Excerpt from Arlington Morning News, April 6, 2001

Park Grant Landed
River Legacy expansion gets a boost with $1.2 million in funding

By Jason Trahan
Arlington Morning News

Arlington's flagship park will grow by 22 acres with help from a $1.2 million grant awarded Thursday. The expansion of River Legacy Parks, expected to be complete in two years, allows Arlington to complete its portion of a regional park and trail system that eventually will connect Fort Worth and Dallas along the Trinity River, officials said.

"It's a great facility over there, and this will make it better," said Michael Starks, 44, who lives about a mile from the 1,200-acre park in North Arlington.

The city will spend the $1.2 million in state and federal funds from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to buy land and connect about eight miles of existing trails to the east and west of State Highway 157. Construction on the project will begin in a year and include a new park entrance off Highway 157, or Collins Street, and expanded parking.

"This is huge in terms of opening up the park to a larger number of people, giving people more vehicular access to the park, and providing more access to the east trail system," Pete Jamieson, director of Arlington's Parks and Recreation Department.

"River Legacy Parks is our most popular park," he said. "We reach capacity most weekends in the spring and fall."

Mr. Starks said any improvement to congestion in the area would be a welcome relief.

"When you get on Green Oaks, it's packed when the bulk of people at the park are leaving or going in," he said. "Right now, there's only one way in or out. When the weather's nice, it's really bad."

The grant covers about two-thirds of the project's costs, with the city contributing about $500,000 and the River Legacy Foundation raising $100,000 in private funds. In addition to a pedestrian bridge, benches, signs, roads and parking, the state and federal money will pay for wetland and habitat enhancement along the river corridor.

The grant is part of a pilot program to encourage cities and counties to work together to offer better recreational space to urban residents, said Rob McCorkle, Texas Parks and Wildlife spokesman.

"This was in response to a Texas A&M University study that found a shortage of outdoor recreational opportunities in urban centers," Mr. McCorkle said. "This is one way we chose to address that shortcoming, to approach it on a regional level and do a bigger project that a small city may not be able to do."

Jeff Williams, River Legacy Foundation president, said creating a greenbelt along the Trinity River across the area has been a goal of park planners for years.

"The grant…will complete Arlington's contribution to the Trinity River trail system," Mr. Williams said. "Eventually when Dallas and Fort Worth complete theirs, it will be a major alternative transportation corridor for bicycle and foot traffic. This is the culmination of a lot of work and a great example of a public-private partnership between the foundation and the city of Arlington."

To complete the project, Arlington will work with Tarrant and Dallas counties, as well as Grand Prairie and Fort Worth, to acquire land.

The cities and counties also will advocate one another's phases of the Trinity River trail system when applying for money from the Parks and Wildlife Department and other entities. There is no set completion date for the entire 75-mile trail and park system, officials said.

In the spirit of regionalism, Grand Prairie's Parks and Recreation Department sent a letter of recommendation with Arlington's application for the grant.

"We will be asking for similar support on our project," said Tim Shinogle, Grand Prairie's park planning and development superintendent.

He estimates the cost of Grand Prairie's trail and park system along the Trinity from Mike Lewis Park to Lone Star Park at $8 million. The city will apply for a Texas Department of Transportation grant this year.

"Arlington has been one of the instrumental leaders in initiating that trail development along the Trinity," Mr. Shinogle said. "This is a unique opportunity that will set this area apart."

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