Runner Robin Price has dodged orange barrels and construction fencing and done her best to find a safe way to cross Allen Parkway. In doing so, she's slipped in mud and nearly fallen in a hole in the road during a very early morning run.

But she's not complaining.

"This is going to be fantastic," Price, 30, said, taking a breather Thursday afternoon. "All the work, the mud, the dodging cars, it's going to be worth it when I can run right across at Taft without saying a little prayer first."

After a seven-week hiatus for some special events along Buffalo Bayou, major work will resume July 11 on pedestrian and parking improvements along Allen Parkway, part of an $11 million makeover that's shifted the travel lanes on Allen south.

Officials also confirmed plans to meter parking along the bayou, to encourage turnover of the spots.

"The majority of users are visitors that are walking and jogging, riding their bike, taking their dog to the dog run, etc.," said Angie Bertinot, director of marketing communications for the Houston Downtown Management District. "The three-hour time limit should suffice."

Houston Downtown Redevelopment Authority, which is closely aligned with the management district, is overseeing the Allen rehab project expected to be completed in late September.

The restarting of construction to ease access to Buffalo Bayou Park and trails areas comes as state transportation officials prepare for a long-term closure of two often-used entrance ramps to southbound Interstate 45 on or near Allen Parkway. The entrance ramps from Allen Parkway, Houston Avenue and Rusk will close at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 8. Exit ramps from I-45 southbound to Dallas, Bagby and Pierce also will close, so crews can demolish the bridge that ties all the ramps together and rebuild it.

The new ramps will eliminate a well-known bottleneck by having traffic merging onto the freeway do so from the right side of I-45, where traffic typically enters a freeway.

"This is going to be a lot better when we're done with it," TxDOT spokesman Danny Perez said.

Detours are planned to direct traffic to Jefferson, where drivers can access the southbound freeway during the lengthy closing.

The bridge connecting Houston and Allen Parkway will open in late September, about the same time work on Allen is wrapping up. The entrance ramps from Houston, Rusk (which some might consider Memorial) and Allen will not reopen until late November or early December.

Growing demand for amenities in the Buffalo Bayou Park spurred officials to redevelop Allen to add parking, and make crossing the parkway more pedestrian-friendly. Slowing down traffic on the road - notorious for speeders who mistake the parkway for a freeway - also was a goal, downtown and city officials said.

Prior to the work slowdown in late May, traffic on Allen shifted to its new configuration. The remaining work focuses on landscaping, irrigation and some road repaving, said Lonnie Hoogeboom, director of planning and design for the Houston Downtown Redevelopment Authority.

"Also between July 11 and Sept. 30, the contractor will be constructing the new sidewalks with safer connections between Buffalo Bayou Park ... and the west end of Sam Houston Park," Hoogeboom said. "Transplanted live oaks have already been relocated to this area."

Tying the improvements along Allen Parkway to the downtown street grid is a key component of the upcoming phases, officials said. Eventually, the green bike lane along Lamar will be extended to tie into the sidewalk improvements in Sam Houston Park, making for a safer connection between downtown and Buffalo Bayou bicycle amenities.

New lighting is also planned along Allen, around the pedestrian crossings and the 141 new parking spots, which will require striping, Hoogeboom said.

Finding a parking space along Buffalo Bayou can be difficult because of the few existing spots in small lots and turnouts. Neighbors south of the parkway have complained about parking problems caused by early morning and evening demand.

Metering the spots avoids people parking along the bayou for more than three hours, in the hope of encouraging turnover, city and downtown officials said. The meters will be active seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The cost of parking for up to three hours will be $1.

Assuming each parking spot is used half the time they are metered, the cost of installing the payment kiosks will be paid for in two years, said Maria Irshad, who oversees ParkHouston, the parking division within the city's administration and regulatory affairs department.

The fear if parking was free and not time limited is downtown visitors and commuters could monopolize the spots.

"If someone is looking for a spot to park all day, then there are other options such as surface lots and garages," Bertinot said.

Reaction to paying for parking along the bayou by visitors was mixed.

"It's just a hassle, so someone might not do it," Todd Baker said, as he watched his young sons throw a baseball north of the parkway near Park Vista Drive.

Bertinot said officials will watch the use closely, and could change the parking meter rules if use is affected.

"I think they want to be careful out of the gate and not turn anyone off," she said.