Dallas ‘Signature Park’ receives $1.5M Texas Parks and Wildlife grant for improvements
KERA | By Megan Cardona
Published November 7, 2024 at 1:36 PM CST
The City of Dallas was awarded $1.5 million in grant money from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to fund major improvements to Crawford Memorial Park, located on the east side.
The Dallas Park and Recreation Board voted to accept the funding during its meeting Thursday. The money will go toward the first phase of a comprehensive improvement project to “enhance the park’s offerings for the community.”
John D. Jenkins, Dallas Park and Recreation Department director, said in a statement the grant will not be used solely to fund one project.
“It’s an investment in this park and our entire park system. Parks bring people from all walks of life and from all areas throughout the city to get fit, stay healthy, socialize, and relax,” Jenkins said. “Thanks to our city leaders, Dallas’ park system will continue to give families throughout our communities access to more parks, trails, inclusive amenities, and recreational programs.”
Key improvements to the park include an all-abilities inclusive playground, accessible picnic sites with shade structures, an exercise complex, restrooms, outdoor furnishings, signage, and parking lot resurfacing at Prairie Creek Drive, according to a city news release.
A nearly one-mile surface trail will connect new amenities to existing pathways featuring two pedestrian bridges, one of which spans Elam Road.
In a statement, Dallas City Council Member Jaime Resendez said Crawford Memorial Park was designated by the city as a “Signature Park” that features a number of environmental features distinguishing it from other parks, like 27.1 acres of Black Land Prairie and 49.6 acres of Post Oak Savannah.
“This grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife will help provide these additional amenities that will not only serve the local community, but the city as a whole,” Resendez said.
The total budget for the program is $7,632,933, which includes the grant money and funding from the 2017 bond program.
Crawford Memorial Park is not the first Dallas park to receive federal grant money.
In 2021, Texas Rep. Yvonne Davis secured a $20 million federal grant from the American Rescue Act for improving city parks in southwest Dallas.
Earlier this year Davis faced backlash for her “atypical” involvement in the grant process and was accused of potentially violating the law.
At a Dallas City Council meeting in October, Davis said she would not apologize for her involvement and said she expected city staff to properly use the funds, accusing them of gouging her community of resources and overspending on facility construction.
Later that month, Jenkins defended the parks department’s investment in the southern sector of the city and said the city has committed $1 billion for South Dallas.
“All I stand for since I became the director is making sure I address inequity in this whole park system,” he said.