The City Council and Mayor Scott LeMay were updated on the status of Windsurf Bay Park at Lake Ray Hubbard at a recent meeting.
The park was closed last year and city staff requested the council’s guidance on reopening the park. In addition to COVID-19 issues, there have long been various challenges at the park. The problems primarily occurred on holidays including Memorial Day, July 4 weekend and Labor Day. These holidays often brought crowds of as many as 8,000 – 10,000 people. The problem has grown now into one that occurs every weekend when weather allows. This caused a variety of public safety issues. It also affected the ability to get emergency vehicles into the park for emergencies.
Reopening the park is currently being considered and staff is researching the safest options. Deputy City Manager Mitch Bates told council that a large number of cars without adequate parking has been a problem. Cars even parked on the sides of the I-30 service road and caused traffic problems. Visitors have also left excessive amounts of trash behind and city of Garland staff must clean it up.
One of the problems connected with solving this problem is that Lake Ray Hubbard does not belong to the city of Garland. But, the park itself is in the city. The lake is owned by Dallas but the Dallas Police Department does not have the resources to maintain a presence at the lake on weekends and holidays.
The lake is a ‘no swimming’ area. Only boating is allowed. But, since the water is not under Garland’s jurisdiction, it is difficult to enforce that policy.
The park is not designed for 8,000 visitors at once. According to Bates, most of the people who use the park come from other cities.
He said that the draw of the area is access to the water, so staff suggested putting up an 8’ fence. Additionally, ‘no swimming by order of Dallas PD’ signs would be added. The fence would only restrict access to the water – not to the park. In that scenario, Garland residents retain the ability to enjoy the views and park amenities. This solution would require monitoring and follow-up by the city of Garland. The fence would also help with erosion problems. A ballpark cost would be $350,000.
Discussion
Jerry Nickerson, Council Member from District 3 where the park is located, agrees that this is a tough problem. Rich Aubin, Council Member, District 5, said that he isn’t sure that fences work. He suggested that charging people to enter might be the solution.
District 2 Council Member Deborah Morris added that a solution that doesn’t require police presence at the park every weekend is needed. District 3 Council Member B.J. Williams asked to see a proposal for charging people to enter the park. He wants to know how much staff would be required, the cost, etc.
This could be a problem, too. If a fee is charged for entrance, the city would then be charging people to swim in the lake illegally.
City staff will put together more options for reopening Windsurf Bay Park and present them at a future meeting.
Photo source: http://www.lake-ray-hubbard.com/windsurf-bay-park/