STACKING THE DECK

Whether your speed is Martha and the Vandellas or Mick Jagger and David Bowie, we anticipate dancing in the streets  with the opening of Woodall Rodgers Deck Park in late 2012. Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation prez Linda Owen (whom we snapped on Wednesday at the Dallas CREW luncheon) says plans call for free public activities from line dancing classes to park-wide yoga (picture the instructor on a stage with hundreds of people in downward facing dog.) There will be festivals, playgrounds, and a  Dallas Symphony Orchestra. And, the foundation has worked out a deal with a nearby property owner to allow free parking in a nearby garage (think Sundance Square). There will even be valet parking, Linda says. This is Dallas.

The five-acre park will create an urban green space over the existing Woodall Rodgers Freeway between Pearl and St. Paul streets downtown. We snapped this from the Renaissance Tower last week. More than 60% of the park?s crossbeams are in place and the two defunct utility bridges have been demolished. Trees are being installed and landscaping could begin later this year. Linda says inspiration for the park?s design came from visiting parks across the country from Discovery Park in Houston and Bryant Park in NYC. The deck park will have movable chairs rather than cement park benches, Linda says. That way you and your purse dog with the bejeweled collar can sit in the shade or the sun.