The Metroplex has much to be proud of. We are one of the nation’s fastest growing employment markets, with forecasters predicting that we will add 75,000 new jobs in 1999.
Our current population is five million. This figure is expected to reach at least seven million by 2020. Last year, the population was increasing at a rate of about 10,000 people per month. Experts say that many factors contributed to this influx. Good location, reasonable climate, good employment opportunities and relatively low taxes are among the primary reasons usually given.
However, prosperity has its consequences, and one of them is the pressure that will be put on the transportation system in this area for many years to come. While this column usually focuses on City of Dallas issues, transportation issues must be viewed on a regional basis to effectively address and solve problems. I thought you might be interested to learn about the proposals to deal with the future growth.
Mobility 2020
Mobility 2020 is a comprehensive vision and plan for transportation infrastructure that is anticipated to be needed by the year 2020 in this region. It calls for $32.5 billion of improvements to metropolitan transportation systems. Everything from congestion mitigation strategies to bicycle and pedestrian facilities will be addressed. Following is a small listing of the items and their associated costs that are on the drawing board.
• $1.1 billion is the price tag to implement van pools, park and rides, intersection improvements and signalization improvements.
• The plan currently calls for an expenditure of $233 million to improve bicycle and pedestrian facilities over the next 20 years in the DFW metropolitan area.
• A total of $1.2 billion over the next 20 years is proposed for 249 miles of dedicated, reversible and multi-lane HOV construction.
• One of the major components of Mobility 2020 is the Regional Freeway System. It calls for 1,387 lane miles of new freeways, 506 lane miles of new toll road construction, and 771 lane miles of staged construction facilities to address future travel demand.
Local thoroughfares and major arteries confined to individual cities also play a critical role in the overall traffic plan. The plan includes funding for $2.2 billion dollars of local thoroughfares.
A great deal of work has already been done on our freeways, highways, tollroads and roadways. But a tremendous amount of work still remains if we are going to properly manage the regional growth.
If you have any questions about transportation or any issue, please write to me at 1500 Marilla, 5EN; Dallas, TX 75201; mary@dallastex.com.
