earlier this month, The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) had proposed a new commuter service along the State Highway 121 corridor, aptly called ‘Route 70’, which would run from Old Town Lewisville to Downtown McKinney! The DCTA presented this proposal to the Mckinney Urban Transit District on September 12, 2018.
Denton County Transportation Authority is working with area cities in Denton and Collin counties on a potential bus transportation service that would run from downtown McKinney to Lewisville’s Old Town with several stops in Plano, Frisco, and The Colony. The estimated one-way commute from McKinney to Lewisville is expected to be around 35 or 40 minutes with normal traffic conditions.
“The estimated one-way commute from McKinney to lewisville is expected to be around 35 or 40 minutes with normal traffic conditions.”
dCTA is looking at partnering with area ride-share services like Lyft or Uber which would accommodate the designated drop-off and pick-up locations in the proposed zones along the route.
The future of North Texas looks bright and prosperous
These proposed “Lyft zones” would include drop-off/pick-up locations in close proximity with other transportation services, such as the DCTA A-Train and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority and include destination points in McKinney, Plano, Frisco, The Colony and Lewisville. This new venture will give Mckinney residents affordable access to employment opportunities with Denton County, and vice-versa, without having to worry about traffic, car payments, tolls, gas, etc. This should bring tremendous opportunity and success for our region.
And let’s not forget about Uber’s Skyport (UberAir) which will be located in Frisco. Test flights should begin in 2020 and actually start operating the flying taxi service in 2023. According to Uber officials, their studies indicate a surprisingly large demand for the aerial ride-sharing program. The proposed concepts for the Skyport show that the smallest design could accommodate 52 flights per hour, with the largest concept at 1,000 flights per hour. UberAir indicate that it would be cheaper to fly than to actually take your own vehicle once all of their Skyports are functioning.
The accessibility presented in this proposal is quite significant when looking at other cities that have successful transportation systems. These cities prosper and grow due to a fundamental component that distributes people to and from different municipalities around the area. This elementary concept spurs economic impact in-and-around areas along the proposed route by bringing in outside money from other cities which is just one of the benefits to this development. The transportation commuter route alone is a tremendous asset to the area providing a backbone & support system to people that inhabit the region by providing additional options to get to & from where they want or need to go. The Future of North Texas looks bright and prosperous, and with continued transportation solutions and integration, it will attract those who want to come along for the ‘ride’.
Below are potential drop-off points for the proposed Route 70:
Plano
– Ohio Drive retailers (south of SH 121)
– Toyota Motor North American Headquarters
– FedEx headquarters
– NTT DATA, Liberty Mutual, Chase office buildings
– Granite Properties retailers and Hilton Hotel
– Shops at Legacy and Legacy West
– UPS office building
Frisco
– The Ford Center at The Star
– Future University of North Texas campus
– Hall Park
– Legacy-area retail
– Stonebriar Centre
– Preston Village shopping and hotels
– Dr Pepper Ballpark and Dr Pepper Arena
McKinney
– Downtown/town square (park and ride)– Craig Ranch
– Custer retail area
– Independence Parkway retail area
– Medical City of McKinney
– Collin County College
– Sheraton McKinney
– Baylor Scott & White medical area
– Coit Road retail area
The Colony
– Paige Road retail development and hotels
– Topgolf
– Main Street retail development and hotels
– Standridge Drive retail development
– Studio Movie Grill
– Grandscape, which includes Nebraska Furniture Market, Hard Eight BBQ, Lava Cantina, Rock & Brews, Cheddar’s and Mi Cocina
Lewisville Old Town Station
– Twisted Root, Prohibition Chicken, Cavalli Pizza
– Old Town city center and City Hall
– MCL Grand Theater
– Witherspoon Distillery
