Beloved McKinney park trails, trees cleared for housing development
MCKINNEY (CBSNewsTexas.com) - It's the largest park in McKinney and cherished for decades by cyclists, hikers and campers.
But what happened at Erwin Park last week has those who enjoy it, and even the city's mayor, shaking their heads in disgust.
There has been major damage to McKinney's popular trails and there's nothing the city can do about it.
Spanning 212 acres in Northwest McKinney, Erwin Park's 12 miles of hiking and biking trails work the bodies and feed the souls of those who have been coming out here for decades.
"There's nothing like coming out to Erwin Park and facing the challenge of doing the Erwin Park loop," said Paul Gorman, a mountain bike rider.
Gorman rode his mountain bike at the park regularly for years until last week when he found dozens of mature trees uprooted and miles of the unpaved path he used to ride, wiped out by bulldozers.
"Immediately it caused a stir, obviously," Gorman said.
It turns out, part of the park overlapped undeveloped private property where houses will soon be built. A large swath of forest has been mowed down cutting into the trail system.
"It's a travesty and tremendously unfortunate," said George Fuller, McKinney's mayor. "Erwin Park is a gem in this community."
Fuller says it's an example of how new state laws that restrict cities from annexing adjacent land do more harm than good.
"This could never have happened before 2019, if someone was going to be developing that property, we would've annexed it," Fuller said.
The City of McKinney is already promising to rebuild the trails within the park boundaries, offering some comfort to cyclists and hikers who were devastated to see this.
"I've been [coming] here since I was 10 months old," said Russell Robertson, a mountain bike rider. "It's a reprieve from the concrete jungle that's quickly approaching and surrounding us."
Robertson and others who visit the park often are glad to hear that the trails will eventually come back.
"McKinney has stepped up," Robertson said. "They've done their part, but it's still tragic."