By DINA ARÉVALO
Port Isabel-South Padre Press
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com
The Cameron County Commissioners’ Court struggled to reach a consensus and ultimately stalled on taking any action in regards to the Lower Rio Grande Valley Active Transportation and Tourism Plan during a regular meeting Tuesday, April 18.
At issue were two words —”support” and “adoption” — and what those two words would mean in terms of the County’s binding commitments to the plan via the contribution of funds, properties, rights-of-way and other County resources.
Ramiro Gonzalez, government affairs liaison for the City of Brownsville, which has spearheaded the project thus far, gave the Court a brief overview of the plan before yielding the floor for questions. “This is a plan that was adopted by 10 different cities — 10 cities in Cameron County. And it has gotten a lot of support not only locally but nationally,” he said. “It will be considered a project of national significance by the Rails to Trails Conservation Association. And they are in the process of dedicating resources to the area.”
According to a report published by Rails to Trails, the Active Plan hopes to create, “a 428-mile network of multiuse trails, bicycle routes and paddling trails aimed at connecting the region’s rich natural and cultural resources.”
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