Archive for the 'Park Cities News' Category

By Eric Nicholson / Preston Hollow People
August 21, 2009

A transplant from the heart of Austin is moving north Monday when the University of Texas Co-op opens its first store in Dallas.

The store will occupy 6,000 square feet next to Barnes & Noble on Northwest Highway, across the street from NorthPark Center. It will be filled wall-to-wall with Longhorn merchandise and memorabilia, from burnt orange T-shirts and letter jackets for dogs to pepper grinders and evening wear.

Brian Jewell, director of marketing for the Co-op, said the goal is to recreate the unique feel of the original store.

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By Sarah Scott

Ray Washburne wants Park Cities residents to know that the new Highland Park Village is going to look a lot like the old one.

The real estate investor and restaurateur said he wrapped up negotiations to buy the Village this week. As this article went to press Wednesday, Washburne said he was hammering out final details at a title company.

Washburne had a lot to say about the future of the Dallas’ oldest and most valuable shopping center. Its taxable value has been reported as being $80 million.

Washburne — who bought the center along with his wife, Heather; her sister, Elise Summers; and her husband, Stephen — emphasized that all four are lifelong residents of Highland Park and graduates of Highland Park High School.

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It’s shaping up to be a big month for water in the Park Cities.

Last week, Highland Park and University Park were officially in the first stage of their drought contingency plan.

And the cities’ watering restrictions (no irrigation between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.) went into effect Wednesday and will remain until the end of October.

The first stage of the drought plan, which is based on water levels from the Grapevine Reservoir, is largely dependent on voluntary cooperation from residents and businesses.

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(from Park Cities People)  2/20/09

University Park officials are standing behind their ban on cell phone use in school zones, despite a researcher’s assertion that such tactics are ineffective.

Last week, Speed Mea­surement Laboratories, a Fort Worth-based traffic research company, released the results of a month-long study on cell phone use in school zones. The study focused on one school zone in University Park and two in Dallas, where use of a hand-held cell phone is banned, as well as four school zones in Texas, Illinois, and Colorado where no ban is in place. Observers watched for drivers using a cell phone when the school zones were both active and inactive.

Their findings show that the percentage of University Park drivers talking on their phones in school zones barely dropped when the zone was active, from 9 percent to 8.1 percent. They found similar results in both Dallas school zones.

Carl Fors, president of Speed Measurement Laboratories, said the research proves that bans like those in University Park and Highland Park aren’t enough to deter drivers from using their cell phone in an active school zone.

“We are going to have to do something as a society,” said Fors, who believes an outright ban on cell phone use in vehicles should be enacted.  “We must do something to stop it. We can’t rely on public good will.”
 
University Park’s enforcement of the cell phone ban began in January 2008. Officer Lita Snellgrove, a spokeswoman for the University Park Police Department, said a learning curve is to be expected when implementing a new law.

“It’s like any new law or city ordinance. It’s going to take some time to educate the public,” Snellgrove said. “I think that as we continue to monitor the school zones and give more tickets, people are going to become more aware of it.”

Steve Mace, a spokesman for the city of University Park, said the City Council is in no hurry to change their ordinance.

“The council is still very much behind it,” Mace said. “They are still supportive of the measure.”

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