County, CenterPoint reach bike trails deal
Biking between bayous in HarrisCounty is closer to reality, now that local leaders and the monopoly that manages local power lines have inked a deal.
Harris County officials Tuesday approved an agreement between the county and CenterPoint Energy outlining the use of utility easements as hike and bike trails.
“Part of what we are doing is expanding the view of transportation in the county,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said.
Utility easements crisscross the Houston region, with many being ideal north-south connections to the existing trail systems along area bayous. Local cyclists said that is what makes them popular as possible new trails.
“Two miles could get you 30, 40 miles of uninterrupted trail for a great ride,” said Brian Donovan, who often rides on northwest Harris County trails near his Spring Branch home.
Increasingly, Hidalgo said, people are seeking out ways to travel without driving.
“It’s not only about roads,” she said, noting efforts to improve transit access and make streets more walkable and transit more reachable by adding or improving sidewalks and trails.
County officials are working on a comprehensive transportation plan, scheduled for release
in February, Hidalgo said. With the CenterPoint agreement in place, part of that plan will include outlining the first easements where the county can make critical connections to area bayous.
“We have a lot of promise here,” the judge said, noting she is hopeful that with better trails to beautified bayous Harris County could become “the Venice of our area” by building on efforts by others, including the Houston Parks Board and local management districts.
Harris County’s arrangement with CenterPoint follows a similar agreement with Houston six years ago. Houston’s agreement became a template for changes in state law to make deals easier after the city and utility plodded through various legal issues. Hidalgo said the county also faced slow-going despite a streamlined process, as lawyers haggled over insurance specifics.
As a result of those various delays, opening some of the new trails in Houston and beyond along utility corridors remains a work-in-progress. Some in western Houston, notably the Westchase district and near Sims Bayou, are open and efforts continue to build more via local management districts or the nonprofit Houston Parks Board.
Hidalgo said she is hopeful the county, learning from some of those experiences, can get moving in amatter of six to12 months on its first projects.