City News Roundup

High times for weed fans and other Dallas news

With Texas-OU weekend here, it's a busy time in Dallas, capping off a brisk week of news and events. Just so you don't miss a thing, we've culled the high points below. And we do mean high points.

Good news if you like weed
Dallas County is devising a policy that would lower the punishment if you're caught with a small amount of marijuana. Instead of being arrested and sent to jail, you'd only get a ticket and have to go to court. This would reduce the number of people in jail and free up police time. They hope to launch a pilot program in 2015.

Trinity Toll Road Boondoggle
North Central Texas Council of Governments director Michael "Boondoggle" Morris has come up with a completely unexpected new defense for the Trinity Toll Road: It would increase development on small streets in West Dallas and Oak Cliff. "We think that by providing accessibility, we too are increasing economic development," he said, using the Royal We.

Ignoring the toll road's plummeting popularity, Morris is lobbying to give the Texas Department of Transportation permission to do it with a private partner by asking the Regional Transportation Council to add the road to a federal list of projects seeking private investments.

Merry Christmas to Delta
Facing the threat of a lawsuit by Delta Air Lines, Dallas extended the amount of time the airline can stay at Love Field, from its original two weeks to January 6. Delta will get to share one of Southwest's gates.

Look out, East Dallas
Encore Multi-Family is plotting an apartment complex at Swiss Avenue and Peak, in what is now a Bank of Texas building. The building will be five stories tall with 253 units. Other complexes already in the works include Trammell Crow's 368-unit Ross Avenue and Greystar's 424-unit Elan City Lights at Good Latimer and Live Oak.

Happy trails
The Dallas City Council approved a $3.5 million contract to build a mile-long bicycle trail plus two bridges near the Great Trinity Forest. The city has so far been a less-than-successful steward in its construction of the Trinity Forest golf course, having dug a big pit, drained a pond and cut hundreds of protected trees.

This will get you a ticket instead of go-directly-to-jail card.

Redheaded Blackbelt

This will get you a ticket instead of go-directly-to-jail card.

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E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

Unsplash

Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

politics