Dallas Eco-Travel Report + Embrace Only Love Sweepstakes

Dallas, Texas may not spring to mind as the Greenest city in the world. This sprawling Metroplex covers nearly 10,000 square miles - more than the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined!

And yet one goal of 1GreenProduct.com is to highlight the green choices that exist in any city.

For example, depending on the business or pleasure you have to conduct in Dallas, you may be able to ditch your car and largely skip the freeway network by riding the buses and light rail trains of DART - Dallas Area Rapid Transit. DART has ambitious plans to expand its current two-line light rail network (Red and Blue) by a new Green line that should cover more than 27-miles of track by 2010. An Orangle line is also slated to be fully operational along 14 miles of track by 2013, weaving the important DFW Airport into the network.

We tried riding the rails one day and found it to be a mixed bag. Heading from our northern hotel to the southern Zoo one weekday morning was relatively easy (although we had to stand for about half the trip), but the return trip north was absolutely jam-packed around 4 p.m. We managed to squeeze aboard, but heard that some other riders had been waiting for 20-40 minutes for a train with space to get on board.

Part of the problem is that the trains are quite short. All the ones we saw had only two cars - not much bigger than an articulated bus. The stations are built well enough to accommodate much longer trains. In our view, DART definitely needs more passenger capacity to provide a reasonably comfortable eco-friendly alternative to auto transport in the Dallas region. The trains either need to be longer or they need to run more frequently. (Trains currently come every 20 minutes during most of the day, more often during rush hours.)

I did hear from DART representatives that three-car trains are used on the Red Line during rush hours. So perhaps it was my misfortune to get on the last two-car train before rush hour? Apparently some trains on the Blue Line can also operate with extended cars. DART says that some stations cannot accommodate longer trains (beyond three regular cars or two extended cars), but that plans are in the works to lengthen stations in the future. The Green Line platforms will apparently all be long enough to accommodate extended trains.

My experience with DART has caused me to wonder about the real viability of light rail in this country. While urban rail travel clearly makes sense in places like New York, Chicago, Boston and D.C. where the systems are heavily utilized, I wonder whether a lightly utilized rail system can ever make up its construction and operating costs.

Also, in a city as spread out as Dallas with a massive freeway network, it will generally be much faster for people with cars to use their automobiles rather than trying to take trains and then buses or walk to their final destinations. According to Google Maps, trips that would take 20-30 minutes by car could take two or three times that long by rail.

But if light rail is not always the answer, what makes more sense in cities like Dallas? Part of the answer is probably to encourage denser development. Dallas seems to be taking some steps along this path with more condo developments downtown, but people specifically move to places like Dallas in order to enjoy the privacy and space benefits of a single-family home.

So perhaps another piece of the answer is to adopt a dual-pronged approach of developing a more robust bus system - a Bus Rapid Transit system - and an extensive off-road or shared-road system of bike lanes, bike paths and bikeways. It is true that the large distances involved in intra-Dallas travel would still deter residents and visitors from attempting to cycle to their destinations, but the use of electric bikes could make such commutes both easier and more enjoyable. (DART says that it has plans to develop BRT-like Enhanced Bus services as part of its 2030 Transit System Plan.)

Request for Comments -- What makes most sense to you as an eco-friendly alternative to the automobile - light rail, bike paths and/or BRT (Bus Rapid Transit)? Or is the auto here to stay and should we focus our efforts as consumers on encouraging adoption of hybrids, electric cars and other low/no emission vehicles?

Speaking of bikes, Dallas does have some good options for recreational cycling. Richardson Bike Mart (Dallas location) at the edge of White Rock park provides easy access to an approximately 10-mile long bike loop around White Rock Lake. It's a beautiful ride and relatively uncrowded if you go during mid-afternoon on a weekday like we did. (The fellow who rented us our bike at the Bike Mart did however advise us to finish with our ride and be out of the park before dark for safety reasons.)

From a lodging standpoint, Dallas has several interesting green options. We first stayed up in the northern suburb of Plano at the relatively new NYLO Plano at Legacy. If you're looking for something edgy and modern, NYLO is the place for you. You'll find Guest Lofts with polished concrete walls, concrete floors, 11-foot ceilings. The Loft Bar was recently voted one of the best in the region by D Magazine.

What makes NYLO eco-friendly? The hotel says it gets half its energy from wind power and tracks its energy consumption through Web-based software. We like the fact that NYLO tries to provide good air quality for its guests. The whole hotel is smoke-free and some PURE rooms get additional anti-allergen treatments and air purification.

