Arapaho Center station

Arapaho Center station (formerly Richardson Transit Center) is an intermodal public transit station in Richardson, Texas. Operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the station services DART's Red Line and three bus routes. During peak periods, the station also services the Orange Line.^[1] The facility is DART's main bus transfer center in Richardson and includes an indoor waiting area.

Arapaho Center
DART light rail station
Northbound train at rail platforms
General information
Location	1051 North Greenville Avenue[1] Richardson, Texas
Coordinates	32°57′49″N 96°43′22″W
Owned by	Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Platforms	2 side platforms
Connections	DART: 238, 243, and 244
Construction
Parking	1,121 spaces[1]
Bicycle facilities	4 bike lockers,[2] 1 bike rack
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	August 27, 1990 (1990-08-27) (bus)[3] July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01) (rail)[4]
Services
Preceding station Dallas Area Rapid Transit Following station Spring Valley toward Westmoreland Red Line Galatyn Park toward Parker Road Spring Valley toward DFW Airport Orange Line (peak-hour only)
Location

The station is located at the intersection of Greenville Avenue and Arapaho Road, one block east of North Central Expressway (US 75). It services the Richardson Civic Center complex and the southern portions of Richardson's Telecom Corridor, including facilities for Honeywell and Verizon.^[1] A bus route at the station provides service to the University of Texas at Dallas.

Station

Arapaho Center station consists of both a bus transfer facility and a rail station, which are located on opposite sides of Greenville Avenue. The bus side of the facility includes a large parking lot, two air-conditioned waiting rooms, and restrooms.^{[citation needed]}

A short pedestrian tunnel under Greenville Avenue connects the bus and rail platforms.^[4] A street-level signaled crosswalk is also available. At the bus-side entrance to the crosswalk is an 8-foot (2.4 m) reproduction of Hans Van de Bovenkamp's sculpture Gateway and matching benches.^[5]

History

Richardson Transit Center

DART first began bus service to Richardson in 1984 with an express bus route to Downtown Dallas. The route used Richardson Terrace Shopping Center as a temporary park-and-ride lot.^[6]

In 1989, DART broke ground on Richardson Transit Center, a $2 million parking lot and indoor waiting facility that would replace the Richardson Terrace park-and-ride. The facility opened the following year on August 27, 1990.^[3] It was the fourth indoor facility to be built by DART,^[3] after South Irving Transit Center, North Carrollton Transit Center, and West Plano Transit Center.

Arapaho Center

Original plans for the rail platforms at Richardson Transit Center called for a signaled pedestrian crosswalk to the parking lot and bus facility. Due to safety concerns, DART and the city opted to build a tunnel between the two platforms. The construction of the tunnel also led to improvements to the Arapaho/Greenville intersection, such as the addition of turn lanes.^[4]

On June 29, 2002, DART held an event, Super Saturday, at Arapaho Center and Forest Lane station to celebrate the Red Line's next extension, which would run from Park Lane to Galatyn Park. The extension, which included Arapaho Center, was officially inaugurated the following Monday.^[7]

When its rail service opened, Arapaho Center was the northernmost Red Line station with a park-and-ride lot, which resulted in the station's lot regularly exceeding capacity on workdays.^[8] Parking concerns at Arapaho subsided in December 2002 following the Red Line's next extension, which added two more park-and-ride stations (namely Bush Turnpike and Parker Road) to the line.^[9]

References

1. "Arapaho Center Station". Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
2. "Bicycle Parking". Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
3. "Metro Report - DART to open Richardson Transit Center today". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. August 27, 1990. pp. 14A – via NewsBank.
4. "DART pedestrian path a step away from opening - Residents may use tunnel linking Arapaho transit, rail sites July 1". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. June 13, 2002. pp. 1R – via NewsBank.
5. Post, Sarah (July 4, 2002). "Standing 'O' greets rail riders - Sculpture near DART's Arapaho center station is a visual gateway". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 1R – via NewsBank.
6. Myerson, Allen R. (September 16, 1984). "DART begins new express routes Monday". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 37A – via NewsBank.
7. Post, Sarah (June 27, 2002). "Events to mark changes rolling into town - Residents to celebrate light rail's arrival, new home for Wildflower!". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 1R – via NewsBank.
8. Post, Sarah (June 18, 2002). "DART ignites space race - Parking lot overflowing at Arapaho". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 1R – via NewsBank.
9. Post, Sarah (December 26, 2002). "Expansion eases light rail parking crunch - With new stops, more spaces, shortages at Arapaho station lessen". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 44A – via NewsBank.

External links

• Dallas Area Rapid Transit - Arapaho Center Station