Council to honor former member by naming a bend in Shoal Creek trail

At 1 p.m. today, City Council will consider and most likely approve an ordinance honoring former Council Member Chris Riley, who has spent years advocating for Austin’s trails and greenbelts, as well as for the safety of those who use them. The resolution directs the city manager to name and prepare signage for the segment of the Shoal Creek Greenbelt Trail between West Avenue and Fifth Street to honor Riley.

Council Member Ryan Alter, the lead sponsor on the resolution, told the Austin Monitor, “As both an advocate and policymaker, no one has done more to expand Austin’s bicycle infrastructure than Chris Riley. This is particularly true of the Shoal Creek Trail between Fifth and West that this item seeks to name as the ‘Chris Riley Bend.’ As we continue to build out our All Ages and Abilities network, I think it’s long past time to recognize Chris’ critical work and celebrate his contributions to our community.” His co-sponsors include Council members Paige Ellis, Zo Qadri and Chito Vela.

Riley said he was “deeply honored and moved” by Council’s decision to name the bend in the trail after him.

According to the ordinance, Shoal Creek was the historic Western boundary of the city when it was founded in 1839. The first mayor of Austin, Edwin Waller, named the creek, and the bridle path beside it got the same name. That path formed the basis for the Shoal Creek Greenbelt Trail. Riley, an avid bicyclist, became increasingly involved in community efforts to improve the Shoal Creek corridor during the 1990s. During his time on Council from 2009 through 2014, he successfully championed a project that provides pedestrian and bicycle connectivity, streambank stabilization and other improvements to downtown area trails.

Riley told the Austin Monitor on Wednesday that there was a gap in the trail for many years that made it “a real pain” to use the trail anywhere south of Fifth Street. It was especially difficult during bad weather, he said, recalling that he and others had to carry their bikes across the creek because “the city did not have the easements in place to connect the trail on West Avenue.”

Eventually, Riley said he was able to work with developer Perry Lorenz to acquire the easements necessary to provide bike and pedestrian connectivity. But then he had to deal with the city’s bureaucracy to make sure that the trail was appropriately put together and maintained. Riley recalled taking then-City Manager Marc Ott down to look at the trail to see the problem himself. Ott assigned an assistant city manager to help Riley get the various city departments together to solve the problem. After months that became years of meetings, Riley left office. And after his departure, the improvements to the trail were finally completed, he said.

In addition to his work on Council, Riley co-founded the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association and served on the board of the Austin Parks Foundation for five years. He served on the city’s Planning Commission for six years before being elected to Council. After he left office in 2015, Riley attended the Pratt Institute, where he received a master’s degree in urban placemaking and management. He has continued to be an active member of the community through a variety of organizations, including Bike Austin, Vision Zero ATX and Safe Streets Austin. On Wednesday, he said the three groups have merged and are looking forward to hiring their first paid staff member.

Several of the issues that Riley worked on when he served on Council have only recently been adopted. He noted that he could not find one co-sponsor when he tried to eliminate certain parking requirements, even around transit corridors. He said he was also impressed that the current Council has made strides toward facilitating more home construction through the HOME initiative.

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