SRCC Neighborhood Association

Come to our General Membership meeting Monday at 7:15. We have many interesting topics on the Agenda.   The City Aquatics staff will inform us on all the aquatic programs available this summer.  The Great Outdoors will present on their continuing issues with Code Compliance.  Austin’s Neighborhood Partnering Program want us to “brainstorm” potential projects like community gardens, park and sidewalk improvements, public art and other exciting projects. We will receive an update on the South Central Waterfront project.  In addition, there will be possible votes on important issues like the One Two East development in East Austin; the proposed redevelopment to the Heights on Congress ; and Bike Austin will be there to discuss a “bike master plan” for Austin.  We look forward to your input on all these issues!

Alan Holt, principal planner with the City of Austin’s Urban Design Division, will be presenting an update on the South Central Waterfront (SCW) Initiative at the April general meeting. More information:
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Alan Holt will give a brief update on this planning effort, including the timeline and opportunities for engagement for this spring as the planning effort prepares to deliver the SCW Small Area Plan to Council this June.
Background: The South Central Waterfront (SCW) Initiative, as directed by a resolution of the City Council in August 2013, is creating a small-area plan (aka: master plan) for the 118 acre district on the south shore of Lady Bird Lake. The goal is to establish a framework to coordinate public and private investments to ensure that, as this area inevitably changes, every increment of change will contribute to making a great new district that: (1) Establishes a lively, attractive pedestrian environment; (2) Expands open space and create great public spaces; (3) Enhances connections to and along the waterfront; and (4) Includes 10% – 20% new affordable housing units as the area redevelops. Since being launched, the Initiative has conducted a vigorous public engagement campaign and worked with interdepartmental staff and other resources to accomplished several milestones towards the completion of the master plan. These milestones include delivering the SCW Interim Vision Framework Report to Council in 2014; completion of the EPA Greening of America’s Capitals Report (to be released in April 2016); and securing finance, economic development, and urban design consultant services, which have been engaged since fall 2015. City staff and the consultant team are now completing these cumulative efforts, and are on track to delivering the SCW Small Area Plan to the Council in June 2016. The details of the SCW plan are a work-in-progress, and staff will be presenting a status presentation to several official bodies in April including: City Council work session on April 5; the Small Area Plan Committee on April 6; and the Planning Commission on April 12. No actions will be taken at these meetings this month. A day-long drop-in Open House is being scheduled for April 30; details to come.

Bike Austin provided an update on their effort to support and collect a petition for full funding of the Bicycle Master Plan. More information below:
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Mayor Steve Adler has called for a 2016 transportation bond to address Austin’s traffic crisis. We are calling on the Mayor, City Council and Bond Oversight Commission – a citizen-based group charged with overseeing bond implementation – to put forth a bond that fully funds Austin’s Bicycle Master Plan and all high-priority sidewalks in the Sidewalk Master Plan. Protected bike lanes and sidewalks connecting neighborhoods to schools, public transit and economic centers will ease traffic, bolster accessibility, spur physical activity and make the most affordable modes of transportation convenient and safe for hundreds of thousands of Austinites – including those with disabilities – every day. Our goal is to collect 20,000 petitions – one for each of the car trips expected to be diverted from our busiest highways every day if the Bicycle Master Plan is fully funded and implemented. Austin’s Bicycle Master Plan envisions an all ages and abilities, family-friendly system of protected bike lanes and urban trails throughout Austin that prioritizes connections to high-capacity transit, economic centers and local schools. Building out the Bicycle Master Plan, which includes high-priority trails in Austin’s Urban Trails Master Plan, will increase cycling mobility into Austin’s Central Business District by 20,000 daily trips, representing a 7% reduction in motor vehicle traffic into the densest part of Austin. The Sidewalk Master Plan, which is currently being updated by Public Works Staff, calls for a robust sidewalk maintenance and construction schedule to address Austin’s $1 billion backlog in sidewalk connectivity. Sidewalks addressing infrastructure inequities, serving high volumes of pedestrians and enhancing safe access to schools, public transportation and other neighborhood assets are considered “high priority” or “very high-priority” and will receive prioritized funding under the Plan. By fully funding the Bicycle Master Plan and all High/Very High-Priority sidewalks in the Sidewalk Master Plan, our leaders can enhance safety, ease congestion and provide equitable access to healthy food, schools, economic opportunities, open space and public transit. If you’d like us to list your organization or business as a supporter on this page, please visit bikeaustin.org/ourstreets.