Public Access to 911 Boulevard is Under Threat
Please sign the petition by clicking epetition to support maintaining public access to the 911 Boulevard. Below is background information about the 911 Boulevard and the ESD#4 Board actions that create the threat of reducing or eliminating public access to this critical connector drive.
BACKGROUND INFO
The Glenlake neighborhood and surrounding area have the highest risk of wildfire in Travis County (TC), according to TC Wildland Mitigation Officer and the Texas Forest Service. The area is served by Emergency Services District #4 (ESD4), with Fire Station 7 located on City Park Road near the main entrance to the Glenlake neighborhood. In 1994 ESD4 accepted a Deed for a parcel of land at the cul- de-sac of Glenlake Drive, and dedicated a public right-of-way (ROW) on May 25, 1995. Travis County Planning & Engineering Staff (Travis County Manager Joe Geiselman and endorsed by Steve Manilla, the Travis County Engineer) issued a memo to Travis County Commissioners on Jul 13, 1998 that recommended this “connector drive” be built, listing 18 benefits, including “…residents of Glenlake will have a safer access route to points north of the River Place Blvd”. In 2001 ESD4 installed the driveway connecting the end of Glenlake Drive to Narrow Ridge Drive within the River Place subdivision, as Travis County recommended. It is commonly referred to as “911 Blvd” because it is marked at both Glenlake Drive and Narrow Ridge Drive by a stone mailbox with the numbers “911.”
Residents who live in and around Glenlake have relied upon 911 Blvd for 14 years. It saves vital minutes for emergency service response and significantly shortens resident commute times to nearby schools, medical care, grocery, pharmacies, and other retail in the Four Points area.
For the past year, at the prompting of a few individuals, the ESD4 Board has discussed taking action in regard to the 911 Boulevard, “including but not limited to closing the road, eliminating the road, providing signage, and opening the road into a major roadway” (see ESD4 Minutes Aug 13, Sept 17 and Nov 17 2014 and Jan 14, 2015 posted at http://www.esd4.org/esd-4-board-meeting-minutes). At its Jul 21, 2015 meeting, ESD4 voted to install signage over the objections of the Glenlake Neighborhood Association (GNA) which it had received both in writing and via representatives at the Sept 17, 2014 ESD4 Board meeting. Through neighborhood representatives, an overwhelming majority of Glenlake residents have consistently asked the ESD4 Board that 911 Blvd remain open, as-is and with no signage, because they understand signage enforcement immediately or eventually restricts resident access.
At its Aug 19, 2015 meeting the ESD4 Board could not inform citizens what the signs will say or what impact the signage will have in limiting public access to 911 Blvd.
Sign the petition TODAY by clicking epetition or copying this link into your browser http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/petition-to-maintain-the-esd4-911-drive-as-an-open-public-right-of-way.html