Harris County to up green space, trails in Atascocita early next year

Atascocita is close to getting more green space, including trails, a park and a dog park.

The $5.5 million construction of Atascocita Park will be complete early in 2020, said Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia. The park will feature a playground, a 2-acre natural pond with a boardwalk and a 1-acre dog park with an area for large breeds, and a separate area for smaller breeds. The cost to purchase the land was about $5 million, Garcia said.

The county is also building hike and bike trails, which will help provide access to Atascocita Park once completed.

The first phase of the trail is complete and located along the Harris County Flood Control channel that runs north from the intersection of West Lake Houston Parkway and FM 1960 to Kings Park Way. The project totaled $738,016.75. The county is still designing Phase II.

Increasing outdoor options

They are designed to connect communities and business centers for those looking for an alternative mode of transportation as well as provide a safe space for outdoor activities.

“That will be a very, very exciting and important aspect of the connectivity,” Garcia said.

Garcia said by adding the hike and bike trails and a park people will have more green space options. The project will add an estimated 10 miles of trails to the Atascocita area.

“Adding hike and bike trails, from my days of serving on city council to now, has continued to grow in popularity and demand,” Garcia said. “Then, when you think about it, it makes great sense to do all we can to add as much hike and bike trail connectivity so people have other options to get around.”

Improving quality of life

In the next phase of the trail, TxDOT will be partnering with the county to construct an overpass to allow trail riders to cross FM 1960. Overall, Garcia said he believes it will bring value to the area by leading to an improvement in quality of life.

“Obviously the quality of life enhances dramatically once the community knows that they have a well designed and built hike and bike trail system,” Garcia said. “And then once we connect it overall, then it just multiplies the value of the system overall.”

As Houston continues to build, outdoor options are becoming an important part of the landscape, according to Garcia. Green space and trails help keep the community beautiful.

“We’ve pumped our breaks to recognize the fact that green space has to be an important aspect of overall development initiatives and processes,” Garcia said. “Greenspace… is a part of that quality of life enhancement and people ask, generally speaking, for green space in the same breath that they ask for hike and bike trails — so it all works together.

Flood relief

They provide a place to get outside in a predominately urban or suburban environment, but they also can serve as a space to collect flood waters and prevent homes or businesses from being built in these often flood-prone areas.

“Obviously this is not a detention project, but anytime that you can preserve green space and not cover it entirely with concrete, that’s a good thing,” Garcia said. “We believe that the green space that we have out there will obviously contribute to mitigation to some degree, but it doesn’t prohibit us from looking at the necessary major flood projects to protect the community overall.”

Looking to the future, Garcia said the next generation of Harris County residents will demand green spaces like the park and hike and bike trails they are building now. Those who now transport their bikes to other parks in downtown Houston will not have to travel for a bike ride with the trail system and can access the trail from their homes.

“The reason we wanted to do the park and the trails is because in this particular area, finding available land — it was a challenge,” Garcia said. “So we wanted to grab it as quick as possible so that we could preserve the available green space out there. So this is critical. The next generation of Harris County residents, we believe they are strongly going to be demanding to viable and quality green space that they can use.”

For more information about Atascocita Park or the hike and bike trails, visit www.hcp2.com/programs.

Source: www.chron.com