On April 23, Houston City Council approved the sale of roughly 5.6 acres of land in Lake Houston Wilderness Park to the Texas Department of Transportation for the Grand Parkway extension project. Located near FM 1485 in New Caney, Lake Houston Wilderness Park comprises approximately 4,800 acres of land located in both Harris and Montgomery counties. The park includes 20 miles of hike and bike trails, cabins and walk-in campsites, equestrian trails and kayaking opportunities. TxDOT’s $894 million Grand Parkway project to extend the roadway from Hwy. 59 in New Caney to Hwy. 146 in Baytown is under construction. Council Member Brenda Stardig opposed the item because she said the sale would set a poor precedent for selling parkland to TxDOT, especially because she said she felt like TxDOT had other options that would not involve acquiring park land. Houston City Council Member Dave Martin, however, was in favor of the land sale. At the meeting, he said selling a small parcel of the park would allow for much-needed renovations to be made to the park to increase accessibility. “It’s a part of land that we don’t necessarily need, but the improvements on it are going to be very critical to access and exiting Lake Houston Wilderness Park,” Martin said.