Downtown Wish List, Anyone?

By Megan Feldman Tue., Oct. 13 2009 at 1:44 PM

Categories: News

Megan Feldman

What does downtown Dallas need? You name it.

Gail Sachson, vice chair of the city's Cultural Affairs Commission, would love to see more public art installations grace the streets of downtown. Bob Allen, owner of the West End Pub, wants the city to make it easier for small businesses to get established downtown. Mark Stephens, vice president of the Cedars Neighborhood Association, wants a more diverse array of businesses to choose from, pointing out that while there are multiple pizza parlors on Main Street, you're hard-pressed to find a nearby book store or café.

Those were just a few items on the wish list assembled Monday evening at the Future of Downtown Dallas Forum at the Dallas Convention Center. As we've mentioned, in April the city paid Berkeley-based consultants Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Inc. $515,000 to take stock of the scores of city development plans done over the years and then draft one over-arching "master plan."

"We're going to look back, take the good parts of those plans and have 'the best of the best,'" Mayor Tom Leppert told the crowd before turning the mic over to MIG's Daniel Iacofano, who pledged to incorporate the ideas of downtown residents, business owners and other stakeholders into the effort to transform the area.

To kick off the brainstorming session, Iacofano and his colleagues spent more than an hour taking suggestions from the audience and writing them on a massive sheet of paper under the headings "assets," "challenges" and "opportunities." Challenges such as "unfriendly to small businesses" and "lack of amenities" became opportunities such as "more small business friendly" and "public restrooms." People wanted specific things like wider sidewalks, more parking and more creative signage, as well as less tangible goals such as having a downtown that's more diverse and inclusive when it comes to the types of tenants and customers it attracts.

Bill Dewbre, owner of Wild Bill's Western Store on North Market, drew applause when he complained that the city's tenacious approach to booting cars and doling out parking tickets makes the area unappealing to visitors.

"We don't want to tolerate them -- we want to celebrate them," he said. "[Don't] give them tickets. Give them a free 'get out of jail' card."

Will MIG and the city listen to all this? Can they make it happen? Who knows. Ask the stack of previous plans; consult your nearest oracle. DowntownDallas says it'll post further updates in coming days on its blog, where comments are welcome. Till then, well, Kourtny Garrett reads Unfair Park ...

