After more than a year of discussion, the Dallas City Council this week voted to move forward with installing digital kiosks around the city.
The council voted11-4 Wednesday to approve an agreement with vendor IKE Smart City LLC to install up to 150 units in the coming years.
The interactive kiosks will display directions, transit updates, and public safety alerts, and provide free Wi-Fi.
Harrison Blair is the CEO and president of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce. He said Dallas needs kiosks.
鈥淲e want to make sure that we have that same information displayed on our screens and our cities and communities and that small businesses get an opportunity to utilize this different infrastructure,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檒l help us and small businesses that the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce serves.鈥�
Paulina Dosal-Terminel is the managing director for Artstillery, a social justice arts nonprofit in Dallas. She said she鈥檚 in favor of the kiosks because they offer visibility to the especially underserved communities in Dallas.
鈥淭hese digital kiosks provide a platform for hyper local art to reach a broader public and more importantly they reflect back the vibrancy of the community often left out of the mainstream cultural narrative,鈥�
But the program hasn鈥檛 been without controversy 鈥� during a briefing in December, council members raised concerns the kiosks would block sidewalks and questioned who was behind the push to install them.
鈥淰ery often around this horseshoe people talk about wanting to be a walkable city, but you know what鈥檚 gonna be in the middle of your sidewalk? A kiosk,鈥� District 12 council member Cara Mendelsohn said Wednesday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 gonna clutter both visually and physically our downtown. It would be nothing but a visual distraction for our drivers.鈥�
District 14 council member Paul Ridley said he鈥檚 received many letters from stakeholders opposing the item including Downtown Dallas Inc., the Oaklawn Committee and The Arts District.
鈥淲e鈥檙e sacrificing our walkability and safety of pedestrians in our most congested urban environments,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e sacrificing our quality of life and the aesthetics in those same areas.鈥�
Mendelsohn said residents aren鈥檛 in support of the program; rather, she said, it鈥檚 the chambers of commerce that want them since they鈥檒l be the ones to profit.
The city estimates the kiosks will generate about $67 million dollars over the course of the 10-year contract with IKE Smart City, with two five-year renewal options.
The council will separately vote on license agreements later this year.
Olla Mokhtar is 四虎影院鈥檚 news intern. Got a tip? Email Olla at omokhtar@kera.org.
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