Thursday, February 21, 2008
Dallas police makes changes regarding Lower Greenville St. Patrick’s celebration
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Dressing in a revealing outfit won't be your "Get out of jail free" card this year on Lower Greenville.
St. Patrick's Day is less than a month away, but neighborhood associations, residents, and bar owners have been meeting with the Dallas Police Department since December to make sure things don't get out of hand like they did last year.
The biggest change was in the attitude by the Dallas Police Department: Thanks to the new DPD patrol division alignments, this will be the first year that DPD Central Division is completely responsible for the party (aka Drunks In A Cage).
In prior years, the boundary line was at Vickery Boulevard (on the southern edge of the party). DPD Northeast, which had a conflict of interest since many of its officers worked off-duty at the bars, had no problem 'phoning it in' every year, while the neighborhood residents put up with the illegal parking, noise, and lack of follow-up.
These meetings were the first after-event reviews since the new controls were put in place way back in 2001.
This is not to say it was all peaches and cream at the meetings. A number of residents, mostly from the phony Lower Greenville West NA and Lower Greenville NA insisted that the party permit should not be issued no matter what since it was a threat to the health, safety and welfare of the community.
Quoting from an email sent by phony-LGWNA's Bruce Richardson (click here to see the complete email)
We can, absolutely, insist that this event be denied. We have every right to insist upon denial, and we have more evidence than required, all of it in the public record. So, do not feel any need to compromise or accept halfway solutions. This will get us another year of the status quo. This event is a serious threat to the public health, safety, and welfare. It should be denied, period.
The bottom line: The event promoters must fund the total bill for the ***literally hundreds*** of enforcement personnel that will be needed to
1) ensure DWI/DUI enforcement for thousands of drunk people, most driving cars
2) uphold of all city codes to the letter regarding non-vehicular intoxication/consumption violations
3) uphold the Section 30 Noise Ordinance, again, to the letter, which is unequivocal...
During a meeting held jointly with the bar owners, city staff and police, Bruce and a small band of supporters insisted again that the event should not happen. BD and a few others made the point that if you deny the permit, there will still be a party - but you won't have cops, you won't have trash pickup, and you won't have parking restrictions in place.
After BD made his comments, an acquaintance of many years asked him, "Did the aliens make a switch with your head? You actually made sense in that statement (not sic)."
BD's reply?: "Nope, the aliens did not get me, but I have matured like a fine wine over the years and know which battles to pick and which to pass. This event is going to happen no matter what, so we might as well get more controls on it now. It's nice to see that I am not going to be a nominee for Lower Greenville's Asshole of the Year award either."
The DPD Central Division released a list of changes put in place for St. Patrick's Day 2008 earlier today. Where applicable, explanations and comments are included.
This map shows all the parking restrictions and traffic diversions - go here for a larger and downloadable PDF file.
* Conducted a survey of resident opinions [Each neighborhood was asked to survey their residents on a list of questions proffered by the DPD. We don't have all the answers, but one chart showed by a 2:1 ratio, the residents did not agree that the event should be canceled]
* An increase of 20 additional officers for neighborhood patrols north of Belmont
* “No Parking” signs extended further into neighborhood (east and west, north and south) [Signs will be installed on a streets south of Belmont that were not protected in prior years, mostly in the BelmontNA area. This - and new Resident Parking Only zones - will reduce parking significantly in the area]
* “Respect the Neighborhood” signs will be posted near the entry gates and shuttle staging area [No information as to who will post the signs]
* “Don’t Drink and Drive” signs posted at shuttle staging area [see above]
* One squad of motorcycle officers to assist with traffic control [Way cool]
* One DWI squad [Way cooler]
* Dallas Sheriff Office’s Breathalyzer Unit [Off to cooler you go]
* TABC/Fire Inspectors on site [to monitor maximum occupancy limits in party cage; in six years of parties, no one ever measured the square footage or checked for adequate emergency exits]
* Two DART Officers at Mockingbird Station [no alcoholic beverages on the shuttle busses]
* Dedicated police dispatcher [every year we hear this one, and every year we are told when we call 9-1-1, You are not getting any special treatment]
* Staging of five wreckers [faster response time on illegal parking]
* Code Enforcement officers will be on site [this should be fun to watch]
* Parking Enforcement Officers will be on site [they will work with the wreckers and DPD]
* Increased height of fencing in critical areas [this may make it more difficult to sneak in]
* Cab Stands on north and south ends of Greenville Ave [can we suggest the Blockbuster parking lot?]
