By LESLEE BASSMAN, Four Points News

Following several weeks of near collisions in the River Ridge community, Steiner Ranch Master  Association successfully implemented temporary safety measures in the area, just in time for the past Memorial Day weekend. 

River Ridge residents recently reported problems of increased traffic, reckless driving and parking issues. The community is a separate, lakeside community located beyond Steiner Ranch, between Steiner and Lake Austin. 

As a result, last week, the SRMA board erected a temporary fence to barricade the parking lot and curtail unlawful access by nonresidents; posted a security guard at the private Steiner Ranch Lake Club to stop dangerous activity; and coordinated with local law enforcement to increase their presence in the neighborhood. 

River Ridge 

“It was like we had our neighborhood back,” River Ridge resident Liz Grimes said of the weekend’s activities. “We felt safe. We could play in our front yard without worrying about cars hitting our children, drive around in our golf cart and go down to the lake and not worry about traffic, drivers and kids speeding.”

Austin-area public boat ramps remained closed since March, with the River Ridge site available as the only launch for miles. By Travis County Parks opening nearby Mary Quinlan Park and its ramp at the start of the holiday weekend — in addition to other local ramps — boaters were able to use those alternate ramps instead of being confined to the one in River Ridge.

The Grimes family moved from the Milwood area of Austin in February 2018, she said.

“What we liked about it down here was that it was kind of an old-fashioned neighborhood where our kids could be free range — they could walk around the neighborhood or ride their bikes or skateboard and not have to worry about traffic, speeding cars and crime,” Grimes said. “When the neighborhood was overrun by people using it as the only boat ramp in the area, it just became anarchy down here. It was just a free-for-all.” 

Before the changes were put in place, she said she feared the worst for the holiday “because every day down here has been like the Fourth of July weekend ever since quarantine,” with boaters coming from 45 minutes away to access the River Ridge ramp.

“It was just a really welcome surprise to have peace back in our neighborhood,” Grimes said. 

River Ridge resident Loren Lawson echoed Grimes’ sentiments.

“I’m extremely happy that all of the cars that were driving on the road were driving the speed limit,” she said of last weekend. “I am extremely pleased with how few vehicles we had on our roads and it felt like we had our old neighborhood back. I felt like I was at home again.”

Steiner HOA

SRMA Board Director Christina Morales said the group had to take the incidents “very seriously, as a matter of safety, (and) safety has to come first.”

“So we had to act on that and part of that was gating up our property line,” she said.

The SRMA began working with an adjacent builder-owner to outline the property, with a surveyor sent out by the group on May 22, Morales said. A permanent fence will replace the temporary one quickly installed last week “to make sure everybody stayed safe over (last weekend’s) known reckless holiday,” she said.

“It’s known to be a big weekend and we’ve already had issues,” Morales said. “We just didn’t want it to get worse and escalate. (We wanted) to make sure that we were doing the responsible thing by the residents who live there and by our residents as well.”

For now, the public ramp is open but the lake club remains closed, with the new temporary fence making maneuvering a boat more challenging, said Josh Grimes, who is married to Liz Grimes.

The SRMA is working to open the facility before the end of the month so lake users can safely pass through the site to the waterway, Morales said. River Ridge residents maintain the small adjacent public beach area and the small boat slip, with Steiner Ranch residents able to access the SRMA private docks, she said.

The board received a few complaints about the fence over the weekend but those with concerns were informed that a permanent fence will be constructed for residents only and include a decal designating the vehicle as such, Morales said. The group is working on distributing temporary passes for residents to access the lot in the meantime, with towing used for non-resident parking lot users, she said.

Solutions 

The SRMA is currently deliberating on both mid- and long-term solutions to improve parking for residents and renovate the lake facility, SRMA board president Naren Chilukuri stated in a May 23 email. According to him, the association will install high definition security cameras in common areas to address persistent vandalism as well as speed radar detectors to aid in the reduction of motor vehicle accidents, coordinating the latter project with Travis County officials.

The speed radar detectors — tools that flash how fast a vehicle is traveling — and cameras will be installed throughout the Steiner Ranch community, with seven cameras bound for the Steiner Ranch Lake Club and eight cameras set for local parks, Morales said. The radar detectors are slated to be placed near River Ridge Elementary School, among other locations in the neighborhood — “the known speed areas,” she said.

Travis County Sheriff’s Office has already deployed one radar trailer at 12500 River Bend in the River Ridge area, spokesperson Kristin Dark told the Four Points News on May 26. However, she said radar trailers are relocated to new spots often “as the need arises,” adding the department isn’t currently aware of other Steiner Ranch sites where new trailers may be planned.

“We continue to consult with local authorities, legal experts, and other large, master planned communities to develop plans to safely open our amenities in ways that adhere to (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines and state regarding maximum capacity,” stated the SRMA email to residents.

Future

Although Liz Grimes said she’s happy about the planned improvements, her husband Josh is hoping a compromise can be worked out between the residents of both Steiner and River Ridge. 

“Our neighborhood is most interested in being able to keep the access that we’ve always had living lakefront down here,” he said. 

Josh Grimes advocated putting together a town hall, including the area’s elected officials, “so that our voice is heard.”

“Obviously we don’t have the power of the Steiner Ranch HOA but we definitely have a voice down here and want to make sure that our neighborhood is included in what happens down there (by the lake),” he said.