Making CONNECTIONS
HCFCD using these funds totals about 428, while about 1,015 acres are in the process of being acquired. While most of the work completed along Cypress Creek has been focused east of Hwy. 249, next steps include connecting trails located to the west, Johnston said. On the horizon are $1.2 million in highway undercross- ings,whichwill be locatedonthenorth and south sides of Hwy. 249, and a $2.1 million boardwalk trail that will link the 100-Acre Woods Preserve to Kickerillo-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 at Cypress Creek and Houston North- west Baptist Church recently donated land to the project, Johnston said, meaning the Kickerillo-Mischer Pre- serve loop to Faulkey Gully needs one more parcel of land to be completed. “We are in talks with [the owners],” Johnston said. 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 project that could also be added along Cypress Creek is a storm- water detention basin on the former site of Raveneaux Country Club, which the HCFCD acquired for $11.4 million
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
P
3
1
Kickerillo-Mischer Preserveprojects
45
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
2
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
3
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
2
1
249
100-Acre Woods Preserve
Collins Park
N
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT 4COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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 mak- ing positive contributions to nearby communities, including ood pre- vention, 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 ongo- ing coronavirus 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
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where Raveneaux Country Club once stood was left in limbo after 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 swapped the two precinct’s service areas. Goingwest The Cypress Creek and Spring Creek greenway projects were orig- inally conceived in the late 1970s.
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