The Future of Burnett Bayland Park: Harris County Unveils New Master Plan

The Future of Burnett Bayland Park: Harris County Unveils New Master Plan
Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones preparing to unveil the plans for Burnett Bayland Park on 7/17/24 with the assistance of a young man named Carlos.

Around nine years ago, Maria Hernandez decided to do something about the garbage in Gulfton's only park. Burnett Bayland was "total trash," she said. So she and about ten to twelve other local moms banded together to clean up their park, forming what would eventually become known as the Madres Del Parque, or Mothers of the Park.

They asked Harris County Precinct 4 for more trash cans and recycling bins at Burnett Bayland, but "we weren't heard," she said. The park also flooded persistently and needed better drainage.

Back then, the precinct had a different commissioner. But eventually, the Madres—and other local organizations like the Gulfton Super Neighborhood Council—were able to get the ear of new commissioner Lesley Briones, who has been collaborating with METRO and Houston Mayor John Whitmire to revitalize Gulfton. On Wednesday, they gathered a crowd in Burnett Bayland Community Center to unveil HCP4's master plan to transform the park.

As the last handfuls of people trickled into the building, water pooled in several areas outside, including between the playground and skate park. Later, Hernandez would point out how much the park had flooded despite how short the afternoon's rainstorm had been.

Flooding from a short rainstorm on 7/17/24 at Burnett Bayland Park.

The storm is probably why the air was unusually cool. Mostly-treeless Gulfton—a densely packed concrete jungle of ~47,000 people—absorbs heat like a black car and is sometimes 17 degrees hotter than other parts of Houston, according to a study cited in Houston Public Media. It's one of many challenges that community advocates hope to overcome through projects like the Burnett Bayland revamp.

Wednesday's master plan unveiling opened with the beating of a drum and blowing of a conch-shell horn. An indigenous Aztec dancer group performed a fire dance and a water cycle dance, flashing feathered headdresses and shaking ankles laden with seashell rattles.

In his speech, Mayor Whitmire said that other politicians "promise much but deliver little" for Gulfton, but he promised "a new beginning" for the area. The three-and-a-half years remaining in his first term will be the test of that bold claim.

Commissioner Briones said that HCP4 is "all in on Gulfton." She touted the detention ponds that will be built in to the new park to reduce flooding.

Briones also highlighted "improved soccer fields and pitches," clean restrooms, and an improved skate park. She and a young man named Carlos pulled down a black sheet to reveal a colorful map and display, which also highlighted additional tree cover, better cleaning and maintenance, additional entryways marked with community art, and a BRT station for METRO's Gulfton Corridor extension of the Silver Line.

"This is the plan that you have told us you want," said Briones. She touted high community engagement during the project design phase, saying that HCP4 "collected over 21,000 data points" through surveys, focus groups, and more. Still, 21,000 data points is not the same as 21,000 people.

Maria Hernandez, fellow Madre Mayra Muniz, and many other Gulfton residents clearly want the new design. "It's pretty amazing," said Muniz. But what percentage of regular park users know about it?

Burnett Bayland is a popular local soccer destination, with formal and informal games running on multiple fields, even on weeknights. The new plan appears to shrink the number of available soccer areas from six fields and two pitches to two fields and two pitches. Will that be enough for a neighborhood of 47,000 people?

The new plan also appears to involve replacing the current community center—which partly flooded during Wednesday's storm, said Briones—with a pavilion, then eventually converting the Harris County Courthouse Annex and Clerk's Office (at the northeast corner of the park) into a new community center. But where will the courthouse and clerk's office move to?

Currently, those are the only such offices in Southwest Houston. It's important to have vital services like that within easy distance of Sharpstown and Gulfton residents. (The clerk's office may sound boring, but just wait until you need a new copy of your birth certificate.)

These questions merit consideration, but Hernandez is happy with the plan. "What we're waiting for is this."

Detailed design is slated to take place over 2024 and 2025, with construction starting in 2025 and ending in 2026.


What do you think of the Burnett Bayland master plan?

HCP4 is also planning a similar project to revamp Sharpstown's Bayland Park. What changes would you like to see at Bayland?

Let us know by commenting below or emailing sharpstownsharpener@gmail.com!