Rudy Karimi - District 14 Park and Recreation

When I first saw these photos a friend just sent me, I honestly thought they were heavily edited or a computer rendering. Nope... This is 100% real life at Willis Winters Park.

If you've lived in East Dallas for a while, you know this transformation didn't happen overnight. We have been investing in this space for the better part of a decade, pouring immense community passion, advocacy, public, and private resources into getting it right.

To see pictures this spectacular is a completely jaw-dropping and emotional experience. The scary part is, we're still not done here because a brand new playground is arriving before the end of the year!

From the completely transformed diamond ballfields, to the always green natural grass soccer pitch, to the numerous other active and passive recreation areas, to the pollinator garden, and to the recently renovated 104-year-old historic pavilion, this is exactly what "Neighborhoods First" advocacy looks like when you stay committed to the long game. This is truly a top-tier experience for everything that's offered in this 16-acre park.

A massive thank you to the Friends of Willis Winters Park - formerly Randall Park, Dallas Park and Recreation Department, City of Dallas - District 14 Council Member Paul Ridley, Sarah Weinberg for Dallas ISD, Dallas ISD Construction Services & Bond, and to all of our Friends and Neighbors who never, ever gave up on this public asset ❤️🌳

My colleague on the Dallas Park and Recreation Board, Grady McGahan - District 5 Park and Recreation Board Member, has launched a new page dedicated to sharing updates, projects, meetings, and other information from the Dallas Park and Recreation Department and Park Board.

Grady represents District 5 and is a passionate advocate for our parks and public spaces. The more residents who stay informed and engaged, the stronger our park system becomes.

Please take a moment to follow his efforts: https://www.facebook.com/gradyD5

There have been questions about mowing conditions across the park system. The Dallas Park and Recreation Department has provided an update below.

A combination of rapid spring growth and a temporary gap in contracted mowing services has impacted mowing schedules across the park system. Park crews have been working overtime to cover both their regular routes and additional sites during the transition to a new mowing contract.

Thank you for your patience as our hardworking park staff catch up across the system 🌳

🚨 E-MOTOS DON'T BELONG ON OUR PARKS OR TRAILS 🚨

Disclaimer: This graphic is NOT an official City of Dallas graphic. I am sharing it because it does a good job illustrating the difference between low-speed e-bikes and the high-powered electric motorcycles that are increasingly showing up on our trails and in our parks.

The issue isn't responsible e-bike riders. The issue is high-powered e-motos being operated at unsafe speeds in places designed for walkers, runners, families, cyclists, and children.

I've heard from residents across Dallas who have reported near-misses, dangerous riding behavior, and concerns about safety on our shared-use trails. These vehicles can travel at speeds far beyond what most trail users expect and create serious risks when operated in crowded park environments.

⚠️ Please call 911 with the date, time, and location if you witness dangerous operation of an e-moto in a Dallas park or trail.

The more reports law enforcement receives, the better they can understand where these issues are occurring and allocate resources appropriately.

BikeDFW
Dallas Bicycle Coalition
Bike Mart
Bike Friendly South Dallas

Never underestimate the power of advocacy. The women who came forward to speak on behalf of the Marcus Annex Senior Center were the force behind the Park Board's decision to request that all four community centers slated for closure in the upcoming fiscal year remain open.

While budget discussions continue, the closure of these four community centers are no longer a consideration: Arcadia, Marcus Annex, Teen Tech Center, Umphress.

Parks are for the people and your Park Board will continue fighting for you ♥🌳

Thank you Dallas Park and Recreation Department

Southern Dallas Council Member Zarin Gracey recently took to Facebook to express outrage over conditions at Glendale Park, calling the situation “unacceptable” and demanding answers from the Dallas Park and Recreation Department.

What’s actually unacceptable is treating Facebook as the only stop when there are direct lines of communication to the people responsible for fixing these issues.

When park problems arise for our Dallas City Council Members, the expectation should be straightforward: pick up the phone, call your appointed Park Board Representative, the Park Director, or a Deputy Director and work through what’s broken and what’s needed to fix it. That’s what we do in City of Dallas - District 14.

