BrykerWoods Neighborhood

From “exceptional” drought to an extremely wet September

This week's 7.57" of rain at Austin-Mabry brings the monthly total to 11.89 inches. This is the 4th wettest September ever at Austin-Mabry, and the wettest since 1921. Heavy rains of up to 12 inches fell this week in the Lake Austin watershed. At the height of the downpour, five floodgates were opened on Tom Miller Dam, moving water from Lake Austin downstream to Lady Bird Lake. Read more http://www.lcra.org/newsstory/2010/tropical_storm_hermine.html  All this of course meant that Shoal Creek was once again approaching flood stage. See graph below for USGS data taken from the gauging station at W 12th St. The station, a small metal box with an antenna on top, is visible from the road and is located on the east bank just south of the 12th street bridge. See station data at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/nwisman/?site_no=08156800&agency_cd=USGS

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/nwisman/?site_no=08156800&agency_cd=USGS

 

BrykerWoods Annual 4th of July Celebration!

Please join us for the BrykerWoods Annual 4th of July "parade". Meet at the Bryker Woods Elementary school at 9:15 AM for the annual event. Decorate your bicycle, skateboard, or wagon and walk, ride, or skate in the parade as we wind through the streets of Bryker Woods. Bagels, drinks, and other treats after the parade.

As last year, organizers have asked for parade monitors to 'guard' the intersections of Kerbey and 33rd, 32nd, 31st, and Glenview at 31st, 32nd, and 33rd as the procession approaches to help the children pass safely.

If anyone would like to volunteer to help, please contact Cord Dover - cord.dover@sbcglobal.net.

We hope to see you there!

National Wildlife Federation Neighborhood Habitat Challenge

The City of Austin and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) are once again challenging Austin neighborhoods to certify the most number of properties within their boundaries as wildlife habitats. This is the third year for the Neighborhood Habitat Challenge and it has been so successful that the city is making the challenge an annual contest to give even more Austin communities the opportunity to get involved in habitat creation and conservation. Neighborhoods including Jester Estates, Windsor Park, Allandale, Crestview, Highland Park West Balcones Area, Copperfield and others have risen to the NEIGHBORHOOD HABITAT CHALLENGE. This year make your neighborhood a Winner for Wildlife!

It's easy to create homes for colorful butterflies and beautiful songbirds in our city!

Properties that provide food, water, cover, places to raise young for wildlife and employ sustainable gardening practices are eligible for NWF wildlife habitat certification. Schools and places of business and worship are also included in the Habitat Challenge.

Creating wildlife habitat is as simple as...

- Planting native plants that provide nectar, pollen, seeds, and berries year round.

- Including a reliable and accessible water source to attract a variety of birds, butterflies and other wildlife.

- Providing places for cover and rearing young such as planting evergreen shrubs, leaving rock piles or putting up a birdhouse.

Learn more at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/wildlifehabitat.htm

May 3rd APD Central Sector meeting (neighborhood crime update)

Austin Neighborhoods Council Central Sector's next meeting is Tuesday morning, May 3rd.  APD Officer Dana Munguia, Central West District Representative, will join us for a jolt of java.    

Texas French Bread
29th and Rio Grande
7:30 AM

Agenda

1.    Individual neighborhood issues and concerns
2.    Officer Dana Munguia to give an overview of crime in our area and to discuss sharing crime information
3.    Crime forum
4.    Follow-up on last month’s items (i.e. car wash)
5.    Future invitees

Thanks,
Jolene Kiolbassa
Central Sector Rep

WEST AUSTIN CRIME AND SAFETY SEMINAR

A Crime and Safety Seminar for the West Austin neighborhoods will be conducted by WANG on Wednesday night, April 22, 2009 (6:30 – 8:30 pm), at the O. Henry Middle School cafeteria, 2610 west 10th street.  The seminar will feature APD Chief of Police Art Acevedo as the special guest speaker, and will also include presentations by APD representatives concerning crime prevention, as well as information from a variety of local security companies and products for protecting your home.  The full agenda for the meeting is available at http://www.westaustinng.com

Early voting is underway!

Early voting is underway in what is expected to be a record-breaking Presidential election on November 4, 2008. Because we are expecting 450,000 voters to participate in this election, we are encouraging voters to consider the convenience of Early Voting. Travis County has 26 conveniently located Early Voting sites in Travis County. The full list of Early Voting and Election Day polling locations, as well as sample ballots and other helpful election information is available on the County Clerk's Elections Division web site:  http://www.traviscountyelections.org  
        
For BrykerWoods, the closest early voting location is:

Howson Public Library
2500 Exposition Boulevard
Mon–Fri 10 am–7 pm, Sat 10 am–5 pm, Sun closed

And remember, during Early Voting you may cast a ballot at any location within the county where you are registered. However on Election Day, you must vote in your registered precinct; which for the BrykerWoods neighborhood is BrykerWoods Elementary!

For additional information, voters may also contact our office by phone (854-4996) or email: election@co.travis.tx.us.

