Design is underway on a trail connecting the Cypress Creek and Spring Creek Greenways.
The Houston Parks Board, a nonprofit that invests in parks and trails, hosted a community meeting Sept. 17 to solicit feedback from the public and answer questions about the Cypresswood Spring Trail.
The big picture
HPB is partnering with Harris County Precinct 3 to fund the project’s design, according to a presentation given at the meeting. Precinct 3 will also maintain the trail after it is completed. IDS Engineering Group, which provides civil engineering services, has been hired for design.
The trail will span 3.52 miles, joining the two greenways with an 8-foot-wide concrete path.
Lisa Graiff, a senior project manager with the Houston Parks Board, said the trail’s design should wrap up by July 2027, and then move into project bidding and construction.
Bidding will span a few months, and construction is estimated to take about a year, with completion estimated by July 2028, Graiff said.
Construction is estimated to cost about $5 million, Graiff said. Per previous Community Impact reporting, the trail’s design is estimated to cost $1.33 million, with Precinct 3 agreeing to provide up to $665,000 from bonds to cover design costs. The Houston Parks Board will match that amount to cover other design costs and overages.
Graiff said HPB is applying for a federal grant to fund the construction.
“We’re hoping we get that federal funding,” Graiff said. “If we don’t get that, we’ve got a few other ideas of where we can potentially get funding. So the schedule might grow a little bit if we can’t get our funding in place by July of next year.”
A closer look
The community meeting comes after the Harris County Commissioners Court approved an interlocal agreement between Harris County Precinct 3 and the Houston Parks Board to develop the connecting trail Aug. 6.
Precinct 3 will provide trash bins, signage and 911 mile markers, along with maintenance. Graiff said the mile markers are placed every quarter mile and display a specific number so emergency responders can locate a caller quickly. The markers were installed along the Bayou Greenways system, and users have enjoyed them, she said.
About 57,000 residents live within 1.5 miles of the proposed trail, putting them within a 10-minute bike ride of it, Graiff said.
The trail will have two minor and three major road crossings, according to the proposed trail alignment map. Graiff said four areas have been identified as potential trailheads.
Jim Robertson, chairman of the Cypress Creek Greenway Project, told Community Impact it is “really significant” to have plans for the first connecting trail between the greenways.
“For years, we’ve been working on the Cypress Creek Greenway trail, and we’re working to get connectivity along Cypress Creek, and that was going piece by piece,” Robertson said. “But we’ve always thought, ‘How are we going to connect to the Spring Creek Greenway?’”
HPB is expected to hold a community update meeting between January and March 2027.