But there’s a larger issue underneath his complaint, please don’t stop reading…

Last November, the Dallas City Council had an opportunity to increase park development and maintenance fees so that growth in our city would contribute more toward the parks, trails, playgrounds, and infrastructure Dallas residents rely on every day.

Zarin Gracey voted no. Chad West voted no. Maxie Johnson voted no. Lorie Blair voted no. Kathy Stewart voted no. Gay Donnell Willis voted no.

The vote was painfully simple: require Dallas developers to contribute more toward our park system with each dwelling unit they build, or protect developer profits. The council members mentioned above chose developer profits, and parks lost.

Now we’re left dealing with predictable outcomes: more demand on parks without the corresponding investment to maintain them.

Sorry Zarin, drainage projects don’t fund themselves. Park maintenance doesn’t happen by accident.

Every new development adds pressure to the system. If that growth isn’t helping pay its fair share, the burden shifts to our communities.

So before we get another round of posts by select city leaders declaring park conditions are “unacceptable,” the more important question is: why did you vote against the funding mechanism that helps prevent exactly this outcome?

You can't hide when accountability comes knocking.

Our City of Dallas - City Hall City Manager is proposing we cut Dallas Park and Recreation Department essential community services to balance next year's budget. So is this where our money is going instead? 🤔

Take a look at this snapshot of consultant and professional services contracts I pulled from today, May 27's City of Dallas Council Agenda. This totals over $104 MILLION in taxpayer funds, and is only a snapshot from today's agenda.

When we talk about scrutinizing the Dallas City budget for bloat and protecting CORE, ESSENTIAL services, THIS is exactly what needs microscopic analysis.

While consultant and professional services has its place in municipal government, it should never come at the expense of our parks, libraries, arts, animal services, and other components of our quality of life.

We need to push our city leaders to aggressively audit and scale back these massive contracts before they cut our essential services, and go on another spending spree.

Hat tip to for the lead.

Source: https://tinyurl.com/3t38c39u

EDIT/CORRECTION: A closer look at the specific funding sources for these line items shows they are pulled from dedicated, siloed operating funds (like aviation revenue and water utilities) rather than the city's General Fund. However, the core point stands: while the operating funds are different, City Council oversight is the same. If city leaders are forcing reductions and deep service cuts on services like parks and libraries that our families rely on, they should be applying that exact same scrutiny to multi-million dollar consultant contracts across every single department.

🚨 FOR IMMEDIATE SHARING

Dallas friends and families, look closely at this graphic. This is not a drill.

The City Manager is floating a massive, devastating budget cut to our Dallas Park and Recreation Department's core services, and our quality of life is squarely on the chopping block.

These percentage reductions are pulled directly from today's budget briefing and public discussion. Please take a look at what could be taken away from us starting this October.

This is completely unacceptable. These are not invisible "efficiencies." These are direct hits to the public spaces our communities play, learn, and stay safe throughout the year. Our parks are the heart of our city, and we deserve better than this.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO RIGHT NOW👇

1️⃣ BE outraged
2️⃣ SHARE this post to get the word out
3️⃣ CONTACT your city council member however you can
4️⃣ TELL THEM do not gut our parks

Parks are for the people. They are always going to be worth fighting for ❤🌳

This morning's Dallas Park Board meeting will be one of the most important meetings we’ve had in months.

We’ll be discussing potential budget reductions that could directly impact pools, recreation centers, park maintenance, litter pickup, youth programming, and public access across Dallas.

If you care about parks, trails, rec centers, or quality of life in this city, this is the meeting to watch. I’ll share my thoughts and a breakdown afterward.

Meeting starts at 10 AM. Virtual link below.

Park Board Meeting will begin at 10am. Tune in and watch live => bit.ly/2O2dOZB

La reunión de la Junta de Parques de comenzará a las 10 de la mañana. Conéctese y vea en vivo. => bit.ly/2O2dOZB