Meetings of Interest 11: March 24, 2024

Meetings of Interest: Bond Boost 🚧

March 24, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 15 minutes

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Good evening:

A detailed list of proposed 2024 Bond Program projects published by City Hall Friday includes key Downtown Dallas priorities. Among them:

  • $15.6 million for a complete street project on Harwood Street from Woodall Rodgers to Main Street to install a two-way cycle track, as recommended in DDI's strategic 360 Plan for Downtown. The project would also include improvements to traffic signals, sidewalks, and pavement, as needed.

  • Nearly $7 million for a complete street project on San Jacinto Street, from Lamar Street to Ross Avenue. The project would reconfigure San Jacinto as a two or three-lane roadway with a protected two-way cycle track, as recommended in The360 Plan.

  • Millions of dollars more for street resurfacing and redesign, and pedestrian safety.

It is promising to see that DDI's advocacy and the good work of Downtown Council Members Paul E. Ridley and Jesse Moreno will ensure much-needed streets and transportation investment in Downtown through Proposition A. Downtown's celebrated Dallas Arts District will also benefit from much of the $75 million Arts Proposition E.

But only if you vote YES on all bond propositions.

That is why last week DDI's Board of Directors approved a $25,000 contribution to the bond campaign, the latest sign of our organization's unwavering support for all 10 propositions. We believe the $1.25 billion program will provide critical investments to support ongoing economic development, improved public safety, smoother streets, and a growing park system.

Learn more about the bond campaign at

. Early voting starts on Monday, April 22. Election Day is Saturday, May 4.

Read on for more on:

  • The latest plans for the trenching of Interstate 345 between Downtown and Deep Ellum.

  • A major change for online Dallas water bill payments.

  • What's next on plans to erect digital advertising kiosks on sidewalks in and around Downtown.

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⚡ Highlights From Last Week's Meetings of Interest:

Video via TxDOT.

-- State transportation officials last week released updated design concepts -- including the above "flyover view" video -- for the removal and trenching of Interstate 345, the elevated portion of highway that divides Downtown and Deep Ellum. The video and other updates came as part of two public meetings. DDI's Mobility Committee, led by DDI Board of Directors member Josh Shane, of AECOM, will convene in coming weeks to review the latest materials and provide detailed feedback consistent with Downtown priorities and our strategic

. The official public comment period ends on April 5. More information and full meeting materials can be found 

.

📝 Memos of Interest:

-- The City launches a new online payment system for water and other bills tomorrow, March 25, called DallasGo,

. If you live in Dallas and currently use autopay for water bills, you likely received the same mailer above that was sent to the Goldstein estate last week. Autopay users need to register on the new platform starting tomorrow. And because no major City of Dallas rollout can happen without at least some hiccups, the memo notes that 27,000 customers recently received emails about this change addressed to the wrong person. Learn more at

.

-- Tests showed elevated levels of E. coli in White Rock Lake and White Rock Creek as of a few days ago, following a City of Plano sewage overflow,

. More recent tests showed bacteria back to normal levels and recreation activities were once again allowed as of this morning,

.

-- Development Services Department officials are putting out more information about proposed building permit fee hikes,

.

-- Check out all the latest City Hall memos 

 and 

.

Meetings of Interest: March 25 - 29, 2024

Monday, March 25

🏡

City Council Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee, 9 a.m. Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

-- Data shows homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties continues to decline, even as it is trending in the other direction in major cities across the country.

notes a recent rehousing operation done in partnership with the DDI Homeless Outreach Team at an encampment near Routh Street and Woodall Rodgers. That effort rehoused nine people, including one person who experienced homelessness for nearly 20 years.

🤑

Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

-- Could Artificial Intelligence help Dallas get a handle on its building permit struggles? The committee will get

on AutoReview.AI's planning, zoning, and landscape review software.

Tuesday, March 26

🎭

 City Council Quality of Life, Arts, and Culture Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

-- Dallas Arts Month kicks off with a press conference this Wednesday at noon in the City Hall lobby. Learn more about what is planned for this annual celebration of Dallas artists and organizations

. On the evening of Friday, April 5, plan to join DDI and

for the third annual

, a curated video art program that merges art and technology in the public realm.

🚌

 City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

-- The committee will interview civic leader and political consultant

, the lone nominee for a vacant City of Dallas seat on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Board. The City Council is also expected to vote on Bryant's appointment the next day.

-- City officials are now starting a public input process regarding a potential program to erect digital advertising kiosks in the public right-of-way in Downtown and other parts of Dallas,

. A Request For Proposals was issued last year despite concerns from DDI, Uptown Dallas Inc., and many other organizations that were not consulted about where the kiosks would go, and how neighboring property owners would provide input, among other issues. City Council ultimately scrapped the first iteration of the program in response to the overwhelming opposition.

-- DDI's VP of Policy and Planning Evan Sheets is working with our partners in the City's Department of Transportation to finalize the scope for a $2 million federally funded greater Downtown master planning project.

, the scope will likely include: Streetcar operations and maintenance (O&M) revenue enhancement modeling; Impacts of the I-345 reconstruction option(s); and evaluation of City-owned surface parking lot usage and associated parking utilization options, such as parking garages.

⚽️

-- This special meeting is being called to provide an update on the 2026 FIFA World Cup and its impact on Downtown and the entire region.

.

🚴🏼‍♀️

City of Dallas Department of Transportation Public Meeting on Jackson Street two-way bike lane, 5:30 - 7 p.m., J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1st Floor, 1515 Young St.

-- City officials will discuss plans for a dedicated, physically separated bike lane on Jackson Street, connecting Harwood Park to the AT&T Discovery District, and linking to the existing facilities connecting the East Quarter to Deep Ellum. This project is a key initiative of DDI's 360 Plan, aimed at enhancing Downtown's connectivity and accessibility. Public support is crucial to improve Downtown's mobility options. Learn more.

🚌

 Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board of Directors, 6 p.m., Board Room, DART HQ, 1401 Pacific Ave., Dallas; Watch Live Here

-- The board is scheduled to vote on the agency's new strategic plan goals and objectives, as well as updated vision and mission statements. As DART President & CEO Nadine Lee often says, the overarching goal is to move DART from being a service that people sometimes use, to being a valued regional economic development and mobility asset. A hallmark of the new plan is to transform DART real estate assets into what Lee calls "fantastic spaces" for people to enjoy around transit hubs.

.

📜 Charter Review Commission, 6:30 p.m. Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

-- The Charter Review Commission will consider numerous proposals, including to increase City Council pay, grant City Plan Commissioners annual salaries, strip the independent Dallas Park Board of oversight authority, and require that all City department director hires be approved by City Council. An earlier proposal to put the park director under city manager oversight was voted down unanimously earlier this month.

Dallas Morning News

columnist Sharon Grigsby

.

Wednesday, March 27

Dallas City Council Meeting, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

--

expands the scope of a contract for more public engagement on the Dallas Bike Plan update, as was requested by City Council members. If approved, the contract with Gresham Smith would grow from a little over $817,000 to about $1.3 million.

--

directs the City's portion of Farmers Market Public Parking Garage revenues -- an estimated $53,000 annually -- to the Farmers Market Tax Increment Financing District for area improvements.

--

is acceptance of a $10 million state grant for design and construction of a planned new Dallas Police Department regional law enforcement training facility at the University of North Texas at Dallas in southern Dallas. This is the first tranche of $20 million allocated by the Texas legislature last year. DDI is among many organizations across Dallas in support of the new academy.

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is a proposal to increase numerous Dallas permitting and development fees to generate an estimated $22 million in annual revenues to support the Development Services Department operations. This proposal was punted from a December City Council agenda.

--

is appointment of a new Dallas member to the DART Board. It is expected to be Randall Bryant, as noted above.

--

is to receive comments on the Fiscal 2024-25 budget, which will be presented to City Council in August with a final vote in late September.

Thursday, March 28

🏘️

City Plan Commission: ForwardDallas Workshop, 9 a.m., Room 6ES, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

-- The workshop will cover the latest draft of an update of the

ForwardDallas

Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Check it out

.

Did we miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings?

.

Were you forwarded this newsletter?

.

Have a great week.

Best,

Scott GoldsteinChief of External Affairs& Government Relations

Downtown Dallas, Inc.

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