West Houston, namely The Energy Corridor District, is ready for its own version of Central Park.

"The idea is to create a regional destination for recreation, arts and events, while creating enhanced riparian ecology, greater connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists, better-performing stormwater drainage and grand, delightful parks that neighbors and employees in The Energy Corridor District can enjoy," Clark Martinson, general manager for the district, writes in the area's February newsletter. "It could be The Energy Corridor’s own version of Central Park, straddling the ecological corridor along Langham Creek.”

The newsletter goes on to identify Langham Creek stretching from the Addicks Dam spillway to Terry Hershey Park as "ripe for just such a transformation," with those conclusions coming after stakeholders' most recent ongoing master plan meeting with urban and landscape experts from Sasaki Associates, The Office of James Burnett and Toole Design Group. The final plan is to be revealed sometime this spring.

On the drawing board for the master plan are:

• An ecological center with a pond, public spaces with lawns and restrooms along Langham Creek just north of Memorial Drive as a place for public art, concerts and festivals.
• A spillway park below Addicks Dam with boardwalks, scenic overlooks and an archeological preservation area to showcase the natural and cultural history of The Energy Corridor.
• Pedestrian bridges over Langham Creek and boardwalk bike trails to enhance connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists to convenient entry points along popular thoroughfares.
• A neighborhood park with a community garden, playground, sports fields and picnic areas complete with barbecue grills east of the creek and south of Interstate 10.

“The already popular Terry Hershey Park and Langham Creek corridor could evolve into world-class parks,” Martinson says. “Great parks become a destination, not only for people and communities, but also for wildlife. Transformational ideas such as these can help make The Energy Corridor an even better place to work, live and invest to years to come.”