DISQUS

Chris · 1 year ago

I wish I had the expertise to add some useful information to this topic (especially since density is the big hot-button issue in Austin's local elections), but here's how not to deal with sprawl on a very local level: Austin has all these charming neighborhoods--Hyde Park, North Loop, South Congress, etc.--and they all have their own completely un-charming fascist neighborhood groups. A new development on a tract of land previously owned by the state ran into opposition from the Hyde Park neighborhood group, who feared the increased density adjacent to Hyde Park would bring increased congestion to the neighborhood. They wanted a park instead. The completely stupid compromise reached by the neighborhood and the developer was to close off the 50th St access to the new development from not just cars but bikes and foot-traffic as well. (Of course, the FD needs access, so there'll be a road where now the street dead-ends, but it will have a locked gate.) Here's the whole story from a blog I think you'll find pretty interesting.