Submitted by Steve Kuehner
Background…
At the Planning Commission Meeting held this past Tuesday, 4/8, city staff presented the draft plan for the Crestview Station TOD. During the public comment portion of the meeting CNA concerns (opposition to the proposed street connection of the Crestview Station development to Justin Lane and lack of pedestrian/bicycle connectivity) were presented to the commission. Thanks go to the neighbors that attended and spoke.
At the meeting two alarming requests were made by Highland Neighborhood leadership.
- They stated their support of connecting the Crestview Station development with Justin Lane via a new street that appears in the recommendations as East Wind Drive. East Wind would connect with Justin and Justin would be connected to Canion Street east of Lamar.
- They requested the re-opening of westbound access at the Morrow/Lamar Blvd. intersection. The Planning Commission seemed unaware of the reasoning for this limitation of access to Morrow St. not to mention the years of effort by Crestview residents resulting in the no left turn onto Morrow from north bound Lamar and the no west bound access crossing from east of Lamar.
Some of you are new to Crestview and may not appreciate the added safety and quality of life provided by this attempt to deal with cut through traffic. Traffic counts for westbound cut through traffic were reduced significantly.
As a result of this recent request, the Planning Commission has asked city staff to review the possibilities of re-opening this intersection in the context of reviewing the affect of east/west traffic flow brought on by the Crestview Station TOD. Re-opening this intersection flies in the face of the effort by Crestview neighbors to address cut through traffic, in this case, the traffic on Morrow St. If this change comes to fruition it would swamp any traffic calming efforts currently in the development stage.
At the April 24th City Council Meeting city staff will present the TOD plan including recommendations to re-open the Morrow/Lamar intersection.
ACTION REQUESTED
Let the City Council hear your concerns.
Contact council members prior to April 24th Council Meeting.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/groupemail.htm
City of Austin
Name of Council Member
P.O. Box 1088
Austin, Texas 78767-8865
- Mayor Will Wynn
Phone: (512) 974-2250 - Council Member Lee Leffingwell
Phone: (512) 974-2260 - Council Member Mike Martinez
Phone: (512) 974-2264 - Council Member Jennifer Kim
Phone: (512) 974-2255 - Mayor Pro Tem Betty Dunkerley
Phone: (512) 974-2258 - Council Member Brewster McCracken
Phone: (512) 974-2256 - Council Member Sheryl Cole
Phone: (512) 974-2266
Attend the City Council meeting on April 24th and sign up in opposition to demonstrate your support of CNA’s position.
Consider speaking at the City Council mtg. on April 24th. During the time set aside for public comment.
Points to consider when contacting council:
- The Crestview/Wooten Neighborhood plan addresses the desire to limit cut through traffic on Morrow St. and maintain the current intersection design.
- Traffic counts for westbound traffic on Morrow were considerably higher prior to the limitation of westbound traffic at Lamar Blvd.
- The money spent by the city to create a diverter at that intersection and add no left turn signage was money well spent.
- The city and state should work together to make access to Anderson Lane westbound at Lamar safer. This would result in the desired effect of traffic using Anderson Lane to head west, not neighborhood streets like Justin or Morrow.
Questions or concerns, contact:
Steve Kuehner, Vice President Crestview NA
459-9601
