BY KATY MCAFEE
What else?
The why
Increasing connection
Travis County will break ground on a trail system that extends from Pflugerville to near SH 45 in Buda within the next year and a half.
Both of the county’s envisioned projects— expanding its destination parks and building a robust trail system on the east side—help achieve the county’s goal of bringing more green space to the masses, Wolaver said. The county’s vision for the trail system was inspired by the 2019 Healthy Parks Plan, which identified park recommendations for Travis, Bastrop and Caldwell counties. The report marked many areas east of I-35 and south of Hwy. 71 as low-income areas with a high priority for community health— two factors the study says increased parkland can address. “Communities facing high social and economic vulnerability may have the greatest need for the services provided by parks, and the most limited ability to travel long distances to access these services or to pay to use private recreational facilities,” the parks study highlights.
Travis County has been slowly and quietly acquiring land along the Eastern Crescent for several bond cycles with the vision to create a 70-mile trail system that begins at Northeast Metropolitan Park in Pflugerville and winds all the way down near SH 45, Wolaver said. The trails will be 12 feet wide and equipped with restrooms, water fountains and other amenities. Wolaver said the winding trails will connect with other local greenways, including the Walnut Creek Regional Trail, the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail, and the Violet Crown Trail. When the 70-mile trail is complete, Central Texans could walk or bike from Pflugerville to downtown Austin to the southern tip of the Violet Crown trail, near Buda. The county will use 2023 bond funds to acquire several more tracts of land for the trail system over the coming months.
Travis County trails
183
Manor
290
35
Austin
130 TOLL
Del Valle
71
Total distance 70 miles
183
45 TOLL
N
What’s next
"Protected lands stay protected forever. This is an investment in the future, being able to have access to
and amenities over the next year while also offering guided tours of the land’s rolling hills and wildlife. Officials hope the park will be open to the public by the end of 2025. In the coming years, the foundation may acquire the remaining land between Castletop and RGK Park, preserving more than 4,000 acres of combined space in the Hill Country.
Travis County crews will break ground on the 70-mile trail system on the east side within the next year and a half, starting near Onion Creek to McKinney Falls. County officials do not have an estimate for when the entire trail system will be finished, as it will likely take more bond cycles of funding to complete. County officials will begin planning RGK’s trails
these places, which is really exciting." JOANNA WOLAVER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE TRAVIS COUNTY PARKS FOUNDATION
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