8 September 21 - 27, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents ask: What are five of Dallas’ biggest prob- lems? Right out of the gate, ChatGPT informed us that its replies were based on data from up until September 2021. Some of the issues have probably since shifted or evolved, the AI said. So, with that out of the way, here’s what the technology had to say. 1. “Crime and Public Safety: Dallas has had ongoing concerns about crime rates, includ- ing violent crime and property crime. Ef- forts to improve public safety and community policing were being discussed and implemented.” We’d guess that Mayor Eric Johnson would probably have a strong opinion on this one. Back in June, Johnson was lauded in a Washington Post op-ed that highlighted his efforts to crack down on the city’s violent crime. Still, some local outlets have applied a more nuanced approach to the safest-city- in-the-U.S. narrative. Although we have seen a drop in homicides since adopting a vi- olent crime plan in 2021, Dallas is also home to a “higher murder rate than Los Angeles, New York City, Fort Worth, and Miami,” D Magazine reported in April. 2. “Education: The quality of education in some Dallas schools, particularly in low-in- come neighborhoods, was a concern. Efforts were being made to improve educational outcomes and reduce achievement gaps.” The Observer reported in December 2018 that Dallas’ Hispanic and Black students were more likely to receive lower grades, worse punishment and fewer opportunities compared with their white peers. One report from that year found that the county’s Hispanic, Black and multiracial high school students were also less likely than their white and Asian counterparts to graduate on time. Dallas ISD has made some solid advance- ments in certain areas, though. Last month, a post on the district’s website touted im- provements in closing the academic achievement gap, stating that students had made “positive gains” and that more are now “on grade level.” 3. “Transportation and Traffic Congestion: Dallas faced traffic congestion and limited public transportation options. Expanding public transportation infrastructure and ad- dressing traffic issues were ongoing chal- lenges.” Traffic in Dallas truly does suck, and the city’s drivers aren’t great either. Last year, Big D took home the gold in a ranking of the top 10 most dangerous cities for driving, curated by the RV rental website Outdoorsy. And we placed No. 14 when it comes to U.S. cities with the most traffic congestion, according to the data company INRIX. Luckily, Dallas is making some strides in terms of public transportation. The Observer reported last month on a pilot program that will offer free DART rides to Dallas students come January, which may also help to re- duce school-hour traffic. 4. “Economic Disparities: There were sig- nificant economic disparities in Dallas, with pockets of poverty and limited access to eco- nomic opportunities for some residents. Ef- forts to promote economic development and job creation in underserved areas were be- ing pursued.” In January 2022, Axios reported that the mayor was working to mitigate the city’s ra- cial disparities in income. White people in the area are more likely to have graduated from college than their Hispanic and Black counterparts, further exacerbating the wage gap. A Johnson-commissioned report from November 2021 found that while 54% of white workers held “family-sustaining wage” jobs, the same was true for just 16% of Hispanic workers and 15% of Black workers. The mayor also appointed a workforce czar last year to help reduce inequities among the city’s labor force. 5. “Housing Affordability: Dallas, like many other major cities, faced challenges related to housing affordability. Rising home prices and rents were making it diffi- cult for some residents to find affordable housing.” The terms “Dallas” and “affordable hous- ing” don’t exactly gel. In a May cover story, the Observer highlighted the struggles of lo- cal residents scrambling to secure housing in a city with increasingly pricey rents. That same month, the website Realty- Hop came out with a list indicating a fall in Dallas’ affordability. The city comes in 23rd on a ranking of the least affordable housing markets. CBS News Texas reported in June that renting in North Texas has recently “be- come just as competitive and expensive as a home, if not more so.” Guess it’s time to consult ChatGPT for advice on investing in crypto and stocks. ▼ CITY HALL WHERE DID I PARK? COUNCIL MEMBERS ON PARKING: ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL APPROACH WON’T WORK. BY JACOB VAUGHN P ark(ing) Day is something that’s rec- ognized worldwide every year, Julia Ryan, director of Dallas’ planning and urban design department, told City Council members at their meeting last week. On Park(ing) Day, parking spots are often turned over to organizations for activities. The