And debate some shall …
A proposal to change the name of Plano Road to Lake Highlands Drive is up for discussion.
Last October District 10 councilman Adam McGough visited businesses along Plano Road, “discussing the potential street name change to Lake Highlands Drive.” This was according to a post on McGough’s Facebook page (which is a good place to keep up with D10 happenings).
“Part of our #ALLinD10 Accountability Plan was to connect the North and South portions of the district,” he continued, “and we believe changing the name of Plano Road will help do just that.”
The proposal if it passes would change Plano to Lake Highlands Drive from Northwest Highway to Forest Lane.
That 2016 announcement was far from the beginning of the name-change idea.
McGough says various neighborhood associations began the effort before he came into office, and it is something he and his staff began looking into over the past couple of years — not a top priority, but an issue on which many of his constituents asked him to act. At this point, he says, he is still open to feedback and input from the neighborhood.
We wrote about this as early as 2013 when the idea was in its embryonic stage.
“Many Lake Highlands residents have been prompted by their homeowners association to offer input on a street name change proposal,” we noted four years ago. “Plano Road, once you cross Northwest Highway to the south, changes to Lake Highlands Drive, and Lake Highlands Drive runs right through Old Lake Highlands and up to White Rock Lake, but all of Lake Highlands Drive arguably is south of Lake Highlands and not in Lake Highlands. Plano Road, for a portion, is in Lake Highlands, so as the L Streets newsletter puts it, ‘In an effort to increase the visibility and definition of Lake Highlands, there is a proposal within the City of Dallas to rename a segment of Plano Road to Lake Highlands Drive.’ The proposed name change would extend Lake Highlands Drive to the north about three miles. Of course it would mean an address change for many Lake Highlands businesses and residents.” A survey also was provided at the time.
Today, as many in Dallas and Garland work toward the reconstruction of I-635 East, this could be an opportunity to place “Lake Highlands” signage along the highway, which some residents believe would be good for neighborhood branding and property values.
More recently, McGough’s office sent letters to every business along the corridor regarding the possible name change, and the councilman says the handful of owners he spoke with expressed some concern about the trouble of changing addresses and associated costs, for example, but mostly seemed open to the idea, agreeing that it makes sense.
But some say they were blindsided by the rezoning signs that popped up along Plano Road last week.
Alan Short owns 7.5 acres of businesses and much more land near Plano and I-635.
“I intend to speak up and fight this and make sure that every other business owner knows what is going on,” he says, adding that he had not heard anything about the proposal before now. Short says that he understands the reasoning but believes this would come at significant cost and hassle to businesses without a sufficient return.
“We can’t find the money to fix our roadways,” he adds, “but we can toss cash out the window in the name of continuity?”
Now the proposal is in the re-zoning stage, and the City of Dallas Planning Commission’s Subdivision Review Committee has a public hearing slated for 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 3 at City Hall (council chambers on the sixth floor). All interested parties will be allowed to voice questions, concerns and/or support.
McGough says that he does not have specifics at this point on what it would cost to change street signs, but that he will try to have more answers about budget, and whatever other questions arise between now and then, by the time of the meeting.
