Why Isn't Beautification A Priority? (Dallas, Fort Worth: landscaping, neighborhoods, schools)

[Swordfish]

I occasionally ride on the Trinity Express trains both ways from Dallas and Fort Worth, and I drive in areas where the Trinity Express runs almost parallel to Stemmons Frwy in Dallas County and Hwy 121 in Tarrant County. I have noticed how the condition and path of the rail line is kept or un-kept at those routes.

What I see on those areas are lots of bushes, uncut grass, trees that could do with uprooting or pruning, and bridges that need some renovation or paint jobs to look prettier. The prettier the route looks the more people would ask “Hey that’s a nice looking bridge”. The next question would be “Who uses that rail line”. Big time publicity right there.

One bridge is located on Stemmons Frwy between commonwealth Pkwy and the Stemmons Frwy/HWY 183 split. Another is between Stemmons Frwy and Inwood Rd. Other’s are like one that goes over Hwy 360 and Hwy 157. These bridges are at major thoroughfares that are seen or used by thousands of people each day while commuting or traveling. The bridges look rusted and ugly.

I can’t understand why the Cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, DART and the Trinity Railway Express, can’t come together and work something out.

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by Swordfish

I occasionally ride on the Trinity Express trains both ways from Dallas and Fort Worth, and I drive in areas where the Trinity Express runs almost parallel to Stemmons Frwy in Dallas County and Hwy 121 in Tarrant County. I have noticed how the condition and path of the rail line is kept or un-kept at those routes.

What I see on those areas are lots of bushes, uncut grass, trees that could do with uprooting or pruning, and bridges that need some renovation or paint jobs to look prettier. The prettier the route looks the more people would ask “Hey that’s a nice looking bridge”. The next question would be “Who uses that rail line”. Big time publicity right there.

One bridge is located on Stemmons Frwy between commonwealth Pkwy and the Stemmons Frwy/HWY 183 split. Another is between Stemmons Frwy and Inwood Rd. Other’s are like one that goes over Hwy 360 and Hwy 157. These bridges are at major thoroughfares that are seen or used by thousands of people each day while commuting or traveling. The bridges look rusted and ugly.

I can’t understand why the Cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, DART and the Trinity Railway Express, can’t come together and work something out.

Seems like it's a communicable railroad disease - or some sort of innate birth defect present in every mass transit system. I can't think of a train system where some degree of filth or neglect or graffiti does infest the system at least at some stops. It's almost as if the transit system executives think you can't get the true big city mass transit experience if there isn't the requisite quota of filth, decay, congestion and graffiti. And the cargo trains are even worse when it comes to the graffiti. It truly puzzles me why it is that railroad companies don't clean the graffiti off their railcars.

DART certainly doesn't have the filth like BOS, NY, or London, but then again, DART isn't 100 years old. They do maintain the tradition of building lines along the most unsightly of neighborhoods, but that's understandable given the inevitable NIMBY opposition. The question for DART and TRE is what will they become? Funding will rise and fall year to year, and I am sure shrubbery along the Red Line isn't not going to get top billing this year.

Dallas would do well to build great monumental train stations (and not demolish them!). Any reason at all is a good reason to build monumental places. Sure we don't need them to get by day to day. Sure it would be cheaper to put put up a bus stop sign. But great cities have great public places. Dallas could do with some of this.

[mikeh19468]

Not that we want to necessarily emulate them in many ways, but the Chinese definitely know how to keep up appearances around their high speed rail systems beautifully kept up. It's a 20 minute plus ride from downtown Shanghai to their airport via high speed rail, and the entire distance was nothing but perfectly manicured trees, bushes, and flowers. Obviously labor is much cheaper there, but they definitely know about beautification...

[5stones]

$$$!
in a state and city that is cash strapped and schools are having trouble I would be pretty upset to see my tax dollars going to plant pretty bushes would have my hackles up!

[jeffari-al-texani]

Originally Posted by 5stones

$$$!
in a state and city that is cash strapped and schools are having trouble I would be pretty upset to see my tax dollars going to plant pretty bushes would have my hackles up!

there's a perfect answer right there...

close the thread!

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by 5stones

$$$!
in a state and city that is cash strapped and schools are having trouble I would be pretty upset to see my tax dollars going to plant pretty bushes would have my hackles up!

Couldn't agree more. With all the budget problems facing the state and local municipalities, I'd be furious if my tax dollars were used to placate someone whining about how ugly the metroplex is.

[MurphyPl1]

And a few years ago we were not in this situation and many places were in a position to both provide basic services and improve the infrastructure. Unfortunately Dallas is not a position where it will ever be in a position to provide more than basic services and some amenities that will be under constant threat of closing or deteriorating. It is only due to the donations and volunteers of the immediate neighborhoods that the gems of Dallas are what they are.

And not all cities are in that bind. We had a bond election in 2008 that included beautification of our medians and replacing some fences along our main corridors. Last year there was talk of holding off on the second and third traunch of bond money in order not to raise taxes and there was overwhelming support for moving ahead with the project. Our tax rate in Murphy is not exceptionally high and we are able to get both basic and secondary city services as well as those beautification projects.

I just don't think that anyone associated with the projects the OP listed would be able to do it for a reasonable price or without dragging it out forever.

[mikeh19468]

Don't know if it's common practice in Texas, but in PA, it's not uncommon to have the DUI and other non-violent offenders out in the orange jumpsuits doing not only trash pickup on the roadside, but also some simple landscaping (brush cutback, etc.) as well. That would be a way to do it in a cost effective manner (no real labor cost, just supplies).

[MurphyPl1]

I don't know about Dallas County, but Collin County uses their "trustees" for those kinds of projects. We have an old cemetary in town and the trustees helped with the clean-up.

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by Bostonian08

Dallas would do well to build great monumental train stations (and not demolish them!). Any reason at all is a good reason to build monumental places. Sure we don't need them to get by day to day. Sure it would be cheaper to put put up a bus stop sign. But great cities have great public places. Dallas could do with some of this.

Dallas has Union Station. There has never been talk of demolishing it, so far as I know: