The Downtown Commission last week gave an unofficial thumbs-up to the city’s efforts to improve safety in the Rainey Street nightlife district, in an effort to prevent more drownings in the area.
On July 19, representatives from the Parks and Recreation Department and The Trail Conservancy gave an update on the Rainey Street Trailhead project, which has been in the works for years, as well as more recent steps to improve lighting and pedestrian safety in the evenings when club and restaurant patrons are potentially at the most danger of falling into Lady Bird Lake. A pair of drownings in the district earlier this year drew attention to late-night safety in the area (and spawned online speculation of possible foul play connecting five such deaths in recent years in the area).
Nick Blok, capital projects manager for The Trail Conservancy, said the organization has invested $19 million in improving the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail. He added that it signed a park operations and management agreement with the parks department last summer to give The Trail Conservancy more agency over the trail. In planning the trailhead project, Blok noted that a 2021 study found that the most important safety concerns for visitors were trail width and surface conditions, with lighting and signage coming in lower on the list of safety issues.
As safety issues are addressed, possibly including strategies for improving lighting in the area, Blok noted the ecological needs of the waterfront will need to be taken into consideration.
“The primary goal of this project was to improve the ecological function of the 1 1/2 acres of park, provide better access to the lake for trail users, create stronger and more accessible neighborhood connections, and adding lighting and safety measures identified in the safety and mobility study,” Blok said.
The recent drownings forced Parks and Recreation Department staffers and others throughout the city to identify short- and long-term steps that could be taken to address safety. By mid-March, the Parks and Recreation Department had installed temporary solar lighting in four locations on the trail, installed 1,500 feet of temporary wooden split-rail fencing and added new cautionary signage to alert pedestrians to possible hazards in the area, said Lindsey Machamer, site development division manager for the department.
Follow-up meetings with staff from departments like Public Safety, Public Works and Watershed Protection helped to identify other possible steps, which are expected to cost between $800,000 and $1 million.
The city’s 2018 bond project is covering the bulk of the costs for the larger trailhead improvements, which are out for bid and expected to be completed next year. The new safety steps – possibly including additional cameras, safety beacons and call buttons – will also use 2018 bond funding.
A memo released earlier this month noted additional money for those improvements could possibly come from deferring some active projects, including the Shoal Creek rehabilitation project at Fifth and Sixth streets.
Other possible safety improvements include installing wayfinding signage along Rainey Street and on the trail to indicate closure hours, eliminating tripping hazards, reducing access to an existing set of stairs and taking steps to reduce the potential hazard of a concrete corner close to water access.
Machamer said all available parkland dedication funding has already been allocated for the relevant budget years, removing that as a possible funding source.
When asked what analysis has been done to determine where and how the recent drownings took place, Parks and Recreation Department Director Kimberly McNeeley said the department was not in a position to speculate. The larger concern is reducing the potential for future accidental deaths by directing people away from the water, she said.
“The furthest that we can bring people away from the water … the more likely we will have a positive safety outcome,” McNeeley said.
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City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department: The city department responsible for the city's park system, rec centers, and associated infrastructure.
Downtown Commission: The Downtown Commission serves as a steward for the Downtown Austin Plan and advises the Austin City Council on policies and projects that impact downtown.
