Precinct 3 to develop multi-use park off Barker Cypress Road

“Our basic plan is to create a hike and bike exercise trail around the entire perimeter,” said Mike McMahan, activities coordinator for the parks department. “It will be a 10-foot-wide asphalt trail and basically will encompass the entire detention area.”

The detention pond is separated into a north and south side with steep slopes along the banks that outline the basin into two peninsulas. The south peninsula will feature a typical recreational park with picnic tables, playground equipment and restrooms, while the north side will provide a dog park complete with benches and plenty of trees, McMahan said.

The dog park will follow a design similar to others in Precinct 3, he said. A six-foot chain link fence will surround the area and divide the dog park into two sections. The larger section will be for general use, while a smaller section will be reserved for smaller dogs.

“When we build a dog park, we really build them for people to walk the trails, but inside the fenced areas, [owners] can allow their dogs to be off-leash,” McMahan said. “We are really building a park for people with the option to bring their dog.”

The precinct is waiting for the Harris County Flood Control District to finish the projects necessary for the detention area before announcing an estimated completion date, he said. The parks department will begin construction on the south side of the park within the next month. The site at Barker Cypress and West roads will be the fourth full-scale park built in Precinct 3.

“We have quite a few parks similar to this plan,” McMahan said. “Our larger, more popular parks normally come from properties controlled by the flood district developed as detention areas that we have converted into park space.”