On May 3, 2006, the BikeTexas Trail Doctors, Ryan Spates and Susan Stormer, attended a meeting with the Woodlands Development Corporation, representatives from Harris and Montgomery Counties and members of the Greater Houston Off-Road Biking Association (GHORBA) and the Woodlands Cycling Club. The focus of the meeting was to discuss the possibility of creating cycling trails in and around The Woodlands’ newest development project, Creekside Park.

Creekside Park is the eighth and final village development to be built in The Woodlands. The 3,151-acre village will include the largest park in the Houston area at 1,700 acres. The park will border Spring Creek for seven miles and will eventually link to the Spring Creek Greenway Project, a cooperative effort between Harris and Montgomery Counties to create a 25-mile trail and park system. Plans being considered for Creekside Park include canoeing and kayaking, hiking, botanic gardens and a nature center.

Robert Collins of Montgomery County made a presentation on the Spring Creek Project that showed the scope of the proposed greenway venture. All in attendance expressed how pleased they were with the extent of the project. It also showed how the Creekside Park area would be affected by the community plans. The two areas would join up to provide a linear greenbelt more than 30 miles long.

There was discussion of the birding trails in Harris County’s Jones Park that are already bringing in lots of visitors, and how to protect the existing trails from overuse and prevent the loss of the nature experience those users seek.

Joe Noack from the Woodlands Cycling Club made a presentation on the club and its use of the surrounding roads for cycling and development of a youth cycling team. Noack also expressed interest in having a paved loop that would be restricted to cyclists and non-motorized wheeled recreation.

The BikeTexas Trail Docs then made a presentation on sustainable trail design, controlling user interactions along linear trail systems and discussed Texas Bicycle Coalition acting as consulting agency and/or trail builders on future projects. The Trail Docs also expressed support for projects that had already been taken on by GHORBA and offered assistance to help ensure that the Creekside Park project achieves its goals.

In all, the meeting was a success, with one of the foremost developers in Texas seeking advice from user-based groups for whom they are planning to provide recreation facilities. This could be one of the most outstanding trail efforts to date in Texas, considering the partnerships forming between the Woodlands Development Corporation, Harris County, Montgomery County and the various cycling organizations.