10 June 26 - July 2, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents their voice and puts the future of public transportation in jeopardy.” Broadhurst and others say the GMP adoption seems like an attempt to appease the Plano puppet masters, but comes at the expense of thousands of North Texans reli- ant on DART for a paycheck and a ride. “The GMP helps nobody, except for the small handful of politicians who are trying to grease their buddies’ pockets,” the me- chanic said. “The [Americans with disabili- ties] community does not want this. Ninety-five percent of the ridership doesn’t want this. DART employees and staff don’t want this.” Paratransit Community Hit Hardest B roadhurst said that in all the meet- ings he’s attended, the disabled com- munity and their support systems have emerged as the most vocal opponents of the proposed changes. A number of con- cerned parties advocating on behalf of the local disabled community spoke at one of the community meetings in University Park. One of the critics attacked the rapid rate at which the planned service cuts have been implemented. “We’re in June, and you’re going to vote on this in August,” said a Preston Hollow resident with a 25-year-old son with autism who relies on paratransit services to get to life skills classes in Plano three times a week. “That’s crazy with the lives you’re impact- ing. I would say you have a well-run organi- zation, [this] doesn’t tell me you do. ... I don’t want to be confrontational, but it’s abso- lutely two words … clown show.” Per the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, transit services with fixed routes must also provide paratransit ser- vices. DART has historically offered more than the legal minimums, which only re- quire door-to-door paratransit services within three-fourths of a mile of fixed routes, by covering the entirety of its 700- mile range. But with the new changes, this service range will be reduced, and the price of each ride will double, increasing to $6. Most paratransit riders cannot drive or work, and 100% price increases will prevent some from traveling at all. “I’m not going to say [you’re picking] on the disabled, but that’s what I’m seeing here … paratransit has lower usage. You’re put- ting a lot more [on] individuals that aren’t going to be able to afford that increase,” said the Preston Hollow father advocating for the disabled community, which will be most affected by prohibitive pricing increases. “To me, that’s wrong.” If the changes go through, it will affect more than just the intellectually disabled. Mary Witherspoon, a visually impaired DART rider who relies on paratransit ser- vices to get to and from doctor appointments, pointed out to the DART team that there was no tactile version of the map, and riders like Witherspoon have no way of knowing if their homes or provider offices are within the af- fected range. The lack of accessibility fea- tures highlighted the negligent speed of the planning process. Another representative of a different community affected by the proposed changes was a physician, who spoke on be- half of her patients. “A lot of patients have to say, ‘I couldn’t buy my medication this month because I had to choose between paying bills, getting nutrition or medication,’” she said. “If we in- crease the fares or we have to make these kinds of cuts, now they have to add, ‘Can I make it to you for my doctor’s appoint- ments?’ ... A lot of us have the privilege of not having to worry about that, but these are still people in our community that we have to worry about, and they are equally important as those who don’t have to worry.” Everyone Suffers C ommunity members from many walks of life, including DART police officers, transportation union mem- bers and riders, have attended the meetings to share their heated opinions about the changes. Broadhurst said he heard from one person in support of the changes at a meet- ing in Plano, but otherwise, every person he’s spoken to has been adamantly against them. He points out that with the impending World Cup, and all the travelers it will bring to the heart of North Texas, now is not the time to be restructuring our largest and most expansive public transportation network. “Service cuts are poison to DART at a time when we need more mass transit in North Texas, not less,” Broadhurst said at the Cockrell Hill meeting. But the loudest message he’s trying to send is that a few powerful critics should not drown out the riders, mechanics, officers and community members who need it and keep it running at its fullest capacity. “The people who are going to be most af- fected are the people who keep this organi- zation going,” said Broadhurst. Unfair Park from p8 DART avoided harmful legislation, but its difficulties aren’t over. Gordon Shattles/DART
