[00:00:06]
OUR TIME LIMITS.[CALL TO ORDER]
IF ONE BIG ITEM OF THE AGENDA, BUT LET'S CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER FIRST.LET ME PULL IT, LET ME PULL THIS UP.
IT IS, UM, MAYBE 12TH, UH, 1:00 PM VERSUS THE CON THE, UH, URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING TO ORDER.
WE HAVE A SHORT AGENDA, BUT THE FIRST ITEM IS ALWAYS IS A CITIZENS COMMUNICATION.
I DID NOT GET ANY MESSAGES THAT WE HAVEN'T EVEN SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEMS, NOT ON THE AGENDA.
IS THAT ACCURATE? YES, NO CITIZEN SIGNED UP.
[1. APPROVAL OF April 15, 2021 MINUTES]
GO ON TO, UM, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM APRIL 15TH.UM, THESE SHOULD HAVE BEEN SENT TO YOU IN AN EMAIL IF YOU'RE CHECKING YOUR STUDENT BOSTON EMAIL, UH, DOES ANYONE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THOSE MINUTES? AND WHEN YOU LOOKED AT THOSE MINUTES, I WILL.
IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
UH, ANY DISCUSSION ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE AGENDA? RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU HAVE A CAMERA OR LET ME SAY, OKAY, THAT SEEMS UNANIMOUS.
LET'S SEE WHO ELSE IS AROUND THE LIST OVER THERE? I THINK AT THE END IS THE ONLY ONE AS THE PARTICIPANT.
UM, THEN WE'LL MOVE RIGHT ALONG INTO THE MEAT OF THIS AGENDA.
[2A. Briefing of the Zilker Park Vision Plan Site Analysis and Existing Conditions Report including Guiding Principles]
SO TODAY WE HAVE THIS NEW BUSINESS, A BRIEFING, UH, THE ZILKER PARK VISION PLAN, COUPLE OF EXTENSIVE DOCUMENTS.AND, UM, IF GREGORY MONTAY, CLAIRE HEMPEL AND OTHERS ARE READY, FEEL FREE CITY HALL TO TAKE IT AWAY.
I I'VE NEVER BEEN ON THIS SIDE OF THE WEBEX.
SO FORGIVE ME FOR, UM, BEING A LITTLE ARCHAIC WITH THIS, BUT, UM, GREG IS GOING TO KICK US OFF.
AND THEN EVERYONE WANTS TO SPLIT WITH THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, THE PLANNING DIVISION AND MY SERVICE, THE PROJECT MANAGER, OR THE ZILKER ART VISION PLAN.
UM, AND, UH, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT I'M NOT, SOME OF YOU ARE WITH OUR PLANNING EFFORTS.
UM, THE DEPARTMENT IS FOR THE FIRST TIME, UM, GAGING IN THE PLANNING PROCESS, UH, FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR PARK AND PRESERVATION OF OUR PARK, UM, TO CREATE A GENERIC FRAMEWORK TO GUIDE.
UM, UM, I HEARD ABOUT DEVELOPMENT IN, UH, KIND OF THROUGH PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND THAT CAN REFLECT WHAT THE DESIRES FOR THE COMMUNITY ARE REGARDING THE FUTURE, UH, DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARK.
UM, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE IN ARC SO LARGE AND LOVED AS MUCH AS IT IS, UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE TOUCHING ON MANY DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE PARK, EVERYTHING FROM PROGRAMMING TO OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE, TO, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION OF OUR, UH, CRITICAL FEATURES THERE, UM, HISTORICAL PRESERVATION, AS YOU MIGHT KNOW, UH, TRANSPORTATION, CIRCULATION AND PARKING, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE BEFORE YOU TODAY.
UM, AND, UM, MANY OTHER TOPICS THAT, UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE DISCUSSING WITH THE LARGER COMMUNITY.
