Farewell to Chris Riley, an honorable man
The former City Council member passed away too young, at 60 years, yet had succeeded in doing more good for his home town than most of us will manage over decades more.
I had been aware that Riley was ailing but was traveling when friends and colleagues held a couple of celebrations, including the naming of a section of thethe history of Riley’s public life and his focus on what is now called “urbanism” – that is, trying to make Austin more abundantly livable for human beings – and his official, successful encouragement of such ordinary, crucial amenities as Downtown street life, multi-modal transportation, transit-conscious housing, and effective place-making...
I won’t try to add to the historical detail. Instead, I want to pay tribute to Riley, as first and foremost, an honorable man, and as arecalled: “He was always, always kind.” Although Riley was subject, early on, to personal backlash and vitriol for advocating initially contentious city policies that have since become widely accepted doctrine, he never responded in kind, and simply went on working, without rancor.
I guess that’s water under a Shoal Creek bridge, and in retrospect Riley was later lucky to escape the dais for a few more years of independent activism, and a few more bike rides along paths and shared public infrastructure that he had done so much to champion and create. Thanks to Riley, subsequent Councils can fully comprehend that Austin is indeed a city, and act upon it with greater optimism and effectiveness.
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