Cedar Park hires architect to design Brushy Creek North Fork Trail

Cedar Park City Council unanimously approved at its Nov. 7 meeting to enter into an agreement with architectural firm MWM DesignGroup Inc. to design the Brushy Creek North Fork Trail—which, when finished, will run 3 miles mostly along the north fork of Brushy Creek.

The agreement states that the design cost must not exceed $519,061.

Once completed, the eight- to 10-foot-wide concrete, shared-use trail will wind southeast from the southeast corner of the intersection of Parmer Lane and Whitestone Boulevard. It will follow the north fork of Brushy Creek along the west bank before it connects to the Williamson County Brushy Creek Regional Trail system near Brushy Creek Road, according to Kimberly Reese with the city’s engineering department.

The design cost was budgeted into the current and previous year’s budgets, according to city staff. The construction cost, estimated to be $2,672,408, will be reimbursed by the Capital Metropolitan Planning Organization, according to city documents. The city is responsible for any additional costs, according to city documents.

The idea for the trail began as a recommendation from the Parks, Arts and Community Enrichment Board’s Hike and Bike Subcommittee, Reese said.

MWM DesignGroup will be responsible for “development of engineered construction documents, surveying, environmental review, real estate services associated with easement acquisition, any necessary permitting and continued support during the construction phase,” according to city documents.

After an advertised Request for Qualifications, city staff chose MWM DesignGroup based on the following criteria: team qualifications (60%), project approach (30%) and meeting submission requirements (10%), according to the city.

Based in Austin, MWM DesignGroup has three decades of experience, according to its website. The firm helped design Austin Community College’s San Gabriel campus in Leander, providing civil engineering services that included designs for transit, drainage, streetscaping and landscaping.