UM, SO, UH, TODAY WE WANTED TO, UH, PRESENT THE SITE ANALYSIS AND EXISTING CONDITIONS PARK, UH, SPECIFICALLY WITH FOCUS ON THE TRANSPORTATION, UH, CIRCULATION AND PARKING OF THE SITE.
UM, WE ARE CERTAINLY NOT WORKING ON THIS PLAN BY OURSELVES.
WE BRILLIANT, FORTUNATE TO HIRE A DESIGN FIRM, LOCAL FIRM TO SIGN WORKSHOP, WHICH IS LED BY CLAIRE CAMPBELL, WHO IS THE PROJECT MANAGER ON THE CONSULTANT SIDE.
UM, SHE DOES HAVE A TEAM OF SUB-CONSULTANTS THAT ARE PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROCESS AS WELL.
SO, UM, WE DO HAVE A PRESENTATION FOR YOU TODAY, AND CLAIRE'S GOING TO RUN THROUGH THAT.
UM, AND SO WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO HAND IT OFF TO CLAIRE, BUT KNOW THAT WE'RE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS AT THE END.
UM, GREG, AND, UM, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
UM, I ALSO SERVE AS A PLANNING COMMISSIONER.
UM, JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY, I AM NOT REPRESENTING A PLANNING COMMISSION.
[00:05:01]
IS I'M HERE'S REPRESENTATIVE OF DESIGN WORKSHOP.SO, UM, A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON DESIGN WORKSHOP AND WHO WE ARE.
UM, WE ARE A PLANNING LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN FIRM WITH A STUDIO HERE IN AUSTIN, BUT WE HAVE SEVEN OTHER STUDIOS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
UM, AND THIS PRESENTATION TODAY IS GOING TO GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT, UM, WITH A TRANSPORTATION FOCUS ON OUR SITE ANALYSIS AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT REPORT AND WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS.
AND WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, END OUR SESSION WITH TODAY IS A DISCUSSION OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND GOALS AS IT RELATED TO, UM, THIS COMMISSION.
UM, WE'RE ALSO MEETING WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND WE'VE MET WITH OUR TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP TO HAVE THAT ROBUST DISCUSSION ON GOALS AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES, WHICH WE'LL BRING IN FRONT OF CITY COUNCIL AND THE BEGINNING OF JUNE, UM, AND THEN PRESENT TO THE BROADER COMMUNITY AT THE END OF JUNE.
SO YOUR INPUT HERE TODAY ON, UM, GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND GOALS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, WE'RE USING THIS TO START OUR, OUR DRAFT SPLIT THAT WILL BE PRESENTED TO THESE OTHER BODIES.
SO, UM, LET ME JUST DIVE INTO THE, UM, THE PRESENTATION THAT WE HAVE.
SO NEXT SLIDE WITH YOU HERE TODAY.
UM, THE UTC OR THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, AND I DO HAVE WITH ME, JONATHAN MISTERO AND LAUREN MATTERN FROM NELSON NYGAARD, AND, UM, THEY ARE OUR PARTNER ON THE TRANSPORTATION SIDE FOR ZILKER.
IT'S SUCH AN IMPORTANT TOPIC, UM, AS TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS PLAN.
UM, SO THEY HAVE A NUMBER OF SLIDES TO TALK OVER NEXT FINE.
SO TODAY WE'LL PROVIDE AN INTRODUCTION TO WHO WE ARE AS A TEAM, UM, AND GO OVER THE SITE ANALYSIS AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT REPORT THAT, UM, WE'VE EDITED OUR CONTENT ON THE PRESENTATION DAY TO BE GEARED TOWARDS TRANSPORTATION.
UM, BUT THERE IS A, UH, A BIGGER, UM, PRESENTATION, UM, THAT WAS PROVIDED TO THE TECHNICAL CA TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP THAT WILL SOON BE AVAILABLE ON THE PROJECT WEBSITE.
AND THERE WILL BE A DRAFT REPORT THAT WAS AS PART OF YOUR BACKUP TODAY, TOO, THAT IF YOU, UM, I, I KNOW IT'S LENGTHY.
IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, UM, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SEND THOSE TO GREG MONTEZ AT THE CITY.
UM, WE'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT GOALS AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE ON OUR PRESENCE.
NEXT SLIDE, NEXT SLIDE, DESIGN WORKSHOP.
WE ARE, UM, UH, WORKING FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN LEADERSHIP OF AUSTIN.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, UM, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS IS VERY ROBUST AND WE PLAN TO REACH EVERY DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT BILKER AS A METROPOLITAN PARK IS THE PARK FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
SO BECAUSE MILKER, UM, IS INHERENTLY A CHALLENGING SITE, UM, ALONG WITH ITS USES, WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE TEAM THAT IS FOCUSING ON ENGAGEMENT AND EQUITY AND THE ECONOMIC SIDE OF THINGS.
SO I'M LOOKING AT REVENUE AND EVENTUALLY A BUSINESS PLAN FOR ZILKER ASSOCIATED WITH THE CITY AND ITS PARTNERS.
UM, WE'LL BE TAKING A DEEP DIVE INTO THE ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, ANY COLLEGEY SIDE OF ZILKER ALONG WITH LAND USE AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND CULTURAL RESOURCES, BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY, UM, BOTH NATURAL RESOURCES AND BUILT HISTORIC, UM, STRUCTURES THAT, UM, ARE INTEGRAL TO THE DESIGN AND PLAN AND THEN INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE COULDN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT IT.
THIS IS OUR ROADS TRAILS, UM, WATER, WASTEWATER, ELECTRICITY.
SO WHERE IT IS CURRENTLY LOCATED IN THE PARK WHERE IT'S CURRENTLY NOT LOCATED IN THE PARK IS ALL THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT CURRENT NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SO OUR, WE ARE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH, UM, THE FOLKS LISTED HERE IN THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, RICARDO SOLIZ, GREG MONTEZ, MEGAN ECKERD, AND JUSTIN SCHNEIDER AND CASEY CORPUS.
UM, WE ARE COMMUNICATING WITH THESE FOLKS ALMOST EVERY DAY, UM, BECAUSE IT'S A VERY, UM, A LOT OF MOVING PARTS IN ORDER TO GET THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, AND SITE ANALYSIS, UM, UP AND RUNNING.
SO, UM, WE HAVE MILESTONE MEETINGS WITH OUR TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP.
IT'S A GROUP OF ABOUT 50 PLUS MEMBERS MADE UP OF THE CITY STAFF FROM THESE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS LISTED HERE, INCLUDING ATD.
[00:10:01]
REPRESENTATIVES FROM CAT, METRO AND TXDOT ON OUR TAG.SO WE OFFICIALLY KICKED OFF IN FEBRUARY.
YOU MAY HAVE PARTICIPATED IN A SURVEY THAT IS STILL LIVE RIGHT NOW.
IT STARTED BACK AROUND THE FIRST DAYS OF THE TRAIL OF LIGHTS IN 2020.
UM, SO LATE NOVEMBER AROUND THANKSGIVING.
AND, UM, WE CURRENTLY HAVE ABOUT 3000 PEOPLE WHO HAVE TAKEN THAT SURVEY.
UM, BUT OUR OFFICIAL PROJECT KICKOFF WAS BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY WHEN WE OUTLINED THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN.
UM, AND WE STARTED DIGGING INTO ALL OF THE EXISTING REPORTS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE IN AND AROUND THE MILKERS.
SO, UM, EVERYTHING FROM THE IMAGINE AUSTIN PLAN TO THE ASM P TO THE BARTON SPRINGS POOL MASTER PLAN, WE'VE INVESTIGATED AND DUG INTO A LOT OF DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE FOR ZILKER.
SO THIS IS THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT'S BEEN DONE FOR THE PARK.
