Dallas Morning News making good on promise with Bridging North/South Gap Series

Sharon Grigsby and the Editorial Staff at the Dallas Morning News are keeping their word of helping to bridge the gap between North Dallas and Southern Dallas.  This morning the entire left page of the editorials is devoted to 10 suggestions to improve Southern Dallas neighborhoods.

See "10 Drops in the Bucket" by clicking here. 

Here are a few of the suggestions made in this mornings paper.

• The Dallas Zoo is an attraction that should lure visitors from across North Texas to the southern part of the city. But for families exiting Interstate 35E one of the first businesses they'll see is the ramshackle Dallas Inn. One look at the broken windows and the bombed-out-looking building, and zoo-goers might be tempted to turn around and head home.

• You can't pull up a chair and enjoy your Frosty in the Wendy's at Lancaster Road and Kiest Boulevard. The drive-through-only restaurant wants your money but won't allow you to take a seat, leaving pedestrian patrons to eat on the sidewalk. In the future, the city should take a hard look at requests to build eating establishments that lack tables and chairs.

• The intersection of Hampton Road and Ledbetter Drive has become a popular destination with a Fiesta supermarket, a Subway sandwich shop and an assortment of specialty stores. But the surrounding landscape is littered with old-fashioned telephone poles and exposed lines. These relics of the past are a rare sight on the north side of town. This busy corner and plenty of other southern Dallas neighborhoods would benefit from having the lines buried.

• The car wash near Sunnyvale Street and Ledbetter Drive has become a big draw – for people who arrive on foot. Neighbors report seeing open drug use and constant loitering. But despite their complaints, the car wash continues to draw a crowd.

These are solid recommendations made by the editorial staff.  Residents would say that none of these are new or Earth shattering, but as the news suggests this is only a start.

The News has also created a page that contains all of their articles relating to the North/South Gap initiative.   You can view that page by clicking here.