City News
Bird casualties downtown make this a somber edition of Dallas news
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?
