January 30, 1989
In northern Texas’s Collin County, a bus-only Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) station in the city of Plano was opened. This station is located at the intersection of West 15th Street and Coit Road, and it was built to improve access to public transportation for those living or working in the western area of the city. (At the time of West Plano Transit Center’s debut, there was already a similar DART station in place on the eastern side of Plano.)
During a ceremony that took place on October 12, 2009, the West Plano Transit Center was formally renamed after longtime city resident Jack Hatchell (1937-2008). A transportation engineer, Hatchell served on the Plano City Council between 1975 and 1985 and as a Collin County commissioner from 1986 until his death. Hatchell had played a key role in Plano becoming part of the DART system.
Jack Hatchell Transit Center’s amenities include indoor seating; vending machines; and restrooms. This station encompasses a total of eight drop-off/pickup areas for DART buses. Jack Hatchell Transit Center also has 815 parking spaces altogether. (The accompanying photo of the sign at this station’s main entrance was taken in 2012.)
Photo Credit: Hasteur (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)
Additional information on Jack Hatchell Transit Center (originally called West Plano Transit Center) is available at https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/0ED3D051E6E182B2&f=basic and https://www.dart.org/about/news-and-events/newsreleases/newsrelease-detail/jack-hatchell-transit-center-to-be-formally-dedicated-879
Transportation History 
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