More on city parks - come to City Hall April 1 at 7pm

The Citizen Advocate notes in its most recent edition (Friday March 20, 2009) that our fair city is seeking input from its citizens at an April 1, 2009 forum at 7pm in the Council Chambers. Hopefully the date is not an indication that the input will be heard with a level of interest best suited for April Fools Day.

My suggestions, echoing my earlier post, includes lights (and hours of operation) that make sense for our summer days in North Texas. I would also applaud the continued extension of a contiguous trails plan that would allow walkers, runners, cyclists and others to put in miles towards fitness goals, and also afford a reasonable alternative to getting in the car to get to local shops or to visit friends, attend church, and the like. I would also like to see how the master plan will someday (hopefully sooner rather than later) connect our trails to those of the Campion Trails in Irving and Las Colinas.

Finally, while not mentioned in the article, the City has an amazing and almost unused opportunity already at our doorstep in Denton Creek which runs through much of the Andy Brown Parks system. While I haven't yet found a reasonable point of safe entry for my kayak, one could be easily developed, and for a nominal cost. Previous conversations with City staff led me to believe that the City has no interest in such a development, but if the Frisbee-golf, shuffleboard (I've yet see anyone using this amenity), and sand volleyball crowd can muster support, surely those of us with canoes and kayaks can make a sustainable case.

If you've not spent an afternoon away from the fast pace of the Metroplex floating amidst the serenity of the creek, you are in for a great treat. Admittedly, some work will have to be done to move downed trees from totally blocking passage, and trash can be thick after major runoffs, but the effort will open a great new amenity for our citizens.

City Parks...

Is it just me, or does it seem odd that the City has cars and trucks traveling along the concrete trail system in the Andy Brown Parks complex? More than once I've been shocked to see a parks department vehicle "cruising" the trails. While I am certain that the trails were built substantially enough to handle vehicular traffic (an ambulance, for example), it would seem to me that such usage should be reserved solely for emergencies, and not for routine passage from one area to another.

Similarly related - have you ever seen a Coppell police officer on the trails system? I haven't. I have seen officers walking, on horseback (no, we don't need to buy horses for our officers, this is just an observation), and on bicycle at other parks in the region, but not in Coppell. I'd feel better seeing them around.

While the days are certainly growing longer (in terms of daylight) as we approach spring, I, for one, would like to see the City put together a plan to light the trails system for use after dark. As I understand things, the parks are, by definition (maybe even by LAW), basically off-limits after dark, as the City feels safety would be compromised. It has been months since we last saw triple digits, but it would be nice to use the parks (with lighted trails) in June, July, August and September when daytime temperatures are not conducive to being outside...