On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved $45,964,706.30 in expenditures, including over $18 million for sidewalk improvements and more along Dallas Area Rapid Transit bus routes.
Using a portion of about $80 million in DART funding from excess sales-tax collection and regional transit council funds, officials have contracted Ragle Inc. to complete sidewalk and ADA-accessible ramp improvements on public rights of way throughout Dallas.
The DART service area also includes Garland, Carrollton, Addison, Farmers Branch, Cockrell Hill, Irving, Glenn Heights, Richardson, Plano, Highland Park, Rowlett, and University Park. The member cities pay a 1-cent sales tax, and that money accounts for about 75% of DART’s roughly $1 billion budget, as The Dallas Express reported earlier this month.
Meanwhile, DART is targeting some operational areas customers say need attention, spending “$110 million to provide rider improvements in the area of security, cleanliness, and reliability.”
The transit service is rolling out other initiatives to enhance security, including using an updated CCTV system and environmental designs to prevent crime, installing brighter LED lighting, and adding barriers and fencing. It will also enlarge its pilot of the Cares program, which, as DX reported, would cost taxpayers $1.6 million. This is a collaborative effort between Dallas Fire-Rescue, DART Police, and Parkland Hospital to offer mental health resources to the homeless. Riders have reportedly complained about vagrancy and open drug use being widespread on DART trains.
Other expenditures approved on Wednesday include:
- $13,563,479 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for constructing an aircraft rescue and firefighters building at Dallas Love Field.
- $2,726,813 for a construction services contract with BAR Constructors for additional construction related to a new pump station at the Elm Fork Water Treatment Plant.
- $2,242,000 for a three-year service contract with Owner Controlled Insurance Program broker services for the Office of Risk Management.
- $1,697,374 for a three-year master agreement for battery-powered intraosseous-needle driver systems for Dallas Fire Rescue.
- $1,564,423 payment to the Texas Department of Transportation for cost overruns related to the construction of five traffic signals and associated off-system intersection improvements.
- $1,388,620 for a professional services contract with Burgess & Niple for the design of West Davis Street from North Hampton Road to North Clinton Avenue.
- $949,747 for a supplemental agreement to increase the service contract with NetSync Network Solutions for continuous use and upgrade of an existing threat detection and response solution and of licensing for the Department of Information and Technology Services.
- $561,740 for a three-year purchasing agreement with Nighthawk Cloud for web-based software subscriptions for the Dallas Police Department.
- $463,919 for a three-year cooperative purchasing agreement with Language Line Services for telephone language interpretation services for the Dallas Police Department.
- $401,310 for a three-year cooperative purchasing agreement with Lexipol for web-based training subscriptions for DPD.
- $300,679 for a professional services contract with VRX to design sections of Marfa Avenue.
- $250,000 for supplemental agreement to the engineering services contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates to provide construction services for additional trail limits for the Lemmon Avenue streetscape enhancements project at Dallas Love Field.
- $232,475 for a professional services contract with WSP USA to provide construction material testing services during the construction of a portion of Rosemont Road from Hillburn Drive to North Jim Miller Road.
- $214,453 for a supplemental agreement to the professional services contract with M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates to provide assessment, design, construction documents, and construction administration services for maintenance and repairs to parking at Dallas Love Field.
- $189,814 for a construction services contract with Whirlix Design to install playground equipment and independent safety audit a Glen Meadow Park.
- $184,371 for a construction services contract with Kompan to install playground equipment, surfacing, ADA ramp, parking, striping, and signs, and an independent safety audit at Marcus Park.
- $163,375 for a construction services contract with HD Way Concrete Service for additional water adjustments and wastewater main improvements.
- $109,877 for a three-year service contract with OnSolve to provide multimedia messaging services to Dallas’ Women, Infants, and Children program.
- $86,058 for settlement in the City of Dallas v. Keller Springs Estates for acquiring a wastewater easement of approximately 43,509 square feet for the right of way.
- $35,000 in settlement in Jose Diaz v. City of Dallas.
- $17,040 for supplemental agreement to architectural services contract with Brown Reynolds Watford Architects to provide soil testing and increase reimbursable expenses for signage at Dallas Executive Airport.
- $7,820 to abandon a portion of a floodway easement to Vijay Mehra and Natalie Mehra near the intersection of Sperry Street and Lyre Lane.
- $1,020 to grant a private license to 1601 Elm Holdings for the use of 35 square feet of aerial space to install, maintain, and use an awning with a premise sign over a portion of Elm Street right of way near its intersection with Akard Street.
