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Houston Parks Connecting Bayou Greenway Trails02-03-16 | News

Houston Parks Connecting
Bayou Greenway Trails
Trail Projects Funded Through $15 Million Federal TIGER Grants

A new 1.6 mile-segment of Brays Bayou Greenway will soon be under construction. It starts at Old Spanish Trail (right star) and extends west to Martin Luther King Blvd. (left star). The trail includes hiking and bike trails and open green space.

The Houston Parks Board https://houstonparksboard.org reports it is actively working to connect trails along Brays Bayou and transform the corridor into accessible green space. Bray Bayou starts near George Bush Park in West Houston and winds eastward through south central Houston until it reaches the Houston Ship Channel. The bayou runs through or adjacent to several parks including Hermann Park, MacGregor Park, Gragg Park (home to Houston Parks & Rec Dept.) and Mason Park.

The new 1.6 mile trail segment for the Brays Bayou Greenway will soon be under construction. It will connect Gragg Park, Fonde Park, the University of Houston and the University of Houston Energy Research Park. The Houston Parks Board notes that the University of Houston has made vital contributions to the project.

This project is one of six bike/pedestrian projects funded through a $15 million federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) www.transportation.gov/tiger grant awarded to the Houston Parks and Recreation Department in 2012. Expected completion date for the new trail connection is for the end of the year.

A portion of the Brays Bayou Greenway Trail on the south side of the bayou is blocked because of recent flood damage. The Harris County Flood Control District made temporary repairs to the bayou's bank this past June, but back-to-back weekends of flooding caused slope failure, damaging both retaining walls and the Brays Bayou Greenway Trail. This section of trail is not safe for pedestrians and cyclists to use. Barriers have been installed to block off the trail. Repairing the damage could take 6 to 12 months. After the wall is repaired, that section of the trail will be repaired.