Dallas Cultural Trail conceptual map, screenshot from deepellumtexas.com/dallasculturaltrail.
The Dallas Cultural Trail project is moving forward and gathering feedback from locals.
The cultural trail will connect the Dallas Arts District in Downtown, Deep Ellum and Fair Park, which are our City’s cultural districts as determined by the Texas Commission on the Arts.
“Basically, the reason they support cultural districts in the state of Texas is because of its economic impact,” Dallas Arts District Executive Director Lily Cabatu Weiss said in a Deep Ellum meeting about the cultural trail project. “When there’s arts and culture, there is development and restaurants and retail.”
Weiss went on to say, “We didn’t pick these as favorite neighborhoods. We picked them to start off with the identification. Do we intend to expand? Sure. If there’s money, we would like to loop it into, obviously, the convention center.”
What will be in the cultural trail? The specifics are to be determined, and Dallasites are encouraged to submit their feedback here. Broadly speaking, the trail would include “arts and cultural points of interest, historic markers, art installations, pedestrian and bike infrastructure improvements, lighting, publicly accessible performance … spaces,” Weiss said.
The cultural trail initiative has been a grassroots effort that has involved the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas Department of Transportation and Public Works, Visit Dallas, Forest Forward, Friends of Santa Fe Trail and TxDOT, in addition to the three cultural districts. Weiss said DART is interested in a partnership that would allow people to tour the cultural trail via van if they are unable to walk it themselves.
Earlier this year, the project received a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Construction and engineering is expected to cost $40 million and $2 million for design and outreach. So far, the cultural districts, the Office of Arts and Culture, 2024 bond money and USDOT are committed to funding the trail, but more will be needed.
At the Deep Ellum meeting last month, the leaders of this project emphasized there would be many more public meetings to come. The cultural trail’s website detailed three phases — 1) “pilot a digital platform featuring maps, stories and multimedia experiences”; (2) “introduce site-specific artworks and interactive displays along the route”; (3) “add signage, pedestrian enhancements and connections between cultural districts.”
