Write to your Council Member

We encourage you to join our letter writing campaign in support of safer mobility improvements in Windsor Park.

We want to encourage the city to invest in making the pedestrian and bicycle travel in the neighborhood safer. If the neighborhood is safe for pedestrians and cyclists, it will be safer for cars as well. The WPNA Bikeways Vision is posted here: WPNA Bikeways Vision LINK

Council Members are developing the 2025 budget. So now would be a great time to contact the following council members by writing an email, sending a letter, or calling:

Council Member/District	Email Address and Website:	Postal Address:
Jose “Chito” Vela/District 4	Email: District4@austintexas.gov City Form Website Phone: 512-978-2104	P.O. Box 1088 Austin, TX 78767
Zohib “Zo” Qadri/ District 9 South of Windsor Park (covers Mueller)	Email: District9@austintexas.gov City Form Website Phone: 512-978-2109	P.O. Box 1088 Austin, TX 78767
Natasha Harper-Madison/District 1 East & North of Windsor Park	Email: District1@austintexas.gov City Form Website Phone: 512-978-2101	P.O. Box 1088 Austin, TX 78767
Paige Ellis/District 8 (Chair of the City Mobility Committee)	Email: District8@austintexas.gov City Form Website Phone: 512-978-2108	P.O. Box 1088 Austin, TX 78767

Below is a suggested form for the letter or email, but feel free to use your own wording. The more you make it yours the more impact it will have. NOTE: While this sample letter does suggest an “order of importance” you should read through and order the request as you would prioritize them.

Link to a google doc version of the letter.

Template

Dear Council Members Ellis, Harper-Madison, Qadri, & Vela: 

I am a resident of Windsor Park Neighborhood, and I would like to advocate for transportation improvements that enhance the safety and mobility of pedestrians and bicyclists. There are several improvements that have been identified by neighbors and the Windsor Park Neighborhood Association Transportation Committee, and I would like to express my support for these improvements. Please refer to the WPNA Bikeways Vision for full description (link here).

I understand budget discussions are underway now, and I request that funding is allocated for these projects in the 2025 budget cycle. I have listed these improvements in order of priority: 

Increase mobility and safety along Belfast Bike Trail and Bridge 

1. Expedite the development of a pedestrian bridge across Tannehill Branch Creek that would link Belfast Drive with Mueller Blvd. This allows bicyclists to avoid the dangers of riding on Berkman, which is becoming more congested, and have a quicker way of moving between the Mueller and Windsor Park neighborhoods. This gives pedestrians a direct route through the superblock of 51st. 
2. Install a pedestrian hybrid beacon on Cameron Road at Glencrest. There are bus stops located at this intersection, and there are many local businesses that people want to access, but the only ways to cross Cameron Road are at 290 (which is a dangerous intersection, given the number of accidents that already occur there and the slip turns) or Briarcliff Blvd. The distance between Briarcliff and 290 is about 0.3 miles, and pedestrians will not walk a distance that adds 10 minutes to their walking time when they can cross the street quickly at Glencrest. 
3. Complete a traffic study along Belfast to consider either swapping stop signs with the East-West roads, or creating four-way stops. Currently there is a stop sign at every intersection on Belfast heading north-south and no traffic calming measures or stops for cars traveling east-west. But cars often travel fast along the east-west roads between Cameron and Berkman, and sometimes oncoming traffic is hard to see because of obstacles or curves in the road. This makes bicycling along Belfast dangerous. 

Improve mobility and safety along the Park to Park Trail

4. Replace the flashing beacon with a pedestrian hybrid beacon at Tilley and 51st. Currently cars move through that area very fast, often ignoring the flashing lights, and do not stop or slow down enough for pedestrians to cross safely. This is a primary crossing for routes to Marshall MS and Blanton Elementary.
5. Expedite the creation of a trail through Bartholomew Park from Singing Brook/Shady Brook to Tilley Street. These improvements will allow parents and children to bike or walk safely from Windsor Park neighborhood to Marshall Middle School, or from Mueller neighborhood to Blanton Elementary School. This will also create a continuous bike route linking up with the protected bike lanes along Tilley Street. 

Improve safety along Berkman Drive 

6. Add a traffic signal at Patton Lane and Berkman. There is a lot of traffic flowing through that part of Berkman coming off the 290 feeder road. Meanwhile, pedestrians in the neighborhood want to cross there to access the new Pomerleau Park, and  the businesses and schools east of Berkman . Traffic does not pay a lot of attention to the pedestrian crosswalks that exist there, so at this point, we feel an upgrade to a traffic light is needed, especially given that Berkman will be seeing even more traffic with new residential development in the neighborhood. 
7. Add a traffic signal at Rogge and Berkman. Again, this is a high traffic area, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for cars to make left-hand turns at this intersection. This is also a key intersection for children trying to cross to get to Blanton Elementary School. 

Improve pedestrian and bike egresses from the neighborhood 

8. Improve pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure at Berkman and 290, Cameron Road and 290, 290 and I-35, and Cameron Road and 51st Street. Our neighborhood wants to increase connectivity with St. Johns to the north and neighborhoods west of I-35. However, pedestrian and bicycle crossings at 290 heading north on Berkman and Cameron are limited and scary. Heading west across I-35 at 290 is extremely dangerous, and there is no continuous sidewalk on the south side of 290 at all. Finally, we would like to see changes to improve safety for bicyclists at 51st and Cameron Road. 

Our neighborhood has been making requests for these improvements for years. As the council knows, East Austin has been chronically underdeveloped and underinvested compared to other parts of Austin. Given the numbers of people in our neighborhood that walk, bike, and take public transportation, these improvements are long overdue. The need for these improvements will only increase as several large-scale housing developments (including almost 700 new units going in at Windsor Village) are underway in our neighborhood. Our streets cannot handle much more motor vehicle congestion and traffic, increasing the chances of accidents, which makes improvements for alternative modes of transportation even more urgent. 

Thank you for considering my request,