Light rail facilities will give Denton County a leg up on other suburban counties, a gathering of officials told a Western Days audience celebrating the groundbreaking of Denton County Transportation Authority passenger station in east Lewisville. They praised municipal, county and state leaders for foresight in developing transportation alternatives that will increase mobility while reducing fuel use and air pollution. Major speakers at the event included State Senator Chris Harris, State Rep. Burt Solomons, Lewisville Mayor Dean Ueckert and Charles Emery, chairman of the DCTA Board of Directors.  The occasion was the DCTA groundbreaking ceremony for the Old Town Station of the A-train rail line through Denton County.  The facility, at 617 E Main in Lewisville, will be one of five light rail stations planned in Denton County. Groundbreaking has already taken place for two other stations, one at MedPark and Colorado on the south side of Denton and another Lewisville station, Hebron, under construction on Lakeside Circle.  Other light rail stations will be at Highland Village/Lewisville Lake and one in downtown Denton. They will connect with DART in Carrollton.

     Emery likened the construction of light rail in the county with three other construction projects that shaped modern development of Denton County: Lewisville Lake and Lake Ray Roberts; Interstate 35; and the Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge, connecting Little Elm with Lake Dallas. Harris and Solomons praised the leadership and untiring efforts of Emery, noting that while all suburban counties in Texas could have chosen to participate in state programs for light rail, so far only Denton County has a leadership team to formulate plans and construct facilities. "Without Charles Emery, none of this would be a reality," said Harris. Emery, in turn, thanked the veteran legislators for clearing a path for the program in Austin. Denton County light rail service is expected to begin in December 2010. At that point, local residents will be able to connect with DART light rail connecting them with destinations all over the metroplex, including DFW Airport, Love Field, American Airlines Center, State Fairgrounds, Garland, Plano and Irving.

     Moving from automobile to light rail transportation has potential to create annual savings of 1.7 million gallons of fuel and 65 tons of air contaminants, Emery said. The DCTA service plans include 21 miles of regional rail that will coincide with DART's opening the northern section of its Green Line. In an interesting historical footnote, the DCTA tracks will follow much the same route as the old Inter-urban rail lines that connected Denton and Lewisville with Dallas. The Denton-Dallas Inter-urban operated from 1923 until 1932. As with many businesses, it fell victim to bankruptcy during the Great Depression.