Bayou Greenway Initiative

Imagine biking from home in Jersey Village to school at UH Downtown without having to watch for cars; walking your dog along grassy slopes from the Millie Bush Bark Park to the doggie water fountain in Memorial Park; teeing off from the Gus Wortham clubhouse in the East End, and rolling your golf bag all the way to the 18th hole at Hermann Park.

As the Houston Parks Board, the Bayou Preservation Association, the Quality of Life Coalition and many other bayou partners move forward on the Bayou Greenway Initiative, these transportation and recreational alternatives are seeming less like a dream and more of a reality.

As early as 1913, the bayou system was envisioned as the backbone of an equitable, accessible park system. Almost 100 years later, the Bayou Greenway Initiative is a long-range project to achieve that vision. By acquiring and improving land adjacent to our ten major bayous, we will establish an interconnected system of parks and trails linking people, places and green space, while enhancing air and water quality, reducing flooding, and stimulating economic development.

Working with numerous stakeholders in the civic, business and environmental community, the Houston Parks Board (HPB) has used the last few months to define the scope and cost of this far-reaching plan to add paved trails along the major reaches of our bayous - making parkland more accessible to communities throughout Harris County.

Using the latest GIS tools, HPB has mapped land parcels adjacent to each bayou, determined what is under public control, pinpointed the location of existing trails, established approximate land acquisition and improvement costs, and has already secured several key properties.

The Greater Houston Partnership will take the Bayou Greenway Initiative to our elected representatives in the coming months to secure support, and hopefully obtain funding commitments over the next two to three budget cycles. As that process moves forward, HPB will continue to work with the community, increase its partnerships with other bayou organizations, continue on-going communication with its public partners, and pursue private funding opportunities.

To contact us for more information on the Bayou Greenway Initiative and how you can help, email roksan@houstonparksboard.org.