IN THIS EPISODE:
- Host Khambrel Marshall provides a first-look at Memorial Park’s Kinder Land Bridge, which is set to be open to the public in December. Memorial park Conservancy President and CEO Shellye Arnold says Houstonians wanted safer crossings along Memorial Drive, and they’re finally getting it.
- Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day and KPRC 2′s Zach Lashway shows in his Stronger Houston report how Houston stacks up in the fight against AIDS.
Memorial Park Kinder Land Bridge
After years of construction, the Memorial Park Land Bridge is almost ready for the public. Memorial Park Conservancy President and CEO Shellye Arnold says the huge mounds of land above Memorial Avenue traffic are answers to what Houstonians have wanted.
“One of the important things we heard from Houstonians is that they wanted a safer crossing across Memorial Drive and they wanted access to other parts of the park,” Arnold said. “If they used the north side, they wanted access to the south side and vice versa.”
Memorial Park Sivia and Melvin Wolf Prairie
The newly named Kinder Land Bridge is just one part of the major reveal the weekend of December 10th.
The Sivia and Melvin Wolf Prairie will also be unveiled. It now sits where the Memorial Park ball fields were located. Arnold says the ball fields were moved to the north side of the park and ten feet of earth was dug to create the prairie which consists of plants and grasses native to the Houston region. She says the natural flow of water from the north side of the park will also enhance the prairie.
Since this interview aired, the opening has been postponed because of weather delays. New date to be announced.
“It will allow water to pass into the space, stormwater specifically, to pass into this space and then to be absorbed into the prairie, which was the original habitat and ecosystem of Houston,” she said.
The big reveal will take place across two days on Dec. 10 and 11, and is being called the “Biggest Picnic in Texas.” See this week’s Houston Newsmakers to find out details and click here to learn more.
December 1st is World AIDS Day
December 1st is World AIDS day, a time when the world pauses to celebrate the progress in the fight against AIDS and also see how much further there is to go to eradicate this disease world wide. KPRC 2 Reporter Zach Lashway, in a Stronger Houston Report show how Houston stacks up and stands out in the fight against AIDS.
For more information on this week’s Houston Newsmakers
· Shellye Arnold, President & CEO, Memorial Park Conservancy
· Website: https://www.memorialparkconservancy.org/
· AIDS Foundation Houston
· Website: https://www.afhouston.org/