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Excellence lives at Dallas ISD, where students are prepared to lead in college, careers, and their communities. With strong academics, career pathways, and college credit opportunities, Dallas ISD is shaping the next generation of leaders.
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LAKE HIGHLANDS ADVOCATE
VOL. 32 NO. 6
PROFILE
18 The Goldstein newsletter
DINING
12 A cat cafe
FEATURES
8 Public improvement projects
10 The library shuffle
22 Catch up with our council members
COLUMNS
16 Our City’s
History: the street names
At Whiskers and Soda, cats will lounge in chairs and on table tops. Read more on page 12. Photography by Lauren Allen.
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Subway
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C HANGE
ONE PROJECT AT A TIME
The Lake Highlands and North Lake Highlands Public Improvement Districts are leading several large-scale improvement efforts across the area, including the ongoing Skillman Corridor Master Plan, future enhancements near the Walnut Hill Lane bridge and new public art and safety projects along Forest Lane and Audelia Road.
The work, which is done in partnership with the City of Dallas and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), aims to improve traffic safety, increase walkability and create more visually connected public spaces throughout the area.
The Lake Highlands PID generally stretches along the Skillman Street corridor between Abrams Road and Interstate 635, including portions of Royal Lane, Walnut Hill Lane and Church Road near the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Blue Line. The North Lake Highlands PID covers areas north of LBJ Freeway near Forest Lane and Audelia Road.
The Lake Highlands PID is currently working on improving the Skillman Corridor Master Plan, which stretches from Skillman and Abrams down to the Skillman and Forest intersection. There are currently two enhanced medians at Church Road and Skillman Street and Skillman Street and Abrams Road that the PID oversees.
“The Skillman Corridor Master Plan has already had things funded,” explains Vicky Taylor, Lake Highlands and North Lake Highlands PIDs executive
director. “The intersection from Church Road and Skillman down to Skillman and Sedgwick should have a complete enhancement of safety and medians.”
The PID is also partnering with the City and TxDOT on future improvements near the Walnut Hill Lane bridge after receiving a Green Ribbon grant. Planned upgrades include gateway signage and additional landscaping north and south of the bridge.
“For those pieces of the corridor that have not been taken care of yet, we are working with the City for a schematic design to get those taken care of,” she says.
In addition to this Master Plan, the PID is working on implementing a mural that will be placed underneath the Walnut Hill Lane bridge at Watercrest Park.
“We have agreements with the City on certain portions of (Watercrest) that we maintain,” she explains. “And, a lot of these improvements are in collaboration with the City to help improve our area.”
At the North Lake Highlands PID, the organization is working with the City on a Forest Lane Master Plan that will include Forest Lane, I-635 and Skillman Street. With many residents concerned with public safety and transportation issues, the organization has partnered again with the City to implement intersection improvement and safety at Forest Lane and Audelia Road.
“We are also going to be focusing on adding art at the Forest-Audelia Park,” she says.
The Public Improvement Districts are working to reshape parts of Lake Highlands
Story by SYRA CASTILLO
Beyond infrastructure projects, the Lake Highlands PID organizes roughly 17 outdoor community events each year aimed at bringing residents together, connecting them with City resources and strengthening relationships with local law enforcement.
“When it comes to public safety, you just can’t arrest your way out of crime in a community,” Taylor says. “So, there are community engagement and crime reduction events that we do to engage the community and their relationship with DPD as well.”
Those events include family movie nights in partnership with the Dallas Police Department, seasonal extravaganza events and shredding events.
Live music programming at Watercrest Park is used to activate public spaces and encourage residents to leave their homes and enjoy the outdoors.
“We’re trying to program the park, help make people aware of it, and create a space where people can come out, get to know their neighbors and enjoy the community,” she says.
The PID hosts community-focused events throughout the year, including “Community and Cops,” initiatives inside apartment complexes, National Night Out, public safety programming and large seasonal events.
“We try to be proactive,” Taylor says. “Whether it’s bringing resources to our meetings or events, the goal is to anticipate the challenges and address them early so we can improve as we go.”
