Honkin' Mad

New Denton County A-train rail cars have sex -- er -- track appeal; latest in people-friendly transit technology

New A-train rail cars have arrived in Denton County and could be carrying passengers by June, or perhaps sooner.

@gdickson

Super Bowl Highway signs to be auctioned off; Sports memorabilia from Interstate 30 'Tom Landry Highway'

ARLINGTON – Call it a sign – actually, 12 signs – that there’s still money to make from Super Bowl XLV. The big game is now a little more than a year in North Texas’ rear-view mirror, and signs proclaiming Interstate 30 as “Super Bowl Hwy” have been removed from the roadsides. But regional transportation planners see no need for those green highway placards, which are owned by the North Central Texas Council of Governments, to gather dust. So instead, members of that organization’s offshoot, the Regional Transportation Council, are taking steps to auction off 12 of the signs.

The giant metal banners come in two sizes – one about two feet tall and 14 feet long, the other about 18 inches tall and 10.5 feet long. They are made to attach to the top of the permanent “Tom Landry Highway” signs that are displayed along I-30 in Fort Worth, Arlington and Dallas.

Michael Morris, council of governments transportation director, thinks they’d be a perfect item for a wall at a restaurant, sports park or perhaps even inside Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might care to put in a bid, seeing as how his team hasn’t been able to find a road to the Super Bowl since the 1995 football season.

“They aren’t going to raise a lot of money, but they’ve been sitting here for months and they’re not doing us any good here,” Morris said during a break at the RTC’s monthly meeting Thursday in Arlington, where the signs have been leaning up against a board room wall.

For prospective bidders, there are two catches:

• Owners of strip clubs, or other businesses that aren’t considered family-rated, likely will not be considered. “Certain places, we won’t have them,” Morris said.
• Auction winners probably will have long-term but temporary custody of the signs. They’ll have to agree to give them back, if the region is selected to once again host a Super Bowl – perhaps as early as 2016. If that happens, the signs will once again need to be placed out on I-30.

Auction proceeds will go to the Super Bowl Host Committee’s Youth Education Town charity, which provides afterschool activities for boys and girls. The RTC likely will vote on the final auction rules during its next meeting March 8, and conduct the auction shortly afterward.

“I hope they bring in lots of money,” said Arlington Councilwoman Kathryn Wilemon.

@gdickson

Hulen Street mess - North Texas Tollway Authority pledges to fix flaws on Chisholm Trail Parkway project in Fort Worth

Traffic backs up like crazy each day on Hulen Street in Southwest Fort Worth,  but the North Texas Tollway Authority is taking steps to fix the gridlock. To learn more about what's being done, residents may attend either of two public meetings at 2 and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Fort Worth Academy, 7301 Dutch Branch Road.

Rick Perry appoints Red River lawyer to North Texas Tollway Authority board

Lawyer William "Bill" Elliott was appointed to the North Texas Tollway Authority by Gov. Rick Perry. Elliott lives in the the Red River community of Ravenna, near Sherman. He's past chairman of the State Bar of Texas and a former member of the Trinity River Auithority board and Texas State Depositiory board.

Elliott replaced Robert "Bob" Shepard, who left the tollway board last month to accept an appointment with the Texas Historical Commission.

The tollway board has nine members, including one appointed by the governor and two each from the county governments of Tarrant, Denton, Dallas and Colllin counties.

@gdickson

New downtown Fort Worth parking machines cause confusion

New parking machines that take credit cards are popping up in downtown Fort Worth, and Star-Telegram Watchdog columnist Dave Lieber isn't happy with them.

@gdickson

Texans could pay higher motor vehicle registration fees to bring in new money for roads

Updated at 3:22 p.m. with more accurate registration figures

Texas automobile owners could face higher annual motor vehicle registration fees in the coming years to raise new revenue for roads.

Texas Transportation Commission chairman Ted Houghton of El Paso was in Euless this morning, speaking to a group of about 200 transportation advocates from the Fort Worth and Dallas areas. Houghton offered a preview of issues that are likely to be discussed in the months leading up to the 2013 regular legislative session in Austin.

Houghton noted that although he is prohibited as commission chairman from advocating for (or against) specific laws that would raise transportation revenue, he will be suggesting to state lawmakers in the coming months that it's time to raise revenue for highways and other transportation projects.

He told a joint meeting of the Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition and Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition that, while it's not realistic to push for an increase in the state's motor fuels tax, it is sensible to ask lawmakers for higher motor vehicle registration fees. For example, he said, an increase of $50 per car could generate as much as $14 billion for transportation projects. The precise amount would vary, depending upon how much of the money was spent outright, and how much was leveraged with other pools of money.

