DALLAS — Schools are out and the sun is shining. Early June should be peak park time.
Blanca Quiroz admits walking around Glencoe Park in east Dallas with her two daughters isn’t the same as active play.
“We miss the playgrounds,” Quiroz said.
Her oldest daughter Khloe, agrees.
“I miss all the happy moments that me and my sister would play on here," she said.
Dallas closed all playgrounds in March to slow the spread of COVID-19. As many parts of Texas have reopened, playgrounds, libraries and pools in Dallas remain closed.
District 14 council member David Blewett, who represents parts of Oak Lawn, downtown and east Dallas, says he is hearing a lot of requests from constituents to reopen public amenities.
“This is an issue,” Blewett said. “You hear it throughout Dallas, we want these facilities open.”
On Wednesday, city staff presented its plan to reopen many city buildings for employees and the public with an emphasis on social distancing, hand sanitizing stations and requiring the public to wear a mask to enter city hall when it reopens at 25% capacity on Monday, June 8.
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The City also plans to start offering “Library to Go” at 16 branches on Monday too.
Other amenities, including the Latino Cultural Center, are not set to reopen until July 6.
But Blewett says he’s looking to the Dallas Park and Recreation Board on Thursday to provide the path forward for playground and pool. Right now, the plan for phased reopening has playgrounds reopening on July 6.
With schools already out and parents looking to keep their kids busy, Blewett wants a faster timeline.
“We’re going to try and put more pressure on them to be as quick as they can, safely reopening,” Blewett said. “I just don’t think that its beneficial if our phased reopening gets us into late July.”