East Downtown Trail opens to the public

HOUSTON – A new park and 0.4 mile hike and bike trail opened to the public on Monday.

The park and trail were constructed by Houston Parks Board and Buffalo Bayou Partnership, in cooperation with the Downtown Redevelopment Authority and the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department.

The trail weaves under and through buildings adjacent to the waterfront just east of Allen’s Landing. The new addition represents a key connection between downtown and points east, Buffalo Bayou Partnership said in a release. The nonprofit’s goal is to create connectivity all the way from Buffalo Bayou Park to the Port of Houston Turning Basin.

Buffalo Bayou Partnership shared these key facts about the new trail and park:

• The new trail extends east from Allen’s Landing Park under the Fannin Street Bridge and up the slope along Commerce Street before passing under the San Jacinto Bridge to the Wilson Building on Commerce Street.
• The trail continues through the second basement level of the Wilson Building and under the Harris County Sheriff’s Inmate Processing Center.
• From there, the trail opens to a new park on former parking lots along the bayou on either side of Austin Street. As part of the park, the Austin Street cul-de-sac was converted into a public plaza, which is now the Joe Campos Torres Memorial Plaza.
• Current trail users may now travel from Buffalo Bayou Park to Austin Street and continue at street level via the Austin Street Corridor bike path. Eventually, the waterfront trail will continue east along Buffalo Bayou.
• The total cost of the project is nearly $8.7 million. Buffalo Bayou Partnership project donors are Barbara and the late Gerald Hines, Wendy and Jeff Hines, and Sis and Hasty Johnson. Partner funding comes from the Downtown Redevelopment Authority, a public entity that facilitates positive economic development within downtown’s TIRZ #3 boundaries, and Bayou Greenways, a public-private partnership between Houston Parks Board and the City of Houston through the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, with catalyst funding from the Kinder Foundation.
• Buffalo Bayou Partnership will maintain the park and trail under contract with the Houston Parks Board as part of the Bayou Greenways maintenance agreement with the City of Houston.

For more information, visit buffalobayou.org.