The new concrete barricades will stand 3.5 feet tall, shorter than the current plastic ones, and run along both sides of the street for two blocks, from San Jacinto Boulevard to Neches Street.
"We definitely want to keep this as safe as possible," said Charlotte Tonsor, executive projects director with The Trail Conservancy. "We understand what this will do to the daily use, to the weekly use, to the visits."
City Council considered a possible tax rate election to address Austin's $33 million deficit with a proposed budget of $6.3 million. The maximum increase could be 8 cents.
Austin has dipped to the 13th largest city, and the fourth fastest-growing region in the country due to slowdowns in key pull factors and job growth.
"There have been a lot of ups and downs and twists and turns in trying to figure out how to keep these buildings intact," said Historic Preservation Division Manager Kim McKnight. "We do have very clear direction from Council to do whatever is necessary to get this dealt with in terms of removing historic designation as an obstacle."
The former director of the Economic Development Department authorized grant awards that violated city code restrictions, permitting the overlap of funding for arts organizations.
Despite its touted benefits, the rezoning under the density bonus program is seen by many as a failure, exacerbating the housing crisis for low-income residents.
Jenell Moffett, chief impact officer for DAA, told Austin Monitor that while the office market has cooled, several major public infrastructure projects totaling more than $20 billion are moving forward at full speed.
As with most construction, costs have escalated significantly post-pandemic," CapMetro's Chief of Staff Cheyenne Conyer explained to the transit agency's board of directors in an email this month. "Additionally, Brandywine approached CapMetro to renegotiate the terms of the original agreement as their post-pandemic financial picture solidified.