Public Notice: Oaks, Highways, and No Pickleball? A potpourri of upcoming happenings – News
[ad_1]
At press time, Oak Hill Neighbors (an organization in uppercase, not just a collection of lowercase letters) and the Texas Department of Transportation are weighing their next steps after U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ruled the Save Barton slightly overdue. Creek Association and other plaintiffs are trying to stop construction of the Oak Hill Expressway planned by TxDOT. Pitman ruled that the agency’s environmental review process, which ignored plaintiffs’ more humane Oak Hill Parkway alternative to rebuilding US 290 and Texas 71 through the Y (see “Trade-Offs and Throughput,” Aug 6) was sufficient .
If that sounds eerily like the discussion that is now swirling around TxDOT’s Capital Express Central project – where the promise to “stay no higher, no wider” when rebuilding I-35 through downtown has fallen by the wayside is (“Every comment counts,” Aug. 10) – you’re right. It’s the same story, two years later. Today, Oak Hill neighbors are talking about being chained to 200-year-old trees; in the summer of 2023, business people are on the phone from downtown with their lobbyists. Will either tactic be more than temporary annoyance for the huge highway agency that stumbles past time and through our city? We’ll see.
“Project Connect – What’s Next” is the theme of the next ULI Austin Breakfast Event, which will take place next Wednesday, September 22nd, from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm as a hybrid event – on Zoom or in person at the Austin Central Library. Panellists include Nefertitti Jackmon, the city’s first commissioner to prevent evictions; Peter Mullan, Head of Architecture and Urban Development, Austin Transit Partnership; and Stan Wall of HR&A Advisors who worked on the Downtown Austin Plan. See austin.uli.org/events for information or registration; the cost varies between $ 15 and $ 75.
Sports news
How often do you see a brand new major league sport being born here in Austin? Never, that often, because the people at Red Knot Communications say it will be the first event of its kind in history. Beyond that, I don’t know anything other than that the Red Knot team has some very experienced folks behind them, the website has soccer and basketball (so maybe a soccer basket hybrid?) And the event is at 11 a.m. Tue, Sept 21, in Dreamland, 2770 W. Hwy 290 in Dripping Springs, who mysteriously posted a large banner at the top of their homepage saying “NO PICKLEBALL OPEN PLAY SEPT 21”. So you know it’s big. See you there.
And how often do you take part in a virtual kayak race – in real kayaks? I also suspect this won’t take place until next week when the Austin Community College Foundation starts their annual Riverbat Paddle Battle on Lady Bird Lake. Register now on riverbatpaddlebattle.com, go to the rowing dock anytime between September 25th and October 25th for a full day pass, paddle yourself and enter your target time online. All proceeds go to the ACCF to support student scholarships and staff development. $ 45 adults; $ 25 for under 18
[ad_2]
