Dallas building 10,000 acre Urban Park

[KenFSU]

Dallas, Texas is about to become one of the greenest cities in America – by building the country's largest urban nature park. Dallas' new "Nature District" will comprise a staggering 10,000 acres, including 7,000 acres of the Great Trinity Forest. The Trinity River Park designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates could revitalize a Dallas floodplain into a lush green recreation space.

The Trinity River Park will provide visitors with access to playgrounds, lawns, and riverside trails. The design aims to enhance the natural beauty of the area while minimizing flooding damage in Dallas. Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates said they worked with government engineers to ensure the infrastructural soundness of the floodplain so that the park transforms flooding "from a natural disaster into a breathtaking spectacle."

1,000 additional acres of the Great Trinity Forest have already been developed into a golf club, the Texas Horse Park, and the Trinity River Audubon Center, which boasts a nature center for kids and event spaces. The Trinity River Park will be part of the Nature District as well.

Another ambitious green project in Dallas is the Trinity Strand Trail, which will connect 73 miles of trails. The first two and a half trail miles opened last year, and plans are in the works to add more miles and connect the existing Katy Trail with the Trinity River.

A $50 million donation gave the Trinity River Park project a boost in late October, and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said the park will "redefine Dallas for the 21st century."

Story: http://inhabitat.com/dallas-is-building-americas-biggest-urban-nature-park/

[Jason]

WOW!!!!

[acme54321]

What happens to the park when the floodplain floods?  I've driven over it more than once, it's basically a huge ditch as it sits now.  I have to think though that there is a reason no one has built anything down there in the past.  Seems like there would be a big potential for massive cleanup bills.

[finehoe]

What happens to the park when the floodplain floods?

The design aims to enhance the natural beauty of the area while minimizing flooding damage in Dallas. Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates said they worked with government engineers to ensure the infrastructural soundness of the floodplain so that the park transforms flooding "from a natural disaster into a breathtaking spectacle."

[acme54321]

"from a natural disaster into a breathtaking spectacle."

Uh huh. 

[Captain Zissou]

That jail's going to have some pretty spectacular views.

[Jax96]

It's the same idea as cascades park in Tallahassee, just on a lot bigger scale. It's designed to channel floodwaters away from built-up areas, because it's a lot easier to clean up a flooded park than a flooded streetscape/buildings

[spuwho]

If they can build a park that big and keep it green throughout the Texas summer, then we will know where the flood waters went.

Otherwise, keeping it that green will be like a golf course, lots and lots of irrigation, if they have the water to spare.

[civil42806]

Here a great video of the river at flood stage in Dallas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBKaaCq1vNU

Wonder how many times the city will rebuild the park before throwing there hands up.

[acme54321]

It's the same idea as cascades park in Tallahassee, just on a lot bigger scale. It's designed to channel floodwaters away from built-up areas, because it's a lot easier to clean up a flooded park than a flooded streetscape/buildings

Not really. The park in Tallahassee is basically built around a few lightly landscaped stormwater basins. 

Dallas appears to be building a park in the bottom of a giant channelized river/stormwater raceway.  It's usually pretty dry and the river stays within it's modest banks, but when it floods, it floods.  It's probably hard to picture unless you've seen it.  It's essentially a 1/4mi wide ditch with 40 foot tall levees on each bank to contain the floodwaters.  That's a lot of water.  Just seems like a risky proposition to me.   No doubt it will be much more appealing than what's there now (literally nothing), as long as it's not under water

[RattlerGator]

Never visited Dallas in my life, probably will do so next September for the Florida vs Michigan football game, but I had no idea they had so many bridges.

[Tacachale]

Most of the proposed park already exists as the Great Trinity Forest. What's new would be transforming the floodplain itself into park space, and connecting it to the forest. I am sure there are things they can do in the design to help control the flooding with bulkheads, channels and gates, though it does seem unlikely it will remove the danger entirely.