Friends of Bachman Lake Newsletter - June 2024
"The way I see, it if you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain." – Dolly Parton
Whose on First? TXDOT or DWU Stormwater?
In the first six months of this year, we have broken the record for inches of rain and everytime that we've had one of these major storms, the Northwest Highway underpass at Denton Drive gets flooded. For those of you that have tried to drive (hydroplane?) in this area, you know just how dangerous it is. Cars stall in the deep water, accidents happen as people swerve or just lose control of their cars and the only thing our poor police department can do is shut down the road, leaving drivers to navigate around neighborhood streets to their destinations. This is NOT a new problem, it's been going on for over 20 years. And now we are facing more intense and frequent rains.
Friends of Bachman Lake has had email exchanges with TXDOT about this issue from as far back as 2019 (which is when our group was formed), so we dusted off the one where we sent a video of the issue (see the attached) and asked again what was being done. Their response was as follows: "We have been investigating this and have determined that the storm sewer network here is functional but we believe the main issue is all the debris from the homeless encampments here that continues to clog inlets/pipes during storm events."
All we can say is that this is an unacceptable response as clearly, even without the homeless encampment in that underpass, the problem is just getting worse. Can you help add pressure to the city and submit a 311 to DWU Stormwater? Hint: If you insert "flooding" in the search field you will quickly get to the right menu.
Regional Trail Network - A Primer
The grouping of all the regional trails in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area is known as the Veloweb. The exapnsiveness of this network is impressive. In thiThe grouping of all the regional trails in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area is known as the Veloweb. This trail network is impressive and includes connections from Dallas to Denton (Campion Trail), Fort Worth (the Discovery Trail), and McKinney. The newest trail, the Cotton Belt, from Fort Worth to Plano, intersects far north Dallas. In our most recent blog post we collated for you a summary of each of these regional trails, along with the associated NCTCOG maps.
By making this information more widely known and available, we hope to get the members of our community to help support getting Bachman Lake Park connected to the regional network at Campion Trail (we are only a 1/4 mile east of the Campion!). Of course, the grander vision is for Bachman to be a hub for bike enthusiasts from where you can access the Trinity levy gravel rides, the Northhaven Trail to the north, and the Trinity Strand Trail to the south. It’s like an airport hub, only prettier, quieter and healthier!s blog post you will see the listing We recently posted a review of some of the regional trails and the exciting connections that are possible. With the right support and political leadership, we can surely make biking across Dallas and all the way to neighboring cities a reality! Imagine Bachman Lake Park being a connection hub from which you can get to the Northhaven Trail, the Trinity Strand Trail and the Campion Trail!!
Read more, see the maps.
Every time you plant a sedge, a Greenbelt hero gets a beer!
Well, sort of. On Saturday, June 29, Friends of Bachman Lake along with GreensSpace Dallas and the Texas Conservation Alliance will be teaming up for Social Saturday, a clean-up and meet-up that will conclude with a free drink and gathering at On Rotation Brewery & Kitchen on Lemmon Avenue.
We need to transplant Texas Sages and Texas Sedges (yes, our donors sent the wrong plants!), work on the endless privet pile that we need to get rid of, and pick up any trash along the trail. It's a lot of work and we would appreciate any and all volunteers.
Any aspiring grant writers out there?
Raising funds for our park projects takes a lot of work ... and know-how. We're really good at the work part but are in need of some go-getters who want to cut their teeth doing research, finding funding sources and writing letters to appeal to the benevolent and deep-pocketed among our citizenry.
If you know someone or are a high school senior or older who loves asking for money and would like to test your fundraising chops or complete a course commitment in this field, get in touch with us via email!
We're always happy to also welcome new members to our board with these very skills so help us help you help Bachman Lake Park!
Note: Recent browser updates might cause a message to appear that states: "this website has been blocked from automatically composing an email." You can proceed by selecting "Allow" or composing a new email to us manually.
T-Shirt Order - Get yours!
We are getting ready to order another batch of our awesome Bachman Lake t-shirts. Each t-shirt is $20, you can order a up to 4 total shirts at a time. You'll have the chance to specify each size. Order here!
Once we place the order and it's printed, we'll let you know at the email you provide so we can tell you how to pick it up. We are targeting dates and locations for our cleanup and meet-up events so we'll let you know!
Events
Our Monthly Cleanup is every first Saturday!
You just need yourself, but feel free to add friends and family to our monthly Plogging activities. Basically, it's picking up litter while jogging (or walking). A bag, some company if you like, and a trip around the lake will help you stay active and healthy and keep the park beautiful!
Every 4th Wednesday
Our meeting of the minds is every 4th Wednesday of the month at 5pm (check our Events calendar for exceptions). This causal neighborly gathering features fun and good conversation over snacks and beverages. Our new venue is On Rotation Brewery & Kitchen at the Braniff Centre on Lemmon Avenue. Join us!
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