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Trail connection helps commuters: New bridge will ease in crossing Rowlett Creek
Map courtesy of the city of Plano: A trail and pedestrian bridge will be constructed across Rowlett Creek, connecting Plano's Bluebonnet Trail with an existing trail in Allen.
By Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com
When Brad Haskett commutes to work, he is not worried about accidents on U.S. 75 or getting a speeding ticket. Instead, the Allen resident is more worried about whether he will get pushed off the road by an aggressive driver on his way to the Texas Instruments campus on Chase Oaks Boulevard.
Like a handful of other TI employees, Haskett rides his bicycle to work, allowing him to get exercise to and from work so he can spend more time with his family in the evenings. Haskett lives near Celebration Park on the east side of Allen and uses a carefully planned route to get to work.
"I can't get all the way from my house to work on trails, so I take mostly streets that have good sidewalks so I can stay out of traffic," Haskett said. "Allen recently built the Six-City Trail connector that goes from K Avenue to 75, and that has been awesome because that gets me across 75 without having to fight traffic."
The new Plano trail connection should make Haskett's commute safer, he said, since it will keep him off the service road, where cars and trucks routinely drive more than 55 mph.
"Around here drivers are not accustomed to cyclists because there are not enough of them out," he said. "Some cities are better set up for cyclists. For the most part, I try and stay off the roads, but there is a short stretch of Greenville where there is no shoulder or sidewalk so I have to ride on the right side of the far right lane. If it is uphill, I may be going 10 mph and there are cars going by me at 45 mph."
The trail will be about 1,200 feet long, with the bridge spanning 150 feet above the creek. The project will cost the city $468,200, but a grant from Collin County will cover half of that cost. In addition to helping commuters, the new stretch of trail is an important connector in the Six City Trail system, a master planned series of trails connecting Plano, Allen, McKinney, Frisco, Garland and Richardson.
"The plan was developed in 2000 and 2001 when the cities identified mutual points of connection where the city trails could come together," said Renee Jordan, the city of Plano's trail system planner. "For now the trail will dead end in Allen at K Avenue, but we have plans in development to take that trail under K Avenue and through Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve. It will then go under Jupiter and back into Oak Point."
Jordan said work crews should be on site within four to six weeks, and the trail and bridge should be completed by February 2013 -- good news to Plano cyclists such as Greg Thurmond, the vice president of the Plano Bicycle Association.
Thurmond said the city's trails system is a valuable asset and allows riders of all experience levels to traverse the city in a safe, efficient manner.
"The trails are important for recreational riders who are not comfortable riding on streets, and the trails are also used by families so the parents don't have to worry about their children riding in traffic," Thurmond said. "The Plano trail system is very well done. The city has spent a lot of time on the system. It is important to cyclists, pedestrians and runners because it is a longer trail for people to get out and exercise."
The city of Plano has more than 56 miles of trails throughout the city. For information on the trails, visit www.plano.gov/Departments/parksandrecreation.
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