Awhile back I said I wasn’t happy about the new pedestrian bridge across the northern tip of White Rock Lake. It blocks the view from the road. This morning, an official from Public Works and Transportation tells us why the bridge wound up where it did:
I hear you about the view being blocked and feel your pain (that’s my commute as well). The original plan dating back to the 1980s called for the bridge to be closer (MUCH closer) to Mockingbird Lane. Unfortunately, the Dog Park went in (contrary to the park master plan), and that precluded the original bridge alignment. Additionally, the final alignment was pushed to where it is because of the 84-inch waste water drain that runs under that part of the lake (hit that while drilling the piers for the bridge, and White Rock Lake would be nearly dry in a few hours, and every toilet in north east Dallas would be backed up for days). Also, to prevent flooding along upper White Rock Creek, the bridge had to remain out of the 100 year flood plain as much as possible.
We live in an imperfect world where imperfect solutions are sometimes called for. Damn dogs.