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WHEN EVERYONE KNOWS THAT NOBODY KNOWS
Dallas Public Library will see changes within the system by the next city budget
Story by ADVOCATE STAFF
What’s happening to City Hall? And did alley trash ever really get figured out? Are the Dallas Stars leaving us to go north? What are we doing with the Neiman Marcus Downtown? Why can’t we stay on budget?
Dallas isn’t quite good at definitive decisions. And now there’s been talk of closures, regions, flagships, naming rights, coffee shops and passport offices. We don’t know what to do about our libraries.
There have been three options that have been discussed to mitigate funding issues, one of which includes branch closures. City council members and some residents hope to keep all branches open, but there has not been a resolution to keep all libraries open permanently. The current budget problems don’t make things clearer.
It all started with the City of Dallas’ Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget. City leaders did not include funds to keep the Skillman Southwestern Library open. It also stated that the Dallas Public Library was tasked with “reimagining services through the creation of a library regional model,” which would utilize flagship locations with extended services and identify up to four branches for potential closure in the FY 2026-27.
This was approved on Sept. 18, 2025. After outrage, a few last-ditch saving efforts and a tug-of-war, Skillman Southwestern Library closed Sept. 27, 2025.
“No one wants to close libraries, but my predecessor was put in a position, just like I am being now, with significant budget pressures,” says Manya Shorr, Dallas Public Library director. “And she looked at a map and saw that there were a number of very close libraries to Skillman Southwestern and made the best
recommendation she could at the time.”
At the beginning of the year, Shorr presented a regional model plan to the Quality of Life, Arts and Cultural Committee, which would create five flagship libraries that provide extended hours and expanded programming and services to offset the closure of the branches.
The selected flagships, Fretz Park, Vickery Park, Pleasant Grove, Hampton-Illinois and Bachman Lake, were chosen based on proximity to major intersections and public transit. Additionally, two more flagships are planned to be selected for the Southwest and East regions, depending on the 2027-28 FY development.
To address a $2.6 million budget reduction requirement for the next fiscal year, Oak Lawn, Skyline, Renner Frankford and Arcadia Park branches were slated to close to provide general fund savings. Since Arcadia Park is maintained in partnership with Dallas ISD, there’s a potential for the district to take over the management of the branch.
The recommendations for the closures were selected based on three elements: community need (median household income, population of high school completion, population under 5 years old), library usage (checkouts, computer sessions, programs, program attendance) and library coverage (reachability within a 15-minute drive for residents, square footage of the branch).
“So when we learned the names of the libraries, of course, and we wanted to make sure that none of the libraries were closed. That’s when we all came out, people who lived in those areas, as well as just library lovers in general, saying, ‘This is silly,’” says Denise McGovern, executive director of the Friends of the Dallas Public Library.
At the conclusion of the January committee meeting, council members urged Shorr to return with a proposal to keep all branches open, evaluate the proximity of branches to similar City facilities (such as community, recreation and cultural centers), expand information on community access, additional features to consider (such as voting and other external services), and revenue considerations.
Following the presentation of the regional model, a survey commissioned by the Friends of the Dallas Public Library was conducted from Feb. 13-26.
In the survey, 97% of respondents supported that funding should be maintained or increased. Majorities opposed closing four branch libraries in exchange for expanded hours at five others (73%), opposed the regional/flagship model in general (72%) and opposed the closing of some libraries even to avoid reductions in hours, staffing and services at remaining libraries (53%).
“ The survey … is just one data point that we used to make updated recommendations to the Quality of Life, Arts and Culture Committee because it’s not statistically significant,” Shorr says. “It was just an open survey, and granted, 4,000 people filled it out in two weeks, which is amazing, but it did not necessarily represent the entire city.”
Outrage against the library closures seems to be more conceptual than personal. Forty-seven percent of respondents said closures wouldn’t affect them or declined to answer.
When asked about their preferences on how to solve the funding issue, the majority of respondents thought the City should increase funding toward libraries. If unable to do so, the majority thought libraries should keep all branches open
Illustration
and reduce hours citywide. Closing some branches to utilize the flagship model was the third choice for most respondents.
