Coppell Chronicle Vol. 4, No. 24
Silver Line Testing to Begin in October • Coppell Taxpayers May NOT Pay More • City Plans to Start Regulating Donation Bins • Fox 4 Studios Moving to Irving
When I’ve covered DART’s periodic community meetings about the Silver Line, I’ve often been one of the few people in the room not employed by the transit agency or its contractors. I was not able to attend the most recent of these meetings, so I sent intern Samantha Handshy to take notes and ask questions. Here’s her report.
Silver Line Testing to Begin in October
Coppell residents should anticipate the arrival of Silver Line trains on the city’s tracks by late October. The 26-mile route has been split into three sections for “segment testing,” with Coppell being part of the largest segment.
Testing will include simulated service from DFW Airport’s Terminal B past the Knoll Trail Station in Far North Dallas, with Cypress Waters Station being one of the stops along the way. There will be no passenger pick-up or drop-off, as DART won’t begin revenue service until late 2025 at the earliest.
It is important to note that “quiet zones” will not be in effect while these segment tests are taking place. During construction, all of the Silver Line crossings in Coppell had been designated as quiet zones, which means train operators will blow their horns only when necessary.
“The train’s noise levels should have minimal impact on those near the tracks — under 60 decibels,” said Mario Zavala, one of the DART representatives who spoke during a community meeting at Town Hall in Cypress Waters on July 24. “I don’t have a measurement on the horn, but again, those will be only used when approaching the crossings as a safety measure and if something is on or near the tracks that could impede its passage.”
Zavala said there shouldn’t be any major traffic backups due to testing “unless we’re having to perform work on the gates or lights at any of the crossings. If we do, DART will communicate directly with the City of Coppell and inform drivers on the Silver Line website, our alerts system, and through our social media platforms.”
End-to-end testing is scheduled to begin next summer, assuming no major issues are raised before then.
Recent milestones for the Coppell portion of the Silver Line include:
Commencing construction of the parking lot at Cypress Waters Station
Three of five noise/betterment walls are over 50 percent installed
Completed infrastructure on six of 10 rail crossings
Completed infrastructure on 17 of 25 guideway rail bridges
Today is the third day of a four-day period in which DART contractors have completely closed a stretch of Freeport Parkway. They plan to do the same on Southwestern Boulevard for four days starting Friday.
With the school year beginning in just over a week, many may wonder whether the work on Southwestern will impact families driving to and from Pinkerton Elementary. When asked, a representative explained that the road should be clear after Aug. 12. Permanent sidewalks will be placed along Southwestern in the future, but DART plans to install temporary walkways near the school until then. The room was also reminded that Coppell ISD administrators signed off on any work that had a chance of impacting any of their schools.
Coppell Taxpayers May NOT Pay More
Last week’s edition included an article called “Coppell Taxpayers May Pay a Bit More.” The key word in that headline was “may.”
That article was based on the City Council’s budget workshop on July 22, when Director of Strategic Financial Engagement Kim Tiehen said it looked like Coppell’s average homeowner with a homestead exemption would pay an additional $96.29 per year, or an extra $8.02 per month.
During the council’s final budget workshop on July 29, Tiehen modified those estimates to an additional $75.36 per year, or an extra $6.28 per month. But Jim Walker proposed to his fellow council members that they figure out how to keep everyone’s municipal tax bill the same, “given how things are pretty tough around the kitchen table these days.”