CityLine/Bush station (formerly Bush Turnpike station) is a DART light rail station in Richardson, Texas. The station is located on a frontage road of President George Bush Turnpike (SH 190) about 13 mile (0.54 km) east of its interchange with North Central Expressway (US 75). The station serves the Red Line and, during peak periods, the Orange Line.[1] The station will also serve the Silver Line commuter rail service once it is completed.[3]

CityLine/Bush
An aerial view of a double-tracked rail line surrounded by two side platforms. The CityLine development is visible to the right.
Light rail platforms in 2020, prior to start of Silver Line construction
General information
Location1300 East President George Bush Highway
Richardson, Texas
Coordinates33°0′8″N 96°42′11″W / 33.00222°N 96.70306°W / 33.00222; -96.70306
Owned byDallas Area Rapid Transit
Platforms2 side platforms
ConnectionsBus interchange DART: 232, 245, 883-UTD Comet Cruiser (M-Sun), East Telecom GoLink Zone (M-Sun)
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Parking1,193 spaces[1]
Bicycle facilitiesBike racks
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedDecember 9, 2002 (2002-12-09)[2]
Previous namesBush Turnpike
Services
Preceding station Dallas Area Rapid Transit Following station
Galatyn Park Red Line Downtown Plano
Galatyn Park Orange Line
(peak-hour only)
Future services
Preceding station Dallas Area Rapid Transit Following station
Galatyn Park Red Line 12th Street
Galatyn Park Orange Line
(peak-hour only)
UTD/Synergy Park Silver Line 12th Street
Location
Map

The station serves the mixed-use development CityLine, and it is also a park-and-ride lot for commuters using PGBT. A shuttle route, dubbed the Comet Cruiser, connects the station to the University of Texas at Dallas.[4]

History

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Planning and construction

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Original plans for the North Central Corridor Extension, which consisted of the modern-day Red Line north of Park Lane, included a station located near the Bush Turnpike/North Central interchange. The station was deferred to a secondary build-out phase,[5] which would occur between 2006 and 2011. DART determined four possible locations, three in Plano and one in Richardson.[6]

In 2000, DART selected the Richardson location and opted to construct the station alongside the rest of the Red Line, as it would be more expensive to defer it.[7] The station opened on December 9, 2002 alongside the Downtown Plano and Parker Road stations.[2]

Parking

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Bush Turnpike station opened with 825 parking spaces, were located under an elevated segment of PGBT.[8] This made Bush Turnpike the only DART station to have covered parking. The opening of Bush Turnpike and Parker Road ended parking capacity issues at Arapaho Center, which had previously been the northernmost station with parking.[9] In 2007, DART added 380 additional spaces.[10]

In 2012, DART introduced a paid parking initiative at Parker Road station, which would charge a daily fee to riders that were not residents of a DART member city. Because the initiative did not apply to Bush Turnpike station, many commuters moved to parking there, with an estimated 300 additional cars per day. In response, DART considered adding the parking fee to Bush Turnpike.[11] This did not occur, and the parking initiative was ended in 2014.

Development

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At opening, the area surrounding Bush Turnpike station was undeveloped. The vacant nature of the land served as inspiration for the station's design, which sported a rustic theme with several 20-foot (6.1 m) illuminated topiaries.[2][8][12]

In 2010, Parliament Group, which owned 300 acres of land east of the station, announced plans for a large mixed-use development on the land, which would include residential, office, and retail space.[13][14] In 2012, it was announced that insurance firm State Farm would lease office space at the development.[15]

Construction of the development, named CityLine, started in 2013 with a projected completion date of 2015.[16] On March 14, 2016, the station was renamed to CityLine/Bush after the development.[17]

Cotton Belt/Silver Line

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In 1990, DART obtained a former St. Louis Southwestern rail corridor for use as a potential commuter rail corridor. The 54-mile (87 km) corridor, nicknamed the Cotton Belt, ran from Fort Worth to Wylie, passing just north of Richardson through Plano.[18] The corridor was divided between DART and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, with DART's segment containing all parts of the corridor east of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

