Spring Branch's Super Neighborhood leaders said their experience in working on issues in the northwest Houston neighborhood are paying off.

With all but one community – Spring Branch North – close to celebrating a decade of existence, they say they are growing adept at joining together in community-wide efforts, but also know when it is time to focus on what is happening in their own backyards.

Spring Branch North Super Neighborhood president Chuck Davidson said communication had been a "big positive" for Spring Branch North this year with local residents receiving a wealth of information through e-mails from District A Houston City Councilwoman Toni Lawrence's office, Houston Mayor Bill White's office and the Spring Branch Super Neighborhood e-mail network.

Davidson said Spring Branch North had several SNAP (Super Neighborhood Action Plan) requests approved by the city of Houston for action in 2008, but only a few were accomplished due to Hurricane Ike in September. They are on hold due to funding, he said.

"We will continue to monitor and work with the city of Houston on those remaining requests and will have a few new items submitted by Jan. 15," Davidson said.

He said Spring Branch North's major capital improvement project requests have been funded in the city's CIP plan, but have not been executed. One of those projects is the reconstruction of Gessner Road from Clay Rd. south to I-10.

Spring Branch Central

The Spring Branch Central Super Neighborhood president Catherine Barchfeld said the community took two big hits in 2008: Hurricane Ike and the death of Michael Berger, a longtime community activist.

Berger, who died in August 2008 due to complications from throat cancer, was known as the "Bandit Sign King," and worked for years on his own, and later with the Spring Branch Management District, to rid the Spring Branch area of bandit signs - signs of all sizes that are illegally placed in the right-of-way along area roads - and other debris.

"Michael was a wonderful community activist and we miss him dearly," Barchfeld said. "He was a true gentleman."

Spring Branch East

The city of Houston started work on a $3.2 million Long Point/Wirt intersection project in east Spring Branch in early 2008.

Spring Branch's North, West, East, Central and West Super Neighborhood groups have been lobbying for the complete reconstruction of Long Point Road, which runs east-west through the Spring Branch community, for several years.

The $40 million project will reconstruct Long Point to two lanes in each direction with a landscaped median in the middle, and make improvements to all major intersections.

This is the second intersection reconstruction project on Long Point Road. The city completed construction on the first intersection project at Long Point and Pech roads.

Spring Branch West

Spring Branch West Super Neighborhood president Jeff Harris said Spring Branch West members have been keeping a close eye on the Bunker Hill Road reconstruction project, which is the largest project underway in the area.

When that project is completed, members will make a thorough evaluation of the benefits, and possibly negative effects, of the reconstructed road.

"Thus far, it looks like being done well, but we won't know all of the effects until it is completely finished," Harris said.

Mid-West

The newest Super Neighborhood is flanked generally by the Uptown/Galleria and Westchase business/commercial districts. It is bounded by Buffalo Bayou on the north, Chimney Rock on the east, the Westpark Tollway on the south and Gessner Road on the west.

"Our focus was on organizing our Super Neighborhood Council and getting representation from all of the civic organizations and other stakeholders," said Jerry Hill, president of the Mid-West Super Neighborhood Council.

"We measured our progress by adopting a set of by-laws and being officially recognized by the Houston City Council.

"This was the first year for us to develop Super Neighborhood action plan and we have made good progress in pulling together some meaningful goals."

Hill said the main challenge faced by the new group's leaders in 2008 was making sure they created an organization with solid, useful goals so that the membership felt it was worth their while to actively participate in the council's activities.

"We've tried to meet that challenge by having informative programs and being as inclusive as possible of all council members who wished to take a role in the organization," Hill said.

The group has established ties with local law enforcement, and is closely following the progress of the Houston Police Department's new Midwest Division, which was created two years ago. Its patrol officers and special units assigned to sections of west and southwest Houston that previously shared manpower with its larger Westside division.

The city of Houston is working on an $11.5 million project that will transform a 60,000-square-foot building on Regency Square Drive between U.S. 59 and Harwin Drive into the Midwest division's police station for officers assigned to HPD's District 18 beat.

There is also a new HPD Storefront on Richmond Avenue west of Hillcroft.

This year, the council will work to keep the momentum going, and to build participation in the Mid-West Super Neighborhood, he said, and to build stronger relationships with local government, Hill said.