Update 12:45 p.m.: City spokesman Frank Librio sends word that, on second thought, there is plenty of parking available for the Chihuly exhibit at the Arboretum and no need to mow Winfrey Point.

Attendance numbers for the current exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum appear to be within the facility's ability to manage parking flow with existing on-site parking and existing overflow parking options. However, parking challenges at the Arboretum and at White Rock Lake still exist and long term solutions will be addressed as both locations increase in popularity. For the time being, the temporary parking option at Winfrey Point will not be exercised. The City will continue to seek long term solutions that will balance increasing trail use, special events, and all recreational uses with adequate traffic management and parking options.

Original post: Score one for the little people. The Dallas Arboretum sends word this morning that Winfrey Point, the postage stamp of virgin grassland (or invasive weeds, if you prefer) that's been at the center of a recent legal and botanical imbroglio, won't be mowed for parking after all.

The move comes after a grassroots protest campaign from left-wing pinko environmentalists who take the completely outrageous view that, hey, there's a shit-ton of concrete in Dallas. Why not park there?

More >>

Via.

What -- you didn't think I'd leave without posting a photo from a Texxas Jam, did you? And there's even a very good reason.

​Shortly before the 2011 kick-off of Texas-OU's annual clash at the Cotton Bowl we spoke with Willis Winters, Park and Rec's second-in-command, about the need to once again renovate the Fair Park stadium in order to keep the Red River Shootout in Dallas past the 2015 contract. Said Winters, it wasn't just doable but it was something they'd planned for all along. Which is why the city has just issued a request for qualifications, seeking a firm able to handle to renovations guesstimated to run $24,700,000 for design and construction.

And the renovations are significant, ranging from the addition of club seats and concession stands to a press box overhaul to "a new, historically contextual facade around each end zone and improvements to existing facade area." The whole laundry list follows, but Roland Rainey, the Cotton Bowl manager, tells Unfair Park this morning that the facade project was initially intended to be part of the $57 million in redos unveiled in 2008. "But we ran out of money on that," he says.

"We have been committed to completing that part of the project," he says. "And in our negotiations with Texas and Oklahoma, we said we would do continuous improvements to the stadium to keep the contract and make it more usable. We did very little work on the older part of the stadium [in 2008]. We did replace the seats, but all the rest of the construction was in the end zones, and with the newer type of concessions and club seats and added-value seats, we'll continue that project."

Says Rainey, it used to be easy to convince teams to come to the Cotton Bowl, which now seats 92,100. Used to be their stadiums were small, outdated. "For years, we had the biggest stadium around," Rainey says, "and someone like Texas Tech could come here and make money."

But now, he says, "all of those folks have added seats and suites." And then there's that danged stadium to the west. "So we're no longer the biggest house in the country, and we have to look at new marketing plans and explain to people how, by bringing those games here, they can make more money."

But, wait ... what's that you say about a concert in the Cotton Bowl this summer? Is it ...? Could it ...?More >>

A technical glitch (on my end, I guess -- sabotage?) kept me from listening in on Dallas Arboretum president and CEO Mary Brinegar's presentation to the council's Quality of Life Committee this morning. Shame too, as her chat this morning was City Hall's first real chance to hear all about the $58-million, seven-acre Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden coming to the Arboretum in, oh, about a year's time. Nevertheless: She'll return to the Park and Recreation Board Thursday morning, and you can find a summary of her presentation below.

But even better: Above is the nearly nine-minute-long animated sneak peek at the under-construction wonderland she premiered for council this morning above. I asked Paul Dyer, head of Park and Rec, for a copy; he was only too happy to oblige. It looks like a Disney production. Giant climbable ant sculptures. Edible gardens. Elevated walkways. A whole Honey, I Shrunk the Kids vibe. Waterfalls. Can't wait to screen it for my 8-year-old son.

Says Dyer, the Arboretum's already raised $42 million out of the $48 million it's committed to the project; the other $8 million comes from bond money, which, Dyer explains, has gone toward "the land and parking and for infrastructure." And it's the parking with which the city must now concern itself, given that the Arboretum expects its attendance to increase significantly once the Children's Garden opens. (And not only that, but per a 2008 parking study, which you'll also find below, it's expected that "visitors may lengthen their stay on the property after the Children's Garden initially opens.")

