The city of Dallas is planning dramatic changes along Maple Avenue to improve safety, but local business owners say they were left in the dark.
The safety project will stretch approximately 2.5 miles from Oak Lawn to Mockingbird along Maple Avenue. The area is expected to receive enhanced pedestrian crossings, improved intersections, and new bike lanes.
The problem?
The changes will cut the street down to two lanes from four. Owners of businesses located in the impacted area say they were not consulted over the changes, which could dramatically impact business traffic.
“If you cut off 50% of the access to our retail businesses, it’s a kiss of death… Those customers will eventually say forget it, it’s too hard to get to — I’m out,” said Frank Ashmore, third-generation owner of Sunshine Dry Cleaners, per WFAA.
City Council member Jesse Morena and representatives from the City of Dallas’ Department of Transportation will host a meeting on Friday evening to discuss the changes with local business owners.
The stretch of road near the Medical District was ranked one of the most dangerous for pedestrians in Dallas in 2023. As previously reported in The Dallas Express, despite continued efforts to improve safety, the city is still one of the most dangerous for drivers and pedestrians alike in the country.
For their part, the city says owners were given a heads-up. Moreno told WFAA that two notifications were delivered to businesses requesting feedback, and two public input meetings were held covering the topic. The third meeting, which will be held at Reverchon Recreation Center, is being hosted in good faith, according to Moreno.
“I want the community to take away the fact that this is not the end of the discussion. This is only the beginning. The community perspective is very important to me as a council member, and I encourage anyone interested in speaking up on or learning about this issue to join us,” said Moreno.
Raymundo Castaneda, who has owned and operated a business along Maple Avenue for almost 30 years, agrees that the street’s safety needs to be improved. However, rather than reducing lanes, Castaneda says additional traffic lights and law enforcement presence could work just as effectively.
“In principle, it’s not a bad idea should the situation be different, but unfortunately, it’s not… We still have a city that’s been designed for vehicles, whether we like it or not,” Castaneda said, per NBC.