03.c - 2100 Barton Springs Rd - public comments — original pdf

Backup

Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Carole Price Friday, February 27, 2026 4:09 PM Historic Preservation Office Barton springs bridge Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Completed You don't often get email from Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution I urge you to stop the madness...I live in Barton Hill and do not wish to see the bridge over Barton springs demolished and replaced with a 4-6 lane monstrosity...for nearly 40 years I have watched in horror as more and more of south Austin charm has been removed from our life and it stops HERE! $54 million is an outrage...build a new pedestrian bridge like we have over on S. Lamar and move the foot traffic...and rehab this one for substantially less. Your name says it all HISTORIC LANDMARK commission...save this bridge, for now for the future... CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 1 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Sonia Santana Friday, February 27, 2026 4:24 PM Historic Preservation Office Save the Barton Springs Bridge You don't often get email from Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution I am writing today to voice my concerns for demolishing the Barton Springs Bridge. I am a resident of Austin and live in the Zilker/Barton Hills neighborhood. I understand that the current estimate for demolition and replacement of the bridge is $54.5 million and construction would last 18 to 24 months; the 2022 estimate for tear down and replacement was only $10.2 million, compared to $14.5 million for rehabilitation of the bridge. On a cost basis alone it makes more sense to rehabilitate the bridge than to demolish it. That bridge should be a historical landmark and it should be saved - not torn down. Thank you, Sonia Santana 2005 CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 2 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Natasha Mulko Scheufele Friday, February 27, 2026 4:32 PM Historic Preservation Office Keep the Barton springs bridge! You don't often get email from n Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution Please do not destroy the current bridge. Increased traffic with a wider bridge will take a toll on pedestrian safety and wildlife. Please keep the bridge and don’t turn BSR into a highway! Natasha Scheufele 805 Azie Morton Road unit B CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 3 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Friday, February 27, 2026 7:23 PM Historic Preservation Office Barton Springs Road Bridge You don't often get email Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution Please do NOT demolish it and then build a new bridge. Instead, renovate the existing historic bridge. Thanks, Robert Corbin CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 4 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Larry Akers Friday, February 27, 2026 8:14 PM Historic Preservation Office Barton Creek Bridge [ h(cid:425)ps://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIden(cid:415)fica(cid:415)on ] External Email - Exercise Cau(cid:415)on Dear Commissioners, While the private lands abu(cid:427)ng the Lady Bird Lake corridor are being gobbled up by high rise development that the community-based Town Lake Waterfront Overlay both foresaw and sought to prevent, the City of Aus(cid:415)n has a responsibility to preserve the architectural heritage of the corridor on its own lands. With this in mind, the Barton Springs Road bridge over Barton Creek is part of the defining architectural heritage of the corridor that includes also the Lamar Bridge over Lady Bird Lake. For this reason alone, though there are others, the commission should designate the bridge a historical landmark. The op(cid:415)on for its preserva(cid:415)on should take precedence in the decision of whether to rehabilitate it or destroy/replace it. The community has spoken with extreme clarity that the City needs to be more fiscally responsible. The escala(cid:415)on of the proposed replacement cost from $10.2 million (to gain public approval) to $54.5 million (to actually do the work) is a perfect example of the City's betrayal of fiscal accountability to the public, and it should be shouted down. Preserva(cid:415)on by rehabilita(cid:415)on is now by far the more fiscally sound treatment. I pass over that bridge and the adjoining intersec(cid:415)on daily. Yes, there is a mild bo(cid:425)leneck. It is being managed. Safer pedestrian passage could be achieved with an adjoining bridge, streamlining traffic flow and improving safety at very much less cost. Please join in the effort to bring responsibility to our heritage and our pocketbooks back to City Hall. Designate this lovely bridge as a historical landmark. Larry Akers -- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG an(cid:415)virus so(cid:332)ware. h(cid:425)ps://gcc02.safelinks.protec(cid:415)on.outlook.com/?url=h(cid:425)p%3A%2F%2Fwww.avg.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cpreserva(cid:415)o n%40aus(cid:415)ntexas.gov%7Ce9ae1b8fa6954317011e08de766ef9d9%7C5c5e19f6a6ab4b45b1d0be4608a9a67f%7C0%7C0% 7C639078416357326459%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJX aW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C60000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=0qt6CayZvaXYST(cid:325)pGQkvjrBId9XiKS0wf4R PX1Rz%2Fg%3D&reserved=0 CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use cau(cid:415)on when clicking links or opening a(cid:425)achments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" bu(cid:425)on in Outlook. For any addi(cid:415)onal ques(cid:415)ons or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@aus(cid:415)ntexas.gov". 