Thanks to images of lakes and sailboats, in 1998
Unfortunately, for nearly a decade, the centerpiece of the
Project — the
This project has fundamentally changed from what voters approved. Back in 1998, the
Because the toll road will be built within our floodway levees, the toll road will flood. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is not aware of any major road, anywhere in the country, that is built in a floodway. Recently, the toll road was moved away from the levees and pushed even farther into the park because the Corps was concerned that the road would weaken our levees.
In February, we learned that the North Texas Tollway Authority (an unelected group that will construct and own the road) will lobby the federal government to allow them to build the road to pre-Katrina safety standards, instead of the more stringent regulations being developed in response to the disaster in
All of these changes will have dramatic effects on our recreational amenities. According to the City, the toll road will eliminate one-third of the Downtown Trinity parkland, as well as reduce the size of our lakes. The toll road will provide no direct access to the park, and the noise and pollution from the toll road will certainly discourage families from enjoying this green space. Who wants to picnic next to a toll road?
While other cities are removing major highways that are barriers to their parks and waterfronts,
Because the political leadership in our city refuses to bring accountability to this project, we believe it is time for voters to reclaim what has become a billion dollar boondoggle. To that end, we are working with TrinityVote — a grassroots coalition of concerned residents — to place a referendum on the ballot in November so that YOU can vote on whether to move the toll road out of the park. To do so, we must collect 50,000 signatures from registered
Reclaiming the