It's practically just a technicality, but it looks as if the wonderful greenway system of hike and bike trails now has a name.
At the public hearing held Monday night at the Central Library downtown it was proposed that the trails will be named the Howard W. Peak Greenway Trails System. About 40 people showed up, said Kelly Irvin of the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department. Before the event, the Parks Department had already received 66 responses to the proposal, which was overwhelmingly supported.
Irvin says the individual segments, such as the Leon Creek Greenway and the Salado Creek Greenway North will still be referred to by their location.
Peak's name was suggested since it was he that first conceived of utilizing flood zones along city-owned creeks to develop a "ring" of hike and bike trails. He was an employee of the Planning Department at that time. Through his tenure as a city councilman and then as mayor, Peak held to his vision, working to acquire properties to develop the trailway system and garnering citizen support for a sales tax increase for that purpose.
Funding is now in place for a total of 79 miles; some 38 miles of greenway trails exist today. The plan is to complete that ring, building out a total of 120 miles of hike and bike paths that will connect and surround the city. But, that depends on the continuation of the one-eighth of a cent sales tax.
Next on the agenda is to get the new name approved by the San Antonio City Council. That could happen by the end of August or early September.
Then, under the unifying new name, the Howard W. Peak Greenway Trails System will continue to reflect our city's commitment to improve our quality of life, opening up opportunities to discover and rediscover the natural beauty and historical relevance of our environment.
