Lake Highlands is a neighborhood constituting most of Northeast Dallas. The neighborhood is a collection of dozens of subdivisions served by Richardson ISD and Dallas ISD public schools, as well as an array of private schools.

Geography

Overview

Lake Highlands touches

Richardson Richardson may refer to: People * Richardson (surname), an English and Scottish surname * Richardson Gang, a London crime gang in the 1960s * Richardson Dilworth, Mayor of Philadelphia (1956-1962) Places Australia * Richardson, Australian Cap ...

on the north,

Garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. Etymology From the ...

on the east,

White Rock Lake White Rock Lake is a reservoir located in north-east Dallas, Texas (United States). The lake was formed by damming White Rock Creek, which today widens into the lake before continuing south out of the spillway and emptying into the Trinity Rive ...

and

East Dallas East Dallas, also referred to by the East Dallas Chamber of Commerce as the Lake & Garden District, is an expansive area of numerous communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas (United States) that border nearby suburban cities to the east s ...

on the south, and Lakewood and North Dallas on the west. The neighborhood is bisected from southeast to northwest by

I-635 Interstate 635 may refer to: * Interstate 635 (Kansas–Missouri), a connector highway between Interstate 35 in Overland Park, Kansas and Interstate 29 in Kansas City, Missouri, signed as the Harry Darby Memorial Highway * Interstate 635 (Texas) I ...

and from southwest to northeast by DART Blue Line. It is bordered on the south by Northwest Highway and

, and on the west by

White Rock Creek White Rock Creek is a creek occupying a chain of four sub-watersheds within the Trinity River watershed. From its source near Frisco, Texas at , this creek runs south-by-south-east through suburban Dallas for where it widens into White Rock ...

or Central Expressway.Live in Dallas (But Don’t Use Its Schools)

Archive
. ''

D Magazine ''D Magazine'' is a monthly magazine covering Dallas–Fort Worth. It is headquartered in Downtown Dallas. ''D Magazine'' covers a range of topics including politics, business, food, fashion and lifestyle in the city of Dallas. The first iss ...

''. Retrieved on 2015-08-14. On the north and east, the neighborhood ends at the city limits of

and

.
Lake Highlands" Neighborhoods, ''D Magazine''

Compass

Relation of Lake Highlands to other places: Lake Highlands is situated due North of White Rock Lake and East of North Central Expressway.

Topography

The neighborhood differs from much of Dallas and the surrounding area, which is fairly flat. Lake Highlands has hills and valleys, with street elevations that can vary by 50 feet, which offer scenic views of downtown Dallas.

, a reservoir constructed at the beginning of the 20th century, is located on the south side of Lake Highlands. The lake and surrounding park is a popular destination for boaters, rowers, joggers, and bikers, as well as visitors seeking peaceful respite from the city at the

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 8525 Garland Road in East Dallas, Texas, on the southeastern shore of White Rock Lake. History The majority of the grounds were once part of a estate known as ''Rancho ...

, located on the lake's eastern shore.

feeds into White Rock Lake, and then exits on to the Trinity River southeast of downtown Dallas. Trails along White Rock Creek are part of the extensive Dallas County Trails System.

Subdivisions

The following neighborhoods are generally considered part of or closely connected with Lake Highlands. * Abrams Place * Alexander's Village * Boundbrook Oaks Estates * Candlewood Creek * Caribbean Estates * Chimney Hill * Copperfield Community * Country Forest * Creekside at Lake Highlands * Forest Highlands * Forest Meadow * Glen Oaks * Hamilton Park * Highlands West * Highland Meadows * High Oaks Addition * Jackson Meadow * L Streets * Lake Highlands Estates * Lake Highlands North * Lake Highlands Square * Lake Highlands Village West * Lake Ridge Estates * Lovely Place Commons * Merriman Park Estates * Merriman Park North * Moss Farm * Moss Meadows * Northwood Heights * Oak Highlands * Oak Tree Village * Pebble Creek * Richland Park * Richland Park Estates * Rolling Trails * Royal Highlands * Royal Highlands Village * Royal Lane Village * Stults Road * Town Creek * Walnut Creek Estates * Whispering Hills * White Rock Valley * Woodbridge * Woodlands on the Creek * University Terrace * Urban Reserve

Demographics

A total of 87,860 people lived in the neighborhood's 14.60 square miles, according to the 2014 U.S. census estimate—averaging 6018 people per square mile. The median age for residents was 34.7. According to the 2014 Census estimate, 48.2% of the population was White, 30.8% was Black, 6.0% Asian, 15.0% from two or more races. 24.6% of the total population was of Hispanic or Latino origin. 48.8% of residents are male, 51.2% are female. 72.5% are age 18 or over. 34.6% have never been married, 50.0% are married, 4.5% are widowed, and 10.9% are divorced. The median household income in 2016 was $44,539. 31.8% of Lake Highlands homes are detached, single-family houses. The median owner-occupied home value is $266,181. The average household size is 2.38. Homeowners occupied 39.7% of the housing units, and renters occupied the rest.

