Last week DART announced a pilot program to charge parking fee for vehicles from cities that are not members of DART. According to DART, the overflow of cars were parking in the streets risking being towed and filling seats preventing those from member cities from being able to sit during their commute.
So now, commuters from non-member cities in the lots at the Frankford Station in Carrollton and the Parker Road Station in Plano could have to pay $2 per day or a monthly fee of $40 or $60 for reserved parking. Residents of member cities would not have to pay to park and ride. (Residents of member cities can also reserve parking for an additional fee.)
Member cities vote to dedicate part of their sales tax to DART. Current members are Addison, Carrollton, Cockrell Hill, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Garland, Glenn Heights, Highland Park, Irving, Plano, Richardson, Rowlett and University Park.
The city of Irving became an original member of DART in 1983 and, in 1996, again reaffirmed that vote by a 57-43 percent margin. Irving contributes about $40-50 million per year, and a total of about $850 million total since joining--$4,250 per resident.
We support this action on the part of DART. Residents who have been paying to build and maintain the buses, rails and special service vehicles should take precedence over those from cities that opted out of DART for whatever reason. (Note: Any city that adjoins another member city can elect to become a member of DART.)
