A bit of late notice on this: Tomorrow morning, a handful of speakers will gather inside a conference room at One Arts Plaza and discuss the past and future of Dallas’ Interstate 345, the stretch of highway connecting I-45 with Central Expressway while chopping downtown from Deep Ellum. The event puts a focus on racial equity, spotlighting the historically black neighborhoods that fell victim to the highway’s construction. Says the Coalition for a New Dallas, the organization putting it on:
Since the concept of removing the highway was first proposed, much discussion has been had about engineering technicalities, traffic patterns, real estate dynamics, among other often esoteric conversations. However, the topic of race, class, and the intentional discriminatory planning of the city has often been missed. If the City of Dallas is to reckon with its past to plan a more equitable future, this discussion and subsequent actions must take place.
The event runs 8 a.m. to noon tomorrow. The eventbrite shows that sales have ended, but I’m told you’ll be just fine making a day-of appearance.
After TxDOT trotted out a fairly scripted series of public meetings in December, the Coalition (which was started by D founder Wick Allison, although the magazine and the Coalition are separate entities) has held meetings to discuss the project. TxDOT will eventually decide between an upgrade of the existing freeway, removing some ramps, burying the elevated thoroughfare below grade, or removing it altogether. We hosted a panel discussion here in our offices in December; you can read some highlights or catch the whole video here.
A few more details on this event:
345: Racism and Reimagination Tickets, Sat, Feb 22, 2020 at 8 am – Noon
How and why were three Freedmen’s towns destroyed by I-345? What is the future of I-345? What should happen with all of the land under the cement? What does economic remediation look like? Join us. pic.twitter.com/LO6FYqFMRj— Amber Sims (@msberbiage) February 21, 2020
