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DALLAS - In late 2022, District 1 Council Member Chad West learned from City of Dallas Park and Recreation staff that funds may be available for the development of a new skateboard park in the City of Dallas, based on needs assessment showing that the city should have approximately 15 skate parks to meet the needs of its population. The city currently has one skatepark, which is located in East Dallas, and is in the process of building a second skatepark at Bachman Lake. The only operational skate park in the city is located at Lakeland Hills Skatepark at 2600 St. Francis Avenue, Dallas.
District 1 Park Board Member, JR Huerta, and Council Member West met with skate park advocates, including Clinton Haley, to discuss parameters involved in designing and building a skate park. And neighbors, hearing about the meetings, approached West about helping with fundraising in hopes of helping West secure the next park in Oak Cliff.
JR Huerta and Jared White, Planning Manager for Parks, along with Clinton Haley and consultant New Line Skate Parks hosted an in-person community meeting at Martin Weiss Recreation Center in North Oak Cliff on Nov. 29, 2022 and hosted a follow up virtual meeting to gather community feedback. The survey results will be released in the next two weeks, but generally, skateboard advocates opined on various designs they would like to see in a 8,000 – 12,000 sf skate park.
Westmoreland Park, founded in 1952 and located at 3601 W. Illinois Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75211, is the proposed location for the park, pending further input by community members and DISD, due to the proximity of Lenore Kirk Hall Elementary School nearby. Per Jared White, Westmoreland Park is a logical location for the skatepark because of it’s “proximity to a DART train station, bus stops, and the end of the five-mile creek trail. Additionally, it is an underserved park with adequate space for a skate park.”
City Staff confirmed that Westmoreland Park’s last upgrade was in 2012, when the custom pavilion was installed for $215,709.41. “This park, which is surrounded by homes with hundreds of families, has been long neglected, and it is time the City invests in it,” said Huerta.
For more information about this project, interested parties can contact Jared.White@Dallas.Gov
CONTACTS:
- Chad West, Council Member, District 1, (214) 406-7861, chad.west@dallas.gov
- JR Huerta, D1 Park Board Member, (469) 767-3770, estanislao.huerta@dallas.gov
- Jared White, Manager of Planning – Parks Department, jared.white@dallas.gov
- Clinton Haley, Skateboard Advocate, (214) 620-8680, Clinton.haley@gmail.com
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