By: Julia Von Alexander, Dave Cortez, and Mayté Salazar
It’s hard to imagine 50+ years of oil, metal, appliances, and other trash strewn across Zilker Park, or barrels of waste atop Mt. Bonnell. It has been a longstanding tradition of Austin’s environmental movement to explore, preserve, and defend beautiful green spaces in and around our precious creeks and streams, many of which can be found west of Interstate 35. But what happens when similar green spaces located east of the highway are left unkempt, polluted, and toxic?
La Loma was once known as Hungry Hill by the African-American residents who used to live there. To Pete Rivera and his brother Raymond Rivera II, it was a playground. As kids they would climb up the tall hill, scrambling up the cliffs and chasing rabbits. Located west of Highway 183 just off the new Walnut Creek hike & bike trail, the Red Bluff, named for its red soil, became one of their favorite places to explore over the years, not just for its soil and flowers, but even more impressively, for its beautiful panoramic view of the city.
Unfortunately, this beautiful place has also been the dumping ground for some Austin residents. We saw numerous containers of hazardous chemicals, including gasoline, latex & oil based paints, and motor oil while walking on the short path to Red Bluff. Pete and his brother think these containers may be contributing to the death of old trees in the area. They are also concerned that these chemicals are washing into the watershed and creek below. One can also see old tires, household goods, furniture, and auto parts from the path. According to Pete, some of this litter has been in the area for over 55 years, indicating that the city has not prioritized cleaning this area up and has neglected neighboring residents.
Some of the first things you notice when entering the trail from the street are signs stating “No Dumping Punishable by Fines or Jail”, as well as cameras pointed towards the trail entrance. Now there are large rocks at the trailhead, preventing cars from going in. However, according to Pete, these are a recent addition. Still, although the city is collecting fines for dumping, they have yet to do anything to actually clean up the area.
A community leader in the Springdale-Airport Neighborhood Association and on the board of PODER, Pete and his brothers Raymond and Gilbert are already taking steps to get the city to act. They have contacted the City Code Department to look into getting rid of waste. Also, Sierra Club Outings and ATX Environmental Justice team members recently went on a hike on Red Bluff. We hope to work with Pete, his brothers, and the City of Austin to clean up and preserve this place.
Pete and his family want this place to be safe for their children and grandchildren to play as they did when they were little. They want their neighbors and friends to be able to enjoy the beautiful view, in one of the few spots one can in east Austin. Let’s stand behind the Riveras and the residents of the Springdale-Airport Neighborhood Association, follow their leadership, and save this beautiful place and clean up Red Bluff!
We’ll be getting ready to have another, longer hike up to the Red Bluff on Saturday, July 11, at 9am. Our tentative meeting spot is at Ortega Elementary near the playground. For more information, please contact Pete Rivera at atxdrywallandpainting@yahoo.com.
To get involved with Sierra Club’s ATX Environmental Justice team, please contact Mayté Salazar at mayte.salazar@sierraclub.org or Julia Von Alexander at vonalexj@gmail.com. We’ll be having a potluck and presentation on poverty, pollution, and gentrification on Friday, June 26 from 6:30-8pm at PODER (4926 E. Cesar Chavez st.). See our Facebook event here.Please come!
You can see a video of Red Bluff courtesy of Jayme Mathias below.