At the March LGNA meeting, Dallas Police Department Lt. Barbara Hobbs gave us a recap of DPD’s St. Patrick’s efforts. This was Central Division’s first year to manage the event, and Lt. Hobbs talked with LGNA members about improvements in management and control.

These improvements resulted in: 

• 329 parking citations
• 139 calls to 911 through the designated 311 dispatcher, mostly re loud private parties, parking, and trash
• 64 vehicles towed
• 48 arrests for public intoxication
• 13 DWI arrests
• 72 officers assigned to the neighborhood, up from 52 in 2007
• Liaison with parking enforcement and code compliance 
• Motorcycle officers for traffic flow 
• Increased Lowest Greenville patrols 
• DWI officers
• Bicycle officers
• 8 mounted officers
• 911 specific dispatcher for event area, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., including code calls
• 3 paddy wagons
• Police reserves
• Staged wreckers from 3 companies

Lowest Greenville crowds were lighter than expected.  Activity about that expected for a Saturday night.

• 21 arrests 7:00 p.m.-3:00 a.m.
• 30 parking citations
• 10 tows

Asked why there were not more intoxication arrests, Lt. Hobbs explained that in large crowds, DPD doesn’t like to make mass arrests.  It ties up the officers, she said.  Every arrest takes an officer off the street.

Your Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association also contributed many manhours and effort to lessening the impact on our neighborhood.  Additional streets were added to LGNA’s no-parking sign assignment, adding approximately half-again as many blocks this year as in 2007.  Constructing and erecting these signs could not have been possible without the enthusiastic assistance of DPD-sponsored Explorer (Boy Scout) troops and LGNA volunteers. 

LGNA volunteers worked with the Scouts to construct 600 signs for LGNA and our neighbors to the west, Lowest Greenville West NA.  The Scouts and volunteers also posted signs on 82 blocks in the LGNA area.  Thanks to Kathryn Willison, Ryan Trimble, Dale Scofield, Cameron Scofield, Elise Pullman, April McGowan, Shelly McClintock, Kelsey McClintock, Blane Ladymon, Philip Kingston, Jaime Ibarra, Gay Hopkins, Chris Hite, Darren Dattalo, and Pat Carr.  Also thanks to Avi Adelman, Josh Erhenfeld, and Jeffrey Baustert who posted signs on the 12 blocks of Oram, Prospect, Richmond, and Belmont.

Residents of our neighborhood rely upon LGNA as a responsible source of accurate information.  After LGNA distributed maps and information on parking and traffic, there were last-minute changes in the city’s no-parking designations.  LGNA regrets the confusion and inconvenience.