TX: Is DART worth it in the Park Cities? Voters consider service, funding ahead of May election

Seated at the SMU/Mockingbird Station waiting for the Red Line on a sunny April afternoon, Walt Humann, the man credited as the father of DART, ran into a friend on the platform.

"May the 2nd," Humann said. "Are you going to go to the poll?"

Just as Humann advocated in the 1980s for the transit system, he's now lobbying in his own town, University Park — one of three cities moving forward with an election to end DART service and funding next month.

After nearly half of DART's member cities punted membership to the ballot box, several were convinced by proposed reforms and financial agreements to cancel their votes, which can only be held every six years. But leaders in Addison, University Park and Highland Park still held concerns that the one-cent sales tax they pay to DART is too high for the services they receive.

Proponents of leaving DART say the system has failed as both a regional connector and a local provider, especially as cities face financial pressures and could use their sales tax elsewhere. Advocates say pulling out of a wider network will further fracture the system, hurt transit-dependent riders and move the region further from being able to serve a growing population.

In the Park Cities, service will end the day after votes in the May 2 election are canvassed if the withdrawal is successful.

"DART is structured as a regional system, but its funding model relies almost entirely on a handful of member cities," said Highland Park Mayor Will Beecherl in a statement last year. "A truly regional transportation approach must be funded regionally."

Here's what's at stake at the ballot boxes in Highland Park and University Park on May 2.

Not adding up

The Park Cities have been members of DART since its creation in 1983 and contribute a one-cent sales tax to the agency. ForUniversity Park, this totaled nearly $7 million in the 2023 fiscal year and for Highland Park, about $8 million, according to DART.

"We could handle and do a better job with spending our sales tax than DART," University Park Mayor Pro Tem Mark Aldredge said of the council's decision to keep their exit election."We would rather keep that money and spend it on police and fire and development to be able to have more money in our coffers."

For DART riders like Peter Young, 29, the value of the system is more than its price tag. Young lives in Highland Park and takes buses and trains every week to go to events in Oak Cliff, visit friends in Fort Worth, catch Stars games at American Airlines Center and go to class downtown at Dallas College.

As the region grows and traffic worsens, Young said he believes it's counterintuitive to abandon DART.

"It's very vulgar to me to not pay into a civic service like DART," he said. "For Highland Park, the town budget is not hurting."

Riders like Francis Zalace, who lives in North Dallas and uses DART's paratransit services to go to church in University Park, worry about a loss in broader transportation connections.

"The Park Cities are right in the heart of Dallas," Zalace said. "DART provides a very valuable artery and connection through that center."

Cities that leave will continue paying sales tax to DART until debt associated with their contributions is paid off, which could take years. University Park City Manager Robbie Corder said last year, the agency estimated the city would owe around $98 million. The city plans to hire a firm to help evaluate its financial obligation should voters choose to leave.

In a March letter addressed to residents, the Highland Park Community League asked townspeople to vote no to DART.

"A vote to leave DART is not a vote against regional transit. Our town has been a committed partner for over 40 years," the letter states. "But good stewardship of our community's resources demand that we act when the numbers no longer add up."

Service cuts at stake

In 1989, University Park had nine DART bus routes, according to the city. Today, there is one fixed bus route along Preston Road in the Park Cities and three train lines converge at the nearby SMU/Mockingbird Station, which lies just outside Highland Park and University Park city limits.

DART reported about 4,400 rides on its services in Highland Park from October to December 2025 and about 12,000 in University Park. In the same time frame, DART logged 10.6 million rides in the city of Dallas, which has 1.29 million more residents than the Park Cities.

If voters in the Park Cities choose to leave DART, the bus will continue through the cities without stopping. GoLink, DART's on-demand service, will end in the Park Cities zone, and DART's paratransit services will be eliminated.

"The Town is prepared to implement transit service options designed to maintain access to destinations currently served, provide on-demand service within the community, and ensure continuity of paratransit services," Highland Park officials said in a statement.

In February, University Park leaders vowed to continue providing paratransit services in the event voters choose to leave DART. The city is considering services from the microtransit provider Via, the same service Arlington uses for on-demand rides.

Zalace, 42, lives in North Dallas and attends First Unitarian Church of Dallas in University Park. As a quad amputee, she relies on DART's paratransit service to get to her church several times a week, and is concerned how a change in service would cut her off from her community.

"That just creates even more of a hassle for people like me," Zalace said. "DART provides a more interconnected network."

Aldredge said he's confident the city can provide transportation more efficiently and for a lower price tag than DART membership.

University Park is also home to Southern Methodist University, which has express shuttles operated by a third-party vendor that run on two DART lines.

In a statement, DART acting CEO Gene Gamez said if voters in University Park choose to leave DART, the agency will end the SMU shuttle service. SMU and DART contribute to the cost of operating the shuttle service, he said, and the current agreement would not allow the partnership to continue if the city wasn't part of the system.

" SMU and DART are working in partnership to develop a solution that could allow the service, or a modified service, to continue," Gamez said.

In a statement, the university said its focus "remains on providing reliable transportation options" for students, staff and visitors.

This year's election will be the first chance for voters in the Park Cities to vote against DART since the cities joined the system. A city has not joined the agency in decades, and Coppell and Flower Mound voted to leave in 1989.

Aldredge said DART's attention is focused on Dallas and larger suburbs. He supports better public transportation, but does not think DART is the solution.

"We are for a regional system," Aldredge said. "We don't like the way this one's set up."

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