Church on Barker-Clodine Getting Moved

So I rode through George Bush park today and was surprised it wasn't flooded.  The ride started out great.  I saw two deer.  I haven't seen deer in the park in a longtime but came across two young deer.  They were thinking about crossing the shared path but were unsure about me and ran back into the bushes.  Then on Barker-Clodine Rd I saw they are now moving the old church.  First it was the old Barker Store and now the Church.  I would love to know where they are going to and what is going in their spot.  Just across from the site the store and church were on is a development of new apartments.  I'm wondering if they are expanding the apartments into the area the old buildings sat on.

Bike Houston's Annual Meeting

Bike Houston had their annual meeting this past Tuesday March 24th at the Ensemble Theatre just across from their offices.  The main takeaways were that the organization is growing, they currently have 800+ members and a fulltime staff of three.  This is small compared to bike advocacy groups in other cities but progress from where they were just over a year ago with 80 members and no fulltime staff.  Also the city has been receptive to the organizations input on the Bike Master Plan

If you want to become a Bike Houston member sign up here
If your broke but want to let it be known you support safe cycling in Houston sign up here
You can always like Bike Houston's Facebook page here

Chair of Bike Houston Regina Garcia

Ballot for Bike Houston Board of Directors vote

Michael Payne- Executive Director of Bike Houston

Edward Gonzalez Houston City Councilman.  He is being term limited out of office this year- a shame

Pat Walsh City of Houston Director of PLanning

Cathy Halka City of Houston Planning Dept and Project Lead for the Houston Bike Master Plan

Geoff Carleton from Traffic Engineers, the firm hired for the Houston Bike Master Plan

Spring Creek Greenway

North of George Bush Airport in Spring is the Spring Creek Greenway.  Currently the Spring Creek Greenway has about 12 miles of shared-use paths with plans to expand even further.  The shared-use path along the greenway connects Dennis-Johnston Park, Pundt Park, and Jesse Jones Park.  This path is just winding enough to keep a cyclist interested, and even has some small elevation changes. For someone who rides through George Bush Park all the time it is refreshing to have to pay attention to the curves in the road and shift gears occasionally. The scenery is great.  And just like G Bush and other bayou trails it is great to not have to worry about cars and their texting operators.

I parked at Pundt Park and started heading East from there

View from parking lot at Pundt Park

Start of the shared-use path

 Beautiful scenery, smooth well paved, fun winding path.  This one is a recommended ride.  Enjoy some pictures:

Houston Bike Museum Grand Opening

The Houston Bike Museum is finally opening with a grand opening celebration tomorrow February 26th. They will have a silent auction, door prizes, etc.  This is a temporary location at 1313 Binz St in the Museum District so fundraising is still going on for a permanent location.  Houston Matters radio show did a 5 minute segment on the museum.  Some of Houston's best bike shops Daniel Boone Bikes, The Bike Route in Sugarland, and West End Bikes have contributed to making the museum a reality.

Penny farthing anyone?  I just love saying that name.

What happened to the Barker Store & Post Office?

So an incredible Saturday found me hung over on Sunday and in no condition to challenge personal records on Strava.  I still needed to get out and get some time on the bike.  So I rode through George Bush Park, around the reservoir, to where Highway 6 and Terry Hershey Park meet.  I decided I would make frequent stops and enjoy the park.  Usually my rides on this route are a hurried commute or a test of how fast I can ride.  It had been two years since I actually rode through the park to appreciate the park. Damn if I didn't miss a major change. 

On Barker-Clodine Rd as you exit the park to the North there is an old church.  Next to the church stood the Barker General Store and Post Office established in 1898.  I loved that this old building was still standing.  Clearly it has moved from its original location on Barker St but that was great.  Someone in Houston gave a shit.  Someone cared enough to preserve this old piece of history.  Well it’s gone now.  I have been banging away at Google but can’t seem to find anything about a planned relocation.  Good god don’t tell me this building became firewood.  Between this building disappearing and no-one seeming to give a shit that TXDOT has a plan to destroy the bike path through the park, I don’t think I can take much more.  

A coworker said he saw the building being put on a truck for moving.  Can anyone confirm this or where it went?  Here is an article about Barker, TX and some pictures I took of the building a couple years ago.

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hlb08

Houston Bike Master Plan Funded By City

The Houston City Council has voted to fund a Bike Master Plan. A consultant will be hired to develop a master plan to help make Houston easier to navigate by bike.  The city has budgeted $125,00 and Bike Houston has promised $100,000  You can read about it in this Houston Press Article

Interesting to me is the Houston-Galveston Area Council is supposed to kick in $100,000 for the study.  That is the group that came up with West Houston Mobility Plan that cuts off the bike path through George Bush Park and shows streets that don't exist.

Proposed Road To Cut Through George Bush Park

Last night another cyclist told me that the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT)  has approved a road connecting Highland Knolls Dr. with Briar Forrest Dr.  This new major thoroughfare would cut right through the North section of George Bush Park and effectively kill off a green space area and a multi-use path used by thousands of joggers, walkers, and cyclist every month.

I'm still trying to get more details but this article gives some info.  The proposal is part of the West Houston Mobility Plan (link to plan) from the Galveston-Houston Area Council (whatever the hell that is).  This plan was finalized December 18th with the expectation that TXDOT will approve it this month.  What that means for actually getting built, I have no idea.  This is a terrible plan.  There are already 4 East-West thoroughfares through the area: 1-10, I-10 frontage road, Westheimer Pkwy, West Park Tollway.  I believe this new route would cut through a reservoir, mess up the regional flood protection, and kill of a major cycling route.

Here is a map of the recommended changes.  If my color blind eyes are reading this right, it shows existing streets connecting Kingsland Blvd with Memorial and Barker Cypress running through the park.  Hard to have faith in this study with such major errors.

My best hope right now is that this is some study that gets approved and then sits on a shelf for years without ever getting implemented.