Cypress Edition | March 2022

REGIONAL Greenway projectsmovewest of Hwy. 249, await leadership changes BY EMILY LINCKE

Making CONNECTIONS

About $33.5 million of the Harris County Flood Control District’s $2.5 billion bond package approved in 2018 has been invested in lands along Cypress and Spring creeks as part of ongoing greenway projects—eorts that county leaders said will continue for decades. The Cypress Creek and Spring Creek greenway projects—which each aim to connect more than 40 miles of walk- ing and biking trails along the creeks in Spring and beyond—have been in the works for almost ve decades, and the completion could be just as far away. “These two projects will most likely continue for decades into the future,” said Dennis Johnston, Har- ris County Precinct 4 parks director. “Some sections are very complex, including bridges and crossings under railroads and highways. Com- pleting them is also subject to future funding opportunities.” The HCFCD has been working on acquiring the land needed for the projects as the bond approved by vot- ers in 2018 included $100 million in funding for the Cypress Creek water- shed and $50 million for the Spring Creek watershed for right of way acquisition and ood plain preserva- tion, ocials said. Of this money, about $33.5 million has been spent, and about 598 acres have been acquired along Cypress and Spring creeks. Additionally, another 1,084 acres of land are in the process of being acquired. Eorts to complete the Cypress Creek Greenway Project have ocials focused on the west side of Hwy. 249 near the Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve. Meanwhile, in December, the fate of 206 acres of land along Cypress Creek in the Spring area where Raveneaux Country Club once stood was left in limbo after the HCFCD and landowner Cypress Forest Public Utility District failed to come to an agreement over the land’s future use. While these projects are pend- ing, Harris County residents are also waiting to see how commissioner precincts 3 and 4 will be run after decennial redistricting changed the two precinct’s service areas. Goingwest The Cypress Creek and Spring

In the last 10 years, many trails have been completed along the Cypress Creek and Spring Creek greenways, although many have yet to be connected to each other to create a continuous trail.

Cypress Creek project update Spring Creek project update

Completed greenway trails since 2011

ExxonMobil campus

Kickerillo-Mischer Preserveprojects

Rothwood Park

99 TOLL

Hwy. 249 undercrossings priced at $1.2 million and $2.1 million boardwalk trails were planned for September 2021 but were delayed due to construction supply shortages.

Dennis Johnston Park

Mercer Botanic Gardens

FormerRaveneaux CountryClub

Spring Creek Greenway trails near City Place

The Harris County Flood Control District acquired 27.63 acres in January 2020 with plans to build a stormwater detention basin; negotiations for the remaining 206 acres , however, stalled in December 2021.

PHOTOS BY EMILY LINCKECOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

UnconnectedSpring Creek trails Located near City Place, these trails remain unconnected as negotiations between the county and ExxonMobil stalled for years, according to a former county employee.

Meyer Park

1960

Champion Forest Park

249

100-Acre Woods Preserve

Collins Park

SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT 4COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

Creek greenway projects were orig- inally conceived in the late 1970s. Since 2011, about 12,000 acres of land have been acquired and 33.2 miles of trails have been constructed for both projects, Precinct 4 ocials said. The greenways are already making positive contributions to nearby com- munities, including ood prevention, wildlife conservation and recreational opportunities, Johnston said. Ocials, including Jill Bouillon, who serves as the executive director for the Bayou Land Conservancy, said trail use has surged during the ongoing pandemic. “Usage has increased signicantly since the onset of the pandemic with people using it for exercise, an out- door classroom, a mental health break and more,” Bouillon said. Since 2011, 13.38 miles have been completed along Cypress Creek, which runs from Humble through Spring and into Cypress. About 30% of the greenway’s planned 40 miles of trails have been connected so far, Johnston said. In the Spring area, trails heading east from Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve remain

unconnected to Champion Forest Park, and Collins Park trails are not yet joined with Herman Little Park. Of the $100 million set aside from the 2018 ood bond for Cypress Creek, a little less than $29 million has been spent thus far, according to HCFCD ocials. The acreage acquired by the HCFCD using these funds totals about 428, while about 1,015 acres are in the process of being acquired. While most of the work along Cypress Creek has been east of Hwy. 249, next steps include connecting trails to the west, Johnston said. On the horizon are $1.2 million in high- way undercrossings on the north and south sides of Hwy. 249 and a $2.1 mil- lion boardwalk trail that will link the 100-Acre Woods Preserve to Kickeril- lo-Mischer Preserve. Construction on the projects had been planned for September 2021 with an estimated completion by the rst quarter of 2022. However, Johnston said the projects have been delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pan- demic. Once redistricting is nalized, it will be up to Precinct 3 to determine

when these projects will continue. Hewlett Packard Enterprises, the D. Bradley McWilliams YMCA and Houston Northwest Church recently donated land to the project, he said, meaning the Kickerillo-Mischer Pre- serve loop to Faulkey Gully needs one more parcel of land to be completed. In addition, Precinct 4 has awarded a contract to build trails following Cypress Creek upstream from the Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve on the north and south side of Hwy. 249, said Jim Robertson, the chair for the Cypress Creek Greenway Project. “The trail will connect from where the bridge is on the south side of Cypresswood [and] will eventually go up and connect into the trails that are at the YMCA,” Robertson said. Another potential future project could be a stormwater detention basin on the former site of Ravene- aux Country Club, which the HCFCD acquired for $11.4 million in January 2020. Negotiations on that property came to a standstill in December, and HCFCD ocials did not have an update on the project as of press time.

CYPRESS EDITION • MARCH 2022