A new survey by the Texas Rangers shows fans favor adding public transportation to the new $1 billion ballpark.
According to the survey, 36 percent of those responding said mass transit was the best way to improve the “travel and parking” experience.
Other solutions — like more parking, better ingress/regress, and a shuttle service — were far down on the list.
Arlington has been criticized for years for a lack of public transportation.
One fan from Richardson said he can easily travel to Dallas Stars or Mavericks games but has no options when he comes to Arlington to a Rangers game.
"It's a shame that this ballpark is so nice," he said. "But it's so hard to get out here, especially during the weeknights during the year. It's awful."
“We don’t have mass transit here and it’s something on everyone’s lips these days,” said Arlington council member Roxanne Thalman.
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The problem is funding, she said. Public transportation projects have been turned down three times by voters.
A large-scale bus service is not in the cards for Arlington, Thalman said.
She suggested the answer is in new technology like ride-sharing or even driverless cars.
"The old systems that have worked for our surrounding cities are probably not solutions that we're looking at," she said.
Fort Worth also is grappling with how to pay more for public transportation — a key requirement in Amazon’s search for a city to build a huge new headquarters.
Some city leaders in Fort Worth are pushing a regional approach to transportation funding, which likely would include Arlington.