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- Affordable housing, possibly even some student targeted places. - Elm street to be completely revamped. LOWER THE RENT SO MORE MOM AND POP SHOPS CAN GO IN. I would love to put a business in downtown, but the rents are incredibly high and the population is incredibly low. Elm has such interesting structures and it is such a shame to see them all deteriorate - movie theatre...AMC would be great but since Cinemark is headquartered in Plano, it seems like that would be possible. Studio movie grill or alamo draft house would also be great. - more bars. it would be great to have a district that is basically all bars. more places like dallas city tavern. - better public transportation. how about a D2 line that makes sense and doesnt skip the most dense areas of downtown. also to have the line ran underground really seems to be the only viable option. not only will it not disrupt street traffic, but it will also be an escape from the texas heat. run the lines later after the bars close. I think there needs to be several more lines coming into downtown from East Dallas/Lower Greenville area, Uptown and Knox Henderson, and Oak Cliff. Giving residents easier access to get downtown is something that is very badly needed. - More major retailers. Gap, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, IKEA, Target (PLEASE REPLACE THE CITYPLACE TARGET), sporting good store, book stores, etc. I also think that they need to bring in some stores that the DFW doesnt currently have (NIKETOWN, H&M, Trader Joes, etc). - I like the idea of open containers in designated areas. - The skatepark under the overpass would be a great idea. I believe that there is only one skatepark in Dallas city limits!! ONE OF THE LARGEST CITIES IN AMERICA WITH ONLY ONE SKATEPARK?!?!
Serious question: what is a waffle tree? I honestly have no idea. I drive a minivan and make spaghetti and/or chicken nuggets 3 nights a week. Someone please get me up to speed! Also, re free parking, I was reading a book written in the 1960s to my child and in it, the mother wants to go a shopping mall because "the parking is free no matter how long you stay." No wonder we have malls and sprawl! I never realized what a draw free parking must have been. And what has Dallas done to compete? Extended the parking meter hours! Crazy. It seems to me the choice is abundant, free parking downtown or a deserted downtown. Nothing will happen until that happens.
Daniel, There is a cozy-looking new Indian restaurant that has opened off of Elm directly across from El Centro College (Taj Mahal). Haven't tried it yet but will do so in the very near future (I noticed last week that it was open in the evening). I luvs me some good Indian food...meat AND veg!!!
I know it's not politically correct to say it, but as much as the rents run for a place downtown, it's simply not worth it. Too many pan-handlers hitting you up every time you walk the streets and it smells like urine in the mornings. Much rather live uptown for a nicer place at a lower cost per month. They need to somehow develope housing downtown that will attract the younger middle-class with rents similar to uptown rates. Then they need to police those areas like they do the West End (for the most part).
Megan - Indeed, I am following! Great appreciation to you and all Unfair Park followers who attended last night. I have posted a recap and response (rather lengthy, hence the need to jump) on our blog at downtowndallas.wordpress.com. And a note to those who have commented on your story thus far - we have been tracking and taking note! ~Kourtny
I hate to be difficult, but for 500 big, I could have put a bookstore downtown. I somehow doubt that we'll get that much value from this new study. Of course, if we pile all the studies up one on another, then maybe we could create a stair to the top of Reunion Tower. That might be a great tourist attraction.
open container law for entertainment districts... get people walking around and not just hunkering down at one location Bike lanes Those guys who stand in front of empty parking lots trying to make a buck... ticket them. I don't mind paying to park but I've seen them one too many times changing the rates through the night. If the sign says $2 it should stay $2 and this one's just selfish but, how about a skate/bike park underneath the interstate around Deep Ellum oh, and lets try a different campaign, that whole D Spot thing is just plain embarrassing.
@db Ok, that makes sense to me re the tunnels. It took a long time for people to feel safe in downtown Houston partially b/c of the abandoned feel of it. Everyone underground during the day to avoid the ungodly humidity and heat and nobody downtown at night b/c, well, it was downtown.... I hope that Dallas can find a way to draw people downtown. I know that in Houston, everyone was afraid to go downtown what with all the crime and everything (even though it wasn't that bad). @yeah, um AMEN, BROTHER!!! I don't even know what an Ultralounge is but it doesn't sound like the kind of place regular folks (i.e. ones who are not WAAAYYY cooler than everyone else) would want to hang. Ghost Bar - I want to VOMIT at the advertisement every time I see it at Love!!!
When zombies take over the streets, we'll be using the tunnels and bridges to live in safe zones. OK, I want the city to get serious about attracting a major retailer: Half Price Books, Barnes & Noble, JCPenney, Old Navy, Best Buy, H&M, GAP. Whatever, just get it there.
bars...just honest to goodness chillout kind of bars. NO MORE ULTRALOUNGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and yes please, an Alamo Drafthouse. Thanks!
One more comment about the tunnels (sky bridges) - It's people on the street that make a city safe, robust, and vibrant. There just are not enough people to support the tunnels and the streets. A good deal of the development that should be on the streets is in the tunnels and sky bridges. Things like coffee shops, donut shops, book shops, card shops, flower shops, street vendors, shoe repair shops, fedex, lunch restaurants, on and on and on. Move it all up to street level, the perceived homeless problem would become relatively non-existant and the streets would become well populated with the right kinds of activity and business. They would become all of the things that we need - safe, vibrant, robust - and if we could add things like available and efficient transportation, trees, restrooms, bike lanes, etc. - wow, we would have a city. Easier said than done.
