Get outside (and work off that dressing!)
The Chronicle's Lisa Viator checks in with a couple of Houston outdoor attractions.
The first is the new Greenway Pedestrian Trail at Hermann Park, which connects parts of the park that haven't been connected for nearly a hundred years:
Funded by a $1 million appropriation from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Greenway trail connects the 80-acre Bayou Parkland area to the heavily attended Heart of the Park, the Japanese Garden and Carruth Playground.
"The main purpose of the trail is to connect the 85-acre natural area on the eastern side to the center of the park," conservancy executive director Doreen Stoller said. "The Greenway is an integral component of the conservancy's ongoing Lake Plaza project, which will create a new 8-acre public space adjacent to McGovern Lake, the Houston Zoo, and the home of the much-loved Hermann Park miniature train."
Stoller said the total estimated cost of the project, including a redesigned miniature train station and pedal boathouse, public restrooms, a café and public art components, is about $8 million, including $1 million for the Greenway trail.
Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said the 415-acre park is a unique urban anomaly — vast green space in the heart of a major metropolitan city.
It really is a lovely park.
For a different perspective on the city, Viator calls attention to monthly pontoon boat tours of Buffalo Bayou:
When the Sabine-to-Bagby Promenade debuted in June, about 10,000 Houstonians gathered to celebrate the opening of the 23-acre waterfront park along the downtown banks of Buffalo Bayou.
"And we want people to continue coming," said Trudi Smith, spokesperson for the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, a nonprofit organization that coordinates the integration of major amenities into the bayou greenbelt. It also seeks ways to increase community involvement in bayou-related activities.
Smith said one idea to get people to the bayou was offering them a way to get on the bayou. With the help of the Bayou Breeze, the partnership's pontoon boat, the Buffalo Bayou boat cruises have set sail the second Saturday of each month. Smith said the 30-minute tours are held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with limited capacity of 10 people per trip, and begin and end at the Sabine Street Bridge on the north bank of the bayou.
The next tour is December 9. While we would not characterize the park as better than the River Walk, it is a lovely green space in its own right, and the pontoon boat twist sounds fun.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/25/06 07:58 AM | Houston Life | Technorati | Sphere | Comments (5)
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