People move to downtown Dallas because they like the hum of urban life.
They stroll through entertainment districts, ride trolleys to nearby restaurants, let their pups play in dog parks and enjoy the lights of the nighttime skyline.
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But for more than a year now, downtowners have had to put up with something they never expected: the roaring of regular weekend takeovers of streets by outsiders driving all-terrain vehicles in disruptive, sometimes dangerous, road rallies.
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Day and night, ATVs have rumbled down Commerce, Main and other streets, clogging up intersections. Originally meant for the country, these vehicles are “tricked out” and clearly more intended for show than navigating rough terrain, fed-up resident Philip Krause told us.
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After decades of thoughtful planning and efforts to draw residents to the city’s core, this is a disturbing development and one Dallas police must get under control. This isn’t downtown bustle or eccentricity; it’s a nuisance that residents shouldn’t have to tolerate.
“The big problem we have is the drag racing and stunt shows after hours, at 2 or 3 in the morning,” said Krause, vice president of the Downtown Dallas Residents Council and chair of its public safety committee. “Or when they barrel through and take over an entire street, 40, 50 or 60 at a time.”
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Dallas City Council member Paul Ridley, whose district includes part of downtown, is also peeved. “Some of these vehicles are being driven recklessly, ignoring traffic signals and driving on sidewalks, creating a danger to motorists and pedestrians alike,” he said in an email.
How did this become a problem? A dizzying array of amendments to the state’s transportation code and other laws in recent years have allowed the driving of ATVs, golf carts and other off-highway vehicles on city streets with speed limits of 35 mph or less in certain circumstances.
Their use on city streets is generally restricted to daytime, to within 2 miles from where they’re usually parked and for transportation to or from a golf course, according to the transportation code.
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Krause and Ridley told us they’ve been working with police to help crack down on apparent violations of state law. Police spokesman Michael Dennis acknowledged that the department has heard the complaints, and that the street racing task force and patrol officers “will be assisting in enforcement.”
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Meanwhile, the residents council’s public safety committee is meeting Aug. 8 and hopes to get some encouraging news from police and city officials about progress being made to control this problem. We do, too.
Downtown’s resident population will soon surpass 16,000, including many families with children, and it’s expected to keep climbing. These residents deserve the same assurance of a peaceful and safe quality of life as those in any other neighborhood.