WHCA 4th of July Parade Cancelled

The shuffling of the WHCA schedule, moving the Annual General Meeting from March to May and restructuring the board of directors, has had a number of knock-on effects, some unanticipated. In this case, a shortage of time and volunteers has forced the cancellation of the 4th of July Parade.

In the past, organizing the event had been the responsibility the President-Elect, a position that has been eliminated on the new WHCA board of directors. Harry McMahon, President, says that going forward, the event will be organized by the Director of Membership, so we can expect its triumphant return in 2020.

Yard-of-the-Month: 118 Alma

I love wandering the neighborhood and admiring our fine old homes and the gardens that surround them.  One of my favorite walks is Germantown, an area just east of Houston Avenue and bordering I-45 settled by German immigrants in the late 1800’s.

A few years ago, I discovered a wonderful Queen Anne cottage (c1915) and garden at 118 Alma. I knew immediately that the resident was an artist. The evidence is everywhere. The large picture of a beloved pet mounted on the wall of the front of the house protected by the porch, the planters made out of tires, the mosaics on the fence, the jars filled with various colored water that adorn the flower beds, and the amazing topiary that spells out the artist’s last name,  H-A-Y-S-L-I-P.

Mary’s great-grandparents moved into the house on Alma in 1920.  Mary has lived in the home since 1974. Take a walk and come to see Mary Hayslip’s garden and art. There are memories here among the flowers and trees in our Yard-of-the-Month.

Creature Feature: Yellow-crowned Night-Herons

They came back and are doing well!!! The Yellow-crowned Night-Herons that is. The Live Oak trees on Bayland hosted a large number of nests this year, with the birds having built only a few nests along the avenue during the past few years – probably as a result of the aggressive tree trimming performed by a city contractor in 2015 while the trees were filled with nestlings. This year, each block of Bayland that provides a full canopy averaged two nests, with an average of two to three chicks from each nest in the process of leaving the nests – or “fledging.”

For the next couple of weeks, we’ll see the fledglings walking around (please drive mindfully) and making short flights around the neighborhood as they build up their strength. Soon, they’ll be easy to spot along the banks of the White Oak Bayou, feeding on a wide assortment of crayfish and other crustaceans, fish, frogs, toads, insects and even the occasional snake. If you look carefully, you’ll also be able to spot Yellow-crowns roosting in trees in White Oak Park and Woodland Park. In the fall, most will leave the area, heading to wintering grounds along the coasts of Mexico and Central America.

Yellow-crowns take on many looks, with the full adult plumage not achieved until the third year. Young birds are mostly brown with white markings. Gradually, they’ll morph over to a slate gray color scheme, with the flashy black-and-white facial markings of the adults added last. A series of photos taken in the neighborhood and along the bayou illustrates the transformation from quasi-dinosaur to svelte adult to ancient mystic.

If you’d like to know more about the birds you can find in the Woodland Heights and along the bayou, check out the Bayou City Birding Zines and Posters that can be downloaded from the website of the White Oak Bayou Association at WhiteOakBayou.org/resources-and-zines. The first of these zines features the Yellow-crowns and five other herons and egrets that can usually be spotted along the bayou.

- Wendy Wright

The Young Entrepreneurs of Lemonade Day 2019

Back in may, in the run-up to Lemonade Day, we tried to promote the event by offering to promote pop-up lemonade stands using the WHCA web site, Facebook page, Twitter account and mailing list. We had four families take us up on the offer. Some sent pictures, which we offer here.

We received quite a number of comments about this activity. All but one were supportive of the idea. On that basis, it will continue. And it need not be confined to April & May. If your crew have a lemonade stand or similar exercise planned, let us know and we'll help spread the word.

Feeling The Byrne on Father's Day

The epic battle unfolded on Saturday, June 15, when fathers on the 400 block of Byrne challenged their kids to a rematch of an annual Father’s Day weekend tradition. Mike Bennett, Cory Clechenko, Scott McBride and Raul Ramos, reinforced by honorary block “dad” Kirk Carver, lobbed water balloons, ducking and weaving the return fire from more than a dozen boys and girls. Drenched and out of breath when the ammunition was exhausted, the battle was called a draw, with fun had by all!

Thanks to Megan Mastal, also of Byrne St, for sending in the story & pictures.

Talking Trash with Rollout! Houston

Not long ago someone commented on NextDoor that they were finally able to keep track of the city schedule for yard waste and heavy trash by watching the WHCA calendar right here on our website. This was completely unexpected! I didn’t think that anyone particularly made use of our calendar, except perhaps our own board members. All of our meetings are listed there.