In 2010, the city of Plano proposed 12th Street, a new station that would serve as the eastern terminus of the corridor. Following this, the city of Richardson announced two proposals that would integrate Bush Turnpike to the line. One proposal would eliminate 12th Street entirely, instead routing the line south to Bush Turnpike. The other would divert the line south to Bush Turnpike, then run it northward to 12th Street.[19][20]

In 2018, DART approved a commuter rail service on the Cotton Belt corridor, which was named the Silver Line. The approved plan included both the Bush Turnpike and 12th Street stations using a southern diversion based on Richardson's proposal. The diversion required the creation of a bridge over North Central Expressway, which was paid for by both Richardson and DART.[21]

Construction of the line began in 2019,[22] and it is expected to open by 2026.[23] The Silver Line platforms at CityLine/Bush will be directly adjacent to the existing light rail platforms, with a green space and several decorative arches connecting them.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b "CityLine/Bush Station". Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Hartzel, Tony (December 1, 2002). "DART raises stations to an art form". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 34A – via NewsBank.
  3. ^ "CityLine/Bush Silver Line Station: Fact Sheet" (PDF). Dallas Area Rapid Transit.
  4. ^ "Neighborhood Bus Service - Comet Cruiser". Auxiliary Services. University of Texas at Dallas. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  5. ^ "North Central Corridor LRT Extension: Final Environmental Impact Statement" (April 22, 1997) [report]. DART Historical Archive, pp. 2-18. The Portal to Texas History, University of North Texas.
  6. ^ Jacobson, Sherry; Packer, Jennifer (October 2, 1999). "DART gets more funding: But U.S. largess won't speed project". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 1J – via NewsBank.
  7. ^ Post, Sarah (November 16, 2000). "Bush station on track: DART set to open light-rail stop in 2003". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 1L – via NewsBank.
  8. ^ a b Hundley, Wendy (March 30, 2002). "One day, there'll be light rail here: DART working to put Bush Turnpike station on track for December". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 1J – via NewsBank.
  9. ^ Washington, April M. (December 26, 2002). "Expansion eases light rail parking crunch: With new stops, more spaces, shortages at Arapaho station lessen". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 44A – via NewsBank.
  10. ^ Hartzel, Tony (February 11, 2007). "Parking crunch will ease at 3 DART sites". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 2B – via NewsBank.
  11. ^ Hammett, Conner (March 27, 2013). "Paid parking could expand to George Bush, Trinity Mills stations". Plano Star-Courier. Star Local Media – via NewsBank.
  12. ^ "DART Gallery: A Collection of Public Art" (PDF). Dallas Area Rapid Transit.
  13. ^ McCann, Ian (June 14, 2010). "Bush station key to city plan". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. B2 – via NewsBank.
  14. ^ McCann, Ian (February 5, 2011). "Development near Bush Turnpike gets OK". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. B3 – via NewsBank.
  15. ^ Brown, Steve (December 11, 2012). "State Farm will anchor major new mixed-use transit development in the works for Richardson". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation – via NewsBank.
  16. ^ Robinson-Jacobs, Karen (October 24, 2013). "Hotel, restaurants, fitness center planned for land near mammoth State Farm project in Richardson". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation – via NewsBank.
  17. ^ Formby, Brandon (January 26, 2016). "DART Station Poised to Sport CityLine's Name". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  18. ^ Kelley, Chris (September 26, 1990). "DART to buy Cotton Belt rail strip: Line won't be used until after 2010". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 23A – via NewsBank.
  19. ^ McCann, Ian (May 17, 2010). "Plano, Richardson differ on Cotton Belt's course". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. B3 – via NewsBank.
  20. ^ Vanderlaan, Jon (July 27, 2010). "City supports Cotton Belt in Plano". Plano Star-Courier. American Community Newspapers – via NewsBank.
  21. ^ Leszcynski, Ray (July 28, 2018). "Here are 4 things DART's Cotton Belt stations will mean for Plano". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  22. ^ Brown, Lori (September 19, 2019). "DART breaks ground on Silver Line along the old Cotton Belt corridor". Fox 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth. Fox Television Stations. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  23. ^ "Silver Line Project". Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  24. ^ "DART Unveils Designs for Richardson Silver Line Stations | Richardson Today". Richardson Today. City of Richardson. August 28, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
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