Dallas — Late Night Service Maintained

June 2014

McKinney Avenue Transit Authority [MATA] at Dallas has dropped the idea of curtailing the late night weekend hours of heritage streetcar service, reporting that traffic congestion which prompted the idea has lessened, the Dallas Morning News reports.

After MATA's complaint about traffic blocking the tracks became public, Amy Gibson, executive director of the nonprofit group Uptown Dallas, worked with Dallas police to come up with a solution. Gibson said police, especially bicycle patrols, agreed to become increasingly vigilant about cars, especially taxis, that often stop or cruise slowly along the trolley tracks during peak clubbing hours. “They’ve been actively and aggressively writing tickets on McKinney Avenue,” she said.

MATA said the situation has improved to the point that they gave up the idea of shortening the weekend schedule, although MATA's contractual obligations to maintain service until midnight may have prevented them from dropping service.

Another change allowing service to continue was the city’s revocation of the valet stand permit in front of Del Frisco’s Grille, near the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority car barn, the site of frequent delays of 10 minutes or longer. The stand has been moved around the corner eliminating the delays.