Highland Park voters are slated to decide in May whether to continue the town’s membership in the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system.
During a Nov. 4 meeting, the town council voted to hold a special election to determine whether Highland Park should withdraw from DART.
Highland Park was the first of DART’s 13 member cities to make a move toward withdrawal. But Plano, Irving, and Farmers Branch all quickly followed suit, each voting to hold special elections in the days after the town’s decision.
All of DART’s member cities dedicate 1 cent of their local sales tax — half of what they are allowed to charge — to supporting the transit agency. Many are questioning the value of the services they receive and the equity of their representation on DART’s board.
According to a 2023 independent analysis, Highland Park dedicated about $6.3 million to DART, while the transit agency spent $1.9 million within the town. The town says that most of that money went toward operating Bus 237, which travels along Preston Road.
According to the town, the bus averages 60 riders daily. Based on Highland Park’s current $8 million annual contribution, every ride costs $366.
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“Highland Park taxpayers have invested in the regional system for more than 40 years,” said Mayor Will Beecherl. “This election ensures that our residents — who fund this contribution — have a say in whether the return on that investment meets the needs of our community today.”
If a withdrawal vote were successful, DART would cease all operations within the town once the results were certified, according to the transit authority’s board chair Randall Bryant.
Bus 237 would continue to travel through the town but would no longer stop in it. GoLink and paratransit services would also no longer be available in Highland Park.
Highland Park would, however, continue contributing to DART for years. The town, like all of DART’s member cities, shares the obligations of the agency’s long-term contracts, and needs to pay off any debts related to improvements within its boundaries.
Bryant said he hopes that Highland Park’s withdrawal vote, along with those in other member cities, never happens.
The transit agency is working to reach a compromise, and isn’t unsympathetic to the concerns of members, such as Highland Park, which don’t receive light rail services. DART reallocates funds to those cities to address equity imbalances, Bryant explained.
He said that the agency’s board has approved a resolution that would give Highland Park, which shares a DART board seat, its own place at the table. But a change in DART’s governance requires state legislative action, and that hasn’t happened yet.
“Any city that we currently have, no matter how great or small their population, their ridership, or their financial contribution is to our system, they’re all very valuable partners,” Bryant said, “and important to the sustainability of our regional system.”
