12:36 pm UTC Apr. 12, 2021
Among the locations hit hardest by Austin's homelessness crisis is the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail — the popular 10-mile loop along Lady Bird Lake that was supposed to be protected against the city's explosion of tent encampments.
When the Austin City Council approved a controversial measure in June 2019 canceling an ordinance that had made it a criminal offense to camp in public, it came with the explicit understanding that city-owned trails and parkland would remain off-limits.
But it hasn't worked out that way.
Since early 2020, dozens of tents have popped up along or near the trail in violation of the camping ban.