02/08/99

Dallas leaders want to turn the Trinity River into the city's front yard. For now, though, the river still looks more like a neglected back alley.

Garbage gathers in various alcoves along the river's path. Mingling in one particularly bad stretch in southeast Dallas are plastic bottles, oil cans, rotten couches, a junked vending machine, sinks, a car's gas tank, a bean bag and tires - lots and lots of tires.

A cohort of Trinity lovers hopes to jump-start the river's transformation. Led by longtime civic volunteer Betty Svoboda, the group is organizing a massive cleanup day along the river's Dallas shoreline.

Organizers intend to round up at least 1,000 volunteers to haul junk from the river corridor on May 15. Not content with cleaning up just one area, the group is targeting the entire span of the Trinity, from Dallas' border with Irving to the city limits in southeast Dallas.

That's 12 miles of river. Twenty-four miles of shoreline. All in one day. "This is going to be a big deal," said Ms. Svoboda, a veteran member of the Dallas Park and Recreation Board. "We can do it."

The logistics are going to be a bear. Organizers plan to create more than 20 "outposts" that will attack litter in a particular area. They've got to feed the troops. They've got to haul away mounds of garbage.

There's also the matter of money. Ms. Svoboda said she hopes to find corporate sponsors to donate cash, equipment, supplies and food.

The cleanup day, still without a catchy name, will spark excitement about the Trinity, Ms. Svoboda said. Residents became eager to see improvements after voters approved a $246 million river bond proposition May 2. "The voters have said, 'Let's do it,' " she said. "So this is a way to get started."

The river project is to include a toll road along the river, levees and flood-control wetlands, a new freeway bridge, a downtown lake and a forest preserve. All of the projects are in various planning stages, with most of the construction not scheduled to begin until 2002 or later. That Ms. Svoboda is taking on a big volunteer effort doesn't surprise Dallas City Council member Donna Blumer, who appointed Ms. Svoboda to her most recent park board term.

"Betty is tireless," Ms. Blumer said. "She has been dedicated to assisting the city .[in carrying] out a variety of initiatives for a number of years."

Joining Ms. Svoboda in the cleanup day planning are members of a recreation task force of the Trinity River Corridor Citizens Committee, a volunteer group that is helping plan river improvements.

Organizers plan to assault the litter by land and water. The group intends to use boats and canoes to reach garbage that was left behind in trees when high water receded. A National Guard unit is considering helping haul out tires from hard-to-reach areas.

Ms. Svoboda said anyone who wants to get involved with the cleanup campaign should call her at (214) 352-6267.