By Kristina Michel
Representatives from the University of Houston and the Houston community celebrated the opening of the Brays Bayou Path, an expanded hike and bike path along Brays Bayou. At the same time, they celebrated the groundbreaking of a connection bridge to be completed in the fall. Both projects are expected to benefit the UH community.
The ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking ceremonies took place March 9. Among the attendees were President Renu Khator, Mayor Sylvester Turner and representatives from the UH Office of Real Estate Services, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Houston Parks Board and the Texas Department of Transportation.
"These two projects are exciting and useful additions, not only beautifying the area, but also making our campus – ‘Houston's University’ - even more accessible to the community," said Khator in an earlier news release issued by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department.
"Projects like these highlight Houston's continuing commitment to creating trails and linking communities to green space and alternative transportation corridors across the city," said Mayor Turner. "We are excited to see these links, which are part of the Bayou Greenways 2020 project, taking shape and linking neighborhoods."
The Brays Bayou Path is part of the $30 million Houston Regional Bike/Ped Connections to Transit Project and was made possible through federal funds in the form of a $15 million Transportation Investment Generating Economy Recovery (TIGER) grant awarded to the Houston Parks and Recreation Department. The path adds 1.7 miles to the existing 14.3-mile bike/pedestrian path along Brays Bayou from MacGregor Park to Old Spanish Trail. It also adds a 0.6-mile golf cart path that links to the UH Energy Research Park.
The connection bridge is a separate project funded through the Texas Department of Transportation’s Transportation Enhancement Program. The connection bridge will run over Brays Bayou adjacent to the current road bridge on Martin Luther King Boulevard, connecting cyclists and pedestrians from the existing paths from MacGregor Park to the new Brays Bayou Path. The connection bridge is expected to be completed in the fall of this year.
For more information about these projects, visit the Houston Parks Board website.
