Change is afoot along Houston's most iconic waterway, and the Buffalo Bayou Partnership wants to imprint the city's voice into its future paths. The organization has invited Houstonians to attend two upcoming community meetings to share their ideas and recommendations for enhancing the Shepherd to Sabine stretch of Buffalo Bayou.

Attendees will also give input on restoring the Shepherd-Sabine flood channel in an environmentally sensitive area, reintroducing native landscapes to adjacent parkland and adding amenities to enhance the safety and comfort of users.

Also at the meetings, updates will be provided on projects currently underway and planned for the near future, including construction of a new pedestrian bridge and trails, Harris County Flood Control District's "pilot project" that seeks to restore a small stretch of the bayou channel and the City of Houston and TxDots' rebuilding of bike trails that have fallen into disrepair.

Guy Hagstette — who recently stepped down as Discovery Green's founding president and park director to focus on the Buffalo Bayou — will moderate the meetings.

"Much of the organization's planning work hasn't even started," Hagstette told CultureMap. "We wanted to have some meetings with Houstonians about what should — and shouldn't — be done. I want to make sure the process works for everybody.

"The plan is to go back out into the public sometime in the fall."

In addition to managing the overall planning, design and construction of Discovery Green, Hagstette also served as the special assistant to the mayor for urban design for a period, and was a key player in the redevelopment of downtown in a previous position at the Houston Downtown Management District.

The summer meetings will take place on June 28 and June 29, from 6-8 p.m. at the Mt. Horeb Missionary Baptist Church and United Way of Greater Houston Community Resource Center, respectively.Regarding the Bridge formerly known as Tolerance just east of Studemont, the Partnership says the structure will boast three landings (most bridges only have two) and that small shaded and lighted plazas with benches will provide spots of respite. The brushed stainless steel bridge will be 100-percent fabricated and erected by Houston companies, including the designer, Kevin Shanley with SWA Group.

The 700-foot lighted sky-walk will offer a place to pause and celebrate the downtown skyline and the Buffalo Bayou corridor.

Also on the table will be the impending connection of Memorial and Spotts parks to the bayou trail system for the first time. Crossing under the Shepherd Drive Bridge, a new trail will allow bicyclists and joggers to safely connect to Memorial Drive sidewalks and on to Memorial Park.