April/May Newsletter
Updated: Jul 2, 2020
Our asks of you
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Take the Lemmon Ave Survey!
We are excited to announce that design work has started on the Lemmon Ave Trail project. This project is being managed by Love Field as they 'own' both sides of Lemmon Ave from Mockingbird to Shorecrest. Please take the time to provide your input on features and design themes. We have asked that the designers also consider art and wildflowers along the trail, similar to what has been done on Northaven Trail. The survey is available in English and in Spanish until May 26th.
On May 18th, Alternate Entrance Downselect
In other news, based on the update provided during the Good Neighbor Program meeting, it sounds like Love Field will be presenting their downselected entrance options to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (TRNI) this month. You will recall that two of those options were on to Shorecrest. The TRNI Committee meets at 1PM on 5/18, so mark your calendars as we will need to have a (virtual) presence. As we get details on how to participate as a community, we will pass those along. In the meantime, we have created a flyer that you can print and hand-out to your neighbors. The location of the alternate entrance is is too big a decision for our voices not to be heard throughout the process!
In case you did not see it on social media, we recently wrote a blog post on the difference between LOS (Level of Service) and VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) which is very relevant to this topic.
News
We are sad to announce that one of the non-profits we've worked with, Keep Dallas Beautiful, is closing its doors. They have been a fantastic partner in coordinating volunteers to clean around the lake and we were so grateful when they called to donate trash bags, gloves and picker-uppers to us. We hope these become the basis of a supply we can maintain at the Bachman Lake Recreation Center for volunteers to use.
On May 18th, Alternate Entrance Downselect
This is the formal name given by Love Field Airport to what we used to refer to as the Lemmon Ave Trail. While it felt like nothing much was happening in March and April, the reality is that work has been progressing regarding projects that will be of great benefit to our community. One of those is the Lemmon Avenue Streetscape Enhancements project, what we refer to as the Lemmon Ave Trail. The design for this effort is underway and as noted in our asks above, you should take the time to take the survey! On May 5th, a virtual meeting was held to review the project. Salient points from that session are:
The lack of signage, aesthetics, pedestrian and cycling pathways around the airport have been concerns for years. This project starts addressing this along the Lemmon Ave corridor.
A National Parks grant will help with technical assistance on how to plot an urban trail that helps connect to points of interest as well as other trails. This work will also include COG, Dallas County and DART.
This project will also help the City of Dallas progress their Vision Zero goal (see our November 2019 newsletter on this topic)
There will be major crosswalks across Lemmon Ave at University, Lovers Lane and Shorecrest.
Two pocket parks will be put in place along the corridor along with appropriate landscaping.
Cycling paths will be 10 feet wide and sidewalks will be 6 feet wide.
For details, please access the presentation on the project, which includes the project timeline.
The National Park Service will be assisting the City of Dallas with the Love Field trail planning initiative. Through surveys and public workshops, we will have the opportunity to provide detailed input on the trail, its appearance, amenities, programming and overall route(s). If you would like to be notified directly as planning activities are scheduled please ask to be added to the email list for the Love Field Loop trail by contacting: lovefieldGNP@dallascityhall.com
Nature Trails in the Bachman Greenbelt
In December, we completed fundraising efforts totaling $45,000 for the nature trails in the Bachman greenbelt and have been working with the Parks Department to get the funding match. We are excited to announce that on May 7th, the intent to match was approved by the Parks Board pending a community input meeting.
As you can imagine, it has been difficult to lay out a schematic of what the trail would look like as the north side is overgrown with privet hedges and homeless tents/trash (you can see them from Google maps). This will be the most challenging component of the work and the Groundwork Dallas team is committed to not only creating an 8 foot wide passage but to also clean out all the trash. Over the next 3 years, as a community, we will work to continue removing the invasive privet and do native plant restoration. If there are any master gardeners out there, this just may be the project for you!
The north trail loop will be accessed via Lemmon Ave. We had hoped that by now the QT trailhead would be done, but it seems that those approvals are moving very slowly. The south trail would be accessed via Shorecrest and the new Lemmon Ave Trail being built by the airport.
Below is a draft schematic of what the trail loops might look like:
Events
We will be Plogging again after a hiatus in March and April due to COVID. Our monthly plogging event is every 2nd Saturday of the month from 6-7ish (or whatever time your coffee or daylight hours kick in). Bring one of those plastic bags we all have around the house and put it to good use. Walk the path or meander off of it and pick up trash. It’s great for the hamstrings! Give a shout-out to anyone you see walking around the lake with a plastic bag - they are clearly FoBLers!
Also, don't forget to join us at our monthly ‘meeting of the minds’ at Bluffview Growler. It's on the 4th Wednesday of every month from 4-6PM. No RSVP needed. NOTE: We hope to do an outdoor Meet and Greet at Bluffview Growler this month and will keep you informed via social media!
Favorite Shots
Here are some of our favorite Instagram pics taken at Bachman Lake.
Instagram:@mollyinblackandwhite
Instagram:@covenant.o.grace
Instagram:@jonluthor
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