Memorial Park’s Land Bridge and Prairie project will open this December. The traffic tunnels under the land bridge opened this spring.
Once complete, the project will create a dynamic new community space with enhanced active and passive recreation opportunities for Park users with unmatched vantage points of urban skyline views. The Prairie, which adjoins the Land Bridge to the north and the south, reestablishes endangered native Gulf Coast prairie, savanna, and additional wetlands to promote regional biodiversity and strengthen surrounding ecologies.
Highlights and benefits of the Land Bridge and Prairie project include:
- Providing greater safety and connectivity for both humans and animals crossing Memorial Drive. The Land Bridge will establish two dynamic greenspace connections over Memorial Drive that reunite the north and south sides of the Park while expanding the existing trail network and providing increased connectivity within the Park. While the Land Bridge will provide connectivity for Park visitors and wildlife over Memorial Drive, a stream corridor constructed through the Prairie and a culvert will provide connectivity under Memorial Drive. Together these elements will provide much-needed wildlife connectivity within Houston’s largest urban wilderness park and to the natural Buffalo Bayou corridor.
- Restoring nearly 45 acres of native coastal prairie to establish a more resilient ecology during natural disruptions and improve animal habitats. Native coastal prairie is one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America, with less than 1% of its historic range remaining today. These forthcoming ecosystems will be home to numerous species of flora and fauna.
- Creating a new iconic destination for visitors that will offer varied and enjoyable experiences, both enhancing the urban wilderness character of the Park and providing opportunities for nature education, leisure walking, interval running and cycling, stargazing, relaxing, and more.
- Improving stormwater management by detaining stormwater that flows through Memorial Park to Buffalo Bayou during heavy rain events, lessening the impact of peak storms. A stream channel constructed through the site, along with the network of native prairie and savanna, will support greater regional biodiversity and act as a green sponge, helping to absorb and clean stormwater. Similarly, constructed wetlands will help to purify water and reduce roadway pollutants that would otherwise be released into the watershed.
Still Curious… Want to Learn More?
For more information about the Memorial Park Master Plan and updates on the Land Bridge and Prairie Project, visit Memorial Park Master Plan. To get involved or support the Memorial Park Conservancy, you can learn more here.
We were doing some statistical analysis, as we typically do this time of year, and found some interesting information by comparing sales in the Historic Districts against sales outside of these districts in The Heights. The Greater Heights area includes seven historic districts, each with slightly different characteristics. All seven have limitations on what can be done to a Contributing Structure.