Minneapolis has very extensive "tunnels" (skyways, actually), open late all days. They add a lot to downtown life. Hmm, maybe the crucial difference is that they are at 2nd story level so you can actually see where you are. I CAN HAZ WAFLL TREEZ?
Amen, brother. Best idea yet!
Daniel: kirby Lane? shit, how about an Alamo Drafthouse!
Katz's deli (the one in New York not fer chrissakes Austin). Cafe du Monde. Okay, so I've been known to rip on Austin, but Kerbey Lane? O please? Turn the First Baptist complex into the Dallas campus of the Naropa Institute. A locally owned bookstore -- it would probably have to be a specialty enterprise to compete with the West Village Borders; Christ, I don't care if it's feminist or GLBT, whatever, just a bookstore dammit. More water features. Bicycle rickshaws manned by quaint Pygmies. An artist-in-residence colony at the old high school by Pearl Station. It could be living quarters, studio space and a gallery all mixed into one, plus a jazz cafe. A 24-hour diner. (Not Kerbey Lane, a real diner.) More of those bald cypresses or whatever hell they're called now that's one nifty arbor. More murals. Most of the existing ones are cool but badly aging. An entire street shut down to automobile traffic and landscaped with plenty of attractive benches, creating a plaza-like feel. Wouldn't it be cool if there really were a place in France where the ladies wear no pants? Or even -- bingo! -- downtown Dallas. Really, anywhere, that would be cool. (When I found out there was no such place in France, it was much worse than finding out about Santa.) Affordable housing. One of the better local theater companies to relocate downtown. Yeah, okay, streetcars. One of the "Vision! Parks" or whatever they're called to have some kid-friendly feature -- a small petting zoo or Jesus Christ a carousel. A cheap but good Indian restaurant. And don't forget the waffle trees. Thank you!
The reason I hate the underground tunnels so much is that they close at 6 and aren't open on the weekends. What good are they? Either open them up 24/7 or get rid of them.
The problem with the tunnels, and the reason I think they should be closed, is that the impression that they set of Dallas during the day to most visitors and most who DON'T frequent them, is that Dallas is an undesirable and desolate place to be. They should be closed. One of my favorite cities in the world is Osaka, which knows how to treat buskers right. We need to encourage outdoor music in Dallas. There are concrete things that can be done like a once a week open mic (that could have pre-SCREENED performers for little cost) in Main Street Gardens, Belo Gardens etc. Let's capitalize on the diversity of talents and cultures to create a nighttime market, if not daily then a couple of times a week smack in the middle of downtown. People would PAY to operate booths, and if workers and tourists who are walking around ON THE SURFACE see these people start to set up shop at 6:30/7:00 they'll stick around to check out the wares. I get pissed sometimes thinking about how many of these little things that cost NO MONEY could enhance life downtown. Instead what downtown needs is a upteen billion million dollar hotel, or a TIF for a swanky new highrise where the residents will enter with their mercedes, leave with their mercedes, and never be caught dead "walking". Dallas culture, gotta love it.
My Downtown wish list: I wish we had a Downtown.
Fix the parking problem - Fort Worth has the right idea w/ free parking on the weekends. More of a "Starbucks factor"....nice, simple little places at which people can feel comfortable hanging out. Affordable and more interesting grocery options. A Farmers Market that's not filled with Carnies trying to get you sample their stuff. Bike lanes. Perhaps a downtown-wide bike program similar to what Copenhagen and Paris use. Casual, in addition to the higher-end, Restaurants that are open later (The Jason's Deli & La Madeleine are perfect examples). Friendlier walkways, more trees to stifle the oppressive summer heat. A better, more effective transit system a la a trolley (and not just one) to connect the growing residential community in downtown "outposts" i.e. deep ellum, farmers market to the Arts District, west downtown, etc. It's too far to walk to the Arts District or One Arts Plaza "dressed up" and the parking is a bitch. Fight the homeless. I step over some nasty urine stream day and night and try to dodge the homeless any time I get a block or two from the Bridge.
Yes to the waffle trees. Ask yourself: why does everyone enjoy downtown Ft. Worth? The active nightlife? Noooo, the free parking. We live in the incremental-fee city; they live in the New City. Frankly, I'd like to see a little more Ft. Worth on the Dallas street, hahaha.
Honest ?: What is the big gripe with the tunnels? Houston has them and they pose no problem with redevelopment of downtown. They close in the evenings and on the weekends, but provide a very nice way for workers to get from one place to another when it is pouring rain/1000 degrees outside....
*More free parking *later running *WAFFLE TREES PLZ.
*affordable housing *close all underground tunnels *free parking on weekends do all three of those things and downtown will see big changes
Waffle trees.
Once again I will complain about the changes in the operating hours of parking meters in the downtown area. For as many years as there have been downtown meters, they have been freee after 6:00 PM. Recently the City decided to have many operate until 10:00 PM. This is highly detrimental to the effort to get more people to come downtown, not to mention to the possibility of downtown residents having visitors. I cannot get a straight answer from the City and Downtown Dallas has promised to address the matter but has not done so.
I'd like to see: buskers, street musicians, more outdoor concerts, more public art installations, water features that permit kids (and others) to play in them, shaded spots for hanging out, used book store, trains that run late to Deep Ellum; Fair Park; How about a brewpub/beer garden? more frequent gallery walks, such as the DADA walk, that features so many deep ellum galleries; maybe the community bicycle idea: This is cool to finally see happening.