The Park People, a nonprofit group that promotes the expansion of parks, has recognized Sugar Land with a “Project Award” for the city’s commitment to the development of Memorial Park along the Brazos River.
The first phase of the 420-acre Sugar Land Memorial Park includes a 2.5-mile walking/jogging/biking trail, a picnic pavilion, a restroom building, parking areas, a playground, open space for sports activities and a lake.
As part of ongoing reforestation projects, hundreds of volunteers annually plant thousands of trees, including a mix of oaks and other native trees to provide shade and wildlife habitat.
A two-mile mountain bike trail south of University Boulevard and Commonwealth Boulevard is expected to be ready by September. The trail will be named for Justin P. Brindley, a local outdoor enthusiast who died last year while rafting on the Colorado River.
Other planned amenities include a canoe/kayak launch, the first of several that could link future park development along the Brazos River.
Sugar Land owns, or has agreements to acquire, approximately 1,200 acres of land along the banks of the river.
Ultimately, city officials said, Sugar Land hopes to own almost 3,600 acres for parks, open space and conservation along the corridor. The Brazos River Park will be developed over a number of years.
The Park People will celebrate this year’s awards winners at its 30th Anniversary Gala on May 1 at the Hotel ZaZa in Houston.
The Park People was founded in 1979 in response to a National Urban Recreation study that found Houston and Harris County extremely lacking in park space.
