The Boardwalk at Lady Bird Lake officially opened to visitors June 7. The 1.1-mile overwater trail connection helps fill a longtime gap in the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail along Lady Bird Lake.
The $27.5 million project was funded in part by The Trail Foundation, which raised $3 million to ensure the boardwalk would be completed in one phase.
"This project is really a great example of how private organizations and private donors can be so essential to putting on the ground an important public space," said Susan Rankin, The Trail Foundation executive director.
The rest of the money came from a 2010 voter-approved mobility bond package. The project is intended to provide a safer connection for many south shore trail users who previously had to use Riverside Drive.
Joe Lanane’s career is rooted in community journalism, having worked for a variety of Midwest-area publications before landing south of the Mason-Dixon line in 2011 as the Stillwater News-Press news editor. He arrived at Community Impact Newspaper in 2012, gaining experience as editor of the company’s second-oldest publication in Leander/Cedar Park. He eventually became Central Austin editor, covering City Hall and the urban core of the city.
Lanane leveraged that experience to become Austin managing editor in 2016. He managed eight Central Texas editions from Georgetown to San Marcos. Working from company headquarters, Lanane also became heavily involved in enacting corporate-wide editorial improvements. In 2017, Lanane was promoted to executive editor, overseeing editorial operations throughout the company. The Illinois native received his bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University and his journalism master’s degree from Ball State University.
