The Dallas City Council at the Wednesday, June 24 meeting. Photo by Victoria Hernandez.

The Dallas City Council met for the final time before July recess to discuss a range of agenda items on Wednesday, June 24.

Anonymous donation accepted for Dallas Public Library

The council accepted an anonymous donation of $2.825 million to support programming and services at the Dallas Public Library. The gift includes approximately $2.8 million in cash and securities, as well as an estimated $25,000 from the future sale of mineral rights.

As part of the agreement, the City will immediately sell the donated securities and transfer the proceeds into the Library Family Donation Fund to support long-term library needs.

“I want to thank the anonymous donor for the library donation,” District 9 City Council member Paula Blackmon said during the meeting and in her June 26 newsletter. “We had a library close in District 9 not too long ago. So please know, whoever you are out there, it’s much appreciated. Because when you close a library, as I’ve said, you rip the soul out of a community. So, many thanks, and you are honored and cherished.”

This item was passed in the consent agenda.

Safe streets

The City accepted a $9.24 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The grant funding is to make improvements to safety in five corridors, including Ferguson Road from I-30 to I-635, in partnership with DART. These funds are expected to go towards the planning, design and construction of pedestrian safety zones.

“Combined with existing targeted traffic enforcement efforts, the proposed interventions could include: the installation of pedestrian hybrid beacons or rectangular rapid flashing beacons; crosswalk striping and improved signage; improved lighting; pedestrian refuge islands; sidewalk and curb improvements; and, in conjunction with DART, moving, consolidating or improving key bus stops to help channel pedestrians to the pedestrian safety zones,” according to the City’s website. “The overall effect is intended encourage safer crossings within the corridors, and steer pedestrians away from uncontrolled crossings that result in death or harm.”

It hasn’t been decided yet where exactly the pedestrian safety zones will be on Ferguson or the other corridors included in the project. Community meetings will take place to gather input. The project is expected to be completed in summer 2031.

“As part of our commitment to achieving Vision Zero, the City has remained focused on improving safety along our most hazardous and crash-prone roadways, including Ferguson Road,” Blackmon said. “Because of that commitment, the City successfully secured this federal grant to support safety improvements along the corridor. I want to thank staff from the Department of Transportation and Public Works, as well as our partners at DART, for their work in securing this grant. I also want to thank Council Members (Jesse) Moreno and (Adam) Bazaldua for their continued partnership and commitment to creating a safer Ferguson Road corridor for everyone. It is a long stretch of city road that is important to the Far East Dallas community, and that includes not just cars, but pedestrians and bicycles.”

The City and DART are matching this grant by about $2.3 million in total. The grant is obligated in phases, and the base phase (which includes updating the Vision Zero Action Plan and Sidewalk Masterplan) is not to exceed $2,017,500. Additional phases will come before council.

This item was passed in the consent agenda.

Traffic corridor studies

The Dallas City Council authorized a professional engineering services contract not to exceed $525,000 with Westwood Professional Services, Inc for traffic corridor studies, including on Gaston Avenue from Washington to Paulus Avenues. 

“These corridors are on the Vision Zero High Injury Network (HIN),” according to the City’s website. “The HIN identifies the city streets that account for a disproportionate number of fatal and severe crashes. To have the greatest impact on reaching the City’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and reducing severe injuries, these streets should be prioritized in Vision Zero efforts. The first action item in the Vision Zero Action Plan is to conduct engineering safety evaluations for streets on the HIN to identify improvements that will address the severe crashes. These projects are a crucial step to advancing the City’s Vision Zero goal. This action will authorize a professional engineering services contract with Westwood Professional Services, Inc to conduct a traffic safety analysis and other associated tasks to improve traffic safety and efficiency.”

Studies are expected to be started in August and be finished in April.

This item was passed as part of the meeting’s consent agenda.