Willingness to travel to a library if their library was closed was about 50-50.
The results of the survey were included in an April update to the Quality of Life, Arts and Cultural Committee. Shorr presented the three options. One, the regional model with four closures and five flagships, originally presented Jan. 20, 2026. A second option with flagships and no branch closures. Lastly, keeping everything the same, no closures and no flagships option.
The second flagship model where all branches stay open, was the most well-received by the committee.
“That’s wonderful, except that still doesn’t solve the issue of the $2.6 million in the budget,” McGovern says. “And so if the money continues to be cut, the entire system is still intact and has a lot of opportunity, but still doesn’t have the funding.”
To address the funding issue for the flagship model, Shorr presented options to help raise revenue in the branches. Proposals included increased room rental costs, incorporating paid parking to the central library and seeking to add passport offices to libraries in areas that could use that service.
Around the horseshoe, District 7 Council member Adam Bazaldua suggested additional revenue options such as sponsorship and naming-rights opportunities or leasing options for coffee shops.
“I think the problem is the public library is not designed to be a revenue-driving department,” Shorr says, adding that to make it so, the library system’s mission of being “free and open to the public” would need to change. “We don’t have a model that supports raising that kind of revenue that would offset our budget. So I can’t imagine we would ever make up enough money … to fill a $2.6 million budget shortfall.”
In a similar vein, McGovern is wary about how operations could be affected if all 29 libraries remain open without the $2.6 million in funding to the library system.
“The biggest part of it is getting the funding back so that it doesn’t have an impact that causes loss of hours or personnel,” McGovern says. “I mean, it’s a
lot of money, but not a lot of money in the giant pot of the budget.”
But it’s quite expensive to run buildings, and reductions would have to be more extensive if the flagship model was implemented. Shorr says one of the ways to find budget dollars is by substantially reducing staff positions and hours.
It’s not like the City just needs to scale back $2.6 million. Currently, the City has an expected $34 million shortfall and has a spending and hiring freeze. This means we’re not over budget yet, but we’re likely not going to stay in line with the biggest budget that Dallas has ever seen at $5.2 billion. The bulk of the deficit is public safety overtime and increased medical claims out of the self-insured employee health fund. But decreased revenue streams like property and sales taxes, while infrastructure needs continue to surge, aren’t helping either.
On May 3, Mayor Eric Johnson released a statement condemning council members for speaking out against closing libraries after approving a budget last year that recommended the potential closure of up to four library branches.
“Fiscal responsibility is a year-round, full-time job. If your elected officials talk about it 11 months of the year but refuse to support spending reductions when voting on the budget — or if they vote in favor of budget reductions only to fight against their implementation — Dallas’ budget will never be fixed,” he said.
Dallasites are expected to get a more definitive plan when the city manager releases her proposed budget in mid-August, Shorr says.
“I would say that no library director wants to close branches, least of all me,” she says. “I’ve been in public libraries
for 30 years. It’s gut wrenching to think about closing library locations, but the City of Dallas has not adequately funded the Dallas Public Library for 25 years, and we’ve really reached a tipping point where our budget does not support the number of locations that we have, and so the goal in recommending the regional model with the closures was really to rightsize our budget so that we could create sustainability in service to our community going forward.”
Budgets for libraries are tight nationwide, but Dallas’ issue is also “not the norm,” Shorr says.
She pointed to a chart in the regional model presentation from January that compares Dallas to other cities of similar populations, which seems to show that Dallas’ library system is underfunded.
Despite this, Shorr wants libraries to offer more services to Dallasites, not less. But the City may have to think outside the box to accomplish that goal.
“No matter what happens, we will still be exploring creative and innovative ways to offer more library services in the future,” Shorr says. “They’re going to look different than what Dallas is used to right now, which is just standalone libraries. But I’ve been talking about this for a year, the idea that we have more libraries in retail areas, whether strip malls or malls, that we have more partnership opportunities, that we have smaller footprint libraries that don’t cost as much. That, along with the flagships, is the future of the Dallas Public Library and how we’re going to offer more to people in the future.”
