Ground Floor Theatre
Need a Review Board for Council
RECEIVED Thu., May 28, 2009
Dear Editor,
Scrap the Trail of Lights [“Beleaguered PARD Considers Dousing Trail of Lights,” News, May 29]! I live in Bouldin, and I have been asking everyone I know in Bouldin and Barton Hills for their opinion on the Trail of Lights; everyone dreads it. Barton Springs Drive, South Lamar Boulevard, and even MoPac are clogged with traffic for most of December for three to four hours a day. The park is closed – yet again – for what? An outdated quasi-religious waste of time. How it costs a million bucks is beyond all comprehension. The city is completely incompetent; Zilker Park, our only central park of any size, has been closed all spring and summer but will open just before Austin City Limits! The festival traffic will destroy the new grass and irrigation system. The park is closed more than it is open, and when it is open, the city backs up traffic again by charging to enter; with the limited parking available in the park, I fail to see how the entry fees can even cover the cost of collecting them.
Another example of city incompetence is the new library at West Mary and South Fifth streets. It broke ground almost a year ago and is nowhere near completion; entire high-rises have been built while this city project sits. I would really like to know the cost of it and how the contract was awarded.
The “inner city,” such as Barton Hills, Travis Heights, and Bouldin, has the highest property tax rates in Austin, but the residents are constantly denied access to the services we pay for due to road closures for races, festivals, concerts, etc. I am not a newcomer, and I do not want to be accused of being a “NIMBY” kind of person. I do not support the noise ordinances for Auditorium Shores and local businesses. We need a review board for the City Council – based on their performance they would all be tossed out.
Scrap the Trail of Lights [“Beleaguered PARD Considers Dousing Trail of Lights,” News, May 29]! I live in Bouldin, and I have been asking everyone I know in Bouldin and Barton Hills for their opinion on the Trail of Lights; everyone dreads it. Barton Springs Drive, South Lamar Boulevard, and even MoPac are clogged with traffic for most of December for three to four hours a day. The park is closed – yet again – for what? An outdated quasi-religious waste of time. How it costs a million bucks is beyond all comprehension. The city is completely incompetent; Zilker Park, our only central park of any size, has been closed all spring and summer but will open just before Austin City Limits! The festival traffic will destroy the new grass and irrigation system. The park is closed more than it is open, and when it is open, the city backs up traffic again by charging to enter; with the limited parking available in the park, I fail to see how the entry fees can even cover the cost of collecting them.
Another example of city incompetence is the new library at West Mary and South Fifth streets. It broke ground almost a year ago and is nowhere near completion; entire high-rises have been built while this city project sits. I would really like to know the cost of it and how the contract was awarded.
The “inner city,” such as Barton Hills, Travis Heights, and Bouldin, has the highest property tax rates in Austin, but the residents are constantly denied access to the services we pay for due to road closures for races, festivals, concerts, etc. I am not a newcomer, and I do not want to be accused of being a “NIMBY” kind of person. I do not support the noise ordinances for Auditorium Shores and local businesses. We need a review board for the City Council – based on their performance they would all be tossed out.
Ian Jones
