Traffic and Safety Committee
Newsletter – Fall 2023
Our CC HOA has worked diligently since February with our landscaping contractor, Urban Dirt, to clean up the ice storm debris and limbs from around Boulder Lane, our Community Center, and several other community HOA-owned properties. Thanks are due to our director, Russ Jakala, who took the lead on this huge clean-up effort. Our primary goal was to make driving, walking/jogging and biking along Boulder Lane safe. That goal has been accomplished even though there are still some HOA property trees and tree limbs that are stressed from not only the ice storm but also an exceptionally hot summer. At this time we are taking a “wait and see” approach to determine if the stressed trees can come back without the need for removal.
Update on the new Canyon Creek Fire/EMS station:
This badly needed new fire/EMS station site is located at 9804 N FM 620 which is on the northwest side of FM 620 between our two Boulder Lane neighborhood entrances. The contractor on this new Fire/EMS station (AFD station #54 and Travis County EMS station # 43) has already started preliminary site work. This new station is planned to be completed and operational by late 2024. A new police station co-located on the same property is in the conceptual stage, but it has not yet been funded by the city so there is no planned start date at this time.
Reported crime in our CC neighborhood has dropped significantly since the peak in 2021. Below is a summary of CC neighborhood crime activity reported:
District 6 city council member Mackenzie Kelly accepted our invitation to a Town Hall meeting in May 2023 along with APD Commander Lichter and their staff members. The main topics discussed were mostly safety and crime related including: noted resurgence of neighborhood crime, slow response times by police to 911 calls, the “homeless” situation in Austin and D6, status of the new combined Canyon Creek Fire/Police station to be built on FM 620 near Boulder Lane, and traffic and safety related issues resulting from rapid development on north FM 620, including many new apartment units and businesses. The Town hall meeting was attended by 40+ homeowners with a lively Q&A period in the last 30 minutes of the meeting.
We encourage all of our residents who have experienced crimes such as burglaries and thefts to report the crime (or attempted crime) and to call either 911 for an active crime in progress or 311 to report the incident after the fact. APD has previously committed to increased patrols in our neighborhood to help address this rising crime issue. Our committee tracks all reports in the City of Austin crime database and collaborates with APD and other local law enforcement agencies to help drive future decision-making that could make our neighborhood safer. Your assistance in reporting crime is important because the crime is not reported to APD. See the attached link to Addressing Vehicle Burglaries and Theft in Canyon Creek. We will communicate info and data updates on these issues to our residents via regular newsletters, e-blasts, our HOA website, social media, etc. For any residents who do not feel comfortable reporting their crimes to local authorities, you can complete the Form to Report Burglaries and Theft in Canyon Creek, which will be anonymized and consolidated with the city’s data when reviewing crime trends in our community.
To ensure that Member pedestrians and cyclists can safely enjoy our sidewalks, crosswalks, common areas and other public spaces, the Association continues to fund periodic patrols by off-duty Travis County deputy constables to provide traffic calming and pedestrian safety. These patrols are in addition to patrols by other law enforcement agencies such as APD and the Travis County Sheriff’s Department that are not funded by the Association.
At the suggestion of our HOA president, Brett Funderburg, our committee recently requested a safety improvement near the Boulder/Ember Glen intersection near CCE. The city ATD approved the installation of a new school zone speed limit sign (20 mph) between Ember Glen and the south Chestnut Ridge intersection. This sign has recently been installed and is intended to offer additional traffic calming and promote driver awareness as drivers approach the school intersection. The fact that school crossing guards are often not present in the morning and mid-afternoon when needed was a major issue driving this safety improvement. This crossing guard issue is being discussed with school officials and our residents are encouraged to volunteer as crossing guards.
Our committee and the HOA board are closely following development projects in our area along the RM 620 corridor and working with city transportation staff and with TxDOT staff as well as developers to ensure that these new developments minimize the impact on traffic and promote traffic and pedestrian safety. Area development projects we are currently following include:
Plaza Volente: 300+ unit apartment complex just south of the HEB at Anderson Mill Rd)
Volvo auto dealership (near the RM 620, Buckner Rd, and Boulder Lane intersections) is currently in construction.
