A New Ally in the Fight Against Car-Centric Planning in Dallas: TxDOT

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has envisioned a future for Downtown Dallas that includes more downtown and fewer freeways.

1 minute read

June 10, 2016, 1:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


CityMap Deck Park

A deck park imagined for I-30 at Harwood Street. | TxDOT / CityMAP briefing document.

Brandon Formby reports on a "surprising yet powerful voice" adding to the "joining the chorus calling for a sea change in downtown Dallas’ car-centric infrastructure building":

The Texas Department of Transportation released a report Friday [June 10] that lays out several scenarios for minimizing congestion on the noose of aging highways that chokes off urban neighborhoods from the Central Business District. The study, called CityMAP, offers a stark departure from the agency’s standby approach of adding more highway lanes or re-engineering traffic chokepoints.

Included among the options explored in the CityMAP (short for the Dallas City Center Master Assessment Process) report: tearing down Interstate 345 and moving a stretch of Interstate 30 out of downtown to a new route farther south in Fair Park.

According to Formby, "CityMAP doesn’t suggest one construction option over another. Instead, the report is meant to arm urbanites, city officials and regional planners with data and estimated effects so a holistic plan can be pieced together for the urban core’s transportation network."

Friday, June 10, 2016 in The Dallas Morning News

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Concrete Brutalism building with slanted walls and light visible through an atrium.

What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities

How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.

February 28, 2025 - Justin Hollander

Complete Street

‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge

Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.

February 27, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Green electric Volkswagen van against a beach backdrop.

The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan

Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.

March 3, 2025 - ABC 7 Eyewitness News

View of mountains with large shrubs in foreground in Altadena, California.

Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire

In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.

March 9 - Pasadena NOw

Aerial view of single-family homes with swimming pools in San Diego, California.

San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule

The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.

March 9 - Axios

Close-up of row of electric cars plugged into chargers at outdoor station.

Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives

A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.

March 9 - UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation