{"id":136343,"date":"2025-08-11T07:13:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T07:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/136343\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T07:13:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T07:13:11","slug":"visitors-can-dance-a-texas-two-step-on-fort-worths-downtown-sidewalks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/136343\/","title":{"rendered":"Visitors can dance a Texas two-step on Fort Worth\u2019s downtown sidewalks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Say what you will about the architecture<\/a> of Comerica Bank Tower downtown, the sidewalks surrounding it are nearly flawless. They\u2019re wide. They\u2019re flat. They\u2019re clean. Some of downtown\u2019s tallest trees shade them. Any urban area that wants to be \u201cwalkable\u201d or \u201cpedestrian-friendly<\/a>\u201d needs more sidewalks like those.<\/p>\n

But such sidewalks are rare in downtown Dallas<\/a>, which explains why it isn\u2019t an especially pleasant place to walk. Sidewalks are often cracked, grimy or interrupted by curb cuts for parking garages or driveways to long-demolished buildings. Abandoned electric scooters <\/a>accumulate on them. Construction crews finish jobs and leave behind random traffic cones and oversize temporary signs anchored with ripped sandbags spilling onto the concrete walkways. <\/p>\n

By contrast, downtown Fort Worth\u2019s sidewalks are consistently clean, level and wide. Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. spends about $400,000 annually just to power-wash the sidewalks, according to Matt Beard, who oversees the cleaning and maintenance program. Fort Worth is a different city, with a different vibe and a smaller central business district, but downtown Dallas also deserves such functional, spotless sidewalks.<\/p>\n

A 2021 report found that Dallas it would cost $2 billion citywide to fund just half of needed sidewalk repairs, improvements, replacements and extensions. The city currently spends $5 million annually, if funds are available, to address about a dozen high-priority sidewalk projects each year.<\/p>\n

Opinion<\/p>\n

Get smart opinions on the topics North Texans care about.<\/p>\n

Last year, Dallas voters passed a bond package that included $521 million for streets and transportation. Some of those funds will help downtown become safer for pedestrians and cyclists. A bond update shows that more than $15 million will be dedicated to redesigning and remaking sections of Harwood Street. Stretches of San Jacinto, Field and Griffin streets are also slated for major upgrades in the coming years. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s tempting to blame City Hall for downtown Dallas\u2019 underwhelming sidewalks, but others bear equal responsibility. City ordinances require property owners to maintain the sidewalks that abut their property, explained Evan Sheets of Downtown Dallas Inc., a membership group that works to make downtown clean, safe and economically vibrant. Judging from the looks of their sidewalks, some property owners are unaware of that duty.<\/p>\n

FIFA is coming. Dallas is building a new convention center. New apartment buildings are opening and former office towers are becoming residential. Downtown workers, residents and visitors deserve consistently well-kept sidewalks. <\/p>\n

Is it time for a \u201csidewalk of the month\u201d award to recognize property owners and managers who keep sidewalks especially clean, clear, smooth and attractive? Until someone has a better idea, our only suggestion is to call 3-1-1 and report \u201cdefective, unsafe or hazardous\u201d sidewalks, including those obstructed by abandoned scooters or signs. Let us know what happens.<\/p>\n

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and <\/b>submit your letter here<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n

If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at <\/b>letters@dallasnews.com<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Say what you will about the architecture of Comerica Bank Tower downtown, the sidewalks surrounding it are nearly…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":136344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,14052,6083,7371,7372,56753,8629,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-136343","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-downtown-dallas","10":"tag-editorials","11":"tag-fort-worth","12":"tag-fortworth","13":"tag-future-of-north-texas-infrastructure","14":"tag-local-politics","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-tx","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115008897490850946","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}