Tarrant Regional Water District has terminated the lease for Coyote Drive-In in Fort Worth, Texas, with plans to develop the property into a new park, boardwalk, and luxury housing.

Coyote Drive-In has been a part of the DFW community for 14 years. If you grew up in the area in the early 2000s, there’s a good chance you remember going there with your family. For many people, it’s more than just a movie theater, it’s a place that has been part of their childhood and their memories of growing up in DFW.

The drive-in also provides an option that traditional movie theaters simply can’t. Families with babies and young children can enjoy a movie without having to worry about a child crying, getting restless, or making noise and disturbing everyone else in the theater. You can stay in your own vehicle, step outside when your child needs a break, and enjoy a movie together in a much more relaxed environment. It’s also a more affordable form of entertainment for many families than taking everyone to a traditional movie theater.

DFW is already becoming increasingly expensive, particularly for young families. I understand the need for development and additional public spaces, but I don’t understand why we should lose one of the few remaining drive-in theaters in the area in order to build luxury housing and another park. There are plenty of opportunities to build new developments, and frankly the plan for this development started over 14 years ago when maybe DFW needed these types of public spaces and housing. However with development in DFW exploding in the past decade I no longer see this as something more than a money grab for developers because TRWD  accidentally brought up a lot of real estate  on a flood plain. The Panther Island plan is going to take away one of the few inexpensive family friendly things to do in DFW, and replace it with an expensive park and over priced housing development with open water which would make it not safe for families with disabled children or young children at that. On top of this, it’s being funded by our tax dollars. Once a place like Coyote Drive-In is gone, we can’t get it back.

If you grew up going to Coyote, have taken your own children there, or simply believe that DFW should preserve unique and affordable community spaces, please consider signing the petition and sharing it.

Help keep Coyote Drive-In a part of Fort Worth