Dallas City Council discuss plans for a a new deck park

The first of two public hearings was held Monday night on plans for the "Southern Gateway Deck Park" near the Dallas Zoo.

City council endorsed the park over I-35 in June.

At the meeting Monday, those in attending were given a series of options for what the park should include and were asked to rank them. Options included food trucks, outdoor cafe seating,  botanical gardens, and childrens' play areas. These votes would then result in a complete design that will be brought back to the public next month.

Councilman Scott Griggs is among those who think building a second deck park, like Klyde Warren, is a great idea.

"Absolutely a deck park can be successful here. And it would be a completely different experience than Klyde Warren park.  Klyde Warren Park has been absolutely wonderful and there's no reason we can't have another one in south Dallas," he said.

The current price tag puts the park at 118 million dollars. That's paid partially with city money and a private partnership but private partners haven't been found. That's leaving others on the city council and the park board to wonder if the money could be spent better somewhere else.

 "It's not feasible. We just don't have the funds. I think the deck park is great, Klyde Warren is a great park but this puts us in a bad position. We've got to take care of our neighborhood parks first," said Yolanda Williams with the Parks and Recreations Department.

There's still one more public hearing, and the city council gets the final say.

Any plan to break ground would still be years down the road.