Latest on Lighting

So far, the only section of lighting that is operating on the Trail is the southern half mile that we turned on at the end of June. And for now, those lights are only coming on at night – when the sun goes down until 11 p.m.

The next three sections, which will take the lighting to Fitzhugh, are almost ready to turn on. All the wire has been pulled and the meters are set. The city’s contractor is testing the lights now to see what additional work needs to be done. The wire has also been pulled for the final two sections, but Oncor has not set the meters yet.

Once everything is in place, the lights will operate from 5 a.m. to sunrise, and then again from sunset to 11 p.m. daily.

Pollution Prevention Week in Dallas

The City of Dallas will be hosting Pollution Prevention Week September 15th – 20th and wants you to know all about it. Click here for information about the Green Festival and click here for all the information about Pollution Prevention Week.

The Half Meets the Trail

The White Rock Half Marathon will finish on the Katy Trail this year. Click here for a pdf of the course map. Pretty cool.

Lee Park overlook gets good reviews

When shown the plans for the proposed plaza on the Katy Trail overlooking Lee Park on Monday, the donors who have contributed generously to the Friends of the Katy Trail for the project were pleased with the latest design. The executive committee of the Lee Park/Arlington Hall Conservancy also expressed their support of the design, as has the Friends of the Katy Trail’s executive committee. Developers planning projects near the site have also been impressed. Scroll down to see a sneak preview of the plaza.

Another Feral Cat Resource

Here’s some additional information about feral cats for those interested. There’s a Dallas group located on Preston Road called Feral Friends who can answer any questions you may have about feral cats on the Katy Trail. Their website is www.feralfriends.org and they can be reached at 972-671-0429.

Dealing with Feral Cats

It has been reported that there is a small colony of feral cats on the Katy Trail. Studies have proven that trap-neuter-release is the single most successful method of stabilizing and maintaining healthy feral cats with the least possible cost to local governments and residents, while providing the best life for the animals themselves.

Spaying or neutering homeless cats:

· Stabilizes the population at manageable levels
· Eliminates annoying behaviors associated with mating
· Is humane to the animals and fosters compassion in the neighborhoods
· Is more effective and less costly than repeated attempts at extermination.

The best thing to do with feral cats is try to catch them and take them to a vet where they can be spayed or neutered. For tips on how to trap a feral cat, click on http://www.feralcat.com/trapinst.html and follow the instructions.

The Feral Cat Coalition of San Diego California has a great website to answer all your feral cat questions. The address is http://www.feralcat.com/.

McKinney Avenue Entry Plaza - Dedo's Place

Three contractors returned bids for the construction of the entry plaza that will be on the far north end of the Katy Trail. This plaza, known as Dedo’s Place in honor of long-time board member Dallas community volunteer Dedo Kidd, could be under contract as early as Oct. 1 and under construction by Thanksgiving. That would allow for trees and landscaping to be planted in the February-May months that those types of materials love.

Katy Trail Days Schedule

For all of you who just can't wait for Katy Trail Days, here's a preview of what we've got lined up for you:

• Saturday, Oct. 25 - On-Trail Entertainment - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• Sunday, Oct. 26 - On-Trail Entertainment - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• Sunday, Oct. 26 - Pumpkin Party - 3-5 p.m. in Reverchon Park
• Wednesday, Oct. 29 - Pub Crawl - 6-8 p.m. at West Village
• Saturday, Nov. 1 - On-Trail Entertainment - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 1 - Dog Trot - 10 a.m. - AAC to Reverchon Park with after party at Reverchon Park
• Sunday, Nov. 2 - - On-Trail Entertainment - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Stay tuned for all the details and registration.

Lee Park Plaza Progress

SWA Group, the landscape architects under contract with the Friends of the Katy Trail, have made some outstanding revisions to the design of the plaza on the Katy Trail overlooking Lee Park that was generously funded by the Snyder family. The designers will meet with the engineer-types from the City’s Park Department at the end of next week to nail down dates for the final design-bidding-construction process. Then, the following week, will present their design to the Snyders. Once we get their blessing, the Friends of the Katy Trail will post some renderings on this blog of what the plaza will look like. Stay tuned.

Ask KT - Up on the Blog Again

After a Friend told us our "Ask KT" blog post was going to fall off face of the blogosphere(actually just roll to the next page, but it's almost the same thing), we decided to repost it so you can easily ask KT any questions you might have.

You can submit your question for KT to answer in a future newsletter or on our webpage. Go ahead, click below and ask KT your questions.

Latest on Lighting

We spent three hours on the Trail on Tuesday and chatted with the contractor installing the lighting. He said that the power is finally flowing to the master panel in the section between Blackburn and Fitzhugh, and he’ll start checking the system in that area this week to see if the lights turn on. He was working on the section north of Harvard at the time, and said he thought he’d have all the wire pulled within two weeks. If all goes well, the trouble shooting will take place the last week of August and the lighting working by mid-September.