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WS Item 3Regional Transportation: The Prospect of Regional Rail City Council Discussion Item 4D November 7, 2006 Why discuss it? Regional Growth Congestion Projections Facility Funding Constraints Regional Activity RTC Study Regional Transit System Review Committee established by HB 2702 (79th Texas Legislature) Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition Citizen Survey Citizen Survey – Key Findings The University of Texas at Dallas Conducted Aug-Sept, 2006 Purpose: To conduct a public opinion study on support for regional rail expansion; and, financing options for that expansion 4,077 interviews – 8 counties Citizen Survey – Key Findings 62.9% support – “to fund an expansion of the rail transit system in the DFW metroplex” Use of Sales Tax Revenue – 61.3% favor areawide infrastructure improvements over 38.7% favoring economic development in individual cities. Citizen Survey – Key Findings 82.3% agree – “DFW area is way behind other large metropolitan areas when it comes to efficient, modern mass transit systems.” 85% agree – “Rail would help them-even if they didn’t use it – by getting more cars off the road and making it easier to drive around the area” Statements about Half-Cent Sales Tax 77.7% Agree – “A small price to pay for a modern, coordinated rail system that will reduce traffic congestion, air pollution, time wasted in commuting, and personal energy costs.” Only 1 out of 4 agree – “with the level of taxation already high, I won’t support an increase in taxes, no matter how good the cause” Next Steps Local Government Support 80th Texas Legislature Additional Remarks B. Glen Whitley Tarrant County Judge Elect Past Chairman – Regional Transportation Council & Gary Fickes Tarrant County Commissioner Elect Former Mayor – City of Southlake Local Option Vote Regional Transit System Review Committee established by HB 2702 (79th Texas Legislature) will meet in Nov, 2006 How will local option election be conducted? City by City County by County Subregion by Subregion Region-wide * Integrity ♦ Innovation ♦ Accountability ♦ Commitment to Excellence ♦ Teamwork Values SKY – Mayor, Members of the Council, Our first workshop topic for this evening is regional rail. The purpose of this discussion item is to bring you all up-to-speed on efforts that are underway to plan for and develop rail opportunities throughout the metroplex, and to alert you to ways that the City of Southlake can be involved in the process. Bob Price, Director of Public Works, will be providing you with the background information. We are also pleased to welcome soon-to-be County Judge Glen Whitley and expect soon-to-be County Commissioner Gary Fickes to join us for the discussion as well. Bob -- Bob P. – Thank you. As we all know, our region continues to grow rapidly, and we expect that pace to continue, presenting us with some serious transportation problems for the future. We will not be able to provide the infrastructure needed to accommodate this growth unless we start acting now. Additionally, we already know that we are facing severe funding constraints. The question becomes, how will we address the mobility needs of the region? Bob P. - This chart provided by the North Central Texas Council of Governments has a great deal of information on it, so we’ll focus on just a few of the specific numbers to make the point: -Red Oval - We expect 43% growth in population between now and 2025, taking our population to about 8 million people. - Blue Oval - We expect a 55% increase in daily vehicle miles of travel between now and 2025, following a 100% increase between 1985 and 2005. - Black Oval - We expect that 53% of the roadways in this area will be congested by 2025, up from 21% in 1985. Growth poses serious challenges for us. Bob P. – This chart shows population growth expected for NE Tarrant County. It’s a jump of more than 400 K persons in the area. Another example of the area’s rapid growth. Bob P. – This chart shows the trend line for employment growth in Northeast Tarrant County. It’s a jump of more than 600k jobs. All of those people have to get to work somehow. How will they get there? Bob P. – As you can see from the two upper quadrant maps, both of the areas of congestion grew significantly from 1985 to 2005. Please note that the pink areas delineate areas of Moderate Peak-Period Congestion while the Red areas of delineate areas of Severe Peak-Period Congestion. In 2005, Northern Dallas County and Northeast Tarrant County experienced Severe Peak Period Congestion. Referring to the Lower left Quadrant map, the areas of severe peak period congestion have grown and this is with an expenditure of $45 billion dollars by 2025. Referring to the Lower Right Quadrant map, this map shows the best of all worlds: a financially unconstrained Tx Metropolitan Mobility Plan. In order to achieve this model, the region would have to invest 95 billion dollars in 2006 dollars by 2030. This is most probably not financially feasible. We need to find other alternatives. Thus, a need for a discussion on regional rail. Bob P. – In 2004, the Regional Transportation Council undertook a study in 2004 to address: the region’s rail transit needs, rail funding requirements; and, identification of legislative changes necessary to meet the funding needs. The RTC recommended: that a seamless system of rail transit service should be offered throughout the region; provided for a provision for additional sales tax capacity relief; and allowing for a region-wide local option election that could provide the revenues. Realizing the significance of the issue, the 79th Texas Legislature created a committee comprised of state and local elected officials to study the issue. In addition to the above initiatives, The Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition has advocated the sales tax exemption as a means of funding rail to be funded through local option elections. All of these efforts led to a survey of public opinion on the matter.