Issues List

Vandalism

During the last few months, we've experienced a surge in vandalism and criminal mischief. Per the police, there has been an increase city-wide. Some neighbors discovered that overnight windows in their homes and/or vehicles were broken; others reported items were stolen and a high school student’s dance team yard sign was defaced with spray paint. And at least one stop sign was defaced with paint. Another neighbor found their mail scattered on the ground; the next day their neighbor gave them their credit card bill which had checks attached; it had been opened and checks were missing. They canceled that card.

If you are aware or or suspect vandalism, please call the police at 311. It is important to do this even if the event happened several weeks ago as the police look for patterns and use this in part to decide how often to patrol a neighborhood.

NEIGHBORHOOD VOTES TO "OPT-IN" TO RESTRICTED PARKING ORDINANCE

On May 15^th, the Austin City Council approved the addition of Northwood and other neighbor-hoods in the Restricted Parking Ordinance, which means the City will enforce front and side yard parking regulations in our neighborhood. A total of 22 neighborhoods complied with the necessary notice and voting requirements within their boundaries and will now be added to the enforcement map. Northwood residents will receive a notice from the City and then enforcement will take effect.

Loop1/Parmer Lane Traffic Improvements Project

TxDOT will be improving traffic flow on Loop 1/Parmer Lane. The primary purpose of this project is to improve traffic mobility through the Loop 1 and Parmer Lane area. The project will widened Parmer Lane Bridge over Loop 1 from 6 lanes to 9 lanes, add two right turn lanes from eastbound Parmer to Loop 1 and add another west bound lane to Parmer west of Loop 1. Lane improvement will also be made to Loop 1 frontage roads. The following image image provides you with an architectural rendering of planned changes to the Parmer bridge and Parmer west of the bridge. It does not include details on the southbound frontage road changes.

The project is scheduled to be completed in the late summer to early fall of 2009. For more details regarding the proposed changes, please visit the following document, which is the original description as provided by the project manager.

The project has a web site; please refer to this URL for additional information and updates. You can also go to www.tx.dot.gov and search for Parmer Lane.

The dangers of feeding deer in an urban neighborhood

A biologist from the Wildlife Services section of the Texas Cooperative Extension spoke to attendees at the March 2nd Neighborhood Association. His discussion was about living with deer, implications of feeding deer, and also discuss coyotes, which are all over the Austin area, including Northwood. Further discussion concerning this topic can be found on the NorthwoodAustin Discussion Group.

Oak Wilt

As mentioned in several of the past year's bi-monthly newsletters, Oak Wilt is a real concern for the homeowners here in Northwood.

Northwood has developed an Assistance Program to help homeowners with tree and brush projects twice a year in conjunction with the City of Austin's large brush removal.

For more on Oak Wilt prevention, please read the following from the Texas Forestry Service.

Public Safety

Whether it is traffic, noise, construction or crime, public safety is an important topic that we all share a concern about. Any time you see a suspicious person or vehicle that does not belong, get as detailed of a description as possible and notify the police. Call 3-1-1 for non emergency needs, 9-1-1 for all emergency needs.

Officer Joe Maciel is our new neighborhood police contact. You can reach him by phone at 974-4289 or by emailing him at joe.maciel@ci.austin.tx.us.

To find more information on crime here in Northwood, goto the City of Austin Crime Information Page hosted by the Austin Police Department.

Fix your cats!

Many Northwood families have - and enjoy - pets. However, large numbers of them that stay outside can be rather frustrating to neighbors. Cats, especially ones that have not been neutered, can get rather noisy at all hours (including at 3 a.m.) and don't understand about property lines. They roam the nearby area and claim it for their own.

If you have outside cats, please neuter them - and be sure they stay current on rabies shots! Two local organizations offer low (and sometimes free) neutering:

• Emancipet - 587-SPAY (7729) - http://www.emancipet.org/
• Animal Trustees of Austin - 450-1504 - http://www.animaltrustees.org/

Other Issues

If you have suggestions or comments regarding these issues, please consider posting them through our newly created discussion group - NorthwoodAustin.

Contacts

Updated May 25, 2008