Today's Dallas Mornting News, Metro section, carries a story on the Garland Road Vision Study that has been underway in Dallas. I was representing Garland at the Regional Transportation Council meeting when the grant was approved for NCTCOG to help fund the study. There has since been a series of meetings with stakeholders as a part of the visioning process. It has been my hope that the vision would be one that could be a boost to the area and naturally transcend to Garland.
 
Garland Ave on our side of the city limit is one of the areas that the staff has been working with consultants to study as part of the economic component of Envision Garland.
 
Garland Ave is a major entryway to the whole of Garland. Our long range success as a city is strongly affected by how we address our side of Garland Ave/Rd and will be strongly affected by how Dallas addresses their side. Right now, the challenges are very similar. To say that I'm anxiously waiting to see the results of both studies is an understatement.
 

From the Dallas Morning News:

A vision takes shape for Garland Road

12:56 AM CDT on Monday, April 12, 2010
By NANCY VISSER / The Dallas Morning News
nvisser@dallasnews.com
 
Picture this vision of Garland Road in East Dallas:
 
New development south of the White Rock Lake spillway offers apartments, shops and restaurants overlooking the creek. People walk there from the lake or bike along the nearby Santa Fe Trail.
 
A trolley runs the length of the corridor from Gaston Avenue to LBJ Freeway. Riders can stop at the Arboretum and then get back on to dine at Casa Linda Plaza.

"We're going to set this up and sell it. And they're going to say, 'That's where we want to build.'" Sheffie Kadane, [Dallas] City Council member

 
Kids climb an observation deck at a park along the Kansas City Railroad yard to watch the trains switch cars.
 
Young professionals walk from new townhouses near Jupiter Road to a farmers market at White Rock Marketplace.
 
These concepts are part of the Garland Road Vision Plan, which is nearing completion and could be used to guide private development, transportation improvements and beautification projects for years to come.
 
A final public meeting held Thursday produced no opposition to the general plan. Now, urban planners HOK Consultants will prepare the plan for presentation to city officials.
 
Luring new business
If the council adopts the plan, it would establish rules for what future development and public projects would look like. The hope is that new business will be attracted to the corridor as the changes take place.
 
"We're going to set this up and sell it. And they're going to say, 'That's where we want to build,' " said Sheffie Kadane, City Council member for that district.
 
Garland Road, which is old Texas 78, was developed with little regulation. As a result, it has a confusing array of signs, an odd assortment of businesses, six-lanes of roadway with concrete medians, very little landscaping and few continuous sidewalks.
 
Several years ago, former City Council member Gary Griffith proposed the idea for the Garland Road vision project. An advisory committee raised $30,000 and got a $120,000 grant from the North Central Texas Council of Governments to pay for the study, which began last fall.
 
Through a series of public meetings, the consultants learned that residents there love their neighborhoods, which include Forest Hills, Little Forest Hills, Casa Linda, Casa View and Lochwood. They also favor the unique businesses and appreciate the beauty of White Rock Lake and the Dallas Arboretum.
 

New Plans for a busy thoroughfare

The Garland Road Vision Study identifies five proposed sites for mixed-use development that could include residential, retail, restaurants and office space. They are:

 
Higher standards
But they want higher standards for the stretch overall. And based on that input, the consultants addressed these three areas:

• Development: Five areas were identified for mixed-use development that would include restaurants, retail and residential space. Mark Bowers of HOK Consultants said they were identified in part because they had large parcels with single owners, which would be more practical for developers in search of opportunities.
       Margaret Bell, a Lochwood resident and member of the advisory committee, said the mixed-use development would attract young professionals, who would then attract better restaurants and other businesses.
       Isaac Bowman, who lives in Casa Linda and is building in Little Forest Hills, encouraged the consultants and advisory committee last week to find ways to increase the tax base to support the proposals.
       "Don't get me wrong," he said. "I don't want it to look like McKinney, where every gas station looks like every dry cleaning business in the area." But, he said, there's a clear need to attract better businesses.
       He noted that he and his wife spend their money outside the area, driving 30 minutes round trip to eat out and shop for groceries in Lakewood.
   
• Mobility: Residents made it clear that they don't want Garland Road widened, but they want it to flow better.
       "Believe it or not, sidewalks are one way to solve the mobility problem on Garland Road," said Bowers, the HOK consultant. "There are 70 bus stops, some of them spaced close together, because there are no connected sidewalks and people need to get to bus stops from their neighborhoods."
       He said DART could eliminate two-thirds of the bus stops if people could walk along Garland Road from their neighborhoods.
       People also requested DART light rail or some kind of trolley or tram system. The consultants found that a rubber-tire trolley could be implemented with minimal investment.
   
• Beautification: Consultants' sketches show sidewalks, trees, underground electrical lines, lights and medians with rock landscaping.
       Gerry Worrall, chairman of the advisory committee, said he particularly likes recommendations for natural stone, trees and landscaping similar to that found at the lake and arboretum.
       "Pick up that flavor and carry it on," he said.
       The plan also includes an observation deck at the train yard, a dog park near LBJ Freeway, community gardens or art parks and a farmers market at White Rock Marketplace.
       Once the plan is adopted, the people involved will begin to look for grants or government funding for some of the projects.
       Worrall said the advisory committee was going to disband once the study was complete but has decided to continue. "We will go forward in some form for funding or advocacy or coordination," he said.

1 comment

Comments:

Comment from: Deborah Morris [Visitor]

This is certainly something Garland *should* be interested in joining/cooperating with/etc. That's the main entrance to the city for many first-time visitors, and it would be wonderful to have it become a "vision" instead of a nightmare!

04/12/10 @ 20:58

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