As the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) develops Mobility 2050, its long-range transportation plan for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, public input is being gathered on accessibility to jobs, healthcare, education, and healthy food.
From November 2023 to June 2024, NCTCOG received 340 Map Your Experience comments and heard from 2,126 survey participants. Analysis shows that only 35% of respondents feel roadways fully meet their job access needs. While transit is the preferred mode for job access, only 7% of participants report their needs being met via transit. For accessing healthy food, walking and biking are preferred, but only 31% report their needs being met by these modes.
Top public concerns include roadways not keeping pace with growth and a lack of a robust transit network. The 2050 demographic forecast projects that the Dallas-Fort Worth area will exceed 12 million people in 25 years. Population growth is extending into suburbs, leading to longer commute times. Vehicle hours spent in delay are expected to rise 144% by 2050, with the annual cost of delay reaching $32.3 billion.
To address these challenges, one potential solution is promoting mixed-use, higher-density communities to shorten commute times and encourage development around public transportation, healthcare, education, and healthy food. By 2050, only 37% of the population will live in areas served by transit, down from 48% in 2019, according to NCTCOG data. This underscores the need for multimodal solutions, such as passenger rail, to serve expanding areas. NCTCOG is collecting input for the plan through the end of the year. For more information or to provide feedback, visit nctcog.org/m50.
