DALLAS — Carol Bell Walton arrived at White Rock Lake with a display she made taking us back to 1910.
“If we were in White Rock Lake in a boat right here in 1910, we would have seen a brand-new little sea wall that's about two feet high,” said Walton, a Lakewood resident.
She was demonstrating how erosion is impacting trails and roads along the south side of White Rock Lake. She said decades of storms have washed away land under Garland Road leaving some parts with no support.
“The largest cave under the trail and under Garland Road, you can fit three SUVs in that one cave,” said Walton.
WFAA stood along the trail where Walton pointed out erosion. The land underneath was gone, causing the trail to have a crack and be uneven.
“I was stunned. I couldn't believe the extent of the damage,” said Walton.
She said she is also concerned about gas and utility lines under the trail.
“Call before you dig, I mean, it's a public project that you, anybody can call and find out where pipelines are, so you don't hit them," Walton said. "So, I did that. I call, I've called at a couple of times. They've been gracious and come out and inspected at the pipelines to make sure there's no leaks despite the instabilities."
Walton took pictures of the erosion last year. Erosion has been a known problem for years, but a study by Freese and Nichols to the Dallas Park and Recreation Board on Thursday identified several imminent risks.
“We need to treat this as a risk to public safety,” said Rudy Karimi, Dallas Park and Recreation Board District 14.
Karimi said funding is the biggest issue. That is why he’s looking at the erosion from a public safety lens.
“In most cases, I'll say that erosion is not a risk to public safety, but it is here as the trail can be compromised as a result of the erosion underneath it,” said Karimi. “The erosion here is absolutely a risk to the White Rock Lake Trail. And like I said, the more we view this as a public safety risk, the better we're going to be positioned to take care of it.”
Friday, Park and Recreation put up temporary water barriers to keep pedestrians safe from vehicle traffic, but some worry about the future concrete barriers due to the weight.
“My concern initially is just that if they put in concrete barriers, they're heavier than water barriers and they've got to bring in heavy machinery to put in these concrete barriers. We're over caves. I don’t know what the stress load is that this area can manage,” said Walton.
Karimi acknowledges it may be heavy but believes the barriers will be applied safely.
“Of course, that's going to be very heavy, but I am confident in the study that we will be doing and the design work and the planning that the department, the Park and Recreation department will be doing to analyze all of that to put a solution in place,” Karimi said.
In a statement, Dallas Park and Recreation said they want “to reassure the public and Dallas City Council that the White Rock Lake Trail is safe and is not in imminent threat of failure.” The city is also looking at solutions such as adding sheet piling and creating a new trail route.
Karimi said he is hopeful there will be a final solution in the next year. Walton said she hopes the solution comes sooner rather than later.
“What I want to do is see something sequential and not see the city scramble have to sit there,” Walton said.