10/05/06

Trinity River Bridge now closer to budget?

Dear Honorable Mayor and Council Members:

In this week's Dallas Morning News, I noted that the first Calatrava bridge has been redesigned to come very close to being within budget. 

Hopefully, this does not compromise the structural integrity of the bridge, so that later we find it has the big flaws like Boston's "Big Dig" that was in the news this summer.

There has been an absence of any comments by council members about the proposal by Councilman Rasansky to let the voters have a final say on these bridges.  Perhaps with a better majority like the 65 percent required for a neighborhood to effect limits on building that is in the existing neighborhood overlay ordinance (unlike the last slim majority that approved it). 

Of course, if the council expects that Dallas voters would not approve the bridges, it would be understandable to not put it on the November ballot and hope that the idea dies a quiet death.  However, even that would be an admission that the City Hall realizes that the bridges are not supported by the citizens of Dallas.

Regards,

David W. Tuthill