South Congress Combined Neighborhood Plan - Williamson Creek Greenbelt Development
Below is a link to the City of Austin page which references the South Congress Combined Neighborhood Plan Contact Team, of which Kristi Cohen is a member: Click: Neighborhood Planning : South Congress
Among other things, Kristi is working with the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Center look at the goals of each area and incorporate them into the City's long range plan and a trails master plan. The City is working on new trail ordinances that mainly looks at creating transportation - bike-able trails along greenbelts.
The City of Austin has been acquiring property along the creek for the past two decades. One goal of this property acquisition is to possibly create a greenbelt with a primitive trail linking areas west of Interstate Highway 35 to McKinney Falls State Park to the east. Recently the City acquired a 7.9-acre property on Wasson Road adjacent to the creek. This site could potentially serve as a staging area for a trail. There are significant gaps in a future Williamson Creek Greenbelt within the combined planning area. In order for the greenbelt to be successful, these need to be eliminated, either through property acquisitions, purchase of easements and rights-of-way, or through grants of easements or rights-of-way.
A trail plan for the creek would have to include the removal of the invasive species which we often need volunteers to help us out with. The City currently has funding for two phases of the Walnut Creek Trail system, north and south and are in the planning stages for the Onion Creek trail system with Travis County that we hope will in the future tie into a trail system on Williamson Creek. Our biggest limitations are money and man power but when we have involved neighborhood groups it helps us move things forward.
Visit Kristi Cohen's Blog for more information or navigate back to www.southaustinteam.com
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