City News

Bird casualties downtown make this a somber edition of Dallas news

These guys are not just sleeping.

Photo by Ben Jones

This week's roundup of Dallas city news is heavy on transportation, with lots of news about DART and some news about Dallas Love Field. Also some sad news about birds.

Here's what happened in Dallas this week:

Second airport entry
Dallas Love Field will host a virtual public meeting on Tuesday September 22, and it's open to anyone who'd like to try and pepper Mr. LoveFieldCEO with questions about the airport's Alternate Entry Analysis.

The airport is pushing the idea that having only one entry is "risky." But the options for where a second entry might go are limited.

They presented 11 options to the Park Board, but five were bogus and tossed out immediately. A preliminary plan by Dallas Love Field seems to show that a connector would run from Northwest Highway riiight across Bachman Lake. The plan depicts a possible exit but doesn't show what happens beyond airport property.

The meeting will be from 6-7:30 pm and you can register here.

Downtown DART line
Also on September 22 at 6:30 pm, the DART Board of Directors will conduct a virtual public hearing to receive comments on the proposed D2 Subway line, including alignment, grade separations, and station locations.

The project starts near Victory Park and travels through downtown to reconnect with the Green Line near Deep Ellum. It'll go underground between Woodall Rogers Freeway and I-345 on the east, running under Commerce Street.

Five new stations would be built: three subway and two at street level. The Deep Ellum station, currently at Good Latimer and Swiss, will be repositioned to Good Latimer and Live Oak Street.

The Orange and Green lines would shift to D2, leaving the Red and Blue on the original track, to allow room for the system to grow. Right now, trains are limited to stops every 15 minutes and during rush hour and events, a higher frequency is needed.

Written comments and emails received any time before the hearing is adjourned will become part of the official record. Submit via email to dartpublichearingcomments@dart.org prior to the public hearing, or snail-mail to DART Community Engagement - 7232, D2 Subway Service Plan Amendment Public Hearing, P.O. Box 660163, Dallas, TX 75266.

DART service is back on
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is restoring 90 percent of pre-pandemic service levels beginning October 19. They cut back both bus and rail service on April 6, reflecting a decrease in ridership due to COVID-19.

Service restoration includes 65 bus routes being restored to pre-pandemic service levels. A total of 7 core frequent bus routes, as well as all light rail train operation service, will move to 20-minute frequency until 7 pm on weekdays.

More information on the anticipated service change is on dart.org.

Dead birds
GreenSourceDFW is documenting dead birds in downtown Dallas that died during migration. The birds become disoriented by the city's bright lights and fly straight into buildings to their deaths.

In the past week, two dozen volunteers with Texas Conservation Alliance, a nonprofit wildlife advocacy group, have collected about 30 dead birds including warblers, hummingbirds, and orioles.

The group is part of the Lights Out Texas campaign, which aims to protect migrating birds by reducing light pollution.

The migration will last through the end of October. What would it take for downtown buildings to turn off their lights at night for 45 days?

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Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

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