Collin County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to approve the Collin County Regional Trails Master Plan after a presentation and a brief public hearing.

The court approved the draft plan 5-0 after hearing a summary from county staff and the consultant team. Tracy Homfeld of the Collin County engineering department said the county contracted with HAF & Associates to update the countys 2012 plan, and that the Parks Foundation Advisory Board reviewed the draft and "voted to endorse the plan as submitted." Bridal Howard of HAF & Associates described the update as a roughly 15-month effort that included workshops, city and stakeholder outreach and two public meetings in 2025.

Why it matters: County leaders and the parks advisory board said the regional plan provides a framework to prioritize investments and to help smaller cities seeking grant funding. The plan is intended to improve intercity connections, coordinate standards across jurisdictions and guide county funding assistance decisions.

Key details from the presentation:

- The consultant said trail mileage in Collin County has risen about 130% since 2012; there are "over 600 miles of existing trails" with several hundred more planned.
- The draft identifies 24 "key connection points," seven of which are described as partially complete, and about 18 Collin County communities are involved with those connections.
- The plan sets out three network components (spine corridors, community corridors and key connection points) and four guiding principles: connect, coordinate, invest and prioritize.
- New evaluation criteria in the draft are intended to help the Parks Foundation Advisory Board and applicants score projects for county funding; examples include whether a project completes a key connection, its role as a spine or community trail and whether it addresses a safety issue.

Carson Underwood, chairman of the Park Advisory Foundation Board, told the court the board "fully support[s] the Collin County Regional Trails Master Plan" and thanked the consultant team and county staff for their work. A commissioner who moved approval urged coordination with the Regional Transportation Council to help cities pursue implementation funding for key connection points.

Implementation notes: The consultant emphasized continued data sharing with the North Central Texas Council of Governments and coordination with TxDOT, DART and utility owners for corridors that cross other agenciesrights-of-way. The draft plan packet and technical appendix were provided to commissioners; the county said the approved draft will be posted online for public access.

What happened next: After a brief discussion, including a suggestion to consider trail placement adjacent to a recently opened outer loop roadway, the court took a voice vote and the motion passed 5-0.

The plan was presented as a draft; staff indicated the document will be posted on the county website after approval and used as a reference for county grant assistance and local project planning.