Tuesday night Dallas residents have an opportunity to help shape the future of Flag Pole Hill Park.
The park, which sits along Northwest Highway just north of White Rock Lake, is known for its wide open spaces, beautiful trees, its reputation as a popular place to sled during the rare North Texas snowfall and its annual free Memorial Day concert put on by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
The meeting, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Lake Highlands Recreation Center, is part of the effort to develop an updated “Master Plan” for Flag Pole Hill.
The last master plan update that included Flag Pole Hill was in 1987, according to Lake Highlands Improvement District executive director Kathy Stewart, and Tuesday’s meeting is the first opportunity to generate real public input about what neighbors like about the park and what they would like to see improved upon.
Ron Bernaldo lives nearby and regularly comes to the park for walks with his wife and their dog.
“It’s a nice spot where you don’t have to be clear out of the city to find the woods,” Bernaldo said. “So we really enjoy that part of it. I wish they would just leave this whole area just like it is, because it’s beautiful.”
According to Dallas Parks and Recreation board member Robb Stewart, a longtime Lake Highlands resident, there has been no formal plan developed by the city.
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“This is truly a meeting for community input and feedback. This is the first of a couple of community input meetings,” Stewart said.
Stewart was quick to dispel a rumor that he has heard from some neighbors and through social media regarding an expansion of bike trails through the park.
“There was a series of public meetings earlier this year on the Flag Pole Hill Trail extension from where it dead ends near Northwest Highway and Goforth Road east to the Muchert Building, just east of the Dallas Police Department’s Northeast Substation. That segment has been planned some time and is not the same as the 'bike trails' that were proposed several years ago,” Stewart indicated. “Unlike social media reports there will not be a roll out of those ‘bike trails.’”
