Plan aims to revive Trinity Parkway may aid traffic, economy The Dallas Morning News November 27, 1994 Author: Chris Kelley; Urban Affairs Writer of The Dallas Morning News Estimated printed pages: 6 Civil engineer Jose Novoa recently gazed upon the Trinity River and began to dream. What his mind's eye saw was a combined parkway-levee system that would solve Dallas' worst traffic jam, restore adequate flood protection, open historically blighted areas to new development and permit high-rise buildings to look directly over riverside parks - with no environmental damage. "For 60 years we've been talking about doing something for the Trinity," said Mr. Novoa, a member of a citizens committee creating a master plan for the Trinity. "If we can come up with an integrated plan that takes into account multiple objectives, I said to myself, `We in Dallas can take it to Congress and say, "Here's a plan that does everything you've been preaching, let's get it funded." ' " A Washington lobbying trip is probably premature. The Trinity Parkway concept formulated by Mr. Novoa and his firm, Halff & Associates, has yet to be endorsed by any group or government agency. Any such plan faces years of scrutiny and would take a minimum of 10 years to design and construct, officials say. But the plan is receiving favorable response from two key government entities that would have to support and help fund it - the city of Dallas and the Army Corps of Engineers. The transportation subcommittee of the Trinity River Citizens Committee, while not endorsing the proposal, has voiced support for its vision. Dallas City Council member Larry Duncan, who is co-chairman of the citizens committee, said Mr. Novoa's plan is "one of a number of nifty ideas" coming from the committee's master planning effort. "I don't want to pick out any one idea and focus on it because that will hinder our work at reaching a consensus," he said. "At the very least, any discussion on any one idea, no matter how interesting it is, will require a tremendous amount of work reassuring people that this process isn't to railroad an idea choreographed by the establishment." Forgotten eyesore If built, the Trinity Parkway would transform the Trinity River from a forgotten eyesore into Dallas' front yard, say officials. "When you look at our desire to make the river and the floodway an asset instead of what it is now, there are lots of positive aspects to the plan," said David Dybala, interim assistant director of public works for the city of Dallas. Ron Ruffennach, spokesman for the Corps of Engineers' Fort Worth District, said engineers who have seen the conceptual plan like it. As regulator of local flood-control projects, the corps would have final say on the parkway plan. "It looked like something on the surface that could work," he said. "It is too preliminary to say we endorse the plan or give our thumbs-up approval to it. You can say that the corps reacted favorably to the concept." Dallas City Council member Barbara Mallory, who is co-chairwoman of the Trinity River Citizens Committee, said the plan "is one of the best proposals we've seen." "I think they've come up with a proposal that makes for a better overall use of the Trinity. Obviously, there are still questions that have to be answered." But not everyone is enthusiastic about the plan. Environmental advocates have registered concerns about the plan - particularly about whether the roadway might require trees in the Trinity River bottoms to be cut down. But one advocate praised Mr. Novoa's willingness to offer a plan. "He (Mr. Novoa) is putting a plan out there, and I applaud him for it. It is a very bold plan," said Diana Christopulos of Dallas' Sierra Club chapter, noting that she has "deep concerns" about some of its components. The parkway would begin northwest of downtown Dallas where State Highway 183 merges with Interstate 35E and continue along the river eight miles, eventually connecting to Interstate 45 and U.S. Highway 175 south of downtown. `Couplet' plan The proposed parkway is known in highway jargon as a "couplet" because it would split the roadway lanes along the river - southbound lanes on the river's west side and northbound lanes on the east side. The river would serve as a huge median. The new roadway would be partly embedded in existing levees that would be shored up by floodwalls to protect the city against the worst kind of floods projected to ever occur along the Trinity. The levee system, designed to withstand the worst-case flood likely for the area, now offers protection only from a flood half as severe - or one predicted to occur, on average, once in about 400 years. The reduced protection is due to explosive development that has increased floodwater runoff and lack of maintenance of the Trinity floodway. Because the new roadways would be carved out of the levees, they would dip beneath existing bridges, although some would probably have to be modified, Mr. Novoa said. The roadbed would be built at a so-called 100-year-flood level. In the event of a 100-year