* A thorough informational flyer for residents [no information on who is distributing this packet; BD says - Let the bars pay for it!]
* Additional port-o-lets, especially at shuttle drop-off/pick-up
A few points not listed in the original email but discussed during the meetings...
* No Parking Signs [The bars hosting the party will pay for the signs and their assembly, but the neighborhood associations north of Belmont still have to put them in. This was not what many of us were saying at the meetings, and we asked for a clarification. For neighborhoods south of Belmont, a DPD Explorer Post will be doing the sign installations]
* DPD will have command and control of all officers at the party and south of Belmont [in prior years, the bars controlled their officers]
* The DPD officers hired by the bars will be on-site until 3 a.m. [Last year, the bars dismissed their officers at 2am; they also dismissed the Emergency Medical Services hours before the agreed upon time, and that is not going to happen again]
* DPD along with Dallas Fire Rescue will monitor the party crowd within the fencing. The same strategies that were used last year controlling ingress will be utilized.
* There are only about 6-10 bars in the Lowest Greenville area working together to pay for the additional 20 officers for the surrounding neighborhood. This is not a done deal and there is a contingency plan in place to insure that staffing occurs. The towing and parking enforcement strategies will be the same as utilized for the party event [More drunks were arrested south of Belmont last year than anywhere else]
* Closing time for the party is non-negotiable - your booth will be run over by mounted officers [last year, many vendors refused to shut down their booths]
* Private towing services for the Blockbuster and Taco Cabana parking lots will be on-site starting at 8am Saturday morning, so don't even think of parking there.
If you have comments about these restrictions, don't send them to BD. Instead, contact your neighborhood association leaders or City Council Member Angela Hunt.

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Comments
Billusa99 Anonymous
Oh how I miss living 5 blocks from the cage. Passing out free tiks to the event and watching the shenanigans from the front yard were the highlight of the year!
5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
James Scott Verified
So what are the 'official' hours for the event?...and is there an 'official' website for the event, as there is with the parade?
5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Chris Curotolo Staff
We have the parade listed here...
http://www.pegasusnews.com/events/200...
There's a link to the official site on that listing page.
The after party is here...
http://www.pegasusnews.com/events/200...
5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
James Scott Verified
I've seen the listing for the Upper Greenville parade, but that's a completely different event than the 'drunks in a cage' referred to in this article. I've never been able to find an 'official' place to go for information about this Lower Greenville event.
5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Chris Curotolo Staff
I'm sorry about that James. I read your question incorrectly.
I also wasn't able to find any information on the event mentioned here.
5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Rick Yost Verified
It's a hot St. Pat's afternoon in 1984. I'm onstage(outdoor patio) playing music with Ray Wylie Hubbard, in front of what was then the Saloon across from the Blue Goose. The entire street and sidewalks for two blocks were packed with sweaty, drunk, stoned, happy people.
The guys were being stupid, and the girls were flashing their boobs.
That's the Lower Greenville St. Patrick's Day Parade I think of.
Sorry, I felt the need to share.
5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Billusa99 Anonymous
James... there is no official site. Gates (now that they have them) open after the parade ends... about noon. They shut the thing down at 10pm on the dot and run a police team from south to north between Vickery to just north of the Blue Goose. You must get inside one of the bars there or leave.
The fences then come down and traffic can run again after that.
It's only worth experiencing once. Twice if you're 22, or reminiscing that you still are. Three times if you are really good at air guitar and puking in public.
5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Scott Doyle Verified
Yeah, one of my fondest drunken memories was the Toadies reunion show (one of many to come) after the parade in 2006. Plenty of air guitar, crowd-surfing, drinking in line before the show (which, as Bill mentioned, later led to puking in public), etc.
Guess that's why I was pretty let-down they're not doing it again this year, especially since I missed last year - nostalgia, etc.
5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
xdavidwattsx Anonymous
I'm kinda glad they are moving on from the Toadies. Dallas keeps pretending like it's still 1993. It's not. I would like to see some Ghosthustler, though.
5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Mike Orren Staff
More streets added:
http://www.barkingdogs.org/news/node/458
5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
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