https://www.dallasnews.com/life/curious-texas/2018/05/16/really-underground-mall-downtown-dallas-curious-texas-goes-exploring
Is there really an underground mall in downtown Dallas? Curious Texas goes exploring
Brendan Meyer
...Using a map I found online titled the “Dallas Pedestrian Network,” Xan and I left The Dallas Morning News’ downtown newsroom.
...Noah Jeppson, the man who made the Dallas Pedestrian Network map, was part of that task force. The graphic designer made the map because when he tried to navigate the tunnels himself, it felt like he was in a “lost world.”
Jeppson now lives in San Francisco and works at an architecture firm. When he first saw the tunnels, he wasn’t sure what to expect.
“I think there’s this thought that it’s more mysterious than it is,” Jeppson, 36, said. “When people hear tunnels, they think of abandoned cave structures or ruins. But when they get down there, it’s like a food court or a mall."
The tunnels have been a conundrum for municipal and business decision makers for a couple generations now, and that's only because the two groups haven't embraced the ultimate utilitarian function of such infrastructure.
currently:
1) breakroom for tens of thousands of office workers; 2) this is where the trash collection happens and not on the sidewalks;
in the future: 3) climate controlled storage units for downtown residents; 4) subway access.
The only reason the best parts of two opposing visions for the tunnels have not been combined and shaped into a cohesive plan benefiting everyone is the lack of trying.