arguing that a light rail system through their neighborhood would result in a reduction in land values, noise pollution (they prefer their pollution in the air they breathe), crime, interracial marriage, liberal political positions, homosexuality, etc. So, thanks to the Republican monied masses, that plan was shelved.

But, lately the powers that be in Addison and some in North Dallas and Richardson (I think it's Richardson) have put pressure on DART to add the "Cotton Belt" rail line back to the long-term plan. My wife and I received notice a few weeks ago that a meeting on the subject would be held tonight at the recreation center just around the corner from us, so we are going to go. We're both ardent supporters of mass transit, though we both realize we will be long gone (either distance or death) by the time any such plans would come to pass in our neighborhood. But we'll go tonight to express our support for the concept.

I have no idea where the stations would be, or how far from us, but I am convinced that mass transit that is convenient to this area would drive values up, the way it has in every other area of Dallas. I think the muttonheads who oppose it because of the noise and crime have never used mass transit.

OK...I went to the meeting. I actually learned some things about plans under contention. The plan supported by the City Councilman who called the meeting actually looks good. But it does not involve the Cotton Belt rail line that is close to us. I learned, though, that the Cotton Belt plan that is favored by other cities close by would just zip through our neighborhood, with no stops for at least a 3 or 4 mile stretch. And, I learned that an alternative plan for the Cotton Belt rail line would have 3 stations within about 2-3 miles of us. But that plan is being supported only as a "backup" if the primary plan does not get support by the DART board.

Finally, I learned that there are, indeed, people in my district who are self-centered, selfish, rotten fascists. During the comment period, when people were to have 2-3 minutes, the first speaker was a Not in My Back Yard guy who pranced and strutted about how successful he and his Stalinist buddies have been for years in saying "NO TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN MY BACK YARD!" My wife and I listened to him for 5 minutes, stood up, and walked out of the meeting. The tone in the room suggested everyone else was a supporter.

I gotta get out of this place!