Bayou Greenways 2020 is a project that will significantly expand and enhance Houston’s parks system, creating a continuous system within the city limits of 150 miles of parks and trails along Houston’s bayous. Bayou Greenways 2020, which is part of the larger, overarching Bayou Greenways initiative, is estimated at $215 million and is being funded through a unique public-private partnership.

In the November 2012 election, Houston voters overwhelmingly approved a major bond referendum providing $166 million in parks funding, $100 million of which is dedicated to Bayou Greenways 2020. The bond passed with 68% of the votes – the most positive referendum in the city’s history. Over the next 7 years, Bayou Greenways 2020 will unite nine bayous that flow through the city with parks and trails. As part of this project a 10 foot trail will be built along Sims Bayou from S Post Oak to I-45. The project is divided into seven segments with the eastern and western segments currently in the permitting stage.

Bayou Greenways 2020 will…

• Transform Houston into a healthier and more beautiful city
• Create a continuous park system along Houston’s major waterways
• Transform more than 3,000 acres along the bayous into linear parks
• Add more than 80 new miles of hike-and-bike trails along the bayous within the city limits for a total of 150 miles
• Enhance recreation, conservation and alternative transportation in Houston

When the project is complete, approximately 60 percent of Houstonians will live within 1.5 miles of a Bayou Greenway.