Cottage
Grove
Civic
Club’s
meetings
in
2008
will
be
held
on
the
1st
Thursday
of
Feb,
March,
Apr,
Nov,
Dec
and
on
the
2nd
Thursday
of
May,
June,
July,
Sep,
and
October.
The
club
will
also
host
a
National
Night
Activity
on
August
5.
The
dates
and
event
summaries
are
shown
in
the
sidebar
on
this
page.
General
meetings
will
be
held
in
Robert
Louis
Stevenson’s
Elementary
School
cafeteria
.
Use
entrance
#4
at
2116
Radcliff
to
enter
the
local
elementary
for
general
meetings
of
the
civic
club.
The
club’s
Business
meetings
are
hosted
by
Iglesia
Hosanna
in
the
meeting
rooms
located
at
5718
Larkin.
Off street
parking
is
available
at
both
locations.
Club
meetings
start
at 7
pm
and
end
at
8:30.
Business
meeting
agendas
may
include
resolutions
and
votes
regarding
items
presented
at
previous
meetings.
Members,
guests
and
residents
are
welcome
at
all
the
civic
club
meetings
and
special
events. Civic
club
dues
are
$30
per
member,
with
an
optional
50%
discount
for
Seniors,
Students
and
Robert
Louis
Stevenson
Elementary
School
PTO
members.
The
civic
club’s
open
membership
enrollment
ends
March
6
this
year,
except
in
cases
where
residence
is
established
after
that
date.
Contact
CottageGroveCivicClub@yahoo.com
for
more
information.
IH-10
Expansion
and
Detention
in
Cottage
Grove?
During
Jan
2008,
neighbors
learned
that
TxDOT’s
Washington
Avenue
expansion
plans
now
propose
to
build
a
7000’
long
detention
channel
in
the
MKT
north
of
Cottage
Grove.
The
detention
channel
would
dominate
the
now
city-owned
abandoned
rail
road
corridor
west
of
White
Oak
Bayou.
The
plans
do
not
incorporate
any
features
to
restore
mobility
options
for
pedestrians
and
cyclists
living
in
the
urban
neighborhoods
west
of
White
Oak
Bayou
where
rapid
densification
by
infill
and
by
redevelopment
of
former
industrial
zones
is
quite
evident.
Send
a
note
to
CottageGroveCivicClub@yahoo.com
to
request
updates
about
this
project.
During
Aug
2006,
the
Mayor
and
the
Houston
Chronicle
announced
that
TxDOTs
proposed
elevated
bridges
were
being
removed
from
the
freeway
expansion
plans
in
Cottage
Grove.
Afterwards,
TxDOT
provided
the
revised
ramp
map.
During
Jan
2008,
neighbors
learned
that
the
remaining
expansion
inside
the
loop,
being
IH-10
frontage
lanes
between
Taylor
and TC
Jester,
were
postponed
indefinitely
due
to
budget
issues.
We
are
not
sure
whether
the
IH-10
detention
ponds
that
were
the
subject
of
TxDOT
public
meetings
held
in
2006
were
also
postponed.
Off-road
Hike
and
Bike
Trails
in
Cottage
Grove?
In
October
2007,
the
City
of
Houston
ordained
to
buy
the
abandoned
rail
road
corridor
in
Cottage
Grove
as
part
of
the
package
that
could
connect
all
the
neighborhoods
located
along
the
alignment
with
destinations
in
the
Heights
and
to
downtown
Houston.
Since
then,
the
community
has
become
aware
that
TxDOT
has
taken
actions
to
expand
the
scope
and
dimension
of
handling
storm
water
from
Hempstead
Highway
in
such
a
way
so
as
to
dominate
the
public
land
for
Washington
Avenue
storm
water
detention.
The
community
is
seeking
the
support
of
City
government
to
call
for
a
change
of
the
proposed
7000’
detention
channel
plans
so
that
the
area
is
used
as a
green
corridor
and
restore
historical
mobility
connections.
