A Special Message from RWC about the Mopac Expansion

Dear Members,

By now most of you have heard about the plan to add a second level on Mopac that would run along the length of our neighborhood.  Our group mission is to beautify and advance Rollingwood, we believe this Mopac plan would greatly impact our neighborhood (and the surrounding neighborhoods) in a negative way. We wanted to send out some information for you to review to bring an awareness to what is actually being planned so you can make your own informed decision and choice to get involved. 

Thank you,

The RWC Officers

A big thank you to Wendi Hundley for putting this information together.

An overview of Mopac proposals- it’s long but please make sure you scroll to the bottom for information on how you can voice your opinion & ways to get involved

 MoPac: North of MoPac Bridge:  

The N. MoPac Express Lane project gets more complicated north of the MoPac Bridge.  The south part of the project, from Slaughter to just before the MoPac bridge has enough right-of-way for the Express Lanes to have 2 lanes in both directions.  However, once they reach the MoPac bridge (our current bottle neck area) there is only room to put one express lane in both directions (from Town Lake to183/Research area).  So, the Express Lane system will bottleneck and face similar issues to what we face now. The construction on that part of the project (north of the MoPac bridge) is well underway at this time.  The answer to the Express Lane getting backed up at the bottleneck is a variable toll system — which will demand more money to enter the toll as the volume of traffic increases.  There will not be a cap on the amount they can charge for the express lane toll. 

MoPac: South of MoPac Bridge:

The part of the project from MoPac bridge south to Slaughter Ln involves our area and is currently in the study period and open to public comment.  

Below are the issues I am aware of that affect our area:

1) Northbound Express Lane Access:

It will be difficult to get onto the N. MoPac Express Lane from our area.  If you do enter the N MoPac Express Lane (entrance north of Barton Skyway) your first opportunity to exit will be at 2222.  We will still be able to get onto general purpose N. MoPac lanes using our current routes, but if utilized the first opportunity to enter the Express Lane will be at 2222.

•    To gain access to the N. MoPac Express Lane from 2244/Zilker area:  We’ll first travel south by either 1) Staying on the access road to get to Capital of Texas Highway (going through the traffic light at Barton Skyway) or 2) Merging onto S. MoPac using the entrance ramp right before Barton Skyway and then exiting at Capital of Texas Highway.  We’ll have to U-turn at Capital of Texas Highway (where there is only one left turn lane) to turn left onto Capital of Texas Highway.  Then possibly wait more light changes to turn left onto the N. MoPac access road.  **That access road is already very precarious as we are required to merge with traffic coming from 360/71 that are also trying to merge onto N. MoPac.  Once we enter N MoPac we will then be able to get onto the Express Lane via an entrance before Barton Skyway.  The first opportunity to exit the express lane will be at 2222.

2) S. MoPac Express Lane Access:

The S. MoPac express lane/toll road project has the following areas of concern I’m aware of:

 •    To gain access the S. MoPac Express Lanes from 2244/Zilker we enter the general purpose MoPac lane using the onramp right before Barton Skyway.  We then navigate over two lanes of traffic in a distance of about 1,800 feet to enter the Express Lane.  (As I understand it 4,000 feet is what is recommended to safely navigate those lanes of traffic).

·   Returning to our area from N. Austin we have 2 options: 1) Exit the S. MoPac Express Lane at 2222 and join the general-purpose lanes so we can take the 2244 exit when we get to our area (our exit is not available from the Express Lane) or  2) Use the S. MoPac Express Lane and exit at Capital of Texas Highway. Again, we’ll have to U-turn at Capital of Texas Highway (where there is only one left turn lane) to turn left onto Capital of Texas Highway.  Then possibly wait more light changes to turn left onto the N. MoPac access road.  **That access road is already very precarious as we are required to merge with traffic coming from 360/71 that are also trying to merge onto N. MoPac.  Once we enter N MoPac we will then be able to get onto the general-purpose lane and take the Rollingwood/Westlake Hills exit. 

3) Double Decker

The proposed double decker will be elevated 25 feel over MoPac (from before RW Dr to Caesar Chaves).  The double decker will have 2 lanes.  1 lane will carry N. MoPac express lane users directly onto Cesar Chaves.  The other lane will carry S. MoPac Express Lane users from Cesar Chaves onto the S. MoPac Express Lane.  

•    Light pollution:  The double decker will have to be lighted.  The lights will be an additional 25-50 feet up and will contribute a great deal of light pollution to the park and the surrounding residential neighborhood.  

