Dallas, TX
Dallas has to get urgent about pedestrian safety
Dallas is not a city for pedestrians. High speed limits, few decent street crossings and long stretches without a sidewalk in sight. Crossing the street should not be a life-or-death situation, but too often it feels that way.
The city has a long-term plan that is already making an impact but is moving in slow motion. Officials still need to bring pedestrian safety to the forefront.
In 2023, there were 71 fatal crashes involving pedestrians and 198 crashes with severe injuries involving pedestrians, according to the city’s Vision Zero Dashboard. Vision Zero is an ambitious plan to reduce traffic fatalities and severe injury crashes by 50% by 2030, including pedestrian accidents.
Vision Zero has already identified the most dangerous intersections for pedestrians in Dallas, with the top spot going to Maple Avenue, between Oak Lawn Avenue and Hudnall Street. A safety plan that includes bike lanes and enhanced pedestrian crossings was presented in late July and has been given priority by the city.
Another effective way to reduce pedestrian deaths and injuries is by reducing speed limits. There is a correlation between speed limits and fatality rates with pedestrians, studies show, even by reducing 5 miles per hour. This is the spirit of a new ordinance for the East Ledbetter corridor, which is part of Loop 12. That stretch of road, according to a Texas Department of Transportation analysis and highlighted by KXAS-TV (NBC5), is the deadliest roadway for traffic crashes.
Redesigning portions of Loop 12 to slow down cars is part of a larger multiagency plan, Michael Morris, director of Transportation at the North Central Texas Council of Governments, told NBC5.
NTCOG is presenting a legislative plan for the region to enhance street safety, including automated speed enforcement over 90 mph and measures that improve bicycle and pedestrian safety focusing on areas with pedestrian movements.
Dallas also has ambitious projects for traffic safety that are waiting for bond money to kick in. However, completion dates in some cases are expected for 2027. With the information the city already has from Vision Zero, officials should consider repurposing funds to give priority to some of these projects.
Meanwhile, adding pedestrian crossings is relatively inexpensive and yet effective. Dallas City Council member Chad West told us some parts of his district, in north Oak Cliff, are using reflective delineators — bright traffic poles — that have been effective in reducing traffic speeds.
West, along with council member Jesse Moreno, started the Street Design Manual Work Group last year to review the city’s current Street Design Manual and to consider how to incorporate Vision Zero with other citywide initiatives. A report is expected by the end of this year.
Getting these plans into action takes time, but the city has enough information on the table to take immediate action in some high-risk areas with an added sense of urgency.
So far this year, there have been 48 pedestrian deaths and 107 severe injuries. These numbers are proof that there is much work to be done.
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Jeff Kolb and Sam Gannon welcome Cowboys insiders Clarence Hill (All City Dallas) and Calvin Watkins (Dallas Morning News) for a hilarious breakdown of the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. Giving insight, arguments, and plenty of laughs as two of the best Dallas Cowboys writers in the business go head-to-head on what Dallas should do next.
Dallas, TX
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The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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