City News Roundup

City manager candidates line up and more trending Dallas news

Dallas city manager A.C. Gonzalez is about to retire.

Photo courtesy of City of Dallas

Dallas is interviewing for a new city manager, and former police Chief David Brown has a new gig. Here's what happened in Dallas city news this week:

City manager candidates
The city of Dallas released the names of five finalists for the vacant city manager position, as follows:

T.C. Broadnax, city manager of Tacoma
Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley, president and CEO of JLB Group
Maura Black Sullivan, COO of Chattanooga, Tennessee
Mark McDaniel, the city of Dallas’ assistant city manager
Jim Twombly, director of administration and city manager of Tulsa

A.C. Gonzalez, the city’s current city manager, is retiring in January. Gonzalez was appointed as interim city manager in 2013, and accepted the position in January 2014 after the city council unanimously approved him.

Mayor Mike Rawlings told CBS-DFW that more than 100 people applied for the job.

The candidates will take a tour of Dallas, hosted by city staff on December 5. On December 6, they will interview with city council members. That evening, the city will hold a meet-and-greet from 6-8 pm on the second-floor atrium of City Hall. It will be open to the public. To attend, enter through the Dallas City Hall main lobby, near the reflecting pool.

The city also launched a survey to gauge the qualities residents would like to see in the new city manager. The survey asks respondents to rank factors such as experience outside of Dallas, previous work with labor negotiations, cultural competence and diversity, experience with multi-modal transportation in cities, planning and economic development, and social issues. You can take the survey here.

Pension fund lawsuit
A lawsuit regarding the Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund board was filed by five police and firefighters. The pension board is trying to make changes to save the ailing fund. But the plaintiffs say the makeup of the board has too many members and is therefore invalid.

Sam's Club bout
The Sam's Club that was planned for Cityplace in Dallas seems to be kaput. Judge Mike O’Neill ruled that the city did not provide proper notice to residents.

Police Chief rebound
Former Dallas police Chief David Brown will join ABC News to provide commentary on economic inequality, policing, social justice, gun violence, and race relations.

James Goldston of ABC said Brown has a “unique perspective” to lend to those issues. Brown will begin January 1.

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Texas races to the bottom in new list of best states for cyclists

Photo by Garry Neesam on Unsplash

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In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around Dallas, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycling riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas' has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

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