•    Noise Pollution:  Having a double decker will be noisy.  The representatives assured us they would abide by the noise standards allowed for a double decker (I didn’t find that reassuring).  Their answer to questions about solution to block the noise pollution was that they could build sound barrier walls on the elevated portion (which would be aesthetically undesirable/offensive).

4) Bottle Neck & The Double Decker

The N. MoPac Express Lane from Slaughter to just before the MoPac bridge has enough right-of-way for the Express Lanes to have 2 lanes in both directions.  However, once the N. Mopac Express Lane reaches the MoPac bridge (our current bottle neck area) there is only room for one express lane in both directions (from Town Lake to183/Research area).  So, the Express Lane system will bottleneck and face similar issues to what we face now.  With no cap on the toll it will be a premium to get into that one faster north bound Express Lane.  

At the meeting one of the representatives said in referring to the Double Decker “When the 2-lanes end and we have to drop down to one lane, we have to do something with the extra lane”. The “something” they chose to do is an elevated double decker bridge over Zilker Park and residential neighborhoods.

 The representative said there are other alternatives which have explored:  Widening the bridge which will mean some park land will need to be taken into the right of way.  2) Going under instead of over. 3) reconfiguring the existing 1st and 5th street exits.

5) 2244/Bee Caves Road - Increased Use & Special Events

The City of Rollingwood has proposed that CTRMA and TxDot take a look at creative design solutions (like those being considered for Slaughter Lane) to address the regular traffic and special event issues that impact 2244.  2244/Bee Caves Road is a major artery for all Westbank including Rollingwood, Westlake Hills, Bee Cave, and Lakeway.  

 •    As part of the improvement CTRMA has opted to move the southbound Access Ramp for Rollingwood/Westlake Hills further back to improve visibility and give more time to merge right to get over to Bee Cave Rd.  The bigger issue that isn’t addressed is people are merging left to get to from Zilker Park/Rollingwood to N. MoPac and the opposite way people coming off S. MoPac are merging right to get to Bee Caves.   That problem isn’t addressed by moving the access road further back.  One suggestion from Alderwoman Pattillo was to make a direct connection from the regular MoPac Lanes to 2244 — avoiding the merging problems

 •   TxDot is funded to make improvements on Bee Cave from Walsh Tarlton to Red Bud. Yay!  The improvements will include a center turn lane, a shoulder for bikes and a sidewalk that is 15 feet from the road.   With all the improvements we’re likely to see an increase in use of the road, which will impact the already congested 2244/MoPac interchange. 

•    The new Endeavor Office Buildings at Bee Caves and MoPac will bring an additional 900 people who will be entering and exiting Bee Caves Road at least twice daily once this project is complete.  So again more traffic concerns but nothing has been propose to help the intersection. 

•    Special Events  - Bee Caves Road and Barton Springs are often closed for special events like Trail of of Lights, ACL, Kite Festival, etc.   During those closures we are sent up to Barton Skyway to get in line at the light and use that as a turn around to get N Mopac.  It’s very difficult to go anywhere during special events now, but with the proposed MoPac traffic flow patterns it will become impossible.  

 6) Barton Springs Road - Bike and Pedestrian Issues

As part of their project CTRMA has made a promise to improve bike and pedestrian paths as much a possible. 

 •    Widening MoPac may impact the bike trail that leads from Barton Springs Rd to Lady Bird Lake.  It will likely have to be made narrower to accommodate the wider MoPac lanes.  **It is my understanding that they are not allowed to take away access we already had before the tolled roads but I don’t know if this applies to bike and pedestrian routes.**

•    The CTRMA proposal for Bikes and Pedestrian from our area to cross Barton Springs Road and get to Zilker Park is 1) We walk over to where the Lady Bird Lake Trail intersects with Barton Springs (along west side of frontage road where there is no sidewalk (where a gentleman was killed last year) - and part of the way is against flow of the bike lane) 2) Cross at the makeshift bike crossing that currently exists 3) They want to add a sidewalk in the right of way under the bridge up to where Rollingwood intersects with Mopac.  4) We cross the road there 4) Finally we cross Barton Springs Road to get to Zilker Park. 

Alternative Ideas Proposed:

·      A walking bridge across Barton Springs has been proposed by Alderwoman Pattillo of Rollingwood she and other city officials have already been in talks with the City of Austin about it who are supportive.

