BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A new trail on the west side of Brownsville was officially inaugurated even though more than 180,000 people have been using it in the three years it was under construction.
Called the West Rail Trail, the seven-mile project starts on Palm Boulevard and ends northwest of the 77 Fleamarket.
Another project is to link the trail to the Cara Cara Trail and the Palo Alto Battle National Historic Park on the eastside of town.
The trail, built largely through grants, is a joint venture of the City of Brownsville, Cameron County and community group Friends of the Trail.
Rose Gowen, a city commissioner, said the trail has been ten years in the making and it finally became a reality thanks to the support from the community and county officials.
“When I became a commissioner one of my goals was to have a network of trails,” she said. “We are now the only city south of South Antonio to have a trail like this one.”
Built at a cost of close to $10 million, the trail now has lights and asphalt.
Joey Lopez, a commissioner with Cameron County Precinct 2, said that getting benches and planting trees along the way is another project coming soon.
“The community is already getting the benefits from this trail,” he said. “I live in the area and I can see how people have been using the trail after 5 p.m.”
Lopez said people from the west side now have another alternative to exercise without worrying about vehicular traffic.
For those without a two-wheeler, bicycles will be provided.
Daisy Zamora, with the Friends of the Trail organization, said some 5,000 signatures were collected from people supporting a project for the benefit of the community.
“This is a great project,” she said. “It’s well worth it and the people will use it.”
City Manager Helen Ramirez said the trail is a multimodal type of transportation and issued a call for the community to support it.
Both Lopez and Gowen are inviting the community to meet at 9 a.m. this Sunday at Oliveira Park for a bicycle ride that will start there and will end at the end of the trail.
For those without a two-wheeler, bicycles will be provided at no cost to them.
