To be held June 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m
Since its construction as a boulevard on the outer limits of the city in 1958, Ben White has served as an important transportation connection. As the city has grown, the roadway has experienced significant variations, including its reconstruction as a freeway in the 1990's, which resulted in considerable changes along the corridor.
South Austin residents and business owners will now have an opportunity to re-imagine the future of the Ben White area located between Frontier Trail and Banister Lane at a workshop to be held this Saturday, June 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in the Crockett High School cafeteria, 5601 Manchaca Road.
During the workshop, participants will work in groups to draft principles and create maps and sketches that imagine a more functional, vibrant, and attractive corridor, with appropriate transitions to the neighborhood to the south. Representatives from the Texas Department of Transportation, City of Austin Transportation, Public Works, and Watershed departments, as well as local volunteer architects will assist participants in creating a physical vision of the area on paper to guide future redevelopment.
This workshop is the fifth in a year-long planning process that will result in the development of the South Austin Combined Neighborhood Plan (SACNP). The planning area is bounded by Ben White Boulevard to the north, William Cannon Drive to the south, West Gate Boulevard/the Sunset Valley city limits to the west, and South 1st Street to the east, and is comprised of the Westgate, South Manchaca, and Garrison Park neighborhoods.
The Plan will be guided by Imagine Austin’s vision of creating a city of complete communities in which residents have convenient access to their daily needs, such as goods, services, parks and jobs. While Imagine Austin articulates a city-wide vision for Austin and indicates generally where Austin should grow over the next 30 years, the SACNP will provide a neighborhood-scale plan that accounts for local conditions.
For more information on the planning process and upcoming meetings, contact Francis Reilly at 512-974-7657 or by e-mail , or visit the SACNP website .