A park in southeast Dallas received a million-dollar-plus grant from the state of Texas: Crawford Memorial Park, located at 8700 Elam St., was awarded a $1.5 million Urban Recreation Grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), which will go towards a comprehensive improvement project executed by the city of Dallas.

The Dallas Park and Recreation Board voted to accept the funding at a meeting on November 7. It will help fulfill a plan to improve the park that has been on the city's agenda since at least 2018.

Established in 1964, Crawford Memorial Park currently includes gardens, paved trails, a playground, athletic fields, and courts. It's also a part of the City of Dallas trails system. Its unique environmental characteristics include 266.2 acres with 27 acres of black land prairie, 49 acres of post oak savannah, a 1.4 mile-long Prairie Creek, and an Austin chalk escarpment area with exposed outcroppings.

The park is also designated as a "signature park" — a regional attraction and landmark that's part of the city's park system.

Improvements will include an all-abilities inclusive playground; picnic sites with shade; exercise complex, restrooms, outdoor furnishings, signage, and parking lot resurfacing at Prairie Creek Drive.

A 12-foot-wide, 0.95-mile hard-surface trail will connect the new amenities to existing pathways that feature two pedestrian bridges, one of which spans Elam Road.

The total budget for the project is $7,632,933, which includes funding from the grant and the 2017 bond program. Dallas Park and Recreation will oversee the design and construction.

“We are thrilled to receive this grant. It will not be used to just fund a project. It’s an investment in this park and our entire park system. Parks bring people from all walks of life and from all areas throughout the city to get fit, stay healthy, socialize, and relax," said Dallas Park and Recreation Department director John D. Jenkins.

“This grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife will help provide these additional amenities that will not only serve the local community, but the city as a whole," said Dallas City Council Member Jaime Resendez of District 5, in whose district the park is located.