Illustration by Jessica Turner.
Residents in District 14 met with Dallas City Council member Paul Ridley to talk about the state of the district.
Ridley began the Oct. 17 meting by highlighting a few initiatives and programs enabled through the budget, which was recently passed by the city council.
- The tax rate was lowered 2.75 cents per $100 valuation, the greatest decrease in about 40 years. “Just remember that when you get your tax bill,” Ridley said.
- The Dallas Police Department will be able to hire 250 additional officers.
- Through a $3 million program, the City of Dallas will be able to lease housing units and sublet them to residents who have housing vouchers or need affordable housing.
- Smaller nonprofits could be recipients of grants through a $1 million program, allowing them to hire personnel or scale operations. The grants, Ridley said, could help the organizations attract even more donations.
- More than $150 million was approved for street repairs, such as filling potholes. More expensive projects will be funded through the bond.
During the rest of the meeting, neighbors had an opportunity to ask questions.
The first issue raised was the status of the Gaston Avenue Corridor Study. About 700 public comments were submitted in a survey regarding the initial draft recommendations presented by the Dallas Department of Transportation.
There will be a briefing and then a new draft will be made, followed by another round of public comments.
One neighbor questioned whether the voices of East Dallas residents in District 14 were being heard in the Gaston Avenue study — specifically their opinions about eliminating free right turns and lowering speed limits.
But decreasing speed limits could nudge drivers to take neighborhood streets, as Kathryn Rush of the Dallas Department of Transportation said.
That discussion led right into a conversation about Richmond Avenue. The street redesign is nearly complete. Changes meant to address speeding and divert commercial trucks away from the neighborhood road include adding speed tables and bump-outs and creating a designated bike lane.
A few residents complained about the timing of the construction, noting that the lane dividers and bump-outs should have been painted or reflectors added as soon as possible so they would be visible to drivers.
Overall, Rush said, there’s still more work to be done, but improvement takes time.
Housing density was also discussed at the meeting. It’s clear that Dallas needs more housing. Some are advocating zoning changes to allow more duplexes and quadplexes in single-family neighborhoods.
“I have serious concerns about that,” Ridley said.
Rather, he recommends building high-density housing developments near thoroughfares and DART stations, in areas that can handle them.
Rudy Karimi, the district’s Park and Recreation Board member, spoke about the parks.
More than $43,000 from the 2006 bond has been provided to Junius Heights to improve the “triangle parks” on Abrams Road.
The department’s fund-matching program allowed local groups to take advantage of the $600,000 leftover from the 2017 bond to be used toward park- and trail-related projects. Of the 18 applications submitted across the city, 14 came from organizations in District 14.
Another fact about District 14: It has the highest population living within a 10-minute walk to a park of any council district.
Karimi also talked about some priorities he has for local parks, including improving playgrounds, adding more dog parks and skate parks, and creating spaces for racquet sports and indoor activities for seniors.
A couple of neighbors had issues with the requirements for reserving park facilities — mostly associated with fees and insurance. Karimi said he wants the reservation process to be easier, even as simple as ordering an Uber. But for now, neighbors just need to be better informed about navigating the process. And if needed, they should contact him for help.
Neighbors who missed this town hall have another opportunity to attend. A meeting is scheduled for 6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 26 at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library. Issues related to Downtown Dallas and I-345 will be discussed.
