Yes, you read the title correctly.
Texas has been investing in its streetcar networks since the Reagan days. But like most big American cities, Austin actually had a well functioning and much used streetcar system pre-WWII. Despite this, Texan cities had the usual stories of urban mass transit. They had fine streetcar systems which were then torn up in the middle of the century to be replaced by auto infrastructure.
Texans now however, are seeing the value in mass transit despite the Lone Star State’s reputation for independence and freedom. One of the cities spearheading this is Dallas, with its DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) Light Rail system. Composed of 4 different lines connecting Dallas and its suburbs, the system carries riders on its Japanese trains 93 miles with an average weekday ridership of 101,000. This makes DART the top urban mass transit system of the American South. It’s crazy to think Dallas, such a spread out, and suburban city, would have such a successful light rail system. I was inspired when I saw the yellow trains racing along the highway for myself one summer while driving from Plano to Dallas. 
DART connects many important hubs such as downtown Plano, to Ft Worth to University of Dallas. But this is not the full potential as there was a unanimous vote to extend the system further into the suburbs and a 2030 plan was drawn out 12 years ago. Dallas has a larger streetcar system than more compact cities such as Newark, NJ, Seattle and Philadelphia, by ridership.
Dallas is not alone in the streetcar crusade. Houston is the second largest light rail network by length in the south and has about half of DART’s weekday ridership. Dubbed METROrail, it faced serious opposition from leadership despite public support but overcame those hurdles to eventually gain federal funding. There is already a future expansion planned for 4 new lines. Its Gold line is currently under construction. METRO shows a paradigm shift in the public’s attitude towards mass transit, especially in the south.
You can see a model of Houston’s METRO here.
The Lone Star State’s investment’s into public transport is a wise one as the sunny state attracts many people each year. Perhaps even Austin can emulate the success of its companions one day to return to its streetcar glory.
Featured image edited with Picmonkey
URBN SENSE 