Add City Manager Mary Suhm to the list of folks lined up to bury the so-called Dallas Pedestrian Network, otherwise known as the downtown tunnels. But two days ago she told the DSpotters that those inhabiting the maze of passageways beneath the downtown skyscrapers ain't nothing but "a community of moles."
But Friend of Unfair Park Noah Jeppson is undeterred: He sends word that he's taken to Kickstarter in order to raise a meager $1,200 so he can design and ultimately distribute a comprehensive map of the tunnels. As evidenced by his cache of photos of the tunnels, he's been working on it for years: In '09 Jeppson, a designer by trade, produced the starting-point you see on his Kickstarter page -- a map, though "basic," that nevertheless "included an important detail never appearing on previous maps: access points and accessibility." But that alone, says Jeppson, isn't enough. Hence, this email I received from Noah Thursday night:
After guiding lost tourists and downtown workers in the Dallas Pedestrian Network/Tunnels I'm designing a comprehensive map of the system. The map will clearly show connections and (more importantly) access points to the network. The goal is to help promote cross-patronage of all downtown businesses and mitigate the problem of poor wayfinding design. Using Kickstarter will help me print and distribute the maps to locations throughout downtown.He's $80 toward his goal, with 29 days to go. Which means, John Crawford, all you'll need to kick in is $1,120. Boom. Done.