Updated July 13 at 12:41 p.m. to include a map of the River Place nature trail's entrances.

Published July 12 at 10:06 p.m.

Although the River Place nature trail is a hiking destination for residents from the Austin area and beyond, a lack of parking on-site results in hikers often leaving their cars alongside Big View Drive and River Place Boulevard—residential streets where trail entrances are located.

The River Place Municipal Utility District—which manages and funds the trail—organized a volunteer committee in May to address the trail’s heavy usage and mitigate concerns about safety issues that could potentially be caused by street parking.

During its meeting Wednesday, the committee talked about charging for admittance during peak hiking times, including weekend mornings in the summer, as a potential solution to trail traffic.

Committee members proposed putting up fences and hiring employees or installing automated gates to take tickets at trail entrances.

Volunteer committee member Jennifer Mushtaler said the goal in proposing fences and admission fees is not to stop people from using the trail, but instead to redistribute the times when people come to the trail to reduce environmental and safety issues that could occur when many people are on the trail at once.

The committee discussed ways to ensure River Place residents are allowed free trail access, since their MUD taxes pay for its maintenance. Ideas included issuing plastic cards indicating residency or having the gate attendants check IDs.

“We just want to share the cost [of maintaining the trails with non-residents]," said Scott Crosby, committee member, River Place MUD secretary and River Place homeowners association president.

Committee members will present a preliminary plan at the River Place MUD meeting July 25.