City of Austin officials from the Watershed Protection and Parks and Recreation departments will host a community briefing on Tuesday, July 19, about plans to restore the banks of Lady Bird Lake along a short section of the hike and bike trail on the Shoal Creek Peninsula.
The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Room 325 at One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road.
Erosion is currently threatening the hike and bike trail on the peninsula, a manmade finger of land jutting into Lady Bird Lake at the mouth of Shoal Creek, near the Seaholm Power Plant site. There is a small pedestrian bridge connecting the tip of the peninsula to the main shoreline of the lake.
The City of Austin will present two different solutions to the erosion. One is to shore up the banks using limestone boulders. The other possibility is to remove part of the peninsula allowing Shoal Creek to flow directly into the lake. This would include building a second pedestrian bridge near the mouth of Shoal Creek. Both options include landscaping and possible improvements to the trail along the peninsula.
Construction is likely to take about six months, starting in 2012. Portions of the hike and bike trail near the peninsula will be closed during construction.
More information is available at http://www.austintexas.gov/watershed/shoal_creek_peninsula.htm
