The Texas Conservation Corps has begun installation of new mile-marker and way-finding signs along the main trail of the Barton Creek Greenbelt. The Hill Country Conservancy has donated sign design, manufacturing and installation coordination as part of the first phase of the Violet Crown Trail Master Plan. The Austin Parks Foundation has provided funding for the project, which is expected to last about five weeks. The Violet Crown Trail system includes about 5 miles of the Barton Creek Greenbelt Trail.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the American Planning Association have recognized the City of Austin with the 2015 HUD Secretary’s Opportunity and Empowerment Award for its Mueller Redevelopment and Reuse Plan. The plan called for the conversion of the former Mueller Municipal Airport into a mixed-use, mixed-income community to help revitalize East Austin. The HUD Secretary’s Award recognizes a plan, program or project that has been in effect for at least three years and improves the quality of life for low- and moderate-income community residents. The Mueller Redevelopment Plan and additional APA award winners will be honored at the 2015 National Planning Awards luncheon April 20 in Seattle. The plan will also be featured in the April 2015 issue of Planning magazine. Read more here.

Travis County ranked high on overall health compared to all participating counties in the state for the annual County Health Rankings. It was ranked ninth out of 237 Texas counties. The report was released recently by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Health officials say the survey underscores that people’s well-being is affected by where they live. The rankings allow each participating county to see how it compares to others on 30 factors, including smoking, high school graduation rates, income inequality, employment, physical activity, access to healthy foods and much more. The County Health Rankings relies on data and analysis that allow counties to see what makes residents sick or well, and how they compare to other counties in the same state. A full list of rankings is available here.

Just ahead of the usual influx of people for Austin’s March events, passenger traffic at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport jumped 8 percent in February. It marked the 61st out of the last 62 months that ABIA traffic has grown. Officials say total traffic in February was 738,355 passengers, while February boardings totaled 366,231, up 7.5 percent.  Most of the major airlines serving ABIA saw an increase in February passenger traffic, with the exceptions of American Airlines and JetBlue, both of which saw small drops in passengers.  February air cargo at ABIA was up 7 percent compared to February 2014; international air cargo was up 142.5 percent.

The Austin Monitor’s ongoing series “Beers, Brains and Betterment” is getting a new chapter this month. On April 28, a Tuesday, we will be hosting a discussion on Austin’s new medical school and the Innovation District. Come join UT Dell Medical School Dean Clay Johnston, Austin Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo and Civic Analytics’ Brian Kelsey for a discussion about the school and its impact on the City of Austin. The conversation will be moderated by Monitor publisher Mike Kanin and, though admission is free, you can RSVP for the event here.

Capital Metro officials have reported that the agency had record-breaking ridership on its buses and trains from March 13-22, corresponding with the main stretch of South by Southwest 2015. The agency provided extended services to help relieve some of the congestion caused by the event, which equated to 1,700 additional hours of service. Several MetroRapid bus routes extended services March 21 until 2:30 a.m. The regular weekend service ends at 12:30 a.m. MetroRail also extended its services throughout the week. Midday trains ran every 30 minutes. Routes to ABIA and late-night buses also ran every 15 minutes during the festival. Ridership on MetroRapid and MetroRail topped last year’s event by 15 percent and peaked on March 20, which saw over 9,000 rides. Ridership on March 21 reached 8,500 boardings. CapMetro’s average weekday ridership in February was 2,653. The SXSW extra services cost approximately $350,000, said John Julitz, communications specialist with CapMetro.

The Hays County Commissioners Court has voted to charge admission to the Jacob’s Well Natural Area and to limit access to preserve the well and its surrounding native habitat. Beginning May 1, those wishing to swim must reserve a two-hour time block on the county’s website. Every two hours, a new group will replace the previous one, with a maximum of 300 total swimmers per day. In addition, there will be an entrance fee of $9 for adults — $5 for Hays County residents with a photo ID showing residency — and $5 for children ages 5-12. Military service members and veterans as well as seniors ages 60 and up will pay $5. There will be no charge for children 4 and under. For more park information, visit www.co.hays.tx.us.

Despite a vow to “stop the naming,” the Parks and Recreation Department project to rename the Austin Tennis Center is currently underway. On March 17, the department began the 90-day public comment period for the renaming. Austinites are invited to participate in the process by suggesting an individual and submitting a biographical sketch illustrating “the individual’s involvement in the community; and the individual’s connection, if any, to the Austin park system.” Suggestions for naming the park after something other than a person are also acceptable, but those require a justification as well. Nomination forms are available online or at the Parks and Recreation Department’s Annex Building. They can be submitted via email to April Thedford.

As the Austin Monitor reported today, the comment period for improvements to MoPac Expressway has been extended. Tonight, Austin Mayor Steve Adler, Austin Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, Austin City Council Member Ann Kitchen, Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea, Rollingwood Mayor Thom Farrell and AISD Trustee Amber Elenz will hold a forum to discuss proposed changes to the expressway. CTRMA and TxDOT are proposing to construct toll lanes and elevated lanes over Lady Bird Lake, and the CAMPO board will vote soon on the plan. Tonight’s forum, which promises to be lively, will take place at 6 p.m. at Austin High School, 1715 W. Cesar Chavez St.

Parks and Recreation Department Director Sara Hensley expressed surprise at the Parks Board meeting Tuesday when several residents brought up the MoPac Improvement Project, and a proposed elevated double-decker bridge over Lady Bird Lake and parts of Zilker Park. Hensley said she had just heard about the plan Monday by “happenchance” when she met with a council member from Rollingwood who expressed concerns about noise from the bridge affecting the experience of park visitors. The plan, Hensley and the board learned at the meeting, also calls for plexiglass to go around the bridge in the hopes of keeping traffic noise to a minimum. This, too, was news. “I didn’t even know about the plexiglass,” Hensley said Tuesday.

Art in Public Places seeks to commission temporary public artworks for the 2015 cycle of the TEMPO program. TEMPO is a program of the city’s Cultural Arts Division of the Economic Development Department. Professional visual artists and designers who live and work in Williamson, Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Burnet and Blanco counties are eligible to apply. Multiple commissions will be awarded. The budget for artwork ranges from $3,000 to $10,000 for each commissioned work. Artists may select from a list of city-owned sites, including parkland, libraries and right of way, and craft a proposal for a short-term artwork or time-based performance that responds to that specific site. Selected artworks will be installed for varying periods of time between July and December 2015. Proposals must be submitted by 5 p.m. April 24,  through www.PublicArtist.org, an online application system. To read the complete Request for Proposals, go here.

The city will host a community meeting April 7 for the public to meet candidates for the next chief animal services officer position and provide input about who is selected. This position oversees the operations of the Austin Animal Center, which provides shelter to more than 18,000 animals annually and serves Austin and Travis County. The officer will lead a staff of 98 with an annual budget of $10.6 million. At the community meeting, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from and interact with the winnowed applicants and will be asked to offer feedback regarding the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses. Those scheduled for interviews include: Dustin Deel, assistant director of Municipal and Community Services, Weatherford, Texas; Tawny Hammond, Animal Shelter director, Fairfax County, Virginia; Kevin Hertell, executive director, Second Chance Center for Animals, Flagstaff, Arizona; and Anne Martinez, assistant director, Department of Youth Services, Bernalillo County, New Mexico. Deputy Animal Services Officer Chris Noble has served as the interim chief officer since the departure of Abigail Smith in December. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road.