Kyle Parks & Recreation
by KERRY URBANOWICZ
Since 2004, the award-winning Plum Creek Watershed Creek Clean Up Project has greatly improved the pollution levels in Plum Creek. City parks involved in this event include Steeplechase Park, Lake Kyle, Waterleaf Park and the Plum Creek Preserve & Nature Trail. East of Interstate 35, the Plum Creek runs through hundreds of acres of parkland and open space. During the rainy months of winter, trash and debris washes into the creek and finds its way along the banks in the parks. The goal of this annual project is to join with other communities across Texas to clean up Texas’s waterways and Keep Texas Beautiful. In past years the Kyle Clean Up has been an educational event bringing awareness to proper disposal of pet waste, recycling and being stewards of the Plum Creek Watershed that runs through the heart of Kyle.
However, with the heavy rains of January 25, Lake Kyle has become the depository of trash and drifting debris.
The Clean Up project is scheduled for 8 a.m.Saturday, February 25 and all community volunteers are encouraged to meet at Lake Kyle, 700 Lehman Rd. Volunteers will be issued trash bags and small hand tools, assigned to a group and an area of Lake Kyle to clear of trash and debris.
We need scout troops, school classes, clubs and organizations, church and civic groups and all the community volunteers we can get. In past years we have had more than 200 volunteers come out to clean up the watershed. This year we will need many more to get Lake Kyle ready for the grand opening scheduled for March 10.
Bring a water bottle, wear shoes that can get a little dirty, and a great attitude. We will provide the rest - including a pizza lunch!
The Kyle Parks and Recreation Department needs you, Lake Kyle needs you and the community needs you.
Generally lasting until noon, thousands of pounds of trash, some recyclable, get removed from the parkland and trails. Dead trees and brush are removed and nature trails are groomed just in time for the busy spring and summer.
Lake Kyle Progress Report
The Kyle Parks and Recreation Department, located in City Hall since the department was formed in 2000, will be moving from City Hall to Lake Kyle. Beginning in March, all Kyle PARD daily operations will be conducted at Lake Kyle Park headquarters, the log cabin-looking building at 700 Lehman Road in east Kyle. The grand opening is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, March 10. The building itself will be ready for the grand opening. The park and lake...maybe not.
The extreme weather conditions are causing delays in the development of the trails, nature areas and wildflower meadows. The picnic areas, pavilion and playscape construction has been rained out. The natural amphitheater was completely under water for a week. And it will take a month of sunshine before heavy equipment can get to the waters edge to construct the fishing pier and nooks. The irony of the weather is that it has been too rainy to install the rain collection system!
As long as construction equipment and crews are present we have to keep these areas closed to public access and recreation. We hope all sections of Lake Kyle will be completed and open to all sooner rather than later. Please be patient with us and our construction efforts.
