PRESS RELEASE
Brian Wilson
Arlington, Texas – The North Central Texas Council of Governments is hosting a public meeting to give people who live, work and go to school in Denton County a chance to provide input into how public transportation can meet their needs in the future.
The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8 at the Denton County Transportation Authority’s Downtown Denton Transit Center, 604 E. Hickory St.
NCTCOG has initiated the Denton County Transit Study to develop a comprehensive public transportation plan, focusing on areas of the county not already members of DCTA, which serves Denton, Lewisville and Highland Village. Dallas Area Rapid Transit and Trinity Metro also provide service to parts of the county, along with prequalified, demand-response services such as Span Transit.
The public meeting will provide residents a chance to share valuable information regarding transit use, needs, and ideas to improve service in one of the region’s fastest-growing counties. Denton County’s population was approximately 848,000 in 2018 and is projected to grow to 1 million by 2028, an increase of 18%.
Employment is forecast to grow by more than 10% over the same period. Long-term projections suggest the county will be No. 2 in the region in job growth by 2045 by percentage, behind only Hunt County. Denton County is also home to the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University.
A virtual survey being launched Sept. 1 will provide residents another way to share their thoughts on how public transportation can meet their needs. The survey takes a few minutes to complete and will be available on the project website, bit.ly/DentonCoTransitStudy through Sept. 23.
This study is funded by the Regional Transportation Council and follows separate studies of Collin, Dallas and Tarrant counties completed in 2021. After the completion of these studies, NCTCOG received a follow-up request from Denton County to study future transit needs.
To request accommodations for the public meeting, please call or text 469-626-8502 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.
About the North Central Texas Council of Governments:
NCTCOG is a voluntary association of local governments established in 1966 to assist local governments in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit and coordinating for sound regional development. NCTCOG's purpose is to strengthen both the individual and collective power of local governments and to help them recognize regional opportunities, eliminate unnecessary duplication and make joint decisions.
NCTCOG serves a 16-county region of North Central Texas, which is centered on the two urban centers of Dallas and Fort Worth. Currently, For more information on the NCTCOG Transportation Department, visit www.nctcog.org/trans.
About the Regional Transportation Council:
The Regional Transportation Council (RTC) of the North Central Texas Council of Governments has served as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for regional transportation planning in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 1974. The MPO works in cooperation with the region’s transportation providers to address the complex transportation needs of the rapidly growing metropolitan area. The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant and Wise counties. The RTC’s 44 members include local elected or appointed officials from the metropolitan area and representatives from each of the area’s transportation providers. More information can be found at www.nctcog.org.
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