The future of a main road in Dallas’ Southwestern Medical District is in dispute as leaders there push back on the city's plans to redesign Maple Avenue.
The street is a vital thruway for patients and staff in the district’s three major hospitals – UT Southwestern, Children’s Health and Parkland, which has one of the busiest emergency rooms in the country. The city plans to narrow the road from four lanes to three between Mockingbird Lane and Oak Lawn Avenue and add bike lanes.
“That would create real traffic problems, both for our patients who are trying to access emergency care, often, who cannot go to any other health facility for their services because they are uninsured or underinsured and other facilities won't accept them,” said Michael Malaise, vice president of external relations for Parkland.
The Southwestern Medical District serves about 3 million patients a year and staffs about 42,000 employees. Earlier this month, district chair David W. Biegler sent a letter to city leaders and staff calling it "NOT ACCEPTABLE."
"Maple Avenue is not just another street," he wrote. "It is vital to the Medical District and alterations could have significant impact."
A spokesperson for the city told KERA in an email that in response, it updated its frequently asked questions document last week to answer questions posed by the district. The city had also offered several opportunities for public input from the community, including the district.
But Malaise rejects claims that Parkland staff knew about the project design and were even involved in the planning.
“There was some discussion that Parkland knew about this the whole time we were on some committee that came up with this plan that is just categorically incorrect,” he said. “At no point was there ever any discussion of reducing lanes to Maple Avenue.”
The city says Maple Avenue is one of the least safe four-lane roads in Dallas. Two fatal crashes happened on the road in the last twelve months. The city’s updated project FAQs also cite case studies showing that four-to-three lane reductions are “safer and easier” for emergency response traffic.
Malaise said the district isn’t against making the road safer, but leaders believe reducing the lanes and adding a bike lane will congest traffic.
“Parkland is very pro-bike lane because we believe that built environment of a bike lane is conducive to help people improve their physical health,” he said. “We just wouldn't do it right along the back of a hospital with the busiest emergency room in the entire country.”
Malaise said he hopes the district and the city will come to a “workable solution.”
The city said it has scheduled a follow-up meeting with the district’s officials next month.
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org. You can follow him on X @pabloaarauz.
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