Dallas City Council created a citizen’s task force in March 2018 to support a city study at Bachman Lake. This task force was created because there were multiple city needs that would impact the lake and surrounding neighborhoods. Dallas Council Members Adam Medrano, Omar Narvaez and Jennifer Staubach Gates each appointed two citizen representatives to the task force, and Skateparks for Dallas founder Clinton Haley was among the six.
The needs at Bachman included:
Mitigation of flooding from rainwater at Dallas Love Field
Reduce flooding in the surrounding neighborhoods
Rehabilitation of the Bachman Lake Dam
Enable creation of recreational amenities at Bachman Lake
The recreational amenities at Bachman Lake that the Dallas Parks & Recreation Department wanted to build included an upgraded Aquatic Center ($6M), Recreation Center Renovation ($4M), Skate Park ($4M), Greenbelt Trail Extension and Ped Bridge ($2M) and Bachman Lake Dredging ($10M) .
After more than a year of meetings, touring the facilities and discussing options, the citizen’s task force recommended the path to “maintain the lake” and make the necessary investments to improve the lake’s condition for all the users. The good news is that this was the most cost effective solution for the city and maintains a significant improvement in recreational amenities, including the skate park. The map below does not represent a construction site map, but rather a general guidance about where features will fit within the existing park.
We are thankful to Council Members Omar Narvaez, Adam Medrano, and Jennifer Staubach Gates for their leadership in the creation of this council and for supporting neighbors in maintaining a significant amenity in the city and for including Clinton Haley in the process.
To read the entire Dallas Water Utilities Love Field / Bachman Lake Feasibility Study
Future Pedestrian Bridge over Northwest Highway
Throughout the public advocacy for the skatepark at Bachman Lake, we have had the pleasure of meeting many neighbors of Bachman, attending their neighborhood meetings, and learning about their journey. The neighbors around Bachman include a very large cohort of elementary age children (future skateboarders) as well as long time neighborhood advocates like Tim Dickey and Joe Carreon who have been working with their Council Member to have the city focus on issues in their neighborhood..
One element that this group has long championed is a pedestrian bridge over Northwest Highway to provide access to Bachman Lake and its current and future recreational amenities without the need for a car. SP4D is an advocate for the skatepark to be accessible by all modes of transportation, and not being stuck in a location that requires car ownership. Not only is the skatepark important, but making sure it is accessible to the people who live nearby is critical. You never know where the next Ke’Chaud Johnson or Will Cortez could come from, so let’s give them an easy way to get to the Bachman skate park without owning a car.
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City of Dallas broke ground on the Bachman Lake Skatepark on March 28, 2024. See the event highlights here.