·      Traffic Dampening at Barton Springs and Rollingwood Drive was proposed in the form of traffic circles or stop signs at Rollingwood Dr & Barton Springs

·      Sidewalks were proposed by Rollingwood - from the Lady Bird Lake Trail to Bee Caves Blvd (connecting into existing ADA Sidewalks on Bee Caves) and on up to Liberty Park Dr. to connect with the ADA Sidewalks there.

Want to get involved or voice your opinion read this...

1) MOST IMPORTANT:  Submit written comments to CAMPO through emailcampo@campotexas.org before theApril 1st meeting.  Comments can also be submitted by phone (512-974-2275), or by mail (CAMPO at P.O. Box 1088 Austin TX 78767) or through a survey (link below).  All comments will be provided to the Board before the vote.

When e-mailing copy the following people:

City of Rollingwood:

mayorfarrell@cityofrollingwood.com

administrator@cityofrollingwood.com

Travis County Commissioners:

Brigid Shea:Brigid.Shea@traviscountytx.gov &Barbara.Rush@traviscountytx.gov

Ron Davis: ron.davis@traviscountytx.gov

Gerald Daugherty: Gerald.Daugherty@traviscountytx.gov 

Margaret Gomez: Margaret.Gomez@traviscountytx.gov

Sarah Eckhardt: Sarah.Eckhardt@traviscountytx.gov 

A sample letter to help them get started:

Dear City, County, TxDOT, CTRMA and CAMPO officials:

The CAMPO board is  supposed to vote on the 2035 Plan proposal (and whether or not to include the Mopac amendments) April 1st.  This leaves many people in West Austin with no public testimony opportunities.  We just found out about the Double Decker February 26th, 2015.  Please don’t approve the amendment to add two toll lanes in each direction. Any expansion in this area should be limited, WITHOUT double decker flyovers through West Austin, Zilker Park, and Austin High School.  I ask the CAMPO Board to slow down this process so that our community may have time to learn more about the proposal and provide input to the decision.  This Double Decker will be built over our parks and our residential community.

2) We need people to show up at these next two meetings:

Tuesday, March 31st, from 6-7:30 pm at the Austin High School Cafeteria to discuss the MoPac expansion. 

The final CAMPO public meetingApril 1, 2015 5:30-7:30 at One Texas Center 505 Barton Springs Rd. Ste 325. This is the last public meeting before the voteon April 2nd.

3) Provide Feedback to the Central Texas Regional Mobile Authority (CTRMA) through the websitewww.mopacSouth.com, by fax (512) 996-9784 or mail Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority C/O Mopac Enviromental Study 3300 N. IH-35 Ste 300 Austin Texas 78705

The Thinkery is The Best!

The Thinkery, the new Austin Children’s Museum, is Austin’s home for “why” and “how.” The Thinkery has exhibits and activities for children ages 0-13 to explore and play.  They’ve just opened a new area of the museum designed specifically for ages 8 and up!  In addition to camps and workshops, some of our members’ families have hosted birthday parties with the Thinkery. 

 

For more info about booking a birthday party with the Thinkery, visit: https://thinkeryaustin.org/parties/

 

The Thinkery is always in need of items (egg cartons, used CDs) for use in our workshops, camps, and special programming.  Click here for a list of most requested items.

 

Website: Thinkeryaustin.org

Address: 1830 Simond Ave, Austin, TX  78723

Phone Number: (512) 469-6200

Photos from February 24, 2015 Meeting at the Thinkery

Photos from February 24, 2015 Meeting at the Thinkery
Thanks for Melissa Morrow for setting it up!

Rubber Mulch Research

(Below research provided by Natasha Harris and presented on the January 27, 2015 Meeting)

Rubber Mulch Research

January 2015
Definitions:
The tire material used on playgrounds can include the following:

• Uncompressed/loose tire shred (rubber mulch) or “crumb” on a surface
  that can be raked
  
• Tire shreds combined with a binder and then poured onto a permanent
  surface; crumb rubber infill
  
• Tiles made from tire shreds and binder that have been factory-molded
  then glued to a playground surface; crumb rubber infill
  Background:
  

• Emergency rooms treat over 200,000 kids, aged 14 and under, for playground-related injuries every year. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
  
• Much of the regulation for playgrounds focuses on safety from falls.
  
• Tire infill has higher impact attenuation than other surfaces, such as pea gravel. "In other words, it was the safest thing for a kid to fall onto." (Michael Blumenthal, former vice president of the Rubber Manufacturers Association and now an independent consultant for the industry)
  
• Consumers like rubber infill because: it does a good job of cushioning falls, it’s cheaper to maintain in the long run because it doesn't degrade like wood chips or other organic materials, and it’s a way to deal with the 290 million scrap tires generated nationwide.
  
