The focus of the May 6th, 2008 general meeting was information from city staff about the new floodplain maps and the Steck re-striping study.
The first speaker was Gary Kosut, from the City of Austin Watershed Protection and Development Review Department. Mr. Kosut brought several large maps. The first one showed the approximate boundaries of the Memorial Day flood of 1981, during which water flowed over the Steck bridge. He displayed the “old” floodplain map based on a 1993 study. The limits of the floodplain were based on downstream improvements to Shoal Creek prior to the study. The new floodplain map becomes official September 26, 2008. This new map is based on a $4 million dollar study, and shows significant lowering of the predicted flood waters along properties on Millway. The changes are due to upstream improvements in terms of retaining ponds. Mr. Kosut observed than with the new maps, some homeowners might not be required to carry flood insurance (based on their mortgage requirements). However, it is always a good idea to have flood insurance if you are near waterways.
We requested copies of the floodmaps that Mr. Kosut showed at the meeting and you can view them on the Floodplain page located under the “About” tab or by clicking here.
The second speaker was Annick Beaudet, from the City of Austin Bicycle and Pedestrian Program. Ms. Beaudet described the planned re-striping of Steck between Burnet and Shoal Creek Blvd to implement a “road diet”, resulting in 1 car lane and 1 bike lane in each direction, with a shared left-turn lane. Similar projects have been done in other cities, and studies demonstrate increased bicycle use without a negative impact on the road capacity for vehicles. To verify the impact of this local project, a detailed before and after study is being conducted to measure Steck as well as surrounding streets. The “before” measurements were taken in mid-April, and the “after” measurements are planned for next spring. The actual re-striping will occur in conjunction with a planned chip and seal re-surfacing this summer. A second phase of the project is to explore how bicycle lanes can be implemented between Shoal Creek Blvd and Mopac.
The Safety Committee asked for interested people to sign up to participate. The National Night Out has been moved to October (from August), but the City of Austin hasn’t confirmed this new month.
The Social Committee is organizing a May 17 neighborhood-wide garage sale, contact Aleda Johnson at 453-0672 to have your house listed. The July 4th parade is happening soon. We need volunteers to help organize as well as work the day of the event.
The Development Committee is working on the new VMU Opt-In recommendations, which probably will be heard May 13 at the Planning Commission.
The Media Committee continues work on the newsletter and web site, and plans to implement a PayPal dues payment scheme. It was suggested that we consider distributing the newsletter to the area apartments. In the future, the newsletter will be delivered to members who live in apartments.
The Traffic Committee helped take pedestrian/bike traffic counts over the weekend of April 19-20 as part of the Steck re-striping pilot study.
The Bylaws Committee continues to meet, suggested changes are welcome.
Photos from the meeting:
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 First guest speaker, Gary Kosut |  Second guest speaker, Annick Beaudet |
