I’ve read all the newspaper stories, the magazine articles, the blogs and one evening recently I even attended a debate at the Lake Highlands High School Freshman Center concerning the proposed Trinity River Tollway proposition. So far, the proponents of the proposition have not convinced me to vote in favor of it. Ironically, it’s the opponents who have convinced me to vote for Proposition 1.

Dallas has been my home since 1968, when I moved here the day after I graduated from college. I was born and raised in New York City and I have always hoped that Dallas would aspire to be a “great” city, a “noble” city. But year after year after year after year we have elected “leaders” who want nothing more than to keep Dallas among the ranks of the mundane. They want Dallas to a “livable” city, a “safe” city, a “business-friendly” city. And there’s nothing wrong with any of those descriptors. I just wish we could find leaders who also wanted to make Dallas a “great” city. A bluegrass band called the Austin Lounge Lizards sing a ditty called “Dallas, Texas,” which says, in part, “Most cities have soul, but Dallas must have been at the bank when they passed it around.”

A group of those who seem to want Dallas to aspire to less than I – all former Dallas city council members – were on display at this debate, especially the three opposing Proposition 1.

For example, former city councilman Alan Walne said a high-speed tollroad through the Trinity River Corridor is necessary because “We’ve got to have a ‘reliever route’ to keep these people moving through the city.”

Huh? Besides the fact that I react negatively to terms like “these people” stemming from my days in the 1960s working on voter registration drives in Mississippi and Louisiana, I always thought the point should be to get the people off the roads and into the city where they will spend money, 1 percent of which will go into the city’s sales tax coffers. I am convinced one of this city’s best kept secrets is the Arboretum, and that’s a shame. The entire world should know about the Arboretum. The city should be marketing the Arboretum as an enticement for out-of-towners to come to Dallas and spend their money here. It’s no secret that the business community along Garland Road could use an economic stimulant, and a large influx of tourists could create a need for new restaurants and other nice service businesses along this corridor. I tried to recruit a group of activists who would help me lobby, cajole – do whatever necessary – to the Texas Highway Department to simply put additional wording on exit signs along I-30 informing motorists what exit to take to get to the Arboretum. What was the reaction? “Nooooo!!! We want to keep these people driving through town.” “Noooooo!!! We don’t want ‘these people’ driving through our neighborhoods.”

The definition of a “great city” is one that people want to come to, not get through.

There’s another problem with Mr. Walne’s argument. “Reliever routes” – routes that allow motorists to bypass the downtown mixmaster – already exist. True, they are not adequately labeled or defined as such, but they do exist. Driving south on I-35E from Oklahoma, take the Loop 12 fork and follow it south to I-30, if you’re heading west, or all the way to I-20 (via Spur 408). From there you can go east to get back to I-35E or a little bit farther to get to I-45. Going north on I-35E, follow the same route in the opposite direction. You can also use I-635/20 to by-pass the mixmaster to the east and this route easily connect to U.S. Highway 175.

The opponents of Proposition 1 told me during this debate “Because of everything in the newspapers and on television, voters knew they were voting for a tollroad in 1998.” I don’t want anybody to try to tell me what I knew and when I knew it, unless I have divulged that information to them. How dare they suggest they know exactly what was going through my mind when I voted FOR that bond proposal nine years ago. If you wanted to know what I was thinking, I will gladly tell you now. I was thinking not of a tollroad, or even a parkway, or even of flood control. I was thinking that perhaps Dallas had the chance to locate one of the world’s great parks right smack dab in downtown. That’s all that I was thinking about. That’s what I voted for.

Perhaps it is because I am from New York City, but I am drawn to other great cities, particularly the parks in other great cities – Luxumbourg Gardens near the Latin Quarter on Paris’ West Bank is a particular favorite, Hyde Park in London, Central Park in New York, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, even Griffith Park in Los Angeles. One of my fondest memories is of the night three friends and I completely re-enacted the last 20 minutes of “Rebel Without a Cause” at the Griffith Park Observatory. It’s worth noting that none of these parks have a high-speed road through them.

During the Trinity River debate, former City Councilman Bill Blaydes said, however, that parks and high-speed roads can and do co-exist. He even cited two examples – in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Little Rock, Arkansas.

I dream of a Dallas that aspires to the beauty of Paris, the majesty of London, the brilliance of New York City, the romanticism of San Francisco. And what cites do the opponents of Proposition One want Dallas to emulate? Cincinnati, Ohio, and Little Rock, Arkansas.

Nothing personal, Little Rock, but I want Dallas to reach for greater heights.

That’s why the opponents of Proposition 1 have convinced me to vote in favor of it.

Pete Oppel is a former Southwestern Division News Editor for UPI (back when it was still owned by Scripps-Howard), a former entertainment editor and writer for the Dallas Morning News, a principal in the media consulting firm of Fairchild/LeMaster/Oppel and am currently a principal with Brooks and Associates Public Relations.

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