City News Roundup

Dallas rallies to help animal shelter with dog crisis and more news

Courtesy photo

This roundup of Dallas city news includes items about street closures, murals, a heartwarming success at the animal shelter, and more murals. Nothing about panhandling, though. Definitely nothing re: panhandling.

Here's what happened in Dallas last week:

Deep Ellum streets
Deep Ellum streets are being closed on weekend nights. Street closures usually commence during the summer but they're doing it earlier in response to bigger crowds in the area. These are being closed Friday-Saturday from 10 pm-3 am:

Main Street and Elm Street between Good Latimer and Malcolm X Boulevard
southbound side of Malcolm X from Indiana to Commerce
Pryor between Main and Commerce
Crowdus from Elm to Commerce

Dallas City Council member Jesse Moreno, who represents District 2 where Deep Ellum is located, calls it a pilot program and says they'll re-evaluate the closures weekly to ensure they don't affect businesses in the neighborhood.

DAS adoptions
Dallas Animal Services (DAS) sent out a thank you to the community for helping alleviate a dire shortage of kennel space at the shelter, by stepping up to adopt or foster medium and large-size dogs. Since issuing a plea for help on April 12, DAS has facilitated the adoptions of 241 dogs. Local rescue groups pulled an additional 39 dogs from the shelter and 63 dogs found temporary foster homes. "We are incredibly grateful to the citizens and rescue groups in our Dallas community for the actions they took to save lives this past week," said DAS Director MeLissa Webber in a statement. "Those individuals who adopted or fostered dogs, as well as those who volunteered their time, donated supplies, or even just helped spread the word were a part of this success."

Party lawsuit
The City Attorney's Office has filed a lawsuit, following an investigation into an incident on April 2 in which 11 people were shot and one was killed at a large outdoor event at 5050 Cleveland Rd. Filed on April 20, the lawsuit is against the property owner, St. John Missionary Baptist Church Inc. Dallas Texas, and the promoter, Germaud L. Lyons aka Bossman Bubba, to address violations of the Dallas city code. According to a release from the city, the party had no permit.

Median ban
An ordinance is under consideration by the Dallas City Council to ban pedestrians from being on traffic medians less than 6 feet wide, on roads without medians at all, and from so-called "clear zones" like bike lanes. People who stand on medians could be issued a Class C misdemeanor citation and fined up to $500 if the ordinance is approved. They're saying it's for safety and has nothing to do with panhandling, nothing at all, no siree.

Blues Alley murals
Blues Alley, the community mural project in Deep Ellum, is moving on to its next phase on Clover Street between Henry Street and Malcolm X Boulevard with works from LaShonda Cooks, Martell Holloway, Nick Anderson, Greg Contestabile, Jerod "DTOX" Davies, Will Heron, Denise Keeping, Selena Mize, Howard "Tex" Moton, Dora Reynosa, Haylee Ryan, and Daniel Yanez. Blues figures who will be represented include Wanda King, Whistlin' Alex Moore, Albert Collins, and Henry Qualls. Led by Dan and Cathryn Colcer in partnership with the Deep Ellum Foundation, the project began last year.

More mural action
The Creative Arts Center of Dallas (CAC) has partnered with the Dallas Arts District Foundation and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) to create a mural inspired by the recent and still on-view "Octavio Medellin Spirit and Form" exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. This mural will be painted live on the concrete steps across from Moody Performance Hall and the AT&T Performing Arts Center at the Changing Perspectives Block Party on Friday, April 29. This project was brought forth to activate the community around the celebration of the life and legacy of Octavio Medellin, an artist and educator who founded the CAC, and will be completed by artist Fred Villanueva, a graduate of Booker T who sits on the Booker T. Arts Advisory Council. The mural is currently in the planning stages. Fred will start within the month.

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Park news

New I-35 deck park in southern Dallas moves closer to spring 2026 debut

Courtesy rendering

Renderings for Halperin Park.

A massive deck park spanning Interstate 35E in southern Dallas is set to open in late spring 2026. Called Halperin Park, the five-acre community space has been under construction since 2017 and will be completed in two phases:

Phase One (finishing in late spring) will include the section from Ewing Avenue to Lancaster Avenue and will feature a pavilion, amphitheater, playground area, interactive fountains, a second level overlooking the Dallas Zoo and the highway, and a large event room for every dining and special events.

Phase Two (to be completed over the next five years) will add the park section toward Marsalis Avenue, with an additional pavilion and extra gathering space.

The project is being developed by the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation and built by the Texas Department of Transportation. Funding comes from the North Central Texas Council of Governments, as well as the private Halperin Foundation, which donated $23 million in 2024 and secured naming rights.

In January, the Dallas City Council approved spending up to $8 million to complete Phase One for spring completion.

The public-private initiative will create $1 billion in economy impact over the next five years, according to a study by UNT Dallas.

Rendering of Halperin ParkCourtesy rendering

A park with purpose
Developers say the park aims to integrate the west side of Oak Cliff, which was somewhat segregated with the construction of I-35 in Oak Cliff in the 1960s, leading to low-income communities and generational poverty.

The project started nine years ago, when the Texas Department of transportation planned a reconstruction of I-35 and began gathering neighbors’ feedback. The result was a plan to widen bicycle and pedestrian lanes in the service roads alongside the highway, and to build a deck over the highway between Ewing and Marsalis avenues, adjacent to the Dallas Zoo. (Similar Klyde Warren Park's "deck park" concept.)

While the project faced some skepticism at first, it later gained momentum as private supporters continued to join.

“Forty percent of the Dallas population lives in South Dallas, yet this segment only accounts for 15 percent of the tax base,” says April Allen, President and CEO of the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation, citing the opportunity to address the economic equality in the area through the development of the park and all the business it can bring.

Rendering of Halperin Park.Courtesy rendering

Neighborhood pride
For Allen, this project is personal. The Toronto-born executive first moved to Dallas 22 years ago to work at Neiman Marcus, after getting her engineering degree in Canada and her MBA at Harvard. Oak Cliff felt like the right place for her as an intown neighborhood, with a confluency of cultures, local pride and an entrepreneurial spirit, as she describes it. Her first Realtor told her Oak Cliff was “not the right place for her." Instead of choosing a different neighborhood, Allen chose a new Realtor.

She has lived on the same street in North Cliff since, now raising her two kids with her husband, an Oak Cliff native, whom she credits for her further understanding of the neighborhood, its roots and civic dynamics.

Under Allen’s leadership, Halperin Park is focused on a community-first approach that provides support to the neighbors through programs around health and wellness, after-school activities, local food trucks and markets, and educational workshops to help expand homeownership and financial acumen.

To highlight the history and culture of Oak Cliff, they will feature an annual Walk of Fame, lifting up the stories of those who contributed to Oak Cliff history, with the first one happening as part of the inauguration of the park, organizers say.

They will provide their own 24-hour security team to ensure a safe place for families and kids, with clean and well-lit crosswalks.

Given their proximity with the zoo, parking will be available on the East side of the park at the zoo site, with a walkway to the park. They are working on parking options for the West side.

“We want to create a space for community growth and more business in the area," says Allen. "We are already seeing this come to life with projects such as East Dock, and we are excited for future investment that the park will bring."

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