Goal 2: Enhance Trail & Bikeway Experiences

We need more natural spaces and more dirt trails. We have too many parks that are just mowed lawns or mowed lawns underneath shaded trees. That is not nature. We can get that in our backyards. Give us habitats to explore please! Can we take some wetland areas from any of the golf courses? Create a boardwalk to watch wintering water fowl.

One thing I would like to see is more mountain biking trails. We have a very nice bike trail and that follows Cottonwood Creek north of Stacy. I would like to see some more of those along our creeks. We can probably get Dorba to help us maintain it.

I strongly support this goal. As a cyclist, I especially value safe, continuous bikeway connections, but a successful trail system should serve walkers, runners, cyclists, and commuters alike. A mix of wider multi-use paths and smaller, lower-maintenance walking and jogging trails could help meet those different needs. Connecting neighborhoods, parks, schools, businesses, and both sides of US 75 is important, but regional connections are equally valuable. Linking Allen’s network with existing trail systems in neighboring cities could make walking, cycling, and e-bike commuting a more practical and safer alternative to driving in a metro area increasingly challenged by traffic congestion.

I would strongly encourage the City of Allen to prioritize completing the unfinished section of the Watters Trail just south of Bethany Drive near US 75 and The Courses at Watters Creek. There appears to be only a relatively short gap—approximately 200 yards—where trail construction was started and then abruptly stopped. Completing this missing section would have an impact far greater than its length. This connection would help create a much longer, safer, and more useful continuous route for both cyclists and pedestrians, connecting trails from the southern part of Allen near Los Rios and extending north toward the US 75/Sam Rayburn Tollway area and beyond. For cyclists, this is particularly important. A continuous off-road trail provides a much safer alternative to riding alongside busy streets and intersections. It would also encourage more residents to walk, run, and ride bicycles for recreation and transportation. Allen has made a significant investment in its hike-and-bike network. Completing a relatively small missing link that would connect much larger sections of the system seems like an excellent return on that investment. My recommendation is simple: please finish the approximately 200-yard gap and make this connection a priority. It would provide a tremendous benefit to Allen residents, improve trail connectivity, and create a safer corridor for cyclists, runners, and walkers. A trail system is only as useful as its connections. In this case, finishing a very small piece could make a very large difference.

Connect the trails from the Watters Creek area to the Connemara Conservancy! That place is a treasure, and the ability to walk or bike to it will benefit Allen!

Not all trails need to be 8- to 10-foot-wide concrete trails. Some trails need to minimize the disruption to the natural beauty of the green belts that we have. It would be nice to have some soft and even narrow trails as a part of the overall system.

I agree that a source of safe drinking water is desirable in key locations within the trail system, but we do not need an overabundance of them.

Overall Allen Trails are short of water fountains. especially the water creek/ rowlett creak. At least we need one water point for every 3-4 miles as like the Plano trails. Please consider this request.