Spring Branch leaders favor trails

Community leaders in Spring Branch are hailing a proposed hike-and-bike trail that will link two major trails, adding to what is becoming an extensive trail system across the Houston area.

David Durham, active in his civic association in Spring Shadows and the Spring Branch Super Neighborhood North, said the proposed six-mile trail, much of it to run along a CenterPoint easement in the heart of Spring Branch, connecting Addicks reservoir with the White Oak trails, will be a great attraction for families, while benefitting the city.

“We’re very, very excited about this,” Durham said.

Durham said they have been pushing to develop a park along an almost one-mile stretch of the easement that runs by Northbrook High School, included in the project, and doesn’t see why they can’t get started.

“This is going to be a multi-year project, but we’d like to get started on this park and develop the trail in parts,” he said. “We can put the pieces in place and then connect it when we can. I’d like to move forward to get every piece usable.”

Catherine Barchfeld, with the Spring Branch Central Super Neighborhood, said many residents in her area are in favor of the project, but some have expressed concern the trail might bring more crime.

“I think it would be a great use of that property,” Barchfeld said, referring to the easement.

Barchfeld said her biggest concern is that parts of the trail would be on streets and could be dangerous.

“I don’t think the bikeway should be on the streets — the streets are just getting busier,” she said.

The trail is a key component of the Spring Branch Management District’s comprehensive plan, which calls for mobility, drainage and infrastructure improvements.

The trail would provide connectivity for neighborhoods to the many schools and parks along the route and for those who want to cycle to work in the Energy Corridor.

“I think it would be great for the management

district and the city as a whole to connect Addicks to White Oak and to downtown,” said Josh Hawes, the district’s director of services.

The district has contracted SWA Group, the firm that designed Buffalo Bayou Park, to plan the CenterPoint trail. Hawes has been drumming up community support — he said the half dozen or so groups he’s met with during the past few months have generally been receptive — and making plans for funding the project.

“Our committee is pretty driven about this — they want to see it happen,” Hawes said.

Hawes hopes the Houston-Galveston Area Council will consider the connector trail under its Transportation Improvement Program, which channels federal and state funds for priority transportation improvement projects.

Hawes said mobility is a major issue for the city and will continue to be a major issue as the region continues to grow, which makes the project even more vital.

“Personally, I can’t see someone not wanting it,” said Doris Hinson, president of Ridgecrest Civic Club and secretary of Spring Branch East Super Neighborhood. Discussions also are underway between the management district and the city of Houston about incorporating the trail into Bayou Greenways 2020, a publicprivate initiative aiming to create a network of 150 miles of trails linking all parts of Houston.

Details: http://sbmd. org/proposed-hike-andbike-trail-would-connectenergy-corridor-to-whiteoak-bayou-downtown/