A couple of weekends ago, a server at The Pour House was trying to cross West 7th Street and was struck by a drunk driver. The server suffered some bruises, cuts to his arms and head, and a fractured fibula. The driver got a DUI. Not long afterward, Pour House owner Eric Tschetter fired off a letter to his councilmember, Joel Burns, requesting a community meeting to work on ways to increase pedestrian safety in the West 7th corridor.
“The stories of near misses are mounting as the West 7th Street corridor continues to see increased foot, bike, and car traffic,” Tschetter wrote, also inviting Burns to spend some time in the area to “just witness the number of people that run across the street because the crosswalk is all the way on the other block!” Tschetter goes on to say that he’s “actually surprised more people have not been hit.” Tschetter cc’d the 7th Street Business Association, the Cultural District Alliance, and the Fort Worth Police Department. Tschetter wrapped up the letter by saying, “I really hope we can start the dialogue before a major incident happens in our growing neighborhood.” Traffic safety in the West 7th corridor, of course, has been a hot topic for years now, ever since the neighborhood started taking off.
When the Weekly first decided to host the annual Music Awards Festival in the area, one of the things we talked about was safety. The only marked crosswalk is at Carroll Street (“all the way down the block!”), and cars on West 7th are traveling as fast as 50 miles per hour. Naturally, we worried about attendees trying to cross the street after having a couple (or several) frosty, cold beverages. Thankfully, there haven’t been any incidents. But we join Tschetter in his plea to Burns. At last year’s festival, nearly 7,000 people came and went throughout the day. With two more venues this year, The Grotto and Magnolia Motor Lounge, and more bands, nearly 50 in total, we’re expecting even more people. We hope at least a temporary safety solution can be achieved before the day of the show, Sun., Jun. 26. Remember: The 2011 Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards Festival is free (free!), takes place in eight venues in the West 7th corridor (including The Backyard at Capital Bar, Fred’s Texas Café, Lola’s Saloon, Poag Mahone’s, The Pour House, and 7th Haven), and will feature such esteemed Fort Worth acts as Calhoun, EPIC RUINS, The Burning Hotels, The Orbans, Josh Weathers & The True+Endeavors, Spoonfed Tribe, American Idol semifinalist Tim Halperin, The Hanna Barbarians, Skeleton Coast, The Cush, Fate Lions, Snakey Roberts (featuring members of Green River Ordinance), My Wooden Leg, and many more.
“Wednesdays are fun and full of love and don’t look fat in white.” Or so sayeth the good folks at The Where House (2510 Hemphill St), the location of the Hump Day House Party, featuring $6 Thai noodle bowls and performances by Jeff Dazey (EPIC RUINS, Josh Weathers & The True+Endeavors) and some outfit called Megasaurous featuring EPIC RUINS’ (and the Weekly’s) Steve Steward. Cover for the 18-and-up show is a mere $5, and the event is BYOB.
