Committee To Push Council For Light Rail. ASAP.

Music to my ears, this. From Dan McGraw, in the Fort Worth Weekly:

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.

“What has happened over the last five years is that we are now going to have the high density that the feds need,” said architect and real estate development consultant Philip Poole, who is also a member of the committee. “And when you look at all the other factors — high gas prices, traffic congestion, air pollution — this makes sense to do right now. Because we all know you cannot build roads fast enough. We need other options, especially in the inner city.”

What are the four lines being proposed? See here:

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.

This movement is growing, and it’s just going to get louder with the impact of this report. It’s time to face facts, Fort Worth - the time for light rail is now. We’re starting to realize that we’re a big-time city, and it’s time we act like it. Light rail would be a tremendous boost for our fair Panther City, and the longer we wait, the more difficult and expensive it’s going to get. The time for light rail has arrived.

The full article can be found at the Weekly’s web site. A couple of other streetcar/light rail-related posts:

Light Rail Podcast

Cities Study Success Of Portland Streetcar System