Product Proposal & Calendar

Introduction and Statement of Purpose

My product will be a simulated proposal for the public transportation system, Dallas Area

Rapid Transit (DART) to introduce to the city of McKinney, Texas in order to bring more public

transportation to this beautiful city. The inspiration for this product that I will be presenting in

May for Final Presentation night, came from the research I conducted on the broad concept of

urban sprawl. Through the help of my mentor, Mr. Paul Grimes the McKinney City Manager,

among other experts in the field of urban development and urban sprawl, I will create a

simulated ​proposal for DART and McKinney, TX to combine their forces to bring the DART

buses over into a town that needs to have public transportation reaching into their city. This

proposal will incorporate man different aspects that urban sprawl can impact, such as population

fluctuations, job growth or job loss, and the need of more infrastructure to be built in a suburban

town surrounding a major city. Additionally, this will simulated proposal will help me

understand how different types of companies interact with local level of government, and further

my understanding of the complexity of maneuvering the pieces of a big project such as this to be

incorporated. As a city manager who made McKinney to become a city that stands out from the

rest, his advice and knowledge of the field of city government will help me create a proposal that

will be intriguing, yet unforgettable, and intelligent, yet simple for the people of McKinney to

understand.

My product will be the first ever attempt in city government. Through the interactions

with other companies, through the wisdom of what is tried and true from the men and women in
the McKinney municipal government, and through the help of other experts in the field of urban

development, I want to accomplish a goal that will put McKinney on the map for the use of mass

public transit coming from a major city. Likewise, as the fourth largest metroplex in the United

States, there are very few people (around 5% of people) using public transportation. This is not

because of the lack of it, rather that the rest of the people that reside in the DFW area use their

own vehicles to get to point A to point B, resulting in significant traffic times due to private

transportation. Therefore, I look to accomplish the art of negotiating tactics in order to convince

DART and McKinney why they should partner together, further my knowledge on the

implementation of policy, and working with other officials that work for Collin County or

McKinney, Texas. In general, I want this product to be a start, a potential for something to grow,

an actual future for the city of McKinney.

Review of Skills and Research

There are many parts to the research portion of creating the actual product due to the

impact that the simulated proposal could have if this became an actuality. I will need to consider

the budgeting (how much will it cost for the expansion of a city?) of how much it would take to

invest in DART, construction of more bus stops or separate railways from those that are already

existent, planning and zoning of where to put bus stops, those impacted by the investment into

public transit, the way the residents of McKinney feel about implementing this into their city,

and the city, state, and national laws that could help create more public transportation such as

this and fund this new of public transportation. Furthermore, I will be conducting interviews, via

phone or in person, with professors or other experts that specialize in urban development and/or

urban sprawl that can supply me with the scholarly knowledge that I do not have about this topic.
At the University of Texas at Dallas, a professor from the School of Economic, Political, and

Policy Sciences, Dr. Brian Berry, who specializes in urban and regional development. I plan on

conducting an interview with him to further the knowledge about the use of public and private

transportation in major areas like Dallas.

I want my product to resemble the uniqueness that is stated in McKinney’s slogan,

“Unique by Nature.” I want this proposal to illustrate the knowledge of the many departments

within this wonderful municipality. This proposal will be a beginning for public transportation in

many areas that are not for men and women that are 65 years and older or people with a

disability. Currently, McKinney, Texas has a taxi service for those that have the criteria in the

aforementioned, and not a great investment for public transit that could take different

demographic groups down to different locations across the Dallas area in a rapid manner. My

product needs to represent the city and the possibilities that come with having the Dallas Area

Rapid Transit system that will take individuals from McKinney, all the way to Dallas Love Field,

Dallas International, State Fair during October, etc. The target population that I want to target

through this product are persons 18 to 35, senior citizens, persons below the poverty line that

need the transportation to get around the city, along with many different groups that will need the

public transit for necessary purposes.

​Materials

All materials include but are no limited to:

● A personal laptop, or some form of portable technology in order to conduct research,

make phone calls, conduct possible phone interviews, and begin and continue editing for

the proposal.
 ● Resume/regular paper to print the proposals onto for the council members of McKinney,

Texas.

