Shoal Creek Sidewalk Meeting

Sidewalks are on the way for Shoal Creek Blvd from 38th Street to Anderson Ln. This is almost certain based on what I heard at  tonight's meeting  at Gullett Elementary conducted by City of Austin Public Works staff.  The City has this project on the fast track. Not sure what all that means other than it cuts out some of the steps in the typical public works process, significantly reduces the project costs, and enables the project to get underway sooner rather than later. 

The only question now is whether the sidewalk will be on one or both sides of the street. The majority of the 60 plus people who attended the meeting live on Shoal Creek. A raise-your-hand poll was taken and most people favored sidewalks but there wasn't a strong majority for having them on both sides of the street.

This was not a Shoal Creek Curb Island auditorium full-of-unfriendly-and-vocal-forces meeting. However, there were concerns. These included  whether there's a need at all for sidwalks on Shoal Creek, having them on both sides of the street vs. just one side, and the costs of doing another Shoal Creek project ($2.4 million). Some in attendance also complained about getting late notice of the meeting while others had specific concerns on how the sidewalks will effect their individual properties.

Michael Curtis from the City's Public Works Department conducted the meeting and fielded most of the questions. He said project details have not been finalized. He will take back the input from the meeting regarding  having sidewalks on both sides of the the street and the concern that not enough notice was given to residents about the meeting. He regretted the congruity of the sidewalk project and the curb island project. He assured the group the 2 are completely separate projects.

Construction could begin as soon as May and take 9 months to complete. A more definitive timeline will be forthcoming once a final decision is made.

City contacts for the project are:

Darryl Haba, Project Manager
974-7205
Darryl.Haba@ci.austin.tx.us
or
Mike Curtis, Public Works Pedestrian & Bike Program Manager
974-7056
Michael.Curtis@ci.austin.tx.us