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Are Dallas community pools worth saving?

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Are Dallas community pools worth saving?


The Dallas Park and Recreation Board saved all nine community pools from the chopping block, at least for now, after city staff recently recommended their closure. But the reality is that city officials will probably have to close pools eventually. Most community pools are decades old, costly to maintain and severely underused.

The emotional attachment to the community pools is understandable. Many children learned to swim there, and Dallas families all over made memories in their neighborhood pools. There are also concerns about equity given that most of these pools are south of Interstate 30 in Black and Latino neighborhoods.

But the truth is that the community pools don’t see as much traffic as they once did. Their deterioration over the years has made them less appealing. And families and young people simply have more recreation options today than previous generations did.

The cold facts are what they are. A community pool like Martin Weiss, in west Oak Cliff, cost the city $139,069 last year, averaging 65 visits per day and generating less than $25,000 in revenue, according to Park and Recreation data. The Martin Weiss, Walnut Hill and Grauwyler pools — all built before 1955 — were closed this summer to repair leaks of thousands of gallons of water, Park and Recreation director John Jenkins said.

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Finding parts for these pools is virtually impossible. The city is running out of salvaged parts from older facilities. If the pools run into structural issues, repairing them will be too expensive.

More modern Dallas facilities like The Cove at Crawford and the Kidd Springs aquatic centers, while not exactly money makers, do much better financially and generate stronger attendance numbers.

Right now, the Park Board is buying time. While the community pools will remain open only three days a week, per the Park Board’s recommendation, city staff will also update the Dallas Aquatic Master Plan. This formal assessment will help decide which pools should close permanently, which ones could be updated and which ones should be turned into spray grounds, Jenkins told us.

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Rebuilding a pool can cost more than $4 million, but the city will have to wait several years for a new bond package or to find a corporate sponsor. Jenkins told us there is at least one private sponsor interested in investing in a community pool.

While the city decides what to do with its aquatic infrastructure, it should pursue strategic partnerships with school districts to ensure kids can learn to swim, even with fewer city-owned pools across Dallas in the future.

As things stand right now, some of these community pools will fail from old age. Keeping them open without substantial investment is a financial burden that could lead the city to redirect funding for other recreation programs toward pool repairs.

This is a case where the heart says one thing and the head says another. Lean times are here. Ignoring the facts, hard as they may be to swallow, will leave Dallas treading water.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com

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Dallas, TX

2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule officially announced

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2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule officially announced


Behold the 2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule.

We knew coming into Thursday that the Cowboys would be on the road to take on the New York Giants in the season opener on Sunday Night Football, that Dallas is “hosting” the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil in Week 3, and that the Philadelphia Eagles would be in town for Thanksgiving Day. Now we know it all.

Among the first things that jump to mind is that bye week is late. Dallas isn’t on bye until Week 14, the Sunday of that week is December 13th for full perspective.

The Cowboys also only play twice in their own building, thanks to the Brazil game, before November. Sometimes those weird quirks show up in schedules and this is certainly one of them.

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It is interesting to see that the NFL gave Dallas the longest amount of rest possible after their Thanksgiving tilt. It hasn’t been uncommon for the league to have the Cowboys play on consecutive Thursdays, but perhaps that is a thing of the past.



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Dallas Approves $180,500 for New Botham Jean Boulevard Street Signs

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Dallas Approves 0,500 for New Botham Jean Boulevard Street Signs


A portion of South Lamar Street was officially renamed Botham Jean Boulevard in 2021.

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On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved funding that will replace highway exit signs and road signs marking Lamar Street with new signage honoring Botham Jean, the 26-year-old Dallas accountant who was fatally shot in his own apartment by an off-duty Dallas police officer in 2018. 

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The $180,500 in funding for 13 signs to be installed by the Texas Department of Transportation is the final step in the street renaming that was unanimously approved by the council in 2021. The new signs will be placed at exits along Interstate 45, State Highway 310 and U.S. Highway 175. 

Already, Botham Jean Boulevard signs run along the road in the Cedars, where Jean lived before he was killed. 

“This street on which he chose to live and the street on which he died can serve as a lasting memory of the upstanding resident who loved Dallas so much,” his mother, Allison Jean, told the council in 2021.  

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Jean was shot by Amber Guyger, a Dallas police officer, after she entered his apartment believing it was her own. A Dallas jury found Guyger guilty of murder in 2019 and sentenced her to 10 years in prison. She has also been ordered to pay the Jean family nearly $100 million in a civil trial, which accused her of using excessive force. 

The Jean family is seeking restitution from the city of Dallas because they argue that Dallas, as Guyger’s former employer, had a duty to defend Guyger and pay out claims brought against her. The Jean family filed suit against the city in April of this year.

On Wednesday, city council member Adam Bazaldua stated that the continued remembrance of Jean’s name is a reminder that “no one is above the law.” 

“This has never simply been about changing street signs; it has always been about commemorating a life that was taken too soon,” said Bazaldua. “When driving down Botham Jean Boulevard, we are reminded of the thousands of lives lost across the country each year to senseless gun violence.” 

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Bazaldua said that once city leaders were made aware that some signs from the initial 2021 street name change had not materialized, the horseshoe took steps to correct the oversight “somewhat promptly.” But he acknowledged that Wednesday’s funding came on the heels of community advocacy urging the project’s completion. 

Community leader Yafeuh Balogun said his organization, Community Movement Builders, began asking the city for the updated signs in September 2025. Addressing the council ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Balogun encouraged the horseshoe to vote in favor of the funds because it “would make no sense” to not follow through with the street renaming approved years ago. 

 “I think this is very powerful simply because driving here today, I still saw the Lamar Street Signs,” Balogun said. “I remember how powerful it was back in 2021 when the city council voted to rename Lamar Street to Botham Jean. I’d like to keep that legacy going.” 



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World Cup volunteers receive uniforms, new tickets released

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World Cup volunteers receive uniforms, new tickets released


We’re less than a month out from the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and North Texans volunteering in the event have received their uniforms. FOX 4’s Peyton Yager has more on that and the new hospitality tickets released today.



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