Plano South | June 2023

TRANSPORTATION UPDATES

A worker installs a new vinyl seat on a Dallas Area Rapid Transit bus.

COURTESY DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT

BY CECILIA LENZEN DART buses get interior upgrades

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coee—that’s the last thing you want to start your day with,” Shattles said. The new seats will make it easier to avoid situations like that, he added. DART vehicles began receiving new vinyl seating in May, and the process is expected to be completed in Novem- ber, according to a DART news release. Swapping fabric cushions with vinyl ones is “not a quick process,” Shattles said. The agency has set up a “con- veyor system” for buses to swap cloth seats out with vinyl ones when they pull into a station. The process takes about 30-45 minutes per bus, and the agency has a eet of 163 vehicles. The change does not include DART’s electric buses, which already have vinyl seats. DART is using on-board contract cleaning personnel to remove trash and debris aboard light rail vehicles throughout the day. Buses receive nightly cleaning, Shattles said.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit is replac- ing 34,000 fabric seat cushions with new vinyl ones across its bus eet. The change is meant to ensure a cleaner and more comfortable expe- rience for passengers, spokesperson Gordon Shattles said. “The long-term goal of this is to make sure we have a very clean system for all of our riders,” Shattles said. “A lot of folks were worried after COVID[- 19], [but] we want to make sure that our riders have a safe, ... clean and eective ride.” Previously, workers would remove dirty cloth seats in the evening and replace them with clean ones. Shattles said the vinyl seats will be wiped clean throughout the day. “I know as a passenger, when you come inside [a bus] where someone spilled their coee but it’s blended in so you sit down in a pile of

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Parker Road corridor intersection improvements Crews will be adding lanes to the intersections of A Parker Road and Coit Road, and B Parker Road and Alma Drive. Timeline: June 2023-January 2024 Cost: $2.9 million Funding sources: city of Plano, Re- gional Toll Revenue, Collin County

Custer Road repairs Crews will be making pavement and sidewalk repairs on Custer Road from Plano Parkway to 15th Street in both directions. One lane will remain closed to trac at all times, with a second lane to be closed daily between 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Timeline: June 2023-September 2023 Cost: $500,000 Funding source: city of Plano

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ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF MAY 30. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT PLNNEWSCOMMUNITYIMPACT.COM.

PLANO SOUTH EDITION • JUNE 2023