Rebuilding Dallas’ District Four a block at a time

by Michael Davis of of Dallas Progress

For years, we have been complaining about the lights being out on the Corinth Street Bridge. This is the bridge that starts near the Longhorn Ballroom at Industrial and takes you to Oak Cliff near the Corinth Street station. In 2006, a wheelchair-bound man was struck and killed on the bridge because no one could see him.

For years, no one at City Hall would see to it that the lights were fixed. Why? I have no idea.

Dwaine Caraway made it a priority, and some months ago the project began to repair all of the lights on the bridge. For everyone that uses the bridge, I know it's been frustrating to sit in one lane of traffic going each way.

It took some time but the lights are now back on! I can't remember a time when the bridge lights were fully functional. For those that drive it on a regular basis, you know that you used to have to drive with your high beams on just to make sure no one was in the street at night.

I hope that these improvements make the the holiday trips a little bit safer for residents of Oak Cliff.

This bridge marks the northern point of the Corinth/Lancaster Road Initiative that we have talked about since the campaign trail. The actual term came from us (well, actually Dwaine). It's one piece of a bigger puzzle.

Here are some of the projects approved or under construction along Lancaster:

*Mixed-use development at the corner of 8th & Corinth.

*Brand-new supermarket just south of the Illinois DART Station.

*DART Police HQ moving to the Monroe Shops.

*Job training and office space complex where the Sunset and Southern Comfort Hotels once stood.

The eastern part of District Four is also undergoing change. Our "east side" neighborhoods are working on a comprehensive plan which will immediately go into effect once approved. And right in the middle of district four, Joppa is undergoing a transformation thanks to the Trinity River Project, volunteer groups, and a mass of determined neighbors.

A block at a time, District Four will be revitalized.

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