City News Roundup

Trinity toll road puffery paves the way for this week's Dallas city news roundup

Everyone was talking about the Trinity toll road this week; the topic was on everyone's lips. There was also some PAC action on the I-345. We channel Gilda Radner for our city-of-Dallas news weekend update:

Dream team preview
The dream team, now a dozen strong, assembled by Mayor Mike Rawlings to advise us local yokels as to whether or not the Trinity toll road is a good idea, shared a preview of its forthcoming analysis, and the news is great: Larry Beasley, the dream team's jury foreman, says that our traffic doesn't warrant a big six-lane road, and the panel will recommend "a meandering, four-lane road" instead.

Rawlings' response was that 1) he was glad they came up with the idea of a narrower, meandering road, and yet 2) he also fully supports the eventual construction of a six-lane toll road. It's all good!

What would Gilda say
Just two days before the dream team came out with their preview, the Dallas Business Journal provided an unfettered forum for the pro-toll road forces to promote the cause. Alice Murray, president of the Dallas Citizens Council, wrote an impatiently titled essay called, "Let's get on with the Trinity Parkway toll road," and to get the full effect, it really needs to be read aloud in a Roseanne Roseannadanna voice.

"No matter how strong and well-conceived a plan to move Dallas forward is, there always seem to be a few naysayers who just don't want to see change happen," ~~Roseannadanna~~ Murray says.

The essay has a number of features: a bulleted list of benefits, because bullets convey authority; a pro-toll road website called ConnectDallasNow.com; and an "indeed," because every pompous treatise must have an "indeed."

I-345 PAC
A new political action committee was formed to advocate the tear-down of I-345, with some serious money raised and an all-star crew that includes D Magazine co-founder Wick Allison and former State Sen. John Carona. According to a release, the PAC launches with contributions of more than $255,000 and supports proposals made by urban designer Patrick Kennedy and entrepreneur Brandon Hancock, who co-founded the nonprofit A New Dallas, to recommend removing the freeway as it approaches the end of its lifespan.

The PAC hasn't begun endorsing candidates, because the deadline to file for the May 9 election is not until February 27.

Big wheels
Following a pattern of oblivious disregard for local flora and fauna, the City of Dallas claims it is not responsible for decimating a plot of land in the McCommas Bluff Nature Preserve. The decimation was first noted on the Dallas Trinity Trails blog, who had before-and-after photos taken on April 19, 2014, and February 8, 2015. "The devastation is wholesale to a wet meadow area known for spectacular wildflowers," said author Ben Sandifer.

But a city spokesperson said that the damages were due to "stolen contractor equipment which was taken to the site to be vandalized and abandoned." A John Deere tractor belonging to a company named Cowboy Sewer was reported missing over Thanksgiving weekend. But by February 11, when the Dallas Water Utilities department went to investigate, the tractor was no longer there.

Is it really that easy to move a tractor around undetected? So confusing.

Ta-da: The latest rendering of the Trinity toll road, this one without wind turbines.

Courtesy photo

Ta-da: The latest rendering of the Trinity toll road, this one without wind turbines.

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Time Change

Senator files bill to let Texans vote on canceling daylight savings

The Dwell Store

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A Texas state senator has filed a bill to allow Texas to vote on killing daylight savings.

Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) filed Senate Bill 2029 (SB 2029) and Senate Joint Resolution 67 (SJR 67), giving Texans the opportunity to decide whether to observe Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time (DST) year-round through a statewide referendum in the November 4, 2025, General Election.

“For years, Texans and Americans have debated clock changes, questioning their impact on health, safety, and the economy,” Bettencourt says in a release. “This bill puts the decision in Texans' hands, just like Arizona and Hawaii, allowing them to choose the time standard that best suits our state's unique needs.”

His timing is right on, since Daylight Savings time is on March 9 — a day when all Texans will lose an hour of sleep and have difficulty readjusting to their new brutal workday hours come Monday moning.

Key Provisions of SB 2029, SJR 67:

• Statewide Referendum: Texans will vote on November 4, 2025, to indicate their preference for either, observing Standard Time year-round, or DST year-round.

• Implementation Based on Majority Vote:

• If the majority votes for standard time, Texas will exempt itself from federal DST requirements.

• If the majority votes for year-round DST, Texas will adopt DST only if Congress passes a law allowing states to make this change.

• Applicability: The decision will apply to all portions of Texas that currently observe either Central Standard Time (CST) or Mountain Standard Time (MST).

• Constitutional Amendment Requirement: This bill takes effect only if the 89th Texas Legislature passes a constitutional amendment authorizing the referendum.

“Texas families and businesses deserve the opportunity to voice their preference on this matter,” Bettencourt says. “SB 2029, SJR 67 ensures Texas’ approach to time observation follows the will of its people, because I for one, would like to have one time a year, regardless what time is chosen.”

SB 2029 will move through the legislative process, where it will be considered by the Texas Senate and House of Representatives. If passed, Texans will see the referendum question on their ballots in the November 2025, General Election. If approved by voters, the chosen time standard would take effect January 1, 2026.

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