Cities Get Together: The Fish Creek Trail Now Joins Arlington With Grand Prairie
By Paul Bourgeois, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas
Feb. 20–A new thoroughfare linking Arlington and Grand Prairie formally opens today.
Rather than accommodating speeding cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles, Fish Creek Trail is built for cyclists, skateboarders, walkers, joggers and hikers.
The path is the first such joint project between Grand Prairie and Arlington, officials said.
About four miles of the trail are in Arlington. Grand Prairie’s portion is about three miles, including a new one-mile stretch connecting an existing trail to Arlington’s path. A dedication is scheduled for 10 a.m. today.
Grand Prairie’s section stretches from the city line east nearly to Matthew Road.
Arlington’s section of Fish Creek Trail runs from the city line west to Silo Road, where it connects to Cravens Park Trail, ending at Cravens Park.
The park has 78 acres of walking trails, baseball fields and other recreational facilities.
At the line between the two cities is a large metal medallion featuring the Arlington and Grand Prairie city logos on an archway under Texas 360.
“We’re excited about this collaboration and hope it is the first of several trails that will connect our two great cities,” Arlington Parks and Recreation Director Pete Jamieson said in a news release.
Members of both city councils are scheduled to attend the dedication.
Tim Shinogle, Grand Prairie’s park planning manager, said the city plans to continue the trail to the Grand Prairie Soccer Complex at Farm Road 1382. Shinogle estimated that this could occur in four to seven years.
“This trail has the potential of eventually extending into Dallas,” Shinogle said.
The mile-long section being dedicated today costs $960,000 as part of Grand Prairie’s capital improvement program.
The project includes a 10-foot-wide concrete path, a pedestrian bridge over Fish Creek and a pedestrian underpass at Texas 360.
Shinogle said public meetings and surveys show strong support for pedestrian and bike trails.
“It has been the most popular item requested citywide through the park master plan,” Shinogle said.
The first part of the Grand Prairie trail was built in the late 1980s. More was added in 2001.
The Grand Prairie Parks and Recreation Department is already working on another segment of the Fish Creek Trail, which will extend it east. Funding was approved in the 2007 Capital Project Budget to begin the design.
Much of Grand Prairie’s section of the trail goes through Fish Creek Linear Park, which has four playgrounds, a pavilion, a basketball court and half court, picnic tables and rest stops. For directions, go to www.grandfungp.com, or www.ci.arlington.tx.us and click on the story under “Recent Articles” on the right.
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Paul Bourgeois, 817-548-5412 pbourgeois@star-telegram.com
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Copyright (c) 2007, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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