WESTERN EXPANSION

IMAGINE BIKING TO ALL OF PRESTON HOLLOW’S EATERIES. Or even riding directly into Irving’s expansive park system. It’s a reality we could see as soon as 2018, if all the bureaucratic wheels involved continue to turn together.

Plans are already underway to add more than 7 miles to the Northaven Trail, which winds through Preston Hollow between Preston Road and Valleydale Drive. That includes a pedestrian bridge over Central, which will connect into both the White Rock Creek and Cottonwood trails.

“We’ve got the funding in place, which is the biggest hurdle,” says Jeff Kitner, president of the Friends of the Northaven Trail.

And bridges don’t come cheap. The 1-mile expansion over Central will cost $14 million, which is being split evenly between the city and Dallas County. Since most of its land has been incorporated into cities, the county is using more of its roadway money on trail projects.

“[The county] said, 'If the city comes up with the money, we’ll match it,' ” says Lee Kleinman, District 11 councilman and longtime trail supporter.

Texas Department of Transportation stepped in to design the bridge, as it does on many projects that involve highways. Kleinman says “there’s an outside shot” the connection could be completed by 2018, creating a lit and paved path from East Dallas west, versus the current option that takes devoted cyclists down a muddy makeshift trail under Central.

On the west side of Northaven, an $8 million plan is already underway that will stretch the trail from Preston Road to the Walnut Hill/Denton DART station. Also a project of the city and county, the 6.25-mile expansion should be completed by 2018.

The city has considered an even larger expansion that would link Northaven into Elm Fork Trail at the Moneygram Soccer Park, which connects into the Campion Trail in Irving that loops through a variety of scenic parks. But funds for that addition have not yet been secured, making it part of a 300-mile trail dream that has yet to be fully realized. —EMILY

CHARRIER

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE AND A NEW WHITE ROCK CREEK TRAIL ENTRANCE?

SHORTLY AFTER ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE announced the construction of a nine-screen movieplex at the former Tom Thumb space at Skillman and Abrams, property owners and developers presented renderings to our city’s Urban Design Peer Review panel depicting a conceived trail entrance at the north end of the shopping center. As it stands, a makeshift entrance to the White Rock Creek Trail, clandestine and made of gravel, exists there, across Abrams from Top Golf. Park project manager Peter Bratt says the idea of increasing trail accessibility at the new development is exciting, though not without challenges. An official trail entrance, for one thing, would need to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the grade from Abrams to the trail is excessively steep. Then there is the matter of funding. Retail Plaza Inc., not Alamo, owns the center, and agreed to make improvements to accommodate the Alamo, though no commitment to trail improvement funding has been discussed. Also, the project sits outside the Skillman Corridor Tax Increment Financing District and therefore cannot draw public funds for property upgrades unless those lines are redrawn, which can happen. There are ways to do that, says District 10 Councilman Adam McGough. “Make a proposal, just like anything else.” The project, cheered by McGough, District 9’s representative Mark Clayton and residents of the surrounding Lake Highlands and East Dallas neighborhoods, is actually in Jennifer Staubach Gates’ City Council District 13, which covers Vickery Meadow and Preston Hollow.

TRAIL TROUBLES: PUPS, POKÉMON AND MORE

Despite this summer’s rash of latenight Pokémon Go robberies, in which players were targeted for their cellphones, the city’s nearly 150 miles of trails are pretty safe says Park and Recreation Community Program Coordinator Shana Hamilton.

So what’s the biggest issue? It’s not illegal cutting or people planting marijuana along the trail — something she’s heard about but “never had to deal with” — it’s much closer to home.

“The most common problem is dogs not being on a leash or people not picking up after their dogs. Especially during the summer.”

Increased activity during summer months means that a lot of first-time users or out-of-towners hike the trails without knowing all of the rules. Whether you believe them or not, Hamilton says some offenders claim they don’t know there is a city ordinance requiring dogs to be leashed. That, combined with the loose dogs that have become a major issue throughout the city, makes canines the top-priority problem along the pathways.

Beyond that Hamilton says she deals with basic rules and safety. The mobile game Pokémon Go, for example, has been a double-edged sword for the Park Department. While they encourage users to explore parks and trails using the app, it must be done thoughtfully, and never late at night.

“Just knowing the park curfew is important when you’re trying to be safe on the trails,” Hamilton says.

That’s why the department has been including the curfew hours — 11 p.m.5 a.m. — as many places as possible, including social media posts. The department also partners with Dallas police to help enforce the curfew and keep crime on the trail to a minimum. Hamilton says officers regularly patrol some of the trails on bicycle.

—STEVE DICKERSON

See the very fun happytrailsdallas.com for safety tips from local celebs and more.

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