Hike and Bike Trail System 
{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"8000","speed":"1000","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}
{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"8000","speed":"1000","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}

DETAILS

LocationHouston, Texas, United States
ClientHarris County Flood Control District
SERVICE:
Size500 acres

The park design includes a one-mile hike and bike trail system, a pedestrian underpass linking the park to an existing trail system, bridges over the creek, and automobile parking. Gabions were used as an environmentally friendly means of slope retention in a floodway and as a tool for creating places for people to enjoy the wooded environment. Sinuous banks and vegetation masses soften the edges and a trail meandering through stands of pine and oak replaces the former service road. Meadow areas for passive recreation are found in the center of the site while edges are allowed to grow up in shrubs and trees. The project required coordination and approval of Harris County Flood Control District, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Houston Lighting and Power, the City of Houston, and three pipeline interests.

Related Projects

Shenzhen Bay

Situated just across the bay from Hong Kong, the city of Shenzhen has transformed from a small fishing town of 30,000 to a booming city of over 10 million people in 40 years – and has grown over 200 times its original size since 1980. Along the way, the character of Shenzhen’s bayfront was radically altered. Over 65 km2 of marsh and shallow bay were filled to ...

Fernwood Avenue Park

The Fernwood Avenue Park represents a significant opportunity for the city to enhance the water quality and availability of groundwater for residents, while also offering public amenities. Equipped with four detention basins that capture water onsite and from the street, the project plays an important role in the community as a stormwater infiltration site. Th...

China Beach

China Beach acts as an amphitheater to take in the drama of the San Francisco Golden Gate: the ebb and flow of the wildlife, currents, tides, winds, fog, sun, surf, and marine traffic. Ultimately, this larger landscape and the landscape features of a refreshed beach terrace will be the defining experience for the visitor to China Beach. We are striving to prod...

Sanshan Hillside Park

The Pearl River Delta has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past four decades, evolving from farmland to a global manufacturing and technology powerhouse. Amid the frenetic pulse of this sprawling megalopolis of 86 million people, Sanshan Hillside Park stands as a mountaintop oasis.

Envisioned as New Town’s Central Park, the design embr...

Nickerson Gardens Playground

Originally designed in 1955 by architect Paul Revere Williams, Nickerson Gardens is a 1,066-unit apartment complex in Watts, South Los Angeles — the largest social housing project west of the Mississippi. Core to Williams’ vision was an emphasis on shared open space, but its central playground, neglected for years, fell into a state of disrepair. In collaborat...

Gantry Plaza State Park

Once a working waterfront teeming with barges, tugboats, and rail cars, the Hunter’s Point shoreline slowly succumbed to the realities of the Post-Industrial Age and this spectacular site was left to deteriorate. Thomas Balsley Associates, together with Weintraub di Domenico, envisioned Gantry Plaza State Park as a place that celebrates its past, future, skyli...

Changchun Tractor Factory Renovation

Once-industrial site re-imagined as a commercial complex with eye-catching public spaces.

For this site, which was once an industrial tractor factory that epitomized Changchun’s thriving industrial past, SWA provided conceptual design through implementation to transform the former of Changchun Tractor Factory into an eye-catching public realm that fulfi...

Ontario Grand Park

Dating back to the late 1800s, Ontario, California, has been an ideal destination for agriculture, boasting orange, peach, lemon, and walnut groves. With an economy now based in manufacturing, access to an international airport, and proximity to Los Angeles, Ontario’s population is predicted to double by 2035. In response to the growing community, Ontario Gran...