HOUSTON – Bike riders and runners now have a way to enjoy Houston's bayou trails without having to navigate the dangerous Houston streets.
A new stretch of the White Oak Bayou just opened and the new bridge and path is a big win for everyone in the area.
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"We walk the dog out here quite a bit, but mostly I'm on the trail riding my bicycle trying to get from one part of town to the other," said Tom Gail, a trail visitor.
Before the trail opened, the neighbors around the area had no way to actually access the trails that go along the bayou. But the new bridge replaced an old railroad bridge that vandals had tried to burn down many times. Riders and runners risked their safety going over it.
"It helps us to not have to cross Durham and Shepherd which is impossible sometimes when you are on a bike, said runner Alexander Gras. "This segment stopped at Shepherd and picked up again at W. 11th Street, so getting between those two places -- which is a good couple of miles -- is difficult. The streets weren't safe, so putting this connection into place makes it easy to navigate along this corridor."
"This is incredibly exciting because we started working on this larger project a year ago," said Roksan Okan-Vick, Houston Parks Board executive director. "It's called the Bayou Greenway 2020 project. It's an ambitious six-year project that will transform all of Houston's major corridors into continuous greenways."
When the full project is complete, riders and runners will be able to go from the northwest city limits all the way to downtown and the Ship Channel.
Already it's attracting Houston's outdoor enthusiasts.
"The amount of traffic is staggering," said Okan-Vick. "It's beyond our wildest imaginations. The communities around here are embracing these trails in a way that is beyond what we thought they would be doing."