"We need to start talking about it with our representatives and senators, a revenue increase at this time," Houghton told the group during a meeting at Texas Star conference center in Euless. "We have bonded money. We have gone into debt. The Texas House and Senate have graciously given us the $3 billion in bond financing we need. But that's debt financing. We need revenue."

The state's gas tax of 20 cents per gallon hasn't changed in two decades, and elected state leaders have repeatedly said there is little chance of a tax increase in the coming years. Motorists pay that tax, as well as an 18.4-cent per gallon federal gas tax, everytime they visit the pumps.

For many Texans, a $50 yearly increase would represent nearly double the amount they currently pay for vehicle registration.

The amount of motor vehicle registration that Texans pay annually varies depending upon the type and age of vehicle they drive — as well as which county they live in. But generally, most cars and pickups with a gross weight of 6,000 pounds or less are charged a flat $50.75. Including state and local charges, and a mailing fee used by many owners, the final tab can be as high as $63.75 in metro areas such as Tarrant County.

Heavier vehicles pay a higher base rate of $54 to $840, plus fees.

But Houghton noted that the increase could be much smaller. It would depend upon the wishes of legislators.

New Texas Department of Transportation executive director Phil Wilson also addressed the crowd, and spoke about his efforts to modernize the agency.

Several Fort Worth-Dallas residents asked questions of the state leaders, and expressed concern that by allowing toll roads to be built in North Texas they might miss out on some of the future revenues that are dispersed statewide.

@gdickson

 

 

Huge fireball in North Texas sky was meteor, FAA confirms

11:30 p.m. update:

A reader in Shattuck, Okla., near where the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma touch, said the meteor "is likely the largest and brightest I have observed in all my 63 years." The man, who asked that his name not be used, also said one of the photos published earlier in my blog may not be a geniune image taken tonight, but instead could be an archived image. I'm currently looking into that and will remove the image if it appears to be either a fake or otherwise misleading image. (Image was removed.) The reader from Shattuck, Okla., said he didn't hear a sound from his vantage in Oklahoma but when the object caught his attention it was due south of Shattuck and moving east-southeast "somewhat above the southern horizon."

"It moved very fast when you consider how distant it must have been from my position," he wrote in an email. However, the man's view was then briefly blocked by trees, and he was not able to follow it to the point where he could conclude it had extinguished. He described the arc as perhaps 75 to 90 degrees and "would have believed it if someone suggested it was 120 degrees or more." 

11 p.m. update:

Here is some police dashboard video from Little River-Academy in Central Texas that appears to show a meteor streaking across the sky. This video is from NBCDFW.com

@gdickson 

 

10:45 p.m. update:

"I saw it over Little Elm. It was too fast to get a picture, but when I saw it, it looked like a giant firework sparkler, with lots of sparks coming off.  The tail was much more broad an less long when I saw it."

- from a reader identified as A Facebook User.

10:40 p.m. update:

An image from Tully Hannah of Bridgeport, via WFAA

Social media and online websites are on fire with reports that a massive fireball streaked across the North Texas/Oklahoma sky after 8 p.m. Wednesday. The FAA has confirmed it was a meteor. Below is an image from "The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News," also known as lunarmeteoritehunters.blogspot.com ... If you have video or a still shot of this object -- or even audio that you think contains the sonic boom that reportedly was heard across North Texas approximately 8:18 p.m. tonight -- please send a note to gdickson@star-telegram.com. I'll do my best to post your material here ...

@gdickson

Tricky driving days on Fort Worth's Southwest Boulevard; detour going up for nearby Chisholm Trail Parkway toll project

Driving Southwest Boulevard (also known as Texas 183) is going to be a little tricky at times during the next several weeks. Weather permitting, the main route through southwest Fort Worth will be detoured between Bryant Irvin Road and Interstate 20.

On Friday, motorists will notice the first steps of a three-week process to create the detour, which will reduce traffic to one lane in each direction. The work is part of the Chisholm Trail Parkway project, a planned 28-mile toll road from near downtown Fort Worth to Cleburne.  The detour is necessary so workers can lower the old Texas 183 main lanes by about 40 feet, Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Val Lopez said. Chisholm Trail Parkway will then be built overhead.

Highlights of what motorists can expect:

• Friday - The Insurance Lane bridge over Texas 183 will be closed, to complete construction of a main lane detour. The eastbound Texas 183 ramp to Insurance Lane will be closed.
• Feb. 10 - Eastbound Texas 183 traffic will be switched to the new detour, weather permitting.
• Feb. 17 - Westbound Texas 183 traffic will be switched to the new detour, weather permitting. The existing Insurance Lane bridge will be demolished and removed.

The work along Texas 183 and I-20 totals about $117 million. In all, the Chisholm Trail Parkway project is expected to cost about $1.6 billion, and be completed by spring 2013.

 

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Ferris Bueller takes another day off in Super Bowl ad for Honda