Downtown Austin Rangers

The Rangers serve as eyes and ears for APD and as goodwill ambassadors for the downtown Austin area. The Austin Downtown Rangers dress in easily distinguishable uniforms and carry two-way communication equipment to be in constant contact with Austin Police dispatch. The Rangers were trained by APD in police patrol techniques. The Rangers are not peace officers, do not carry weapons, and do not make arrests. They report situations requiring Police Officer attention to the Austin Police dispatch office.
The Rangers are also trained by ACVB in their ambassadorship responsibilities. The Downtown Rangers serve as guides for the public; they are trained to answer questions about points of interest in downtown Austin. They carry maps and other materials to guide guests of our city to their destinations.
The Austin Downtown Rangers program assists both the Downtown Austin Alliance in implementing its Security Service Plan element, and satisfy a current APD goal to increase the number of women and minorities in its ranks. Rangers completing a minimum term in the program will be eligible for consideration for enrollment in the Austin Police Academy. All of the Austin Downtown Rangers are City of Austin employees, funded by a grant from the Downtown Austin Alliance.
The principal purpose of the Austin Downtown Ranger program is security. Therefore, the Rangers are directly responsible to the Supervisor of the Walking/Bicycle Beat in Downtown Austin. That Supervisor works closely with the Executive Director of the Downtown Austin Alliance and the ACVB Director to develop the deployment schedules and areas of security coverage throughout the year. This coordination will be on a continuing basis to satisfy the security needs of downtown Austin.
A new Supervisor was hired in early March 1996, and is exploring new ways of working with the Austin Police Department. He is also developing a training program for new Rangers. The Rangers are housed with the Downtown Austin Alliance at 211 E. 7th Street, where they have separate space for their offices and equipment.

Grafitti Removal

Since the City of Austin has assumed responsibility for graffiti removal in the public right-of-way, the Downtown Austin Alliance has re-allocated its resources to private property graffiti removal. The Downtown Austin Alliance has contracted with "Off the Wall" Graffiti, Inc. for graffiti removal on private property within the Public Improvement District. Only member parcels for which the Alliance has a signed release of liability are included in this program.
All graffiti should be reported to the City Graffiti Hotline: 473-4125.

Litter Removal

The Downtown Austin Alliance has contracted with the City of Austin Youth Corps to perform litter removal from sidewalks, curb, and gutters in the Downtown Austin Public Improvement District. Litter is picked up between 7 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday and Sunday mornings. This service is in addition to the city's regular maintenance program, and is not intended to replace them.
The areas being cleaned falls within the boundaries of the Downtown Austin Public Improvement District. Within that area, the sidewalks will be cleaned from the private property line to the street curb except that alcoves will also be cleaned (alley cleaning is not a part of this contract).

Destination Downtown Arts and Entertainment Map

The Arts Committee of the Downtown Austin Alliance has produced the Destination Downtown Arts and Entertainment Map. The map shows off downtown's vitality and promotes downtown's arts industry. The map is available in over 100 arts venues, restaurants, hotels, the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau and the offices of the Downtown Austin Alliance.
The map shows 80 restaurants, 50 performing arts venues, 42 visual arts venues, as well as museums, libraries, parks, annual arts events, and University of Texas at Austin facilities. The map also shows Downtown public transportation routes and off-street parking available to the public, including State of Texas parking facilities.

Noontime Concerts

The Downtown Austin Alliance and the Austin Federation of Musicians have co-sponsored two years of free Tuesday noontime concerts, in Spring and Fall, at Regents Plaza (6th and Colorado). The concerts, which were first held in Fall 1994, will resume in April 1996.
The concerts have been held every Tuesday each Spring and Fall since 1994. They will resume in April 1996. The Spring 1996 schedule is:

• April 2 - Rotel and the Hot Tomatoes (60's and Motown)
• April 9 - Ponty Bone & the Squeezetones (Cajun / Mexican)
• April 16 - Sissy Siero (Country Western)
• April 23 - Wimberley Volunteer Fire Ants (Eclectic Bluegrass)
• April 30 - Mady Kaye & the All-Star Big Band (17 Piece Big Band Sound)
• May 7 - Los Pinkys (Tejano / Conjunto in Spanish and English)
• May 14 - Doc Grauzer (Irish Harp) - tentative
• May 21 - Jazz Pharaohs (nostalgic New Orleans Dixieland jazz)
• May 28 - Denim (4 piece original Austin progressive country music)
• June 4 - Tejazz (it's jazz with the Jazzmanian Devil himself, Tomas Ramirez)
• June 11 - Double-O-Soul (original soul and top 40 cover tunes)
• June 18 - Correo Aereo (South American vocals and multi-instrumental) - tentative
• June 25 - 47 Indians (Unique rock-a-billy with a horn section)

Great Streets Program

The Downtown Austin Alliance, Inc. has established a Great Streets Program. This program has as its mission the improvement of the physical design of Downtown streetscapes.
The pink sidewalk is in place on the Second Street project. The project will be completed when trees have been placed in the tree grates. The Alliance has also written three ISTEA grant applications for three other Great Streets projects - the 200 block of Congress, Red River from César Chávez to Sixth Street, and Fourth Street from Congress to Lavaca.
The Alliance will create an advisory committee, consisting of representatives from the Downtown Austin Alliance, Capital Metro, City of Austin, the U.T. Austin School of Architecture, and interested citizens. The advisory committee will select and prioritize projects. The list of projects will then be presented to the Alliance Board of Directors and the Austin City Council for approval.
Funding for projects selected as part of the Great Streets program will come from a variety of sources. If parking meter revenues in Downtown increase, the increase should be allocated to the Great Streets program. Other sources of funding, both public and private, are being sought. Possible sources include Capital Metro's Build Greater Austin program, the Historic Landmark Commission's Bricks and Mortar fund, ISTEA, contributions from adjacent property owners.

Basic Data

• Project Contact: Dave Kreider, Assistant Director, Conservation and Planning Services Department, 499-6381
• Project Manager: José E. Martínez, Executive Director, Downtown Austin Alliance, 469-1766 / fax 477-7456, Southwest Tower, 211 E. Seventh Street, Suite 100-L, Austin, TX 78701