The northern portion of the Spring Creek Nature Area is getting a makeover with the addition of two new entry portals. The pieces are one of the first major initiatives to come from the Spring Creek Nature Area Master Plan developed and approved in 2015, which outlines ideas for development of the 56 additional acres acquired for the park in January 2015.
Last month crews began construction of the foundations for two large entry portals, one at Renner Road and Plano Road and one at Renner Road and Routh Creek Parkway. The pieces were designed to welcome visitors to the Spring Creek Nature Area, serve as gathering places and encourage use of the park by attracting interest from nearby motorists, residents and workers. The portals will be leafthemed, with a large leaf-shaped cutout in each granite portal, granite benches and a leaf-shaped granite sculpture.
“The woods that make up the Spring Creek Nature Area have a long history in our city,” said Assistant City Manager Shanna Sims-Bradish. “With their location
in the heart of Richardson near the CityLine development, we wanted the design of the entry portals to be a transition zone between the urban and natural worlds.”
The Nature Area encompasses more than 100 acres of land that was settled in the mid 1800s by Jacob Routh. A Tennessee native, Routh established a mercantile
store and inn for travelers on the road between Dallas and McKinney. While he farmed the area, he never cleared the forested land, allowing its wildlife habitat to be preserved. The Nature Area was established in 1990 after a donation of about 50 acres of land by the Margaret Hunt Hill family. Its
size was more than doubled to 107 acres with the 2015 purchase of land.
The portals are scheduled to be complete this spring.
