oakhillgazette.com
October 18, 2012 Volume 17, No. 47 Southwest Austin’s Community Newspaper Since 1995
CTRMA: ‘Oak Hill Parkway’ wins by Bobbie Jean Sawyer
AUSTIN - The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority announced the name for the Environmental Impact Study and long-range mobility plan for the ‘Y’ intersection (the intersection of US 290 West and SH 71 West) in Oak Hill at a press conference Wednesday morning, held at the Park & Ride on Hwy. 290 West.
Oak Hill Parkway was the name chosen by nearly 75 percent of voters, according to Steve Pustelnyk, director of communications for the Mobility Authority. The Mobility Authority hosted a community brainstorm session on possible names for the project in late August, giving the public an opportunity to vote on the top names on the Mobility Authority website.
Pustelnyk said the name is not indicative of what the project will entail. “It’s really about creating a distinct identity for a study so when we talk about the study we can refer to it and people know what we’re talking about. The name should in no way infer a predetermination or an idea for what we plan to do at this stage,” Pustelnyk said. “In this type of pro-
Austin Pizza Garden:
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Austin Pizza Garden manager Brian Ahart on the stairway where ghostly apparitions have been seen.
cess there are always a wide range of alternatives, including a no-build or a do-nothing alternative. Just because it’s being called the Oak Hill Parkway study doesn’t mean we’re absolutely certain at this point we’ll be building something.” Pustelnyk said the Mobility Authority would host its first open house on Nov. 15 to address citizen problems and concerns. See CTRMA on page 17 Right: CTRMA designed logo for Oak Hill ‘Y’ Environmental Impact Study and mobility plan.
Candidates spar over important local issues by Bobbie Jean Sawyer Traffic and education were major topics of debate at last Wednesday’s candidate forum hosted by the Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods (OHAN) at the Circle C Community Center. Candidates for Travis County Precinct 3 commissioner and constable, and state representatives for District 47 and 48 addressed questions submitted by members of OHAN, as well as questions from citizens in attendance. Other topics included Homeowner’s Association fees, air quality and healthcare. Travis County Precinct 3 commissioner candidates Karen Huber and Gerald Daugherty drew clear differences on traffic, particularly the ongoing debate over whether to build SH-45 Southwest, a proposed stretch of road that would connect MoPac and FM 1626. A requested amendment to remove SH-45 from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s long-range transportation plan was withdrawn by the city of Austin on See CAMPO on page 26
Huber, Daugherty, Frandsen, Workman, Howard and Thomas.