Three people hit by car near Flag Pole Hill

Three pedestrians were struck by a car following the Dallas Running Club Half Marathon
Sunday morning. It happened at about 11:30 a.m. The race was over and
the victims were waiting to cross the road, probably returning to their
cars parked at Flag Pole Hill. I left the race grounds around 10 a.m.,
went out for coffee, and returned home via Northwest Highway. We passed
the accident scene probably only moments after it happened — there were
several police cars and several ambulances, and my husband and I
guessed that something pretty terrible must have happened. Initial reports
say a driver lost control of her car and that she, along with the those
she hit, were hospitalized. I'll update if I get more info in the
morning.

DRC Half Marathon registration hits capacity

The Dallas Running Club has closed registration for the DRC Half Marathon this Sunday, Nov. 2. That means 4,000 runners will be stampeding through your neighborhood early Sunday. (Good thing you'll get that extra Daylight Savings Time hour of sleep.) Did I say 4,000? Make that 5,000. I forgot to add the 5K race that caps at 1,000 runners, which by the way, you can still sign up for at Run On!, Mockingbird.

If you're registered to run The Half or the 5K, you can start picking up packets tomorrow at Run On!, and organizers say get 'em as soon as you can or they are liable to run out of the goodies that get dropped in said packets ("we could not have anticipated such a large amount to register so vendors only provided enough samples and flyers for 4,000 packets", according to a DRC newsletter).

I'm sure all the folks at the DRC are pretty happy about the race's impending turnout, but the success might cause stress for some neighbors — especially churchgoes or anyone with a Sunday-morning commute. Yes, if you live anywhere near the race route, be prepared for crowds, noise and traffic issues — I can imagine this would be terribly annoying for those who aren't into this sort-a thing. But, be a good sport! Grab your morning coffee, wander over to the lake, and cheer on all those crazy runners (and be glad you aren't out there busting your hump on a perfectly sleepy Sunday morn). I'll be the one wearing an Advocate cap.

Far West Club could lose permit

The contentious Far West nightclub is one step closer to losing it’s right to operate as is at the Gaston-Garland corner in East Dallas after the Dallas Plan Commission voted yesterday to revoke it’s 99-year special use permit.

Thanks to plan-commission member Michael Davis (Dallas Progress) for the update — he says "Lakewood/ Lakewood Heights, C-streets, and the other nearby neighborhoods were there in full force" at yesterday’s hearing.

Now the item will move to the City Council’s agenda.

Old Town gate open again?

At least it was on Saturday afternoon. But Sunday evening, when I checked on the gate — which separates Old Town Drive from the Old Town shopping center — it was locked again.

The gate was closed this spring by Lincoln Property, which owns the apartment complex in back of Old Town, as an anti-crime measure after a bunch of burglaries. I’ll check and see if the opening was a one-time thing or something more permanent.

Technorati Tags: Old Town shopping center,Lincoln Property

Honk if you’re a selfish jerk

I have had it with the selfishness of Dallas drivers.

Along Northwest Higway between West and East Lawther, there is a
break in the median opposite from the Dallas Park and Recreation
building where eastbound drivers can turn left and go north. I make
that turn often because I walk with a friend in White Rock Valley, just
north of Flag Pole Hill, and because the left-turn green arrow at West
Lawther never lasts long enough. I am conscious of the fact that I am
turning from a busy road on which drivers are traveling at speeds of 45
or 50 mph (or higher), so I try to make the turn as quickly as I can.

This morning I made the turn as usual, flipping my blinker on a good
10-15 seconds before the turn, and careening into the median break. As
I did this, the driver behind had the gall to not just honk, but blare
on his horn for the entirety of my turn and then some. I was not
breaking any traffic laws; my only offense as far as I could tell was
slowing down the car behind me. And I’ve got news for you, Dallas
drivers: being inconvenienced is not an offense that warrants honking.

How to shoo birds on a wire

With a cymbal and a stick of course.

We’ve all seen these massive flocks of birds that gather on the wires — they seem especially fond of the Casa Linda Plaza area. Usually I am more fascinated than bothered by them. But last night, when I was leaving my son off for guitar lessons at Zoo Music on Garland, the birds demolished my car with poo. Eww. "I’ll take care of ’em," mumbles one of the Zoo staffers.

City to charge for crash clean up

If you have friends or family visiting from out of town, better warn them to be careful because getting in an accident is about to get more expensive for non residents. Soon, folks who don’t live in Dallas who cause a car accident will have to pay for the clean up. OK, I guess, but what if another municipality we drive through — the Town of Highland Park, for example — decided to do something like this? We’d be ticked off. And will the saved clean-up expenses really put a dent (no pun intended) in the city’s economic woes?

Citizen journalists we appreciate (need) you

… and so does the community. 

Over the weekend Keri Mitchell and I attended a Blog/New Media Expo
in Las Vegas. I am sure we will sporadically share our newfound wisdom
with you over future days and weeks, but for now I’d like to touch on
one important thing I derived from the experience:

I learned that in order to have an outstanding neighborhood blog,
you have to have outstanding folks out in the neighborhood writing
regular, interesting, super-local posts. Advocate has a stellar
editorial staff, if I do say so myself.  But we are but a very few
people putting out five neighborhood magazines every month, plus the
occasional special addition. While we want to be all over the place covering news for Back Talk, we can’t be more than one place at a time — or should I say we haven’t figured out how to yet. 

That brings me back to my aforementioned assessment — we need the citizen journalists, such as Back Talk contributor Norman Alston, who help us
keep our finger on the pulse of Lakewood and do a great job of
writing about it.

Motorcycle crashes related to gas prices? Helmet laws soon?

Gas prices go up. People swap cars for motorcycles. People crash motorcycles. That’s the idea behind this piece in the Morning News about a rise in motorcycle fatalities.

In Dallas, 10 people have already died in motorcycle crashes so far this year, including 26-year-old Casey Shaw who died late Monday near Central and Southwestern Blvd.

Police say witnesses estimated Shaw’s speed at around 100 mph when he crashed.

Two teenagers died in a wreck on Airport Freeway last night. I heard reports of another motorcycle accident as I was getting out of my car this morning … and that’s just what I’ve heard in the last few days.

Police and experts stress the importance of motorcycle safety education and wearing the proper safety equipment. According to the story, “Texas drivers must pass both a written and road test to receive a motorcycle license. The road test is waived for adults who take an optional motorcycle safety course that’s offered throughout the state. The classes are mandatory for motorcyclist drivers under age 18.”

If this trend continues, how far are we from motorcycle helmet laws? I am not big on government telling adults to wear helmets, seat belts, et. al. … but, heck, we already have seat belt laws and BICYCLE helmet laws here — and cops at White Rock Lake enforce them too. How can you justify bicycle helmet laws and no motorcycle helmet laws?

For the record, according to American College of Emergency Physicians motorcycle operator deaths increased by 31 percent in Texas following the repeal of mandatory helmet laws in 1997. (Our current laws include helmet exemptions for those who take the aforementioned safety courses.)

Woman drives car into White Rock Lake

Brothers Tad and Nick Weatherford jumped into White Rock Lake to save a woman who drove her car into White Rock Lake yesterday, according to this somewhat sketchy report.

Police reportedly decided that the woman likely drove into the lake intentionally.