Mobility Matters (Summer 2013)

Mobility Matters - Images of a freight truck traveling on a highway, downtown Fort Worth, a TRE locomotive, downtown Dallas skyline and highway traffic; Celebrating 35 Years of Regional Transportation Excellence, 1974 - 2009
Summer 2013 — Quarterly newsletter of the Metropolitan Planning Organization
Mobility Matters is a quarterly newsletter about the transportation planning activities and air quality
programs of the North Central Texas Council of Governments and the Regional Transportation
Council — together serving as the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Dallas-Fort Worth
area since 1974. Contact us at mobilitymatters@nctcog.org.

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Photo: NCTCOG A $100 million-plus project to ease congestion of Fort Worth’s Tower 55 will improve safety and mobility for the trains passing through the busy intersection and motorists on nearby streets. An additional north-south track being installed through the area will result in products being shipped more quickly to market. Public-Private Partnership Moving Rail Improvements Forward at Tower 55 Trains rolled through Fort Worth on a recent summer day carrying a variety of commodities bound for places across the state and nation. The sheer volume of trains coming through this North Texas rail hub can mean long delays moving goods to market. Much like an influx of cars results in roadways becoming congested, the Tower 55 area near downtown Fort Worth is often a rail bottleneck, as trains traveling in all directions can back up for miles. <More>
	Preparing 'our Future' for the Future A Message from Michael Morris, Transportation Director 2013 has already been a full year in transportation, and it’s only summer. Agreements have been reached to bring significant projects into focus. <More>
	Washington Follows Unusual Path to DFW Airport Board Regional Transportation Council Member Profile Bernice J. Washington, Board Member, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Bernice J. Washington remembers a trip aboard the Shinkansen bullet train in Japan. It was a life-changing experience for Washington, a board member for Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. <More>
	Outreach Center in Southern Dallas to Help Trucks Operate More Efficiently A new partnership between the public and private sectors is providing the trucking industry with education and programs to improve efficiency, save money and reduce its impact on regional air quality. <More>
	TEXpress Lanes: A New Way to Drive in D-FW The first small segment of the TEXpress Lanes network will open over the course of the next few months, with Phase 1 of the LBJ Express Project in Dallas. This 2.3-mile segment of Interstate Highway 635, from Greenville Avenue to Hillcrest Road, will provide drivers with an idea of how the overall network will work when other major roadway projects begin to open. Developed by the Texas Department of Transportation, TEXpress Lanes on projects such as the DFW Connector, the North Tarrant Express and the final segments of the LBJ Express, will change the way you drive in North Texas over the next two years. <More>
	Record Number Take Action for Clean Air An increase in partner support helped Clean Air Action Day establish a participation record this year, with residents signing up for nearly 3,000 actions aimed at helping the region comply with the federal government’s ozone limit. After moving from July 7, which fell on a weekend last year, to the first day of summer, Clean Air Action Day experienced an unprecedented increase in participation and commitments in 2013. <More>
	Annual Transportation Report Now Available Progress North Texas 2013: Bridging Today and Tomorrow in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area, which highlights improvements to the transportation system last year, is available in print and online. This edition of NCTCOG’s annual transportation report highlights the region’s performance in the sustainability of the transportation system, quality of life, mobility and implementation, all goals of Mobility 2035. The Web version includes a slideshow of the artwork received in the “Bridging Today with Tomorrow” contest we conducted to determine the cover design. <More>
	Help Us Celebrate Our 40th Birthday We’re turning 40, and we want you to help celebrate. Since 1974, the North Central Texas Council of Governments Transportation Department has served as the metropolitan planning organization for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. <More>