Oddly enough, we're doing exactly that. Waller Creek which runs through downtown Austin, will be turned into a riverwalk-like-development. Right now the creek is a mess. It's a public bath for the bums and fills with trash and debris from runoff. And because it's prone to flooding, it's virtually unusable and insurance companies refuse to cover it for any major development along its banks. A tunnel project in Waterloo Park a few blocks east of the Capitol will change all that. They'll be able to keep the water level at a constant by pumping water up through the tunnel (pipe) from Town Lake. It'll also control the flood waters. So basically a riverwalk-like setting could be created. The tunnel is already under construction. With this project finished, 27 acres of downtown could be opened up for major development. It would totally transform the east side of downtown.

Our newspaper readers usually don't know what's going on in downtown either, and mostly complain about things, namely spending. There's a lot of condo bashing going on for sure, which is funny since most of these condos don't cost taxpayers a dime and generate millions of dollars for the city in property taxes. The funny thing is, these are people who never even go downtown. So not to be harsh or cruel, but their value of opinion in that area is nil. The fact that most of them have never even heard of the Waller Creek tunnel project that I mentioned above, shows how unfamiliar they are with issues and developments in downtown. It's not only "downtown" bashing either, it's pretty much anything that can be seen as progressive and urban, like people complaining about spending on bike lanes or sidewalk improvements. Their position is that they don't want to pay for it. Of course these are people who don't live in downtown or Central Austin, most live in suburban areas, or at least not in central ones. Some of the biggest opponents of downtown come from people who don't even have an Austin address, but live inside the metro. Round Rock comes to mind here.

And again, not to sound harsh or cruel, but you have to cut those people out of the picture. Ignore their money and bribes. The City needs to do what is best for the central neighborhoods and central commercial zones based on what people of those areas want, but also to do things that have been proven before to keep the central part of the city vibrant. People on the fringes of the city will always complain, while at the same time never setting foot there to see for themselves the improvements. The fact that they're unwilling to compromise means there's no hope for working with them on things. These are people who have already made up their minds that they don't want anything to do with downtown or the central areas.

Well said. It saddens me that people think this way. How could they be so narrow minded that all they want to know is how much it's going to cost them, if it even does. How could they not take pride in their own community/city to not want to help fix it and make something of it?

made the walk from my house (deco district) to the new section of the riverwalk.

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it was obscenely hot yesterday. the extension does not have nearly the tree cover that the "old riverwalk" has. literally a 10-15 degree difference between the two sections. remarkable.

tons of real estate ready to be developed on the extension. TONS. it will be crazy to see how quickly it gets bought up and how high the buildings will rise.

much of the art (at least during the day time) was underwhleming. still, it did distract me from the fact that i was crossing under a 10 lane interstate highway.

the beauty of this area will only be known in 10-15 years. as of now, it is a long sidewalk along a concrete canal. as the development ramps up, i think the whole thing will come alive as the spine of a great urban zone.

I'm jealous, I really really wanted to go. Even thought about buying a couple of plane tickets and just telling the wife, "pack up, we're going down to SA for a couple days." Hopefully waiting until Christmas means it won't be quite as hot, tho ;)

When you say "tons of real estate ready to be developed", are you speaking to the potential for development of the adjoining properties, or are we talking actual renderings and signs with phone numbers and websites?

Did you (or anybody) check out the lock and dam? I think that's the part I'm most anticipating, although I think they missed a big opportunity by not adding a water slide somewhere, complete with mounted water guns that people on the bridges can use to spray people in the boat :P

I can see the art being somewhat underwhelming in person, especially considering how much that aspect has been hyped. Luckily, that's something that's relatively impermanent and will be changed and adapted to the times and tastes of the future.

Are there any restaurants along the new section yet, or do I need to go to the original section of the Riverwalk to eat ?

That's why I went early :tup:

Keep-SA-Lame did you happen to go to Chester's yesterday maybe about three or four? I saw a guy come in there with a t-shirt on that said, well guess. I wondered if it was you, but then decided not to ask at the last minute.

Nope. Sorry. ;)

Good thing I went with my decision, lol.

It's more underwhelming because they more night time pieces than day time pieces.

Wonder how long it will take for some hotel/condo high rise to get built there and make it like the rest of the river walk

I'm all for the Waller Creek project I think it would be awsome for Austin to have a riverwalk similar to SA other cities have done similar developments downtown like that take a look at Bricktown in Oklahoma City with the Bricktown canal it's similar to the riverwalk.

real estate: talking about the sheer amount of undeveloped river frontage. TONS of space along the river where there is either nothing or nothing of real value (read: take a payout and demolish to make wya for new construction). no websites or signs yet.

the lock and dam is nice looking. definitely drew a crowd. nothing to incredible, imho, but certainly a point to stop and take in. also, no water cannons as of yet. although one could bring a super-soaker...

art... well, ya. i heard one of the tour operators say (under a specific bridge)that "while this art looks underwhelming during the day, it was designed to be seen at night." a rider asked if it is better at night and she responded, "actually, it is pretty much just as bad at night, sorry to say."

No actual restaurants. Some places to eat around Pearl, but they aren't on the river.

A couple (obvious tourists) actually stopped me and asked if there were bars or restaurants... we had to direct them back to the "old section".

funny enough, about an hour later, they showed up at the table next to ours at an "old section" pub.

the VFW hall, i must say, was rocking, though. i don't know if they had food, but they had a ton of people, some great bands, lots of dancing, and everyone with a drink in their hand.

this is true to a certain degree.

we went back sunday night.

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at night, the school of fish under i-35 are amazing. really stunningly beautiful. also, there is a colony of bats that emerge from there every night around 8:15pm. a pretty sizeable crowd was waiting for them. could definitely see that as being a new tradition around SA.

the grotto is painfully foreign. maybe it'll slowly look more at home there, but for now it is an eyesore. only my opinion, but yeesh... at night or in the day.

the other under-bridge art, save for the fish and the "audio sculpture" was even more underwhelming at night than in the day. one piece in particular left someone in my party wondering if the artist was embarrassed to have his name on it. looked like something that was cool in concept and totally missed in production.

the SAMA stretch is beautiful. they did a first class job.

finally, everything feels pretty safe. there are visible park police and the whole place is well-lit. i think it might be much different when all of the crowds are gone, though. we'll see.

i wonder if there will be lot of homesless camping out there

probably much less now than the amount that used too before the construction. The Haven for Hope should help alleviate some of the problems DT has with the homeless, at least in the River North area. Its all part of the master plan to "clean up the area."

Has anyone been in the new locks and dam? I'll go when I get home but was just wondering if anyone has. From the pics it looks like it could feel sorta like an oven in the heat of summer...w/ no shade and surrounded by concrete. I can easilly see the sun baking away and making tourist cakes in there while people wait for the water to fill...

I'm going down in a few minutes, I'll be sure to take some pictures, though I don't know if I'll be taking boat ride.

I hate when plans change... :-( but I have some decent shots of the tea gardens if anyone wants me to post them.