Dallas Rail Trail Boosts Economy

Attracting more than 15,000 users on an average weekend, a former rail bed in Dallas has led property values in that area to leap by 80 percent. Read about the Katy Trail and links to the National Trails Training Partnership’s guide to rail trail success.

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What Happened?

Dallas houses the 3.5-mile concrete Katy Trail that winds along an abandoned railroad bed. The new path not only increases mobility for pedestrians and cyclists, but has increased economic activity along the trail.

The Goal

According to The New York Times, the Uptown neighborhood has experienced significant redevelopment and growth in the past 20 years. Much of the progress can be attributed to public improvement projects to encourage residential construction, as well as the implementation of the Katy Trail that increases access to green space and pedestrian mobility.

The Katy Trail can attract around 15,000 dog walkers, joggers and other pedestrians on weekdays through Dallas’ Uptown neighborhood, which is significant foot traffic from a business owner’s perspective. Uptown Dallas manages the area’s improvement district which has been leveraging $1.5 million annually to turn the neighborhood around.

More than 8,000 apartment units have been constructed in the last few years to support a growing millennial population flocking to Dallas to take advantage of employment opportunities. As this generation of consumers prefers locations with high walkability ratings, the Katy Trail further enhances the neighborhood’s appeal. With the new trail, housing developments and a booming business district, the apartment occupancy in Dallas-Fort Worth is around 95 percent. Property value in the Uptown neighborhood alone has jumped about 80 percent since 2006, the New York Times reported.

Moving forward, Dallas has $1.2 billion in projects under construction that include more office and residential properties. Friends of the Katy Trail continually raise money to support the lineal park and raise awareness of the green space local residents can enjoy. The group was originally formed when it raised $10 million in private funds and $10 million in matched government funds to build the trail and add amenities throughout. The ongoing Friends of the Katy Trail projects coincide those of the Dallas improvement district to spur accelerated growth in the region.

Follow The Trail

According to the National Trails Training Partnership, there are many strategies communities can test to leverage trail-based economic development programs at the local level. The partnership put together a handbook outlining the many ways trails can boost growth and support sustainable economic activity across the country.

The partnership’s handbook also lays out guiding principles for successful trail development and maintenance based on best practices from previous projects. These principles include:

  • Understanding what the local community has the capacity to maintain and what type of businesses residents are interested in attracting
  • Identifying target markets for economic growth and development based on trail characteristics
  • Establishing what the relationship will be between the trail system and existing members of the community
  • Selecting trailhead sites based on user markets, impact on the community and town boundaries
  • Build off existing markets and develop partnerships for long-term sustainability

Because new trail projects require significant planning and coordination between organizations, businesses, individual residents, developers and local governments, teamwork is essential and all goals must be agreed upon up front. Each trail-based economic development plan is unique to the needs and wants of the local communities and should be used to promote organizations while connecting nearby communities.

Path to Success

Gov1 has reported on many different local transit projects, particularly new rails-to-trails initiatives that make use of federal funding.

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