Hundreds came out to celebrate Independence Day at the annual Fourth of July Parade at Towne Square in Steiner Ranch. Photos by Erin Seitzler and Lynette Haaland.
Patriotic!
Fourth of July Parade in Steiner Ranch
Author Archives: Lynette
TxDOT clarifies growth projections, 19% traffic growth in Four Points by 2020
By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News
Texas Department of Transportation unveiled plans last month for an auxiliary connector road and additional through lanes to help relieve congestion in Four Points during the Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association annual meeting. After the meeting, SRNA asked for clarification about the traffic growth projections used in the traffic studies for RM 620 and RM 2222 improvements.
With the proposed connector road and additional lanes, there would be a estimated decrease in delays in Four Points traffic of 65 percent by the year 2020, said Mark Jones, Georgetown area engineer with TxDOT at the May 28 meeting.
“At the meeting it was stated that a 2 percent growth was used per year, but the graphic also showed a 77 percent increase in congestion between now and 2020,” said Brian Thompto, chairman of the SRNA.
This chart shows there would be a 77 percent increase in delays without adding a connector road.
Provided by TxDOT
TxDOT provided a clarification for the traffic growth projection. Continue reading
Local developer part of Austin’s first Sustainably Roadway, Parmer Lane will run through Dwyer’s WildHorse community
By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News
Local developer Pete Dwyer is part of Austin’s first Sustainably Roadway project, a $9 million extension of Parmer Lane just west of Manor, which broke ground last week.
Pete Dwyer at the June 18 groundbreaking ceremony for Austin’s first Sustainable Roadway project.
“Central Texas is a hub of innovation and ingenuity; now, even our region’s road construction efforts can maintain that entrepreneurial spirit,” said Dwyer, a Steiner Ranch resident and principal of Dwyer Realty Companies.
The Parmer Lane Sustainable Roadway Project is a 1.5-mile, divided, four-lane roadway that will extend the current Parmer Lane at U.S. 290 south and east to connect to Texas 130 through the heart of the 1,450-acre WildHorse property.
Dwyer and the rest of the team developing the WildHorse community were joined by officials from Travis County, the City of Austin and the Hill Country Alliance on June 18 along Texas 130 to break ground for the Sustainable Roadway pilot project.
Dwyer and the rest of the team developing the WildHorse community were joined by officials from Travis County, the City of Austin and the Hill Country Alliance on June 18 for the Sustainable Roadway pilot project.
Funding
The $9 million project — divided evenly between the 2005 Travis County Bond Program, a City of Austin Transportation Bond and private investment from the WildHorse development team led by Titan Capital Investment Group — is scheduled to be completed by spring 2015, weather permitting.
“The Sustainable Roadway project has been in the making for about three years,” said Dwyer, who helped bring both the Sustainable Roadway and the Wildhorse Masterplan together.
New Concordia CEO names Gillis interim Dean of Business
Staff Reports
Donald Christian was named chief executive officer last month of Concordia University Texas, following the retirement of Tom Cedel on August 1, and last week, Lynette Gillis of River Place, was named interim dean of the College of Business.
Christian’s new role as CEO was announced on May 13 after a nationwide search process.
During Cedel’s tenure, the University moved in 2008 after 82 years on a 23-acre campus in Central Austin to its current home, a 389-acre property in Four Points.
Additionally, Concordia has experienced tremendous gains in undergraduate and graduate-level admissions, growing from 1,073 students in 2002 to nearly 2,600 students in 2013; increased fundraising; saw programmatic growth, including the additions of a Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing program in 2008 and Master of Business Administration program in 2010, among others; enjoyed ever-increasing prominence of faculty members; and saw unprecedented athletic success.
UIL approves moving state BB tourneys out of Austin, Cheer approved as UIL competitive sport pilot
By SCOTT W. COLEMAN
The University Interscholastic League approved the staff’s recommendation to move the boys and girls state basketball tournaments out of Austin among other rule and administrative changes, at its summer legislative meeting last week in Round Rock.
Officials said overcrowded conditions, due to the annual SXSW festival, and the high cost of hotels in Austin during the SXSW period which coincides with the state basketball tournaments, have resulted in a substantial decrease in attendance and complaints from schools around the state.
UIL executive director Charles Breithaupt said that crowds at the University of Texas’ Frank Erwin Center — home to both the boys and girls state tournaments since 1978 — have been decreasing steadily over the past several years, coinciding with the growth of SXSW.
Breithaupt said the boys state basketball tournament drew as many as 100,000 people over the three-day period just a few years ago, but fewer than 80,000 attended this year’s tournament.