Events & Actions for December 5th - 9th

This Week: Parking Reform, Affordable Housing, and DART Community Meetings

By Hexel Colorado on December 4, 2023

City of Dallas to Consider Removing Minimum Parking Requirements

Tuesday, December 5th, 11:00 AM

What’s happening

This Tuesday, city staff will present their recommendation to “remove minimum off-street parking requirements” at the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee (ZOAC) regular meeting.

Why this matters

Removing parking mandates can dramatically improve housing affordability, economic development potential, environmental resiliency, safety, and walkability in Dallas.

What you can do

  • Speak in support of removing parking minimums by appearing in-person to the ZOAC meeting at Dallas City Hall (1500 Marilla St), L1FN Auditorium at 11:00 am. You do not need to register in advance online to speak in-person.
  • Submit a written comment online in support of removing parking minimums.
  • You can watch the meeting online via Webex.

Speak Up for Affordable Housing at City Council

Wednesday, December 6th, 9:00 AM

What’s happening

At this week’s city council meeting, the council will hear recommendations for how to apportion 1.1 billion dollars in the upcoming 2024 capital bond program.

Why this matters

Early bond proposals allocated $200M toward housing. However, the latest proposal cut that down to $25M. For comparison, San Antonio and Austin put $150M and $300M toward housing in their respective bond programs.

Advocates rally at City Hall for $200 million in bonds to tackle Dallas’ housing ‘crisis’ | KERA News

What you can do

Community Meetings for DART Service Changes

What’s happening

DART is hosting three community meetings at different locations this week to give the public a chance to provide input on several proposed changes in 2024, including three new bus routes, eight modified routes, 15 modified GoLink zones, and increased weekend frequency on all rail lines. You can find plenty of details in the PDF linked below.

2024 Service Changes and Route 883 Schedule Adjustments | PDF slide presentation

Why this matters

Community meetings like these are your best opportunity to talk directly to DART about improvements to bus and train service. These meetings typically have very low turnout; sometimes only 5 other people show up. This means that by just showing up, you have a good chance of influencing future transit service in your area.

What you can do

Take 5-Minute Survey for Statewide Active Transportation Plan

Anytime before deadline on Friday, December 15th

What’s happening

TxDOT’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee is developing a statewide plan for improving conditions for bicycling, walking, and other modes that are typically human-powered (such as electric bicycles).

Statewide Active Transportation Plan | Social Pinpoint (mysocialpinpoint.com)

Why this matters

This will be the first active transportation plan in Texas history, and it could be transformational. In 2021, only 3% of people in Dallas walked, biked, or took public transit to work. We have plenty of room for improvement! The more people take the survey, the more we demonstrate our strong desire for a safe, accessible, walkable and bikeable city.

What you can do