Provided/Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner’s Office
Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones and the Houston Parks Board broke ground on a new segment of the Spring Branch Trail West on Monday.
Construction for a new segment of the Spring Branch Trail West in northwest Houston began Monday, Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones and the Houston Parks Board announced in a press conference.
The new 1.7-mile section from Fullerton Drive to Chatterton Drive is part of a larger effort toward an 11-mile trail network connecting the Addicks Reservoir to the White Oak Bayou Greenway. The trail will connect two schools — Sherwood Elementary School and the Parish School — as well as create two new roadway crossings and five neighborhood connections across the Spring Branch area.
Briones said she hopes the new trail will bring communities closer together and bring safety to the surrounding schools.
“We are talking about delivering safety,” Briones said. “Why it’s so important: there have been 80 pedestrian incidents. Nine people were gravely injured and eleven people passed away.”
According to Justin Schultz, President and CEO of the Houston Parks Board, Harris County has invested over $20 million for trail and park connections throughout Precinct Four.
“What that’s going to do is allow 28,000 Houstonians to have access into our trail network,” Schultz said, “and eventually, when the Spring Branch Trail is complete, there will be 11 miles of trails from Addicks Reservoir all the way to White Oak Bayou Greenway. And from that connection, you will be able to go all the way downtown, all the way out to the county line along White Oak. So many places, it’s truly unbelievable.”
Joe Catrufo, executive director of BikeHouston, a transportation advocacy organization, praised the initiative for its investment in walkability, public safety, and quality of life.
“It means outdoor recreation,” he said. “It means health. It means economic development. When you can have places for people to ride bikes enjoyably, not trying to wedge themselves in between trucks and the curb, but in a comfortable setting like what we’re building here, that’s economic development too.”
The Houston Parks Board has partnered with CenterPoint since 2020 to create utility corridors within CenterPoint transmission easements. The project is funded by Harris County and the Houston Parks Board, and construction is expected to be complete by fall 2027.