A Trail Plan for 4 Million

Texas Trails & Active Transportation Conference 2012 ◆ San Antonio, Texas

•  Time Line and History of Project

•  No Man’s land

•  A Compelling Vision

•  Citizen Involvement

•  Technical Highlights

•  Implementation

•  Questions & Answers


2007- Application to the National Park Service- Rivers,
Trails and Community Assistance Program

2008- Began data collection and verification, established
Steering Committee, hired GIS student, held Stakeholder
Meeting with mapping

2009- Established the committees and began the process
of defining a hierarchy of trails

2010- Continued with data collection and completed
committee reports and recommendations, hired graphic
coordinator, published the West Houston Trails Master
Plan

2011- Held public official release with Steering
Committee leaders


The West Houston Trails Master Plan was developed through a broad-based
community process. The following listings represent those entities that
served on committees and/or attended the community input workshop.

Government Entities

Municipal Utility Districts (MUD)

Organizations

Area Businesses

March 21, 2011

2


WHTMP census tracts; 452,967

Legend:
Boundaries
State

'10 County

'10 Census Tract

Features
Major Road

Street

Stream/Waterbody

Your Selections
Your Selections

Items in grey text are not visible at this zoom level


Addicks
Reservoir

Barker Reservoir

Legend

DRAFT
Drainage Ways
Highway
Major Roads

ECD Limits
Date Issued: October 17th, 2010
Reservoir Parks
Other Parks
MUDs

0 0.5 1 2 3 4
Miles

Visions, Goals & Objectives
The vision of the many people who helped established specifically to develop the West Increase opportunities for health and
develop this West Houston Trails Master Houston Trails Master Plan – has created fitness.
Plan is a system of trails that connect the the opportunity for a variety of public Promote safety through proper design of
parks and public lands of West Houston, agencies to meet, share data, provide input trails and road crossings, construction
including the drainage corridors, with and develop an understanding of the need of trails separated from roadways and
residential, retail, business, schools and for connectivity. education supporting safe use of trails.
churches in the area. The goal of the Provide connections to transit and on-
Master Plan project is to create a trail
Vision Statement road bikeways.
Create a 100+ mile interconnected trail
network that serves the greatest number
system within West Houston while
of users while providing good stewardship Objectives
respecting the natural ecosystems and
of land and water resources. In order to Connect new miles of trail to 34+ existing
cultural resources of the area.
achieve this goal, existing trails have been miles of trail.
identified and proposed routes for new Goals Add at least 15 miles of new trail in the
trails have been developed and prioritized. Identify locations of future public trails next five years.
and connecting routes. Identify and promote an initial trail
Once implemented, the West Houston
Provide outdoor recreation opportunities to demonstrate the importance of
Trails Master Plan will result in alternative
on trails through parks and conservation connectivity (targeting Patterson-North
transportation routes, increased commuter
areas. Eldridge Trail).
choices, greater outdoor recreational
Provide opportunities for bike-to-work Develop a strategic plan to prioritize
opportunities, safe routes to schools and
commutes and safe routes for walking implementation of trail projects, create
other public places, increased options
and cycling to schools and other partnerships for implementation and
for storm-water management and habitat
locations. identify funding strategies.
restoration.
Increase conservation through reduced
The partnership between the National Park use of cars, fuel and roadways.
Service and the Energy Corridor District –

8 | Visions, Goals, & Objectives


Develop design guidelines for a variety
of trail types including trails that are
Encourage volunteerism to fund and
implement trails, as well as for trail “This is has thousands
a great initiative.
“light on the land” and consistent with maintenance and patrol. Houston
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers criteria Raise public awareness to the benefits
for sensitive areas. of outdoor recreation and help stimulate of runners and cyclists.
Develop guidelines for operating and activity as well as trail development.
sustainably maintaining trails. Support and influence trail-friendly Enhancing its opportunities
Establish, communicate and enforce policy decisions for future public
user guidelines for trails. and private infrastructure and land for recreation and its ease
Develop educational and marketing development.
programs to promote: the vision and Enhance the economic vitality and
of commuting without a car
goals of the Master Plan; the benefits real estate values of West Houston
will make Houston a more
of trails and ecosystem protection; the by expanding outdoor recreational
use of existing trails; healthier citizenry
through increased activity.
Incorporate environmental and cultural
opportunities and transportation
choices.
desirable place to live.
”
interpretation opportunities when —Anonymous Survey Respondent
developing trails.

