Debating the Trinity Toll Road Proposal in Dallas

The Dallas Morning News offered its editorial pages to opposing views on a proposal that would build a six-lane, tolled bypass to the west and south of the Downtown Dallas central business district, connecting Interstate 35E to U.S. 175. 

Voicing support for the project are Ron Kirk and Lee Jackson. Ambassador Ron Kirk is the former U.S. trade representative and former mayor of Dallas. Lee Jackson is chancellor of the University of North Texas and a former Dallas County judge and Texas state legislator. The supporting argument details three major points:

• The Dallas core's congestion problem is worsening and will continue to worsen.
• It's possible to build the toll road while creating and protecting open space opportunities along the Trinity River floodplain.
• A "balanced plan" approved by voters is the right plan to move forward with the project.

The opposing view is expressed by Robert Meckfessel, an architect with DSGN Associates, "actively involved" with the Trinity Corridor since 1998. Meckfessel argues that trends in mobility, demographics, and technology have rendered the transportation paradigms of the 20th century obsolete. According to Meckfessel, arguments in favor of the Trinity Toll Road assume that "our future will be very much like our past, with ever-increasing demand for automobile capacity on our roads."