Streetcar Letter 1

November 9, 2009 The Honorable Mayor Leppert and Dallas City Council 1500 Marilla St. Dallas, Texas 75201 Dear Honorable Mayor Leppert and Council, The Old Oak Cliff Conservation League voted at its annual membership meeting on November 9, 2009 to respectively ask the Council for Oak Cliff’s inclusion in any route configuration of the city’s future streetcar system. Many in Oak Cliff have worked tirelessly for some time to bring streetcars back to Oak Cliff. In the beginning of the last century, most of our area’s older established neighborhoods were built around an extensive streetcar system and still are configured that way today. Indeed the arguably most popular destination in Oak Cliff, the Bishop Arts District, was once one of the most popular streetcar stops in the city. When traveling to New Orleans, Portland, San Francisco, Berlin or any other number of “world class” cities: a tourist typically takes time to not only explore a city’s modernity and art offerings but also a city’s history. Oak Cliff is one of this city’s few remaining links to its history. The success of places like the Bishop Arts District reinforces not only the commercial viability of such areas but also the need. As we build a new convention center hotel to attract thousands of potential tourists to our area, please ensure the success of our city by connecting them to this vital component that is shared by all popular metropolitan destinations… one’s past. Respectfully,

Michael Amonett President, Old Oak Cliff Conservation League P.O. Box 4027 Dallas, Texas 75208 [email protected] cc: Bob Stimson, Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce