“Lemon Avenue” by Jack Erwin
The City Design Studio has $979,000 in city bond funds to spend on West Davis improvements. Neighbors told the design studio in May that they wanted improved sidewalks, streetscaping, lighting and a sense of visual unity along the corridor. But for under $1 million, we have to aim a little lower for now.
A design studio team showed Oak Cliff neighbors two proposals Wednesday night. In one, almost all of the money would be used to create continuous sidewalks from Zang to Montclair, with a little left over for street resurfacing.
In the second proposal, the money could go toward creating manicured “nodes” at four intersections with Davis — Zang, Vernon, Tyler/Kings Highway, and at Clinton, the Kessler Theater area. In the second proposal, only those blocks would be improved with sidewalks, repaved streets, trees and lighting.
[quote align=”right” color=”#000000″]What is the point of creating these beautiful nodes “if all you’re going to do is drive by them?”[/quote]Most neighbors in the meeting indicated they preferred the first proposal because, some said, making the street walkable should be the priority. What is the point of creating these beautiful nodes “if all you’re going to do is drive by them?” asked Dana Lynch. Councilman Scott Griggs said trees are available for free from the city’s reforestation program, but someone — property owners or volunteers — would have to be responsible for irrigating the trees for two years, after which they should be able to survive on their own.
A PDF outlining the two proposals is below. And more information on the West Davis corridor project is here.