AND, UM, IT'S THIS, UH, FIRST STAGE IS PULLING TOGETHER A LOT OF, UM, INFORMATION THAT'S BEEN OUT THERE FOR THE PAST.
UM, SOME AS FAR BACK AS A DECADE OR MORE, UM, AND DIGGING A LOT OF THAT INFORMATION TO PRESENT IN THE SITE ANALYSIS AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT REPORT.
WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF SOME SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS AS PART OF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, THIS STARTED IN LATE APRIL AND WE'LL END IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO WE'RE MEETING WITH ABOUT 15 SMALL GROUPS WITH DIFFERENT FOCUSES ON, UM, EVENTS, LARGE AND SMALL NEIGHBORS.
UM, WE HAVE SOME GROUPS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ENVIRONMENT.
UM, AND THEN WE DO HAVE A TRANSPORTATION CONNECTIVITY GROUP.
UM, AND OUR FIRST BIG PUBLIC MEETING WILL BE WITH, UH, AT THE END OF, UM, JUNE, JUNE 29TH.
UM, PLANS ARE GOING ON RIGHT NOW FOR GETTING INVITES OUT, UM, AND GETTING THE COMMUNITY AWARE OF THIS MEETING AFTER THAT MEETING, WHERE WE INTRODUCED EVERYBODY TO THEIR PROJECT AND GET FEEDBACK ON THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND GOALS.
UM, WE MOVE FAIRLY QUICKLY THROUGH THE PROCESS TO UNDERSTAND PROGRAMMING, PRESENT THAT TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, PRESENT DESIGN ALTERNATIVES.
AND WE, WE REALLY DO INTEND TO LAY OUT, UM, ALL OF THE ALTERNATIVES THAT WE CAN IN A TRANSPARENT WAY TO GET COMMUNITY FEEDBACK.
AND THEN WE'LL ROLL OUT A DRAFT PLAN AT, UM, AROUND THE BEGINNING OF 2022.
UM, AND IF NEEDED, WE HAVE ROOM FOR ANOTHER COMMUNITY MEETING IN SPRING OF 2022 WITH OUR GOAL TO COME BACK BEFORE A SERIES OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND FINDINGS, AND FINALLY CITY COUNCIL FOR AN ADOPTION OF THE ZILKER PLAN, THE PLAN WILL CONTAIN EVERYTHING FROM THE DESIRE TO PASS FORWARD, AS FAR AS THE DESIGN AND THEN A ROADMAP TO IMPLEMENTATION THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT, UM, ACHIEVING, UM, DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATIONS IN FIVE, 10, 20, 50, AND MAYBE EVEN A HUNDRED YEARS, DEPENDING ON THE IDEAS THAT WE HEAR FROM THE COMMITTEE.
NEXT SLIDE WE WANTED TO, UM, PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF OUR SITE ANALYSIS AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT REPORT, WHICH IS A MOUTHFUL TO SAY, I'M CALLING IT THE SANTA OR THE SANTA REPORT.
SO, UM, ZILKER, AS YOU ALL PROBABLY KNOW, IS THE JUUL OF AUSTIN.
UM, IT IS, UH, BEEN AROUND FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS AND IT'S, UH, ABOUT 300 ACRES, RIGHT IN THE HEART OF THE CITY.
YOU CAN SEE HERE, WE'RE IN VERY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO DOWNTOWN, TO UT, UM, AND EVEN TO, UM, THE SOUTH PART OF, OF AUSTIN, UM, AND EVEN REACHES OVER TO
UM, NEXT SLIDE, WE HAD TO DRAW A BOUNDARY SOMEWHERE AROUND WHAT WE WERE GOING TO BE STUDYING.
UM, SO YOU SEE THE RED LINE HERE INDICATING OUR STUDY AREA GOING FROM ROUGHLY THE ZILKER, UM, CLUBHOUSE ON THE WEST SIDE AND THE ZILKER NATURE PRESERVE ALL THE WAY TO AMY MORTON ON THE EAST SIDE, OVER BY ZILKER NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND WE GO FROM THE BARTON CREEK AREA TO LADY BIRD LAKE.
