We challenged people who live in neighborhoods adjacent to the Lakewood Shopping Center to spend two weeks using only their feet or bicycles to travel to the center and then tell us about their experiences. They also shared their favorite spots and how long it takes to walk to them.
Photo by Danny Fulgencio
Jennifer Fehmel
Swiss Avenue
“There is a lot of contempt on all sides of the road. From what I’ve witnessed, runners, cyclists and drivers all seem to be at odds, thinking the other should be the one to give in. It’s unfortunate that everyone is in such a hurry that taking a few extra seconds to avoid an accident is not worth the effort — and this applies to everyone on the road.”
Photo by Danny Fulgencio
Beth Lamb
Lakewood
0.3 miles and 8 minutes to Whole Foods
“I like walking in Uptown/West Village, but I wouldn’t actually want to live there. I like having a house with a yard, and I realize that the lower housing and retail density of our neighborhood means you have to walk farther to get places. Wider sidewalks, more shade trees, and better timed stoplights would help, as would having more interesting storefronts to look at. I enjoy walking through the neighborhood, seeing what’s new, much more than I like walking down Gaston, even though it’s faster that way.”
Photo by Danny Fulgencio
Nina Koch
Lakewood Hills
1.2 miles and 23 minutes to The Gingerman
“I’ve never understood why there’s a major street [La Vista] that cuts through a tiny shopping center. The speed at which people come through there is crazy, and for the drivers trying to cross La Vista or turn within the shopping center, they will do it at any means possible, which puts cyclists and pedestrians in danger. Then there’s the intersection at Gaston-La Vista — it’s a four-ring circus and you might get out alive.”
Photo by Danny Fulgencio
David Blewett
Lakewood Heights
1.0 mile and 19 minutes to The Heights (formerly Legal Grounds) for breakfast
“We just moved here in February after 15 years in the M Streets. We have six children, and thought that since Vickery dead-ended at Tietze Park that there would be no fast traffic. We were wrong. Every day and at all times cars speed from Abrams west towards Skillman — even though the park is in the way. (It is never from west to east.) We love East Dallas — love the people and the sense of community. The downside? More and more people have discovered our area, and there is no obvious solution to improve the infrastructure and accommodate these additional people/cars. Thus we have increasing numbers of people rapidly driving through our neighborhoods to get out to main thoroughfares.”
Photo by Danny Fulgencio
Brannon Burnley
Lakewood Heights
“There are not enough useful stores (like the Ace Hardware and UPS store, which were kicked out) to make Lakewood into a place where you can run errands, or enough interesting restaurants to make it an entertainment destination. It now seems way cooler to drive 20 minutes to the Bishop Arts District than to walk 5 minutes to Lakewood Shopping Center.”
Photo by Danny Fulgencio
David Roe
Lakewood Heights
0.35 miles and 5.5 minutes to Scalini’s
“I think it’s just a mindset, honestly. It’s just a deal where people in Texas just don’t walk. It certainly doesn’t seem fiscally responsible to do something that’s going to make it easier for people. You’ve just got to get out and walk.”
Photo by Danny Fulgencio
Leia Sellers Grady
Abrams-Brookside
0.4 miles and 10 minutes to Cock & Bull
“I think we’re the most detached, even as close as we are, because of the lack of sidewalks and because of Abrams. The speed limit is 40 [mph] there, so people go, like, 60 [mph]. You know it’s bad if we’d rather deal with the parking situation at that shopping center than walk.”
Photo by Danny Fulgencio
Katherene Hough
Lakewood Hills
1.3 miles and 24 minutes to Curiosities
“It’s kind of a trek to the Lakewood Shopping Center, and doesn’t that make me sound like a suburbanite? They would laugh at me in New York City. We love to vacation in big cities, love to walk, but here, you’re cutting through the golf course, and there’s just not a whole lot to distract you from the fact that you’re walking to that destination — you’re not walking past other businesses to check out, not running into other people walking to their destinations. I’m a Realtor, and I always talk-up how close we are to everything, and we are distance-wise, but it’s not like Uptown with that density of walkers.”
Gingerman: Photo by Danny Fulgencio
Matt Wood
0.6 miles and 10 minutes to Yummilicious with my girls or Gingerman to meet friends
Junius Heights
“A lot of people walk and bike around the neighborhood, at all hours. I take comfort in that level of activity. Walkers say hi, smile and are not as concerned about how fast they must get from A to B as drivers tend to be — myself included.”
See all stories for Dreams and reality: Lakewood Shopping Center