Which plan will the City ultimately go with? That’s unclear, and nothing is off the table yet.
THE BEST LITTLE CATHOUSE IN EAST DALLAS
Whiskers and Soda aims to create a third space for kitties, humans & coffee
Story by MADELYN EDWARDS
Photography by LAUREN ALLEN
If you’re a cat lover, Whiskers and Soda on Garland Road might be paradise.
At the membership-based cat cafe, felines lounge in chairs, in beds and on table tops while sometimes receiving pets from humans. They also have the option to climb up onto shelves, ceiling rafters and cat furniture.
Humans inside the cafe wear shoe coverings to prevent tracking in anything unwanted around the cats and to soften the blow in case a cat tail is stepped on. Visitors are also given a set of ground rules — cats are not to be picked up and carried around, sleeping felines shouldn’t be woken up, volume inside the cafe should be normal and not too loud, young children are required to be supervised. And please, no flash photography.
“What we always ask people to do is just sit down,” says Rob Stovall, one of the cafe’s owners. “They’ll come to you. The ones that want love and attention, and they’ll come right up to you, and then you can hold them and everything, but if you just pick one up, you’re risking getting scratched or bit.”
Coffee drinks with punny names (Capurrcino, Amerigato, Meow Mocha, Long Cat Latte, Meowchiato, Cold Mew Brew and Iced Catfee) are served alongside pastries in a corner of the large room encased by glass to keep the cats from tainting the food and beverages as well as out of harm’s way. The cafe’s pastry and coffee supply comes from two East Dallas establishments — Lakewood’s Leila Bakery & Cafe and Cultivar Coffee Roasting Co., which is down the street from Whiskers and Soda.
Lake Highlands residents Rob and Caroline Stovall run Whiskers and Soda. Caroline used to live in England before moving to Dallas 18 years ago to be with Rob, and she noticed differences in animal welfare in the U.S. Her husband specifically pointed out the number of stray cats across the pond compared to the states.
Per a 2021 study by two people associated with the Cats Protection United Kingdom Cat Centre, the urban unowned cat population in the U.K., Caroline’s former home, was estimated to be 247,429. That same year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN
Whisker and Soda’s coffee drinks, courtesy of Cultivar Coffee Roasting Co., have punny names like Capurrcino, Amerigato, & Cold Mew Brew. Pastries from Leila Bakery & Cafe are also served.
Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service and Wildlife Services noted the number of unowned cats to be between 30 and 80 million in a report. In our state, The Texas Tribune reported that about 568,325 cats and dogs were admitted to shelters in 2023.
To be fair, the U.K. is smaller in geographical size and population compared to the U.S. by almost five times for the latter. But there are more than twice as many people in the U.K. than Texas.
Thinking that animals need better protection in Texas, Caroline started doing more volunteer work and became president of the nonprofit A Voice for All Paws a few years ago.
“Caroline does nothing halfway,” Rob says. “It’s either 150% or zero.”
For Rob’s part, he developed a love for animals when he was young. Plus, he is supportive of his wife and was able to retire early to work on Whiskers and Soda.
“I could only golf so much,” he says. “So I was willing to devote that time to helping this place get going.”
Whiskers and Soda was born out of a need to introduce cats to potential adopters in a conducive environment. Before, there were two options. A foster parent either had to invite people into their home, and not all are comfortable with that, or volunteers would set up outside of PetSmarts with the cats in cages to find people willing to take one of them home. The downside is that being trapped in a loud, parking lot-adjacent space can stress the animals out.
“We just were like, ‘We wish we had a place where the cats lived, where that was their home. They’re relaxed, they’re comfortable, and people can get to know them in that setting to really find out who they bond with,’” Rob says. “And it just kind of dawned on us. We’re like, ‘Well, what we’re talking about is a cat cafe.’”
