More than one million people attend functions at Precinct 4 park facilities each year.
"Taking exceptional care of Precinct 4’s parks is part of our attempt to develop strong family bonds.”
"If parents are taking their children to parks to play, whether it's for organized sports or just to enjoy the park, it's keeping them out of trouble."
—Commissioner Jerry Eversole
Click here for a list of opportunities for scout and community projects.
To follow is a list of current and future park projects in Precinct 4’s vast parks system:
Collins Park to Meyer Park Connective Trail: Gourley Nature Trail
Precinct 4 acquired right-of-way along Cypress Creek that connects Collins and Meyer parks. In appreciation of Genevieve and Robert Gourley, who donated the recreational easement for this Precinct 4 project, Commissioner Jerry Eversole dedicated the trail as the “Gourley Nature Trail” at a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday, December 4, 2008. The Gourley Nature Trail, which is approximately 2,850 feet long and 10 feet wide, is made of asphalt and includes a concrete bridge to cross over an existing drainage ditch. Additionally, the Cypress Creek Flood Control Coalition (CCFCC) provided funding for the benches and signage located along the trail through a $10,000 grant they received from REI.
Cypress Creek Greenway
Precinct 4 supports the grass roots activities and projects of Cypress Creek Flood Control Coalition (CCFCC) to create a greenway along the upper and lower ends of Cypress Creek. This greenway project is a partnership of local utility districts, developers, landowners, and government agencies working together to set aside parkland, create natural floodplain buffer zones, and a linear wildlife habitat. The ultimate goal is to create a contiguous trail system along Cypress Creek.
Middle Cypress Creek: Development includes acquisition of property once owned by Hewlett-Packard and now owned by V&W Partners LTD. Currently, Precinct 4 is working with local leaders to help set aside the lakes on this beautiful property for future generations to enjoy. Other plans to develop this section of Cypress Creek include the connective trail from Collins Park to Meyer Park and additional mountain bike trails heading east out of Collins Park to the new T.C. Jester bridge crossing over Cypress Creek.
Lower Cypress Creek: Land acquisitions and future development will connect the Spring Creek Greenway to Cypress Creek by creating connectivity of 52 miles of equestrian trails at Bush Intercontinental Airport to a 7.5-mile corridor of Spring Creek Greenway (SCG). This connectivity project will provide a launch site for a new pedestrian bridge across Cypress Creek into the SCG.
Lindsay/Lyons Park
Since the ribbon cutting of the playground in August of 2006, Be An Angel Fund Inc. has raised additional funds to provide three 30-seat pavilions, a sensory garden, a donor pavers garden, barbecue pits, and picnic tables. Commissioner Jerry Eversole thanked members of Be An Angel Fund Inc., Humble Noon Lions Club, Kingwood Medical Center, and Waste Management June 20, 2008 for the new features at Lindsay/Lyons Park. Earlier in 2008, Precinct 4 parks staff built a one-third-mile paved trail around the perimeter of the playground and planted additional trees.
Little Cypress Creek Preserve (LCCP): Harris County's first conservation easement property
This 58-acre preserve is the result of a public/private partnership between Precinct 4 and Legacy Land Trust (LLT), a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to protecting natural areas in the Houston region (www.llt.org). Together, Precinct 4 and LLT secured land mitigations from 10 separate developers to create this preserve that future generations can enjoy for years to come. Precinct 4 has installed fencing around the site, which was experiencing devastation from four-wheeler activity. In conjunction with LLT and the Apache Foundation (the philanthropic unit of Apache Corporation), Precinct 4 has planted over 500 trees at the preserve.
Status: The preserve is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. The preserve is staffed by LLT volunteers, and off-road bicycling is allowed only on Sundays; hiking is allowed only on Saturdays.
Eagle Scout projects at LCCP include amphitheater-style seating for an outdoor classroom and a kiosk at the front of the preserve that lists bird sightings, nature tours, and other activities/projects planned for the preserve.
Matzke Park
The Association for Better Community Schools (ABCS) and Be An Angel Fund Inc. are currently raising funds to construct a barrier-free playground and picnic facilities at Matzke Park. Additionally, the Norchester Garden Club is funding the construction of a new gazebo at the park while ABCS provided funds for five memorial benches to be placed in the gazebo.Precinct 4 partnered with ABCS in 2006 to develop Matzke Park, spending over $2 million in land acquisition, engineering, and design work. Amenities at this 19-acre park include an 80-space asphalt parking lot along Copeland Road; water, sewer, and electrical infrastructure; a rest room facility; fencing along Grant Road; a butterfly garden; and 4,500 linear feet of asphalt-paved trails. The park also includes four soccer fields, two of which double as a cricket field that was funded and installed by the Triggers Cricket Club. The practice fields are leased and maintained by the Cy-Fair Youth Soccer Association.
Pundt Park
Precinct 4 acquired land to provide a contiguous 380-acre park site located at 4129 Spring Creek Drive. Pundt Park is the first park to be developed under the Spring Creek Greenway project and will feature a canoe launch, picnic loop with 10 tables, playground, rest room facility, 103-space parking lot, two small pavilions, bicycle racks, and two trailheads with one bridge. Future expansion at Pundt Park will include an office, meeting room, and large group pavilion.
This project is funded in part by a $1 million Spring Creek Greenway Phase I matching grant awarded by Texas Parks and Wildlife, and park bond funds allocated from the 2001 Capital Improvements Bond Referendum.
Commissioner Jerry Eversole is hosting a grand opening celebration at Pundt Park March 5, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. Additionally, Commissioner Eversole will dedicate a tract of land southeast of Pundt Park as the Stahl Preserve in honor of Carmine Stahl.
Spring Creek Greenway (SCG)
The potential for a 33-mile corridor is the result of the combined efforts of Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Eversole and Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ed Chance. In 2005, Texas Parks & Wildlife awarded a $1 million Regional Grant, to be split equally between Harris County Precinct 4 and Montgomery County Precinct 3, for development of this project. Precinct 4 plans to use their portion of the grant to fund trail construction and development at Pundt Park.
Phase I: Currently in the design stage to create a 7.5-mile corridor between Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center and Pundt Park.
Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center: Acquisition of a 15-acre (Alonso) tract connects Jones Park to Cypress Creek; a new canoe launch was completed early in 2008; a new section of trail to be constructed in 2008 will connect Jones Park to Pundt Park.
Jones-Bender Trailhead at Jones Park: A 1.5-mile trail that connects neighborhoods to the Spring Creek Greenway was completed in 2006. Precinct 4 received an 80 percent grant from TPWD to fund this project, and partnerships with area developers, Appaloosa Land Company and Kenswick Meadows, provided land donations and construction of necessary bridge crossings.
Trails: Hike, bike, equestrian, and contiguous linkage
Contiguous Trail
Precinct 4 is currently working with the Harris County Flood Control District and Charter Development Partners, a developer, towards land tract purchases and donations of floodplain property to bridge the lower section of Cypress Creek to the Spring Creek Greenway to form linear connectivity.
Equestrian Trail
Working with Bush Intercontinental Airport’s “Ranger Rider Program,” Precinct 4 is developing equestrian trails from lower Cypress Creek to Spring Creek.
Summary
Forging partnerships with other agencies such as municipal utility districts (MUDs), developers, community organizations, and public and private agencies has increased the level of public support Precinct 4 has received for park improvement projects.
As the 2001 park bond funds are expended and tax dollars are stretched farther during this period of rapid growth in Harris County, we appreciate your comments and involvement as we move towards the common goal of improving the quality of life in Precinct 4.