Those of us who follow happenings along streets like Lamar and Burnet expect a new wave of redevelopment in the next 5-10 years, as the economy picks up. This will coincide with the opening of rapid bus service running every 10 minutes starting in 2011 (Lamar) and 2013 (Burnet). We have questions:
- Will new housing occur randomly up and down a miles-long corridor, like traditional car-centric apartments? Or will it be focused in "town centers" at places like Burnet/Anderson and Lamar/Airport, where it is close to better transit, relatively buffered from single-family homes, and designed to encourage strong community?
- Will support for town center districts be just sidewalks on the side of a hot, noisy, smelly street? Or will town centers be supported with a combination of outdoor features like plazas, pocket parks, trails and sidewalks that together encourage alternatives to driving on area streets?
- Where will the funding and ordinance changes come from to achieve family-friendly and transit-friendly development? How quickly will City policy changes occur? Will it be in time to influence the next wave?
Two of the City's influential policymakers are coming out to North Central Austin to address these questions.
Tue April 20 - Asst Mobility Director Gordon Derr Will Speak On Planning of Suburban Transit Corridors
Tue May 18 - Asst Planning Director Garner Stoll Will Speak On Comp Planning and Suburban Redevelopment
Join us at the next two meetings of Sustainable Neighborhoods to find out what the City has in mind, and how we can influence these changes in a neighborhood-friendly fashion. The meetings are 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the activity center of the Village Christian Apartments, 7925 Rockwood Ln. I think these two meetings can have positive repercussions for the City's planning efforts now underway. But we need your participation for that to happen. Please come out!