The Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail Safety and Mobility Study was developed to provide The Trail Conservancy (TTC), Austin Parks & Recreation (APR), and Austin Transportation Public Works Urban Trails program with a realistic, implementable plan for conserving natural spaces while offering the highest quality user experience on Austin’s treasured Ann & Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail. The study builds on earlier work, including the Holly Shores Master Plan and the Southeast Shores Master Plan, and provides recommendations to align with adjacent planning efforts, such as adjacent redevelopments and the Zilker Metropolitan Park Vision Plan.  A detailed analysis of the Trail and key connections, combined with community conversations and surveys, identified the top safety and mobility issues. 

The study highlighted critical opportunities to improve safety and mobility along one of the Trail’s most heavily used and constrained segments.

Safety & Mobility Study – Chapter 7, 7-6, Chapter 8, 8-11 & 8-20

• Any segment of trail less than 12 feet wide will need a solution, which could be widening, double trail, alternative trail or route, or creating a boardwalk. If none of these are feasible, the user behavior of the trail must be controlled, or the quality of the trail user will diminish.  
• Based on local and national guidance and standards, this study recommends the trail be at least 14 feet wide with 2-foot shoulders on either side of the trail. In locations where this is not easily achievable, a double trail should be implemented. Near the Hyatt and the Congress Street underpass, a boardwalk could eventually be utilized to expand the trail width; until then, slow zone strategies should be piloted. At each of these sites, material conditions are also contributing to the need for alternate capacity options: given erosion around steep cliffs and/or pooling of water in an already limited right-of-way that gets very little sun during the day (like near the Hyatt and Congress Street).

Along this stretch, the Butler Trail runs through areas where the surrounding land is privately owned. Because of nearby properties—such as the Hyatt—and the proximity of the shoreline. There isn’t space to widen the existing Trail.  

For this reason, the proposed solution is a boardwalk. This approach is similar to the existing Boardwalk, which was built to connect the east and west sections of the Trail and move users off the narrow sidewalks along Riverside Drive and out over the water where land constraints and ownership made traditional widening impossible.

The project was selected for funding by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) because it improves trail connectivity and helps address ongoing erosion along the Trail.

While the boardwalk itself was not a requirement identified in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), federal regulations—specifically Sections 4(f) and 6(f)—are intended to protect public resources such as parks and ensure impacts from federally funded transportation projects are properly mitigated. This project aligns with those guidelines while also addressing local priorities for safety, accessibility, and long-term trail sustainability, which is why it was selected for additional funding – above what is federally required.

TxDOT’s funding is structured as a reimbursement grant capped at $25 million. The Trail Conservancy (TTC) will not receive a lump sum; instead, TTC will only be reimbursed for eligible project expenses as they are incurred. If the total project costs exceed that cap, TTC would need to secure additional funding (for example, philanthropic and private fundraising) for the project to move forward. If the project comes in under budget, any remaining funds would be returned to TxDOT under the terms of TxDOT’s agreement. 

The original Boardwalk was constructed in 2014. Since then, construction costs have increased significantly due to inflation, higher material prices, and rising labor costs. These industry-wide increases have made large infrastructure projects like this more expensive than they were a decade ago.

In addition, construction standards, engineering requirements, and environmental considerations have evolved over time. Meeting current safety, accessibility, and environmental guidelines can add complexity and cost to projects of this scale.

As a result, even projects that are similar in scope to the original Boardwalk can have higher projected costs today.

Pending the Parkland Improvement Agreement between TTC and Austin Parks and Recreation, the project will still go through the same, thorough, multi-step approval process as any other TTC project. This includes design review, permitting, and council review. Only after receiving all required permits and approvals will construction begin. 

Our Park Operations and Maintenance Agreement (POMA) was established to enable TTC to advance projects on the Butler Trail in partnership with the City, reducing pressure on City resources while still following required public project procedures. 

TTC’s focus is the Butler Trail, and we have staff capacity dedicated to this work. The City manages a much larger portfolio of projects, and timing can affect overall cost because delays increase exposure to construction inflation. TTC’s role is intended to help keep Butler Trail-related projects moving efficiently and reduce avoidable overhead. As with all our capital projects, we are still subject to all permitting, safety requirements, and public approvals.