Those following along Monday read Jim's account of the council committee meeting during which members debated regulating neighborhood farmers markets, in part to protect the city's investment in the downtown Dallas Farmers Market. Over on the Bike Friendly Oak Cliff blog there's this response:
As Oak Cliff slowly shakes off the decades of neglect due to car-first planning which saw the dismantling of our streetcar system, destruction of historic structures in favor of parking lots, the creation of wide one-way thoroufares through the heart of our residential neighborhoods, all of which only benefited the sprawling suburban areas of the city, it's amazing to see efforts being put forth to stop homegrown grassroots efforts that are actually working. The latest afront is a plan put forth by city staff to regulate and limit the number of open air markets and community gardens in the area by creating a central regulatory body that would oversee the entire process. And why?
To protect the Downtown Farmers Market, which has been ailing for years, and definitely deserves our support, but not at the detriment of our own community. The ripple effects here have the potential to end our amazing events like Bolsa's monthly local farmers market, Make's Urban Bazaar, Bishop Arts CliffFest, and the handful of new community gardens that are beginning to spring up. Point of fact, Bolsa's market is responsible for launching new businesses in the area like Dude Sweet, Chocolate, while Make's Urban Bazaar started off in the Downtown Farmers' Market but left due to the heavy restrictions put in place by the city.
