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Waller Creek Meeting Notes

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waller-creek-tunnel-city-acquires-land

At last night’s WCCAC meeting:

1) We learned that the City is negotiating the purchase of three contiguous lots located along southbound frontage road and bounded by 4th and 5th Streets.  This area hosts the east bank of Waller Creek between 4th and 5th and is currently used as a surface parking lot.  The land acquisition will be purchased with funds from the Waller Creek Tunnel Project, and will likely become a temporary staging ground for the construction of the tunnel.  Ironically [to me at least] these lots are not on FEMA’s 100 year flood maps, and therefore wouldn’t directly benefit from the tunnel improvements designed to remove land from the 100 year flood plain. The lots are encumbered by Capitol View Corridors, though.  You can see the lots under “Kuykendall Addn”.

2) The WCCAC made an official recommendation to City Council that the Strategy 1 improvements identified by ROMA’s Waller Creek District Master Plan be included in the items for the 2010 Transportation Bond.  The bond is limited to issues of mobility, including pedestrian uses such as the conversion of Sabine Street into a promenade.

3) Perry Lorenz provided citizen communication that the 21c project is moving forward and the development team is flying to Austin from Louisville with updates in the first week of December.  In addition to getting a more comprehensive project status, we should receive a better idea of the amount and types of consideration the project is paying towards Waller Creek improvements adjacent to the property.

4) The I-35 Makeover project is going to be complete in 2010 and will be funded from the parking fees collected underneath I-35.  No word yet on improvements to the 4th Street overpass, but WCCAC requested to be included as a stakeholder should that discussion commence.

5) Matt Knifton of the Texas Rowing Center provided citizen communication about TRC’s bid for the boathouse.  Notably, last year TRC donated roughly $30,000 in community outreach in the form of education and classes for minority children and those with disabilities.  Matt estimated that as a PARD concessionaire since 1999, the TRC has returned over $400,000 to the city;moreover, throughout a 20 year lease of the new boathouse, there is potential to generate nearly $3MM in concession revenue for the city.  The TRC would have the opportunity to further increase their community outreach programs, making the lake more accessible to more Austinites.

In summary, it’s nice to see action and momentum!

-Jude

Tonight's WCCAC Agenda

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This evening is our monthly meeting of the Waller Creek Citizens Advisory Committee (WCCAC).  I’m especially interested to get the updates on the I-35 makeover project.

WALLER CREEK CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING AGENDA

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE WALLER CREEK CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL MEET ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12th, 2009, AT 6:00 P.M. IN BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM, CITY HALL, 301 WEST SECOND STREET

The City Council Waller Creek Citizen Advisory Committee may go into a closed session under the Open Meetings Act, Section 551.071, of the Texas Government Code, to receive advice from legal counsel on any item on this agenda.

Call Meeting to Order

1. Approval of Minutes – (October 22, 2009)

2. Citizen Communication (3 minutes)

3. Waller Creek Master Plan Update – Discussion

Jim Robertson, COA

4. IH-35 Makeover Project – Discussion

Erica Leak, COA

5. WCCAC-Parks Board Joint Subcommittee – Discussion

Sara Hensley, COA

6. Waller Creek Tunnel Update – Discussion

Gary Jackson, COA

7. Competitive Design Process – Discussion

Jude Galligan, WCCAC

8. Waller Creek District surface improvements/2010 Transportation Bond Election

Discussion and possible action

Jeb Boyt, WCCAC

9. Future Agenda Items for December 3, 2009 Meeting

Discussion and Possible Action

New Renderings Of 21c

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Hmmm…. I wouldn’t say these renderings show a design that is inspired.   Certainly my design expectations for 21c are high.  Below is a [hopefully] early rendering of the hotel and museum portion taken directly from the 21c website.

The Skyscraper crew is not happy 🙁

Photo Of Waller Creek Flooding In 1935

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Thanks to LoneStarMike at SkyscraperPage for finding this.  What a great photo.  It looks as if this photo was taken from the vantage point of where the Austin Convention Center is today.  You can see the intersection of Red River and Cesar Chavez St (formerly and appropriately known as Water St, historical map).  It’s striking to see a large house on the southeast corner where we now have a surface parking lot.  It appears that gas cost $0.12 per gallon.  And, what is the sign on the shed towards the right?  Crazy.

You can see a BBQ joint on the left, but it doesn’t seem to be located where Iron Works BBQ is today.  The structure in the photo looks like it is west of Waller Creek …interesting.

From the Weigl’s website… “Fortunat quickly filled the hole and the Weigl’ operation found a new home in 1935. Shortly after their opening, disaster struck. On June 5, 1935, one of the worst floods Austin has ever seen raged throughout the city. After the waters receded, the Weigls were forced to cut out pieces of floorboard to scrape massive amounts of mud into the basement.”

Click on the photo to enlarge.

-Jude

Waller Creek flooding Cesar Chavez (Water St) @ Red River in 1935
Waller Creek flooding: Cesar Chavez (Water St) @ Red River in 1935

Waller Creek District Update

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The entire Waller Creek District Master Plan can be downloaded here.

Waller Creek District Master Plan - Open Spaces
Waller Creek District Master Plan – Open Spaces

The vision for more and safe public spaces along Waller Creek, including park like connectivity from Waterloo Park to Lady Bird Lake, was a primary motivation for choosing to live at the Sabine.  When I tell people about Waller Creek, a common response is “Waller Creek… they’re still tryin’ to get that done, huh?”

The Waller Creek Tunnel Project and subsequent improvements to the district represent one of the most significant urban renewal project in Austin.  I was appointed to the Waller Creek Citizens Advisory Committee (WCCAC) last month.  Since then my understanding of what’s happening with Waller Creek has improved significantly – The Waller Creek Tunnel is on time and on budget and will break ground in late 2010 or early 2011.

Waller Creek District Master Plan - Land Use
Waller Creek District Master Plan – Land Use

At last night’s WCCAC meeting, ROMA delivered a highly compelling draft of a master plan for Waller Creek.  While we were only presented with a draft, ROMA’s Waller Creek districting plan creates a vast amount of public space and a Sabine Street promenade is one example of a progressive districting plan as a whole.  Sabine Street’s wide and underutilized right-of-ways could be converted into a more pedestrian and bicycle friendly promenade.  The promenade would most likely deliver large 30ft+ areas for al-fresco dining, bicycle lanes that connect back into the Waller Creek trail system, and enough room for limited automobile traffic to still get through.

On October 24th, ROMA will present the entire plan at a town hall meeting.

-Jude