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Wednesday, June 12, 2013
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Steelhead upgrades By Jackie Lieuwen Houston Today
STEELHEAD Upgrades
Jackie Lieuwen/Houston Today
Steelhead Contractor and Gardener Rachelle Barden shows the broken wall in the “Houston” flowerbed beside the Fly Rod in Steelhead Park. With the high cost to redo the flowerbed, council is looking into replacing the bed with a new, more modern Houston sign. See story on right for more details.
Houston council is discussing upgrades to Steelhead Park and replacing the “Houston” flowerbed with a more modern sign. At the council meeting last Tuesday, CAO Linda Poznikoff said council budgeted $5,000 for the design of a new “Houston” flowerbed (H-bed) because it’s original design lacked a proper foundation and it is falling apart due to poor drainage. Poznikoff says council is just looking at designs and the project won’t be done until next year. She says the cost for a new, properlydesigned Allan Block wall for the Houstonbed, that will avoid frost and water damage, is about $30,000. Because of that, District of Houston staff sought council direction as to whether
to fix up the bed and keep it the same, or look at a new design. “I’m done with the [Houston flowerbed]. Is anybody else?” asked Deputy Mayor Shane Brienen. Councillors around the table nodded and agreed. “Yeah, it needs to change,” said Councillor Michalle Jolly. Discussing some other design options, council seemed to agree that a cement or brick wall would be a good design to look into. “It would be nice to get some wood in it too,” said Councillor Jonathan Van Barneveld, adding that with a wall design, you could see the word “Houston” in all four seasons. Poznikoff says new ideas for sign designs will be presented for discussion at a future council meeting. See PARK on Page 2
Council to designate bus and truck parking at Steelhead By Jackie Lieuwen Houston Today
Houston council directed staff to look into making designated truck parking behind the Chamber of Commerce to keep trucks from parking along Highway 16. CAO Linda
Poznikoff says it is a safety issue, because trucks park on Highway 16 in front of the Chamber of Commerce or the “Houston” flowerbed, and then vehicles coming out of the Chamber cannot see oncoming traffic.
Poznikoff says there are “no parking” signs all along there, but trucks still park there and are getting ticketed for it. “The best solution we could come up with is parking behind the Chamber,” said
Poznikoff. Discussing possible solutions, council agreed that designated truck parking is needed. “I think its a good idea especially with increased truck traffic, that we try and target them little bit,” said Deputy Mayor
Shane Brienen. Discussing options, Poznikoff noted that tour buses often park in Steelhead Park and the farmers’ market fills that parking lot every Friday in the summers. Ryan Coltura, Director of Leisure Services, noted
concern about disrupting the flow of people between the park and Chamber of Commerce. Council agreed to direct staff to lay out a plan for directing trucks and designating parking behind the Chamber using
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signs and painted lines. Councillor Kyle Thomson suggested council also designate a spot for tour buses in the lot in front of the CN tracks. “That would keep tour buses out of the way,” said Thomson.
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