A small group of Lake Highlands North homeowners has organized to protest DART’s plans for pedestrian access to the proposed Lake Highlands light rail station.

The group is calling itself Save White Rock Trail, in reference to the road onto which DART said it will move forward with plans to provide east side access to the station.

Last week, members of the group placed a sign at the location north of Walnut Hill and launched its website – http://www.saveWRT.com.


The opposition caught the attention of Channel 8 News, who sent a reporter to Lake Highlands for interviews recently.

Save WRT organizer Tom Nowak says access along White Rock Trail will cause traffic issues on the street and safety problems for the Lake Highlands North neighborhood, which is adjacent to the planned station.

The group believes White Rock Trail is not designed for access and that DART did not take the community's input into consideration when deciding on the access point. They contend more than 70% of the neighborhood opposes White Rock Trail access.

Nowak fears DART access could force White Rock Trail to become a busy, four-lane street in the future.

“The way it’s planned right now doesn’t make sense to anybody and we want to keep White Rock Trail as it is,” Nowak said. “We’ll have traffic problems, cars parking in our neighborhood and people committing more opportunity crimes around our homes.”

The Lake Highlands North HOA formed a committee several months ago to study pedestrian access options. Although the committee’s first recommendation was to move access to Walnut Hill, DART informed the community recently that it will move forward with the White Rock Trail option.

DART is working with the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department to extend the city’s hike and bike trail into the Town Center, through the Lake Highlands station. DART believes the trail system creates a need for White Rock Trail pedestrian access through an understated trail head at that location.

Nowak and his group are unhappy with the trail element.

“When DART added the trail plan, they neutralized the community’s number one choice, which is to move access away from White Rock Trail,” Nowak Said.

DART Chief Architect David Ehrlicher responded to the Save WRT effort.

“We've worked extensively with the community on the future station. We've met with a number of groups to listen to their concerns. We'll continue doing that as we finalize the design and bid documents. We'll update the community on our progress in early June,” Ehrlicher said.

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