flood, which Dallas has not had in decades, the parkway would be closed until floodwaters receded and the roadway cleaned off and reopened. In some sections, the parkway would be covered by large decks to permit high-rise housing and park plazas literally on the river's edge. Steps and ramps would permit people to go down to riverside parks. In those areas, sump canals that collect and convey storm water from outside the levees could be moved and made into decorative canals such as those in the Las Colinas area of Irving, Mr. Novoa said. The new parkway would also provide for the first time freeway-type access to areas of West Dallas, Oak Cliff and South Dallas, creating economic development opportunities. The proposal, for example, calls for Woodall Rodgers Freeway to be extended over the river to West Dallas. South Dallas businessman Charles Johnson said the proposed roadway offers "1,001 opportunities for new development. These are areas that have been blighted for years. The more we open up these areas, the more it will bring jobs and opportunity to people who have been locked out because of no access." But the parkway's biggest benefit, Mr. Novoa said, would be offering an alternate route around the downtown "mix-master" bottleneck that has tied up rush-hour traffic daily for 30 years. Stemmons Freeway alone carries about 251,000 cars a day and is at capacity during rush hours. Next to LBJ Freeway, it is the city's most congested freeway. Top traffic priority Relieving the mix-master traffic jams is the Dallas area's No. 1 traffic priority, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Failure to solve the mix-master problem has kept on backlog about $600 million in Dallas freeway projects. "The stakes are enormous because every other radial freeway improvement in Dallas will be tied up until the mix-master knot is untied," said David Griffin, executive director of the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition, a group of local governments that lobbies for local highway projects. "No improvements will be made for the very practical reason that you aren't helping anything by making the parking lot bigger through the downtown area." The mix-master bottleneck is so severe that the Texas Department of Transportation will soon embark on a two-year study of alternatives to unsnarl it, said John Blain, the department's Dallas district design engineer. The department's hope, he said, is to arrive at a solution that resolves the mix-master problem and meets the multiple objectives sought by Mr. Novoa's plan. As part of the study, the department will also look at a bypass freeway around downtown that would be built along an old Santa Fe railroad right of way. In addition, the Texas Turnpike Authority will study the feasibility of building a toll road to the mid-cities and Fort Worth that would connect to a Trinity River roadway near Dallas. Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, said solving the traffic problem will require cooperation and funding from at least a half-dozen local, state and federal agencies. Complex project It would virtually require the simultaneous construction of roadways, flood protection, sewer and drainage systems and river cleanup projects, making it one of the most complex projects of its kind ever attempted in the United States. "This project may be on par with the construction of a D/FW Airport," Mr. Morris said. But the cost and complexity of the project should not deter planners or citizen groups, he said. "What has held this project up in the past is a lack of an organization and a willingness to have a comprehensive solution for a variety of problems," he said. "What the city of Dallas has been doing with their Trinity River efforts is fantastic." Mr. Novoa's parkway plan would also enhance recreational opportunities along the river. A smaller, park-type roadway would be built below the high-speed parkway and feature hike and bike trails alongside it. "Right now, people don't perceive the Dallas floodway area as safe," Mr. Novoa said. "But when you have people driving along it, you change the perception. All those eyes make it safer." Dallas architect James Pratt said the plan could transform the Trinity from "a back lot to dump in" to Dallas' "front yard." "This is the first answer I've seen that works," he said. "There will have to be some trade-offs, but I think they will be worth it." Mr. Novoa said his idea "is one possible way" of achieving multiple objectives for the Trinity. "There may be a better way to solve the mix-master problem and meet the other objectives in a more economical way," he said. "If there is, I'll be the first to support it." Caption: PHOTO(S): 1. Larry Duncan. 2. Barbara Mallory. ILLUSTRATION(S): New life along the Trinity waterway. (DMN: Lon Tweeten). MAP(S): Changing Dallas' mix-master. (DMN: Lon Tweeten); PHOTO LOCATION: 1. Duncan, Larry. 2. Disk 53b / NB_26Mallory (cf 060564). Edition: HOME FINAL Section: NEWS Page: 1A Copyright 1994, 1995 The Dallas Morning News Company Record Number: DAL1452916