Category Archives: Grandview Hills

RM 620 north improvements needed, Residents asked to urge funding

Local residents are asked to contact CAMPO this week about improving the four-lane flush median RM 620 north to a six-lane raised median divided highway.
Source: Texas Department of Transportation

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

The northern half of RM 620 — the most highly congested and heavily traveled 18.8 miles of the road from Mansfield Dam to Hwy. 183 — is not on the list for the next round of Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization projects.  

“This is so important, it cannot be over-emphasized. We cannot wait any more,” said Brian Thompto, chairman of the Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association.

Thompto and other local leaders — including Scott Crosby, River Place HOA president, Morgan Briscoe, West Austin Chamber of Commerce president, and Randy Lawson, Canyon Creek neighborhood board member — went to the CAMPO meeting on April 9 and urged the transportation board to put northern RM 620 improvements on their list of projects.

Continue reading →

Dads in the Hood at River Place

Dads in the Hood at Sun Tree Park in River Place was a huge hit on Saturday night.

“We had a larger turnout than last year, around 450 people attend. I’m not sure how many families camped but I would guess around 150,” said Paula Callas, who co-organized the event. Continue reading →

River Place Limited District caps its property tax rate at $0.15 per $100 valuation

Board members from the River Place Limited District and the River Place Homeowners Association met for a joint meeting April 4 to discuss the upcoming election that will include ratifying the Limited District as well as its property tax rate. (from left) Tim Mattox, Ivar Rachkind, Scott Crosby, Pat Reilly, Lee Wretlind, Claudia Tobias and Art Jistal. Leslee Bassman

Voters set to approve district, tax rate May 5

By LESLEE BASSMAN, Four Points News

Although the Strategic Partnership Agreement, or SPA, between the city of Austin and the River Place Municipal Utility District provided for a maximum $0.50 per $100 valuation ad valorem tax, the subdivision’s River Place Limited District officers voted unanimously April 4 to instead cap that property tax at $0.15 per $100 of assessed valuation. The MUD was converted into a Limited District when the community was fully annexed by Austin on Dec. 15. Continue reading →

Citizens for a Safe 620 forms after two fatalities

Traffic on RM 620 between RM 2222 and Steiner Ranch is generally bumper to bumper weeknights during peak drive times. This photo was taken at 6:15 p.m. on April 4. Leslee Bassman

By LESLEE BASSMAN, Four Points News

Although Morgan Briscoe said she has always been concerned about the severity and frequency of accidents in Steiner Ranch since moving to the area seven years ago, it was the deadly collisions along RM 620 on Feb. 17 and Feb. 23 that sparked her to form an online advocacy group for a safer roadway.

“I was trying to make it clear that I don’t want this to be another place where we are complaining about things because there are plenty of sites (where) a lot of that is going on,” she said. “I was looking for people who had an interest in talking and doing things and being a part of the solution.”

Briscoe formed Citizens for a Safe 620 and has already held two meetings with the organization’s core group, including Steiner Ranch residents Anne Crowley, Martha Molinari and Linda Vezina.

Continue reading →