The Better Block team did not just want to show what was possible, but to show how the amenities created were made illegal by city regulations. So they printed all of the ordinances and zoning code provisions they were intentionally violating during the event and put them on display for all to see.

Impressively, it led to the permanent change the project organizers desired, and perhaps faster than anyone expected. “Those ordinances we wanted changed were put on the Dallas City Council docket for discussion and were changed almost immediately to be more reflective of how we live now,” Roberts says. “We also got the bike lane we built added to the city’s bike plan.

While the City of Forth Worth was not a partner in the original project, officials were so impressed by the temporary changes that they moved to make some of the project elements permanent. More specifically, the temporary bike lanes that were added to South Main were part of the city’s bike plan, but had not been implemented because the roadway was under the jurisdiction of the unsympathetic Texas Department of Transportation. The Better Block project highlighted the value and opportunity with a temporary bike lane, which inspired the City to obtain the right-of-way back from the State. A few weeks later the temporary bike lanes were made permanent. As Roberts says, under normal project delivery processes, “You just don’t get bike infrastructure that fast.”