April 27th, 2012 
taitlifto 
To sum up Downtown Dallas Inc. task force’s report: The downtown tunnels aren’t going anywhere
By Robert Wilonsky
rwilonsky@dallasnews.com
http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/2012/04/to-sum-up-downtown-dallas-inc-task-forces-report-the-downtown-tunnels-arent-going-anywhere.html/
For years — years – there’s been a faction of downtown dwellers hoping to fill in the so-called Dallas Pedestrian Network, otherwise known as the downtown tunnels recently mapped out by friend of the show Noah Jeppson. As far back as ’05, then-Dallas Mayor Laura Miller told The New York Times that Vincent Ponte’s bright idea was “the worst urban planning decision that Dallas has ever made”; a year earlier, matter of fact, she told The News that “in a perfect world, the tunnels would be gone.”
And not long ago UCR Realty’s Jack Gosnell said Dallas is with underground walkways is akin to “a family with an eccentric cousin living in a basement.” On top of that, the Downtown Dallas 360 plan condemned their very existence:
Downtown’s extensive tunnel and skywalk system further exacerbates the city center’s poor ground-floor conditions. Originally proposed by Vincent Ponte in the late 1960s, the multi-level separation of pedestrians from Downtown streets has had perhaps the most damaging impact on street activity. By locating primary pedestrian circulation in underground tunnels or above-ground skywalk bridges, retail and service life effectively vanished from streets. As more and more buildings were built to tie into the multi-level circulation scheme, streets became relegated to automobiles and the less fortunate. Although the tunnels and skywalks continue to suck life from streets, the lifespan of many of these facilities and nearby office buildings is nearing an end. In addition, the physical, economic and social conditions bringing about the slow but sure transition back to ground-floor street life – which is a major tenet of the 360 plan – may ultimately spell the end of the retail activity in the tunnel and skywalk system. Future uses such as service and storage may become viable replacements for retail uses that are either drawn to the street level or regulated out of operation.
Last summer Downtown Dallas Inc. assembled a group of downtown stakeholders, among then Gosnell, to consider what in the wide, wide world of sports to do with the tunnels. And many meetings later, the group has released its report, which you can read in full below. But long story short …
“The tunnels aren’t much of an issue anymore.”
That’s how Downtown Dallas Inc. President and CEO John Crawford sums up the report this morning during a chitchat about its findings. Says Crawford, look, “there hasn’t been any redevelopment down there in 15 years, portions of the tunnels are closed, they’re closed at night and during weekends, and they’re not set up for residential purposes based on that. So at the end of the day, and with all the changes made at street level, they aren’t much of an issue anymore.”
The report’s recommendations are few: “incentivize street-level retail and street animation,” “develop public policies that discourage any expansion of the tunnel and sky bridge network” (with two notable exceptions, among them “substantial and significant public safety or public welfare reasons to allow them”) and “prohibit the use of public or DDI funds to subsidize any wayfinding system for the tunnels and sky bridges.” But other than that …
“Timing will take care of the issue,” says Crawford. “If we keep doing the job we’re supposed to do, they won’t be an issue.”
Tunnels and Sky Bridges Network Task Force Final Report and Recommendations FINAL
It is possible that there was water in conjunction to the old power plant where Victory Park is now that was underground. I know the old power company had an underground component. Check out the History posts in the Categories to the right to learn more.
