Baker Road Extension plans

I spoke at length to a city engineer yesterday named John Dupois about the *activity we are witnessing on the wooded area in between Chaparral Village and Crockett Elementary.  See the attached map.

*A path has been bulldozed through the wooded area from Barkaloo road heading east towards Sjolander road and surveyors have been on the pipeline surveying the lake.

According to Mr. Dupuis, a portion of the land has been donated to the city (for the road and park only) and has to be acted upon with-in the next 9 months, or the city loses the option.

Here is the plan for the land as best as I can explain it.  The lake will become a 22 acre park.  The Baker road extension will run on the north side of the acreage close to Crockett Elementary and arrive on Sjolander close to the RR tracks at Jenkins Park.

The pipeline will get a new Trail that connects Crockett Elementary with Barkaloo Park, then the new park and finally Jenkins Park.

There will be a new Harris Country drainage ditch extension that will run just north of the new trail which connects to the lake at the 22 acre park.

To finalize, what the folks on El Rancho will see out their back door is a new trail, then the drainage ditch, then houses, then the new road, then Crockett elementary.

What the folks on Buffalo Trail and Broken Arrow will see is basically the same if they decide to connect the drainage ditch at the circle at the end of East Baker, which is a feeder stream for Cary Bayou.

I am sending a copy of this map and letter to the City for clarification, so do not take this as gospel.  Next, I have been concerned about this development for many years and the more I talked to the engineer, the more I liked the proposed changes.  I think if implemented properly, this could actually raise our property values and provide a much needed boost in park and trail amenities.

I don’t think anyone in our subdivision that owns property next to the woods, wants a 2-story house overlooking their back yard, but the path and drainage ditch would move a new home approximately 150 feet away from our back fence.  The joggers, walkers and cyclers would actually add security to the back of our property, as is seen in newer subdivisions.

After the city has added the Park, it would move to annex the property and bring it into the city limits.  It is currently in the county.  Before the land owners can build houses on the remaining property, they would have an option to use the proposed drainage ditch or dig a giant retention pond.  The city hopes they will choose the drainage ditch option, which would provide wonderful water abatement for us in CV during bad storms.

The city has a new option to get information.  It’s called Ask Baytown.  I have a link on www.ourbaytown.com also.  281-420-5311

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