Real Estate

Downtown Dallas isn’t exactly known as an urban entertainment mecca teeming with life. But this weekend, Ross Avenue went from a quiet, sleepy city street to a vibrant, exciting area with food, pop-up retail and small parks in just a few hours.

From eleven in the morning to three in the afternoon Sunday, June 26, ‘Better Blocks on Ross” transformed the street into a welcoming, comforting and vibrant boulevard. It took place along Ross Avenue near the Downtown Arts District from North Hawkins to Pavilion. Dallas residents saw firsthand how a street can come alive. “Better Block” is described as a demonstration tool that helps cities envision ways it can spruce up city spaces, making them more livable and fun.

Over the course of 72 hours, Jason Roberts and his project partners brought in experts and artists in their fields to conduct the metamorphosis, blending function and beauty.

Dallas City Councilmember Linda Koop kicked off the project at the Dallas Black Dance Theater on Flora Street. She is also Chair of the Transportation and Environmental Committee.

“The Complete Streets Project will begin to change the way roads are designed and built in Dallas, shifting the emphasis from automobiles only to streets that can be used and enjoyed by everyone; young and old, motorists and bicyclists, walkers and wheelchair users, and bus and trains riders. Everyone’s ideas and suggestions will be crucial to the ultimate successful implementation of this initiative,” she said.

Read more and see video at MyFoxDFW.com

Hundreds volunteers worked around the clock in a 72-hour challenge this weekend to transform Ross Avenue into a “better block.”

They were encouraged to reclaim the “Gateway to the Arts District” from Hawkins Street to Pavillion Street by figuring out how to attract more pedestrian traffic than cars to the thoroughfare.

The Better Block Project included encouraging cycling and fostering a more family-friendly business environment.

Cindy Moore, who lives blocks away from Ross Avenue, couldn’t have been happier.

“Having the streets where they are pedestrian-friendly is a big, you know… it’s great to see this,” she said. “To see kids out here and people riding their bikes and feel like you’re really actually part of a big city.”

Moore’s seven-year-old son Gordon says prior to the temporary store pop-ups, eateries and fun spots, all he ever saw along Ross Avenue were cars.

Read more and see video at WFAA.com

Downtown Dallas isn’t exactly known as an urban entertainment mecca teeming with life. But this weekend, Ross Avenue went from a quiet, sleepy city street to a vibrant, exciting area with food, pop-up retail and small parks in just a few hours.

From eleven in the morning to three in the afternoon Sunday, June 26, ‘Better Blocks on Ross” transformed the street into a welcoming, comforting and vibrant boulevard. It took place along Ross Avenue near the Downtown Arts District from North Hawkins to Pavilion. Dallas residents saw firsthand how a street can come alive. “Better Block” is described as a demonstration tool that helps cities envision ways it can spruce up city spaces, making them more livable and fun.

Over the course of 72 hours, Jason Roberts and his project partners brought in experts and artists in their fields to conduct the metamorphosis, blending function and beauty.

“The Complete Streets Project will begin to change the way roads are designed and built in Dallas, shifting the emphasis from automobiles only to streets that can be used and enjoyed by everyone; young and old, motorists and bicyclists, walkers and wheelchair users, and bus and trains riders. Everyone’s ideas and suggestions will be crucial to the ultimate successful implementation of this initiative.”

See the video at MyFoxDFW.com

June 26 — Tomorrow, we’ll have much more from the Build a Better Boulevard event presently slowing traffic along a stretch of Ross near and into downtown; maybe I’ll even let Leslie run the photo she took of me submerged into the dumpster swimming pool parked in Fellowship Church’s lot at Ross and Central … after Andrew Howard pushed me in, that is, high-tops and all. Not that I was complaining: That was a surprisingly long bike ride, past City Hall and through Deep Ellum, just to go from Main Street Garden to DISD HQ. But the 7-year-old held his own (very proud), and many thanks to the safety-card-handing-out Dallas Fire-Rescue worker — Scott, didn’t catch the last name — and Mr. Angela Hunt, Paul Sims, who hung back and encouraged the lad to keep a-pedalin’.

See the photos and story at Dallas Observer

Why should Dallas build a tiny, inefficient streetcar line when it’s broke? Because trolleys are groovy.

We are about to spend $40 million to build less than two miles of modern streetcar line linking downtown Dallas to Oak Cliff. A few things to keep in mind:

•According to the experts, modern streetcars are no better at carrying people around than other transit methods, maybe a little worse.

•Streetcars never pay for themselves.

•Streetcars are less green than buses.

•Other than that, they’re great.

People love them. Something about a sleek new streetcar—the soft whir of electric technology, the aura of Euro-cool—draws people powerfully. Advocates in Portland, Oregon, claim their streetcar line has spurred billions of dollars in redevelopment because people want to live near streetcars.

Read more at Dallas Observer