Is Our Safety Being Compromised so the City Can Grow?
Today, like many Sunday afternoons – residents of the Elan City Lights Apartments sat in their homes for what appeared to be an uneventful Sunday in Deep Ellum.
A storm was brewing.
Tonight a huge crane rests atop the luxury apartment building. It is believed strong winds caused the crane to fall onto the building.
Today’s severe storm hit the Dallas area about three hours earlier than expected. It didn’t last long, but the storm created plenty of damage. The crane in question ripped through apartments and destroyed many parked cars in the garage that sits in the center.
Next to the downtown apartment building is another structure in the works. When I toured Elan City Lights over a year ago, the leasing agent painted for me a convenient picture of having a Tom Thumb grocery store right outside of my door. Apparently that Tom Thumb concept has blossomed into a multi-level retail and residential space, as the construction site keeps growing and now stands taller than Elan City Lights and the adjacent apartments – Marquis at Texas Street.
What has happened on that strip of Live Oak Street is indicative of what’s happening all over Dallas – structures are being built on every single slab of available land. Five years ago I toured Marquis at Texas Street. There was nothing in front of the complex, other than a direct sightline to the freeway.
Dallas is growing. Dallas is welcoming residents from the coasts and all over the world. Perhaps there is a real need for residential spaces, but at what cost?
As I look out of my window right now, across the Dallas sky I see three cranes (identical to the crane that fell today) from here (my downtown apartment) and across the freeway to Deep Ellum. All of the buildings going up are mere feet from established residential buildings, businesses and busy streets.
Today’s ordeal could happen again.
I’m sure construction crews have routines and security checkpoints, but let’s be very honest here. Some of these buildings are opened and operating within the blink of an eye. Materials used are not always worthy of the price charged per square foot. These are man-made cranes we see being hauled on our freeways to different sites. And then of course they have to rest at the sites until the jobs are done.
If strong winds can uproot trees and toss cars around like rag-dolls, of course an extended crane can be moved.
Unfortunately a life was lost at Elan City Lights today. Someone inside of an apartment, in a relatively small building of only five stories and just over 400 units has perished. Many residents will never drive the cars they parked in that garage again. People are displaced. And insurance companies are likely trying to figure a way out as I type.
When I think about the growth of my beloved City of Dallas - I get a bit disheartened. We are growing, but are we cutting corners? Every vacant block of land does not need a high-rise. A crane outside of your window is not only an eyesore, but also a real safety concern, as today will repeatedly prove.
Growth is a good thing more often than not, but as we grow – lets hope that the City of Dallas keeps in mind the safety and the well being of its existing residents.
