St. George Place Redevelopment Authority/Tax Increment Investment Zone 1, Precinct 4 County Commissioner Lesley Briones, Houston Council Member Edward Pollard and community partners celebrated on Dec. 13, 2023, the completion of a sidewalk project crucial to hike-and-bike mobility in a dense portion of southwest Houston.

The project blazed a north-south walkway along the Bering Ditch in a patch of southwest Houston known for a compact collection of public schools, apartment complexes, workplaces and shops.

A pre-COVID survey indicated that about 2,000 people used the pathway every weekday before the sidewalk was built. Now they no longer have to travel over mud, holes, patches choked with weeds and other hazards.

Tax Increment Reinvestment District 1 developed the project, which was funded with its tax increment dollars as well as money from Briones’ and Pollard’s offices.