On the brink of a vote about its long-term priorities, Dallas Area Rapid Transit is stuck in the middle of a fight between Dallas and the suburbs about where the money should flow first.

The full Dallas City Council passed a resolution Tuesday asking DART to focus on a downtown subway, bus service improvements and a streetcar extension through the central business district.

Not included in the city's list: the 27-mile Cotton Belt rail line that would cross Far North Dallas on its way to DFW International Airport from Plano. DART plans to accelerate the east-west rail corridor that has long been promised to Dallas' neighbors.

"I am not opposed to the Cotton Belt, but it absolutely shouldn't be prioritized above the transportation needs we have all over our city," council member Adam McGough told dozens of subway supporters who packed the council chambers.

DART officials have said the agency can tackle the suburban and downtown rail lines at the same time if it gets $650 million in federal funding to build the subway. The agency's board will decide whether to pursue both projects simultaneously when it votes on its 20-year financial plan later this month.

Some Dallas officials and community leaders are skeptical about the agency's financial forecast. They say the agency will weaken its financial position by trying to do both at once, hurting its ability to secure grant money for the second downtown rail line — known as D2.

The Cotton Belt will require $1.1 billion, most of which DART plans to take out in debt. Meanwhile, the subway version of D2 will have to get half of its $1.3 billion cost in federal subsidies or risk a delay of at least seven years, DART officials said.

Dallas doesn't control DART's finances, but it appoints seven of the 15 members in its board and shares an eighth member with Cockrell Hill. The financial plan needs 10 votes to pass.

Council member Sandy Greyson, an author of the Dallas resolution, said the document is a message to the whole DART board.

"Now they know that it was a unanimous vote for having D2 and bus service be the city's priorities, and we want them to be DART's priorities," she said.

Fulfilling promises

The Cotton Belt, whose debut had been delayed to 2035, is now scheduled to open in 2022. Suburban mayors say it's needed to respond to population growth in their communities and to improve the connectivity of the overall system.

The most vocal advocate of the rail line has been the town of Addison, which joined DART in 1983 and has yet to get rail. After sending more than $254 million in sales tax revenue to the agency, Addison officials are threatening to leave if the Cotton Belt keeps being deferred.

But some in Dallas say DART must first honor an agreement it made with the city in 1990.

At the time, the agency committed to begin planning for a downtown subway if the central business district reached certain ridership thresholds. DART officials say those numbers haven't been met yet.

Dallas City Council member Philip Kingston said that level of demand will never be met because of the way DART operates rail. All of DART's light-rail lines pass through downtown and share the same set of tracks along Bryan Street and Pacific Avenue. That limits the frequency of trips, and any problem in that corridor affects service in all routes.

"We know those trains on Pacific are full," Kingston said.

The chair of the council's transportation committee, Lee Kleinman, said he wants the Cotton Belt to be listed as a Dallas priority but decided not to press for it because he didn't think he had enough support. He said he voted for the resolution because he also agrees with the other priorities.

Kleinman urged his colleagues in the council to work with the suburbs on what they want so that D2 can be built as a subway. "One thing we have to keep in mind is that DART is a partnership," he said.

Last year, DART applied for federal funding for D2 as a rail line that was part street level. That setup now faces opposition because of its effect on properties and economic development downtown. Burying the line would allay concerns but double the construction costs.

Greyson said the downtown subway and improvements to the bus service will benefit the entire DART system, not just the city.

"We aren't being selfish here," she said.

Enhancing bus service

DART plans to roll out improvements to its bus service over a period of 10 years, but the city of Dallas thinks the agency can do better.

In its resolution, the council asks the agency not only to expedite better bus routes but to implement minimum standards for passenger service.

For example, Dallas suggests that DART rides be no more than twice as long as equivalent car trips and that rail stations in the city be within 3 miles of all service areas.

The council also wants DART to focus on reducing travel times from low-income areas to work centers, hospitals, education centers and grocery stores.

Several Dallas residents addressed the council about their difficulties getting to work or doctors' appointments using existing routes.

Pamala Burch, who lives near Paul Quinn College, now has a car and no longer has to travel nearly two hours in public transit to her job in Las Colinas. But what used to be her nightmarish commute has inspired her and others in Dallas to demand better service in the southern part of the city.

"Transportation is a major issue," she said Tuesday. "We shouldn't just be supporting downtown Dallas."