FORT WORTH -- On a recent morning, 16 people gathered at Diamond Hill Community Center in north Fort Worth to play loteria, a Spanish-language board game that resembles bingo.
When visitors asked how many of them would use commuter rail if a station were nearby, about 16 hands quickly rose. The game halted as residents wanted to learn more about the possibility of passenger trains serving their neighborhood."It would be good for us to get out to other parts of the city, instead of staying home and getting depressed," said Mary Aguirre, 76, a lifelong resident of north Fort Worth. "I would like to go to Grapevine, to go to the festivals, but I don't like to drive. If the train goes to DFW Airport, it would be nice for elderly people to catch a plane, which right now is difficult for us."But the Fort Worth Transportation Authority's attempt to build a commuter rail station on the north side has been challenging.The T is working to build TEX Rail, a 37-mile commuter rail line from southwest Fort Worth to Grapevine and the north end of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. The agency has applied for $415 million in federal funding for the $758 million project, but to qualify for the money the T must determine, once and for all, its station locations and complete preliminary engineering by early next year.The original choice for a site in north Fort Worth is not working out, and the agency is seeking a new one. A neighborhood station may not be ready by the scheduled opening of the rail line in 2016 -- and the TEX Rail trains may pass through Diamond Hill without stopping."It's probably a future station. It's probably not going to be open in 2016," said Curvie Hawkins, the T's planning director.To bring residents up to speed on the quest for a north Fort Worth station site, T officials plan to meet with residents June 13 at the Diamond Hill Community Center.Not the first problemThe challenge in north Fort Worth is the latest setback as the T and the city try to place TEX Rail stations in established neighborhoods.Disputes over property values surfaced at the proposed Texas Christian University-area station near West Berry Street and Cleburne Road and at the T&P Station near downtown.More recently, many residents opposed a proposed station serving the medical district from a site on Mistletoe Boulevard. A majority of Mistletoe Heights Neighborhood Association members voted against the site this year, saying they feared pass-through traffic, noise and other blights.The T is still planning the station, though, and will brief residents on the latest efforts June 11 at a meeting at St. Stephen Presbyterian Church.In 2008, when the T began putting together its draft environmental document for TEX Rail, the original plan was to serve the Stockyards area by placing a station at Decatur Avenue and 23rd Street, near a salvage yard and collision center.But a costly and time-consuming environmental cleanup involving spilled oil and fuel may be required for that area, Hawkins said.Another optionA second option would be a station about a quarter-mile north around 28th Street and Decatur, near Rodriguez Foods' tamale factory.But that site likely couldn't open until after the Texas Transportation Department finishes a railroad bridge over 28th Street, an estimated $8 million project that has no funding. The department is working to identify a funding source to build that bridge and two adjacent railroad bridges that would cost roughly the same.If funding is found, the work could begin as soon as 2016, spokesman Val Lopez said.The T may be able to pay for the bridge with some of its federal grant funds if the Federal Transit Administration awards the money, said Rob Harmon, the T's chief financial officer and TEX Rail project manager. If the funding comes through, the north Fort Worth station could be completed by the opening of TEX Rail service, or within a year of then, he said.Rosa Navejar, a T board member and president of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, grew up in north Fort Worth. She said it's vital for residents of the predominantly Hispanic area to have access to good-paying jobs."It gives an opportunity for individuals to get jobs at DFW Airport and in Grapevine," Navejar said.She also hopes the area can one day became more pedestrian-friendly and would like the T and the city to explore building a mixed-use retail and residential area.Ron Shearer, president of the Diamond Hill Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood supports the concept of a commuter rail station, although some residents have concerns that a transit-oriented development next to the station could hurt other area businesses.The main concern, he said, is that the neighborhood not get left behind as Fort Worth tries to connect residential and employment centers with mass transit."We've been given dates," he said, "and every time it seems to be delayed an extra year or two."Gordon Dickson, 817-390-7796Twitter: @gdickson