Path resistance

from there. What he saw as a public service, others saw as a threat to what was already available at Flag Pole Hill. Neighbors who ride horses on the paths expressed specific concern about the prospect of more bicyclists using the trails. “Horses and bicycles don’t mix,” says neighbor PattyJoan Hines, who has been patrolling the area on horseback for decades. “This is a horse trail. We need some protection,” she insists. “Horses made these trails.”

At the end of May, the Park and Recreation Department announced it planned to take over the project.

“We thought it would be within our best interest to take the lead on this,” Carmona says.

“We always saw the need to somewhat enhance those trails out there, then once we started to get some feedback from people who were both for and against it, we decided we’d be able to control it a lot better if we just manage it ourselves and focus on those areas that already exist and not build new trails.”

He says Coutant and people like him are “more than welcome to join as volunteers.”

East Dallas neighbor and neighborhood activist Ted Barker isn’t satisfied with the city’s plan, saying there “continues to be some shifting on what is planned.”

Hines says she believes the city’s claim to simply enhance the current trails and not add any new ones is a “smokescreen.”

“That makes no sense,” she says. “If that’s the case they shouldn’t be doing anything to it.” of our 200,000+ readers with average income of $146,750 want more info about private schools.

But there’s a chance the Parks and Recreation Department will actually ban bicyclists from using the trails, which is exactly what Hines wants.

Once the property dries out after the heavy rains, a city employee will visit the site with a GPS unit to map out the current trails. Then maintenance will begin sometime this summer, possibly August. After the trails are updated, the Park and Recreation Department will determine whether or not bicycles should be allowed on the trails.

“We are really going to have to wait and see what our end result is and see what that trail can support,” he says. “If it’s an ecosystem where you don’t want a lot of users, then we can limit it to pedestrians and equestrian only. But that’s going to take some research on our end.”