Traffic News

TxDOT seeks your 2 cents about I-345 freeway in downtown Dallas

Should it stay or should it go.

Photo courtesy of Christopher Mann

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is hosting meetings to hear what people want to do about Interstate 345, the stretch of highway on the east side of downtown Dallas that extends from I-30 to Woodall Rogers Freeway.

TxDOT is at the beginning of a process of conducting a feasibility study, which will analyze all the alternatives. That process is expected to take place over the next two years. It starts with these meetings.

A spokesperson says that the agency is completely open to all suggestions, with no restriction on ideas.

So far, four plans have been floated:

Remove it completely
Rebuild it so that it's below street level like US-75
Get rid of some of the on ramps to reduce its profile on surface streets
Leave it alone

But if you have other input on the future of I-345, now's the time to speak up.

The meetings will be held in an "open house" format, with maps showing the location as well as info about how they're going to approach the study. Representatives from TxDOT and project consultants will be available to answer questions.

Coalition For a New Dallas, a group advocating the removal of I-345, calls this an opportunity to rebuild Dallas' urban core. They say that replacing I-345 with boulevards, and transforming the surrounding 245 acres into a mixed-income, mixed-use neighborhood will generate jobs, create affordable housing, and improve the quality of life.

The opposition is less organized, but protests the loss of freeway access for vehicles wanting to cut across town.

The meetings are as follows:

Tuesday December 3, 6-8 pm: CityPlace Conference Center (Lakewood Room) at 2711 N. Haskell Ave. The presentation takes place at 7 pm. Parking for self-park is complimentary and will be validated with a parking ticket.

Thursday December 5, 10 am-8 pm. Sheraton Dallas Hotel ballroom at 400 N. Olive St. Presentations will be held at 12 noon, 4:30 pm, and 7 pm. Parking for self-park is complimentary and will be validated with a parking ticket.

If you can't make the meetings but have something to say, you can submit written comments. You can submit them in person at the public meetings, or by mail to TxDOT Dallas District Office, ATTN: Mr. Travis Campbell, P.E., TxDOT Project Manager, 4777 E. Highway 80, Mesquite, Texas 75150-6643. You can also email at 345study@txdot.gov.

Written comments must be postmarked by Friday, December 20, 2019 to be included in the public meeting documentation.

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.

politics