Education

Lake Highlands residents aged 25 and older holding a four-year degree amounted to 36.6% of the population in 2016, considered high when compared with the city and the county as a whole, as were the percentages of residents with a bachelor's or a postgraduate degree.

Public Education

The Lake Highlands area is one of few areas in Dallas not within the

Dallas Independent School District The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas (USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the U ...

; most of the area is served by the

Richardson Independent School District Richardson Independent School District (RISD) is a school district based in Richardson, Texas ( USA). RISD covers and serves the city of Richardson and portions of the cities of Dallas and Garland (60 percent of RISD is in North Dallas, wi ...

.Hanson, Royce. ''Civic Culture and Urban Change: Governing Dallas''.

Wayne State University Press Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University. It publishes under its own name and also the imprints Painted Turtle and Great Lakes Books Series. History The Press has strong subjec ...

, April 1, 2003. , 9780814337479. p
82
The RISD portion of Lake Highlands is served by the following schools: ;Elementary schools *Aikin Elementary School *Audelia Creek Elementary School *Hamilton Park Pacesetter Elementary School *Forestridge Elementary School *Forest Lane Academy *Lake Highlands Elementary School *Merriman Park Elementary School *Moss Haven Elementary School *Northlake Elementary School *Skyview Elementary School *Stults Road Elementary School *Thurgood Marshall Elementary School *Wallace Elementary School *White Rock Elementary School ;Middle schools *Forest Meadow Junior High School *Lake Highlands Junior High School *Liberty Junior High School ;High schools *

Berkner High School Lloyd V. Berkner High School is a high school in Richardson, in the U.S. state of Texas, with a 2008 enrollment of 2,755 and a student/teacher ratio of 16.7. It is one of four high schools in the Richardson Independent School District. Histor ...

Lake Highlands High School Lake Highlands High School (LHHS) is a secondary school serving grades 9-12 in the Lake Highlands area of northeastern Dallas, Texas, United States, primarily serving the Lake Highlands community. The school is part of the Richardson Independent Sc ...

Colleges and universities

Richland College Dallas College Richland Campus (often stylized as Richland or RLC) is a public community college in Dallas, Texas. The school was founded in 1972 and is part of Dallas College. It is the largest campus in the college, featuring about 20,000 st ...

, part of the

Dallas County Community College District Dallas College is a public community college with seven campuses in Dallas County, Texas. It serves more than 70,000 students annually in degree-granting, continuing education, and adult education programs. Dallas College offers associate degr ...

, is located within Lake Highlands."SMU remains gun-free after opting out of Texas’ new ‘campus carry’ firearm law" Lake Highlands Advocate Magazine. 2016-08-01. Retrieved on 2016-08-14 from The school was founded in 1972 and is the largest school in the DCCCD, featuring nearly 22,000 students. Richland is the only community college to receive the

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the highest formal recognition of the performance excellen ...

. ;Nearby universities Dallas Hall

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

(SMU) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

al university in University Park. SMU is the closest university to Lake Highlands, which is home to many of the school's alumni. SMU was founded in 1911 by the

Southern Methodist Church The Southern Methodist Church is a conservative Protestant Christian denomination with churches located in the southern part of the United States. The church maintains headquarters in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The church was formed in 1940 b ...

and now enrolls 6,500

undergraduates Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

, 1,200 professional students in the

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

departments, and 3,500

postgraduates Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

. According to sources such as the U.S. News & World Report, SMU is the best overall undergraduate college in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and the third best in the State of Texas. *

The University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD or UT Dallas) is a public research university in Richardson, Texas. It is one of the largest public universities in the Dallas area and the northernmost institution of the University of Texas system. It wa ...

(UTD), part of the state public

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT& ...

, is located in the city of

and is in the heart of the ''

Telecom Corridor The Telecom Corridor is a technology business center in Richardson, Texas, a northern suburb of Dallas, which contains over 25 million square feet (2.3 million square meters) of office space and accounts for over 130,000 jobs. Located in the Dall ...

''. UT Dallas, or UTD, is renowned for its work in combining the arts and technology, as well as for its programs in engineering, computer science, economics, international political economy, neuroscience, speech and hearing, pre-health, pre-law and management. The university has many collaborative research relationships with

UT Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient ...

