Monday, November 20, 2017

Trinity Trails "Could" Stretch To An Imaginary 219 Miles

Saturday night I was enjoying an immensely stimulating intellectual debate with D/FW's Trag Tickley, he being one of Facebook's most prolific instigators of thought stimulating debate.

Trag Tickley is so persuasive he almost has me turning into one of those left-leaning, liberal, progressive, free thinking American sorts.

So, after that Saturday night of sublime intense intellectual stimulation, the next morning Trag Tickley brought me back to the ridiculous, to yet one more embarrassingly stupid Fort Wort Star-Telegram propaganda piece, complete with an idiotic quote from Fort Worth's Mayor, Betsy Price.

Trag Tickley pointed me to this via a Facebook message which said...

Enjoy the delusional Betsy Price nugget buried in this story.

The "story" to which Trag Tickley refers is Expansion plans: Trinity Trails could stretch to 219 miles.

The use of the word "could" in the article title is a good clue you are about to read a Star-Telegram propaganda piece.

First paragraph contains the first error...

From zero to 72 miles in about 15 years, the Trinity Trails has become quite the attraction for bicyclists, joggers and all sorts of outdoor enthusiasts across Tarrant County.

From zero to 72 miles? When I arrived in Texas, late in the last century, longer than 15 years ago, there were already miles of  paved Trinity Trails trailing alongside the shade-free Trinity River.

Oh yes, those Trinity Trails have become quite the attraction across Tarrant County. Unless, you know, you live in the Arlington part of Tarrant County with close access to River Legacy Park and that park's miles of paved trails, shaded by trees, along the Trinity River.

And then this paragraph...

According to the draft of a proposed strategic plan of the Trinity Trails, that could grow an to impressive 219 miles, closing gaps between 18 cities and along waterways, and creating a tourism mecca as well as a economic development opportunities. The trails would run along all 90 miles of the Trinity River in Tarrant County.

There we have the "could" word again. Yes 219 miles could/would be impressive. As would be creating any sort of tourism mecca in a part of America currently lacking any tourism meccas.

And this...

For example, the trails would loop completely around Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Benbrook. Or, someone in Crowley could get on the trails and make it up to north Saginaw, some 30 miles away, or from White Settlement to past River Legacy Park in Arlington. Eventually the trails will connect into Dallas.

Oh yes, one can really see that happening, paved trails looping around those two lakes. And someone from Crowley biking all the way to Saginaw. I have been hearing about that imaginary possible trail connection to Dallas ever since I have been in Texas.

Plus this...

“It’s pretty inspiring,” Pierce said. Steams & Valleys raised $450,000 to hire California-based MIG Inc. consultants to shepherd and write the new 10-year plan. “We’ve had a lot of great river plans, but things change so fast now. Is this very ambitious? No question it is. We want to look ahead to the river we want to have.” Consultants are in the thick of the planning process, asking for suggestions from groups, city leaders and the public.

Yeah. really inspiring. Somehow a California consultant firm was able to milk about a half million bucks from the local rubes to help come up with a plan as to where to pave imaginary trails which will never happen, judging, am I, by how little seems to happen with any sort of urgency in this lethargic part of America.

We've had a lot of great river plans? Things change so fast now? Consultants are in the thick of this trail planning process? Asking for suggestions? Who writes this stuff? Who approves it for publishing?

How are those three simple little bridges being built across dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island coming along? Along with the rest of what has become America's Biggest Boondoggle, the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision?

Is Fort Worth's downtown homage to its founding, Heritage Park, still a boarded up eyesore?

Read the Expansion plans: Trinity Trails could stretch to 219 miles in its entirety for the full propaganda lunacy.

We will end with what Trag Tickely referred to as a delusional nugget from Betsy Price...

Mayor Betsy Price called the draft an amazing plan so far. “It used to be a muddy ditch. It’s a jewel now,” she said of the Trinity River.

During my time in Texas the Trinity River has not changed one iota. It was a littered, muddy, don't eat the fish you catch, polluted mess when I arrived and if anything, it is more littered, muddy and polluted now, in 2017. But, Fort Worth's mayor thinks the muddy ditch has turned into a jewel.

And people wonder why I and others think Fort Worth is totally ill-served by the fools who get elected to local public office and the sad excuse for a newspaper which reports on their embarrassing nonsense without identifying it as such...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

From zero to 72 miles in about 15 years

I ran on the Trinity Trails beginning in the late 1970's.

Just to sure, I checked Historical Aerials and saw the trails and the footbridge across the Trinity River from the Radio Shack parking lot. The date is 1979. The bridge is still there and being used.

There were parcourse or fitness trail stops across the river from the Radio Shack parking lot which included pull up bars, parallel bars and slant boards. I saw those being installed.

The Star-Telegram will repeat just about anything the grifters or the Grangers tell them.