5 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Jerome Kearns Friday, February 27, 2026 8:18 PM Historic Preservation Office Barton Creek Bridge—BUILD NEW BRIDGE PLEASE! [You don't o(cid:332)en get email from h(cid:425)ps://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIden(cid:415)fica(cid:415)on ] Learn why this is important at External Email - Exercise Cau(cid:415)on the bridge over Barton creek and Amie Morton needs to be rebuilt! Not everything is a landmark and a new, well thought, pedestrian AND cars, friendly bridge. Make a great bridge that can be just as iconic as the one it replaces! Build it! J Kearns Zilker resident CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use cau(cid:415)on when clicking links or opening a(cid:425)achments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" bu(cid:425)on in Outlook. For any addi(cid:415)onal ques(cid:415)ons or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@aus(cid:415)ntexas.gov". 6 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Bill W Saturday, February 28, 2026 3:58 PM Historic Preservation Office South MoPac Expansion. Agenda Item 3 External Email - Exercise Caution Ladies and Gentlemen: I am asking you to oppose the proposed expansion of South MoPac by initiate local historic zoning for the current bridge over Barton Creek. Since I live on Funston St, which adjoins MoPac to the immediate West of us, I--and all the neighbors who live on Funston St and adjacent streets from W29th to W35th, are threatened by this proposed expansion. It doesn't take much to realize that with the current expansion at Hwy183 and the proposed expansion South that they will turn their eyes to the "bottleneck" they've created in the middle!! Previously TxDOT has suggested building double-decker lanes along this stretch of MoPac and I suspect they will propose such again....thus destroying our neighborhood as well as property values. I have been involved with the MoPac freeway for almost 40 years, first as a member of MONAC (MoPac Neighborhood Associations Council), in Bryker Woods Neighborhood Association, and personally. Many years ago MONAC suggested that MoPac be sunk below grade, which TxDOT just refused to do, thus creating their own problem. Many examples exist of the "If you build it, they will come," does NOT solve the problem of congestion. Please oppose this expansion. Thank you --Bill Woods 3211 Funston St. Living on Earth is expensive but it does include a free trip around the Sun. This message is confidential, intended only for the named recipient and may contain information that is privileged or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you receive this message in error, or are not the named recipient, please notify the sender. All comments are the sender’s personal opinion unless otherwise noted. CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report 7 Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 8 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Margo Carrico Saturday, February 28, 2026 8:40 PM Historic Preservation Office March 4th meeting; please do not demolish the Barton Springs Bridge You don't often get email from . Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution Dear Landmark's commission, Re: the March 4th meeting: Please do not demolish the Barton Springs Bridge. Designate historic zoning and rehab the bridge. It's not my neighborhood area but it is in my city and with interstate 35 construction etc., the Austin look is getting pretty ugly. I appreciate your stewardship, Margaret Carrico 207 East 46th St. Austin, TX 78751 PS: My husband would like his name added (if you're keeping count on this vote). His name is Frank Carrico demolish the historic Barton Springs Bridge over Barton Creek and replace it with a massive, freeway-style concrete span at an estimated cost of $54.5 million. Wednesday, March 4, at 6:00 PM at City Hall, the Historic Landmark Commission takes up Agenda Item 3. The Commission could initiate local historic zoning for the bridge CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 9 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Maria Winchell Sunday, March 1, 2026 10:22 AM Historic Preservation Office Barton Springs Bridge You don't often get email from Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution Dear Historic Landmark Commissioners, I am a community member writing to express my opposition to the proposed re-engineered bridge project. This project would significantly increase through traffic and pose safety hazards for pedestrians. I support protecting the current land boundaries of Zilker Park and the Umlauf Sculpture Garden. I am also in favor of rehabilitating the existing bridge, as it would be more cost-effective than the proposed multi-lane project. Recent city improvements have made Barton Springs Road much safer for cyclists and pedestrians; adding more traffic lanes would decrease this safety. Please vote YES to designating the Barton Springs bridge as a historic landmark. Sincerely, Maria Winchell CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 10 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Linda Boxberger Monday, March 2, 2026 11:54 AM Historic Preservation Office Lamar St bridge [You don't o(cid:332)en get email from h(cid:425)ps://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIden(cid:415)fica(cid:415)on ] Learn why this is important at External Email - Exercise Cau(cid:415)on We don't need a six lane bridge or a bigger highway going through the park and Barton Springs Rd. Please recommend that the exis(cid:415)ng historic structure be renovated rather than replaced by a bridge suited for a major thoroughfare. Best, Linda Boxberger CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use cau(cid:415)on when clicking links or opening a(cid:425)achments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" bu(cid:425)on in Outlook. For any addi(cid:415)onal ques(cid:415)ons or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@aus(cid:415)ntexas.gov". 