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tomwald

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recap of Waller Creek bike tour (Daily Texan)

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/top-sto … -1.1788511

Austin plans Waller Creek revival
Flood control tunnel to aid park's transformation to community center

Bobby Longoria

Published: Monday, August 3, 2009
Updated: Monday, August 3, 2009

Waller Creek will soon be given a new opportunity to attract Austin citizens when a flood water control tunnel is constructed and a redevelopment plan is implemented.

A bicycle tour led by the Waller Creek Citizen Advisory Committee showcased the debilitating aspects of the creek and provided an opportunity for citizens to question the plan Saturday. The city seeks to redevelop the creek into a sprawling community center with a new hike and bike trail, business attractions and neighborhood developments.

Committee member Jeb Boyt said once the flood water control tunnel is built it will provide a great opportunity for the area to become a thriving community venue.

"The main thing we are doing now through the [plan] that the committee is overseeing is to see what those surface improvements and changes are going to be like," Boyt said. "It's pretty clear people want improved pedestrian and bicycle connections throughout the district — the question is how are we going to do it."

Jana McCann, ROMA Austin's associate project manager of the district plan, said rivers and waters are amazing in their ability to unite people.

"[The plan] will look at both creek improvements, trail improvements, re-vegetation — kind of restoring the ecological integrity of the creek," McCann said. "As well as how should new development respect and address the creek. What would the rules be for developing in and around this creek-side environment?"

She said a plan will be finalized by 2010 and the tunnel's construction is anticipated to begin the same year with completion in 2014.

Austin City Council member Chris Riley said the creek will connect the University community to the East Riverside neighborhood and will provide an easy means of travel on UT football game days.

"Wouldn't it be cool if you could just hop on your bike and easily come ride up Waller Creek right to campus?" Riley said. "Do we really want those students to get on [Interstate Highway 35] everyday as they go to class or if there are students who would rather get some exercise on their way in — why not make that opportunity available?"

Evolution of Waller Creek

Waller Creek has evolved with Austin since the city was first laid out in 1839. In 1883, UT opened and the creek served as its eastern border. Until the second half of the 20th century, the creek was bordered by neighborhoods, but it has always been susceptible to flood waters because it lies in a 100-year floodplain.

When the UT Board of Regents decided to bulldoze areas of the creek to expand Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, students chained themselves to trees in protest during the Waller Creek riot in 1969. The creek's trail was constructed as part of Austin's bicentennial gift to the nation in 1976.

City Council approved the creation of the Waller Creek Tunnel Project in June 1998, in an effort to redistribute flood waters from Waterloo Park to Lady Bird Lake in an underground tunnel bypassing the urban area above. But evolving development plans and lack of funding delayed the tunnel's creation.

A tax increment financing zone was approved in June 2007, which would redistribute tax revenue to fund the creation of the tunnel. This led to the creation of the Waller Creek Citizen Advisory Committee in May 2007.

A notice to proceed with the tunnel's design was issued in October 2007, and most recently in February 2009 the city authorized the ROMA Design Group to begin the Waller Creek District Master Plan, which will work to identify a community vision for the area.

As part of the redevelopment, improvements will be made along Red River and Sabine streets to better accommodate bikers.

Greg Anderson, UT urban studies graduate, volunteers for a quarterly Waller Creek cleanup. He said he has no car, lives downtown and said the less commuting citizens have to do, the better.

"The more densely we can build downtown, the less farms we have to pave over, the less forests we have to raise for our own sustainable urban growth," Anderson said. "You give people more paths just for bikes and you are definitely going to have a better turnout, a more biking community."

Impact on business

Austin resident Oliver Franklin, who was a student at UT during the creek's 1976 redevelopment, said he is concerned about the impact that redevelopment has had and may continue to have on the city.

"I have always been worried that the bigger Austin gets, the lower the aggregate awareness of Austin history," Franklin said. "The more people that come in, the less people per capita that know anything about what made Austin, Austin."

A common question raised by bikers on the Waller Creek tour was how the redevelopment may affect the existing music venues along the creek.

Mohawk owner James Moody said leases expire in 2014, around the time the redevelopment will be finished. This will raise property values and thus, will raise rents as well.

He said the city needs to be aware of Austin's character and needs to put in place parameters to ensure the survival of local businesses.

"The music district was there and has been there so it's the neighborhood," Moody said. "It's not like music is moving into this project — music is already there."

Riley said it is not the redevelopment's intention to drive business out. Rather, he said the music scene downtown is an essential aspect of Austin that must be maintained.

"If you can just solve [the creek's decay] and make it a lively appearing place you will have a whole new audience for those venues," Riley said.