Sugar Land named IMBA Trail Town; council approves $791,576 design contract for Sugar Land Trail Phase 2

Sugar Land was recognized as a 2026 International Mountain Biking Association Trail Town, and the City Council on May 5 unanimously approved a professional design contract for Sugar Land Trail Phase 2.

Mayor Carol McCutcheon announced the IMBA Trail Town designation during the council’s recognitions, saying the honor reflects the strength of the city’s trail system and its partnership with volunteer stewards. Kimberly Terrell, the city’s director of parks and recreation, told the council the trail program grew from a single donated path in 2009 to about 15 miles of multiuse trails and credited the Fort Bend Mountain Bike Association with extensive volunteer hours and year-round maintenance. “We couldn’t have done it without a lot of folks here,” Terrell said.

During public comment, Dave Burnett of the Fort Bend Mountain Bike Association asked the council to approve an amendment to the group’s land-use/licensing agreement that would allow the association to retain a $10-per-entry land-use fee from races to help fund trail maintenance. Burnett told the council the volunteers provide roughly "1,000–2,000 hours" annually, the group sometimes spends as much as $50,000 on maintenance and insurance in difficult years, and those event fees make up "almost one third" of the association’s annual budget. Public comment closed without a separate council vote specifically recorded on that amendment.

On the agenda under contracts, the council considered and approved a professional services contract with CONSORT North America Inc. for the design of Sugar Land Trail Phase 2 in the amount of $791,576.75. Greg Nichols, the presenter, described the project as a 10-foot-wide shared-use concrete trail that includes approximately 1.6 miles along Lexington between Oxbow Drive and State Highway 6 and about 2.5 miles along Austin Parkway between Lexington and Commonwealth Boulevard, a new pedestrian bridge over Steep Bay Creek, pedestrian-signal modifications at four intersections, a tree preservation plan, topographic survey for bridge design, and bid-phase services. Nichols said the project currently has $10,000,300 in the project budget and that design is funded 100% by Fort Bend County Mobility Bonds; construction funding includes a Federal Transit Administration grant of $6,450,000 and additional Fort Bend County Mobility Bond funds up to $33,850,000. The council voted 7–0 to authorize the contract; Council member Jacobson moved the motion and Council member Watley seconded.

Staff said, if approved, the city anticipates issuing a notice to proceed in June 2026 and that construction would take approximately one year. The project was described by staff as advancing the connectivity goals in the Sugar Land 2023 master mobility plan.

The council’s action included the formal contract approval on the record; no amendments or dissenting votes were recorded. The Fort Bend Mountain Bike Association’s request regarding the land-use fee was recorded during public comment but not resolved on the council floor in the transcript of this meeting.