Violet Crown Trail... progressing - 611 acres purchased

On Aug. 31, the City of Austin finalized the purchase of 611 acres in Spillar Ranch, the southern portion of subdivision Avaña-Esquel, in Southwest Austin and northern Hays County [for 11.8 million dollars].  The city plans to prevent the development of more than 500 homes in the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone and connect the land to the Violet Crown Trail, a 30-mile regional trail system.

Violet Crown Trails

The City of Austin, in partnership with the Hill Country Conservancy, has been working toward the creation of the Violet Crown Trail. The trail, formerly known as the Walk for a Day trail, would allow for more than 30 miles of connecting trails throughout the area.

“The Violet Crown Trail is regional trail system starting in Austin at Zilker Park right by the Barton Springs pool, following the greenbelt and turning southward through Sunset Valley, connecting parks, schools, neighborhoods, retail,” said George Cofer, the executive director of the Hill Country Conservancy. “The new land will connect at the Veloway Trail at the Lady Bird Johnson Center and goes into Hays County.”

The trail is being implemented in three phases. Phases 1 and 2 are expected to be complete by 2014. The new land purchase, which is Phase 3, will allow for the trail to connect from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, located on La Crosse Avenue, through Hays County.

“Now that the city owns the acreage, we have some great opportunities to revisit where the trail can run,” Cofer said. “It is going to be an official route of the trail, we just don’t know where exactly yet. The official maps are still conceptual.”

Cofer said there is still a lot to learn about the land within the 611 acres, adding that the purchase is an exciting addition to the regional trail plans. There is currently no timeline as to when the entire trail system will be complete.

“It is going to be a much better trail user experience,” Cofer said. “HCC, the city and the other partners’ primary goal is to provide a trail user experience that also respects the conservation values of the sensitive lands.”

Purchasing the 611 acres is a step forward in accomplishing that goal, he said.

By: Kate Hull - Community Impact Newspaper (full article)

Austin Ranked in Top 10 list of Nation's Green Cities

The City of Austin was recently named as one of the nation’s 10 greenest cities by the Mother Nature Network, an environmental news and information site founded by Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell.

Austin ranked number 10 on the list, with Portland ranking No. 1. Other cities on the list include: San Francisco, Boston, Berkeley and Seattle.

In the ranking, the network cited Austin’s Climate Protection Program, a plan to go carbon-neutral by 2020; and the city’s electric utility Austin Energy, the nation’s largest provider of renewable energy, among its reasons for naming Austin a Top 10 Green City.
"Austin is a green city because of our engaged community, and we hope our residents will continue to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions," Ester Matthews, director of the Austin Climate Protection Program, said in a statement.