The grand opening of the renovated Columbia Tap Trail near Cuney Homes

Community members and vendors gathered Saturday to celebrate the renovation of a section of the Columbia Tap Trail in the Third Ward, near Cuney Homes.

The trail has been open to the public for weeks, providing a new ramp to the sidewalk to improve accessibility as neighbors on either side of the trail walk to a nearby laundromat and convenience store.

The trail renovation is part of a larger plan to bring new amenities to the historic Third Ward Trail, such as bolstering light infrastructure, said David A. Northern Sr., president and CEO of the Houston Housing Authority. There are also plans to install benches in the renovated area.

The Houston Housing Authority has been working alongside community members for more than a year to renovate a portion of the four-mile trail that connects Texas Southern University and Interstate 45, with the goal of creating a safe, passable path while by reducing criminal activities.

Built by black slaves, the trail was once a nearly 50-mile railroad and one of the first built in Texas to transport sugar and cotton to Houston. It was later used to transport black convicts hired to work on plantations. The railroad tracks were removed in 1985 “and the area became a dumping ground for old cars and trash,” Chronicle columnist Joy Sewing reported, leaving residents to clean up the area. Decades later, the city opened a concrete trail over the area.

Solar lights were also installed above the trail, along with an accessibility ramp added to make accessing the elevated trail easier. The additions aim to improve the lives of neighbors while reducing crime.

“Residents called it the gun range,” said Ed Pettitt, a longtime resident. “It just wasn’t a safe environment, and yet during the day residents had to go through all of that. »

Community members have cleaned up trash and bullet casings, cut back overgrown brush and coordinated cleanup efforts with other residents to repair the land over the past year and a half. Pettitt said the community has worked with Houston housing authorities to set aside money to help with the process.

“We’ve had a series of armed robberies on the trail where cyclists were arrested and their cell phones were stolen,” Pettitt said.

Pettitt said there is still work to do. He hopes to install a chess table and benches right next to the neighborhood trail. He also said he hopes the city will work to renovate other areas of the trail to make it easier for local pedestrians and cyclists to travel, including adding more lighting.

“Before, for people to cross here and get to the laundromat on the other side, they literally had to build a makeshift bridge with cinder blocks and two-by-fours,” Pettitt said.