White Rock Hills Park. Photo by Sam Gillespie.
City and Community leaders will join together Saturday, Nov. 6, to officially open White Rock Hills Park. Formerly the site of low-quality, poorly managed apartments near the corner of Highland Road and Ferguson Road, White Rock Hills Park is the latest accomplishment in a 20-year effort by Ferguson Road Initiative (FRI) to improve the neighborhoods and commercial areas of the Ferguson Corridor.
White Rock Hills Park has two playgrounds, a quarter-mile walking loop, a pavilion for large gatherings and a flexible athletic field that can be used for multiple sports. It’s the first phase of the future White Rock Hills Recreation Center and serves as a trailhead for the newly developed CreekSide, an urban reserve that connects to the Trinity Forest Spine Trail and the 160-mile citywide trail system.
Festivities begin at 10 a.m. at 2229 Highland Road with a procession of the Dallas Fire-Rescue color guard, the Dallas Police mounted unit, African dancers, mariachi music, a magician, a stilt-walker, a juggler and more.
Remarks will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will include Mayor Eric Johnson, Council members Paula Blackmon and Adam Bazuldua, Dallas County Commissioner Theresa Daniel and Dallas Parks director John Jenkins.
The celebration continues until 1 p.m. with performances, chalk artists, kids’ bulb planting, an interactive DJ and food from local establishments.
“We are transforming this once recreation desert into a recreation destination with the addition of White Rock Hills Park and CreekSide,” says Vikki Martin, FRI executive director.
Martin, the FRI staff and a team of volunteers now have the White Rock Hills Recreation Center in their sight. The $15 million rec center, planned for property next to White Rock Hills Park, would be the capstone of FRI’s accomplishments since Martin founded FRI in 1998.
More details on the Nov. 6 can be found here.