11 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Marni Kane Monday, March 2, 2026 12:15 PM Historic Preservation Office Save Barton Springs Bridge You don't often get email from Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution Hello there, As a mother of three who crosses the Barton Springs bridge regularly on foot with strollers, I am asking you to please consider saving the existing bridge. There are already few walkable paths to parks in this city, and adding six lanes of traffic will make walking to Zilker more dangerous - not just for me and my young children, but the countless people who are trying to enjoy the park by bike or on foot. Meanwhile the construction time and delays will completely impede our ability to safely get to and from Zilker Park and Nature's Way Preschool each day. Additionally, city-commissioned engineering reports have found the existing bridge to be in good condition and capable of rehabilitation at substantially lower cost. Let's keep the bridge and use that money towards other valuable projects! Thanks for listening, Marni Kane, Zilker, 78704 CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 12 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: W. Tucker Monday, March 2, 2026 12:40 PM Historic Preservation Office You don't often get email from Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution Dear Commission, PLEASE DO NOT DESTROY THE CURRENT BARTON SPRING'S BRIDGE. Barton springs road through the zilker park area is already a bit of a freeway - when it's not packed with traffic, I have been driving on the road at 35 mph (the speed limit) and had cars pass me easily going 45 or 50 mph. (this is not an exaggeration - I actually attempted to keep up with one of these cars and did hit 50mph). Building this new wider bridge and straightening the curve in the road would only encourage this behavior and lead to the road through the park - which should be a safe road for folks going to the park - being an even more dangerous road. There should not be a freeway through our park. I'm not sure what happened to trying to keep Austin a bit of a pedestrian / green space friendly town. But it would be nice if we all - including you all - supported this notion. Please fix the bridge we have. W. Tucker CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 13 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Lisa Sutherland Monday, March 2, 2026 4:22 PM Historic Preservation Office Barton Springs Bridge You don't often get email from Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution To whom it may concern, My family has made the Zilker neighborhood our home for over 30 years. We cross the historic bridge over Barton Creek, by car, on foot or on bikes, no less than four times every day. We recently became aware that in 2023, the city council voted to tear down this bridge and replace it with a new “highway style”, multi-lane, bridge without input from the Historic Landmark Commission. We are adamantly opposed to this plan for a variety of reasons and are hoping the Historic Landmark Commission will help us advocate to save and rehabilitate the old bridge vs. tearing it down and replacing it with a characterless, multi-lane, highway-style, entrance ramp into pedestrian heavy Zilker Park. In addition to preserving the history and character of Austin’s flagship park, maintaining the old bridge while adding a separate pedestrian/bike bridge is projected to come at about 1/5th the price of demolition and replacement. Rehab will allow this important roadway to not be shut down while construction for years. We would very much appreciate any influence you may have over the city council in helping us hold onto this cherished landmark, one of the few that remain that help make Austin a unique and beautiful place to live. Thank you kindly, Lisa Sutherland 2017 Goodrich Avenue Austin, TX 78704 (512)743-7538 CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 14 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Tom DeBoise Monday, March 2, 2026 7:54 PM Historic Preservation Office Save Barton Springs Bridge You don't often get email from Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution Dear Commissioners, Considering the current Austin budget deficient and the historical significance of this bridge, I think it makes more sense to re-habilitate this bridge and keep Austin true to its values to protect the environment and Edward's Aquafer. As am avid bike rider, Austin's recent "Road Diet" project on Barton Springs Road to reduce road traffic over the bridge to 3 lanes and providing for bike lanes on both sides has been a huge success, let's not reverse this strategy. Sincerely, Tom DeBoise Barton Palace Resident CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 15 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Patricia Elias Tuesday, March 3, 2026 12:12 AM Historic Preservation Office Save the Barton Springs Bridge You don't often get email from Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution To whomever this may concern, I am opposed to tearing down and rebuilding the historic Barton Springs bridge. It is wasteful (money and resources), poses an environmental problem for the creek, destroys yet another historical landmark in our city and is no longer necessary for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.  