Dallas Among Worst Places to Walk

As I walked back from Uptown along Bowen/Cedar Springs last night, I came to a section near Turtle Creek with no sidewalks on either side of the dark road. The sidewalks just end, forcing pedestrians into brush or onto the street. This seems like such an easy thing to remedy, yet my guess is its been that way for some time. A missing section of vehicular roadway would not be tolerated for a day.

Today a tweet came across my deck regarding preventable pedestrian deaths. Listed were then ten worst places in the U.S. to walk, and coming in at number ten on that list is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.

Here's a video I shot trying to walk from the TRE Medical/Market station to Katy Trail.

As the group Transportation for Americans points out, Beyond making new and refurbished roads safer for pedestrians, we need to create complete networks of sidewalks, bicycle paths and trails so that residents can travel safely throughout an area.

New High Rise Could Grace Turtle Creek

The Dallas Morning News reported this morning that a vacant lot at Cedar Springs and Turtle Creek could see construction of a new residential and office high rise development. The six-acre parcel has been purchased by Hillwood Real Estate, owned by Ross Perot Jr. The parcel had been owned by Classic Residence by Hyatt. According to the article there are no immediate plans to develop the site.

What Can You Get for Less than $100K in Oak Lawn?

Owning property is often very affordable if you're expectations aren't too high. This doesn't mean you have to live with broken faucets, pealing paint and cold water, or take life into your own hands walking to the bus stop (although you need to be alert everywhere).

More and more Americans are learning to live small. How much space do you actually use anyway? Why pay to heat space you never go into? When you figure out costs for things like and extra bedroom for guests or space to entertain, its often much more advantageous cost-wise to get a hotel room a couple times a year or rent a party space than it is to pay a mortgage on space you don't use.

Right now there's a 579 square foot one bedroom condo in Oak Lawn near Wycliff and Dickason for just $38,000. That's just $66 a square foot and about $233 a month plus HOA fee. That's likely to represent a substantial savings over renting.

Another condo at 4340 Cedar Springs Road is offered at $55,000. It's a little bigger at 714 square feet, which is actually on the large side for a one bedroom in Brooklyn or Manhattan. It's near Cedar Springs and Wycliff.

Closer to the top of our range, there's a unit at 3883 Turtle Creek Boulevard advertised for $99,000 with 783 square feet. This building is a high-rise and may have higher HOA fees, but its pretty remarkable that you can get into a Turtle Creek property for less than $100K.

The Condo Owner's Answer Book

Living SMALL: The Life of Small Houses

Thai Lotus on Cedar Springs

As experience would have it, I'd assumed many of the restaurants along Cedar Springs would not have the best food in the world. This area after-all is known for its pubs and discotheques and when you've had a bit too much to drink, the demand for food quality declines. This is not universally true, however and it seems that recently the restaurants which have opened are of a higher-caliber. 

In the middle of it all, a small Thai restaurant called Thai Lotus Kitchen appears to have been here a while. I had seen it but didn't really know if they had indoor seating and had incorrectly assumed it was for tak-out. On a recommendation, we stopped in. The food, as suggested, was quite good. The atmosphere isn't at all glamorous, but if what you want is good food before or after drinking-or even instead of it (It doesn't appear they serve alcohol or allow BYOB), give it a try.