Shoal Creek Conservancy, a local nonprofit, released the final version of its four-phase, $66 million action plan for the Shoal Creek Trail Nov. 7 after a yearlong public input process——and despite resistance from the Allandale Neighborhood Association, which represents residents living on and near Shoal Creek Boulevard.

The conservancy, which is a steward of the 13-square-mile Shoal Creek watershed, proposes tripling the trail’s length—from 3.9 miles to 13 miles—so that it spans from Lady Bird Lake to the Shoal Creek headwaters near Hwy. 183 and becomes part of a 30-mile loop of urban trails traversing the city.

“As our city continues to grow, Austinites increasingly want practical alternative transportation options and green places of respite,” said Shoal Creek Conservancy Executive Director Joanna Wolaver in a news release announcing the updated plan. “The Shoal Creek Trail will serve as a cycling and pedestrian thoroughfare as well as a revitalizing setting where families can enjoy nature and learn about our city’s history.”

Although the plan was informed by what the conservancy called “a robust stakeholder process” that involved nearly a dozen public entities—including the city’s watershed protection, parks and recreation, and transportation departments—and participation from more than 230 Austin residents, not everyone is on board.

“Over 90 percent of [member] residents are opposed to the plan as the Shoal Creek Conservancy has drawn it up,” said Adam Haynes, vice president of the Allandale Neighborhood Association.

Residents, Haynes said, are concerned that the plan, if implemented, will increase traffic along Shoal Creek Boulevard and affect the desirability of the corridor.

“It would just absolutely disrupt the traffic flow of our neighborhood, and it would disrupt the lives of the residents that live on that street,” Haynes said of the plan.

The association “stands ready to work will all willing partners” but is also prepared to fight the plan’s implementation at City Hall, Haynes said.

"We see this as a vision document, an early planning document, and it's the beginning of our conversation," Wolaver said about the concerns raised by members of the neighborhood association.

If implemented, the plan will be funded mostly through private donations to the conservancy.

The city’s public works department has accepted the plan as a guiding document, per a statement from Urban Trail Program Manager Janae Spence, but City Council still needs to vote on whether to adopt it formally.

A vote is likely some time in the next two years, Wolaver said, depending on when the public works department presents an updated version of its Urban Trail Plan to council for approval. The Shoal Creek Trail plan will be considered as an addendum to that update.

Some of the plan's first-phase projects, however, are likely to be underway before council votes to adopt the plan. Wolaver said those projects either piggyback on work already in the pipeline or have already been funded.

Austin residents will see new signage along the existing trail and pedestrian crossing improvements at the intersection of Shoal Creek Boulevard and 34th Street in the next 18 months, Wolaver said, as well as the beginning of a public input process spearheaded by the Austin Transportation Department on new bikeways along the boulevard.

"This will be a work in progress for some time," Wolaver said.