APD Suggestions for Crime Prevention

I feel many times folks let the little things go or petty crime they feel Police can't solve goes unreported. So then things escalate to where it is a real problem and folks get very frustrated. I hear many times citizens saying they don't want to bother the police or police have more important things to do. Nonsense, Please do bother us, never hesitate to call 9-1-1 or 3-1-1 to report an incident. We are dispatched according to a priority system. If a Officer is available he/she will be sent; if not when one becomes available they will be sent out. Yes we have limited resources and as such we have a "Crime Analyst". His job is to track crime by frequency and types. This information is used to deploy, patrol officers, special units, develop plans to curve the crime. We look for "Hot Spots". The old saying the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The neighborhood starts reporting crime and demanding action, then we know you have a problem and focus our attention on it.

So if you have an aggressive solicitor, or one who's story does not seem right, or one who try's your door handle before knocking.....Call 9-1-1. Let us check them out. If they aren't breaking the law, fine, it at least lets them know we know they are in the area. It also lets them know folks care enough to ask Police to check things out in their neighborhood. Sometimes we get lucky they have warrants and they get picked up. If it is suspicious to you, then it is worth calling in. This also lets the patrol officer assigned to your area know what kind of things to look for and he/she patrols with a better purpose.

As for yourselves be aware of your surroundings. Don't leave property in plain view in either your vehicles or your yards. These become tempting crimes of opportunity. Use motion sensor lighting. Perhaps put radios or TVs on timers during the day when your gone to work. Say one timer in a front room for a couple of hours, then a second in another room for a later time. Crooks look around and try to listen to see if someone is home. Close blinds so they can't look in. The best thing of all is neighbors looking out for neighbors.

Hope this helps some.

SPO Ricardo A. Vargas #4579
Central West District Representatives
Austin Police Department
974-5801

BrykerWoods Neighborhood in the news

Bryker Woods has smallish lots and friendly feel

By Clayton Stromberger
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Sunday, November 18, 2007

As one of Austin's venerable "A-list" neighborhoods, Bryker Woods has managed to maintain its aura of classy simplicity, even as other established neighborhoods such as Tarrytown face ongoing battles with teardown mania.

A key to its survival — along with a well-organized neighborhood association — is what some home buyers might see as a disadvantage: smallish lots. It's hard to squeeze massive new homes on lots traced out somewhere between the 1880s and the 1930s for single-family cottages.

Many newcomers have done modest remodeling jobs to add space for growing families, but most feel the snug fit is well worth the tree-lined streets and proximity to the University of Texas and downtown.

"You're a little closer to your neighbors," says 16-year-resident David Weiser, "but in our experience that comes across as cozy and friendly."

The area still has a tucked-away residential feel. Kids walk to the elementary school, and families cross West 35th Street to dine at Kerbey Lane Cafe.

Another supposed disadvantage — a lack of plentiful sidewalks — also has its silver lining, says Mary Crouter, Weiser's wife. There isn't a lot of cut-through traffic, except from folks coming through at rush hour to get to MoPac Boulevard from North Lamar Boulevard, so the streets become a more public space. "People walk in the streets, people walk their dogs, so there is a lot of socializing, a lot of passing people in the street and saying hello," Crouter says.

About Bryker Woods

Boundaries:Between Shoal Creek, MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1), Westover Road, the Seton Medical Center and West 35 Street.

Schools:Bryker Woods Elementary School, O. Henry Middle School, Austin High School

Amenities:Tree-lined streets, proximity to the University of Texas and downtown.

The market:September sales of single-family homes in the real estate zone that includes Bryker Woods were down 41 percent from a year before. The median price was $525,000, down about 10 percent. On average, it took 74 days to sell a home there.

The BrykerWoods Neighborhood at the Center of Austin

Q: Where is the geographic center of the city limits of Austin? Would it be the same as the center of the Austin metropolitan complex?

A: The amoebalike shape of the City of Austin is the result of years of individual annexations — small and sometimes not-so-small pieces added to the periphery, says Ryan Robinson, city demographer. Areas the shapes of thumbs or trapezoids have been annexed. For example, did you know that 20,000 Austinites live in Williamson County? The geographic center of the City of Austin is within the BrykerWoods neighborhood at the intersection of Funston Street and 32nd Street, just a few blocks south of the intersection of MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) and 35th Street. The Austin Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of five counties — Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson. The geographic center? In southeast Travis County where Walnut Creek empties into the Colorado River, south of the intersection of East Martin Luther King Boulevard and Decker Lane. This is south of the old Travis State School site.

Neighborhood maps now available

See a collection of maps for the Bryker Woods Neighborhood and the Old West Austin Historic district. More maps of Austin can are located on the brykerwoods.org hyperlinks webpage.

Bryker Woods neighborhood boundries (approximate)
Bryker Woods Neighborhood Association map (PDF 453k)
USGS topographic map of Bryker Woods
Aerial photographic map of Bryker Woods (PDF 1700k)
Old West Austin Historic District map (PDF 4500k!)