A compromise on the Trinity Toll Road at City Hall this week signals a change of tune from City Council.
Councilmen Scott Griggs of Oak Cliff and Phillip Kingston of East Dallas proposed an ordinance that would have allowed the city to spend $47.7 million in bond funds already raised for the road only on flood control and parks between the levees.
That didn’t happen. But their move opened the door for City Council to tone down its stance on whether a six-lane high-speed toll road should be built there and to find a compromise after a decade of fighting over the issue.
Newly elected councilman Adam McGough of Lake Highlands drafted a proposal, which passed unanimously, mandating the city put a preference on spending the millions on flood control and parks. But it leaves open the possibility of spending some of the money on a four-lane road.
As the Observer points out, the six-lane monster is not dead yet. It would cost about $1.8 billion to build, so most of the funding would have to come from someplace other than the city anyhow.
And if you haven’t read architecture critic Mark Lamster’s story with the point that building parks between the levees would contribute to flood control, do it.