whole day is meant to recognize how parking spaces can be used in ways other than for parking. In Dallas, there are about 30 spaces that Downtown Dallas Inc. and the city partner with for Park(ing) Day. The city participates every year, Ryan said. It can be fun. City Council member Cara Men- delsohn said that maybe she should host a Park(ing) Day event in her District 12. But she said it might look a little different. It might not be all that fun. Her neighbors might be upset, she said, because there’s not sufficient parking throughout her dis- trict. On Sept. 6, city staff told the council about Park(ing) Day and where the city stands with amending its parking code. No ordinance was being proposed just yet, as the briefing was meant only to be informa- tive. That didn’t stop the City Council from diving deeply into what parking reform could look like in Dallas. A memo was signed by City Council member Chad West and others in August, asking City Manager T.C. Broadnax to begin planning and implementing actions to re- duce parking mandates and to provide a briefing on the status of the elimination of parking minimums in Dallas. The memo, which also called for Dallas to adopt Park(ing) Day, is what prompted the parking briefing. While the City Council members couldn’t all agree on what to do about park- ing reform, several said there is no simple solution. Andreea Udrea, assistant director of Dal- las’ planning and urban design department, walked the City Council through where the situation stands currently. She said officials started talking about the need for parking reform in 2019, and that between March 2020 and August 2023, city staff worked with the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Com- mittee (ZOAC) on the issue of parking mini- mums to try to come up with a proposal. “After working with ZOAC a little bit, we ba- sically landed on the idea that it’s a little bit more complex and it has to be more of a re- form of the way we approach parking in the city,” she said. Udrea explained that currently when a business or residence is established on a property, the development code requires provision of parking and loading spaces that are supposed to be onsite and not on the public right-of-way. This requirement is usually based on a ratio, but parking require- ments could be based on square footage of a property, or how many bedrooms a resi- dence has, for example. Parking require- ment reductions are available, she said, but they’re limited. Discussions between ZOAC and city staff revealed issues with the way the current parking code, in place since the ‘60s, really works. “We all agree that it is outdated, dysfunc- tional and it provides inflexible require- ments that create barriers to equitable development,” Udrea said. “More specifi- cally, they are a one-size-fits-all requirement because it’s a ratio that applies everywhere in the city and is blind to location and traffic and other consideration.” According to Udrea, the current parking code is cumbersome for applicants and for staff and can be a barrier to development. She said the current requirements dispro- portionately burden small businesses and entrepreneurs, and they have a big racial eq- uity impact. She thinks they also impede the city’s environmental and neighborhood walkability goals. During two listening sessions in August, people expressed support for parking re- form but some shared concerns about traffic congestion and the shortage of free and abundant parking. Spillover parking on resi- dential streets was also a concern. “This is one of the biggest issues in the city,” West said of parking reform at the meeting. West asked Udrea how the city has changed since the parking code was adopted in the ’60s. She said the biggest change is the city is starting to fill in and there’s not as much undeveloped land as there used to be. The city is growing and needs a code that will help facilitate that growth. West pointed out that there’s also a hous- ing shortage that he suspected wasn’t a problem in the 1960s. He asked how the parking code affects the city’s ability to de- velop housing. Udrea said it has a significant impact. “The problem with parking is that it’s very big,” Udrea said. Two parking spots would be equivalent to the size of a small studio apartment. So, parking is big and ex- pensive, she said, and this can affect afford- ability. West gave an example of a single parent living in a two-bedroom apartment with only one car. Even though the household uses only one parking space, the parking code requires two spaces to be provided. Udrea said the current parking code is not sensitive to nuances like this. “Now I know that there is not a one-size- fits-all model of the parking code that’s go- ing to work for the whole city,” West Jacob Vaughn This week, the Dallas City Council took a deep dive into potential parking reform. Unfair Park from p6 >> p10
