Ed Oakley works hard
to make Dallas a better place to live and work!
Ed Oakley works hard to make Dallas a better place to live and work. He is working to revitalize this city and help propel us into the future. He was appointed chair of the Trinity River Committee by Mayor Laura Miller, and has since been at the forefront of the largest public works project this city has ever seen. The Trinity River will become one of the central features of Dallas. It will be a place that is beautiful, environmentally sound, full of parks and places for individuals and families to experience a magnificent urban greenspace. But, like any good leader Ed Oakley is unwilling to be carried away simply by parks and recreational spaces. He knows there are other responsibilities involved here.
The Trinity River Corridor Project went to the voters as a capital bond program in May of 1998. The voters approved the bond, which included several things other than the recreational amenities including:
- The Dallas Floodway Extension that will increase flood protection for about 12,500 structures in southern Dallas and near downtown
- Transportation improvements that will provide relief form congestion in the downtown area
- Environmental benefits that will include land acquisitions that will preserve about 3,500 acres in the Great Trinity Forest and wetlands construction, which will improve floodwater conveyance and wildlife habitats.
The Trinity Parkway is the principal transportation improvement. It will be built inside the levees on the downtown side from highway 183 to Highway 175. It will carry 90,000 vehicles per day and is the result of an exhaustive 10 year process that has included hundreds of citizens in the decision making process. Anyone who has driven Stemmons Freeway at rush hour knows we need a reliever route. The trinity Parkway will be designed to the same standards as Central Expressway and will be a Parkway.
In response to other candidates’ unwillingness to focus on all of the important aspects to the project, Ed Oakley was quoted in the Dallas Morning News as saying, “There has to be a road. We have revisited this at least four times. If you start pulling out one of the threads, it’s like a suit: It’ll unravel.”
The parks and recreational amenities are going to be incredible. By careful engineering, we will have two lakes instead of the one envisioned when the bonds were passed. There will also be many open park areas, trails and equestrian centers. But they go hand in hand with the flood control and the roads and bridges that are not only to ease downtown traffic but also serve as a means to access these recreational areas.
In addition to this incredible urban lake and river system, and the recreational amenities surrounding it, there will be signature bridges built that will enhance the architectural beauty of our city. These bridges will be distinctive and are being design specifically for Dallas. The bridges will be incredible landmarks, and will attract millions to the corridor. This can promote favorable land uses and neighborhood revitalization of the surrounding areas.
Some want people to get hung up on a perceived lack of progress on this project. However, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge will begin construction in April as will the Audubon Information Center. A good leader understands that often with a project of such magnitude, the progress you cannot see is often the most complicated and time consuming. The Trinity River Corridor Project management Office reports on its website www.trinityrivercorridor.com that the following has been accomplished:
• Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), which study the impact of various project components along the Trinity River, must be developed before design or construction can begin.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues with design efforts for the Dallas Floodway Extension (DFE) Project, while the City continues with land acquisition. The Corps produced a Supplement for the Dallas Floodway Extension EIS in November 2003 that satisfied the Federal District Court and resulted in lifting the court injunction on construction. The Corps began construction on the DFE Project during August 2004.
Two other EIS's are currently underway – the North Texas Tollway Authority is developing an EIS for the Trinity Parkway, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on an EIS for the Dallas Floodway water resource initiatives. It is anticipated that both EIS's will be combined into one comprehensive EIS that would address all the Dallas Floodway projects and be completed by December 2006.
- One of two boat launches to be built along the Trinity River in Dallas is now operational. The Sylvan Avenue boat launch, located next to Trammell Crow Lake Park, was completed in January 2002. Another boat launch, located at Loop 12 and the Trinity River, is currently under construction. There is no charge to use the self-service facilities, however only properly licensed watercrafts are allowed on the river.
- A master plan for proposed enhancements to Moore Gateway Park was completed in August 2001. A design contract was awarded in the Fall 2002. MESA Design Group, a Dallas firm, is working on a design that will include an entry pavilion, canoe launch, trail, a pedestrian connection to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Light Rail Station at Corinth Street and 8th Street, and associated parking. In February 2003, additional acreage was acquired along 8th Street to improve access to the park. Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2005 and be completed by the summer of 2005.
- $97,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission will help fund nature trails in Rochester Park.Design is complete with construction anticipated to begin in late 2004.
- In Oct. 2001, the Trinity River Corridor Citizens Committee (TRCCC) was merged with a new non-profit organization known as Trinity Commons Foundation. First organized in 1994, the TRCCC volunteers provided input for the various elements of the Project, as will the new organization. The mission of the Trinity Commons Foundation is to support the Trinity River Corridor Project.
- The design contract for the Woodall Rodgers Extension Bridge was awarded to world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava in January 2002. The Interstate 30 Bridge design contract was awarded to Mr. Calatrava in December 2003.
- A contract for a feasibility study and master plan for the Trinity Interpretive Center and equestrian centers, and associated trails was awarded in August 2002 with an estimated completion date of June 2004. The design phase began in the Summer 2004, which will be followed by construction in early 2006. As part of the study, three series of public input meetings were held in March 2003, May 2003 and May 2004. Additional public input opportunities will occur during the design phase.
- In November 2002, the Dallas City Council gave their approval to the hiring of an engineering firm, Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc. (CDM), to assess water-quality issues related to the proposed lakes inside the Dallas Floodway and to provide technical guidance to the collaborative work of the urban design consultants to modify the 1999 Master Implementation Plan for the Dallas Floodway. The Balanced Vision Plan was approved by City Council in December 2003 that modifies the 1999 Master Implementation Plan for the Dallas Floodway. Further refinements to the Balanced Vision Plan were approved by City Council in April 2004. CDM completed its work on water quality studies in Spring 2004.
- In September 2003, the National Park Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Groundwork USA announced Dallas as a designated Groundwork USA Pilot Community. This grant would provide the City of Dallas with an initial $10,000 to help assess the feasibility of a Groundwork Trust organization in Dallas with the potential of an additional $90,000 to help launch the new organization.
- The Santa Fe Trestle Trail Project will provide bicycle and pedestrian access across the Trinity River to Moore Park and the future Trinity Levee Trails. The design for this trail began in Summer 2004.
In August 2004, the Federal Highway Administration announced that the Trinity Parkway was selected as one of six trans\portation projects in the nation that will be reviewed under the Environmental Streamlining process. This will reduce the amount of time to complete the Trinity Parkway Environmental Impact Statement, through concurrent agency reviews and prioritization of this project for agency action.
Dallas is looking for a leader. Dallas needs someone responsible and trustworthy as well as experienced. Ed Oakley is the candidate with the most experience dealing with the Trinity River Project. He knows how important it is not to get carried away with fun stuff before you take care of
your responsibilities. He is the candidate that will make sure all aspects of this project are completed, not just the ones that people think sound good to voters during an election. Ed Oakley is a leader, a coalition builder, a man we can trust to be our mayor. |
