(This originally appeared as a story in the Ferguson road Initiative’s newsletter. I am a regular contributor to FRI and felt this story a good fit with my series on The Dallas Loop).
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The Trinity Spine Trail is open and providing a welcome diversion to East Dallas residents
Everyone from health professionals to nutritionists to educators tell us that in order to feel our best we need to be outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine. What better way to get your Vitamin D than to go for a walk, a bike ride or a hike.
Right in our own backyard of Old East Dallas and the Ferguson Road corridor is the latest additional to the Dallas Park and Recreation trail system, the Trinity Spine Trail. Really two trails (according to the Loop website), (north and a south phases), the Spine Trail is also part of The Loop Dallas, a mostly paved trail that circles Dallas.
“This trail opens up a whole new world of nature to people who not have otherwise been outdoors,” Kristi Kerr Leonard said. “We are very fortunate here in DFW to have wonderful nature just beyond our doorstep. This trail will help take us there.”
Leonard is a North Texas Master Naturalist and project lead on the Ned & Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trail and the Piedmont Trail System.
This almost-17-mile-long trail is a large part of The Loop. The Spine Trail is a real bonus for those of us living in these neighborhoods because it gives us access we wouldn’t have if we relied solely on automobile transportation.
Once the whole trail is complete, cyclists and walkers won’t have to resort to street “workarounds” to make the pieces of the existing trail connect.
While the City of Dallas notes this as two trails, it really is just one long trail. The phases are noted because of funding and other considerations.
The Start to the North
Reaching south from White Rock Lake, the Trinity Spine Trail is easily accessed from the Santa Fe Trail on the eastside of the lake. The concrete trail winds its way south through the Tennyson Park Golf Course over several new bridges and between the fairways. At one point there is a split — one branch takes the traveler towards Highland Road, the other to I-30 and a south terminus.
This is where the trail ends for now. There are street-based workarounds, but, for now, walkers and cyclists get dropped off at I-30.
While the trails are beautiful and smooth to that point they lack the consistent signage found elsewhere on park trails.
The Southern Portion
Continuing south from I-30, the current bike route follows Lawnview Avenue south. This street-based path parallels the planned Trinity Spine Trail. The Lawnview bike lane terminates at the Lawnview DART Station where Lawnview Avenue meets Scyene Road. From there the future trail heads south and connects with the Pemberton Hill Trail and on to the Great Trinity Forest.
The completed trail connects Far South Dallas and the Trinity River Corridor with the north, including White Rock Lake and environs. The whole of the Spine Trail is integral to connecting the north with the south and southeast to the west.
The Ferguson Road Initiative is a grassroots community-based organization comprised of HOAs, Neighborhood Associations, Crime Watch, Volunteer-in-Patrol groups, law enforcement, nonprofits, apartments, businesses, faith-based groups, schools, and other concerned constituencies, all working towards accomplishing a shared mission and vision.
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Relentless
