HoustonChronicle.com - Landscaper aims to revamp roadway


HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: 
Memorial/Spring Branch News

July 11, 2006, 7:37PM


Landscaper aims to revamp roadway 
Half-mile stretch of Memorial Drive may be enhanced 
By CARISSA D. LAMKAHOUAN
Chronicle Correspondent
The city of Piney Point Village is working with a landscape architect to enhance 
a 1/2 -mile stretch of Memorial Drive from Greenbay to San Felipe, which is set 
for resurfacing.
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Keiji Asakura, of Asakura Robinson Co., will head the project.
"(City Council members) asked me to come up with a vision for the greater idea 
of what Piney Point is about," Asakura said. "It's my job to describe what the 
landscape heritage is and try to preserve it and enhance it."
'Big trees' favored
To Asakura, a resident of Piney Point Village, his city's visual character is 
marked by "big trees."
He said he wants to improve the sidewalks, plant a wide variety of trees, add 
greenery to roadside ditches to enhance their aesthetics and spruce up an area 
bridge.
"My first job is to look at sidewalks and replace them where they're not in good 
condition," Asakura said.
One of his ideas is to put leaf imprints in the sidewalks, a suggestion he 
offered to the Piney Point Village City Council on June 26.
"It gives you the feeling that you're in the woods," he said. Asakura said 
planting a variety of trees rather than sticking to one type adds character to 
the stretch of road and reflects the nature of Piney Point Village.
"The name is Piney Point (Village), but there's a lot more than just pine trees 
there," he said. "Variety is important."
Choosing trees that don't interfere with power lines along Memorial Drive is 
another factor Asakura said he will take into account when finalizing his 
design, which is still in the early stages and not yet ready for City Council 
approval.
"We just don't want to plant any trees that the power company will hack off 
later," he said. "We need to pick trees that are suitable for that kind of 
situation."
Lorena Briel, city administrator for Piney Point Village, said although the city 
is doing the resurfacing work and chose Asakura's firm to do the landscaping, 
the Metropolitan Transit Authority will finance the project, which she estimated 
at $600,000.
No timetable
Briel said there is no timeline set for when the project might begin and said 
the city has not yet put the contract out for bids.
"We're hoping (to start the resurfacing) within the next three months," she 
said.
"The design is ready, but we're just looking at every aspect of the project 
before we go out for bids."
In addition to Asakura's landscaping plans, Briel said city administrators also 
want to improve the area's hike and bike trail along Memorial Drive.
"It needs to be upgraded," she said. "It gets a lot of use, and it's old."
Asakura said he will begin his phase of the project when the road work is 
completed. He said the job should take one or two months to complete.




HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: 
Memorial/Spring Branch News 
This article is: 
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/memorial/news/4040651.html