New Dallas trail extension will create a 4-mile hike and bike triangle
New Dallas trail extension to create a 4-mile triangle
Dallas has received $7.5 million in federal funding to complete the Dallas Cotton Belt Trail. The completed trail will link the Preston Ridge Trail and the Marni Kaner Trail. All three trails combined will form a four-mile hike and bike circuit called the North Dallas Triangle
DALLAS - Dallas now has funding for a trail extension that will link four miles of hiking and biking trails in Far North Dallas.
Cotton Belt Trail Extension
What's new:
The Regional Transportation Council recently approved $7.5 million in federal funding to extend the Dallas Cotton Belt Trail.
The trail, which runs alongside the new DART Silver Line, will also include about 2,000 feet of trail over White Rock Creek.
Once it’s complete, it will connect the Preston Ridge Trail, which runs north and south, and the Marni Kaner Trail, which runs east and west.
The three trails will form a four-mile hiking and biking circuit known as the North Dallas Triangle.
Dig deeper:
Dallas Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn said there’s been talk about completing the Dallas Cotton Belt Trail and the North Dallas Triangle for years.
The DART Silver Line is really what helped push the project to this point.
"When I was elected six years ago, I was told it was going to be 20 years before we’d ever even find the first pot of money to fund the Cotton Belt Trail. And I was determined that if we were going to have sort of the negative impacts of this railroad separating our neighborhoods and behind people’s houses, that we would also get those benefits of having that trail," she said. "This trail is the silver lining of the Silver Line."
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What they're saying:
People who frequent the existing trails in Far North Dallas are excited about what’s to come.
"It gives us a lot more open space to walk, and more miles to run. And I think it’s just good for everybody," said Fran Golman.
Robyn Chapman runs on the Marni Kaner Trail until she hits Arapaho Road and then turns around.
"What that means to me is I will have a different path to see new things and I can switch it up," she said.
"I ride the Preston Ridge Trail down to Belt Line but then it stops and you have to cross streets. And I really don’t want to do that, so I have to ride it back north to where I started from," added David Kleckner.
"That’s awesome. The more trails the better. I run a lot of miles," said Jesus Guerrero.
What's next:
Mendelson said an extension of the Marni Kaner Trail will be complete in 2027.
Some portions of the Cotton Belt Trail are already complete. Others are still in the design phase.
The new funding means everything should be at least in the design phase soon.
The Source: FOX 4's Lori Brown talked to Dallas Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn and residents in Far North Dallas on Monday to gather details for this story.