Fixing streets, adding housing, growing parks vying for Dallas bond dollars
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Dallas has $1.1 billion in proposed bond funding up for grabs for streets, parks, housing, public safety and arts projects — and everyone wants a piece of it.
Why it matters: The 2024 bond proposal will address just a fraction of the infrastructure needs citywide.
- For example, Dallas streets are so notoriously bad — uneven and riddled with potholes — that the half a billion dollars city staff want allocated from the bond package to fix them would cover about 6% of the needs, per city briefings.
Driving the news: The Dallas City Council spent hours Wednesday listening to dozens of residents and business leaders stake their claim to the bond money.
- Housing advocates argued that a bond committee's recommendation devoted too much of the proposal to parks projects and not enough toward affordable housing development.
Catch up fast: The task force, made up of community members appointed by the council, met for months to make recommendations on how to divvy the money.
- The group recommended using $375 million for streets and transportation projects, $350 million for parks and recreation and $25 million for housing, among other recommendations.
- City staff recommend using nearly half of the bond money on street improvements and putting $70 million toward housing projects.
Details: The Dallas Housing Coalition is pushing for $200 million of the bond money to be put toward affordable housing projects.
- Residents wearing coalition T-shirts said it doesn't help to put more money into parks when some people end up living there instead of housing they can't afford.
- The group wants the bond money to go toward building public supportive housing and incentivizing developers to build apartments with affordable rent.
The other side: Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who didn't attend Wednesday's meeting, has repeatedly said parks are a top priority.
- "Look, we need more housing in Dallas. But historically, government is simply not good at playing the role of a housing developer," Johnson said during his state of the city address last week.
What they're saying: Council member Cara Mendelsohn said the bond money should be allocated toward issues the city is responsible for.
- "We cannot solve every issue in the city," Mendelsohn said. "More money should go to our streets."
Flashback: Dallas voters last approved a city bond package in 2017, putting about half of the $1 billion toward street improvements.
What's next: The City Council will discuss the bond proposal again next month.
- It's not clear yet if the council will put the bond issue on the ballot in May or November.