Recipient
Charlie McCabe, Executive Director at the Austin Parks Foundation
After 16 years in private industry at a large corporation
Charlie admittedly followed his love of the outdoors and combined
his passion with his management skills overseeing fundraising,
strategy and key projects fort the Austin Parks Foundation. He
was instrumental in a successful 2004 American Trails National
conference in Austin and recently took a position closer to family
at the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in Boston.
Great Texas Trail Boss Service Award for Business
Recipient Dr. Albert Halff, PE, Founder,
Halff Associates Inc.
Dr. Albert Halff never designed a single
trail in his life. But he has given us much more than that. He
created a framework of thinking, an open minded approach to the
often practical world of engineering that has ultimately lead
to some of the best trails in Texas, and that will have far-reaching
effects for many decades to come for everyone that calls Texas
home.
Dr. Halff began to foster the idea of engineers
as the new “renaissance” thinkers of the 20th Century,
during the 1960’s when he pioneered the idea of “flood
plain management” in which an entire watershed is evaluated
not only to solve its flooding concerns but also in terms of its
economic and recreation potential. Today, we take it for granted
that floodplain strategies will consider natural solutions and
will incorporate trails if possible, but in the 1960’s this
idea was very foreign to the practice of flood protection. The
very idea of multiple objectives and benefits being addressed
at one time was not readily accepted at that time.
His ground-breaking projects paved the way for
engineers and designers to think outside the box and not be afraid
in doing so. He created a legacy both in his firm and outside
of it of imagining ways in which cities can be both prosperous
but take care of their valuable green spaces. His firm has now
planned many thousands of miles of trails and bicycle facilities,
and has built hundreds of miles of trails.
Great Texas Trail Boss Service Award for
Community Volunteer
Recipient
Jack A. Sparkes, Garland Parks and Recreation Department
Jack Sparkes, trail steward for the 15.5
miles of Mountain Bike Trails in the Rowlett Creek Preserve/Rowlett
Creek Greenbelt, has recorded over 2,800 hours of volunteer public
service, over the past 15 years, towards the planning, construction
and maintenance of the off-road bicycle trail system in Garland.
Jack builds new trail, maintains and repairs existing
trails, and in an effort to sustain the ongoing volunteer efforts,
trains others to do the same. Working closely with the City of
Garland Parks & Recreation Department, Jack provides an invaluable
insider perspective on the specific needs of his active recreation
user group. At a time of staff downsizing and dwindling budgets,
Jack provides valuable eyes in the field, coordinating larger
maintenance items (which are above and beyond average volunteer
skills) with the City’s Park Operations division. He’s
an unofficial “park ambassador” whose knowledge of
the greenbelt, skill set in trail building, and willingness to
talk and work with dozens of riders makes him a reliable resource
for trail patrons.
Great Texas Trail Award, Public Category
Recipient
Kenneth Hyde, Project Manager, Brazos River Authority - Possum
Kingdom Hike & Bike Trail.
The Possum Kingdom Hike and Bike Trail was a three
phase, multi faceted project at Possum Kingdom Lake with 16 miles
of trails being developed over the past six years. In 2011 several
obstacles had to be overcome to reach completion including severe
drought conditions and devastating wildfires.
The Possum Kingdom Hike and Bike Trail is a natural
surface trail that travels through four BRA Parks (But Beach,
Sandy Beach, Scenic Cove and South D&D) and is adjacent to
three other parks. There are no trail fees and it is maintained
by BRA personnel and volunteers. The parks offer trailheads, camping,
playgrounds, shelters (tables, fire pits and grills), swimming
areas, boat amps, courtesy docks, boat trailer parking, restrooms/showers
and even a fishing pier.
Great Texas Trail Head Award, Public Category
Recipient
Linda Cornelius, Director of Parks & Recreation, Highland
Village, Texas - Inland Trails System
The City’s carefully planned trail system
connects its citizens to significant community features, schools,
and fine shopping and dining, to the recreational Lewisville Lake
through the City’s rolling hill terrain. The Inland Trails
takes you from your home to the lake along the nature hike &
bike trails to parks, schools, shopping, restaurants, and even
a bicycle repair shop. Families can ride their bikes together,
jog and/or walk their pets, shop and eat together, and enjoy nature
throughout the trails. “I love to kayak and walk the nature
trails with my dogs almost every day,” one resident comments.
With only about 16,000 residents, the City of Highland Village
is a progressive community with a dynamic trail system planned
for their citizen’s needs.
Great Texas Trail Head Planning/Design Award,
Public Entity
Recipient
Adam Wood, Project manager, Halff Associates, Inc. for the City
of Lewisville - 2011 Trails Master Plan.
The 2011 Trails Master Plan is the first plan of
its type for the City of Lewisville. Therefore, the purpose of
this plan is to provide a comprehensive approach toward trail
planning, design and maintenance. The end result is a broad vision
for the future, detailed design guidance, and a clear path for
implementation.
An essential component of this project was the
public involvement process, which included focus group meetings
with cyclists, runners, and the general pubic; a public workshop.
Development of Lewisville’s plan was closely
coordinated with ongoing long-range planning efforts, including
the Regional Veloweb, the Denton County Transit Authority’s
upcoming bicycle pathway, the City’s Thoroughfare Plan/Comprehensive
and TxDot projects.
Great
Texas Trail Head Planning/Design Award - Public Entity
Recipient
Abigail Kinnison, Senior Service Planner, VIA Metro/City of San
Antonio Parks & Recreation Dept. - Ingram Transit Center Trailhead
The Ingram Transit Center Trailhead is the result
of a joint effort between VIA Metropolitan Transit and the City
of San Antonio Parks and Recreation, Linear Creek Greenways Division.
Included in the project is additional bike parking
and four future electric vehicle charging stations. This trailhead
provides seamless access to passenger amenities located at the
Ingram Transit Center such as restrooms, drinking water, customer
service representatives and vending machines. Staff has also partnered
to further link transit service in other areas along the 13 mile
Leon Creekway to allow citizens to hike, bike and bus to their
destinations.
Great Texas Trail Head – Planning/Design
Award - Public Entity
Recipient
Julia Diana, Senior Management Analyst for Sustainable Transportation,
Office of Environmental Policy, City of San Antonio - Bike Plan
2001 + Implementation Strategy and Jim Carillo, Director of Planning,
Half Associates Inc.
In 2008, the City of San Antonio adopted a policy
focusing on bicycling and other transportation options to improve
the environmental integrity of the city and region.
The Bicycle Plan, developed by Halff Associates,
Inc. emphasizes connecting on- and off-street networks, a strong
public input process, and research and adoption of best practices
from around the nation.
Over 4,000 miles of roadways were analyzed, resulting
in a network recommendation of 1,768 miles that heavily emphasizes
connectivity from any part of greater San Antonio.