Starting Whiskers and Soda in 2023, with rescue intake and animal boarding on the other side of the building, wasn’t an easy process. About four months after opening the cafe (which used to be an accounting firm), a mix-up with the City ensued, and for six months, it operated without the ability to sell food and drinks, Rob says. Finally, they were able to reopen as a cafe after enclosing the kitchen in glass and adding a grease trap.
The rescue cats at Whiskers and Soda come from A Voice for All Paws. Before they are allowed in the cafe, they must be quarantined, fixed, socialized and examined for their health, Rob says. After that, they are placed in a room in the building that is off limits to customers, and the felines come and go through the cat
doors between that private space to out in the cafe area. There is also a kitten room that sequesters the younglings from the adult cats and only allows a handful of humans at a time. The cats’ health and wellbeing are monitored by caretakers, who can take action if the animals are sick or stressed.
Self-cleaning litter boxes and food and drink bowls are scattered throughout the cafe so that the cats have access to the necessities.
Be warned that you will have to pay to get in the door to the cafe — $16 for non-member adults and $8 for children for the first hour and then half that for additional hours booked at one time. Memberships range from $5 to $200 per month. Members get discounted rates and other perks depending on their tier level. Walk-ins are subject to availability since only 30 people are allowed in at a time.
In the beginning, children under 6 years old weren’t allowed in, but now, kids of all ages can visit as long as they are supervised. Of course, that also means dealing with children who don’t follow the rules.
“We have so many amazing reviews, but we’ve got a few bad ones, and some of the bad ones are about people complaining about kids,” Rob says. “There’s good kids, there’s bad kids. There’s kids that know how to behave, there’s kids that don’t, there’s parents that know how to parent, there’s parents that don’t know how to parent. We’re not going to be that judge. We’re just going to let them in or talk to them before they come in, and if they’re being bad, we’ll have conversations with them.”
If a customer wants to adopt a cat, they go through that process with the rescue organization. Rob described the cafe’s role as more akin to a foster.
A little over 1,000 cats found homes through Whiskers and Soda in 2024, and Rob says they expected to reach 1,200 adoptions in 2025. Rob also mentioned that he and his wife were looking for a second Whiskers and Soda location to connect more animals with families.
“It’s all about just getting cats adopted and just trying our best to do the right thing and help the community,” Caroline said in a previous Lakewood/ East Dallas Advocate article.
However, even people who don’t want to take a cat home are welcome in the cafe, Rob says. Some even consider it to be their third space.
“We get so many people that just love cats and want to hang out with them,” he says. “Even if they all have cats, it doesn’t matter. Or they don’t have cats, and they like cats, or someone in their family is allergic, so this is their way to get their cat fix in.”
OUR STREETS
Lake Highlands history in street names
Story by JOHN SLATE
As you drive, walk and bike the streets of Lake Highlands, you’ve probably wondered at one time or another where the street names come from. Some of this has been discussed in past issues of the Advocate , like Audelia Road.
Audelia’s named for the tiny community that once existed at the intersection of Forest and Audelia, just north of what is now Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, aka US Interstate 635. The village was in turn named for Ardelia Ellen Jackson West, whose husband and father built and operated a general store and post office for about 50 years.
The L Streets have also received their due. Bounded roughly by Walnut Hill Lane, Plano Road, Ferndale Road, and Northwest Highway, all but a few in this area begin with the letter “L.” The origin remains a mystery.
Skillman, named for banker and civic leader William F. Skillman, was renamed from Lindbergh – as in Charles Lindbergh, the pioneering transatlantic aviator. Lindbergh’s name was stripped by the Dallas City Council in 1941 for his comments that supported Adolf Hitler and antisemitism.
A stretch of Abrams was once called Greenville Road and was changed in the 1930s, possibly to avoid confusion with Greenville Avenue. It’s named for Harold Abrams, railroad executive, civic leader and a founder of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
This map showing the Lake Highlands area in 1936 shows that there were few roads then, most of them simple country lanes. Some of them, like Audelia, were previously wagon trails and possibly Indian traces earlier. State Highway 114, which is now Northwest Highway/Loop 12, cuts through the northern end of White Rock Lake as it does today. The only developed area is Vickery, which has US Route 75 (Central Expressway) running through it. Greenville Avenue splits off in Vickery at a nearly 45-degree angle. Abrams, Skillman, and Audelia are the three roads cutting through White Rock Creek and Jackson Branch Creek. Map courtesy of Dallas Municipal Archives.