Even during plain ol' pretty days parking's tight, and "with that much growth it'll become unwieldy," says Dyer, who notes existing plans to park on both sides of Garland Road. "So we're looking at different solutions. One is parking garage, and one is looking at creating parking around Winfrey Point Point and making accessible not from Garland Road but a different way. But those are all conceptual at this point, and there's a long way to go, but we have to figure out a way."More >>

​Had a feeling that when The Lily Pad Cafe shuttered about a month ago it wasn't going to return to its digs at Main Street Garden. The official reason for its closing: "cold weather." But when it's 80-something in February here, that seemed like a fairly specious reason. And, as it turns out, it's not coming back: Kourtney Garrett, vice president of marketing for Downtown Dallas Inc., says this afternoon that after a little further consideration, Doug Brown and the Beyond the Box-ers who'd been in the park for the last two years have decided "the Lily Pad wasn't a priority for their concept," and turned the space back over to Downtown Dallas.

Garrett's the first to admit: When DDI, in partnership with the city, took over the park a little more than two years ago it didn't know the first thing about running a restaurant -- or what it wanted out of its food-and-drink partner in the endeavor. And, she says, it's an odd space -- at once tiny (the space itself is 175 square feet) and mammoth, once you take into consideration the patio space and the fact it's supposed to be serving a park spread over an entire downtown block.

And so Downtown Dallas Inc. will begin looking for a new operator, pronto; details on how to apply follow if you're so interested. Says Garrett, "There's a lot of opportunity to take advantage of the park and get the residents too." How, she's not sure. "We're looking for a unique concept," she says."We want someone who has some creativity behind the concept. This isn't a fit for a traditional concessionaire type. It'd be something similar to a food-truck specialty operation. We definitely want breakfast, lunch and dinner service and something that helps add to that destination feel."

Sometime in mid-March, she says, Josh Florence -- the man behind Club Dada, City Tavern and the Homegrown Music and Art Festival -- will take over the space temporarily, with an eat-n-drink pop-up. More >>

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

Stephen Page in March 2011, when he and the city were hoping the Texas Museum of Automotive History were heading for a long-term commitment

​One year ago, or close enough, Stephen Page gave us a tour of his Texas Museum of Automotive History in Grand Place at Fair Park -- its temporary home, we were told, but an appropriate one, given the space's estimable past as the site where the Ford Motor Co. had its exhibit during the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936. Last March, Page and city officials said they hoped the car museum would drive into its new space, the Museum of Nature & Science, once it decamped for its new digs on Woodall Rodgers. But, no, says Page tonight. That's not going to happen. As of July, he says, the Texas Museum of Automotive History will be history.

"Despite our best efforts, the City did not honor its promise to legally acknowledge that we were the replacement tenants for the Science Museum Building," he writes in an email that accompanies the press release that follows. "That promise was the basis for our substantial and successful effort to establish the Texas Museum of Automotive History in Fair Park. As provided for in our current lease, we will vacate the Grand Place Building to accommodate the State Fair on July 31st, 2012. In the interim period, we will operate the Museum."

Daniel Huerta, executive general manager of Fair Park, says tonight that he and Park and Recreation Director Paul Dyer met with Page last week about the move to the Museum of Nature & Science. Says Huerta, Page has long been itching to get the city to commit, on paper, to letting the automotive museum take over the Museum of Nature & Science. But Huerta says Park and Rec's worried about whether that's even doable, given the fact Page's exhibit's "only drew 30,000 people this year."