Send
a
note
to
CottageGroveCivicClub@yahoo.com
to
request
updates
about
this
project.
The
White
Oak
Bayou
trail
connectors
shown
in
the
map
below
are
not
currently
funded.
During
2007,
the
connecting
trail
plan
was
submitted
to
H-GAC
by
the
City
of
Houston
for
consideration
as a
Congestion
Mitigation
Air
Quality
project.
In
January
2008,
the
bayou
and
the
trestle
were
added
to
the
City
of
Houston’s
Tax
Increment
Reinvestment
Zone
5.
City of Houston
Proposed White Oak Bayou Connector
North

The
Flood
Way
and
Flood
Plain
in
Cottage
Grove?
The
flood
plain
maps
available
at
www.TSARP.org
went into effect during 2007. The maps show that many homes in Cottage
Grove
located
north
of
IH-10
are
in
the
White
Oak
Bayou
1%
flood
plain.
Some
addresses
on
Roy
Circle
and
on
Larkin
and
Darling
near
Durham
are
mapped
into
the
bayou’s
Flood
Way.
City
of
Houston’s
Chapter
19
Flood
Prone
Construction
imposes
certain
rules
and
regulations
on
flood
plain
and
flood
way
remodeling
and
new
construction.
People
who
have
questions
or
concerns
about
how
their
property
is
mapped,
should
contact
Harris
County
Flood
Control
District.
People
who
need
more
information
about
the
building
code
regulations,
should
contact
the
City
of
Houston
Planning
Department.
Elected
officials
continue
to
recommend
that
everyone
in
Houston
needs
to
buy
flood
insurance,
regardless
of
proximity
to a
flood
way
or
flood
plain.
The
Railroad
in
Cottage
Grove?
The
Union
Pacific
Rail
Road
tracks
along
Allen
Center
that
cross
IH-10
at
Cottage
Grove
Park
largely
define
Cottage
Groves’
southern
boundary.
There
are
a
few
streets
in
Cottage
Grove
Section
5,
south
of
the
tracks
along
Hamman.
The
right
of
way
is
now
one
of
the
three
corridors
being
studied
by
H-GAC,
for
its
potential
role
to
serve
as a
commuter
rail
alignment
from
Cy-Fair
to
downtown
Houston.
In
addition,
TxDOT
consultants
have
published
plans
that
show
proposed
changes
to
road
and
track
crossings
in
urban
Houston.
You
can
go
to
www.HoustonRailPlan.com
to
review
the
estimated
costs
and
benefits
described
as
the
outcome
of
the
changes.
Building
an
overpass
of
the
tracks
on
TC
Jester
south
of
IH-10
is
one
of
the
proposed
changes.
Underpasses
are
shown
for
Houston
Ave
and
Yale
rail
road
crossing,
and
Heights
remains
at
grade
crossing
in
the
proposed
plans.
Closing
most
of
the
local
street
at
grade
crossings
west
of
Washington,
is
also
under
consideration
TxDOT
has
been
asked
to
assess
leaving
TC
Jester
as
an
at
grade
crossing,
or
making
it
an
underpass
instead
of
an
overpass.
The
City
will
be
asked
to
help
residents
ascertain
the
budget
and
feasibility
to
render
Sherwin
a
quiet
crossing,
by
limiting
traffic
to a
one-way
flow
south
of
Cornish.
The
Eureka
Rail
Yard
on
the
north
boundary
of
Cottage
Grove
underwent
renovation
in
the
winter
for
2006.
The
result
has
been
that
the
UP
has
industrialized
the
area
to a
greater
extent,
and
is
now
using
the
city
owned
abandoned
rail
road
corridor
as a
roadway
and
for
parking.
The
Civic
Club
hopes
to
see
the
industrialization
that
has
spread
be
returned
to
the
privately
held
land
owned
by
UP,
so
that
the
green
of
the
MKT
may
be
restored
for
the
benefit
of
the
public.