Movie theater news

Fort Worth suburb's only movie theater shuts down permanently after 15 years

November 1 is the last day to see a movie here.

Southlake moviegoers have lost their local theater: Harkins Southlake 14 will close permanently after November 1, the company revealed in an email to customers October 29.

"After nearly 15 years, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close our theatre in Southlake, Texas, at the end of October," the letter says.

A search on their website confirms that no showtimes are listed after Sunday.

As first reported by Southlake Style, the closure comes after a dispute with Southlake Town Square management.

"We were unfortunately not able to come to economic terms with the Southlake Town Square landlord and have been forced with the difficult decision to close Harkins Southlake 14," the letter explains.

Messages seeking comment from a Southlake Town Square spokeswoman have not been returned.

Harkins is the only movie theater within the city limits of Southlake, recently named one of America's best small cities by WalletHub. Now residents will have to drive to nearby Roanoke, Grapevine, Keller, or Euless to see the latest releases.

Movie theaters have been hit particularly hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regal theater chain recently suspended operations at all of its locations, including Dallas-Fort Worth, and Alamo Drafthouse has shuttered all DFW locations for now.

But the Harkins closure is permanent, the company says. In their letter, theater personnel thanked Southlake customers for 15 years of loyalty.

"We are very proud of our time in Southlake providing first-time jobs for young people and millions of wonderful moviegoing experiences," they say. "We are forever grateful to our team, our loyal guests, and the wonderful Southlake community in which we were able to entertain over the years."

movies closings

share the road

Texas is one of the most unfriendly states for riding a bicycle

Photo by Coen van de Broek on Unsplash

If you've ridden your bicycle in Fort Worth, you already know how true this is.

Fort Worth has a vibrant bicycling community, but the state of Texas is not so bicycle-friendly. A new report called the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S." puts Texas at nearly at the bottom of the list.

Texas comes in at No. 47, with only three other states that are worse: Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, which is the least cycle-friendly state of all.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas' has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

texas reports rankings