• There has been a big push by government agencies to find ways to recycle tires.
  
• Some states, in an effort to recycle and repurpose old tires, incentivize the material. Several states give grants to municipalities, school districts and other entities to use crumb rubber. For example, Kentucky has funded 287 rubber-filled playgrounds since its program began in 2004.
  Safety of Crumb Rubber:
  

• There are no standards that regulate the chemical makeup of playground equipment and infill.
  
• Currently available studies on rubber infill are "inadequate."
  
• “More than two dozen studies have attempted to measure the potential health risks of crumb rubber surfaces. While many have found no negative
  

health effects, some doctors and toxicologists believe these studies are limited and insufficient to establish conclusively that shredded rubber surfaces are safe.” (NBC News article)

• The Environmental Protection Agency says there are insufficient studies to warrant any statement about risk. The EPA did a limited study of 4 playgrounds and fields in 2008 and found the concentrations of materials that made up tire crumb to be below levels considered harmful. Due to the small number of samples and sampling sites used, the EPA stated that “it is not possible to extend the results beyond the four study sites or to reach any more comprehensive conclusions.”
  
• Both the EPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, however, recommend and promote rubber mulch.
  
• The EPA has worked with industry representatives and state officials to increase the use of tire mulch in playgrounds, and the CPSC recommends mulch in the "Bible" it provides to playground planners across the country.
  
• While the EPA has helped coordinate efforts to recycle tires and move crumb rubber onto playgrounds and fields, it has not coordinated efforts to study the material nor does it have any plans to as it considers this a “state and local issue”.
  Chemicals in the Tires:
  

• Tires are composed of chemicals including: benzene, mercury, styrene- butadiene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and arsenic, among several other chemicals, heavy metals and carcinogens, have been found in tires. (EPA)
  
• Industry representatives and manufacturers say that crumb rubber is safe for children to play on because the manufacturing process binds the various components of tire, including carbon black and solvents, into a "matrix" that makes it impossible for them to leach out.
  
• "Most people look at the raw materials going into tires and say, 'This is a suspected causer of cancer, this could be an endocrine disrupter, but after the manufacturing process, none of the raw materials that go into a tire are available." (Michael Blumenthal, former vice president of the Rubber Manufacturers Association and now an independent consultant for the industry)
  
• Studies have found that crumb rubber can emit gases that can be inhaled. When the material gets hot, it can increase the chances that volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and chemicals can "off-gas," or leach into the air.
  

• An organization of 10 people in Connecticut called Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI) publicizes the carcinogenic risks of rubber mulch based on some small studies they commissioned by a lab in Connecticut.
Children and Chemical Exposure:

• Young children are at greater risk to chemical exposure because their organs, muscles and nervous systems are still developing.
  
• Behavioral traits unique to children, like putting things in their mouths, increase their risk of exposure. They breathe, eat and drink more relative to their body weight than adults. They also have many more years of life in which to develop disease triggered by early exposure to a carcinogen.
  
• "Children go to playgrounds almost daily, and gifted athletes are on the soccer field almost every day. That sort of cumulative exposure results in a buildup in their body of these toxic chemicals, and can result in a buildup of cellular damage that's caused by these chemicals, that can then result in disease years or decades later." (Dr. Philip Landrigan, dean of global health at New York's Mt. Sinai Hospital and a top expert on the effect of chemicals on children)
  
• "My concern as a pediatrician when somebody says that the levels are low is to ask the counter-question, 'What's low for a child?' I think for little children who play right down with their faces on the ground, who pick up stuff and put it in their mouths, who get crumb rubber on their skin in ways that adults would almost never get it on their skin, that any level of exposure to a known human carcinogen is too much." (Dr. Philip Landrigan)
  Artificial Turf:
  

• Most of the fields are made of crumb rubber, which became popular a dozen years ago. Called styrene butadiene rubber, or “crumb rubber,” the turf contains tiny black crumbs made from pulverized car tires, poured in between the fake grass blades. The rubber infill gave the field more bounce than previous synthetic surfaces, cushioned the impact for athletes, and helped prevent serious injuries like concussions.
  
• Seattle soccer coach Amy Griffin has compiled a list of 38 American soccer players -- 34 of them goalies - who have been diagnosed with cancer. At least a dozen played in Washington, but the geographic spread
  

is nationwide. Blood cancers like lymphoma and leukemia dominate the list.