. UT Dallas is home to nearly 27,000 students.

Nonprofits

* Forerunner Mentoring Program is a non-profit specifically dedicated to serving the neighborhood of Lake Highlands. For over 10 years, Forerunner Mentoring has been providing mentorship for boys growing up without a father-figure in the home. What started as just a one-to-one mentoring organization has expanded to additionally provide after-school mentoring programs for K-8th grade boys, a high school ministry for young men, and a women's ministry for the single mothers of the students they serve.

Shopping

* Lake Highlands Town Center ;Nearby shopping *

NorthPark Center NorthPark Center, sometimes referred to as NorthPark Mall, is an upscale, enclosed shopping mall in Dallas, Texas (United States). It is at the intersection of Loop 12 (Northwest Highway) and US 75 (North Central Expressway). Opened in 1965, it ...

Galleria Dallas The Galleria Dallas is a shopping mall and mixed-use development located at the intersection of Interstate 635 and the Dallas North Tollway in the North Dallas neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, United States. It was originally developed by Hines I ...

* Preston Hollow Village * Upper Greenville

Recreation and parks

Nestled in the arms of White Rock Creek, Lake Highlands boasts a labyrinth of parks and recreational opportunities, with over 875 acres of parks, 26 miles of trails, disc golf, and several traditional baseball fields, soccer fields, and playgrounds.

is located on the south end of Lake Highlands. Recreational activities on the lake include kayaking, canoeing and standup paddleboarding, available by rental. The park surrounding the lake features a 9.33 mile trail for hiking, running and bicycling. The White Rock Lake Dog Park is also located on the north side of the lake on Mockingbird Lane.

Government and infrastructure

Lake Highlands is represented by Councilman Adam McGough on the Dallas City Council. At the State level, Senator Nathan Johnson and Senator Angela Paxton represent the area on the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...

. Representative

Ana-Maria Ramos Ana-Maria Ramos (born June 16, 1976) is an American politician. She is a Democrat representing District 102 in the Texas House of Representatives since 2019. The 102nd district serves parts of the cities of Dallas, Richardson, & Garland. Poli ...

and Representative

John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...

serve on the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

operates the Lake Highlands Post Office, Northlake Post Office, and Richland Post Office within the Lake Highlands area.

Economy

Lake Highlands is home to the headquarters of Texas Instruments (TI). TI is the No. 4 manufacturer of semiconductors worldwide after Intel, Samsung and Toshiba, and is the No. 2 supplier of chips for cellular handsets after Qualcomm, and the No. 1 producer of digital signal processors (DSPs) and analog semiconductors, among a wide range of other semiconductor products. Major business areas near Lake Highlands include the

Platinum Corridor The Platinum Corridor is a neighborhood and office submarket in the Dallas, Texas ( USA) area. Beginning just north of Interstate 635 in north Dallas, the corridor hugs the Dallas North Tollway for north to State Highway 121 in Frisco. It r ...

, Preston Center, and the

Libraries

Lake Highlands is principally served by the Audelia Road Branch and Forest Green Branch of the

Dallas Public Library The Dallas Public Library system serves as the municipal library system of the city of Dallas, Texas ( USA). History In 1899, the idea to create a free public library in Dallas was conceived by the Dallas Federation of Women's Clubs, led by pr ...

. The Audelia Road Branch, built on its current site in 1971, was renovated and expanded in 2004.

Transportation

As the majority of Lake Highlands was developed in the late 20th century, the primary mode of local transportation is the

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

and the area has a low density compared with neighborhoods built in the early 20th century. Efforts made by the City of Dallas and

Dallas Area Rapid Transit Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is a transit agency serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex of Texas. It operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Dallas and twelve of its suburbs. In , the system had a ...

to increase the availability of alternative modes of transportation have received varying degrees of support from residents of Lake Highlands. Since 1996, two light rail lines flanking Lake Highlands have been constructed and well received. Lake Highlands' road network was developed according to the

street hierarchy The street hierarchy is an urban planning technique for laying out road networks that exclude automobile through-traffic from developed areas. It is conceived as a hierarchy of roads that embeds the link importance of each road type in the netw ...

school of

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and regional spaces, urban de ...

. Roads in the area are separated into major

limited-access highway A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...

s, high-capacity principal arterial roads, mid-capacity minor arterial roads, mid-capacity

collector road A collector road or distributor road is a low-to-moderate-capacity road which serves to move traffic from local streets to arterial roads. Unlike arterials, collector roads are designed to provide access to residential properties. Rarely, juris ...

s, and minor

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...

s. The most organized of these systems is Lake Highlands' modified

grid plan In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogona ...

of principal arterial roads, which runs on a standard N/S/E/W grid.

