As a City Council member, Mayor Laura Miller had opposed the Trinity bond election, especially the Trinity Parkway. She (who said she wanted "a donkey trail") and then-Dallas County Judge Lee Jackson (who said we needed a high speed freeway) agreed that the entire Trinity Project deserved an outside review. They asked The Dallas Plan, the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture and AIA Dallas to lead the effort.

Nationally respected experts - Chan Krieger and Associates for urban design, Hargreaves and Associates for landscape architecture and TDA, Inc. for transportation - were selected to do the review.

They were asked if we could solve our traffic needs without a Trinity Parkway. They analyzed all options, including public transportation, Industrial Boulevard and Loop 12. They found that the Trinity Parkway is necessary to relieve Dallas' gridlock. The study reduced the size of the roadway and defined a high quality, context-sensitive design so that will be compatible with the park.

The resulting "Balanced Vision Plan" created a consensus among people with very different views of the Trinity because it balances flood protection, environmental restoration, transportation, recreation and community development. It was adopted by the Dallas City Council in 2003.

Want to learn more? Click here.