03/01/04  Report on NTTA Staged Community Meeting

Kathleen Matsumura furnished the following:

Folks....

FIRST ...  I was at the Groundwork Dallas meeting next door to the NTTA hearing for the Ideal Neighborhood last Thursday.  I missed the presentation but did pick up a packet of info. The last page was a Comment Form stating "The North Texas Tollway Authority is seeking your comments on the proposed project."  For those who would like to send "comments, concerns or suggestions" on the NTTA's Trinity Parkway EIS, direct them to:

NOTE: You might find inspiration for your written missives in the reports below.

SECOND...
Joe and Jim attended the NTTA hearing.  A big thank you to both for attending, asking the questions the opposition so hates to hear and reporting back!  I may have missed it, but.did The Dallas Morning News cover any of the NTTA hearings?  

1 Joe reports:

As a follow up to the Thursday, Ideal Neighborhood meeting.  There were a number of Trinity Commons folks who attended.  They were, however, silent.  Chris Anderson with NTTA began the meeting by requesting all present allow "members of the community" to ask their questions and make comments prior to other members of the Community Advisory Committee or others.  Mr. Anderson said Halff Associates' Martin Malloy would make a presentation before any questions or comments.

Malloy and his assistant made what amounted to a sales presentation.  The number of community residents attending was less than 10.  They were way outnumbered by Halff and Trinity Commons business types.  Jim Flood and I were the only two environmental group reps present for the whole meeting.  Jo Ann Hill and some others involved in the Groundwork's meeting going on next door stayed for the first few minutes and then left to attend their meeting.

Malloy's sales presentation emphasized that the Trinity Toll Roads (he continues to call a Parkway) would route traffic around the neighborhood.  His assistant provided details about a small number of houses and businesses that would be bought out since they were in the ROW of the 6 lanes with frontage roads which are now planned.  Malloy claimed by shifting traffic to the Trinity Pkwy, SM Wright traffic and lanes could be reduced and SM Wright would be turned into a BLVD landscaped (at some future time by the City of Dallas).  He said this would improve the neighborhood and reduce traffic.

Malloy also emphasized Noise abatement walls, landscaping, efforts to incorporate pedestrian and vehicular flow though the neighborhood in spite of the new Toll Roads.  The Frontage roads in this area were I believe a new add on.  Malloy indicated they would lead to development and economic opportunities for the neighborhood due to improved access.  Malloy stated no trucks would be allowed on the Trinity Toll Roads and this project would reduce and route traffic around the Ideal neighborhood.

Mr. Malloy indicated it would not be possible for the Trinity Toll Roads to go under Lamar St. as requested by Councilman Chaney, since that would require Lamar be elevated which would impact existing businesses' access to Lamar.

When the "sales presentation" was over, members of the community asked a variety of questions primarily aimed at what the community would receive as compensation for the Toll Roads being built through their neighborhood.  Specifically, housing improvements, NCTCOG Sustainable Development federal/state grants were suggested as a possibility by a Halff consultant in the back of the room. 

When asked if a portion of the Toll revenue would come to improve the neighborhood, Anderson said something to the affect that NTTA would like to meet with the neighbors to see what can be done to address their needs.  There were implied promises of non-specific neighborhood benefits.  The specific commitments related to the Toll Roads Noise abatement walls, landscaping, pedestrian and vehicular connections improvements etc.

Diane Ragsdale asked a series of pointed questions about environmental racism and impacts, and economic consequences and indicated clearly her opinion that the neighborhood should receive some benefits if this is going to be built.  A local minister took the same position and mentioned a local community center as a good organization to receive support.  Ms. Mixon, a neighborhood leader, said similar things.

Charles Johnson (I believe his name) who is on the Community Advisory Committee and who strongly supports the Trinity Toll Roads stated a jobs training center should be set up in the neighborhood so people who lived in the neighborhood could be employed during construction or operation of the Toll Roads.

After all the "community" members (and some who were not) spoke, Jim Flood raised his hand and asked a series of questions.  Specifically, if trucks were not allowed on the Trinity Pkwy, where would truck traffic go?  The answer was not clear, but seems to be through the neighborhood --  SM Wright Fwy to I-45, like they go now.  That contradicts Malloy's concept of SM Wright having less traffic and being made into a Blvd.

Jim also got a commitment from Anderson that a copy of the EIS will be located for neighborhood review at the community center where we meti.