Juniper Apartments at 7907 N. FN 620 (near Home Depot) with 279 units planned.
Woodland Greens apartment complex on RM 620: 300+ unit apartment complex (where the old Woodland Greens Golf Center was previously located) is in the latter stages of construction.
The 183 North Mobility Project is in construction for dynamically priced toll lane additions (similar to Mopac Express lanes) between SH 45 and Mopac (click here for schematic and more info:183 North Mobility Project)
620/Anderson Mill intersection improvements are now approved and funded. Detailed engineering design and environmental work are now on-going as well as front end discussions with businesses along 620 that must be removed prior to start of construction. This intersection is proposed to have significant reconfiguration within the next few years (click here for conceptual design:620/Anderson Mill Intersection Schematic). Additional info on this project and others along RM 620 can be found here:TxDOT RM 620 Projects
Highpoint at 2222 (which is the old 3M campus) located at FM 2222 and River Place Blvd) is a multi-phase, mixed use redevelopment project. The existing main building is currently being remodeled and upgraded. Future use may include multi-family, retail, as well as office space. This project will have a significant impact to NW Austin in many ways and will include major issues such as traffic congestion and traffic safety, and nearby school access. We are in active discussions with the current owner, Karlin Real Estate, to ensure that our concerns as well as concerns of other area neighborhoods and organizations are heard and addressed well in advance of any potential future development plans being finalized and implemented. Click on this link for more info: Info on Highpoint at 2222 being developed by Karlin Real estate
In July of this year a resident who lives on Chestnut Ridge Rd reported observing what appeared to be excessive speeding (possibly over 55 mph) on Chestnut Ridge in a posted 30 mph speed limit zone. Our committee obtained speed data from the city on both radar speed units installed on Chestnut Ridge. The following is a summary of speed data obtained for the period Jan 01 - July 17, 2023:
During this approximate 6 month period there were a total of around 127,000 vehicles that passed by the two radar speed units located on Chestnut Ridge
There were a total of 15 vehicles out of the 127,000+ vehicles that were recorded at 50 – 54 mph, 3 vehicles were recorded at 55-59 mph, and 1 vehicle was recorded at 60-64 mph.
In summary, while 19 vehicles being recorded speeding at between 50-64 mph in this 6-month period is certainly disappointing, it is a tiny fraction of all vehicles and is virtually impossible to completely eliminate. Our HOA and Traffic and Safety committee will focus more of our future weekly deputy constable patrol time on this speeding issue on Chestnut Ridge to try to catch or deter these handfuls of excessive speeders.
Reminders Concerning Traffic and Pedestrian Safety:
Respect the right-of-way of pedestrians in our neighborhood. It is state law that vehicles must yield the right of way to pedestrians standing at the entrance of or in crosswalks. To yield, vehicles must come to a complete stop and wait while pedestrians enter, cross and exit the crosswalk. Walk only on the sidewalks and crosswalks, not in the street. Vehicles must not block the crosswalks!
Reminder: Vehicles must be parked at least 15 ft from a fire hydrant, 20 ft from a crosswalk, and 30 ft from an intersection with a stop sign or yield sign. Some vehicles, particularly near our elementary school, have not always been following these traffic regulations.
Drive within the posted speed limits for safety (trying to save a few extra seconds by speeding is not safe or smart and it can cost you a lot of money). Boulder Lane is posted at 35 mph while all other streets in CC are 30 mph zones (except for school zones and limited 25 mph zones). Note speed limits are set based on ideal driving conditions so wet roads, heavy traffic or pedestrian presence warrants reducing speed below the posted limit.
If you see someone driving recklessly or if you experience “road rage”, call 911 immediately and report as many details of the reckless driving as possible such as the nature of the event, license plate number, make/model/color of vehicle, location, driver description, etc. Please do not chase or confront the driver.
Current Canyon Creek “Traffic and Safety Committee” Members:
Randy Lawson – Chair
Dave Marshall – Co-Chair
Serge Zirojevic
Ryan Sullivan
Mark Grosvenor
Dean El-Baz
Notes:
You can contact the committee members directly at the following email address: traffic@canyoncreek.net
Click on the following link to access previously issued Traffic and Safety Committee Newsletters:https://canyoncreek.net/search?q=newsletter