Please come to the BikeHouston meeting on Tuesday,November 27, 7 pm at the
Houston Environmental Center, 3015 Richmond at Eastside.

Rick Dewees of the Parks Department will be answering questions concerning
the Shell Houston Open at tonight's meeting (see information below). Keep
in mind that no decisions have been made about where the tennis center
might be relocated, and there are several possibilities. Please don't kill
the messenger - he is coming to provide information to us and is not the
decision maker. We have asked him to come to the meeting so that we, as a
group, might make an intelligent decision on our position on the issue and
to provide feedback and alternatives. I have copies of the agreement
between the city and the Houston Golf Association, the financials of the
proposal, and the options for the tennis center relocation - these will be
handed out at the meeting. Please look these over before firing off
questions to Mr. Dewees. Many of our financial questions will likely be
aimed at the Houston Parks Board and the Houston Golf Association, not the
Parks Department. As such, we will likely be going before Council to ask
additional questions and to present our position. We hope you will join us
this evening to share your position on this issue.

Christina Case
President, Greater Houston Off Road Biking Association




"Liz Johnson"
<evjohnson@duke-e To: rdaves@...,
ccase@...,
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11/26/01 02:40 PM llpanzica@...,
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juls@..., "Jean
Blaylock"
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cc: dpatchett@...
Subject: PLEASE CIRCULATE TO
ALL CYCLISTS






PLEASE CIRCULATE TO ALL CYCLISTS, ROLLERBLADERS, JOGGERS, TENNIS PLAYERS,
CONSERVATIONISTS AND FRIENDS OF MEMORIAL PARK ASAP

November 21, 2001, Houston, Texas - Parks are for people, not cars!!!

BikeHouston has learned of a plan by Shell Houston Open promoters to bring
the SHO to Memorial Park next year. The proposal would involve removing the
MP tennis center to put in a parking lot there for the golf spectators. The
tennis center is to be relocated to the site of the Picnic Loop, which will
not be replaced with a comparable facility. Numerous trees would also be
cut down.

The mile-long Picnic Loop is a one-way paved road in a heavily wooded area
of MP that is closed to cars most of the time. It is currently the site of
the Wednesday nite criterium bike racing series all summer long, the only
place in town to ride a bike or roller blade on a raod closed to cars. It
is also the trail rider's camping area at Rodeo time, the site of family
picnics, and numerous other charitable events. All of this will be lost
forever if the SHO Plan goes thru.

City council is to approve the plan in less than two weeks, so we must all
act immediately if we are to save what's left of MP. First, contact the
Mayor, all at-large city council members, the city council member in your
district, especially if you are in Bert Keller's district, and the Parks
Director, Oliver J. Spellman, Jr. Emails and faxes are best. Second, pass
the message along to anyone who might be afffected or care about the
situation in MP. Third, please come to the BikeHouston meeting on Tuesday,
November 27, 7 pm at the Houston Environmental Center, 3015 Richmond at
Eastside.

***ABOVE ALL, BE POLITE***
and be sure to say
***I BIKE AND I VOTE
***HOUSTON NEEDS MORE PARK SPACE NOT MORE PARKING SPACES and
***I AM VERY OPPOSED TO THE SHO-MP PLAN.

A sample letter might read as follows:

Dear Mayor Brown:

As a registered voter, [occupation e.g. accountant/lawyer/professional/bike
shop owner etc.] and bicyclist, I am deeply saddened to learn that there
are fast track plans for the Tennis Center to be relocated to the Picnic
Loop in Memorial Park to make way for a parking lot for the Shell Houston
Open spectators next year. I am very opposed to such a plan because:

1. Parks are for people, not cars. Why pave paradise and put in a parking
lot? We need more park space in Houston, not more parking spaces. Houston
has less per-capita green space than any other major Texas city, and the
SHO plan will adversely affect the quality of life here.

2. There's plenty of parking at the nearby NW Transit Center and Metro has
plenty of shuttle buses. This works just fine for the Rodeo, ball games and
numerous other events in Houston, why not the SHO? Alternatively, one or
both of the outside lanes on the 6-lane Memorial Drive, and even the Picnic
Loop itself could be temporarily used for SHO parking.

3. There is no other place in Houston besides the Picnic Loop for cyclists
and rollerbladers to enjoy a mile-long road closed to cars. A criterium
bike race is held there once a week all summer long and raises money for
charity, and the facility is used by hundreds of cyclists and roller
bladers every day and every nite. Houston was recently named Bicycling
Magazine's Worst Cycling City in America -- do we want to earn this
designation next year, too?

4. The Picnic Loop is used for many family picnics and other events such as
fun runs that raise money for charities, and it is where the Trail Riders
camp every Rodeo when they come into the City. Where will all of these
"homeless" folks go?

5. The trees in the Picnic Loop area should not be cut down; trees
contribute to the beauty and quality of life of the City, help reduce air
pollution and the urban heat island effect. The trees are precious and
should be preserved, particularly in the natural setting of Memorial Park.

6. The Memorial Park jogging trail is the most heavily used running path in
the entire country. Driving additional cars across the path to get in and
out of the parking lot and increasing the traffic through the park and
along the trail will adversely affect the air quality, noise level and
safety of the MP users.

7. The MP golf course is not suitable for the SHO. The fairways are too
narrow and the adjacent vegetation is too thick for large spectator crowds.

8. The SHO will not raise any money for the Houston Parks and Recreation
Department. Why should the Department subsidize the SHO fat cats with my
property taxes at the expense of other users of MP?

Please take all necessary actions to stop this assault on Houston's parks
and quality of life. Thank you for supporting MP and opposing the SHO plan.

Sincerely
Name and Address and Phone Number

Email Contact
information - for the Mayor and City Council go to
http://www.cityofhouston.gov/electedofficials/citycouncil.html

For Oliver B. Spellman, Jr., go to the link at
http://www.cityofhouston.gov/citydesk/citydept.html

Please copy haba@... if you'd care to share your emails with
us.

Take Action Today!! Tomorrow may be too late. Pass it on!!

Happy Thanksgiving.
Bicycle everywhere!

Dan Lundeen
BikeHouston