WHAT THE 1998 TRINITY PROPOSITION ACTUALLY SAYS

Far be it from me, and I mean way far, to get into a torrid intellectual exchange ‘twixt Mssrs. Schutze and Blow about the Trinity road project or anything else. And I totally think Angela Hunt is cool. But in the interest of informed civic discussion, I’m just going to post in the jump the exact wording of the May 2, 1998 bond election’s Proposition 11, followed by the exact wording of the City’s “summary-in-brief” of the meaning of the proposition insofar as the parkway, or tollway, is concerned.

It is very difficult for me to see how it can be maintained that the proposed parkway, which is also described in the 1998 literature as a “lane reliever route” and clearly identified as a candidate for a tollway, can be separated from the other elements of the project, from park to flood control. In fact, it is obvious from reading these documents, and knowing of the previous interest in a reliever route, including a tollway, by TxDOT and COG, that the Trinity project was always fundamentally a traffic project. The evidence is a part of the public record. Whatever there is to argue about, it’s not this:

Proposition No. 11, official ballot, May 1, 1998

“The issuance of $246,000,000 general obligation Trinity River Corridor project bonds, the project to include floodways, levees, waterways, open space, recreational facilities, the Trinity Parkway and related street improvements, and other related, necessary, and incidental improvements to the Trinity River Corridor.”

–Office of the City Secretary, Dallas

From 1998 Capital Bond Program Summary In-Brief:  re Proposition 11.

“The Trinity Corridor Transportation Improvements are joint projects of the City of Dallas, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA). The project will provide funding for City participation in the Trinity Parkway, a 6-8 lane reliever route extending from U.S. 175 on the east, constructed as a one-way couplet within the Dallas Floodway levee system and extending west to connect with S.H. 183 in the area of IH-35E, and for expanding Beckley Avenue to a six lane divided thoroughfare from Singleton Boulevard to one block east of IH-30. This project is under consideration by the North Texas Tollway Authority for development as a toll facility. The construction of the Trinity Parkway reliever route will permit TxDOT to complete improvements to IH-30 and IH-35E (Canyon/Mixmaster/lower Stemmons), including frontage roads, a direct connector between IH-30 and IH-35E, High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, elimination of unsafe merge/diverge movements, installation of intelligent vehicle systems, and the expansion of lanes in the Canyon within an accelerated fifteen year schedule. The project will also extend Woodall Rodgers, as a key element of the reliever, across the Trinity River to Singleton/Beckley Avenue, providing access to the Trinity Parkway, West Dallas, and Oak Cliff.

–City of Dallas