January 13, 2015 By Amanda Dugan
You will soon have more options to walk, hike and bike through Central Texas as crews continue to make progress on the Violet Crown Trail.
The trail system will connect Zilker Park and Barton Springs Pool to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Veloway. Construction started last year and it’s now time to nail down plans for the second phase of the trail system.
Construction along the next phase would begin in 2016. A definite route has not been decided, but officials have developed four suggested routes and are looking for public input.
The 1.5-mile section in Southwest Austin would stretch from Home Depot Boulevard to William Cannon Drive and end at Arbor Trails between MoPac and Brush Country Road. The Hill Country Conservancy and City of Austin are currently gathering cost estimates for the proposed routes and conducting environmental studies.
“We’d like to let people know why we chose the recommended alignment,” said Chad Crager with the City of Austin. “It was very methodical. We have a whole matrices that talks about all the different alternatives. From there we’d like to hear the comments and concerns going into final design.”
In addition to the Violet Crown Trail, the City of Austin is working on creating, expanding or improving another six trails, including the Southern Walnut Creek Trail. The trail begins at Govalle Park and ends at Johnny Morris Road. The trail officially opened to the public this past October.
Country Club Creek Trail, which is still in the planning stages, would connect Lady Bird Lake to Mabel Davis Park in Southeast Austin. Construction on the 3-mile trek would begin in the fall of 2016.