Dedo's Place - Pre-construction set

The official pre-construction meeting with the Park Department is set. Friends of the Katy Trail and Valley Crest Landscape Development will meet at Parks the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 4 to go over the final plans for the plaza to be built on the north end of the Trail. Construction should begin soon after, and last about 4-6 months.

The 5K is Coming

Oh, oh, when's the Michelob Ultra No. 11 Katy 5K?

Thursday, May 14. Put it on your calendar now because it's definitely on ours. Planning is well on its way and we thought we'd give you a sneak peak at this year's logo. It's going to be awesome because we're going to make sure we retain the title of D Magazine's "Best Post-race Party." Did we mention that the party is going to be better than ever? Stay tuned for details and we'll see you there.

New intern from SMU

On Monday, Sloan Armstrong joined the Friends of the Katy Trail staff as the part-time intern from SMU this spring. Look for Sloan helping out at FKT events. And if she does a real good job, we might even let her answer the phone.

Lee Park plaza gets green light

The project to build a plaza on the Katy Trail overlooking the fountain at Lee Park got the go-ahead from the Dallas Park Board's Planning & Design Committee. The next step for this estimated $1.25 million project is approval of the project and its name by the full Park Board in February.

Steaks Anyone?

Moore Lawn & Garden, the company the Friends of the Katy Trail pays to take care of the landscaping from the parking lot south of Knox Street to Airline Road at the north end, will be removing the stakes that held the trees in place since they were planted several years ago. The trees are now mature enough to stand on their own. Thanks to everyone who "adopted a tree" during our landscape fundraising campaign three years ago.

Thinking about Bicycle Commuting?

Click here to check out a cool article in today's Dallas Morning News about bicycle commuting. It's got some great tips and commuter bike reccomendations.

Interactive Artwork Malfunctioning

The interactive artwork, sometimes called the "musical bollards," at David's Way are not functioning correctly. The local maintenance guy in charge of keeping them working tried rebooting the computer that controls them, but they still didn't work 100 percent correctly. Another tech guy will examining the DSL connection and trouble shoot a few other items to see if it can begin to work properly. This should only be temporary.

Post Already in Place

The metal posts were installed today near the Knox Street parking lot and at the end near the AAC. They're bright and shiny.

Metal Posts Coming Soon

The three metal posts, or bollards, that are missing on the Katy Trail should be replaced soon. The posts -- located near the Knox parking lot (2) and the AAC (1) -- have been missing since the lighting construction was in full swing during the summer. After much difficulty and delay, it appears they are in the final stages of being manufactured. Our contractor tells us they are being galvanized right now, and could be in the ground by the end of January.

Crime Meeting Thursday

Central Patrol, the division of DPD that covers the Katy Trail, is hosting a meeting on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss with the community the accomplishments in 2008, areas needing improvement in 2009, and DPD's plans for the future regarding public safety in our community.

The public meeting, officially called Central Patrol Division's Year End Crime Synopsis, will be in the Cesar Chavez Learning Center, 1710 N. Carroll at Ross Avenue. Hope to see you there.

VIP Training Session - Next Week

One of our New Year's resolutions is to kick-start our Volunteers In Patrol program on the Katy Trail. We need at least a dozen VIPs in order to start the Friends of the Katy Trail VIP program. (To find out what a VIP does, check out our homepage under "Safety.")

DPD will be offering VIP classes next Monday, Tuesday and Thursday -- Jan. 12, 13 and 15. The Monday and Tuesday classes are 7-9:30 p.m. at the Northeast Station, 9915 E. Northwest Hgwy (just east of Buckner Boulevard). The Thursday class is in the basement of City Hall, 1500 Marilla Ave. also from 7-9:30 p.m. and includes a tour of the 911 system. All three nights must be attended in order to participate in the VIP program.

If interested, please contact Sgt. Dennis Craig via email -- dennis.craig@dpd.ci.dallas.tx.us -- for an application. You can also apply online at www.cepatrolcrimewatch.org under "volunteers." Or call Sgt. Craig at 214-670-4422.

Dedo's Place Construction

Good news from today's pre-construction meeting with Valley Crest regarding Dedo's Place - the plaza near the north end of the Katy Trail. Valley Crest thinks they'll have everything done by the beginning of the summer. While that's a preliminary estimate, it's still encouraging news.

Pre-Construction Meeting Set

The pre-construction meeting for the new plaza near the north end of the Trail is Thursday afternoon. The Friends of the Katy Trail has hired Valley Crest Landscape Development - the general contractor that built the Thomsen Overlook at Reverchon Park - to do this plaza as well. It will be called Dedo's Place in honor of long-time board member Dedo Kidd. Construction should begin in February, but we'll know more after Thursday's meeting.

Katy Trail Party at Vert Fitness on Saturday Night

The holidays may be winding down, but the parties just keep on coming. Particularly if the Friends of the Katy Trail has anything to say about it.

And just so you keep your New Year's resolution to get in shape, we're kicking off 2009 with a member happy hour at Vert Fitness.

They're brand new to the neighborhood, so please join us:
5-8 p.m.Saturday, January 10
1909 N. Henderson Ave.
RSVP to Office@KatyTrailDallas.org

You can get in shape and help the Katy Trail all at the same time. (OMG, does it get better than that? We don't think so.) Check out all the details below and note that all January proceeds go to help YOUR Trail. You can also click Vert Fitness to get details.

We'll be in our hottest workout gear, so see you there.

Tollbooth on the Katy Trail?

In a recent online story about getting into shape in 2009, one Katy Trail user said, "There's no tollbooth on the Katy Trail, so this was a good place to start." Makes us wonder if perhaps there SHOULD be a tollbooth on the Katy Trail. After all, the Trail is a privately maintained park. Unfortunately, only 10 percent of the users actually contribute to its maintenance.