Tonight, at 5:30 p.m. at Cityplace’s Joe C. Thompson Amphitheater, D Magazine will host a conversation about the future of the Trinity River. An extension of our March Wild Dallas issue, the speakers will include architects and designers who were involved in the drafting of the Balanced Vision Plan; naturalists, conservationists, and horticulturists who understand the ecology of the Trinity River watershed; and some of the local leaders who have been long involved in the effort to realize the best future for the river.
But you may be wondering: why a conversation about the Trinity River, and why now? After all, as has been reported in numerous outlets, Dallas appears to be pursuing a new vision of the Trinity, a plan designed by renowned urban landscape architect Michael van Valkenburgh. Last fall, the mayor announced a $50 million donation that will go towards realizing that plan.
Viewed from a certain perspective, it looks as if the future of the Trinity River has never looked brighter. However, as we discussed in the March edition of D Magazine, when it comes to the long history of the Trinity, things aren’t what they seem.
There are many unanswered questions about the proposed new plan, and we could get into all of them – the hydrology; the true cost; the troublesome presence of the Trinity Parkway/toll road; the lack of a conservation plan for the entirety of the watershed; the value in shifting huge resources for the river towards a relatively small section of the floodway while the entirety of the river’s watershed remains poorly managed and underutilized. In fact, as I argue in this article about the history of the Trinity River Projects in all their many forms, the mentality that is driving this latest plan appears to follow the same logic that has shaped the entire history of Dallas’ relationship with its river.
Some of these issues may be discussed tonight, but rather than digging into them here, I wanted to share a tiny example of something that I think illustrates how and why Dallas’ has struggled with its river. One of the features of the March issue is a simple illustrated map that serves as guide for exploring and discovering the Trinity River. It includes the locations of amenities that are the result of some of the official Trinity River Project plans – parks and trails, overlooks and bridges. It also includes amenities that are a part of the Trinity River today that are the results of individual groups or citizens‘ efforts to open access to and explore the wildness at Dallas front doorstep – the canoe trails, adventure park, etc.
As far as I am aware, no other map like this one has ever been created. Despite decades of effort and planning, millions of dollars spent, and multiple non-profit organizations whose entire stated purpose for existing is to help expand access and awareness of the Trinity River and lead the city in its effort to improve the Trinity River, no one has thought of putting together a map or guide that actually shows people where to go to explore the river. The only other semi-comprehensive guide that has existed is Ben Sandifer’s trail blog, which is the source I used for years to find parts of the watershed that I didn’t know about simply from driving around and looking.
It’s such a simple thing: tell people where the river is and help them discover it. You would think that you acting in the best interest of the Trinity River watershed, that’s something you would think to do. It has never happened. In light of that, it is unsurprising – and tremendously revealing – that at the Trinity Commons Foundation Luncheon a few weeks ago, Tim reported that when the crowd was asked who had actually been to the Trinity Forest, only a handful of people raised their hands. That anecdote is illustrative of what is fundamentally misaligned about Dallas current “official” line on the Trinity – that it is being funded and steered by people who have shown little interest in knowing and exploring the very thing they say they are trying to change or fix.
It is all contributes to the loss of public trust that is now a big part of the sorry history of the Trinity – a loss of trust that is the result of years of political wrangling, public manipulation, failed progress, double talk, and in some cases, outright lies. The concern is that the latest vision, rather than attempting to restore that trust or even trying to finally realize Dallas’ dream of a grand park between the Trinity River levees, is simply more of the same – a big, expensive plan that has not been vetted, has not been approved by elected officials, has not been fully funded, is overly influenced by a handful of longtime donors and their agents, and has only proven itself to sufficiently delay real progress on the Trinity yet again.
But that’s not what tonight is about. Tonight is about a reset. It is about sitting down and envisioning the Trinity through the lens of its history, ecology, and the real, concrete options for its future that are on the table today. It is about, as Angela Hunt writes in her article in the March edition, realizing that “The time to build the Trinity park is now. We’ve got an approved plan. We’ve got the money. We’ve got a renewed vision.”
So let’s do it. It starts tonight. I hope you can join us.
