In August 2021, the city created a 2040 comprehensive plan. According to the plan, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure is a top concern for Conroe residents, ranking second after traffic congestion. As such, the city is pursuing efforts to provide pedestrian connectivity throughout Conroe, including adding a 10-foot-wide shared-use path along Alligator Creek.
City engineer Chirs Bogert said the trail, once it receives funding, will be 8-10 feet wide and would start at Sgt. Ed Holcomb Boulevard and stretch from South Loop 336 west to FM 2854. This will also be included on Old Magnolia Road from Sgt. Ed Holcomb Boulevard to 200 feet north of Kirk Road, Bogert said.
“It’s a little different than a sidewalk [which is] typically 4-5 feet wide and made out of concrete; this is a trail,” Bogert said.
The project also includes a 14-foot-wide pedestrian and bike bridge that will be added along Sgt. Ed Holcomb Boulevard, Bogert said.
Bogert said the Alligator Creek project totals $5 million.
During a May 11 City Council meeting, Bogert said council approved the engineering department to apply for grants from the Texas Department of Transportation to fund the project. The city anticipated submitting this grant by June 5. Bogert said the project is in a conceptual phase until it receives funding.
Project Manager Raphael Carrasquillo said if the project is approved for grant funding, the project will move toward construction.
However, Bogert said if the city does not receive TxDOT grant funding, the city will look for additional grants or will postpone the project until it can budget it into a future Capital Improvement Project fund.
In addition to Alligator Creek in question, the city has completed a variety of projects to increase pedestrian safety by providing walking and biking trails.
According to the comprehensive plan, from 2014-18 there were a total of 145 crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists in the city of Conroe. Out of the 145 crashes, there were 15 fatalities involving pedestrians.
A few of these completed projects include a sidewalk on Gladstell Street completed in 2020, a project with TxDOT to extend the sidewalk on FM 2854 completed in 2020 and, most recently, a project connecting a trail on Longmire Road, located north of FM 3083, that was completed in 2022.
Bogert said Mayor Jody Czajkoski has been working with the engineering department in proposing projects to provide more pedestrian connectivity.
“Our objective is to make Conroe more pedestrian friendly over the next few years beginning with the Alligator Creek trail. Pedestrian and bicycle trails are one of the highest demands identified from public input, and we want to provide that for our citizens,” Czajkoski said in a May 23 statement to Community Impact.
