The Shoal Creek Trail through Pease Park has been blocked by debris from two major landslides that occurred in 2018 and 2019. After years of advocacy with the City of Austin from Shoal Creek Conservancy (SCC) and Pease Park Conservancy (PPC), the debris and trail closure remain. Though this is a complex issue, PPC, SCC, and Pemberton Heights Neighborhood Association (PHNA) agree that it remains an important priority to work with the City to provide a safe, accessible restoration of this area of the park and the trail that serves it.

Plans are underway to improve the eastern urban trail along Lamar, but this does not yet address any restoration on the west side.

In March of 2023, PPC and SCC wrote a letter to Mayor Kirk Watson and the Austin City Council requesting a rapid solution to this long-standing public safety and connectivity problem. As of September 2024, no action has been taken for the western trail.

What You Can Do to Help
We ask that community members:

• Contact Mayor Kirk Watson (kirk.watson@austintexas.gov) and your City Council Member to highlight the importance of access on the west side of Shoal Creek

• If you live close to or enjoy Pease Park, organize your neighborhood group to contact the Mayor’s office or your City Council Member

• Ask for support and funding for a connection to the western trail and Pease Park via a low water crossing over Shoal Creek, south of the landslide

• If you see our signs near the landslide, post them on social media to spread the word or share this blogpost