PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

If you subscribe to the neighborhood email list, you are aware that crime and traffic are two issues of great concern to COVNA neighbors. You are probably also aware that emotions can run high, and there is no consensus on how to deal with traffic calming in particular.

As president of the neighborhood association, I sometimes get phone calls and emails from neighbors about these issues, and I have a difficult time responding in a way that is helpful. Because of the size of our neighborhood and the difference of opinions, it is difficult to find a top-down solution to many of the concerns neighbors have. This certainly proved true in 2007 when the neighborhood failed to generate enough interest among neighbors to claim a city grant to implement some traffic calming solutions.

However, I have heard from some neighbors that are working individually with the city on traffic calming for their part of the neighborhood and are beginning to organize their close neighbors into Neighborhood Watch groups. In order to effectively address these issues, that is exactly what neighbors need to do. A personal call to 3-1-1 about traffic issues is more effective than anything the neighborhood association can do. Similarly, the Neighborhood Watch trainings I have attended emphasize that successful groups start on a block-by-block basis.

Of course, the neighborhood association can and should play a role in helping to address these issues. Because traffic and crime are two of the most important issues for neighbors, we have officer Harold Bristow, our district representative from the Austin Police Department coming to our next neighborhood association meeting to talk about concerns folks have. If you have any questions or concerns about traffic or crime in your part of our neighborhood, the meeting will be a great opportunity to speak to APD about it.

At our next meeting we also will be talking about ways to communicate with and reach out to neighbors within the boundaries of COVNA and how to make the neighborhood association more relevant to you.

If you have thoughts about any of these issues or questions to pose to Officer Bristow, please join us on Monday, November 21 at 7 pm.

CRIME STATISTICS

APD Crime Statistics
2/1/11 - 10/31/11

To find out the block where each incident occurred you can access the police department’s crime report website at www.ci.austin.tx.us/GIS/crimeviewer/CrimeReportSearch.html. After you open this web page, click on the box that says Address Radius Search. Click on Geographic Location Search. The box will now say Neighborhood. Click on the box below the heading Neighborhood Name. Scroll down to find Castlewood-Oak Valley Neighborhood Assn. and click on it. Choose the beginning date and ending date for your search. A list of crimes and incidents will appear with our neighborhood association boundary outlined. When you click on any listing, the map will show where that crime occurred and the street(s) and block number(s) will be displayed below the map. You can enlarge the map so street names appear with the well-disguised zoom tool at the upper left corner of the map. You will have to do this for each listing you click on.

This setup is new, easier to use, and more informative than the old version. For once an upgrade is a real improvement.