"We want to make sure what goes in there is good for the park," Huerta tells Unfair Park. "We love having the museum, but we wanted to know: How will you staff a building that size? Especially given the attendance. Those are the things we wanted him to address in the business plan and any future growth plan. We wanted a business plan to show they are indeed serious and a viable organization and a long-term fit for the building. That's where we left it. And he said, 'I'm just gonna shut it down.'"More >>

UT Arlington

Kelcy Warren

​Behind the paywall this morning is The News's exclusive concerning "stealth billionaire" (Band Name Alert™) Kelcy Warren's purchase of the naming rights for the Woodall Rodgers Deck Park, which henceforth shall be known as Klyde Warren Park -- so named for the Energy Transfer Equity CEO and chair's 9-year-old son. The Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation Board followed up shortly after that trumpet blast with The Official Announcement, which follows. Says Jody Grant, chairman of the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation Board: "A father naming the park after his son sends a strong message that this park will be a green oasis for all children to play, dream and learn."

Warren, recently ranked as No. 655 on Forbes's list of the world's billionaires, is also owner of Music Road Records down in Austin, a partnership with none other than musician Jimmy LaFave and engineer Fred Remmert; and the man behind the Cherokee Creek Music Festival, an annual all-star kids-charity fundraiser held at the Los Valles Ranch in Cherokee. Oh -- and he's the guy who owns the sprawling $30-million estate on Park Lane, between Inwood and the Dallas North Tollway, profiled in The Wall Street Journal in the fall of 2010; our old pal Allison V. Smith took the slide show.

The News's story says Warren donated untold millions ('round $10 mil, most folks guess) to ensure there'd be good music in the deck park; Warren tells Chery Hall, "I thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if there was a classy place where people could listen to music and where music could influence children's lives?'" The piece also says Klyde can and will intern in the park till he's 21; kid's gonna have to work for his dad's donation.

"This park is going to have such a positive impact on our city as a major center of activity," Warren says in the morning's release. "As a father, my hope is that families from throughout the Metroplex and beyond will enjoy the park. As a native Texan, and someone who has lived and worked in Dallas for many years, I am so pleased that my son and I are able to play a role in bringing this incredible asset to our city."More >>

Park and Rec chief Paul Dyer at this morning's briefing, which was anything but brief

​We've had this conversation before. And before that. And before that. Why oh why oh why is Fair Park -- "our jewel," in the words of Dwaine Caraway -- so underutilized, so unloved?

Daniel Huerta, Fair Park's exec general manager, and Park and Rec head Paul Dyer, actually came to the Quality of Life Committee this morning to tell the council about how Fair Park's being used now more than ever. They came to rattle off a list of events, past and future, to promote roller derby at the Coliseum and races that use Fair Park as a starting line. They came to promote the coming North Texas Irish Festival and next weekend's Mardi Gras Texas (with Joe Ely!) and the Lone Star Karting Grand Prix and EarthDay and the Top of Texas Centennial Tower (scheduled to open in the fall) and the State Fair's summer-time midway (now known as Summer Adventures in Fair Park due to debut Memorial Day 2013 and run till the State Fair starts) and the Jimmy Buffet show at Starplex announced this morning and on and on ...

But it was a quick trip through the PowerPoint, after which council members asked all those old familiar questions, among them: Why doesn't the city do a better job marketing Fair Park? (Easy, though nobody brought it up: Because the city's gutted that particular budget out of existence.) Why isn't the Cotton Bowl used more than a handful of times during the year? What happened to the promoter who was going to book the Band Shell? Is charging $10 for parking really a good idea? How do we better connect downtown to Fair Park -- because, in the words of committee chair Angela Hunt, to most folks Fair Park feels "miles and miles away" from the Central Business District.

Dyer revealed that as a matter of fact the city did have a "great soccer game booked" for the Cotton Bowl, which was expected to bring 90,000 to Fair Park in the spring. "But they went to Arlington," he said -- Cowboys Stadium, he meant. The reason: Jerry Jones put $300,000 on the table, guaranteed. Said Dyer, "We lose events like that every year. We could have made that money back." But there's no money to offer up. Which, he said, is why the city's talking to the State Fair of Texas about creating a nonprofit that would help not only promote Fair Park but fund-raise on its behalf. (As opposed to the Friends of Fair Park, said Dyer, which is more of an "advocacy" organization.)

