Jason Roberts

Jason Roberts Needs Help Paying His Cancer Bills

Last time we checked in, Oak Cliff urban pioneer Jason Roberts had an abdominal cavity filled with post-surgical fluid and was down to a single testicle, but he was otherwise upbeat after a successful battle with cancer. The cancer is still gone. The pile of medical bills, it seems, are not. Yeste ... More >>

Oak Cliff Streetcar Poised to Get $30 Million, Connect to Convention Center and Bishop Arts

When Jason Roberts and his crew at the Oak Cliff Transit Authority first began trying to fund a streetcar line connect downtown with Oak Cliff, they asked the feds for around $48 million. They got only half of that. They've scraped together a bit more funding from various sources, but not enough to ... More >>

But Really, What DO You Do With It?

Oak Cliffers Say Methodist Hospital Killed a Plan to Make Streets More Bike-Friendly

Update at 3:46 p.m.Methodist says nuh uh. Spokeswoman Sandra Minatra sends word via email: Thanks for contacting us for a response to the release of a statement by a small subset of members of the Oak Cliff Gateway committee. It is our understanding that the full recommendations of the committee h ... More >>

No, Domingo Garcia Does Not Live 33rd District. But Neither Do Many of His Rivals.

View You too can see if your candidate lives in the Texas 33rd Congressional District When the polls close on the Democratic primary for Texas' new 33rd Congressional District, surprisingly few of the nearly dozen candidates will have cast a vote for themselves. We received a note from a Friend of ... More >>

If Nothing Else, Jason Roberts Has Already Raised the Bar for Congressional Campaign Art

I, the overbylined, hereby solemnly swear that Unfair Park ("The Blog") will not, under any circumstances, devolve into a sycophantic shadow booster for the long-shot congressional aspirations of Jason Roberts ("That One Biker Guy"), even in the event that one Robert Wilonsky ("Biker Guy's Cyber-Boy ... More >>

90 Miles An Hour Down a Dead End Street: Bike Lanes, Road Humps and Costs Per Linear Miles

​One week ago this morning we were writing about Israel "Dallas" Torres's over-the-weekend accident on the Jefferson Boulevard Viaduct, where a motorist sent the veteran cyclist to intensive car. As Jason Roberts noted then, and as the council's Transportation and Environment Committee will be rem ... More >>

Council Told City Can't Afford Bike Lanes, Which Is Why BFOC's Looking for Donors

​So much for that Bike Plan briefing. The council's transpo committee didn't have time to get it today, so it's been backbenched for now. Shame too, since Street Services second-in-command Beth Ramirez's pavement markings briefing was so fascinating, as in: Did you know it costs anywhere between $ ... More >>

Bicycle Advocates Win a Game of Chicken

City Hall turns back on fudged numbers for bike lanes.

On October 22, Take a Walk, Ride Your Bike or Just Hang Out on the Cedar Crest Bridge

​In December of last year, the city of Dallas put out the call: Design firm needed to draw up pedestrian and bicycle enhancements for the Cedar Crest Bridge over the Trinity River. In May, the Trinity River Corridor Project Committee was told that 13 firms had stepped forward with proposals for th ... More >>

City's Thoroughfare Committee to Begin Rolling Out Dallas Bike Plan's "Quick Wins"

​For those haven't really read the Dallas Bike Plan, you might want to sit down with it sooner than later -- both the 76-page document and the June addendum, which runs 42 pages. Like, say, turn to Page 33 of the plan, where you'll find the heading "Strategic Demonstration/Early Implementation Pro ... More >>

Clang, Clang, Crunch: The Truth About Streetcars

Why should Dallas build a tiny, inefficient streetcar line when it's broke? Because trolleys are groovy.

Mayoral Candidates Go For Bike Ride. That May Not Be Enough to Get Voters to the Polls.

Photos by Andrea RobertsClick to embiggen​Oh, right -- there's a runoff Saturday, or did you already forget? Apparently you did: Toni Pippins-Poole, Interim Dallas County Elections Administrator, tells Unfair Park this afternoon that as of Sunday, 15,451 people have cast their ballots in early vot ... More >>

Dang It. Turns Out Those City Council Members Really Are Important After All. Son of a ...

