Primary Department: County Engineer
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Milton Rahman, PhD, P.E., PMP, CFM, ENV SP, County Engineer
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Not applicable
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Public Necessity
Project ID (if applicable): 25101MF3RG01
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Any applicable landowner and/or property interest holder
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): Not applicable
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): Not applicable
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Not applicable
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request for approval of a certain project, decreeing the project to be a public necessity and convenience, and directing the Harris County Real Property Division to acquire, four (4) fee simple and six (6) temporary construction easement tracts for the public project known as Japhet Creek Phase 2 Park and Bridge - 2025, for the purpose of trail & bridge, UPIN 25101MF3RG01, Precinct 1.
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Background and Discussion:
The intent of the Tri-party agreement, of which this project is a part, is improving pedestrian connectivity across the east side and to communities beyond. There currently are no dedicated pedestrian connections linking the Fifth Ward across the bayou to amenities like the expanded Tony Marron park, the new Garver park and the nearly 2 miles of new trails on the south bank of the bayou from Jensen Drive to Lockwood Drive, all of which are also Tri-party Agreement projects. The path additionally provides bike and pedestrian access to jobs, school and other social services that are not easily accessed due to the historic large industrial land parcels and legacy developments.
Residents wanting to cross the bayou along this stretch currently rely on the Hirsch street and Lockwood Drive bridges, which were not designed for pedestrian traffic and lack life-safety necessities such as pedestrian guardrails or separation from vehicular traffic, crossings, etc. The Japhet Creek trail that extends along the historic spring-fed creek and over the bayou are meant to alleviate this lack of pedestrian connectivity across the bayou and link two historic communities, while also ensuring equitable access to the new amenities made possible through the Tri-party agreement.
Expected Impact:
The overall goal of this project is to provide a pedestrian connection for the Fifth Ward from Japhet Creek Park, a historically underserved community lacking greenspace, to Tony Marron Park on the south bank of Buffalo Bayou. The connection is intended to follow the park’s namesake, Japhet Creek and bridge over Buffalo Bayou. Connections westward along both banks of the bayou will serve to connect the Second and Fifth wards to the overall bayou trail network and communities beyond.
The proposed trail and bridge project is located on city and privately owned property along nearly three quarters of the project's length. The last quarter of the trail runs through property owned by the Sims corporation. For this stretch, BBP has sought to focus on using undevelopable land within and along the banks of the creek and minimizing the amount of the owner's usable property to lessen impacts on property use. The property being sought is located within the 100- & 500-year floodplains, has Army Corps and Flood Control drainage easements and outfalls approximately 2,500 acres of Fifth Ward storm drainage. Additionally, the creek is prime habitat for protected ecosystems. The area is the land area being acquired for the permanent “trail easement(s)”.
Due to inaccessibility of this historically unused land by the current and previous landowners, limited site access to the creek exists. The steepness of the creek's banks requires additional land to be made available to access the construction area, for staging construction equipment and for circulation around the work area. This additional area is covered by the “Temporary Construction Easement(s)” and will be released at the completion of the project, which is approximately 18 months.
Alternative Options:
The overall goal of this project is to provide a pedestrian connection from Japhet Creek Park in the Fifth Ward down to Tony Marron Park following the park’s namesake to Bayou and across. Significant analysis was performed on alternate routes, which increased the length of the route, and would still be required to cross railroad tracks. Through this analysis, it was determined there is not another route that provides safe and equitable access. The current alignment has the added benefit of including an underpass at a rail line that must be crossed, and which is not feasible with any other route. The trail also will connect two Montessori and Charter school campuses where no sidewalk infrastructure exists. The trail will be the pedestrian connection.
Additionally, the project will also preserve the unique natural resource of the creek and ensure adequate stewardship of this cherished natural resource. It is worth noting that for approximately three quarters of the trail’s route, it is either on city or private property already under agreement. This combination of public land and private support is unlikely to be replicated elsewhere. The last quarter is being condemned by the County.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 2. Connect our community with safe, reliable, equitably distributed, and well-maintained infrastructure.
County Strategic Plan Objective: F: Ensure safety and security for all using the county’s transportation network in alignment with the County’s Vision Zero plan.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): A2: Apply “Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design” principles to improve built environments of neighborhoods and increase safety.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): I1: Develop a countywide parks network and connectivity plan.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): T6: Encourage employees to reduce emissions from commuting and local work trips.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any): None
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Address (if applicable): 90 Hirsch Rd. & 15 Japhet St. Houston, TX 77020
Precinct(s): Precinct 1
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Anticipated Court Date: 1/29/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Dr. F. Mike Etienne, Chief of Planning and Development Services, Office of the County Engineer
Attachments (if applicable): Findings and Declarations; Metes and Bounds