After today’s buzz about the streetcar project, we received the following letter of support for the project from Fran McCarthy, Chair of the city’s Central City Redevelopment Committee.  With Fran’s permission, we are publishing his letter below.

CENTRAL CITY REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Fort Worth, Texas

March 28, 2010

Mayor Mike Moncrief
City of Fort Worth
1000 Throckmorton Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76107

Subject:  Modern Streetcars for Fort Worth, Texas

Dear Mike:

On behalf of your Central City Redevelopment Committee, I urge you and the City Council to approve  M&C-24103, Authorize the Execution of a Professional Services Agreement with HDR Engineering, Inc., in the Amount of $1,880,800.00 for the Modern Streetcar Planning and Design Project at your April 6 City Council meeting.

At several recent events, you have spoken eloquently about the need to improve our mobility and air quality, to expand our tax base, to reinvest in our central city, and to promote more sustainable forms of development.  I have joined many other Fort Worth citizens in applauding your remarks at the Tracks to the Future conference, at your State of the City address, and at the Vision North Texas regional summit, in which you have observed wisely that Fort Worth must invest now in the development of rail transportation — including proposed improvements to Tower 55, commuter rail, and a modern streetcar system that connects our central-city growth centers and urban villages.

You have provided exceptional leadership:
by heading our 2008 fact-finding trips to Dallas and the Pacific Northwest,
by raising public awareness about the need for a modern streetcar system,
by appointing a Modern Streetcar Task Force,
and by securing federal funds from the Regional Transportation Council for a definitive study of the modern streetcar system.

In September of last year, the City Council formally accepted those funds and authorized corresponding agreements with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority.  Accordingly, the time has come to authorize a contract with our preferred consultant for the modern streetcar study, which will provide the City Council with all of the information that you and Council need to make sound decisions about the Modern Streetcar project.

We understand that questions have arisen about whether the modern streetcar project is competing for limited resources with the Tower 55 project and the Southwest-to-Northeast commuter rail project.  The correct answer is “No”!  In fact, all three projects are closely interrelated, all three are vitally important to our central city, and all three deserve the City Council’s continued support. Fort Worth has never shied always from finding ways to fund multiple important projects even in tough economic times and we can once again.

Furthermore, we understand that questions have arisen about whether authorization of the HDR contract will obligate the City to expend funds on the design of any particular alignments.  Again, the correct answer is “No”!  In fact, your incredible staff has negotiated an excellent contract such that the City would actually expend about $100,000.00 which is less than half of the allocated funds on phases 1 and 2, and which will provide the determination of feasible and desirable alignments, before seeking the City Council’s authorization to proceed into preliminary engineering as a potential phase 3 and spending the second $100.000.00.

Mike, this is a small amount of money considering the potential long term benefit of a Streetcar system as part of an integrated transportation system. On the other side of the argument $100,000.00 is a small amount of money to determine that a different transportation system should be developed that answers the future transportation needs of Fort Worth.

In view of the extensive benefits and limited costs associated with the modern streetcar study, we urge you to stay the course and authorize the HDR contract without further delay.

Mike, let us know how we can assist you towards that end.

Sincerely,

Fran McCarthy
Chair
Central City Redevelopment Committee

Cc: Members of the Fort Worth City Council
Members of the Central City Committee