Highways

The routing of limited-access highways through Lake Highlands is based on the area's proximity to Dallas' downtown freeway loop, as Dallas' freeway system was built according to the hub-and-spoke paradigm. * US 75

U.S. Highway 75 U.S. Route 75 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that extends in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is in Noyes, Minnesota, at the Canadian border, where it once continued as Manitoba Highway 75 on the other sid ...

( Central Expressway) runs northeast/southwest. Additionally, two separate

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

s arc across Lake Highlands: in order from their proximity to downtown: * Texas Loop 12

Northwest Highway (

Loop 12 Loop 12 is a state highway that runs mostly within the city limits of Dallas, Texas. The western segment of the loop is named after General Walton Walker, who served and died in South Korea. During the 1950s and 1960s, Loop 12 was the outer be ...

) *

Interstate 635

Thoroughfares

Major thoroughfares include: * Abrams Road * Audelia Road * Greenville Avenue * Royal Lane * Skillman Street * Forest Lane * Walnut Hill Lane * Walnut Street * Plano Road

Light rail

DART Dart or DART may refer to: * Dart, the equipment in the game of darts Arts, entertainment and media * Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero * Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe'' * Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character * Dar ...

's light rail system began serving Lake Highlands in 2001. The Red Line connects Lake Highlands to

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

, Uptown, Richardson, and Plano. The Blue Line connects Lake Highlands to downtown, Uptown,

, and Garland. The Orange Line runs to

DFW Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Air ...

, Irving and Las Colinas, Dallas Love Field, the Medical District, Victory Park, downtown, Uptown, Richardson, and Plano.

Lines and stations in Lake Highlands include: * White Rock Station * Lake Highlands Station
The Dallas Morning News
'

Originally published 25 October 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2006. * LBJ/Skillman Station * Forest Lane Station * LBJ/Central Station

Notable Lake Highlanders

Merton Hanks Merton Edward Hanks (born March 12, 1968) is a former American football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 1990s. He is currently a Senior Associate Commissioner for the Pac-12. College care ...

- NFL Pro Bowl and Super Bowl champion defensive back for the San Francisco 49ers football team * Annie Clark -

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

Award-winning singer songwriter who performs as St. Vincent *

Mark Salling Mark Wayne Salling (; August 17, 1982 – January 30, 2018) was an American actor and musician known for his role as Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the television series ''Glee''. Salling studied at the Los Angeles College of Music before work ...

- actor on the television show ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' *

C.B. Hudson Blue October is an American rock band originally from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and is currently composed of singer/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld, multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye, bassist ...

- lead guitarist for the rock band

Blue October Blue October is an American rock band originally from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and is currently composed of singer/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld, multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye, bassist M ...

Chris Harrison Christopher Bryan Harrison (born July 26, 1971) is an American television and game show host, best known for his role as the host of the ABC reality television dating show '' The Bachelor'' from 2002 to 2021. He also hosted its spin-offs '' T ...

- Host of the TV show " The Bachelor" * Dan Beebe - former commissioner of the Big 12 Conference *

Morgan Fairchild Morgan Fairchild (born Patsy Ann McClenny; February 3, 1950) is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series since. Fairchild began her career on the CBS daytime soap opera ''Search for T ...

- Film and Television Actor *

Gibby Haynes Gibson Jerome Haynes (born September 30, 1957) is an American musician, radio personality, painter, author and the lead singer of the band Butthole Surfers. Early life and career Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Gibby Haynes is the son of actor ...

- Lead singer of the band Butthole Surfers and son of "Mr. Peppermint" *

Jerry Haynes Jerome Martin "Jerry" Haynes (January 31, 1927 – September 26, 2011) was an American actor from Dallas, Texas. He is most well known as Mr. Peppermint, a role he played for 30 years as the host of one of the longest-running local children's show ...

- aka "Mr. Peppermint", actor and host of long running (1961- 1996) Dallas-based children's television program, Mr. Peppermint Place *

Tony Liscio Anthony Liscio (July 2, 1940 – June 18, 2017) was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Tulsa. Early years Liscio attended Westinghouse ...

– NFL Super Bowl champion offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys

External links

Lake Highlands Area Improvement Association

District 10 Map
from th
City of Dallas

City of Dallas, Texas

Richardson Independent School District

Dallas City Council District 10

Notes and references

Where is Lake Highlands, Texas?
Lake Highlands Advocate Magazine 2011 {{Coord missing, Texas