 "Photo: Jacqueline Gilles/The Daily Texan Staff")
City of Austin officials presented much-awaited plans at Austin Community College’s Riverside Campus on Thursday night to residents and investors for the redevelopment of the East Riverside Corridor.
The project aims to create a more inviting residential space along a stretch of East Riverside Drive extending roughly 3.5 miles from just south of Downtown to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The street is characterized by six lanes of fast-moving car traffic, narrow sidewalks and a relatively empty street grid.
“We want to create pedestrian-friendly commercial centers and create a more human-scale feeling,” said city planner Tonya Swartzendruber.
Swartzendruber explained the importance of implementing a smaller street grid — 300 feet by 300 feet — in order to create a more neighborhood-oriented space similar to South Congress Avenue or Downtown.
A key part of the redevelopment plan is a new proposed light rail system which will have four main stops. The majority of residential and commercial redevelopment will occur within a quarter-mile of these stations. This would create “hubs of activity” along East Riverside Drive.
“There’s already a high level of transit service,” said George Adams, a city spokesman, responding to concern about the cost and other implementation barriers to the rail system. “So we could move forward waiting for it, or, in the worst-case scenario, [without] it.”
Adams explained that it is not yet decided whether the city or by Capital Metro would operate the rail system. A design plan and budget have yet to be outlined as well.
The city is hoping businesses and developers will be willing to invest in the area.
But large-scale obstacles do exist that could potentially set back the East Riverside Corridor redevelopment, Adams said.
“The two big hurdles are, of course, the economy and the crime rate,” he said.
Some Riverside residents are concerned about losing the culture of their neighborhoods.
“I don’t think complete regentrification is what’s called for, but I do want to be safer and have a better aesthetic,” said Ernesto Rodriguez, a Riverside resident.
City planners are considering proposing the plan to Austin City Council in September.
