Addison will consider allowing its voters to leave Dallas Area Rapid Transit, marking the fifth member city that could potentially withdraw next year.
The Addison City Council will consider, on December 2, whether to hold a withdrawal election from DART on May 2, 2026, according to the meeting agenda. As The Dallas Express reported, four other cities – Farmers Branch, Highland Park, Irving, and Plano – voted earlier this month to hold withdrawal elections.
The council will “present, discuss, and consider action” on an ordinance to hold a withdrawal election to “dissolve” DART in Addison, according to the agenda. The town would still be “subject to the continued collection of sales taxes for the period required by law.”
In other cities that have advanced withdrawal elections, DART would terminate service immediately after voters decide to leave, as The Dallas Express reported. The cities must still pay off a share of the agency’s massive debt, which some officials have described as an “exit barrier.”
DART is currently billions of dollars in debt. This is divided among member cities, thereby deterring them from leaving.
City officials have been growing increasingly frustrated with DART’s spending and governance, as The Dallas Express reported.
During the Addison council’s prior November 18 meeting, officials were considering options to rework Quorum Drive to provide further transit access, when DART came up.
“With the state of DART right now – with other cities, with what they’re doing – I would like to see anything having to do with providing things like that slowed down,” said Councilman Randy Smith.
Councilman Chris DeFrancisco, however, cited the role of DART’s new Silver Line in getting commuters to work. As The Dallas Express reported, the agency launched the new line in October, connecting Plano to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
“Let’s forget about the discussions that are happening right now with DART,” DeFrancisco said. “We’d be silly not to try to make it easier for folks to take DART into our city and get to their office.”
Deeper Issues
DART spent more than $2.4 million on executive bonuses from 2020 to 2024, as The Dallas Express exclusively reported. Earlier this month, the board voted to give CEO Nadine Lee a $60,000 bonus, plus $12,000 in cost-of-living adjustments.
Just months prior, in September, DART made the largest service cuts in history, citing a budget shortfall of $42-43 million.
Dallas holds a vast majority on the DART board, while cities like Addison share a single representative with three other member cities, as The Dallas Express reported. Member city mayors have expressed frustration in the past with their inability to represent their constituents.
Meanwhile, DART lines have been shuttling homeless people across the metroplex, as The Dallas Express reported. Irving Mayor Rick Stopfer previously said the lines bring homeless people across the metroplex to receive services in different cities on different days, and the DART stations become gathering areas.
This comes as DART has been struggling with crime across the system, though the agency recently invested $24.6 million in upgrades for security and cleanliness.
Group A offenses – including arson, assault, robbery, and drug crimes – reported by DART Police have grown 3.87% overall since January, according to the most recent data in the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).
Within these offenses, crimes against persons fell by 21.98%, crimes against property by 28.71%, and crimes against society by 53.33%. The most common “crimes against society” were drug, drug paraphernalia, and weapons violations.
On November 7, gunshots erupted on a train directly across the street from DART headquarters, as The Dallas Express reported. Police arrested one suspect, and the victim was in stable condition at the time.
A 53-year-old Irving restaurant manager was shot and killed near Market Center Station on September 29. A week later, a man in a hockey mask opened fire on a train near the Pearl/Arts District Station, killing a passenger.
In 1985, Carrollton and Farmers Branch held elections to withdraw from DART but chose to stay, as The Dallas Express reported. In 1989, Coppell and Flower Mound left successfully. In 1996, four more cities voted to stay.
Member cities can opt out of DART once every six years, so the next window is 2026. Should Addison advance a withdrawal election, it will join four other cities that are taking the opportunity to leave.
