Photo by 13on via Unsplash.
The Dallas City Council approved a contract to begin work on bringing pedestrian improvements to one section of East Dallas.
City staff, stakeholders and the consultant — Kimley-Horn — will take on the schematic design process, where they will identify options and locations for improvements within the project area, bounded by North Central Expressway, East Lovers Lane, Greenville Avenue and East Mockingbird Lane.
Improvements may include traffic signals, sidewalks, crosswalks and lighting, for example, and will be focused on Greenville Avenue and Mockingbird Lane, a public information officer for the City of Dallas said.
This project is federally funded, with Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds covering 80% of the project; the program provides funds to states for transportation projects intended to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality.
City funds will cover the remaining 20% of the cost, and the total cost of the project is about $4.6 million.
Next on the timeline is getting approval from the Texas Department of Transportation to begin engineering design. The schematic design plan is expected to be completed by May 2024, and then the city council can authorize a contract for a detailed engineering design.
At least one public meeting will be held when the design is 75% complete, which will likely be late 2024 and early 2025, though it could shift based on project progress. City staff may schedule additional meetings ahead of then to gather community feedback, a city public information officer said.
But it will be a while before neighbors see any improvements. At this time, construction isn’t expected to begin until September 2025.
The construction on Skillman, though, should be finished soon.