I made the following comments:  
I represent the Sierra Club and had followed this project for the past several years.  I am not aware of any other neighborhood in Dallas where three major highways converge.  With the addition of 6 lanes of Trinity Toll Roads and 2 additional frontage road lanes, there would be 4 major high speed highways converging and dissecting the neighborhood.   75 SM Wright, I-75 I-45 and the Trinity Toll Roads.  I said the consultants have repeatedly stated the Toll Roads would carry 100,000 vehicles a day.

Despite Malloy's' statements to the contrary, this project would increase traffic, noise, air pollution in the neighborhood -- not decrease it.  I stated there are scientific studies which establish that neighborhoods adjacent to high volume high speed traffic expose residents to increased levels of air toxics which do have adverse health consequences.  I said the NTTA has a responsibility to publish in its EIS comparisons of air pollution, noise and visual impacts on the neighborhoods with the Toll Roads and without them.  I urged the neighborhood leaders to make sure whatever promises are being made or implied by project sponsors they get them written down on the dotted line before agreeing to support the Toll Roads.

I said these are good professional men making presentations, but their profession is building big roads.  I was sure promises had been made to the neighborhood when they built I-45 , I-75 and 175, too but doubted the promises were kept.  

Finally, I said these Toll Roads are being built to carry a lot of traffic from Southern and Seagoville to North Dallas and DFW Airport, that they are not being built to benefit this neighborhood and would in fact harm it.  I asked Malloy to explain exactly how this project would reduce traffic when it adds 8 lanes including the frontage roads and 100,000 vehicles a day.

Immediately after I spoke and before Malloy could respond, Charles Johnson responded by characterizing me as a "white guy who doesn't live in the community and who monopolizes all these meetings and tries to tell the community what they should do".   

As a representative of the Sierra Club, I will continue to state my view that the Federal Hwy Adm. is absolutely correct to be concerned about environmental racism that this project and its alignments, purposes and cost and benefits represent. Convincing residents of the neighborhood of this point view is a strategy which is worth pursuing in our efforts to encourage the City of Dallas and NTTA to rethink the project and come up with other less adversely impacting alternatives.

As I drove away, it occurred to me what a benefit a DART rail or bus station would have for this neighborhood rather than another highway.  DART rail would serve the neighbors not suburban sprawl commuters who are not likely to stop and shop on their way to work or home.  Improved DART Rail or Bus access would open up both development options for the neighborhood and employment access for residents.  It would enhance their home values rather than reducing them which will no doubt be the affect of yet another highway.

(2) Jim adds:

The NTTA meeting Feb 26 was revealing in several respects....

The Ideal/Rochester Park community is being sold a "tainted" bill of goods by NTTA and Halff Assocs.

Joe and I helped to clear the air about the realities (many points not mentioned by
NTTA/Halff during their presentation) and impacts to the neighborhood:

1) increased air pollution by more traffic (no improvement over existing traffic flow)
2) more heavy truck traffic through the neighborhood due to NTTA efforts to keep trucks off the tollroad
3) Leo Chaney wants the tollroad going under Lamar.  NTTA gave several reasons why they won't go under Lamar (going over Lamar will create another "elevated highway" and contribute to the blight that causes to a community) as I-45 has done.
4) NTTA has misled the community into thinking they would somehow benefit or get a percentage of the tolls when near the close of the meeting we asked for examples of where or how NTTA has done that and they admitted they've never done that in the past and didn't how they could do it in the future.

This Tollroad project does nothing for the Ideal/Rochester Park neighborhood except to repeat past mistakes of paving and dividing communities of color with another ribbon of concrete to link the white suburbs.

(3) Joe adds a bit more:

Couple of more NTTA points- brought out by Jim 's questions at Ideal Neighborhood meeting:

In response to Jim's direct question , Anderson conceded he did not know of any past instance where toll road revenue had been expended to benefit or improve a neighborhood.  He said improvements would have to be related to minimizing the impacts of the tollroad, i.e., noise walls, landscaping etc directly related to the tollroad.   Even though earlier Anderson indicated to neighborhood leaders NTTA 's desire to meet with them to explore what benefits and funding for neighborhood improvements they were interested in pursuing in response to a neighborhood resident's question about sharing in the toll revenue and implied some willingness to explore that option and others.

Halff's Malloy stated no truck traffic would be allowed on the Trinity Toll Roads, due to water pollution concerns.  Jim Flood got him to admit truck traffic would not be reduced on other neighborhood highways.
 

Kathleen Matsumura