By James Rincon

Pflag Reporter

The city of Pflugerville formally welcomed the newest addition to its trail system with an Aug. 26 ribbon cutting at Windermere Park.

Travis County Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt opened the newly constructed concrete running and cycling path alongside members of the Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce, city staff and representatives from project designers Halff Associates Inc. and contractors Austin Engineering Co.

The 10-foot-wide trail, known as Gilleland Creek Trail Phase III, expands trail connectivity across Pflugerville from Grand Avenue Parkway to Travis County Northeast Metro Park.

“The trail location enables residents in western portions of Pflugerville to improved access to city park and recreation amenities, schools and neighborhood commercial nodes,” city Development Director Trey Fletcher said.

The addition of this 1.09=mile segment stretches Gilleland Creek Trail to a total 5.5 miles.

Federal grants funded roughly $995,000 of the $1.27 million project as a part of Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s 2006-08 Transportation Improvement Program. Travis County matched $274,500 of those funds.

Heatherwilde and Windermere Neighborhood Associations granted land for the trail as did Windermere Utility Company and Heatherwilde Park Limited.

“The completion of this trail segment represents an ongoing regional commitment to continued investment in Pflugerville’s quality of life, enhances citizen’s options for alternative means of transportation and provides a strong, meaningful complement to our existing network of trails in the Gilleland Creek corridor,” Fletcher said.