Two of Houston’s heaviest-hitting business groups — the Greater Houston Partnership and the Quality of Life Coalition — are promoting an ambitious master plan to develop land along 10 of Harris County’s major bayous, creating an enormous system of “linear parks.”

With a potential half-billion-dollar price tag, the Houston Bayou Greenway Initiative would include almost 250 miles (the distance from here to Dallas) of new or upgraded hike-and-bike trails, not to mention canoe trails and more than 50 new parks that would pull double duty as flood-retention basins or wetlands to improve the quality of the city’s groundwater.

The Bayou Greenway would be the biggest parks initiative in Houston’s history, and would add desperately needed greenspace to neighborhoods across Harris County.

With big dreams comes an even bigger price tag.  This initiative will cost almost $600 Million – $255 million to acquire land for the trails, build them and landscape them with native trees and plants; tack on another $240 million to add the 50 parks.

The grand scheme of the Greenway would essentially complete the various projects carried out by hundreds of parties: city, county, state and federal agencies; nonprofits; municipal utility districts; Tax-Increment Reinvestment Zones; neighborhood groups; private developers and philanthropists.  

Provided the money is available immediately, the work could be completed in only a few years. But don’t make plans yet, planners anticipate a timeline of about 15 years.

But the Quality of Life Coalition and the Greater Houston Partnership are campaigning hard to start fast, and in August, Bayou Greenway supporters will meet with Houston’s entire congressional delegation.  Thus far, the reception has been promising…why is that?  According to editor at the Houston Chronicle, this is why they, as well as us, should love it:

“1) Love the size and scope of the proposal. Ten bayous! Four thousand acres of new detention-pond park land! Hundreds of partners! A half-billion dollars! It’s been too long since Houston dared to dream this big.

2) Love the way that the “linear parks” would vastly increase outdoor public space all across this park-starved city.

3) Love the bang for the buck. Flood-prone bayou land costs much less to acquire than drier acreage and can serve more than one purpose. During a flood, a baseball field can become a retention pond. A wetlands nature park can improve water quality. And shade from trailside trees would cut the amount of mowing the county flood-control district has to pay for.

4) Love the greenways as a business proposition. To compete with other cities, Houston has to attract well-educated young workers. And they crave parks and trails.

5) Love the proposal as serious planning for the future. In the next 20 years, Harris County is expected to add a million people. As we pack more people into our city, the land grows more flood-prone — and parks become ever more precious.

6) Love what safe places to walk, jog and bike would do for our waistlines - and for our public health care costs.  Let's face it...we don't need to boast the Fattest City title anymore!

7) Love the plan because it addresses, in a big way, Houston’s dysfunctional relationship with nature. The bayous are our flat coastal plain’s best natural feature, but in previous decades we treated them as enemies to be stomped into submission. We paved them, straightened them and dumped raw sewage in them. And we got what we deserved.”

If this dream comes to fruition, it would only be the beginning!  Enormous as it is, the Bayou Greenway Initiative could be the trunk line of an even larger network of trails and linear parks. This initiative is an attempt to grab what’s readily available for the picking… land along the city’s largest bayous, but they don’t want to stop there.

Bike enthusiasts note that trails could also be added along unused railroad rights-of-way or utility easements.  

So far, other supporters include Legacy Land Trust, Cypress Creek Flood Control Coalition, Greens Bayou Corridor Coalition, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership and the Katy Prairie Conservancy.

It’s time to expand all the good work already done in a big way.

Want to show your support or learn more about the initiative before the coalition takes their proposal to the city?  Visit their website.