Austin City Council postponed a decision close the 24-hour trail pilot program at the Sept. 26 meeting so the Austin Police Department could continue to meet with stakeholders until Oct. 17.

"On this item, we've received a lot of input, including from Austin Bicycle Advisory Council and a lot of our members, that it's very important that trail access at night be preserved," Bike Austin Executive Director Tom Wald said.

Wald said allowing access to the trails at night provides bicyclists an alternative to riding on the streets at night "where there are many, many drunk drivers."

Bike Austin is a nonprofit focused on bicycling outreach and advocacy in Austin.

The pilot program started in June and opened the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail, the Shoal Creek Greenbelt Trail and the Johnson Creek Greenbelt Trail for overnight use.

City Council voted to defund the program during budget deliberations in September, cutting about $1.5 million. APD will use money out of its overtime budget to fund officers patrolling the trails until the item is taken up again in October.

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said a police presence on the trails is warranted, and he does not feel the correct message to send to the public is "use the trails at your own risk."

"I believe we have a moral obligation to have a police presence if we're going to have people on these dark roadways by themselves," Acevedo said.

Acevedo said in order to keep a police presence on the trails without the additional funding, APD would transfer nine district representatives from various neighborhoods throughout the city to the opened trails. He likened this action to opening a new highway, adding that APD would be expected to patrol the new stretch of road.

A district representative is an officer that serves as a liaison between the community and police.

Councilman Chris Riley questioned Acevedo about the need for additional officers patrolling the trails and his analogy.

"We often extend new roads, and I don't recall your being here telling us at the time we open a new road that we need more cops to patrol that road," Riley said.

Leffingwell said comes down to where the council will want to put its priority.

"I want the trails to be open, too. It's just a matter of, like everything else, what can we afford to do, and what are the parameters?" Leffingwell said.