Allen | April 2026

Community

BY MARY KATHERINE SHAPIRO

$1.1M trail project set to debut in May near Allen’s Watters Creek Village

The context

The Watters Trail South extension will eventually connect to the Rowlett Trail, which is expected to begin construction this summer, Patel said. “With that already planned trail, we had this last piece of trail at Watters [Creek] that connected to the retail and residential, and so we wanted to close that gap,” he said. When completed, the Rowlett Trail project will create an interjurisdictional connection between Plano and Allen. “The biggest enhancement is not only for leisure, it’s also another alternative mode of transportation and that’s something that a lot of our residents are wanting,” Patel said. Rowlett Trail is scheduled to be completed in 2028, Director of Parks and Recreation Kate Meacham said.

Watters Trail South is scheduled to be open to residents at the end of May, Allen Trail System Planner Krishan Patel said. The project kicked o mid-October after Allen City Council approved the $1.1 million construction contract in September, according to city documents. Funding for the project is split between two sources. The city received $140,000 from the Collin County Parks and Open Space funding assistance grant and the remaining $960,000 comes from Allen’s Community Development Corp., Patel said. Because the project came in under budget, the city was also able to include a pedestrian bridge over a drainage outfall that ows into Watters Creek, Patel said.

WATTERS CREEK TRL.

WATTERS CREEK

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WATTERS TRAIL SOUTH EXPANSION

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“I can’t wait for people to enjoy this,” Patel said. “It’s going to be a nice experience.”

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