Hamilton Pool Road

Karen's running for Commisioner's Court Precinct 3. That's the political office that affects us out here on Hamilton Pool Road most directly. The present office holder is an unapologetic, two fisted growther. If you think the Hill Country Galleria improved life out here, then you may prefer him. Lots of us, though, think you need to have county policies in place to prevent disasters like the pollution of Hamilton Pool -- before the growth occurs.

Even the Austin American Statesman has endorsed Karen!

Be sure to visit her web site and make a contribution, so that Karen can buy airtime for spots like this one:

Some parts of this community is going to grow and we have got to keep up with mobility and we've got to keep up with road building. And I wish that I could miraculously say, everybody take public transportation. If I asked you to take public transportation, y'all wouldn't be here today because it doesn't get out there.

[Gerald Daugherty] formed ROAD (Reclaim our Allocated Dollars), an organization that was the major force in successfully defeating the multi-million dollar light rail referendum in 2000. As a member of several transportation groups, he continues to help shape the future of transportation projects for our area.

Yesterday, Rep. Dennis Kucinich introduced Articles of Impeachment against President Bush.

Lamar Smith, our representative, sits on the House Judiciary Committee. That's the committee that will decide whether to hold hearings.

Help Lamar understand that his constituents feel these Articles deserve a hearing. You can contact him here.

Alan Watts, the Fix290 webmaster, reports clear cutting of old growth oaks near Old Bee Caves Road:

I just spoke with Paul Roberts at City of Austin Environmental Review. Last month when the clear-cutting occured, someone else noticed the large trees being cut and a stop-work order was issued. He said his supervisor said this was one of the worst destruction of Class 1 trees she had seen in her 13 years here. Over 1000 inches of old growth Oaks, Elms and Pecans were destroyed along a tributary of the creek. What I saw was only about 1/10 of the total - the others were already hauled and shredded. These trees were supposed to be left alone but a worker who obviously didn't get the memo went out on a weekend and just cleared the entire site. Quite saddening...

See the sad email thread. And here are Alan's photos.

Envision Central Texas is collecting input from the locals. Why don't you head on over, fill out the survey, and contribute to steering a greener course for the future of the Hill Country?

South Texas Chisme remarks on San Antonio's water service rejecting a developer's application for water. A 1700+ acre development!

If only LCRA had been so responsive to our concerns when they chose to supply water to new developments along HPR. LCRA's board, appointed by the governor, just isn't as alive to citizens' concerns as San Antonio's water service, which I'm guessing answers to the city council. Go figure.

Commissioner Gerald Daugherty has been politer than I deserved, and he recently tangibly improved bicycle safety on Hamilton Pool Road. Thanks, Commish.

But out here on The Road, we're still voting for Karen Huber. We need proactive protection for Hamilton Pool, and safeguards in place to protect creeks and their wildlife, before the county builds the roads that bring the development that, unrestricted, destroys our natural resources. And our way of life.

And Gerald is all about roads and development.

Oh: Did I mention Karen's running? I endorsed her weeks ago.

From: Karen Huber To: Karen Huber Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2007 6:06 PM Subject: Travis County Commissioner - Precinct 3 race

Hi!
Just thought I'd let you know it is official -- I've filed for the Democratic Primary.
Thanks for the encouragement. We're going to WIN this one!

More later!

Cheers,
Karen

Thanks to Commissioner Daugherty for getting us "Share the Road" signs along Hamilton Pool Road! There are three in each direction between RR12 and the Blanco County line.

I think the biggest effect these signs will have is a subliminal message to motorists saying, "The county thinks it's OK for cyclists to ride on these roads."

For a great review, with charming photos, of what we seek to preserve out here on Hamilton Pool Road, see Ric's new post.

He sent out an email this morning, mobilizing the troops against the proposed Hammett's Crossing flyover:

As you are now probably all too intensely aware, the powers that be have big plans for our sleepy little Hamilton Pool Road. They (they being CAMPO with the complicity of Travis County) want to build a 4-lane divided highway all the way out to the Travis/Blanco County line. Many of us out here have resolved to not take this onslaught lying down. We need to organize. We need to fight. We need to make our opinions heard. Here's a first step: Annie has put together a petition. It can be found, along with supporting materials on this webpage: http://www.neighborsinparadise.org/4LaneHiway.html. If you don't want to look at the webpage but just want to download the petition and start collecting signatures, here's the link directly to it: http://www.neighborsinparadise.org/PDF/4-lane/Petition.pdf If you'd like the petition and booklet containing a rationale and lovely color pictures and maps, here's the direct link: http://www.neighborsinparadise.org/PDF/4-lane/Petition-BookletS.pdf. Please collect as many signatures as you can but, even if yours is the only signature on the page, send it in anyway. The address is on the bottom of the petition. Thanks in advance for your activism. Onward, Ric

Ric and Annie, thanks for taking up the gauntlet.

Minor points: Even though the CAMPO plan has Hamilton Pool Road down for MAD4, Commissioner Daugherty has conceded that point already. So we're fighting a three lane, not a four lane, highway now. That's almost a trivial point though. The three lane road they contemplate would support as many cul de sac subdivisions as they could ever put out here.