January Newsletter
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The Love Field Good Neighbor Program just held its quarterly meeting this month and we're working on a write-up as there were gaps in the information presented by the airport and it's important that we reflect the impact of a north entrance on our community and quality of life. As we try to shine some light on these issues we ask that you get your neighbors involved having them subscribe to this newsletter or follow us on social media. Remember, it was a show of force that saved the lake's footprint last year. This needs to keep happening. Stay tuned.
News
Lemmon Avenue Trail Gets Design Firm
On December 11th, City Council approved $2.4M for Kimley-Horn to provide design and construction administration services for the Lemmon Ave Trail. Friends of Bachman Lake is thrilled by the forward momentum of this project and has recommended that, similar to what was done for Northaven Trail, there be a task force that includes community representation. Given the proximity of the trail to the Shorecrest and Elm Thicket neighborhoods, we believe that there should be participation by neighbors in this area. We also think Friends of Bachman Lake, the group that has been advocating the strongest for access to the park, be a participant.
What is so fantastic about this trail? The Lemmon Ave Trail will run from Mockingbird to Shorecrest. This is the first leg of what the airport is planning in terms of a circuit around Love Field. We believe that the Lemmon Ave Trail could be such a unique asset to the area as a beautiful artscape. Remember that 1.5% of capital funds are dedicated to art and in this case, the art funds can only be spent for projects on airport property. Lemmon Ave Trail is airport property.
So, just imagine a trail with a sensory experience: water fountains, a wisteria tunnel, and beautiful pieces of art; a trail that connects Bachman Lake to the Braniff Center, to Lovers Lane, to the Museum of Flight and ultimately into the airport property itself.
It's good that Love Field is finally sharing some 'love' outside of its fence line. Let's hope it keeps spreading.
But are we really feeling the "Love"?
The Love Field Good Neighbor Program helds its quarterly meeting on January 14 at 6pm at the K.B. Polk Recreation Center. There was a standing-room-only crowd, the largest in recent memory, paying close attention to words of Love Field Director Mark Duebner about the airport's plans to improve trails around the field, add greenspace nearby and consider an alternate entrance to address traffic issues. The latter sparked heated debate over the best way to mitigate traffic along Mockingbird Lane due to congestion at Herb Kelleher Way (the road through the airport grounds). The airport is considering as many as 11 options for an alternate entrance and has been urged by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to include some connection to DART Rail. The concern for the community is that traffic congestion would merely be shifted from Mockingbird to Northwest Highway which will have an adverse impact on Bachman Lake by taking away the quiet of Shorecrest, as commuting and rental cars turn left or right on Shorecrest. A bridge over the lake was still being alluded to by Duebner as he recollected how great the bridges in Austin are. Maybe he forgets that those continue in a North and South direction. Terminating at Shorecrest or Northwest Highway, with a bridge over the lake is not the same.
Duebner insists that there needs to be a net improvement of the traffic situation and not merely a shift of traffic problems from one area to another. He pointed to "failure" zones where congestion at intersections at Denton and Mockingbird as well as Herb Keller Way and Mockingbird have caused motorists to wait through multiple stoplight cycles before getting through. FoBL wants to see these studies and is advocating for greater community input into the decisions about an alternate enterance, the options for which should be narrowed to roughly six by the time the airport presents to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in February or March.
We'll have more information about this meeting and Love Field's future plans to be "good neighbors" soon. In the meantime, you can view the presentation slides and also access the Facebook video we were able to stream live. We look forward to even more opportunities to connect our community to events that might be difficult to attend.
Thank you DWU for listening!
In the summer of 2019, Friends of Bachman Lake made Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) aware of concerns from neighbors about the quality of water at the lake. The DWU team quickly realized that there was an opportunity to improve testing and in December, they came back with a plan to test the water. The speed with which this concern was addressed was amazing. Water sampling will be done at Bachman Lake on the 1st Tuesday of each month beginning this month. Not only will the frequency of testing be enhanced, but the locations for testing will increase as well. The three sampling sites are: 1) the downstream side of the Lemmon Avenue bridge; 2) the middle point of the lake; and 3) just upstream of the Denton Drive bridge. According to DWU, "when collecting samples from the Watershed and Bachman Lake, attention will be paid to see which type of industries are in the vicinity and upstream of the lake to determine potential pollutants of concern."
The storm water regulatory structure dictates how the City handles runoff into the lake and into known watersheds, which is basically any land surrounding a body of water like Bachman Lake. Technically, we all live in a watershed. The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the governing legislation that guides the Enviornmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations which the State of Texas executes under the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The City of Dallas then relies on Stormwater Management to comply with all reguations and procedures mandated under the TCEQ and upward.
At Bachman Lake, a team of two specialists will follow specific, defined procedures for testing based on standard EPA methods and will conduct sampling during all weather conditions unless severe, in which case the date will be rescheduled. A volunteer network of specially-trained citizen monitors is also being created. Dubbed the Stream Team, these volunteers will help provide core testing after completing a 6-hour training classs. Friends of Bachman Lake is inquiring about getting interested parties trained to be part of this team.
A side note: Love Field does its own water testing on property, and we are excited to announce that the results of that testing will now be reviewed at the Environmental Advisory Committee. We hope that with the combined efforts and data transparency of both DWU and Love Field, the community will have the information needed to make good decisions.
We'd like to remind our readers that the Love Field Environmental Advisory Committee meets quarterly at the Aviation Administration Building: 7555 Lemmon Avenue, room 103, Dallas, TX 75209. We post dates on our website calendar so you have an opportunity to attend future meetings. The last meeting was held on January 16, 2020.
We've got billboards!
Thanks to Ralston Outdoor Advertising, part of their donation to Friends of Bachman Lake included the space to place our name and logo on two billboards in the area. The first 10ft x 12 ft display can be seen on the south side of Shorecrest, between Harry Hines Boulevard and ]Denton Drive. The other full size billboard is on Denton Drive north of Shorecrest. Thank you Ralston Outdoors!
Events
Our monthly plogging event is every 2nd Saturday of the month from 6-7ish (or whatever time your coffee or daylight hours kick in). Bring one of those plastic bags we all have around the house and put it to good use. Walk the path or meander off of it and pick up trash. It’s great for the hamstrings! Give a shout-out to anyone you see walking around the lake with a plastic bag - they are clearly FoBLers!
Don't forget to fill out your Plogging Report when you're done. It's a great way to keep track of just how much trash is collected each month.
Also, don't forget to join us at our monthly ‘meeting of the minds’ at Bluffview Growler. It's on the 4th Wednesday of every month from 4-6PM. No RSVP needed.
Favorite Shots
Here are some of our favorite Instagram pics taken at Bachman Lake.
Instagram: @jon.mccutchen
Instagram: @flakitafugaz
Instagram: @coasterjake
Instagram: @whatsupcynthia
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