On Feb. 28, the households of Jason John and Martin Gutierrez made heartbreaking pleas to Austin Metropolis Council members to extend lighting and safety alongside the Rainey Avenue Trailhead, a darkened stretch adjoining to considered one of Austin’s busiest get together spots.
“Our household has gone by such unimaginable grief and despair over the previous few weeks,” Elsie John, Jason’s mom, informed metropolis leaders. “We don’t need one other household to face the heartbreaking ache that now we have skilled in trying to find our son … Please take all mandatory actions to guard the lives of the individuals of Austin close to and at Girl Chicken Lake.”
Each males drowned in separate incidents in Girl Chicken Lake, which parallels the trailhead, after an evening of partying: John in February and Gutierrez in 2018. Metropolis leaders provided their condolences and vowed to extend accountability.
“I do not wish to go into yr two, three or 4 and proceed to have households who’ve misplaced family members contact our workplace,” stated Zo Qadri, a brand new council member whose district consists of the lake. “One dying is one dying too many.”
However little had been carried out earlier than the deaths, the American statesman has discovered.
A serial killer at Girl Chicken Lake?Austin police say there isn’t a foul play within the newest dying
The Parks and Recreation Division solely acquired a funding request to put in lighting on the path after the households spoke with the council, a parks spokeswoman informed the Statesman.
Ten days later, metropolis employees quietly put in non permanent lighting alongside the trailhead. Staff additionally added “a cut up rail fence between the path and shoreline.” Directional and security info indicators had been put in in, round and alongside the trail.
However everlasting lighting stays within the works, regardless of the parks division and the Path Conservancy, the nonprofit that oversees the path, calling for everlasting lighting on the trailhead in 2019, a Statesman evaluate of park paperwork and interviews discovered.
The 2019 plan included including lights, benches, fencing off a part of a beautification and recreation effort to the idyllic, by day, however disorienting nature path. The Nature Conservancy had raised funds for the challenge with the hope of beginning development later this yr.
Heidi Anderson, govt director of the Path Conservancy, stated the challenge has been deliberate for years and the enhancements weren’t based mostly on the current deaths.
“The (Rainey Avenue) Trailhead challenge is coming ahead and has lighting and enchancment of this public park space,” Anderson stated. “What it could not have might be extra safety measures based mostly on what has occurred lately within the space.”
However she stated they’re working with the town to ensure that occurs, and a research is being performed to find out what these security metrics ought to seem like.
“We glance after the path from a leisure and environmental standpoint, and we’re under no circumstances answerable for the general public coverage and security measures,” she stated. “However we’re right here to assist them, and that is why we’re attempting to assist pace up that course of and give you methods to get (security) suggestions outlined.”
Earlier:Austin police discover a man in Girl Chicken Lake on Saturday
On Friday, three paragraphs into its press launch, the town acknowledged that the 2019 plans had been extra geared towards increasing “leisure alternatives and enhancing facilities.”.”
Solely after John, 30, and final weekend Jonathan Honey, 33, who had come to Austin for a bachelor get together, has there been a “sharpened concentrate on security … a results of two current tragic drowning deaths that discovered place this yr,” the town wrote.
The Statesman requested the Austin Police Division how many individuals have drowned close to the Rainey Avenue Trailhead. Spokesman Brandon Jones didn’t present a complete. As an alternative, the town issued a information launch Friday acknowledging that since 2014, 5 individuals have drowned in a single day close to the Rainey Avenue Trailhead, the most recent being Honey, whose physique was pulled from Girl Chicken Lake per week in the past.
The character path from Rainey Avenue is infamous for the way darkish it may be. Skilled joggers are recognized to put on lighted headgear when operating on the path, and it could simply turn into difficult for these unfamiliar with the pure path that parallels Girl Chicken Lake.
Including extra lighting and fencing alongside the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Path, notably within the space the place it meets the Rainey Avenue space, can also be not a easy course of, metropolis information present.
Any tools thought-about everlasting have to be “sustainable” within the flood-prone space and “guarantee reliability and take acceptable account of environmental issues.” All installations should adjust to “darkish sky pointers and wildlife pleasant.”
Kimberly McNeeley, director of the Parks and Recreation Division, stated the parks division is recommending hardwired lighting choices, cameras, fencing, signage and the set up of security beacons as everlasting buildings.
A parks division spokeswoman stated the Path Conservancy, which is elevating funds to enhance the hike-and-bike path, stated the $2 million challenge is within the bidding section and development is predicted to start later this yr.
The deaths close to the path and an obvious lack of instant motion by metropolis leaders helped spur misinformation {that a} serial killer had been concerned. For Austin, a metropolis so image-conscious, seeing Fb teams, Instagram and TikTok movies crammed with hypothesis, together with boldly captioned playing cards of an alleged killer, created a public relations disaster.
Police issued a rebuttal saying there isn’t a serial killer and the widespread theme of the drownings this yr is a mix of alcohol and late-night entry to Girl Chicken Lake, including that the parks the place most of those drownings have been discovered place, is closed to the general public after 10 p.m. The police announcement didn’t point out the dearth of lighting or safety buildings.
Lots of the entry factors might be difficult to see at night time. We advise the general public to observe park closure rules,” police stated in an April 3 assertion, which didn’t point out patrolling the path.
That modified Friday when Austin Police, already understaffed, introduced that officers will patrol the world and extra park rangers may also be stationed alongside the path.
The elevated patrols additionally come after Honey’s dying, the second in no less than the final six weeks alongside the Butler Path, reigniting a plea for improved security measures alongside the path. On Friday, Austin’s Metropolis Supervisor acknowledged that the town wants to extend protections for everybody.
As a metropolis, we acknowledge that we have to do extra to maintain individuals protected on this space, Metropolis Supervisor Jess Garza stated in an announcement. We’re transferring shortly to take action and are reaching out to companies on Rainey Avenue and different authorities companies to companion with us on this critically necessary effort. We additionally ask guests to Rainey Avenue to drink responsibly and keep protected by staying collectively.
What’s additionally clear now’s that the town is performing on the suggestions of the relations who spoke on the Feb. 28 public security assembly.
Martin Gutierrez disappeared in November 2018 after an evening on Rainey Avenue and his physique was discovered days later. An post-mortem report revealed Gutierrez was intoxicated when he died of unintended drowning, in line with an earlier Statesman report.
A number of persons are lacking with out change, stated Mitchell Gutierrez, Martin’s brother stated in the course of the public security assembly in February. One thing ought to have been carried out years in the past, even earlier than Martin.
