Downtown Rowlett — Local services in Rowlett

I love using the DART Light Rail. It gets me to downtown fast, and I do not have to worry about traffic. I can just ride to work and watch Netflix or read a book. However, the security at this station is horrible!!!! I sold my Honda Civic during the pandemic, because I was working from home so much and had no need for a vehicle. Fast forward 2 years, and my Company wants us back in the office in downtown Dallas. I try to do the smart thing and buy something cheap and reliable from point A to Point B, so I buy a Vespa Scooter. I had no problems parking it at the DART Rowlett station for over 7 months. About 3 weeks ago, I get off the train after work and someone tried to steal my Vespa (completely destroyed the ignition where it was no longer able to crank up), and I had to call a tow truck. The damage done was over $1,100. I asked the security guard if he saw anyone or heard anything, and his exact words "someone was waving me down, and I didn't think anything of it"....I was IRATE/LIVID !!!!! You are getting paid to provide security for the Rowlett station (which includes the parking lot), and on top of that someone alerted you and you did absolutely nothing. Now, my wife drops me off every morning and picks me up every evening. I enjoy being dropped off and picked up, but what I don't enjoy is the fact that I can't leave my vehicle at the station without worrying about it getting vandalized. I am going to buy a chain and see if that helps, but yeah...do not (I repeat DO NOT) count on security watching your vehicle. Additionally, the stations need more CAMERAS. My Vespa was literally right next to the bike rack (which other people told me their bikes had been tampered with/vandalized) and it still got vandalized. I noticed that there are now cameras on the light poles, so when I get my Vespa back I am going to chain it to the light post and "hope for the best". It is sad that I have thought about getting a gas guzzling 4 tire vehicle that gets 20MPG's, versus my 80MPG Vespa just so that criminals won't tamper with...

This is a pretty clean DART station. It’s very easy to commute downtown and to other places near DART rail stations.

My only beef is to get to the train you have to walk quite a bit as there is not an easy way to park to quickly access the train. There are three access points to the train but the middle one is blocked off when the train is there. The first access point is over by the bus drop off locations and the final location in the back of the station (closest to the turnpike)

If you are a Rowlett resident you can get a free parking pass at city hall and park in the closest spots otherwise you will have to park in the free general parking...

The only thing I hate about this station is the huge parking lot that goes under-utilized because it's reserved for permit parking, which you can only get if you can prove residency in a Dart-service area city. It's beyond frustrating to walk from the back of huge parking lot and pass a bunch of empty spaces on your trek all the way to the train platform. Even more so when it's raining. They should cut the amount of reserved parking in half because obviously most people are parking in the back because they are unable/unwilling to pay...