​For the elite few among you allowed entrance to The Dallas Morning News behind-the-pay-wall pages, I recommend a piece in today's paper by Roy Appleton about Oak Cliff. He quotes neighborhood activist Jason Roberts, pushing for bike lanes and stuff, as saying North Oak Cliff really isn't as ... More >>

Roberts: The Big Rewards of Thinking Small

Photo by Harry Wilonsky​Back in April of last year some Oak Cliff-dwellers introduced that "Think Small" slogan, which was and is intended to counter Dallas's "Live Large, Think Big" motto coughed up by The Richards Group in '04 after six months' worth of focus-grouping. A Friend of Unfair Park po ... More >>

The Eating Plaza: Positive Portents

​The folksy tunes of The Dallas Family Band moved through the air as the large musical group wound its way through a crowded, vibrant City Hall Plaza, usually a barren, human-repelling concrete landscape interrupted by abstract sculpture and, occasionally, scrawny trees. The mass of people was ... More >>

In Front of Dallas City Hall, Grabbing a Bite on The Living Plaza. "And It Only Took 30 Years."

Council member Jerry Allen tosses a Frisbee to Trinity Trust President Gail Thomas on the City Hall Plaza today at noon.​I'd intended to spend, oh, maybe half an hour in front of Dallas City Hall today, where, decades after William H. Whyte first proposed the idea of making that expanse of concret ... More >>

On April 27, Dallas City Hall Plaza Will Become (Temporarily, For Now) a "Living Plaza"

​On the other side you will find a report William H. Whyte -- The Organization Man -- gave to the Dallas City Council on June 15, 1983. Whyte, then a fellow at the Dallas Institute who often came to town to give speeches on how to make our city "livable," wondered, quite simply, why Dallas didn't ... More >>

Council Due to Hop on Complete Streets for a Bike Plan Ride to a Better Block This Afternoon

Danny Hurley​Patrick's liveblogging this afternoon's meeting of the council's Transportation and Environment Committee, whose agenda reads like an Unfair Park greatest-hits: City of Dallas Complete Streets Initiative Update, 2011 Dallas Bike Plan and The Better Block Project. You might wanna peru ... More >>

First, a Better Block. Now, Better Parking.

Courtesy Bike Friendly Oak Cliff​When Cliffdwellers were rating and debating the Bishop/Davis Land Use and Zoning Study, Bike Friendly Oak Cliff had but one significant demand: "allow businesses to supplement the zoning requirements for car parking with bike parking," per this morning's post on BF ... More >>

At the Texas Theatre, Just Because We Never Miss a Ribbon-Cutting With the Mayor

Photos by Harry WilonskyMayor Tom Leppert and Delia Jasso joined the Aviation Cinemas gang and Stuart Sikes (in the green sweater) officially re-open the Texas Theatre​I did indeed take the 7-year-old who lives in my house to the Texas last night for its official re-opening, where Mayor Tom declar ... More >>

Re-Tweed: Scenes from a Bike Ride (And Dealey Plaza And Lake Cliff Park And Other Stuff)

Photo by Harry Wilonsky​Yesterday 'round 3ish, the 7-year-old who lives in my house and I stumbled into the recently reopened Millennium in Deep Ellum, a couple of doors down from Lula B's. And as he sat on the antique exerbike parked outside, a horde of nattily attired cyclists pedaled past, head ... More >>

Do You Have What it Takes to Complete Dallas's Streets? Then Submit Your Bid Now!

