Dallas Pedestrian Network

The Dallas Pedestrian Network or Dallas Pedway is a system of grade-separated walkways covering thirty-six city blocks of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States.[1] The system connects buildings, garages and parks through tunnels and above-ground skybridges. The network contains an underground city of shops, restaurants and offices during weekday business hours.

2009 Map of the Dallas Pedestrian Network

The underground network was the idea of Montreal urban planner Vincent Ponte, who was also responsible for Montreal's Underground City.[2]

Connected to the Dallas Pedestrian Network
A Dallas Pedestrian Network tunnel runs beneath Thanks-Giving Square

Hotels:

Office Buildings:

Parks

Residential Buildings

Other

Changing attitudes

In 2005, then-mayor Laura Miller told the New York Times the system of tunnels was "the worst urban planning decision that Dallas has ever made... if I could take a cement mixer and pour cement in and clog up the tunnels, I would do it today".[3]

The Dallas Pedestrian Network is targeted for de-emphasis by the Downtown Dallas 360 initiative, in an effort to bring more focus on street-level activity. While initial plans had called for a more direct shutdown, a report in April 2012 concluded that a series of measures discouraging further growth or unnecessary maintenance of the system were all that were called for; Downtown Dallas Inc. CEO John Crawford concluded, "[The underground tunnels] aren't much of an issue anymore."

References
  1. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-10494416/Ultramodern-underground-Dallas-Vincent-Ponte.html
  2. http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/forty-years-ago-a-man-had-a-plan-for-downtown-dallas-7127397
  3. Healy, Patrick OGilfoil. "Rethinking Skyways and Tunnels". The New York Times. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 8 November 2015.


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