Friends of the Santa Fe Trail last night hosted an informational meeting attended by 60 or so interested neighbors. Co-founders Greg Furman and Monty Watson talked about plans for the trail. Attendees got a peek at the design for the Garland Bridge for the first time, Watson tells us. Hopefully, you read about the group and the project in your June East Dallas Advocate.
We also have a post here from Norman Alston, an avid Back Talk contributor, who was at the meeting last night. He seems cautiously optimistic (correct me if I’m wrong here Norman) about the whole deal. I think he’s a little concerned about preserving the wildlife and natural beauty — basically all the fauna and flora that has been relatively undisturbed along the trail, at least until now. (By the way Norman, lovely description of "Phase 1").
What I gathered from communications with the guys heading up this Friends group is that they want to — like a lot of the rest of the city — improve trails, non-motorized transportation, connectivity etc. . . and they really want to do it without compromising the natural landscape. My impression, after talking to Parks and City staff, too, is that there’s a much better chance of preserving the Santa Fe’s integrity with a "Friends" group as opposed to say … the Parks Department going at the changes without an organized group supporting them.
