The grant will make the freeway-bounded park more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists.
An $18.5 million award from the Texas Transportation Commission will fund the bulk of a $22 million pedestrian and bike trail that will connect Uptown Houston to Memorial Park, writes Hailea Schultz on Houston.org.
The project, still in the design phase, “would include a new route along Post Oak Boulevard with wide sidewalks to accommodate pedestrians and bicycles and then a new bridge crossing over Buffalo Bayou, eventually leading into Memorial Park.” The city hopes to open the project to bids by December 2024.
Memorial Park, one of the city’s most popular green spaces but also surrounded by freeways, is difficult to access from many neighborhoods. “In September, a $13.5 million project to connect Memorial Park and Buffalo Bayou Park between the west and east sides of Harris County via a new pedestrian-friendly trail was announced.”
According to a paywalled Houston Chronicle article, “The funding for the Loop 610 crossing was part of a record $345 million for sidewalks, bike trails and other improvements approved last week by the Texas Transportation Commission, which controls the federal funds coming to Texas from federal coffers.”
FULL STORY: https://houston.org/news/new-project-connect-pedestrians-cyclists-uptown-memorial-park
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