Lazybrook Civic Club

Listed below are scheduled closures associated with the IH 610/US 290 interchange construction project, as of January 20, 2012.

Existing Closures:

– IH 610 NORTH LOOP eastbound frontage road from TC JESTER to ELLA, two inside lanes remain closed through March 1, 2012.

– IH 610 NORTH LOOP eastbound frontage road U-turn at W. T C JESTER BLVD. is closed until further notice. Traffic will detour through the signalized intersection.

– IH 610 NORTH LOOP westbound frontage road from ELLA TO DIRECTORS ROW, two outside lanes remain closed through March 1, 2012.

– IH 610 NORTH LOOP westbound frontage road from SHEPHERD to ELLA, one outside lane remains closed through March 1, 2012.

– IH 610 NORTH LOOP westbound entrance ramp from W. T C JESTER BLVD. is closed through October 30, 2012.  To access IH 610, detour on the frontage road to US 290 and U-turn at Dacoma, to the eastbound frontage to 18th Street, to the IH 610 southbound entrance ramp.  To access US 290, detour on the frontage road to US 290 westbound, and continue to the US 290 entrance ramp from Mangum.

– IH 610 NORTH LOOP east- and westbound frontage road at ELLA, the U-turns remain closed through March 1, 2012. Traffic will detour through the signalized intersection.

The White Oak Bayou Hike and Bike Trail along TC JESTER underneath IH 610 NORTH LOOP is closed through fall 2013. Pedestrians will have access to the sidewalk on E. T.C. Jester.  The signed detour for northbound bike trail is: Ella northbound to 34th Street, westbound to E. T.C. Jester.  Southbound bike trail detour: 34th Street eastbound to Ella and southbound to E. T.C. Jester.

US 290

– US 290 eastbound frontage road from 34th STREET to 18th STREET is reduced to one lane through April 1, 2012.

-US 290 eastbound ramp to IH 610 NORTH LOOP eastbound will have one lane on the ramp closed through July 1, 2012.

– 18th STREET westbound underneath IH 610 WEST LOOP, one lane is closed through Wednesday, February 29, 2012.

UPCOMING TOTAL CLOSURES

TOTAL Closure Alert – E. T.C. JESTER north- and southbound underneath IH 610 NORTH LOOP will be closed Friday, January 27 at 9 p.m. through 5 a.m., Monday, January 30.  Crews will begin demolishing a portion of the IH 610 mainlanes.

TOTAL Closure Alert – W. T.C. JESTER north- and southbound underneath IH 610 NORTH LOOP will be closed Friday, February 3 at 9 p.m. through 5 a.m., Monday, February 6.  Crews will continue demolishing a portion of the IH 610 mainlanes.

Stay tuned for more information and detour routes.

Please use caution while driving in work zones.  Note that all closures are subject to change. For more information on the US 290 Program, including up-to-date information regarding lane closures, please visit the US 290 Program website at www.my290.com or contact the US 290 Public Information Office at 1-866-958-7290.   For a complete listing of TxDOT lane closures on US 290 and in the greater Houston area, please visit www.houstontranstar.org.

Follow us on Twitter @my290houston.

http://us290houston.newsrouter.com

The year 2011 brought the major transformation of Jaycee Park.  We saw the installation of a beautiful new playground and the very popular H.E.B. Water Playground.  A once under-utilized and “shady” park, that was mostly avoided by the neighborhood, is now thriving with young families from all the surrounding neighborhoods.   With the increased traffic from families and individuals,  we have seen the disappearance of the once very prevalent undesirable element and the blossoming of a fun family neighborhood park.  This year will see the completion of all the major projects at Jaycee Park.

Maintaining our investment in Jaycee Park is important, so if you would like to see the maintenance of this park continue into the future, consider volunteering to host an event for the park or to lead a committee to maintain the park (trash clean up, splash pad cleaning, tennis coordinator, trees and plants) . If you are interested in helping with any aspect of Jaycee Park let us know–especially if you could lead a committee.

The new and improved Jaycee Park is proof of what can be accomplished when a group of individuals step up to lead and a community pulls together and works toward a common goal. Great job everyone!

Trees
Jaycee Park has been selected by Trees for Houston as one of a few parks to be the first to a receive a special treatment for the trees that will help increase their chance of survival from the damage caused by the drought.  We were selected based on the efforts the Friends of Jaycee Park has made to take care of the trees at the park since the first planting two years ago.  It is truly an honor to be recognized in this way and is a tribute to those in the community that have given their time (and sweat) to make this project as successful and worthy as it has grown to be.     We are grateful to Trees for Houston for supporting our efforts since the very beginning of this park project.  They have been there to answer tree questions, donate trees, plant trees and even showed up to shovel mulch with us.  If you feel helpless when you see so many of Houston’s beautiful trees dying, consider supporting Trees for Houston’s efforts to save them by making a donation to tree maintenance (it takes $75 to water a tree for one year).  www.treesforhouston.org.

Trail Completed
Thanks to a generous grant from the Kinder Foundation, the .4 mile trail is now complete.  It winds around the perimeter of the entire park and is out of the way of the busy traffic on Seamist and Grovewood.  Eventually, it will even feature several pieces of exercise equipment!

Basketball Court
The Mendenhall Foundation sponsored the renovation of the basketball court, which is now complete apart from awaiting the installation of the post and goals as well as the painting of the lines.  These should be complete any day. The new design features an oval court and a center goal with two half courts.

Tennis Courts
The tennis court renovation is funded! We received grants from Houston Tennis Association, United States Tennis Association-Texas, and we are awaiting the response from United States Tennis Association-National for a grant, which we feel we have a very good chance to receive.  The completed courts will feature: new smooth tennis court surfacing (no more grooves from where tiles once where), real nets (no more chain link fence nets), completed fencing, and wind screening.  The most exciting change will be the inclusion of 2 permanent Quick Start courts for kids on the practice court (making the practice courts dual purpose) http://www.tennisforlife.net/QST.html. These permanent QuickStart courts will be the first ones at a City of Houston park! The Houston Parks & Recreation Department will also offer FREE tennis lessons for kids through their Tennis in the Parks summer program!  We will forward the schedule when it is out.

Forming a junior tennis league in the neighborhood is the next step.  If this is something that you would like to make happen, please let us know and we can put you in touch with the right people (here is an opportunity for you neighborhood tennis pros or those with knowledge of the game to help out!).  Without someone to lead it, the team will not be formed.  If the team is formed, you will also have an opportunity to name it (Timbergrove Tennis Team?).

Thanks!
Thank you to those of you that have planted trees, spread mulch, watered trees (Ben), attended events, made donations, picked up trash while at the park, made calls to help enforce park rules, brought snacks for volunteers and to those that have taken the time to thank the volunteers and many organizations that have helped make this amazing park transformation become a reality.  We would especially like to thank Cheryl Erickson, Darlene Wayt, and Ben Crabb for contributing so much of their time to this project in different capacities over the last 2 1/2 years, as well as the many organizations that have partnered with us to make this project a success, particularly Houston Parks Board and Houston Parks & Recreation Department.