Let’s Be Careful Out There…

Fires are still burning all around Austin and despite the cooler overnight lows in the 60s, we’re still very dry and the days are getting back into the upper 90s.  As the events and activities around Austin increase with another UT game this weekend and ACL Music Festival next weekend, we’ll have more visitors to our city and to our parks and trails.  We ask for everyone’s help in letting everyone know that a no smoking ban remains in effect for all parks, including Zilker.

While the Great Lawn and other portions of our parks are irrigated, the great majority is not, including the Trail around Lady Bird Lake, the rest of Zilker, and the Barton Creek Greenbelt.  It is very dry and very warm and we ask for your help.

Below is a graphic showing in purple the extent of the Bastrop Fire, including much of one of our favorite Texas State Parks – Bastrop State Park.  This fire has jumped the Colorado River twice.  Over 1400 homes so far have been lost.  And we’re not even counting the fires in Spicewood, at Steiner Ranch and elsewhere across central Texas.

Please, let’s be careful out there and don’t smoke in our parks and along our trails. Thank you!

City Council Sends Transportation Bond to the Voters

Today, the Austin City Council voted 7-0 to send the $90 M transportation bond ballot item to the voters on Tuesday, November 2, 2010.  $52 M will go for road projects, while $38 M will go no non-road projects, including sidewalks, bike lanes and trails, including the 1.1 M boardwalk which will close the gap on the trail at Lady Bird Lake, completing the trail.  The Trail Foundation has committed to raising $3 M of the total cost of construction in their efforts to complete the trail.

For further information on the bond election, visit the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan website.

For further information on the Boardwalk project, Visit the City’s website or the Trail Foundation’s website.

Advocate for Completing the Lady Bird Lake Trail!

There is some good news for Trail (@ Lady Bird Lake) users: Completing the Trail with the Riverside Boardwalk is now on the project list for the planned November 2010 bond election.

Please email the Task Force members now at ctf@austinstrategicmobility.com and let them know: It is time to Complete the Trail.

The transportation bond package as a whole will reduce congestion, provide more transportation options, improve safety, and protect the environment.  Using a system of key measurable criteria, the City staff placed this Trail project very high on the priority list.

Your help is needed.  Please take a minute now to email the Task Force and let them know it is important to Complete the Trail and close this large gap in our transportation  system.  The Trail benefits all of Austin and is worth the needed investment.

The Trail Foundation has more information here about the project.

2 Statesman Articles of Note: 6/28/10

Wanted to note in that the Austin American Statesman today (6/28/10) there are two pieces to note:

1) Pam LeBlanc wrote about the challenges of the City Parks Staff to keep up with the trash and maintenance efforts on Barton Creek Greenbelt. (You can help by getting ready for our next big volunteer workday on Barton Creek Greenbelt on September 25th- National Public Lands Day)

2) The Statesman Editorial Board wrote in favor of the proposed boardwalk project, on the city staff list for a proposed bond election in November.

Boardwalk Trail Plan Passes

On Thursday, March 5th, the Austin City Council voted 7-0 to approve the conceptual plan of the Boardwalk Trail, a project to fill a 1.3 mile gap in the Trail around Lady Bird Lake.  This moves the project on to the detailed design phase.  The city and its consultants will continue to work with the stakeholders and present monthly updates at the City Parks and Recreation Board which meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Boards and Commissions Room at City Hall.  The detailed plan is scheduled to be completed by mid to late summer, 2009.

Please Support the Boardwalk Trail Conceptual Plan

On Thursday, the Austin City Council will consider the Boardwalk Trail Conceptual Plan as item #10 on their agenda.  At 9:30 am, we will participate with the Trail Foundation, BikeTexas and other supporters in a press conference in front of City Hall.  Please come out and support the trail by attending and then registering your support on the kiosks in the lobby.  We’ll have a slate of folks ready to speak in support, so all you need to do is to sign up in support not wishing to speak.

So, recapping what we need your help with in 3 easy steps:

1) Email the City Council to urge them to vote yes on Agenda Item #10 and move the process forward.

2) Join us at a press event in support of the Boardwalk Trail project at 9:30 a.m. on the City Hall plaza this Thursday.

3) When you come to the press event, be sure to go inside and sign up in favor of the Boardwalk agenda item.  You can sign up “in favor, not wishing to speak” and you don’t have to stick around and wait for the item to come up.  The Council will see that you’ve registered your support and will read it into the record.

Explore Holly Shores – Bring Kids!

After brunch at Mr. Natural (mmm, tofu migas)Dan and I headed west for a little walk along the Holly Shores portion of Town Lake. You could just walk down Chicon to Fiesta Gardens, but we decided to drive over to the archway at the end of Riverview Street.

This part of the trail has the Holly Power Plant along one side. The wall has an old graffiti-style mural. There’s a steady trickle of bicyclists and runners going by, most days. At the plant entrance, you have to cross the street and take a right to get back on the trail. There are two really nice murals tucked away back here. And for those who enjoy urban industrial landscapes, the power plant is an interesting view.

Soon we emerged into Metz Park. There are some abandoned train tracks here, with a hand operated switching mechanism. A strong person can use the lever to move the tracks right and left – very cool for the train enthusiast!

Continuing along the Holly wall, we headed south. Water on both sides of the trail – very pretty and secluded feeling. It was super hot, but we were driven to see what might be along the next bend.

We kept on going as far as Pleasant Valley, where a bridge leads up into the neighborhood. The trail continues, but we took a left on Canterbury street, and headed back to Metz Park. Given the super hot weather – and the fact that we were both foolishly wearing black shirts – we were excited to see the Metz Park splash pad shooting up fountains of water.

Splash pads are a new trend in park design. They can operate without a lifeguard, so they can be open more days of the year. The water is recirculated, so they aren’t wasteful. And although they are upwards of $100,000 to install, they still cost less than a pool. Here I am getting a refreshing misting from a giant daisy.

From Metz, Dan and I squelched back the way we came to the car. Next time we’ll bring our niece. This is definitely a great kids trip (bringing bikes would be good, too.)