● Any materials that will be needed for travel in order to have in person interviews with the

experts in field of urban development.

Methodology

Research, lectures, and interviews with other experts in this specific field are going to be

crucial in the completion of the simulated proposal to have DART make its way into the streets

of McKinney, Texas. First, I will want to meet with more departments in McKinney city

government to expand my knowledge on certain aspects of general management. Then, I will

want to meet with certain professors from known colleges in the DFW area in order to receive

more in depth knowledge of how expanding a city horizontally can affect many variables, such

as public transportation in this instance. This will help me understand if public transportation

could be accomplished in McKinney, as it has been accomplished in neighboring cities like

Plano, Richardson, etc. The ten other cities that are involved with the DART system will be

notified of this proposal as well to see some insight as to why they decided to invest in a public

transit system that seems to work very well for the public. Likewise, I will want to contact

specific executive staff of the DART system that could help me comprehend the reasoning as to

why DART is a necessity in the Dallas area and the cities that surround it.

Next, I am going to contact more departments in the McKinney city government that

would be impacted if this simulated proposal were to come to fruition. These departments

include Public Works, Communications and Marketing, etc. Additionally, I would not want to

incorporate such a large system as the Dallas Area Rapid Transit to come to McKinney without
hearing what the public would want. In general, many economic developments are erected

without the public’s approval (unless there were to be a serious issue) through the Planning and

Zoning Commission, which I will also be contacting. Furthermore, I will want to start creating

the proposal for the council members to consider as a possibility to bring DART into McKinney.

I think that this would be a great idea, considering that about 8% - 10% of the total population

are below the poverty line. I also want to make this fiscally responsible for even the more

conservative council members to realize that this could be a great idea for McKinney to have,

other than the taxi system that they have currently.

Lastly, I want to finish the proposal with a bang. The last steps I have after conducting all

my research and interviews, is actually typing the proposal out. I want my mentor to go over

each section before I even continue with the next section of the proposal. I think this will create

more professional relationships with not just my mentor, but the other department heads in the

municipality. Likewise, I will write all the information out, just like this current proposal, in

order to secure a possible meeting with the council members. This meeting will incorporate a ten

to fifteen minute presentation over the effects of urban sprawl, and where I see McKinney

headed in regards to their urban development. I will print out about ten copies for the council

members to have personally, so that if this comes into fruition, the proposal for the actual

incorporation of DART into McKinney, will be in their hands. Finally, I will present all my

findings, research, interviews, and proposal on Final Presentation Night for all of my world to

see.

Calendar

● Week One (3/12-3/16)

 ○ Mentor visit with another department

○ Call TCU Professor for phone interview or in-person interview

○ Call UTD Professor for phone interview or in-person interview

● Week Two (3/19-3/23)

○ Complete the template or outline for proposal

○ Contact DART executive staff for phone interview or in-person interview

○ Research budgeting of McKinney

○ Contact Communications and Marketing Department for expanding message to

the public

● Week Three (3/26-3/30)

○ Research impact of DART on McKinney

○ Poll public opinion over DART

○ Mentor visit with mentor directly

○ Contact Planning and Zoning Commission to create a meeting for next week

● Week Four (4/2-4/6)

○ Formulate Statement of Purpose

○ Contact McKinney council members to see their opinion

○ Contact Public Works head to set up a meeting for the following week

● Week Five (4/9-4/13)

○ Contact an interest group that supports public transportation to receive their

opinion on this proposal

■ Environmentalists, pro-public-transit
 ■ Purpose: State and/or federal grants or funds that will be needed for

development of DART in McKinney

○ Meet with Public Works department to further my knowledge on their input of

this potential project

● Week Six (4/16-4/20)

○ Formulate Research into precise and laid-out details that are needed, and not that

of fluff

○ Formulate how long construction and public works would be involved in this

process

● Week Eight (4/30-5/4)

○ Incorporate my mentor with the methodology of having DART come over to

McKinney

■ Fiscally responsible necessities to continue with this proposal

○ Contact City Council to meet with me to hear my proposal for DART

● Week Nine & Ten (5/7-5/18)

○ Edit and correct any errors on the proposal

○ Showcase the proposal and all the research on urban sprawl and the development

of a society.