Balcones Canyonland Preserve

Bull Creek

City of Austin — Contacts — Public Hearings

Environment — Wildlife Habitat

Hill Country Roadways

Growth Plans — Travis Cty Greenprint

The Hill Country Roadway Ordinance (HCRO) was passed in January 1986 by a far-sighted City Council led by Mayor Frank Cooksey. The HCRO recognized that:

• the continued pressure for westward growth of the City shall bring an explosive on-rush of development along major highways to the west of the City; and,
• the designated Hill Country Roadways are an asset to the entire City and the motoring public because of their dramatic scenic qualities with magnificent views; and,
• it is necessary to protect and preserve the unique physical beauty of these highways so they will continue to be an attraction to tourists, thereby benefitting the Captial City's economic climate; and,
• the City Council is concerned about traffic safety and congestion along its major highways and that the traffic capacity of Hill Country Roadways is limited; and,
• the environmental disruption and economic cost associated with the improvement and expansion of Hill Country Roadways is considerable and may be minimized by appropriate restrictions on land use and future development of property adjacent to Hill Country Roadways.

What happened?!? Why has our City leadership not protected our natural resources, including the Hill Country and our Drinking Water Supply, as envisioned and ordained by this law?

The following resources provide information about the designated Hill Country Roadways in and about Austin and Travis County.

Document (opens in seperate window)	Description/Comment	Original Source
map of the Hill Country Roadways		CofA
original Hill Country Roadway Ordinance		CofA
graphical summary of the significant HCRO requirements		the multi-talented Richard Jennings, FAIA
2222 Corridor Study, 5 June 2002	A study by Land Design Studio that attempts to justify how dense development in the 2222 Corridor will help solve traffic problems and ensure water quality via alternative compliance measures that are defined by the developer.	link:http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/transplan/ files posted at: ftp://coageoid01.ci.austin.tx.us/GIS-Data/planning/trans/corridorstudy2222/