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White Oak Bayou Developments


samiamj

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I talked to our Shady Acres Civic Club (SACC) president: According to the BPA, it is not a native tree. This association is going to cut down every non-native tree down the bayou.

I'm sorry but any tree that produces shade and oxygen, I want it. I am totally against that notion.

Edited by samiamj
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I talked to our Shady Acres Civic Club (SACC) president: According to the BPA, it is not a native tree. This association is going to cut down every non-native tree down the bayou.

I'm sorry but any tree that produces shade and oxygen, I want it. I am totally against that notion.

well to cut it because it is not native is just stupid....I figured they had at least half of a real reason....the tree stays!!!!!

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Thanks, I just emailed Trees for Houston. I see both sides of the issue. Some non-native trees suck up a lot of water but I prefer the shade from that tree and any other tree when I bike. It will take years for a native tree to grow into that size.

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This is the response I got from the City of Houston:

Dear Mr. Jow,

We appreciate your concern, but this Chinese elm tree is an invasive

exotic. This tree is to be removed as part of the Harris County

Waterway Assessment and Restoration Project. If you look around the

tree, you will see dozens of seedlings coming up. The seed is

windblown and is now known to be a problem tree. We have already

removed almost all of the other invasive exotics and we missed this

tree.

The City of Houston Parks & Recreation department are our partners and

are aware that we are removing invasive exotic species.

If you have further questions about this matter, please contact Eric

Ruckstuhl at 713-298-3021.

Sincerely,

Eric Ruckstuhl

Eyes on the Bayou Coordinator

A second response:

Mr. Jow: I would like to add that under this program we typically

plant native trees to replace the invasives that are removed.

Sincerely,

J. Tynan Kelly, President

Bayou Preservation Association.

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Jim Mackey spoke with Eric Ruckstuhl... the tree chopper. He debated with him that the tree has been there ever since the beginning of the trail. Jim chopping seedlings at this time to prevent the invasion of the Cedar Elm. But so far the big tree is allowed to exist.

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Jim Mackey spoke with Eric Ruckstuhl... the tree chopper. He debated with him that the tree has been there ever since the beginning of the trail. Jim chopping seedlings at this time to prevent the invasion of the Cedar Elm. But so far the big tree is allowed to exist.

is it a Chinese (Lacebark) Elm or a Cedar Elm......there is a difference

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  • 4 months later...

I just noticed it today just north of the I-10 crossing of the bayou. It's the only tree growing straight out of the bayou that's left after flood control took all of the others out decades ago. It's got what appear to be gold bows and red globe ornaments. I thought it was interesting, it's no evergreen, but, hey? :D

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  • 1 year later...

I often ride up the White Oak Bayou bikepath. The other day when I did my usual U-turn on the grass at the north end of the dead-end (after the bridge to nowhere), I noticed a bunch of wooden stakes lined up in the grass possibly showing the planning of a northward extension of the trail. Anyone have more info on this bike path extension?

I did see the article in the Chronicle yesterday about the general idea of expanding the city's bike trails but it didn't mention any trail specifically.

http://www.chron.com...iz/7114095.html

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The best guy to ask about the bikeways is Dan Raine, the city's Bicycle Coordinator. I asked him and he says

Yes, that’s the extension of the WOB trail to Antoine, we’re just getting started and it’s a 12-18 month construction schedule, so maybe by December 2011.

Weather is a HUGE factor on construction projects – especially when working in bayous….

He quoted the same completion time for the Heights MUP being completed into downtown (currently it terminates just short of UHD a few hundred yards).

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The best guy to ask about the bikeways is Dan Raine, the city's Bicycle Coordinator. I asked him and he says

He quoted the same completion time for the Heights MUP being completed into downtown (currently it terminates just short of UHD a few hundred yards).

Thanks for the update! appreciate it.

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In the interests of more cyclists and pedestrians, the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) has put out a call for planning studies. More information can be found at www.h-gac.com/go/pedbike.

It's all about "connectivity".

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In the interests of more cyclists and pedestrians, the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) has put out a call for planning studies. More information can be found at www.h-gac.com/go/pedbike.

It's all about "connectivity".

There are a lot of buzzwords in the transportation and planning world, and connectivity is one of them thrown around often, sometimes with meaning and sometimes not.

But it's a pretty damn important concept for bikes. I mean, if the sidewalk ends, and you are an able-bodied pedestrian, you just ... keep walking. But on a bike, the barricades, and steep slopes with glass and other sharp debris on the sides convince me not to take this path again by bike.

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  • 2 months later...

Anybody out there know what is going on along White Oak Bayou? The old MKT right-away has been turned into a trail. For the past few weeks they have been installing what looks like storm water drainage along the trail immediately south of the UH-downtown parking lot. They now have a large, approx 1 acre, area cleared along the right-away. Any ideas as to what is going on and who is in charge of this work?

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I can see that. I think I mentioned it last week briefly on the Ballet Bldg topic. The actual bank of the bayou is stripped, as well as the flat ground above, to the north. It looks like they have concrete pipes laid out, but I can't tell what they'd be used to drain from.

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