The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) conducted a public transportation needs study assessment yesterday, October 30, at the McKinney Performing Arts Center.
As we all know, Collin County has experienced extensive growth in recent years. The NCTCOG, along with local government officials, transportation representatives and various partner agencies, is about two months into their transit study. This study is reviewing existing transit services along with adding potential transportation options to be implemented within the next three to five years.
“The cities in this county are growing as noted, but with the same existing infrastructure,” said Joey Goldman, Principal Transportation Planner for Nelson Nygaard. “Nothing has been addressed about how to fix this problem by bringing in new infrastructure and that’s why I’m here.”
The focus of the study is broken down into four main questions:
- Who needs to travel?
- Where and when do people need to travel?
- Where do gaps exist in the transportation network?
- Where and how can transit services be effective?
The NCTCOG uses factors such as age, disability, auto ownership, income, English language skill and where Collin County residents travel for work to see how they can better serve the needs in Collin County for both local and regional public transportation services.
The study focuses on increasing efficiency in public and human service transportation to better serve older adults, people with disabilities, low-income individuals and other groups with transportation challenges.
Current transit in Collin County is 14 dial-a-ride vehicles (serving 2,200 registered users), Dallas Area Rapid Transit (services such as DART) and CCART Dial-a-Ride for senior citizens in Plano, McKinney and Frisco. Limited transportation options, according to Goldman, appear in east McKinney, portions of Plano and central Frisco areas.
“In Collin County, 34 percent of transit riders have no vehicles available for them to drive where they need to go,” said Goldman. “Some say CCART requires too much of a call-in notice and can’t meet all the needs with its current funding. A lot of people agree DART is good service, but that it just doesn't have enough stops.”
So, why does the NCTCOG need three to five years to implement a new transportation plan?
Jessie Huddleston, Principal Transportation Planner for NCTCOG, has the answer to your burning question.
“We’re undertaking this initiative in 16 different counties,” said Huddleston. “Sometimes we do get caught up in our study and it takes too long. This window of time signals what we’re looking for and is an incremental step to make something of the study rather than just doing a study.”
The transportation plan, derived from the findings in this study, is estimated to be completed in the spring of 2013. Join the effort now and sign up to receive updates and meeting notices here.
If you weren't able to attend the meeting, don’t worry. Your voice can still count by taking a brief survey about your transportation choices and preferences in Collin County.
For more information on this study, please click here. If you're interested in taking the survey, click here.
If you have any other questions, contact Sarah Chadderdon, NCTCOG Transportation Planner, at 817-695-9180 or schadderdon@nctcog.org.