Photo by Israel palacio via Unsplash.
Stage location changes for events in Fair Park are expected to be made after the recent two-day Breakaway Music Festival that could be heard by neighbors in Lakewood.
Dallas Park and Recreation Director John Jenkins released a memo to the City Council and mayor that detailed the situation and what will be done about it.
“Some neighborhoods in close proximity were not impacted, while others located miles away experienced severe disruptions,” the memo reads.
This phenomenon is being attributed to the mainstage facing surface parking lots, which can amplify sound as opposed to structures that can mitigate it.
“City staff worked with Breakaway to determine all potential causes for the unusual nature of impacted neighborhoods,” Jenkins wrote in his memo. “While the stage could not be relocated, a lowering of decibel levels was necessary to alleviate the impact on the conditions.”
Therefore, stages in that area of Fair Park can no longer face outward, backing up to the Midway. Inward-facing stages can use the Coliseum and Cotton Bowl to better control sound travel, according to the memo. Decibel levels will also be monitored during events and be limited with attached fines for violations. Code Enforcement will be notified of and present at music events.
“Live music is a valuable cultural asset to the City of Dallas,” Jenkins wrote. “These steps will provide contractual accountability and enforceable measures to ensure these events do not affect the quality of life of any residents.”
Before Jenkins released his memo, District 14 Council member Paul Ridley put out one of his own to the chairperson of the Parks, Trails and the Environment Committee. Ridley requested that the issue be added to the agenda for the committee’s May 4 meeting to discuss the event conditions and sound levels, the approval process for such events and concerts at Fair Park, the City’s enforcement efforts, contacts for residents to seek out if they experience significant impacts from these events, and a plan to prevent this in the future.
“I personally received numerous complaints from District 14 residents who reported hearing the music clearly inside their homes, including instances where bass vibrations were strong enough to shake their windows,” Ridley wrote in his memo.
The topics listed in Ridley’s memo seem to be addressed in Jenkins’, including the contact for residents who are being impacted by Fair Park events — Fair Park Command Center: 214-421-8850.
