Turtle Creek Park (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)
No Easter in the park. No pooch parade. No Easter egg hunts. No barbecues.
To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, Mayor Eric Johnson said all parks in the city will be closed through Easter weekend. The parks will shut down at 9 p.m. Friday, April 10, and will reopen to the public at 7 a.m. Monday, April 13.
Dallas Park and Recreation Director John Jenkins agreed that a temporary closure this weekend would be the safest decision for first responders, city staff and the public.
Easter weekend is one of the busiest weekends for parks throughout the city. In Oak Lawn, the pooch parade, picnics and entertainment have been a tradition since the 1960s. The park is normally packed and crowds there are only exceeded for LifeWalk in October.
But parks throughout the city are crowded on Easter for family gatherings and Easter egg hunts.
Park rangers, park staff, Dallas police, city marshals, parking enforcement, and code compliance will monitor the city’s 397 parks during the weekend. Digital messaging boards will alert people the parks are closed.
Trails will remain open, but users must abide physical distancing guidelines. As an alternative to the always crowded Katy Trail, the Trinity Strand Trail in the Design District is rarely used. The 2.3 mile trail is easily accessed at Turtle Creek Boulevard between Market Center Boulevard and Irving Boulevard with plenty of parking on the street.
State parks and parks in a number of surrounding cities will also be closed for Easter.
“The sooner we stop the spread of COVID-19, the sooner we can get back to our lives,” Johnson said.
But hey, you’re off. You have nothing to do next week. Parks will reopen Monday. Visit one of our parks sometime next week practicing safe physical distancing.
— David Taffet