• Griffin collected names through personal experience with sick players, and acknowledges that her list is not a scientific data set. But it's enough to make her ask whether crumb rubber artificial turf, a product that has been rolled out in tens of thousands of parks, playgrounds, schools and stadiums in the U.S., is safe for the athletes and kids who play on it.
  
• The Synthetic Turf Council, an industry group, says that the evidence collected so far by scientists and state and federal agencies proves that artificial turf is safe. "We've got 14 studies on our website that says we can find no negative health effects. While those studies aren't absolutely conclusive, there's certainly a preponderance of evidence to this point that says, in fact, it is safe." (Dr. Davis Lee, a Turf Council board member)
  
• Schools and local governments liked the benefits of the fields. Rubber infill doesn’t require pesticides or herbicides to maintain, they don’t need water to live, and they can withstand heavy use year-round. They also provide a means to recycle millions of discarded tires.
  EISD Schools:
  Use artificial turf (which has the small pellets of rubber mulch), also wood chips or pea gravel.
  Resources:
  NBC News article on rubber mulch: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/rubber-mulch-safe-surface-your- childs-playground-n258586
  NBC News article on artificial turf: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/how-safe-artificial-turf-your-child- plays-n220166
  about Seattle soccer coach Amy Griffin and goal keepers
  http://www.ehhi.org/reports/turf/
  http://www.peer.org/news/news-releases/2013/08/01/move-to-make-synthetic- playgrounds-lead-free/
  http://www.peer.org/news/news-releases/2013/03/21/feds-should-drop-synthetic- turf-safety-assurances/
  http://www.peer.org/news/news-releases/2009/06/04/safety-of-shredded-tires-in- playgrounds-under-question/
  

http://center4research.org/child-teen-health/early-childhood- development/caution-children-at-play-on-potentially-toxic-surfaces/
https://achildgrows.com/blog/2008/08/toxic-playgrounds-rubber-mats-again/ Facebook page "Ban Rubber Mulch" 

Is rubber playground mulch carcinogenic?

Below research provided by Maria Abernathy and presented on the January 27, 2015 meeting


Is rubber playground mulch carcinogenic?
After searching many websites (documented below), I could find no scientific studies which corroborated a link between rubber playground mulch and cancer. I avoided manufacturerʼs sites, to avoid bias. I did find many anecdotal reports of concern about rubber mulch (Natasha Harris has included these in her much-appreciated handout). It appears that more research is warranted.
N.B. My search was limited only to the question of rubber mulch and carcinogenic effects in humans. I did not search pros and cons of alternate materials, such as wood mulch and pea gravel mulch.
Maria Abernathy
1/27/15
www.epa.gov/nerl/features/tire_crumbs.html - EPA conducted a limited-scale study of synthetic turf fields (which use rubber mulch pellets), but drew no comprehensive conclusions because of the few study areas they could access, the variability in rubber crumb materials, and possible overestimation of metals concentration
by aggressive acid extraction procedure. “Because understanding human uptake or absorption is a key component in understanding risk, methods to determine bioavailable metal concentrations are still needed.”
www.cpsc.gov 11/2010 - Public Playground Safety Handbook Pub. #325, p. 17 – Recommends rubber tire mulch, along with certain wood mulches or pea gravel, as acceptable playground
surfaces. Cautions that rubber tire mulch products should be inspected before use to ensure that all metal has been removed.
www.consumerreports.org 3/31/2009 – Recommends rubber mulch for plant beds. Cautions regarding use of the rubber for playground surfaces because it may contain small pieces of steel or nylon. Notes that their testing showed “very low levels of lead...comparable to or

lower than lead levels in soil around homes.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=21797769 2011 – Human health risk assessment of synthetic turf fields based upon investigation of five fields in Connecticut. (National Institutes of Health) – “Rubber is a complex mixture with some components possessing toxic and carcinogenic properties. Exposure is possible via inhalation.” Samples were assessed from indoor and outdoor synthetic turf fields, for adult and child risk levels. Conclusion: “Cancer and noncancer risk levels were at or below de minimis levels of concern. The scenario with the highest exposure was children playing on the indoor field.”
www.ipema.org - IPEMA (International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association) – Toni Hudson forwarded this to me. The organization “encourages its members to follow the guidelines of the CPSC” which publishes the Public Playground Safety Handbook (See above citation).
Eanes ISD Facilities management office – 1/22/15: Reports that Eanes schools use artificial turf, pea gravel, and wood chips in playground areas.