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Roundabout expected to spur more beauty
Westcott is first of three projects planned for area
[FROM DEE DURHAM, S.A.V.E. Director: This roundabout being constructed in Houston is on a truck route to the port, on a school route and will cost approximately $1.4 million to design and construct - far less than the $2.4 million currently available for the SAMI project on Route 41 near the new Wawa and Pyle's. For more information on the WOW Roundabout Initiative, visit the Web site at www.wowroundabout.org.]
The Washington on Westcott Roundabout Initiative reached a milestone recently as the tree-planting phase of the project was completed.
More than 25 varieties of 30-gallon trees were planted along the roundabout's perimeter. The next phase of the project will call for installation of a state-of-the-art irrigation system as well as the planting of new turf and nearly 20,000 additional shrubs.
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NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT
The Washington on Westcott Roundabout, located at the intersection of Washington and Westcott near the northeast corner of Memorial Park, was named one of Houston's three best neighborhood projects of 2004 in a ceremony held by the city's Planning and Development Department.
The addition of the more than 100 trees was funded by a $30,000 grant from Trees for Houston and the Fondren Foundation. The landscaping plan for the trees was created by designer Keija Asakura.
Restoring and enhancing the area around the Washington Avenue corridor has been a lengthy, but rewarding, process, WOW president Pamela Covington said.
"This is one of the first projects of its type in the city," she said. "The reason we've been so successful is that it's a good, solid project that the community wanted to see happen, and that it was doable from the city's perspective.
"This was an idea that Public Works had years ago and they tried a couple of other times to get something down. I guess the third time's a charm."
The WOW Roundabout Initiative was organized in 1998 by the Washington Avenue Coalition, a civic group formed two years earlier with an aim to improve the aesthetics along the Washington Avenue corridor.
The Westcott roundabout is one of three planned for the corridor. Others are expected at Houston Avenue and at Heights/Yale and Waugh.
"We think we're the catalyst for other partnerships between the city and its neighborhoods," Covington said.
Public Works began construction of the roundabout in February 2004 with a City Council-approved appropriation of just more than $1.1 million.
Along with providing trees and shrubs for the project, the WOW Roundabout Initiative has also received funding from the Wortham Foundation and partnered with the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County to commission a group of steel sculptures by Tim Glover to adorn the area.
Covington said she expects the completed roundabout to spur further beautification efforts in the area.
"When you take the initiative to do something positive, you'll find that those around you do the same thing," she said. "Washington Avenue could and should be one of the great places to be in the city.
"It deserves to be a premiere area of Houston. It's really a gateway to downtown Houston. It goes by Minute Maid Park, it goes by the museum district, it's a major thoroughfare that can be a highlight of the entire city."
For more information on the WOW Roundabout Initiative, visit the Web site at www.wowroundabout.org.
