Lina Adams of the Destination Bryan tourism office visits with WTAW’s Bill Oliver about the 20th anniversary of downtown Bryan’s First Friday on October 3rd, reminders of Aggie home football game shuttles and the gameday promotion in downtown Bryan, October’s songwriter festival, October’s Halloweentown event, and recruiting volunteers to become a volunteer ambassador for the city.
The ceremonial groundbreaking has taken place inside Bryan’s Midtown Park for what will be known at Midtown Legacy Park. What was described as an “epic and destination” playground will have 119 play components. Click HERE to read and download renderings of the Midtown Legacy Park equipment, provided by the city of Bryan. Funding for the $4.5 million project comes from a $2 million dollar Darwood Foundation grant, represented by Doug and Kayla French of Bryan. Speakers at Monday’s (May 18) groundbreaking program included Doug French, mayor Bobby Gutierrez, city manager Andrew Nelson…who was mayor at the time the project was created…and Eric Edwards of the company that will be installing the equipment. Edwards says installation will begin around June 1 with the goal of giving the city “an early Christmas present” by beating the city’s January 1 deadline. Click below to hear comments from the May 18, 2026 groundbreaking program. Listen to “Ceremonial groundbreaking at the city of Bryan's Midtown Legacy Park” on Spreaker. Additional information provided by the city of Bryan: Midtown Legacy Park Playground Data: • 32,349 square feet of playground, pavilions and sidewalks • 12,031 square feet of shade, including sail structures and pavilions • 119 play components • 58 elevated play components • 39 elevated components accessible by ramp • 61 ground level components • Designated areas for babies and toddlers to play • Five bays of swings, with integrated shade • A 360-degree view of Travis Bryan Midtown Park from the top component • 23,425 square feet of improved surfacing • 1,905 square feet of artificial turf for berms • 21,520 square feet of poured-in-place rubber shock-absorbing surface • Three shaded pavilions with picnic tables, including two 20′ x 40′ pavilions and one 20′ x 20′ pavilion Additional furnishings include: • 7 tables • 14 benches • 7 trash cans • 4 bike racks • 3 grills • A restroom is planned as a separate part of the project Financial Data: • Total contract amount: $4,589,398.46 • Donation from The Darwood Foundation (comprised of Doug and Kara French and Stylecraft Builders, Inc.): $2,000,000
Early voting is underway ahead of primary runoff election day. In Brazos County, five locations are open Monday through Friday (May 18-May 22) from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Elections administrator Trudy Hancock said election workers will be placing additional emphasis on making sure voters do not walk out with their ballots. That’s after 45 voters at the March primary walked out without placing their ballots into scanning machines. Click below to hear comments from Trudy Hancock, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver. Listen to “Early voting is underway ahead of the primary runoff election” on Spreaker.
This is the fourth year that the Bryan Business Council (BBC) and the city council has been discussing a trolley service between downtown Bryan and the Northgate district. Whitney Wright, who chairs the BBC’s tourism subcommittee, included the project during this month’s (May 5) annual joint meeting with the council. Bryan mayor Bobby Gutierrez asked Wright to contact the chamber of commerce to take the lead on that project. Those attending a Brazos Transit District (BTD) committee meeting in January were told there is no funding source to operate the trolleys, which was estimated at more than $300,000 thousand dollars for each trolley. BTD did receive a $1.4 million dollar grant to buy the trolleys. Click below to hear comments from the May 5, 2026 joint meeting of the Bryan city council and the Bryan Business Council. Listen to “Bryan city council & Bryan Business Council still interested in trolley service between downtown Bryan & the Northgate District” on Spreaker.
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