BrykerWoods Neighborhood

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!)

"Bandit Signs" in the neighborhood

What are bandit signs? Section 25-10-103 of the City's Land Development Code states that signs are prohibited in public right of way (ROW). This means that a person may not install or use a sign maintained on a structure located on or over public property or public right of way. This ordinance has been on the City's books for almost 20 years.

Concern has been expressed over the removal of neighborhood garage and yard sale signs possibly viewed as "Bandit Signs" in the BrykerWoods neighborhood. Commercial signage placed in public property and public right of way are the "Bandit Signs" that have created recent outcry within the city. Garage sale and yard sale signs (although technically bandit signs *if* located in public property) are not considered a nuisance to the neighborhood. Rather, these signs should be left in place for service and benefit to local neighborhood residents. Please respect the interest's of neighborhood residents and leave these signs in place.

The problem "Bandit Signs" are the commercial signs placed at the Mopac exit ramps and the island at the intersection of 34th Street and Jefferson (two prominent public spaces within the BrykerWoods neighborhood). If you find such COMMERCIAL signs an eyesore to the neighborhood, take them down and send a message to the commercial enterprises polluting Austin neighborhoods! It is ILLEGAL for businesses to use our neighborhood's public green spaces for advertising.

Report illegal Commercial signage in the neighborhood at 974-6576. First offenders will receive education, but repeat violators will have charges filed. A violation is a Class C misdemeanor with fines up to $500 per violation.

Welcome

The BrykerWoods Neighborhood blog space has been created!