Jason Roberts/Go Oak CliffA look at Davis during the second round of Better Block-building in Oak Cliff​Speaking of the city's Strategic Plan Update ...It's been exactly one year since City Hall hopped aboard the Complete Streets Initiative, first rolled out at the initial Ride to City Hall and th ... More >>

Idea Week Shines on Dallas Bike Plan This Morning, with Second Annual Ride to City Hall

Photos by Patrick MichelsTip o' the hat to DMN photographer Jim Mahoney, who first spotted the biker riding in high heels to City Hall. She said this is how everyone does it in Europe.​All the Idea Week fun that kicked off with a little "speed ideating" downtown on Monday (maybe next year we'll f ... More >>

Jason Roberts on Jason Roberts

From time to time (to time to time) we write about Jason Roberts, who's become synonymous in recent months with efforts to rejuvenate North Oak Cliff -- without City Hall's assistance (or, occasionally, OK). Hence this just-posted You Dallas piece, from TEDxSMU, about the self-described community ac ... More >>

News & Notes & An Angry Letter & The Calm Before The State Fair of Texas Opens Today

Justin TerveenClick to embiggen Justin's picture of the State Fair-grounds last night​Rick Perry's a disappointment, Craig Watkins is a "demagogue," Jason Roberts is a fixer -- all the name-calling you fit whilst awaiting your first Fletcher's corn dog of the fall season ...Following an outing to ... More >>

News & Notes & Our New Computer Wallpaper

Justin Terveen​A little bit o' this and a little bit o' that while admiring that picture taken yesterday by Best of Dallas-certified Justin Terveen:A Friend of Unfair Park whose name rhymes with "Jason Roberts" forwards along this Washington Post piece in which Oak Cliff's Better Block Project ins ... More >>

More From This Weekend's Blues, Bandits and Barbecue Shindig in North Oak Cliff

Photos by Sam MertenSchutze's been having a tough time tracking down council member Dave Neumann for comments. So close.​As Robert pointed out below, Go Oak Cliff hosted the inaugural Blues, Bandits and Barbecue street party and Better Block Redux this weekend around the Kessler, where a clay ... More >>

Might We Finally See That Long-Discussed SRV Statue in Dallas? Briefly on Sunday, Yes.

​Well, we're just swelling with pride and joy this afternoon--and for good reason. It looks like we could be on the verge of finally seeing the long-discussed Stevie Ray Vaughan statue finding a place in Dallas, which (despite Austin's claim on him and SRV statue of their own) is indeed where the ... More >>

UT Arlington To Set Up Shop In Oak Cliff

Daniel RodrigueBob Stimson​The Oak Cliff spirit of urban development and community outreach, which we are physically incapable of not writing about here in the paper and online, continues -- this time, with an urban planning storefront that's the result of a partnership between the Oak Cliff Chamb ... More >>

Last Night At La Grange, Imagining A Better Block in Deep Ellum

Danny HurleyA Deep Ellum Better Block may or may not include a lane for dogs to lay down in the street. But will there be fist-pumps?Tucked into Robert's preview of Oak Cliff's Better Block sequel was Jason Roberts's passing mention of a Deep Ellum spin-off slated for September 18 -- and while we kn ... More >>

Packed Open House For 2011 Dallas Bike Plan Leaves Many Impressed And Very, Very Hopeful

Photos by Daniel Rodrigue​Ten minutes before the 5 o'clock kick-off of last night's 2011 Dallas Bike Plan Open House, there were already some 100 folks milling about City Hall's 6th Floor Flag Room. And by the time officials busted out the PowerPoint at 6, all but a handful of the seats in the 26 ... More >>

Taking a Bike-Riding Tour of Oak Cliff's Community Gardens, No Permits Necessary

Andrea GrimesThe St. Cecilia's Community Garden was on yesterday's tour​Sunday afternoon, a horde of be-SPF'd cyclists gathered outside Eno's in Oak Cliff's Bishop Arts District to launch an extremely polite two-wheeled assault on Oak Cliff. The "Spring Has Sprung Garden Ride" was more of a summer ... More >>

Bonus MP3: The Happy Bullets -- "People In Charge"

Erica Felicella​In this week's paper, Darryl Smyers gave The Happy Bullets' preview EP for its Hydroponic at the Natatorium LP a spin--and dug what he heard. Seriously. Writes Smyers:The effort is good enough to bring some much-deserved attention to The Happy Bullets once again. Continue reading. ... More >>

The Happy Bullets

Hydropanic at the Natatorium (Self-released)

Taking Oak Cliff's "Better Block" to Atlanta and the Congress for the New Urbanism

It began as an art installation-slash-political statement at the clusterfudged intersection of Kings Highway, W. 7th Street and N. Tyler Street in Oak Cliff: the Better Block project, which thumbed its nose at Dallas's antiquated City Code. And it was a great deal of fun for all involved -- those wh ... More >>

What Made a "Better Block"? Oh, Just the Fact You Could Walk, Shop, Drink and Hang Out and Not Get Run Over.

