Chris Riley

Former Austin City Council member Chris Riley passed away at home on July 28, 2024, after several years of dealing with cancer. Chris's final hours were spent with close friends and family gathered around him. He died peacefully with his wife Denise by his side. Chris lived a blessed and meaningful life filled with adventure, friendships, and civic activities.

Chris was born in Austin on July 12, 1964 to Eva and Peter Riley. He was a product of Austin public schools, with only two interruptions: once when he dropped out of seventh grade to work as a page in the Texas State Senate, and then for the latter part of high school to work as a congressional page in Washington, DC. After college at Harvard, Chris returned to Austin to attend UT Law School.

After law school, Chris moved to a historic home in downtown Austin that had been renovated into apartments by Sue and Frank McBee. He worked at the Texas Supreme Court for five years: first for Judge Oscar Mauzy and then for Judge Rose Spector. He left the Court in 1995 to work for a small plaintiff's firm, Shields and Rusk, later known as The Rusk Law Firm, where he worked for 12 years. In 1997, Chris co-founded the Downtown Neighborhood Association and then served as its president for five years. In 2001, Council Member Will Wynn appointed Chris to serve on the City of Austin Planning Commission.

In 2002, in furtherance of his commitment to a walkable, livable downtown neighborhood, Chris bought an old home downtown and embarked on renovating it as apartments, where he lived the rest of his life.

Beginning in the 90s, Chris became increasingly involved with civic work, which included service on the boards of a variety of non-profits—such as the Austin History Center Association, the Austin Parks Foundation, and Austin CarShare, Inc. —as well as serving on numerous city boards and task forces. This work culminated in his decision to run for City Council.

In 2009, Chris was elected to the Austin City Council, which at the time was comprised of seven members representing the whole city. After finishing out an unexpired term, he was reelected in 2011 to a full three-year term. He finally left the Council in 2015, after losing a bid for reelection when the Council transitioned to single member districts.

After leaving the Council, from 2015 to 2016, Chris lived in Brooklyn, New York, where he earned a Master's Degree in Urban Placemaking and Management from Pratt Institute.

He then returned to Austin and dove into nonprofit and advocacy work: most notably with Safe Streets Austin, which represented a merger of Bike Austin, Walk Austin, and Vision Zero ATX. This organization is committed to transforming Austin's streets into safe, inviting places for everyone, thus representing an ongoing embodiment of the work that Chris cared most about.

In 2018, Chris purchased an historic bungalow next door to his home and began renovating it to create additional downtown housing, a project that is now nearing completion.

For Chris, serving on the Austin City Council was the greatest experience of his professional life. He was especially proud of his work in making Austin friendlier for bikes and pedestrians, in eliminating parking requirements downtown, and in allowing accessory dwelling units on more single-family lots. In 2011, Chris was named Best Council Member by the Austin Chronicle Readers Poll. The Austin Chronicle referred to Chris as "City Hall's most prominent advocate for public spaces and public transit" (7/2014), while the Austin American Statesman described Chris as "perhaps the most visible of Austin's New Urbanists" (11/2014).

Another priority for Chris was to create more inviting public spaces in downtown Austin. Beginning in the 90s, Chris was the lead organizer for Austin Giant Chess at the historic pergola in Wooldridge Park on Guadalupe St., between West 9th and 10th Streets. Giant Chess continued every Saturday until recently, when Chris's health prohibited him from continuing it. If you have any interest in helping this tradition continue, please contact Michael McGill at mpm167@gmail.com.

Chris was also committed to making the Shoal Creek Trail safer and more inviting for bicyclists and pedestrians. This past May, the Austin City Council honored his efforts by unanimously voting to name a segment of trail between West Avenue and 5th Street as Chris Riley Bend.

Any time Chris had a career transition, he used that time to travel. After law school, he spent months exploring and working in Ireland and England before venturing to Italy. After completing his work at the Rusk Law Firm, he headed south through Central and South America, meandering all the way to Tierra Del Fuego. After his time on the City Council, Chris took a long trip through Southern Europe, studying streetscapes along the way; he was particularly taken with the streets of Barcelona and Istanbul.

Chris always aspired to live his life in accordance with his values. He believed we're too dependent on cars, so he sold his car and biked everywhere. He believed more people should have the opportunity to live downtown, so he did his best to encourage more downtown housing and to provide downtown housing himself.

Chris loved his friends and family. After a 25-year partnership with fellow public servant Denise Brady, Chris and Denise married in 2023, with their good friend Congressman Lloyd Doggett officiating. Chris is survived by his wife Denise, parents Eva and Peter Riley, sister Joan Laves Reitblatt and husband David Reitblatt, brother Ken Riley, brother Michael Riley and wife Ginny, and nieces and nephews Susan Laves Mandel and Jacob Mandel, Sarah Laves and David Kroopnick, Jake Laves and Athena Canjura, Charlie Riley, and Christopher Riley, and great-niece Augie Mandel and great-nephew Max Mandel, and dear friends near and far.

A funeral service for Chris will be held at First United Methodist Church, 1201 Lavaca, Austin, Texas 78701 on Saturday August 3rd at 10:00 a.m. The service will be livestreamed at https://youtube.com/fumcaustin.

In lieu of flowers, if you would like to honor Chris, please consider a donation to Safe Streets Austin (www.safestreetsaustin.org), TreeFolks (www.treefolks.org) or Hospice Austin (www.hospiceaustin.org).

Also, whenever you can, please reconsider driving to your destination, and think about taking the bus, riding a bike, or walking instead.