Streets that utilize parts of Lake Highlands in the name – Lakeland, Royal Highlands, Lakemere – all derive their name from the original Lake Highlands additions, developed in the late 1920s-1930s by Henry Wilbur Brouse.
For that matter, folks might like to know the connection between the Vickery neighborhood and Lake Highlands.
H. W. Brouse’s wife, Allie Vickery Brouse, was the daughter of Richard Vickery of Waxahachie and Fort Worth.
“R. Vickery” and colleagues in the Works-Coleman Land Company developed a number of subdivisions in Dallas and Fort Worth.
The pioneering Goforth family are connected to two streets in Lake Highlands: Goforth Road and Church Road. The family once owned a large swath of the property reaching from Northwest Highway to Garland Road, much of it purchased by the City of Dallas to create White Rock Lake. Church Road is named for Samuel Churchwell Goforth — called Church – a prominent cotton farmer and cattleraiser who lived on what’s now Flagpole Hill until 1911.
Another pioneer, J. B. Merriman, is the namesake of Merriman Park Addition and Merriman Parkway. He came to Dallas County from Virginia in 1880. His farm and home were on Abrams Road at White Rock Creek, which is now inside Merriman Park Addition.
AND THAT’S THE WAY IT IS
The former journalist’s newsletter has become a go-to guide for Dallas residents
The idea of City Hall can feel daunting for many residents to understand. Between endless scheduling, zoning plans, budget discussions, town hall meetings and other government jargon, some Dallas residents may steer away navigating local government.
However, for Scott Goldstein, those complexities presented an opportunity to help bridge the knowledge gap surrounding City Hall.
Goldstein, a Maryland native and current Lake Highlands resident, understands firsthand how complicated local government can be.
“I worked for the last mayor, Mayor Rawlings, from 2015 to 2019,” he says. “After that, I served time on the park board, where I recently just stepped down.”
Goldstein says his decision to step down from the park board was largely personal, stemming from the challenge of balancing volunteer public service with his growing consulting business.
“These volunteer positions, if you want to do them right, can be really difficult when you have a full-time job,” he explains.
Still, Goldstein’s interest in local government never faded. Instead, he found a new way to stay engaged through his public-facing newsletter focused on Dallas City Hall.
Goldstein’s connection to Dallas is deeply personal. He and his wife, Samantha Goldstein, have lived in Lake Highlands for more than a decade, first purchasing their home in the L Streets before later moving just a mile and a half away within the same neighborhood.
“We’ve ended up in Lake Highlands twice now,” he says. “It just kind of draws you in. It feels like a small town within a big city.”
His newsletter, Meetings of Interest, also marked a return to Goldstein’s journalistic roots.
“From 2006 to 2014, I worked at The Dallas Morning News , where I covered Dallas police, courts and Dallas City Hall,” he says.
Naturally, the routine of researching and studying all government memos and committee agendas each week was already familiar to him from his earlier reporting days.
“I just felt like (government) information would be of value to a segment of our community and would
Story by SYRA CASTILLO | Photography by VICTORIA GOMEZ
support good government,” he says.
The beginning of Meetings of Interest traces back to Downtown Dallas Inc., where Goldstein worked full-time about three years ago.
During his time there, the organization produced an internal memo called “Meetings of Interest,” which later inspired the name of Goldstein’s newsletter.
“I give DDI and the folks that worked on it there a lot of credit, because they had that internal mechanism to report out to the staff,” he says.
According to Goldstein, readership and engagement quickly exceeded his expectations.
Today, the newsletter has around 5,500 subscribers.
“Usually Sunday night, sometimes Monday morning, there will be a dispatch from me reporting out on what’s to come and why it’s important,” he says.
