After years of delays, a bridge spanning Mockingbird Lane east of Central to connect the White Rock and Katy trails will open this afternoon. You’ll be able to walk or bike across the bridge, which runs from Mockingbird Station to the backside of the Highland Dallas hotel, starting at about 4 p.m., once officials wrap up with the requisite ribbon-cutting.
It’s a much-needed bit of walkability at what has been a dangerous street for crossing pedestrians, and one of the biggest steps yet taken toward connecting Dallas’ trails. A sturdy bicyclist could now spend a day riding from the American Airlines Center to White Rock Lake. The bridge was first OK’ed as part of the city’s 2006 bond package, but years of construction delays, property disputes, and utility issues accounted for a frustrating and seemingly never-ending series of postponements.
If all this talk of bond packages, construction delays, and trails calls to mind the latest bond package Dallas is taking to voters—early voting continues through Friday, and Election Day is Tuesday—that’s for good reason. One of the proposals now being brought before voters calls for the completion of The Loop, a proposed 50-mile circuit connecting Dallas’ major bike-and-pedestrian trails across the city. As for long-delayed bond projects, the city is telling voters that projects in this latest package should be finished within five years. For more, here’s our voter’s guide to the 2017 bond election.