“Revitalizing Houston’s Third Ward: Rotary and Peace Corps Volunteers Lead the
Charge on Columbia Tap Trail”
By: Ed Pettitt
On a beautiful Spring day in Houston, the Third Ward community came together at Cuney
Homes, Houston’s oldest and largest public housing complex, to celebrate the revitalization of a
former rail corridor turned hike-and-bike trail, the Columbia Tap. Spearheaded by Returned
Peace Corps Volunteer and President-Elect of Rotary Club of Houston Skyline Ed Pettitt
(Botswana, 06-09), the 2nd Annual 3rd Ward on Tap – Trill Edition event was a huge success,
with hundreds in attendance. RPCV Nat Treadway (Sierra Leone, 75-79) managed the resource
fair exhibitors, Rotarian Kimberly Phipps-Nichol (Rotary Club of West U) handled food
distribution in partnership with the Houston Food Bank, and Rotaract of Houston Innovation
Corridor President Ketelelo Moapare helped to lead a bike ride.
The event kicked off with a press conference featuring remarks from Congresswoman Sheila
Jackson Lee, District D Council Member Dr. Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, Houston Housing
Authority (HHA) President and CEO David Northern, and Friends of Columbia Tap Founder Ed
Pettitt. From there, the block party began, featuring live music, food trucks, bike giveaways, bike
contests, games, and prizes. The YMCA held a basketball clinic, and Kids Meals provided
meals and snacks for the kids. The highlight of the event was Recycled Cycles of Texas’
giveaway of 12 recently refurbished bikes with helmets to local resident children.
Crew Mob and Slow Soul Cruiserz brought their collection of slab and lowrider bikes along with
several other exhibitors, adding to the festive atmosphere. This event was just one of many
planned by the HHA and its Third Ward-Cuney Homes Choice Neighborhood Initiative (CNI) to
reunite the community and encourage healthy outdoor activities through the use of trails and
outdoor space within Cuney Homes and Third Ward.
HHA President and CEO David Northern spoke passionately about the revitalization project,
emphasizing the importance of reclaiming and revitalizing outdoor space to build a stronger
community. The Columbia Tap Trail, once a route of hardship for enslaved Black men who built
it to transport sugar and cotton from Brazoria County plantations to Houston’s port, is now being
transformed into a recreational space for people of all ages and abilities.
The efforts of Friends of Columbia Tap to designate the Columbia Tap Trail as a Linear Park and
African American Heritage and Environmental Justice Interpretive Trail is crucial for honoring
the history of the trail and the contributions of enslaved Black men in building the railway it
replaced. It will also educate visitors and the community on the rich African American history of
the area and provide a space for healing and reflection. Furthermore, it will help address
environmental injustice issues in the area by providing access to green spaces and recreational
opportunities to a predominantly Black and low-income community that has been historically
redlined and underserved.
The 2nd Annual 3rd Ward on Tap – Trill Edition was a wonderful example of how partnerships
between organizations and individuals can make a difference in a community. From District
5890 Rotary Clubs to the Houston Peace Corps Association to local residents and
organizations, everyone came together to celebrate the revitalization of the Third Ward
community and the history of the Columbia Tap Trail.
Nat Treadway (left) and Ed Pettitt (center, rear) directing attendees of the 2nd Annual 3rd Ward
on Tap – Trill Edition on the Columbia Tap Trail in Third Ward, Houston, Texas.