Time to plan parks, trails is now, not later, Manvel says

City partnering with regional council, seeks to outline network of paths

The way Manvel Mayor Delores Martin sees it, the Brazoria County city of about 6,600 is a blank canvas waiting to be filled with more green projects — especially parks and hike and bike trails.

The Houston-Galveston Area Council is thinking along the same lines, albeit on a wider scale with its multiyear Regional Pedestrian and Bicycle plan for an eight-county area that includes Brazoria, Galveston, Fort Bend and Harris counties.

The comprehensive plan, which looks out 25 years to 2040, would connect major activity centers, neighborhoods, schools, transit routes, recreation areas and community destinations, according to H-GAC, which is an association of local governments that aims for efficient, accountable use of local, state, and federal tax dollars.

“I’m excited about our conversations with Manvel (officials),” said Jeff Taebel, director of community and environmental planning at H-GAC. “Unlike some other cities that have grown a lot, it’s great that they’re thinking ahead as to how (the city) will link to future parks and developed areas.”

Manvel is moving to create a city parks board that would lead efforts to develop a parks and hike-and-bike system for the city.

City Council will consider creating the board at its May 25 council meeting. The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at Manvel City Hall, 20025 Texas 6.

“People are moving to our area and they want parks and trails, and it’s up to us to accomplish their goals and needs,” Martin said.

A trail system, she said, “is a

tremendous amenity for us to bring to our area.”

Now is the time to lay groundwork for future developers who would help build the trail system, said Brian Wilmer, who serves on the city’s planning, development and zoning committee. The once-rural town is poised for a housing boom, with homes sprouting in the Sedona Lakes master-planned community and other residential developments.

“We have an opportunity to fill a blank slate … to make a plan that when developers come in we can say, ‘This is your part of the trail (to develop),’ ” Wilmer said. “We can only do it before the city is built out.”

Taebel said the council would rely on a combination of local, state and federal funds to build the $141.2 million regional trail system. The council likes Manvel’s efforts to develop a trail system while much of the area is undeveloped.

“Cities that head in that direction — riding the wave of growth rather than trying to catch up with it — will really distinguish themselves in this region,” he said. “We’re interested in putting our resources where there is already momentum. We want to be sure our investments are going to plans that are locally in place.”

Building parks and hike-and-bike trails, Martin said, is a way to attract and keep new residents and businesses.

“The more you have to offer, the more people will want to live here,” she said. “If you don’t have any incentives, they’ll find somewhere else to go. We want them to come here, and to be proud of where they live.”

For more about Manvel’s hike-and-bike trail plan, call 281-489-0630. For more information about HGAC’s plan, visit www.hgac, then click on Mobility, then Pedestrian and Bicycle and then Regional Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan or call 713-627-3200.