Dallas — Another Streetcar Proposal

Rail Transit Online, October 2007

A grass-roots effort to restore streetcars to the Dallas suburb of Oak Cliff is gaining momentum.  Local civic activists and business leaders last year formed the Oak Cliff Transit Authority and, along with the Fort Worth Avenue Development Group, have begun raising funds for a $250,000 feasibility study.  Their mission is to create a streetcar system that will “…become the link that binds Oak Cliff's burgeoning arts districts, all the while being a viable, environmentally friendly, historic public transportation service that helps reclaim and revitalize the area's prominence.”  Potential routes would serve Fort Worth Avenue and/or Davis Avenue.  Developers of several residential projects have already shown an interest in the proposal, which could help spur political and financial support.  “At this point we don't know whether it's going to be historic or modern streetcars that we end up with,” Jason Roberts, president of the Oak Cliff Transit Authority, told The Dallas Morning News.  “We're just trying to bring the infrastructure back.”  The McKinney Avenue Transit Authority has been serving Uptown and Downtown Dallas with vintage trolleys for many years. 

Web site: www.oakcliffta.org/index.html