Visions, Goals, & Objectives | 9


10

5 6 y

7
1 ARMAND BAYOU
11
2
3
BRAYS BAYOU
BUFFALO BAYOU
8
4
5
CLEAR CREEK
CYPRESS CREEK
3
6 GREENS BAYOU
u
7 HALLS BAYOU
2
1
8 HUNTING BAYOU
9 SIMS BAYOU 9
10 SPRING CREEK 4
11 WHITE OAK BAYOU


If the trail system gets developed, how would you most like to use the trail?
Recreation
Recreation 72.4%
72.4%

Commuting9to9Work
Commuting9to9Work 35.3%
35.3%
Exercise
Exercise
82.7%
82.7%

Connecting9Neighbors9to9Destinations9(schools,9shops,9parks,9etc.)
Connecting9Neighbors9to9Destinations9(schools,9shops,9parks,9etc.) 32.5%
32.5%

Nature9Study/Wildlife9Viewing
Nature9Study/Wildlife9Viewing 37.0%
37.0%
Figure 4

How often do you use trails now?
Never
Never 4.90%
4.90%
Few9Times9Per9Year
Few9Times9Per9Year 18.80%
18.80%
Few9Times9Per9Month
Few9Times9Per9Month 29.20%
29.20%
Few9Times9Per9Week
Few9Times9Per9Week 24.90%
24.90%
Many9Times9Per9Week
Many9Times9Per9Week 22.20%
22.20%

Figure 5

Desired Types of Trail Uses
Respondents to the survey on the overall master trail plan were asked how they would most like to use the proposed trail system
(figure 4). They were able to answer yes to more than one category of activities. Exercise (top kind of use) and recreation (second
most identified use) were by far the categories of greatest interest to respondents. One emphasis of the proposed master plan is the
interconnectivity of trails, a quality that would lend itself to commuting. The project team believes that as recreational trail users
become more experienced in biking and walking on trails, they will add the use of trails as a mode of transportation for destination-
based trips. The desired use of trails for exercise is a good sign that these trails could contribute to restoring health to the sedentary
lifestyles too common to Americans in the 21st century.

Comments to Open-ended Questions
Respondents were given the chance to provide comments on the overall master plan survey. Open ended responses were varied.
People used this as a means to express support for other future trails, express concerns and make suggestions relative to safety, and to
comment on trail design with the biggest issue identified being the separation of walkers and bikers.

Appendix - Survey Results | 123


Desired Uses of Individual Spine Trails
Desired Uses of Trails Figure 6
80.0%

70.0%

Legend
60.0%

50.0%

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ng
uti
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Co
ge Greenhouse1
10.0% Horsepen1Creek Langham1Creek Mason1Creek South1Mayde1Creek State1Hwy16 Wycliff1Highline1Trail

Appendix - Survey Results | 125

0.0%
Barker1Cypress Bear1Creek Bellaire1Blvd Brays1Bayou/1Barker1Dam1 Eldridge Greenhouse1 Horsepen1Creek Langham1Creek Mason1Creek South1May

124 | Appendix - Survey Results


State Highway 6


“To have a park along Buffalo Bayou
named after my efforts to preserve one of
Houston’s greatest resources was already
a tremendous honor, but I am thrilled that
Terry Hershey Park can play an important
and integral part of a larger system like
the West Houston Trails Master Plan.
This plan’s potential to further expand our
citizens’ exposure to the outdoor world
may be our greatest legacy.
”
—Terry Hershey


Past Winner of the Great Texas Two Step Award
by the T exas Trails Network


system shown on the map on page 17. demonstrate how segments of the full
One of the plan developers described
the trails that currently exist in the
study area as a “bag of Cheetos on a
system might look. For example, Terry
Hershey Trail makes good use of a
scenic creek corridor. Here a trail runs
“My familyBarkerliving near
the trails in
loves
Reservoir
picnic table,” i.e. many little pieces of below the bridges, allowing users to
disconnected trails. The desired goal avoid negotiating at-grade crossings of but we are buying a new home
of an interconnected system in West intersecting roadways. This model could
Houston would create a non-motorized inform designs of spine trails along Bear, and will be inﬂuenced by
transportation “grid” with major arterial Langham, Mason, Horsepen and South
trails, called spines, linked to secondary Mayde Creeks, and along Brays Bayou. proximity to trails, safe bike
trails that connect into neighborhoods,
parks and reservoir lands. The overall
Several of the spine trail corridors are routes and outdoor recreation.
named after the roadways along which
system would offer users a diversity of
they would run: Eldridge Parkway, These trails are now a part of
experiences: fast-track commuter trails,

”
Barker-Cypress, Greenhouse, Kingsland,
meandering dirt-trail loops through our life.
Clay and SH-6. Plan developers propose
scenic areas, and improved pathways of
these trails to be a minimum of 8 feet in
different surfaces along bayou banks,
width, separated from the vehicle portion —Anonymous Survey Respondent
drainageways, utility corridors, and
of the roadway by curb and preferably a
road right-of-ways. There is room in this
vegetated buffer. An existing example
envisioned system for walkers, runners,
of a trail adjacent to the roadway is
bikers and horseback riders, to name just
the Eldridge/Energy Corridor Spine
a few.
Trail where the 8-foot, multi-use trail is
The spine trails proposed in this plan found in the right-of-way, rather than in
comprise a 104-mile system, of which the roadway like a bike lane. For areas
32 miles currently exist and 72 new where sufﬁcient right-of-way has yet to
miles are proposed. The existing be obtained for grade-separated parallel
Terry Hershey, George Bush and trails, bike lanes or sidewalks would be
Texas Trails & Active Transportation Conference 2012
Cullen Park Trails serve as models that ◆
the fall-back design. San Antonio, Texas
Conclusion | 111

A Trail Plan for 4 Million

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