City-commissioned engineering reports have found the existing bridge to be in fair to good condition and capable of rehabilitation at a substantially lower cost.  The City's plan to reduce car traffic over the bridge to 3 lanes and providing, now, for bike lanes on both sides, takes care of 95% of the safety concerns for bike and pedestrian, so expansion is unnecessary for safety concerns. Please do not approve this tear down. Sincerely, Pat Elias CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 16 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Rich Armington, LCSW, CGP, SEP Tuesday, March 3, 2026 10:40 AM Historic Preservation Office a letter for item #3 of Historic Land Commission's meeting this Wednesday March 4, 2026 You don't often get email from Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution Good evening, Chair Heimsath and Commission Members. Thank you for taking up this very important issue of the Barton Springs Bridge for a second time. I watched your previous commission’s meeting and was fully engaged (and deeply moved) with your knowledge and respect in hearing the cases against demolishing this beautiful historic bridge, and the creativity you showed to hopefully find a way to maintain the bridge, its character and historic treasure (at a far lower cost). Preserving the beauty of this entrance into Zilker, rather than turning it into a high-speed thoroughfare, is a gift that will shape how this place is experienced for generations to come. Please reject the request to move forward with plans to demolish the Barton Springs Bridge, and instead use your authority to begin a historic landmark designation for the bridge. I often walk under this bridge on my way to Barton Springs pool, another treasure in our city. It is beautiful to see large bass, meandering turtles, boaters of all ages, gorgeous and protected water and land birds gathering food, kids climbing the nearby trees on the bank, and themselves flying into the creek’s clear and deep waters. This bridge is nearly 100 years old and is deeply woven into the life of Austin. It’s more than a crossing—it’s part of the experience of Zilker Park and an important piece of our shared history. From what I have come to understand personally, it clearly meets the criteria for local protection architecturally, historically, and as a community landmark. I’m concerned about the staff memo supporting demolition. I understand it’s anonymous and undocumented, and it claims the bridge is beyond repair, even though the City’s own reports from just a few years ago concluded that the bridge can be rehabilitated at a fraction of the cost of replacement. The replacement of the bridge being suggested is beyond sensible. It would more than double the width of the bridge to carry more traffic, permanently changing the character of Zilker Park and affecting Barton Creek - without a clear need. Recent traffic and lane changes have already shown there are safer, lower-impact ways forward. Importantly they maintain the character of the entrance into this magnificent natural treasure, the heart and natural life of Austin. I ask you to please interupt this impending tragedy, protect this historic bridge, initiate landmark designation, and allow the full review process to happen first. 17 I am going to try to upload some stunning photos of sunset under the bridge from a few months ago, showing the lifeforce of people energetically absorbing the beauty and peace of this area. I hope the site allows this as an upload. Thanks once again for listening and for showing caring and respect for Austin’s history – our history and city – all of us. Rich Armington, (a 40 year Zilker Neighborhood resident, a daily walker and early morning swimmer at Barton Springs pool, and author of two books describing the beauty and creativity of Barton Springs pool), one book is for children) -- Rich Armington 18 19 To help protect y our priv acy , Micro so ft Office prev ented auto matic download of this pictu re from the In ternet. IMG_4.jpeg To help protect y our priv acy , Micro so ft Office prev ented auto matic download of this pictu re from the In ternet. IMG_5.PNG 20 To help protect y our priv acy , Micro so ft Office prev ented auto matic download of this pictu re from the In ternet. IMG_7.jpeg CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 21 Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Hoppy Goddin Tuesday, March 3, 2026 11:06 AM Historic Preservation Office Please designate the Barton Springs Bridge as an historic landmark You don't often get email from Learn why this is important External Email - Exercise Caution Dear Commissioners, Barton Springs Bridge is historic and is still doing its job. We do not need to spend $54M on a new bridge, with the environmental damage and additional traffic that will ensue. If it's working, don't break it! Let's maintain it instead. Thank you for your consideration and your service. Sincerely, Hoppy Goddin 210 Lee Barton Dr Unit 508 Austin TX 78704 240-274-2972 CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 22