Officials say it will provide much needed recreational opportunities along with a new transportation route

There was much fanfare as officials cut the ribbon for one Bayou Greenways project and broke ground for another.

The segment they've completed is about a mile long. It runs along Hunting Bayou through the Kashmere Gardens neighborhood, just south of the 610 North Loop.

The part they're going to start working on is a half-mile segment near Cavalcade Street and Mickey Leland Memorial Park. The current asphalt trail will be replaced with a ten-foot concrete path.

Beth White, who works for the Houston Parks Board, said the trail isn't just a new recreation option, but it can also provide a route to jobs and education for an underserved community.

"And we think that is so important, to give people those connections, not only to nature and parks, but to one another," said White.

Also speaking at the event was Harris County Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis. He said the Hunting Bayou project is all about equity.

"If you have access to green space in neighborhoods throughout the city, regardless of whether someone is rich, poor, black, white, brown, whatever their religion is, it really does bring people out," added Ellis.

The cost of the two trail projects amounts to over $2 million. The money comes from the Texas Department of Transportation and the Houston Parks Board. Work also includes amenities like benches and trash cans along with a new pocket park.

Officials say they want to eventually extend the Hunting Bayou trail to nearby Hutchinson Park and LBJ Hospital.

.@TxDOT Dist Engineer Quincy Allen says Hunting Bayou trail project will improve connectivity and access to transit @HoustonPubMedia @HPMNews887 pic.twitter.com/xTPXZC8J09 — Gail Delaughter (@Gail_HPM) July 24, 2018