It was revealed toward the end of the conversation that Mayor Mike Rawlings, set to officially bow his Southern Dallas growth plan this afternoon, is talking to folks on the council about a plan for Fair Park. It's due "in the next couple of weeks," said Dwaine Caraway. Dyer sort of suggested what's to come: "If you dismantle it and rebuild it, what do you want to keep?" Ah, but how much tinkering can be done with a National Historic Landmark?More >>

No doubt you've heard by now: Rockwall County deputy Keven Rowan had to pull two women from Lake Ray Hubbard early Saturday morning after they took their Honda Civic for a swim. And if you haven't heard, well, see for yourself; his dash-cam captured his heroics for all to see. It's also prompted Dallas City Hall to respond -- because, you see, Ngoc Do and Nhi Hoang Tran wound up in the lake after getting lost 'round Elgin B. Robertson Park, 257 acres the city owns around Ray Hubbard -- and 257 acres the city tried to sell back in November 2010, till voters ixnayed the proposal.

City officials would later insist they did a poor job of informing voters why they were trying to sell the land and have vowed to bring that proposal back to the council sooner than later. Till then, though, they have to make some quick fixes to keep this from happening again. Below is the memo the city just dispatched by way of An Official Statement concerning the incident:

The Park and Recreation Department is evaluating the existing conditions at the boat ramp at Elgin B. Robertson Park and developing a plan to enhance visibility. Such actions to enhance visibility may include several options such as 1) replacement of existing signage; 2) addition of new reflective signage; 3) installation of pavement markings; 4) installation of road humps or rumble buttons; and 5) installation of barricades as where necessary. The enhancements that are determined to be most appropriate will be implemented as soon as possible.

James Pratt Architecture

​A few years back there were some questions on the Dallas Historical Society's chatboard about what in the wide, wide world of sports Exposition Plaza's supposed to be. Because, sure, you drive by the circular mini-park at Canton and Exposition all the time if you're heading from downtown to Fair Park or the Double Wide or Mac's Bar-B-Que, say. But, to quote Bill Murray and Steve Martin. The short answer, per the website of James Pratt, the man who designed the thing:

A $10 million urban design and traffic improvement project in honor of the state's sesquicentennial birthday, Exposition Plaza is a ten acre plaza funded through city, county and private contributions. The memorial project includes a realignment of major streets and their intersections to provide a gateway from the central business district to Fair Park.

But that's not enough, not anymore: On Wednesday the city council will vote to pay architect and urban planner Kevin Sloan $35,000 in 2006 bond money to study Exposition Plaza. The reason, per the council agenda:

To accommodate the growing demand for placement of various memorials and monuments in parks within the City, Exposition Plaza has been identified as a candidate park site to accommodate requested installations. The purpose of this master plan is to evaluate the park site for its potential to receive such memorials and to establish a baseline from which to develop design guidelines.

Messages have been left at Park and Rec, where this idea began, but Sloan provided some more details this morning.More >>

The revised master plan for the Texas Horse Park, if it's ever fully built out

​The council's Economic Development Committee kicked off its morning meeting by taking up the Texas Horse Park, which came up $14 million short in private funds but remains high on the city's to-do list. Hence, as we've noted in recent days, Park and Rec and the city manager's hope that the council will let them see if there's a private operator willing to take over a project -- funded with $15 million in '98 and '06 bond funds -- the nonprofit couldn't build out years after it was initially promised.

Assistant City Manager Jill Jordan pitched it as a money-maker, a job-creator, a bringer of "recreation" and "culture." And she did so in front of an audience that included many familiar faces down at City Hall, chief among them Gail Thomas of the Trinity Trust, which had hoped to open the park in 2007. "I have no doubt you'll raise the money for the park," said council member Sheffie Kadane. "I have no doubt," added Jerry Allen.

Most of the committee was all for putting out a request for proposals: Tennell Atkins, chair of the committee, said: "T. Boone Pickens, Gerald Ford, the Dallas Mavericks, the SMU Mustangs, the Texas Rangers -- everything's horse-related" 'round these here parts. "Why not have a great horse trail? Horses bring money. We got plenty of space ... When horse people come to the show, they spend money. Look at the Fort Worth Rodeo."

Allen had but one concern -- making sure the Texas Horse Park would be "world-class." Because, after all, "This is Dallas."More >>