Postby dukemeredith » 03 Nov 2016 10:43
I'm enjoying you fleshing out your point, Tucy -- I'm not so hard-headed to believe only what I think is "right" or "correct," but I was getting frustrated by your lack of thoughtful reply, outside of your repeated "that's a reach" line.
Living directly on the DART line, I see the contrast between the Main Street District and the Bryan Street/Pacific Avenue stretch of track. A lot of the above development that you cited fronts Elm Street, which is very clearly part of the Main Street District; spilling over from what is happening on Main Street itself. But on Bryan/Pacific, I see the same thing art_suckz does once the train leaves -- there's nothing to attract people other than the train.
It's a fair point you brought up that, "sure, there's not much there with the train, but it's more than was there before the train!" And I agree with that. There has been progress, outside of Subway and 7 Eleven -- Serj Books, Hospitality Sweet, Café Momentum, Zenna, etc.
I would push back, though, on your point that there are plenty of other empty streets in downtown. That's true, no doubt. But consider where the current train is: in between Main Street District and the Arts District. It seems only natural that those two districts should eventually be connected with future development.
But that's not the direction of development, presently -- it's mostly heading south of the Main Street District: The Statler, Butler Brothers, SoYo, Farmers Market.
Perhaps eventually, the interconnectedness would stretch from Uptown, over KWP, into the Arts District, and further into Main Street. But there seems to be little focus in connecting the Arts District and Main Street District. And, to my eye, the barrier is the train that slices through the two.