Goldstein breaks down dense City agendas and development discussions by using bullet-points, table-ofcontents, highlights and recaps of
previous agendas. The newsletter is also available on a website for those who aren’t subscribed to access.
Although the newsletter draws heavily from his reporting background, Goldstein says he no longer considers himself a traditional journalist. Instead, he views his project as a way to complement local reporting and highlight the work of Dallas news organizations.
“I appreciate very much the journalists who actually do the day-to-day work,” he says.
Former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says Goldstein’s ability to explain intricate city issues made him an important part of his administration.
“Scott is a relentless worker who knows exactly how the gears of City Hall turn,” Rawlings says. “He was a vital part of my office because he can take the most complex policy and translate it into what matters for residents. He’s spent his career as a journalist, a policy advisor and a communicator explaining this city to itself. His newsletter is a natural — and necessary — extension of that work.”
With thousands of local subscribers, Goldstein has become a resource for Dallas residents who want to stay informed even when they cannot attend City meetings.
“If I can bring someone factual information, even though I can be snarky and sometimes insert my opinions, then I’ll do it,” he says. “I think information and awareness helps your government and helps a democratic system thrive.”
Former Dallas Park and Recreation Board President Joan Walne says Goldstein’s ability to combine information with humor keeps his readers engaged.
“We are so thankful Scott spends all weekend considering all important city and City Hall news and actions,” Walne says. “The most enjoyable part is his very quick wit and humor added to the crazy things happening.”
Meetings of Interest is currently not affiliated with any other organization. Goldstein receives editing support from his wife, Samantha, and from co-founder Vana Hammond of The GoldHam Group as he continues building the newsletter each week.
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WE’VE ALL DONE IT BEFORE — swer ved around a pothole before our tire sinks into it, sat through another bumperto-bumper traffic jam or wondered why a neighborhood issue never seems to get fixed.
But for residents in Dallas’ Districts 9 and 13, those frustrations often begin with one question: “Who is responsible?”
To better understand the priorities, challenges and concerns shaping both districts, council members Paula Blackmon of District 9 and Gay Donnell Willis of District 13 answered questions about the communities they represent.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FOR RESIDENTS WHO LIVE IN YOUR DISTRICT?
BLACKMON: Residents directly north of Northwest Highway face high-speed traffic and safety risks on major corridors (Mockingbird, Buckner, Garland, Northwest Highway) that pass through residential areas. Residents also face quality-of-life concerns tied to proposed industrial zoning (e.g., asphalt batch plant) near Northwest Highway and Garland Road. Aging underground utilities, including water and wastewater infrastructure requiring repairs and replacements, also affect residents.
WILLIS: Most residents are concerned about street and alley repair and maintenance. District 13 has one of the highest numbers of lane miles, so there is always a need. With the general fund public works funding increasing by $31 million last year, and the bond initiatives around streets and alleys, more progress will become visible with each passing month. Drivers can already experience major repaving
A CONVERSATION WITH OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS
Paula Blackmon and Gay Donnell Willis addressed the concerns they hear most often from residents.
Interviews by SYRA CASTILLO
on Royal Lane, Midway Road, Inwood Road and Forest Lane.
WHAT CONCERNS ARE YOU HEARING MOST OFTEN FROM YOUR RESIDENTS?
BLACKMON: Frequent feedback from residents includes: traffic safety, reports of speeding, signal-running and collisions. Air and noise pollution arising from industrial activity in residential zones. Water main disruptions due to ongoing Dallas water utilities construction. And, housing affordability, as longtime residents face rising property values and limited housing stock.
WILLIS: Public safety is always a concern in the upper Greenville Avenue, Park Lane, Abrams Road and Walnut Hill areas. These are very high-density apartment communities, and this is the area where crime has historically occurred. The good news is that, over the past few decades, Dallas Police Department officers who remember what these areas used to be like in terms of crime have seen a vast improvement. There is still work to do, but it’s on the right trajectory.
ARE THERE ANY MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS OR PROJECTS UNDERWAY?