Danny Hurley​Spent the majority of Saturday inside the warehouse next door to Patina Bleu, which is situated at the corner of Kings Highway, W. 7th Street and N. Tyler Street -- which, usually, is quite the clusterfudge, as I explained to the boy. The furniture and home-decor store's owner, Gregor ... More >>

Some Questions Over How Useful Google Maps' New Bike Trails Feature Actually Is

​Bike Friendly Oak Cliff was the first locally to make mention yesterday of the fact Google Maps now offers bike trails -- that's the green line you see on the map at right. (Writes Jason Roberts, "It's a good way to see a birds-eye view of our trail system, and will hopefully help when plans deve ... More >>

Oak Cliff Becomes Cool Embracing What Other Parts Of Dallas Have Fought: Builders, Bikes And Immigrants

Trolley Issue Shifts Political Paradigm to North Oak Cliff; How Will City Hall React?

Courtesy the Oak Cliff Transit Authority​It will be really interesting to see how city staff handles this week's stunning announcement of a $23 million federal grant to fund a trolley connecting downtown with North Oak Cliff. This is not at all where the staff wanted to go. Last October I cov ... More >>

Weekend Roundup: The Crash That Took Me, The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Gourds, Emery

The Crash That Took Me at Art Conspiracy 5 on Saturday, December 12:A pretty high quality, well-edited video here featuring the emcee stylings of Paul Slavens, the auctioneering prowess of Happy Bullet/cycling advocate/Oak Cliff activist Jason Roberts, the art of Art Conspiracy 5 and the stage prese ... More >>

Dallas's New Bike Coordinator Addresses the Difficulty of Updating the City's Bike Plan

Danny Fulgencio​Back in November 2008, Oak Cliff activist Jason Roberts wondered about the absence of bicycle lanes in Dallas. His curiosity led him to become the city's foremost bicycle lane and cycling infrastructure advocate. Roberts took on that role when he discovered that the reason Dall ... More >>

Over The Weekend: HYMNS, OK Sweetheart at Hailey's

HYMNS, OK Sweetheart, My Empty PhantomHailey's ClubOctober 9, 2009Better Than: sitting at home on a Friday nightHYMNS at last week's DC9 in SPACE taping.​Playing to an unfortunately minuscule but, nonetheless, quite enthusiastic crowd on Friday night at Hailey's, HYMNS proved it knows how to have ... More >>

Dallas City Hall Needs a Bike Rack

Photos by Kimberly ThorpeJason Roberts, organizer of today's bike ride to City Hall, and his official proclamation​This morning, Angela Hunt made a discovery: Dallas City Hall has no bicycle rack. "It's nuts!" said Hunt, who was standing with other bikers on a chilly morning in the plaza. "We ... More >>

Art Conspiracy Needs to Raise a Little Money in August So It Can Raise a Lot in December

Art Conspiracy has raised a tall pile of cash in recent years for the likes of Preservation LINK, La Reunion TX and St. Anthony Community Center; now it has set its sights on Resolana, a nonprofit with an outpost in the Dallas County Jail that uses art "to empower women to break the cycle of incarce ... More >>

Hophead: Homebrew Competition At Eno's Sunday

Hopefully entrants in Sunday's homebrew competition come up with something better than Skittlebrau.Whether you've got your own specialty beer you're dying to share with the world or you just like free mystery drinks, make sure you block out some time Sunday afternoon. From 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, J ... More >>

Hymns, Theater Fire

Sunday, June 3, at the Double Wide

Open Secret

Art Conspiracists try to establish a new Utopia

Army of Two

The Tah-Dahs and The Happy Bullets are such a cute couple