Feasibility Assessment of an Onion Creek Greenway Austin was one of the first cities in the Texas to have greenways. As early as 1928 the city's master plan showed a proposed network of creek-based greenways throughout the city. Concerned citizens in the Austin area have continued to advocate actively for greenways and trails. These active efforts along with Austin's rapid urban growth and a strained transportation system have pushed greenways and trails into a public debate over environmental vs. urban development , private property rights, alternative transportation, and future recreational needs. Austin is one of the country's fastest growing cities and developmental pressures are high between environmentalists and developers.
Greenways are a relatively new open space concept.
The idea grew out of the old parkways of the 1700s to 1960s, and the trail-oriented greenways focused primarily on recreation during the 1960s to 1980s. Existing greenways connect Austin's parks, lakes, neighborhoods, and businesses. The evolving greenway movement is only about a decade old, young even in comparison to the rest of the modern environmental movement. Since that time, greenways and greenbelts have slowly but surely spread across the country and can now be found in several large cities as well as some small towns all over the country. Austin is renowned for its integration of greenspace into its existing urban structure.