Community Park at Fair Park
Fair Park is a 277-acre park and historic fairground located in South Dallas. It is home to the largest collection of publicly-owned Art Deco architecture and art in the U.S., and has been an incubator for the region’s most prestigious museums, institutions, and events. The history of Fair Park is rich and vast, but the campus and community have been at odds. Past misdeeds by previous park operators led to distrust and disuse. Fair Park’s new management seeks to change that by creating new and improved greenspace curated by the community. The improvements include a state-of-the-art Community Park with interconnected parklets and trails across the campus, all with regular programming. Parks have long been connected with physical and mental health benefits, and amid this current crisis, the value of green space has never been more prevalent. This new green-vestment seeks to be a catalyst for change in South Dallas.
Identified below are the key attributes of the new Community Park at Fair Park.
LOCATION
The preferred Community Park location is parking lot 10, located south of Lagow Street and north of Exposition Avenue between Pennsylvania and Fitzhugh Avenues. The Community Park location was determined through extensive public engagement with campus users, planning consultants, and community stakeholders. The location is in close proximity and will provide equitable access to the Jubilee Park, Owenwood, Dolphin Heights, Mill City, Frazier, Bertrand, RUFCO, and Wheatley Place neighborhoods.
OVERALL SIZE
The proposed Community Park will be a multi-acre park and accommodate the community's desired program elements determined during the planning process. An additional 3 acres surrounding the core Community Park site will accommodate public realm improvements, areas for stormwater management, and a public parking lot.
PARK ACCESS & CIRCULATION
Primary access to the Community Park will be via walking, biking, and automobile. The Community Park design will include extensive streetscape improvements along Pennsylvania Avenue, Exposition Avenue, Lagow Street, and Fitzhugh Avenue to ensure there is equitable access to all modes of transportation. Improved crossing at all street intersections will include control signage, painted crosswalks, and ADA-accessible pedestrian ramps. A future DART bus route along Fitzhugh Avenue will allow the Community Park to be better connected to the broader City and will require adding a bus stop/shelter in very close proximity to the Community Park site. A parking lot will be provided on-site that will be open year-round to Community Park users. Approximately 78 total parking stalls will be provided.
