Collin County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to approve the Collin County Regional Trails Master Plan after a presentation from Half and Associates and county engineering staff.

The court approved the draft plan by a 5-0 voice vote. County staff said the document will be posted online after formal approval.

The plan, updated for the first time since 2012, reflects extensive public and stakeholder input collected over roughly 15 months. The consultant said trail mileage in Collin County has increased about 130% since 2012 and that the county now has “over 600 miles of existing trails,” with several hundred additional miles planned. The draft identifies a regional trail system composed of spine corridors, community corridors and 24 key connection points; seven of those points are described as partially complete and around 18 county communities are involved in the identified connections.

Carson Underwood, chairman of the Park Advisory Foundation Board, told the court the advisory board “fully support[s] the Collin County Regional Trails Master Plan” and that the plan will serve as a primary tool for prioritizing investments through the county’s funding assistance program.

Bridal Howard of Half and Associates summarized outreach and engagement, saying the process included two public meetings in 2025 and an online survey that received “over a thousand responses.” Howard said the update team focused on connections between municipalities, feasibility for complicated links and developing design standards smaller cities can use when they lack in-house planning staff.

County staff highlighted four guiding principles—connect, coordinate, invest and prioritize—and described a new set of evaluation criteria for the Parks Foundation Advisory Board to use when scoring project funding applications. Staff said the criteria are intended to steer county and local investments toward projects that close key connection gaps, improve safety or link to community destinations.

A commissioner urged the county to consider locating trails adjacent to future segments of the newly opened outer loop to reduce conflicts between cyclists and vehicles. The court approved the plan without amendment and the county will post the approved draft on its website.

Next procedural steps were limited to posting the approved document and continuing implementation conversations with partner cities and regional agencies.