By LESLEE BASSMAN, Four Points News

Beginning March 2, trail users who are not residents of River Place’s Limited District may want to start bringing a credit card to the neighborhood’s popular pathways.

With Board Member Art Jistal absent from the Jan. 8 special-called meeting, the Limited District unanimously approved a fee schedule for nonresidents to use the River Place nature trail. The district is responsible for solid waste disposal along with maintaining the community’s parks and trails.

“We’ve been trying for a little over a year to come up with a strategy to try and manage the traffic on the trail,” Limited District President Scott Crosby said. “We have several of those trails and they are just extremely crowded, especially on weekends.”

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Seth Priebe (left), a River Ridge Elementary student, entertained family and friends by jumping into muddy Lake Austin in January 2017. His mom shared a video which ended up airing on “America’s Funniest Home Videos” this month. Neighbor Parker White-McArdle was with him on the diving board two years ago.

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Two years ago, Seth Priebe decided to go “mudding” in Lake Austin like he always does when the water is lowered. His mom, Shelly, took photos and videos as she always does.

A friend of the family said she couldn’t stop watching the entertaining video and submitted it to “America’s Funniest Home Videos”. It was selected and the video ran a few weeks ago on Sunday, Jan. 6.

“My kids have always celebrated when LCRA lowers the lake,” Shelly said. She and her husband, Chuck, have lived in the same home on Lake Austin since 1987. Their children Megan, 24, Maria, 21, Simone, 18, and Seth, 11 have all played in the Lake Austin mud over the years.

“Boys get muddier than girls,” said Shelly Priebe. This photo was taken at Lake Austin around 2005 shows the Priebe sisters and a playmate.

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Steiner evacuation road updates

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

As Travis County officials wait for approval on conducting a traffic study, members of the community continue to share comments on a proposed evacuation road out of Steiner Ranch.

In early December, the county shared with a handful of Steiner residents that they were proposing more than an emergency-only route — that out of a dozen routes they had been studying for a year, they were focusing on the only route that was a permanent road, option F. But after much public push back, the county then added several other proposed routes back into consideration. For years prior to the latest developments, the county has referred to this project as an evacuation, emergency-only road.   

On Jan. 8, 2019, the Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association hosted a meeting with some 30 community members in attendance. The main topic of discussion was the evacuation route proposals from Travis County. LYNETTE HAALAND

This week Kathy Hardin, the engineer with Travis County Transportation & Natural Resources Capital Improvement Projects, said that comments from the community have eased up but they have been getting a lot of feedback. Continue reading →