BLACKMON: Key projects in District 9 include White Rock Lake dredging that is funded with $20 million from the 2024 bond and $2 million from federal allocation. Additionally, water and wastewater infrastructure include new mains on Garland Road, St. Francis Street, Jupiter Road, Executive Drive, north of Northwest Highway, which are expected to be completed in spring 2026.
Traffic corridor studies will be done on Jupiter Road, Garland Road will see the Next Generation Planning, there is the White Rock Lake Master Plan, and transportation safety partnerships targeting high-volume corridors under DPD and public works are happening.
WILLIS: On the eastern side of District 13, there is a major streets project coming on Fair Oaks and Park Lane. Congresswoman Julie Johnson just secured $850,000 in funds for Hemlock Avenue improvements. The City’s 2024 bond package included a new sprayground and pavilion for Fair Oaks Park, and the Vickery Park Library is targeted to become a flagship location in the Dallas library system.
ARE THERE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PROBLEMS OR HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS IN YOUR DISTRICT?
BLACKMON: District 9 faces a lack of housing options for long-time residents and essential workers due to rising costs and teardowns of modest homes. The City is currently working toward the implementation of the new “Dallas Is Home” initiative. Plus, we are working on leveraging bond funding for mixed-income developments and encouraging developers to include affordable units.
WILLIS: The central part of the district has high-dollar homes, but on the periphery, there is more affordability in terms of homes and rentals. This past month, the City Council approved a permanent supportive housing property on Meadow Road near U.S. Highway 75. It will have supportive wraparound
services for those moving from unsheltered to housed.
ARE THERE PLANS TO IMPROVE ROADS, PUBLIC TRANSIT, OR PEDESTRIAN SAFETY?
BLACKMON: High volume crashes on Northwest Highway and Buckner Road corridors continue among highest for serious crashes in the city. There is frequent high-speed and signal ignoring, especially during peak commuting hours. Plans in place include increased DPD enforcement on speeding and signal running. Infrastructure changes include pedestrian barriers, improved crosswalks, signal turning and curb bumpouts. There are also ongoing reviews with public works for redesigns on roadway segments. I would urge residents to slow down and encourage their neighbors to slow down as well.
WILLIS: Yes, the eastern part of District 13 is fortunate to have two light rail DART stations. At The Hill (Walnut Hill & U.S. Highway 75) there is a new highrise being constructed that is considered a TOD — transit-oriented development. This gives residents closer proximity to the rail so they don’t have to rely on a car to get to work, shopping or entertainment if they don’t want to. The sidewalks along Greenville need to be improved or added in order to make it easier for people to utilize public transit. I’ll be advocating for more pavement marking funds to bring greater awareness to how drivers must share roadways with pedestrians at crosswalks.
IS THERE ANYTHING RESIDENTS SHOULD KNOW THAT ISN’T GETTING ENOUGH ATTENTION?
BLACKMON: Residents
should know about the climate resiliency, creek restoration and stormwater management. Though ongoing, these infrastructural aspects require sustained attention. The environmental equity in land use ensures disadvantaged neighborhoods aren’t burdened with industrial zoning (e.g., batch plant debate). Community-led oversight encourages residents to stay engaged through ForwardDallas planning efforts, utility construction updates and infrastructure hearings. Although it’s gotten a lot of attention, a lot of residents are still unaware of the conversations surrounding the future of City Hall.
WILLIS: In addition to streets and public safety, residents should know that there is an ongoing effort to move the homeless people they see into shelter and housing. With tough economic times, the inflow can be tough to manage, but the City has budgeted ways to keep more people housed as they work through tough times. Those on the streets have often been traumatized in some way, so it can be harder to build trust and get them to move to shelter. I’m so appreciative of the City’s street response team as well as our contracted partners at Austin Street Shelter, The Stewpot, Family Gateway and The Bridge. As well as the work of Housing Forward in working day in and day out to humanize this issue in our community.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
District 10 Council member Kathy Stewart did not respond to the Advocate’s request for an interview by publication time.
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