ok bayou

2 major Houston bayous go green with fresh trails and renovations

As Houston sees a renaissance of its urban green space, work has just been completed on two major bayous, as part of the Bayou Greenways 2020 project.

Greens Bayou and Sims Bayou have been rejuvenated as part of Bayou Greenways, a public-private partnership between the nonprofit Houston Parks Board, the City of Houston, and the Houston Parks and Recreation Department. The initiative is implemented in collaboration with the Harris County Flood Control District, which manages the county’s bayous and creeks for drainage and flood risk reduction, according to a press release.

Greens Bayou Greenway
In January, construction began on a new .48-mile segment of Greens Bayou Greenway to connect Thomas Bell Foster Park to Normandy Street. The new linear park includes the addition of a 10-foot wide concrete multi-use trail and access to nearly 14 acres of green space along Greens Bayou Drive, according to a press release.

New features include a renovated kayak launch improving access to Greens Bayou and a mid-block crossing on Normandy Street with flashing beacons, and pedestrian crosswalk signage and striping. Additional improvements include new seating areas, signage, trash cans and recycling bins.

Sims Bayou Greenway
In August 2019, construction began on a new park and trailhead along Sims Bayou Greenway at the northeast corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Airport Boulevard. The trailhead was built on land purchased by Houston Parks Board, and funding for design and construction was secured through a partnership with the Gulfgate Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 8.

Improvements to green space and surrounding intersections include a small parking lot with solar lighting, seating areas, picnic tables, signage, trash cans and recycling bins, and widened pacer crosswalks and gateways to improve connectivity to Sims Bayou Greenways and the surrounding neighborhood.

“Completion of this quality-of-life amenity is another example of TIRZ 8 and its partners working collaboratively for the public good,” board chairman M.E. “Sonny” Garza said. “Investing local tax dollars at the neighborhood level shows how the TIRZ model is supposed to work and helping to expand Bayou Greenways is icing on the cake.”

The scenic Greens Bayou Greenway.

Photo courtesy of Houston Parks Board

The scenic Greens Bayou Greenway.

parks

Unhappy holidays

Porch pirates swipe nearly $2B in packages from Texas homes this year

Porch Pirate Person in Glasses Steals Packages

Getty Images

The Grinch isn't the only one stealing Christmas these days.

’Tis the season for porch pirates. If past trends are an indicator, the Grinch will swipe close to $2 billion worth of packages delivered to Texas households this year, with many of those thefts happening ahead of the holiday season.

An analysis of FBI and survey data by ecommerce marketing company Omnisend shows porch pirates stole more than $1.8 billion worth of packages from Texans’ porches last year. Porch pirates hit nearly one-third of the state’s households in 2024, according to the analysis.

Omnisend’s analysis reveals these statistics about porch piracy in Texas:

30.1 million residential package thefts in 2024.
An average household loss of $169 per year.
An annual average of 2.9 package thefts per household.

“Most stolen items are cheap on their own, but add them up, and retailers and consumers are facing an enormous bill,” says Omnisend.

Another data analysis, this one from The Action Network sports betting platform, unwraps different figures regarding porch piracy in Texas.

The platform’s 2025 Porch Pirate Index ranks Texas as the state with the highest volume of residential thefts, based on 2023-24 FBI data.

Researchers at The Action Network uncovered 26,293 reports of personal property thefts at Texas residences during that period. The network’s survey data indicates 5 percent of Texas residents had a package stolen in the three months before the pre-holiday survey.

The Porch Pirate Index calculates a 25.8 percent risk of a Texas household being victimized by porch pirates, putting it in the No. 5 spot among states with the highest risk of porch piracy.

The Action Network included online-search volume for terms like “package stolen” and “porch pirates.” Sustained spikes in these searches suggest that “people are actively looking for guidance after something has happened. Search trends serve as an early warning system, revealing emerging-risk areas well before annual crime statistics are released,” the network says.

Tips to avoid being a victim
So, how do you prevent porch pirates from snatching packages that end up on your porch? Omnisend, The Action Network and Amazon offer these eight tips:

Closely monitor deliveries and quickly retrieve packages.
Schedule deliveries for times when you’ll be home.
Use delivery lockers or in-store pickup when possible.
Ask delivery services to hide packages in out-of-sight spots outside your home.
Install a visible doorbell camera or security camera.
Coordinate deliveries with neighbors or building managers if you’ll be away from your home when packages are supposed to arrive.
Request that delivery services hold your packages if you can’t be home when they’re scheduled to come.
Illuminate the path to your doorstep and keep porch lights on.

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