We have a few timely updates to share with you this week, plus an important reminder that today through tomorrow is Austin's annual city-wide day of giving: Amplify Austin!

Thanks to those who have donated a total $2,060 so far this Amplify Austin Day! We are grateful for every dollar. The support of individual donors, such as you, provides the flexibility to accomplish our mission in ways that grants and corporate giving cannot.

We need to raise $5,280 to support our work this spring to expand the Parkway. Can you chip in even just $50 to help us get there?

Your donation helps us:

• Fill trail gaps—see below for a great example!
• Secure trail construction funding—local, state, federal, and private.
• Keep the lights on and provide a roof over our office.
• Fix incomplete government agency policies that keep our trail system fragmented.
• Expand our reach to ensure the Parkway is completed within our lifetimes!

The special challenge of the Red Line Parkway is that only 15% is completed as a trail. The fact that you share a vision of what can be—and not just what already exists—also makes you very special, and that's why we count on your support that much more.

Join us for It's My Park Day this Saturday morning, March 7th

Give back to the trail and greenbelt you love! Sign up and join us this Saturday morning, March 7th for It's My Park Day. We'll be adding much needed mulch to the trees along the Red Line Parkway / Boggy Creek Greenbelt Trail in East Austin. This ongoing care for our trees helps them grow strong to provide shade and protection from the summer heat.

The event is still on! The current weather forecast for Saturday morning calls for drizzle. We and Austin Parks Foundation are keeping a close eye on the forecast to consider any needed event changes.

Image courtesy of CapMetro

CapMetro Rail & Trail Improvements Open House on Tuesday, March 10th

CapMetro and the City of Austin are sharing new updates on the CapMetro Rail & Trail Improvements to East 5th Street and Plaza Saltillo area. Visit the open house next Tuesday, March 10th from 6:00-7:30pm at [location updated to] the Rosa Parks Board Room at CapMetro Headquarters, 2910 E 5th St., Austin.

Thanks to our supporters, we successfully made the case for this project to help fill a long-time trail gap, plus add new railroad crossings in a high-pedestrian area. We are also thankful to the East Cesar Chavez Neighborhood Association for their solidarity, and to CapMetro and the City of Austin for adding these important walk, bike, and transit improvements to their initial project.

If you're able to attend next Tuesday, you could ask for tree shade to be added to the design shown in the illustration above. Though the design is described as 100% complete, we are hopeful this portion of the trail can have shade as part of the project to be constructed in a few years.

Howard Lane Shared-Use Path Update

The Howard Lane Shared-Use Path project is underway! Thanks again to those who spoke up in 2023 to include the project in the Travis County 2023 bond election. The shared-use path will connect Howard Station, McNeil High School, Wells Branch, Northwest YMCA, Rattan Creek, the Apple campus, and many other nearby destinations and residences.

Last fall, Travis County hosted a quick, virtual open house on this and other county projects. We are in conversation with Travis County to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to help shape the project. If you have a special interest in the success of this project, please let us know, so that we can demonstrate interest. We hope that an engagement meeting can be scheduled later this year.

More Parkway and Vicinity Updates

• The City of Austin continues to build new shared-use paths, bikeways, and sidewalks along Burnet Road. These walk/bike paths provide essential connectivity where none has existed since the state paved the highway decades ago. Some sections will serve as the primary Red Line Parkway route for several more years until the Parkway is completed. To celebrate this progress, the City of Austin is hosting the Burnet Road Corridor Project Groundbreaking Ceremony at Q2 Stadium tomorrow morning at 10am, Thursday, March 5th.
• As part of the I-35 Capital Express Central Project, the popular walk/bike bridge along the east side of I-35 over Lady Bird Lake is being replaced. The bridge was demolished last month, and the new bridge will be in place in a future year. Learn more from TxDOT.
• CapMetro continues to make progress on expanding their bikeshare network. Look for a new CapMetro Bikeshare station at Webberville & Neal, serving ACC Eastview Campus! Additional stations serving the Red Line Parkway and nearby destinations will continue to be added in the coming months and years. You can view CapMetro's latest bikeshare station list here.

Go outside! Use our interactive map to get outdoors and find a good place to explore and relax.