State of the Parkway 2026: First Speakers Announced + Limited Early Bird Tickets Available
We've confirmed U.S. Congressmen Lloyd Doggett and Greg Casar as our opening speakers for our 6th annual State of the Parkway! Both are longtime Austin trails leaders, providing instrumental funding and persistence.
Executive Director Tom Wald will provide an update on Red Line Parkway progress and the upcoming Community Vision & Implementation Strategy. We will be announcing our keynote speaker on trails, trail-oriented development, and public space soon.
And limited early-bird tickets are now available at 20% off! Reserve your seat now to celebrate, support, and learn the latest on the Red Line Parkway:
Wednesday, August 26th, 11am-1:30pm
Austin Central Library Special Events Center
Add to your calendar: Google | Outlook | Apple
We thank our early-on sponsors:
Gold Level - 
Silver Level - LJA • Goff Policy • H-E-B • Pape-Dawson • Texas Gas Service • FVF Law
Bronze Level - Nelson\Nygaard • Austin Transit Partnership • CapMetro
Support the Red Line Parkway by becoming a sponsor—learn more here.
Welcome Our New Red Line Parkway Initiative Board Members!
We are excited to bring on 12 new board members as of last month:
Reagen Ward
Ashika Ganguly
Katie Kalkanger
Alex Radtke
Jenn Golech
Maggie Swerdloff
Melinda Taylor
Lawrence Nourzad
Nina Ndichu
Hilary Marchbanks
Scott Gross
Wilson Ramirez
They join continuing board members: Jeff Thompson, Larry Graham, Brie Winnega Reamer, Todd Hemingson, and Chris Maldonado. And we bid adieu to long-standing board member, Brianna Frey, who has been a shining star for the Red Line Parkway Initiative since she began volunteering in 2018. Learn more about new and continuing board members on our website.
Thank you to all who applied for our open board call—we hope you can stay involved as we create the Parkway!
Red Line Parkway Named a Finalist for 2026 ULI Austin Impact Awards
We are honored that ULI Austin has named the Red Line Parkway as a finalist for the Next Big Idea! Winners will be announced at the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Austin 2026 Impact Awards event on the evening of August 26th.
The Next Big Idea award goes to an upcoming project, master planning effort, redevelopment, program, policy or ‘idea’ that will transform the real estate development and land use industry and our community. This award recognizes innovative ideas that can positively impact our region’s quality of life.
Parkway Actions & Input
We share three important actions and input opportunities this month.
A) Support bond funding for parks, trails, and more
Action: Email all Austin City Council Members to express your support for a $390MM bond package that includes parks, trails, and other items.
The City of Austin is at the end of its bond cycle for funding parks, trails, and more, and has allocated nearly all of its funding. Another way to say this is that voters approved bond funding for parks and trails several years ago, that our city has made good on those promises, and we are at the time again when our city must ask voters to renew bond funding in order to continue building projects such as the Red Line Parkway.
Most Austin City Council Members support putting a bond package on the ballot for this November, but parks and trails supporters still need to speak up to make this a reality. You can read more in Item #4 on today's council agenda, which is postponed until (likely) early August.
B) CapMetro Crestview Station Area Survey
CapMetro is conducting a planning study at the Red Line's Crestview Station area (Lamar Blvd. & Airport Blvd.). Learn about the Crestview Station Multimodal Hub & Mobility Vision Study project and complete their brief survey, open through Sunday, July 26th.
C) St. David's Community Garden Shade Elements Meeting, Tonight, July 23rd 6:30pm
You may know of the St David's Foundation Community Garden next to the Red Line Parkway and MLK Jr. Station, especially if you pass by there every day! Austin Parks and Recreation is leading an effort to replace the shade elements for the two large structures. You can join them tonight, July 23rd 6:30pm at the garden to hear about the project and to share your input.
More Parkway and Vicinity Updates
- Upper Waller Creek Trail update: The City of Austin recently shared an update with the Highland Neighborhood Association on drainage improvements to the top reach of Waller Creek. Thanks to the City and the help of residents, a creekside trail here could eventually connect to the newly improved Highland Neighborhood Park and the Red Line Parkway near Airport Blvd. and Huntland Dr.
- Robinson Ranch update: The Robinson family and Endeavor Real Estate Group announced that they are working on plans to develop 1,200 acres of the Robinson Ranch, just north of the Red Line Parkway's midpoint. Learn more in this Community Impact story. You can view the context with the Red Line Parkway on our interactive map by zooming into the area between Howard and Lakeline Stations bounded by Parmer Lane, SH 45, McNeil Rd., and McNeil Dr.
Upcoming Events
In addition to the events mentioned above, e.g. State of the Parkway, we're sharing a couple events along the Parkway and of importance to our audience.
- Tour de Splash! w/ Ghisallo Cycling and Adult Recess ATX, July 25: Ghisallo Cycling Initiative hosts many events along the Boggy Creek Greenbelt Trail, part of the Red Line Parkway. Join them for a fun morning on bikes, playing games, and splashing around.
- Texas Trails and Active Transportation Conference (TTAT), November 11-13: The biennial conference is coming back to Austin this November. Registration is now open, with early-bird rates through July 31. (The origin story of the Red Line Parkway Initiative includes conversations among peers at the 2016 conference.)
Go outside! Use our interactive map to get outdoors and find a good place to explore and relax.
Also, please donate to help continue our work to extend the Red Line Parkway.
