Zooming in
Landscape architecture firm Clark Condon has been working on the plan since it was approved in the fiscal year 2023-24 budget. The company surveyed Hutto residents, who ranked expanding the trail system as a top priority, especially as an alternative transportation option to gain greater access to surrounding parks.
The plan proposes 27 miles of new trails that will fill in the gaps of the current trail network, while also anticipating incoming development for the growing city, according to Mary Keilers, Innovation and Research Principal at Clark Condon. It also establishes a 10-year implementation process, with connections to parks and schools, and the build out of the regional corridor along Brushy Creek, planned in the first few years.
Quote of note
“So the overall theme of the trails master plan was this idea of bridging nature and neighbors,” Keilers said. “So the trails are an excellent avenue to do that, and connecting people to the park system that is within the city, and also planning for the future.”
What else?
There are 35 proposed projects, totaling an estimated $38,879,000. The plan identifies possible funding strategies such as existing park and recreation city bonds and matching grant opportunities like the Texas Parks and Wildlife Recreational Trails Grant program.
Some context
It will be a decade before some of these trails are built and the planning document is intended to be a guiding tool rather than a contract, Keilers said. Some connections, like those that cross Hwy. 79, will face more regulatory hurdles and road reconstruction could affect the layout of the city.
“We need to keep trying to get the county involved in anything that can be considered a regional connection,” Council member Dan Thornton said. “Keep talking to them, keep pushing those projects and trying to get them to fund as much as they can, because that obviously helps us get it done.”
