Construction crews broke ground on the Bushmills Road park site Thursday morning.
Photo courtesy of Trust for Public Land
The project is part of the wider Dallas Greening Initiative, a collaborative effort between the City of Dallas and the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit organization that aims to connect communities with easily accessible green spaces. Bushmills Road is the first of five pilot sites to begin construction, with the project aiming to create 15 parks in total across Dallas by its completion. Construction of the park is expected to be completed by early 2026, according to a release.
Dallas Greening Initiative sites were selected after identifying the city’s “park deserts,” areas in which park access is significantly limited by distance or other factors. At completion, the Bushmills Road site will bring 2,100 neighbors within a 10-minute walk of the park, which is the Dallas Greening Initiative’s goal for every Dallas resident by the time all 15 parks are completed, according to a release.
Community engagement at the site began in 2023 with an interactive website, fliers and community meetings. At the time, neighbors in the area signaled their support for a nature-forward walking park, as opposed to a “big flashy Klyde Warren” in their backyard. As a result, plans for the park show a pollinator garden, native grass and wildflowers, an open lawn, walking paths, an overlook and areas to watch wildlife from.
“From the beginning, we listened closely to what the neighbors wanted for this park space,” District 10 Council member Kathy Stewart, Chairman of the Parks, Trails and the Environment Committee, said in a release. “They asked for simple, practical amenities- like walking trails, benches and better lighting- and that’s exactly what the City will deliver.”
Each park project has a budget under $750,000 sourced from American Rescue Plan Act funds and matching private donations. DGI representatives told the Advocate in May that the budget for the Bushmills Road site comes in at over $400,000. Sites have 10% of their budget allocated towards maintenance, which will be completed by park and recreation staff and volunteers.
DGI began in 2022 after Mayor Eric Johnson called for an inventory of all vacant City–owned land in an effort to combat inequities in park access around the city. The project will bring a park to all 14 council districts in Dallas. After work concludes at first five sites, DGI will begin work on the remainder of the sites. TPL Texas Director Molly Morgan told the Dallas Morning News in February the project has a completion timeline of five years.
