Residents, employees and visitors to Westchase District have something new to look forward to: enhanced pedestrian crossings. With the upcoming addition of two midblock crossings, navigating the trails and traveling to Camden Park (coming in 2025) will be safe and convenient.
Wilcrest Crossing Nears Completion
A new trail has been built that connects Camden Park to the HCC Campus Trail and Library Loop Trail via a mid-block crossing. Already visible on Wilcrest, this crossing features a pedestrian-activated signal to facilitate pedestrians crossing Wilcrest. Colorful bollards, similar to those found near Sneed Elementary School, have been installed to add further protection between pedestrians and vehicular traffic on Wilcrest.
A bright and colorful welcome: Larry Crawford works on painting the Wilcrest bollards to look like marbles.
Local artist Larry Crawford, the visionary behind much of the public art in Westchase District, also painted the bollards for the Wilcrest crossing. “I wanted the bollards to welcome you into the park with bright colors and bring back memories of children playing with marbles,” said Crawford. “This was a fun project to mock up and bring to life and it creates a consistent theme with what I pained at Sneed Elementary School.”
Speaking about the initiative, Irma Sanchez, president and CEO of Westchase District, highlighted the District’s commitment to accessibility. “While onsite parking will be limited at Camden Park, Westchase District has negotiated additional parking at the office buildings located immediately across Wilcrest,” she explained. “Surface parking lots at 3000 Wilcrest, 3100 Wilcrest, and 3200 Wilcrest will be available, thanks to agreements with the owners of those office buildings.”
In addition to the crossing, a bridge across the bayou has been added between Camden Park and the Robinson-Westchase library that will allow guests to easily access the park via the Library Loop Trail (see story above.)
Midblock crossing completes rebuild of Walnut Bend Lane
Trail access: A crew installs the illuminated pucks into the crossing on Walnut Bend. This will allow safe passage for pedestrians to access the newly installed trail on the other side of the street.
A second midblock crossing is being installed on Walnut Bend Lane, providing additional safe passage for trail users. Equipped with LIDAR detection and flashing lights, this crossing will alert motorists to the presence of pedestrians crossing the street. Illuminated pucks will further enhance visibility and safety. Thanks to a new easement from the Terra Courtyard Condominiums, this project also includes completing Library Loop Trail on the north side of the channel and a new bus shelter for the current METRO bus stop on Walnut Bend Lane.
“This project will complete our work on Walnut Bend,” Sanchez noted. “The Walnut Bend crossing will allow trail users and nearby apartment community residents to easily walk to Camden Park safely.”