I had a provocative email from our friends at Walnut Crossing. Apparently there has been some discussion about changing Amherst between Eton and Adelphi into 2 lanes plus a center turn lane and with Bike Lanes on each side. In that scenario it would stay at four lanes north of Adelphi in the commercial area, and probably have four lanes for a short bit before the Duval intersection to allow for multiple turn lanes. Interesting concept, with pros and cons. We’ll keep you updated, maybe get a city person out in late April to talk about how serious of a proposal it is.
Saturday, Feb. 28th, 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Spring is just around the corner, and we need LOTS of help pruning and cleaning up Summitt’s ! grounds! Please come and help next Saturday, Feb. 28th (even if it’s just for an hour!). Be sure to bring:
a pair of gloves,
sunscreen/hat,
a good pair of trimming/pruning shears,
a water bottle (or coffee mug!),
and a snack (sorry, we don’t have plans to serve breakfast this time around).
Also, we’ll gladly accept donations of drought-tolerant plants to add to the school’s landscape! To RSVP, ir if you have questions, email Ann Sullivan at asullivan88@att.net. (PS – Travis Pokorny and his fellow scouts will also be at Summitt on the 28th, working on the classroom gardens, so he may need some extra help from our group! Let me know if you’re interested).
I went to the Plaza Saltillo open house for Cap Metro last weekend. The train was very cool, it was more impressive to see in person than I was anticipating, so that was a good sign.
Most interesting was the fact that the published fares zones put the Kramer station in the same zone as downtown. The city has been planning to establish 2 “zones” and charge more for stations further away. I had expressed some concern about the zone leaving North Austin a bit in the cold. But I’m very pleased that we will have an option to use the train at a single zone rate.
Of trivia interest, the train will have 6 spaces within the train to suspend bikes for storage, and if those are full, you can stand with bikes by the entry way. Should be interesting to see if that is suficient to get people around. If I were betting I’d say there will be more than 6 people a run that ride a bike to the station.
I’d definitely recommend if you are interested to attend the Open House on North Lamar this weekend.
Crestview Station – Saturday, Feb. 21
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
6920 N. Lamar Blvd.
We’re looking to have several presenters come up to North Austin to brief you on neighborhood events. Try to get out to the ones that interest you- when we fill the room, we are more likely to get speakers when we want them in the future.
March 2, 7 pm, Milwood Library. Cap Metro will come out to talk about the new Kramer station, bus routes into our neighborhood, and the grand opening of the commuter rail line at the end of March. After Cap Metro, stay and discusss our March 7 It’s My Park day efforts.
April 2, 7pm, Covenant Methodist Church (on Duval). Union Pacific will send a speaker to discuss the siding project for the railroad tracks west of the neighborhood (read below if you don’t know about that).
April 30, 7 pm Milwood Library. General Spring Meeting. We will work to fulfill our traditional role of having candidates for the most interesting city races come out and give a presentation.
Some neighbors noticed that Mercedes Homes – the homebuilder in Enchanted Forest – filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions to reorganize. Mercedes said it intends to operate normally as it reorganizes. In a statement, the company said it “expects to move quickly through the reorganization process and to emerge from its reorganization proceedings better capitalized and financially stronger.” We called the local rep, he said “business as usual,” but its an item of interest to some so we post it here.
Capital Metro will host two more Open Houses at several stations along the new passenger rail line opening this March. These events will offer future customers the chance to see the train, learn how to use the ticket vending machines and receive service information.
The pending open houses are our likely destinations – the MLK station for UT/the Capitol, and the Downtown station. Come check it out!
Access St. Johns for limited parking at adjacent development
MLK, Jr. Station – Saturday, Feb. 21
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
1719 Alexander Ave.
Downtown Station – Friday, Feb. 27
2 p.m. – 7 p.m.
401 E. 4th Street
Staff posted their report on the development website. I haven’t figured out a way to link directly to the case site, so the way you get to it is go here and enter SP-2008-0564D in the case number box.
The staff report is at the bottom in pdf format. Find a pdf reader here if you don’t have one.
Here is the report intro:
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STAFF REPORT:
This report includes all staff comments received to date concerning your most recent site plan submittal. The comments may include requirements, recommendations, or information. The requirements in this report must be addressed by an updated site plan submittal.
The site plan will be approved when all requirements from each review discipline have been addressed. However, until this happens, your site plan is considered disapproved. Additional comments may be generated as a result of information or design changes provided in your update.
If you have any questions, problems, concerns, or if you require additional information about this report, please do not hesitate to contact your case manager at the phone number listed above or by writing to the City of Austin, Watershed Protection and Development Review Department, P.O. Box 1088, Austin, Texas 78704.
UPDATE DEADLINE (LDC 25-5-113):
It is the responsibility of the applicant or his/her agent to update this site plan application. The final update to clear all comments must be submitted by the update deadline, which is May 23, 2009. Otherwise, the application will automatically be denied. If this date falls on a weekend or City of Austin holiday, the next City of Austin workday will be the deadline.”
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The report is full of requests for clarification, some trivial, some slightly more significant, but I imagine are all basically straightforward for an engineering effort such as this. As you read above, the update deadline is May 23, but U.P. can respond earlier and I would expect they will respond earlier.
I’ve seen the site plan submission now – it looks like the dual track will extend from Parmer to 500ish feet from the Duval crossing. What that basically means is that trains heading northbound that would need to idle will probably do so far away from neighborhoods, but trains heading southbound that would need to idle would do so nearby. It does not appear that there is much of a rise of the track in our neighborhood, which had cause some concern.
I’ve got an email and a phone call into the UP public affairs folks, asking if they would come down and talk, I’ll keep you updated on what I hear. Once we get a bit more informed we can set a meeting to talk about what we know, what’s possible and what isn’t. I know there is interest in dialogue, so I’m working to get that to happen.
It’s My Park Day is a little earlier this year, so we’ve been busy planning activities to improve our Balcones District Park. Plans so far include trash pick-up, clearing brush and limbs from the hiking path, better defining the creek bed path in certain places, and careful removal of invasive, non-native plants.
To sign up as a volunteer, click here. Bring the kids and dogs and join your neighbors in helping to keep our park clean and in great shape!
If you have any questions about the event, or suggestions on improvement ideas, please contact us.