We're Not No. 1

When it comes to parks, Dallas doesn't dazzle in new national survey

Dallas has parks, but how well does it take care of them?

Photo via DallasParks.org

The Trust for Public Land recently released its 2017 ParkScore index, which rates park systems in the 100 largest U.S. cities, and Texas' showing is mediocre at best.

Plano gets the state's highest score, tying for No. 17 with St. Louis, Missouri, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. From there it's a rather large drop-off to No. 46 for Austin, with Dallas (No. 50) and Arlington (No. 59) close behind. A handful of other big Texas cities fall even further down.

Using mapping technology and demographic data, the study determines how well cities are meeting their need for parks. Factors such as acreage (median park size and what percentage of a city's land is used for parks), facilities and investment (spending per resident), and access (percentage of the population that lives within a 10-minute walk of a public park) all go into the overall ParkScore, which has a maximum of 100 points.

Dallas earns 51 points, largely due to low numbers for investment and access. We may have a healthy 27,038 acres of parkland in the city proper (which works out to 48 resident served per acre), but we're pretty stingy when it comes to spending money on dog parks, playgrounds, recreation and senior centers, and even basketball hoops.

In contrast, overall first-place city Minneapolis earns a score of 87.5, racking up the points with a maxed-out 20 for spending and a nearly perfect 39 out of 40 for access. St. Paul, Minnesota; San Francisco, California; Washington, D.C.; and Portland, Oregon round out the top five.

You'll find Garland (No. 63), San Antonio (No. 69), Irving and Lubbock (tied at No. 85), and Laredo (No. 93) near the bottom. Houston comes in at a lowly No. 81, tied with Newark and Wichita. Five years ago, Dallas was ranked No. 21, but that study only analyzed 40 cities total.

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E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

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Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

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