DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- The City of Dallas has started construction on 11 miles of additional trails that aim to connect the existing system. "The Loop" will connect 39 miles of trails that have already been built.
"For us, we've got thousands of hours in this project. We were able to raise $10 million privately," says Jeff Ellerman, chairman of the Circuit Trail Conservancy.
Ellerman says the project will become a "legacy asset for the City of Dallas." Calvert Collins Bratton, president of the Dallas Park Board, says parks and green space can make the city more attractive.
She says the trails drew additional interest as a result of the pandemic.
"That momentum has continued. More Dallasites are walking, running and cycling on trails from the Preston Ridge Trail up north to the Northaven Trail to the Runyon Creek Trail down south," Collins Bratton says.
She says creating a loop will make the trails easier to use for leisure but also make them more viable as a transportation option.
"It doesn't matter where you are, where you live, what you do for a living, you are welcome to enjoy our trails for health and wellness, recreation or a mode of transportation," she says.
Collins Bratton says a study in 2017 showed the trails provided a 50 to one return on investment, calling the Loop an "economic development driver in addition to an enhancement to our quality of life."
"Days like today are wonderful," says Mayor Eric Johnson. "They're wonderful because they're about looking forward. They're about new beginnings. They're about dreams and possibilities coming to life. It's thrilling to say that after years of collective action and planning and discussion and a bond election and city council votes that the Loop is finally becoming a reality."
In the 2017 bond election, voters approved $20 million for the project; $10 million is coming from private donations; $13 million is coming from Dallas County and the Texas Department of Transportation.
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