AUSTIN (KXAN) — Business owners and people living in the Highland Neighborhood in north Austin are fed up with what they observe to be a growing homeless encampment off of Airport Boulevard.
The makeshift camp is tucked directly on Waller Creek under a pedestrian bridge at the intersection of Airport and West Huntland Lane.
A Report It! tip led KXAN investigators to the site.
A viewer said they called into 311 to have the problem addressed but didn’t see results despite their initial call being marked “Resolved.”
The City of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department confirmed it received a call on Sunday, Jan. 26. Officials within that department said the city’s contractor went to clean up the area on Jan. 27.
When KXAN visited the site in question on Wednesday, Feb. 5, there was not much indication of a clean-up effort.
Debris was littered across the area and there were large trash items lodged directly in the water.
“We may not have been able to complete the clean-up,” a Watershed Protection Department spokesperson said. “Either way, we really didn’t do a good job.”
Other people in the neighborhood have echoed the same sentiment; they have made repeated calls to city officials and police, but haven’t seen much response.
“We called 311 and alerted them about the issue,” said Steve Lanier, the owner of The Keyless Shop right across from the pedestrian bridge. Lanier said he has people experiencing homelessness camp out behind his shop and vandalize his property.
“They said to keep calling. They lady said ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease.’ Basically if you want something done, call all the time. But we’re trying to run a business here. We don’t have the time to call every day.”
Bryan Arnett, the owner of Texas Inspirations CBD, said he has seen fighting break out in his parking lot.
“I did call the police on that couple,” Arnett said. “It definitely makes you nervous. You never know what’s going on.
The City of AUstin Watershed Protection Department has a list of 20 homeless camps they’ve targeted for clean-up. Officials say this is not one of them. They have the power to elevate its priority, which is something they say they will discuss.
They couldn’t say definitively if the camp poses a health hazard to the water quality, but they are looking into it further.
Earlier in the week, Jose Guerrero, the assistant director for The Watershed Protection Department, said it’s important Austinites call 311 with any concerns over homeless camps near water. Guerrero said there are currently 20 homeless camps being targeted as potential threats to water quality and floods.
Today, the department said that the homeless camp on Airport Boulevard is not one of the 20 sites targeted, however, they have the ability to elevate its priority if needed.
The spokesperson said clean-up crews will again be at the location on Friday.
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