Meanwhile, NYLO has taken some nice little eco-friendly steps like using recycling paper for its guest room desk pads. The hotel's exclusive line of biodegradable, DEA-free and paraben-free bath-and-body products are packaged in recycled bottles.

(For the privacy conscious, I should mention that the 'bathroom' in our NYLO Plano room was not entirely enclosed at the top. The shower was made of a curved opaque glass wall, while the 'door' was a heavy sliding metal panel. It all looked pretty cool, but did not completely block out the sights or sounds that one might wish to block out while being in the bathroom.)

NYLO rates start at less than $200/night and include free Internet (wi-fi or wired) and free phone calls.

If you prefer to stay closer to the heart of Dallas, two of the finer hotels in Dallas have some interesting Green options.

We spent two nights at the Fairmont Dallas, which just completed a $14 million dollar renovation last year. As part of the renovations, the hotel has switched many of its light bulbs to compact fluorescent and used bamboo flooring in its upgraded "Fairmont Gold" rooms.

But what really caught our attention at the Fairmont was the organic herb and vegetable garden that Executive Chef JW Foster has planted on the hotel's roof terrace. In his garden, Foster and his team cultivate a wide range of plants including heirloom tomatoes, habanero peppers, zucchini, watermelon and numerous varieties of rosemary, basicl, thyme, sage, mint and more. (I didn't even know there was such a thing as Pineapple Mint before researching the Fairmont Dallas garden.)

Guests wandering around the pool area can enjoy the beauty of the garden, but it's really intended to provide ingredients for the delicious dishes that Foster whips up in the hotel's Pyramid restaurant. Practically every option on the menu contains at least something from the garden - the thyme finds its way into the cornbread crust of Foster's Canadian Lobster Mac & Cheese, while tomatoes, basil and fennel all end up in the Panko Crusted Eggplant.

Foster also teaches cooking classes incorporating herbs and veggies from the garden, or guests can even sign up for special packages to help with planting and harvesting the garden in season.

Already, the Fairmont says its garden is the largest hotel or restaurant garden in North Texas - nearly 2,000 square feet of space with more than 1,800 plants. But Foster has plans to expand the garden further. He hopes to take over some space that's currently used just for ornamental planting - perhaps to plant some grapefruit or lemon trees.

Rooms at the Fairmont typically start at less than $300/night. The Fairmont shows its love to eco-minded guests by waiving the parking fees on hybrid cars.

Meanwhile, if you can dine organically at the Fairmont, you can receive organic body treatments at the newly revitalized Stoneleigh Hotel & Spa. A landmark in its Dallas neighborhood ever since its opening in 1923, the 11-story Stoneleigh was once the tallest hotel west of the Mississippi River. Its guest list includes Frank Lloyd Wright, Lauren Bacall, Jack Benny, Judy Garland, Bob Hope and newer luminaries such as Tom Cruise, Paul Simon and LeAnn Rimes.

Recently refreshed by a $36 million renovation (far more than the original $1.5 million 1923 construction costs), the Stoneleigh welcomes guests in style. The old bones of the hotel give it a classic grace, but new touches like complimentary wi-fi Internet access and high-definition flat-panel TVs provide cutting edge comfort. We really liked the classy room furnishings selected by Deborah Forrest of Dallas-based Forrest Perkins Design. The Stoneleigh's Hotel Bar - Bolla Bar - was also featured in D Magazine as a top city bar.

Like many eco-minded hotels, the Stoneleigh gives guests the option of reusing linens and towels during their stay (thus saving the energy and water normally associated with washing linens and towels daily). Motion-sensitive thermostats minimize energy spent on healing and cooling when guests are not in the rooms.

You'll find the eco attractions at the Stoneleigh down in the spa, where some of the treatments feature handmade organic Eminence products from Hungary. According to the Eminence website, the ingredients in its body products are not only organic, but also produced using 100% wind energy.

I had a chance to experience an Eminence blueberry body wrap. It was my first wrap spa treatment and I was a bit nervous, but the exfoliation, scrub and subsequent wrap in a giant piece of foil left me feeling happily like a steamed blueberry muffin. The Stoneleigh therapist also did an excellent job working out the tension in my neck caused by a week of Dallas driving.

Rooms at the Stoneleigh start around $300/night.

For more information or help planning a trip to Dallas, check out the Visit Dallas website from the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Embrace Only Love Sweepstakes is now complete. We have chosen two winners using a random number generator and will announce the winners in a subsequent post as soon as they reply and give us permission to use their names. Thanks to all who participated. Remember, as long as you remain an active 1GreenProduct.com subscriber, you'll automatically have a chance to win all subsequent 1GreenProduct.com sweepstakes! Have a great Green day...