By David Wilfong, NDG Special Contributor
A plan to create a covered deck park over a South Dallas freeway has Dallas City Council District 4 Councilmember Carolyn King Arnold up in arms. Arnold is on her way out of City Hall, being defeated in her reelection bid against Dwaine Caraway, but she fired off a full salvo at the Transportation & Trinity River Project Committee (TTRPC) on May 22.
At issue is traffic, development, and ultimately the perceived threat of “gentrification” and minority residents being moved around whenever their geographic location becomes popular. What might make a strip of IH-35 between Ewing and Marsalis more popular is the proposed “Southern Gateway Public Green,” and it was the second item on the agenda for Monday’s meeting.
Committee members looked at variations on a plan to create a park which is similar in concept to the popular Klyde Warren Park on the north side of downtown. Estimates on the cost of such a project run from $11 million to $90 million, with contributions in the form of matching funds from the Regional Transportation Council (RTC).The only problem is, the idea originated out of a Southern Gateway Task Force meeting hosted by Sen. Royce West, and Arnold says her constituents either don’t support it or don’t even know about it. It specifically came up at an “Eggs and Issues” breakfast event held at UNT on March 21, 2015.
On March 10, 2016 the RTC approved $40 million towards the Southern Gateway Public Green, and on June 22 the Dallas City Council adopted a resolution endorsing the proposed location after reviewing four options. Arnold does not serve on the TTRPC, but took the opportunity to come to the meeting to address her concerns with the committee members.
“I walk in that area I realize that some of those owners have still not been made aware of what’s going on with the Gateway, with the deck park,” Arnold said. “So I’m still stunned and shocked that some of them are still in the dark about what this great state and this great city is preparing to do to them.”
Arnold asked for a list “today” of the people in attendance at the task force meeting. When city staffers informed her they did not have attendance records because it wasn’t a city meeting, Arnold went on the offensive.
“So you’re telling us that we went on the recommendation of a committee that was not sanctioned by this committee to give direction to a project that we would fund possibly?” Arnold asked. “That’s correct. I wanted to make sure we got that on the record. Now the other piece, the reason that I’m walking you through this is because I believe there were no members from the neighborhood in which I represent which is historic 10th Street. It is my understanding that those people were from the Kessler Park area in District 1. So I wanted to make sure I got that on the record, and if we had the list you all could dispute my statement, but that’s what I understand.”
District 12 Councilmember Sandy Greyson voiced concern over the issues raised by Arnold., and said the proposed park seemed an abrupt development to her as well.
“From my perspective as someone who wasn’t involved closely with all of these discussions, it seems like this idea of the deck park just popped up, then all of the sudden it really had legs,” Greyson said. “And it had legs partly because of a lot of RTC funding that was offered for it. And again I go back to what Ms. Arnold has been saying over and over and over again, which is, her folks weren’t involved in this.”
Lee Kleinman, who represents District 11, provided some push-back against Arnold’s assertion that her community had been kept in the dark about the project.
“I must say that I attended several meetings in southern Dallas, including one at the Zoo in District 4, where people had more than ample opportunity to give feedback as to this project,” Kleinman said. “So I don’t think it was quite the vacuum of information.”
Michael Morris of the RTC said he had been at the original meeting in 2015, and that the deck park was only one of many potential ideas brought up. It was the one that had gotten attention and built traction. He also pointed out that there is currently a gentrification study being done that would be taken into account during construction.
“We’re looking at every best practice across the United States with regard to how to move a project like this – some of us feel will have economic development benefits – and what are all the principles and policies that the City of Dallas could put in place, and/or the state legislature, to make sure this area remains in the hands of this particular community,” Morris said. “So this isn’t a pedestrian plaza all by itself. It’s a pedestrian plaza with a major best practices across the country gentrification initiative that I think will help pay dividends for some time to come.”
The committee saw prospective budgets for a full deck or half deck, with or without fire suppression, or with foundations but no deck. Councilmember Erik Wilson moved for the committee to pass on the recommendation to full council for a half deck with no fire suppression. The estimated cost for that would be $35 million. It is expected that a contribution of $28 million would come from the RTC, with the city responsible for the remaining $7 million.
Ultimately the TTRPC voted to move the recommendation on to the full council for a vote, most likely in June. Greyson was the only member of the committee to vote in opposition. Arnold vowed to fight the project and if the full city council does sign off on it as part of an upcoming bond program, she wants the deck park to be listed as a separate item on the ballot.