I thought I’d share my technique for staying on top of the city’s rather confusing trash collection schedule; the Rollout! Houston app. A free smart phone app Rollout is available for both Apple and Android phones, also iPads.

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Once installed you enter your zip code or allow the app to determine your location. It looks up the SWM schedule for that location, presenting it with a minimum of clutter or fuss. It’s dramatically simpler than using the COH website. You can instantly know what’s being collected this week, or to lookup the next time heavy trash or yard waste is being picked up.

Rollout! was created as part of a City of Houston Hackathon by Kenton Gray (@kentonue). Joel Cook helped with the design. Its creation dates back to when Annise Parker was mayor. I have found it to be a very reliable way to know when the trucks will be rolling through Woodland Heights.

If you have community events that you’d like added to our calendar, please email the details to communications@woodland-heights.org.

The new WHCA newsletter is on its way!

The current edition of the WHCA newsletter is one of our special printed issues! The finished goods were returned from the printer on Tuesday. A few lucky households might have received theirs before we were beset by rain on Wednesday.

Our brave team of volunteer block captains are currently working to distribute them door-to-door. I would hope that everyone will get their copy in the coming few days.

If you’re in a hurry, you can download a PDF copy right here.

Infrastructure Corner

The WHCA board would like to start a new feature providing periodic updates of infrastructure-related issues, both big and small, happening in and around the neighborhood. Infrastructure projects require both vision and funding. So we want to keep everyone informed of, not only what is going on, but how those projects are being funded. We’d also like to use this feature to invite feedback on infrastructure projects that you would like to see to improve the safety and enjoyment of our neighborhood. Email us at infrastructure@woodland-heights.org.

So what’s going on? Here are a few things . . .

Houston Ave & White Oak Intersection Nears Completion

If you haven’t seen it yet, the construction is almost finished at the intersection of Houston Ave and White Oak. The City removed the “slip road” connecting White Oak to Houston Ave, widened the sidewalks connecting Woodland Park to the White Oak Bayou Trail, and generally improved the pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure to make the intersection safer for all road users. There is even some green “kermit” striping for a bike lane. And, in case you were wondering, the clock tower is back in.

How was this project funded? It was primarily a combination of funds from Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone # 5—or TIRZ 5—and the Greater Northside Management District. For those who don’t know, a “TIRZ” is a political entity in the City limits that retains a portion of property taxes within its district. TIRZ 5 is called “Memorial Heights,” which primarily covers areas surrounding Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou. It does not cover our neighborhood, but it comes close. On the other hand, the Greater Northside Management District covers our neighborhood and most of the Heights East of Yale and South of North Main. It’s funded by a property tax on local commercial businesses.

You can find more information on TIRZ 5 at https://www.houstontx.gov/ecodev/tirz/5.html and on the Greater Northside Management District at http://www.greaternorthsidedistrict.org/home.shtml.

Road Diet and Bike Lane on Houston Ave (White Oak to Spring Street)

Remember the temporary bike lane on Houston Ave during recent construction to I-45? Thanks to City Council Member Karla Cisneros, that bike lane has been made permanent. She used funds from City Council District H to reduce the lanes on Houston Ave between White Oak and Spring Street from four to two (i.e., a “road diet”), and to install protected bike lanes on both sides of the street. This can be a key “North/South” connector between the two bayou trails. They call the barriers “armadillos.”

You can find more information about both of these projects from a local blogger: http://houstreets.com/2019/06/03/houston-ave-white-oak-dr-redesign-complete/

More B-Cycle Stations

On Wednesday, May 30, 2019, Houston B-Cycle installed two new stations in the Heights. The first is at 11th Street and Heights Blvd (Heights Central Station) and the second is at 7th and Yale (Heights Mercantile). That brings the total number of stations in the Heights to five (Woodland Park, Stude Park, Bobcat Teddy’s, Heights Central Station, and Heights Mercantile), with a number of additional stations just outside of our area.

You may ask why at these locations? Because these developers helped fund the stations. Houston B-Cycle is currently operating on a large grant that requires local funding for 50% of each station, which ranges from $10-20k. You can find the full map B-Cycle station map here: http://houston.bcycle.com/station-map. Where else would you like to see a B-Cycle station in our neighborhood?

That’s it for now. We’d love to hear from you about infrastructure projects you’d like to see in and around the neighborhood. And please let us know of current or future projects you hear about. Again, email us at infrastructure@woodland-heights.org.

Brad Snead
WHCA Director of Infrastructure