For neighbors following the Gaston-Garland-Grand contention, this story will seem redundant. But, for the few unfamiliar with the battle of East versus West, this is what you need to know about Wednesday’s community meeting.
East Dallas has split into two factions over the Gaston-Garland-Grand intersection’s redesign. Some residents support Texas Department of Transportation’s preferred plan: a “Reverse T” intersection that sends two lanes of southbound Garland traffic onto Gaston Avenue. TxDOT representatives began meeting with property owners and other stakeholders to determine the design in May 2016.
Even though that plan had been agreed upon, members of the East Dallas Coalition of Neighbors are advocating for a T-shaped intersection that sends traffic south from Garland toward I-30. These neighbors fear that TxDOT’s preferred plan will dramatically increase traffic along Gaston Avenue. By 2028, about 25,750 cars are projected to travel down the road and could completely shut it down, coalition organizer Elizabeth Blackburn said.
About 50 people crowded into The Lot this past Wednesday for the meeting, which city councilman Philip Kingston and East Dallas Rep. Victoria Neave attended.
Meeting highlights include organizers proclaiming “We don’t need to yell,” because some attendees evidently never had to use inside voices in kindergarten. A handful of people couldn’t resist the urge to talk over each other. Kingston was the target of a few disputes.
On the subject of Kingston: he has seemingly developed a staunch opinion about the intersection’s redesign. When asked how he felt about TxDOT’s plan, he responded that he was “very much not OK with that.” Two community meetings were not enough time to consider residents’ feedback, he added.
Although a lot of the frustration was geared toward TxDOT, a representative was not in attendance. The one person who actually can influence what happens next is Neave, who quietly, and perhaps wisely, sat in the corner and took notes with a smile, regardless of the tempers flaring around her.
