u/HJAC

I've been toying with a proof-of-concept for improving the "Report problem" feature on the GoPass app. While the official app's current plain form is quite simple, it results in lost time going back-and-forth with dispatcher over several minutes of rote Q&A: Which train has someone smoking? In which section? Which station are you heading towards? Are they still on the train now? Are you still there? Usually you or the offending person have moved on before the report is truly complete.

One of several ideas I'm playing with is a simple interface for touching the traincar where an incident occurs (e.g. someone smoking). My bigger idea is to use GPS to automatically deduce which train you're on and where you're headed. From there, one of the last steps is to pinpoint the section of train where the offender is located.

Early prototype of traincar selection screen.

My first instinct was to render a train horizontally because (A) that's POV we normally see trains from, and (B) it's easy to find graphics of SLRV side view. But I ran into multiple problems with this approach:

• It's a tight fit in portrait mode
• It's even tighter fit for 3-car consists
• Where is the "front" of train: left or right? Sure, I could choose arbitrarily, but what if the app shows left as the front but from real-life observer's perspective the right is the front? Or vice versa? Or what if reporter is among 15% population with left-right confusion?

SOLUTION: Draw the train vertically, with the front at the top. We could take this concept even further with a seating diagram similar to what airlines use when you're booking flights (see below).

Alas, this brings me to my request: anyone have such a chart handy for the triple-section DART SLRV? While we're at it, bonus points for other trainsets in DART network: Stadler FLIRT (Silver Line), TRE (plus side cross-section so we can have users touch top or bottom deck), and DCTA A-Train.

https://preview.redd.it/ufthayv8irkh1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=eec5653a5cb3b17adc35f204119befc78096e2f7

Join us for our first hyperlocal conversation in the Redbird neighborhood! Everyone in Redbird / South Oak Cliff / southern Dallas County is welcome! A hyperlocal conversation is a neighborhood-specific monthly gathering where neighbors discuss ways to improve walkability where we live.

For our first conversation, we're starting with the basics: why is walkability so important? What's the big deal? You'll learn about the "General Theory of Walkability", which outlines four essential conditions that must be met for a walk to be favored: it must be useful, safe, comfortable, and interesting.
We'll talk about the neighborhood's strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities when it comes to walkability in the Redbird area.

GUEST SPEAKER: Devin Wilmott Johnson, Project Manager for the RedBird Public Improvement District (PID), will give an introduction to the Redbird PID:

• What is a PID and how does it work?
• Why and how was RedBird PID started?
• What is the PID working on?
• How can neighbors and stakeholders get involved with the PID?

Tonight's the night!! Please RSVP on our Meetup page to let us know you're coming. We also have a few more volunteer slots to fill, and they're all easy stuff: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0444ABAC2FA6F9CE9-64861823-bimonthly

We have an exciting lineup tonight with many things to go over, so please aim to arrive on-time so you don't miss out on any of it! See updated description on Meetup for full lineup of guest speakers.

Hey everyone! It's mixer time again this Sunday! In addition to RSVPing on Meetup as usual, please signup to volunteer using the Signup Genius link if you can.

Our events involve many small tasks that are easy to do yet are a lot to juggle when we only have 3 or 4 volunteers. Whether you're avaiable for the entire mixer, or plan on leaving early, or arriving late, or even virtually, there are ways anybody can help! Please help us fill our volunteer roster before Sunday so we can have another great time together at our bimonthly mixer!

Here are the available roles. See more details about volunteering on the signup page.

• Bring laptop for slideshow 4:30 PM to 6:45 PM (1)
• Bring laptop for livestream 4:30 PM to 6:45 PM (1)
• Bring microphones + loudspeaker 4:30 PM to 6:45 PM (1)
• Bring laptop/tablet for check-in station 4:45 PM to 7:00 PM (1)
• Setup room 4:30 PM to 5:00 PM (2) Hang posters, setup check-in station, and arrange tables and chairs. Volunteers will receive a checklist at the start of the shift.
• Setup audio/video equipment 4:30 PM to 5:15 PM (2)
• Attend check-in station 4:45 PM to 6:30 PM (1)
• Usher for elevator access 4:45 PM to 7:00 PM (1) Be ready to escort guests to the elevator as needed. From 4:50 PM to 5:30 PM attend the front-door upstairs. After 5:30 PM be downstairs monitoring your phone for assistance requests.
• Usher for speakers 5:20 PM to 6:30 PM (1) Escort guest speakers to assigned seats when program starts, especially for speakers who arrive late. Make sure they have water. Operate the speech clock, give hand signals when time is up.
• Photographer 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM (1)
• Operate laptop for slideshow 5:15 PM to 6:30 PM (1)
• Operate laptop for livestream 5:15 PM to 6:30 PM (1)
• Operate camera for livestream 5:15 PM to 6:30 PM (1)
• Monitor livestream sound and video quality 5:20 PM to 6:30 PM (1) Volunteer can be virtual for this role.
• Cleanup audio/video equipment (1)
• Cleanup room 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM (2) Gather posters and any other printed materials, reset tables and chairs, gently encourage guests to take conversations upstairs after 7:00 PM

