Recent surveys from residents show an increasing desire for more parks and green spaces in town.
For resident Heather Llanes, she said she frequents parks, including League Park on Main Street, and loves attending community events at parks, such as Sunset Bazaar on 2nd. However, she believes there’s a shortage of indoor sport facilities and challenges with registering for youth programs for her five children.
“The city needs more park space for indoor sports,” she said. “Outside space seems to be fine.”
The overview
League City approved an update to its Parks, Trails & Open Space Master Plan in May, marking the first update since 2017, according to City Council documents.
The plan, among other items, includes survey results carried out in 2023 and updates for multiple projects, Director of Parks & Cultural Services Chien Wei said.
Those survey results show residents are eager for the city to add to its recreational offerings in the form of neighborhood parks, undeveloped green spaces and various recreational programming.
Adding more parks, green space and opportunities to visit nature could provide a number of health benefits, said Kim Gushanas, licensed psychologist with the University of Texas Medical Branch.
“Exposure to sunlight, soil, the colors green and blue ... have been attributed to health outcomes,” she said.
The outlook
Work on multiple trails and parks within League City has either begun or is planned for the next few months and years, Wei said.
The master plan mentions the Claremont Connector Trail, which will wrap up in early 2025, and a trail project from the Texas Department of Transportation trail connecting Palomino Road to Ross Elementary.
Other projects include Lobit and Newport parks. Construction on Newport Park will last for four months starting in May and include a walking trail, a covered pavilion and playground features, Wei said. That project is estimated to cost $808,300.
Lobit Park is expected to start the first of two phases in September, with the first phase estimated to cost around a total of $2.2 million, Wei said.
Assessing the need
Wei said he believes League City is a “very active community,” highlighting not only the interest residents have in more parks and public spaces, but also the large slate of programming available. One such program is the active senior program at Hometown Heroes Park, which is well-attended, he said.
In addition, he said it’s common for youth programs, such as summer camp or sports, to fill up within 24 hours of opening, often creating waitlists.
For example, city data shows summer camps, which hold 120 children for each two-week session, fill up within six hours of registration opening. Other sport-related camps fill up within 24 hours.
“The struggle all the time is, we need more facilities,” Wei said. “The demand is there for more use of our parks and programs.”
In their own words
Many from outside the city also travel to use the area’s parks and facilities. Friendswood resident Steve Brown visits Lynn Gripon Park at Countryside with his dog due to the park’s shading. This was enhanced with new trees that were planted last year, he said.
League City resident John Hancock said he goes to Dudney Clear Creek Nature Center “almost every day.” He said he doesn’t feel the city has enough park space, and the space it does have is not secured enough in terms of a police presence, which he said he feels drives people away from using the parks.
“I think League City is woefully underparked for the growth,” he said. “We just don’t have enough.”
Meanwhile, Llanes said she is “frustrated” with registering for the city’s youth programs, saying she believes the city should open more teams and opportunities to register.
“Unless you are ready to register for your kids’ sport at exactly the second it goes online ... then you’re placed on a waiting list," Llanes said.
The impact
Benefits to being outside in nature and at parks are wide-ranging, including mental health, stress levels, eye health, sleep and cardiovascular health, among other benefits, Gushanas said, citing multiple studies from across the world.
One such example comes from a 2019 study out of Denmark that involved over 900,000 people. The study, shared and cited by Gushanas, found that children who had what the study called “the lowest levels of green space” available to them had a 55% higher chance to develop a psychiatric disorder.
Even for those who don’t have access to parks or nature centers, Gushanas said there are still ways to bring nature inside. Those ideas include:
- Adding house plants
- Stepping outside and taking in sunlight
- Meditating and thinking about nature
- Building a garden, even on a window sill
“It’s less about what you’re doing and more about that you’re getting out there,” Gushanas said.
Some of what League City offers in terms of nature includes:
- 15 parks
- 41%+ increase in park operation and recreation budget from 2021-2025
- $30M+ park planned on west side
- 23% of League City residents living within 10-minute walk of park
Among developments slated for 2025, the $30-$40 million new Bay Colony Park is set to start work and wrap up in a year or two. Once done, it will consist of more than 100 acres on the west side of the city off Calder Drive, city documents show.
As the west side is being developed, Wei said his goal is to have 15 acres of park for every 1,000 future residents in that part of town. That will rely on securing land from incoming developments, Wei said.
“We haven’t gotten much more land for parks since I took over in 2006,” Wei said. “At some point if we don’t acquire more [land], that standard of number of acres of park will continue to diminish.”
