By Josh Hickman
Highland Park leaders are looking at whether a shuttle service could alleviate neighborhood parking problems and potentially fill service gaps if town residents vote to leave DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit).
On Feb. 17, council members heard from one potential provider.
Representatives of Via Transportation estimated an initial exploratory program would cost $600,000, and potentially scaling up and capping out at $1.5 million, depending on the needs.
Alan Friedman asked whether such a program could be an option “if we get out of DART.”
“I think so,” Town Administrator Tobin Maples said. “Think about what we’re doing now. Forty riders a day — those are numbers coming from DART — and the town is contributing $9 million. I think we can implement a program like this that solves our problem at a fraction of that cost and still provide for the needs.”
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Via Transportation could serve residents with physical, cognitive, or visual impairments and provide rides for domestic and construction workers from transportation points, according to the presentation during the council study session.
The council’s brainstorming largely focused on traffic congestion caused by construction worker parking.
“We’ve heard loud and clear from the council and the community, that they still want their service workers — the house managers, the nannies, the maids — to park on the street, but this service would be available if they want it,” Maples said. “But conditioning a building permit (on workers using the shuttle) being a requirement, I think, is one entry we may have into the market.”
Council members also reviewed the Financial and Investment Report for the three-month period ending Dec. 31, 2025. As of that date, combined revenues for the General and Utility Funds totaled $14,832,867, representing 28.2% of the annual budgeted revenue for these two funds. Combined expenditures and encumbrances for the same funds amounted to $11,024,871, or 20.4% of the total combined expenditure budget. As of Dec. 31, the total market value of the town’s cash and investment portfolio was $69,746,546, with a weighted average yield of 4.00% and an average maturity of 57 days.
Earlier that morning, during the regular council meeting, members:
- Approved an interlocal agreement with the North Central Texas Council of Governments for NearMap imagery with an annual subscription cost of $4,768.75.
- Adopted a backflow prevention ordinance aimed at avoiding cross contamination of the town’s water system.
- Approved a contract with SC Tracking Solutions to manage the backflow prevention program.
