Dallas Landscaping Goes Dry

Landscaping on a Dallas median that cost the city $350,000 is turning brown, since city officials and residents can’t agree on who is supposed to water the area.

Trees and landscaping on a median that cost the city of Dallas $350,000 is starting to die, because the city has stopped watering the plants.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) spent three years widening a 2.5-mile stretch of Samuell Boulevard from Interstate-30 for about $21 million of federal and local dollars, and the city spent $350,000 of tax money to add 624 crepe myrtle trees and an irrigation system.

The project was completed in 2010, and TxDOT watered the plants until the end of May, according to an agreement with the city. Since then, however, the sprinklers have stayed off.

The nearby Buckner Terrace Homeowner's Association, which worked with the city and state on widening Samuell, is not happy. Residents say they consider the median and its greenery the front door to their neighborhood.

Asked by the city council to explain, the Dallas Director of Public Works and Transportation Rick Galceran said the city hoped the neighborhoods would take over watering the median when TxDOT's responsibility ended in May.

''We gave many opportunities for the community to take over,'' Galceran said.

That provoked an angry response from the homeowners and one of the council members representing the area.

According to TxDOT, the agreement that the city would take over maintenance on June 11 was clear. Galceran said the streets department would take over watering, and the city manager promised action at the meeting.

In the meantime, the grass is only getting browner.