Envision: Central Texas initiative for the future Date: Tuesday, October 8, 2002

By ANITA MILLER - News Editor
San Marcos Daily Record
Posted: Tuesday, Oct 08, 2002

The ability to actively plan for the future is one of humanity's defining characteristics -- yet most of the time it's an individual matter; providing for ourselves and our families.

Central Texas residents in Hays, Travis, Caldwell, Williamson and Bastrop counties are still doing all that, of course, but they now have a unique chance to have a say in what the future will look like for their friends, neighbors and co-workers too.

That chance is participation in Envision Central Texas, an initiative designed to involve citizens in making choices on how the region will be developed over the next 20 to 30 years -- a period of time the region's population is expected to double.

Later this month, the organization will host six workshops throughout the region where participants will work interactively with issues including land use, types of housing and commercial and industrial development, transportation and other infrastructure, as well as the economic impacts of each.



The initiative kicked off in August with a five-county public outreach tour, which was followed up on Sept. 13 with a regional workshop in Austin that was attended by over 350 citizens in the five-county area.

The workshops, scheduled Oct. 14-17, are designed to further define ideas already expressed, as well as inject new ones into the mix, said John Fregonese of the consulting firm Fregonese-Calthorpe & Associates, who gave an overview of the project to date last week when Envision Central Texas board members met on the campus of Southwest Texas State University.

Deadline for registering for the workshops is Oct. 9.

On Oct. 15, a workshop will be held at the Dripping Springs High School, 111 Tiger Lane at Hwy. 290 West, from 6 to 10 p.m. On Thursday, Oct. 17, another will be held at Lockhart Junior High School, 1015 City Line Road, also from 6 to 10 p.m.

Light refreshments will be available at both and child care will be provided, though not necessarily on site. Individuals with special needs can also be accommodated but are urged to call Envision Central Texas in advance at (512) 916-6037.

The initiative is also planning to conduct workshops with very small groups of people.

After the workshops have been concluded, Fregonese-Calthorpe will begin creating detailed scenarios utilizing the input gathered from citizens. Sometime this spring, they will present a number of different models, each with an estimated price tag.

Fregonese said the more than 100 maps that will be used to develop specific, detailed models will "create a virtual future of what the region will look like in 20 or 30 years. You can pick, within range, what that future will be."

For more information, call Envision Central Texas at (512) 916-6037 or visit the website at www.envisioncentraltexas.org

E-mail this reporter at amiller@sanmarcosrecord.com

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