See Dallas Urbanists cited under "Education, enforcement or infrastructure?"

Follow-up to article from 2 weeks ago about the project at Preston/Royal. But also contains ideas and concepts that can apply to any neighborhood.

Please take 3 minutes to comment on amendments to the Master Bike Plan, including one that removes the protected bike lane on Maple Ave, the most dangerous road for pedestrians in Dallas.

I just read news about how this week, Chicago Bears are moving and building a new stadium across state lines in Hammond, IN.

In Dallas, similar story played out with our NBA and NHL teams both moving out of downtown to distant suburbs along the tollway with no access by rail.

We've seen this pattern happen across the country for decades: cities race to the bottom to convince sports franchise to move despite minimal infrastructure, city spends the next two decades paying down stadium debt and building infrastructure for stadium, franchise leaves for younger city.

It's always lose-lose for both cities.

City code obviously can't stop this.

State law can't stop this, as franchises have long demonstrated willingness to cross state lines.

Federal law is the only way to stop this; it levels the playing field everywhere.

Cities would still need to compete, but this forces them to do so by racing to the top instead of the bottom. If there's no cost savings between cities A and B, then it would make no financial sense for a franchise to choose the city with lower population and less infrastructure. It may even eliminate the incentive to move and build anew in the first place.

I imagine such legislation would need to concessions to be politically viable. Perhaps an exception could be made for high school and college institutions. While arguably less ideal than an absolute ban, at least schools are far less likely to change cities. It may even be a boon for them, as it creates an incentive for pro teams to seek partnerships with universities to share facilities.

What do you all think?

THIS MONDAY — less than 3 days away!

Less than half the seats are left, so if you want to go, get your ticket now!

Also, the listed 5:00 p.m. start time is for mingling and cocktail hour. The actual program begins at 6:30 p.m.

Does anyone have a recommendation for train simulator games and DLCs that demonstrate:

• Railyard layout, passenger and freight operations between 1870-1930 (i.e. from formation of railroad towns to golden age of rail) -- I'm interested in this because when I look at old maps of Dallas and surrounding suburbs, the rail network clearly had a huge impact on the road layout. And wandering around downtown one finds remnants of the old rail system all over. But I have a hard time wrapping my head around how train traffic worked. Like, how did locomotives turn around? Where were the turntables? How did buildings with rail sidings work? How did people load/unload cargo back in the day? The random abandoned platforms, buildings, and tracks sprinkled across Dallas, what were they used for? Etc.
• Modern freight rail & intermodal operations (i.e. how freight rail works today) -- Looking at satellite view of industrial areas in Northwest Dallas, Addison, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Garland, etc, I still see warehouses with rail sidings. Are those still being used? If so, how? How do the railyards in West Dallas and Joppa work? Of all the transportation modes in Dallas, freight rail still mystifies me.

For reference, I've played a lot of Cities: Skylines and Transport Fever 2. Both games have mechanics for railyards, maintenance depots, stations, cargo terminals, intermodal, etc. But both games hand-wave when it comes to mechanical details: trains magically flip around on their own, cargo magically appears/disappears on vehicles, and all vehicles magically fit in their respective depots. I want to a train sim that shows me how all these rail functions take place so I can understand why the network is shaped the way it is today.

From page 28 of linked presentation:

Community Meeting #2

Meeting Goals: View and refine mobility hub features and amenities.

Format: Open house, allowing community members to come and go as it is most convenient to their schedule.

Buckner/John West Study Area

• When: June 23, 2026
• Time: 5:30-7PM
• Location: Harry Stone Recreation Center

Red Bird Study Area

• When: June25,2026
• Time: 5:30-7PM
• Location: Singing Hills Recreation Center