AND THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT WE'RE NOT STUDYING ANYTHING.
UM, THAT'S UP THE OUTSIDE OF THESE BOUNDARIES.
WE'RE VERY MUCH AWARE THAT ZILKER IS THE RECIPIENT OF A LOT OF UPSTREAM EFFECTS AND ZILKER CAN HAVE A POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE EFFECT ON THINGS DOWNSTREAM, UM, WITH THE WAY THAT OUR WATER MOVES AND THAT THIS SITE IS LOCATED ON THE EDWARDS AQUIFER.
SO, UM, THIS IS, UH, SIMPLY TO SHOW THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT CITY OF AUSTIN,
[00:15:01]
THE POPULATION IS GROWING.THERE WAS NOT IN BUSINESS JOURNAL ARTICLE RECENTLY THAT THEY DID 184 PEOPLE A DAY HAVE MOVED TO AUSTIN OR THE AUSTIN REGIONS SINCE 2019.
SO WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A RAPIDLY GROWING CITY AND WITH THAT PARK SPACES IS HUGELY IMPORTANT, WHICH WAS MADE EVEN MORE OF, UM, EVIDENT DURING THE PANDEMIC.
UM, SO THAT HIGHER DENSITY AREA IS FOCUSED, UM, WHERE ZILKER IS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT, MEANING THAT YOU HAVE A LARGE PART NEED FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE MOVING HERE THAT ARE WORKING HERE.
AND WE KNOW THAT ZILKER IS ONE OF THE TOP THINGS TO VISIT, UM, UH, WHENEVER YOU READ ANY OF THE LISTS.
AND SO OUR POPULATION IS PROJECTED TO BE 1.3 MILLION IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE.
AND THE REASON WE'RE DOING THIS PLAN IS TO BE ABLE TO ALLOW ZILKER PARK TO GROW SUSTAINABLY, UM, AND B MS. JUUL OR BOSTON, OR, UM, THE NEXT GENERATION NEXT LINE.
SO, UM, THE SURVEY I MENTIONED EARLIER, THAT'S STILL ALIVE NOW.
UM, WE'LL BE CLOSING IT OUT IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
WE HAD 80 OVER 80,000 RESPONSES, MEANING INDIVIDUAL COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS THAT PEOPLE ANSWERS, BUT ROUGHLY 3000 PARTICIPANTS, UM, FROM THE SURVEY WE'RE UNDERSTANDING, UM, JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE USERS, UM, RACE AND ETHNICITY.
SO THE MOST OF OUR SURVEY TAKERS WERE WHITE AND MOST OF OUR SURVEY TAKERS AT THIS POINT IN TIME OR IN THE HIGHER INCOME LEVEL, UM, AND WITH A MIX OF DISTRICTS REPRESENTED WITH AN INTERESTING, UM, QUESTION, THERE WAS A RESPONSIVE, I DON'T KNOW, WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE HIGHEST ANSWERS.
UM, SO WHAT THIS TELLS US IS NOT THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT ARE USING ZILKER, BUT IN OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORTS, MOVING FORWARD, WHO WE MIGHT WANT TO TARGET THAT DIDN'T PARTICIPATE IN THE SURVEY THAT WE WANT TO INVOLVE AS PART OF THE PLANNING EFFORTS FOR ZILKER NEXT SLIDE.
AND I WILL HAND IT OVER TO NELSON NYGAARD TO PRESENT.
UM, LAUREN MUTTERED WITH NELSON NYGAARD, UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO COVER SOME OF THE, UM, MORE NITTY GRITTY, UM, MOBILITY TOPICS NOW, UM, AS CLAIRE SAID, WE'RE AT THE STRICTLY AT THE EXISTING CONDITIONS PHASE AND NEXT MOVING INTO PRINCIPLES AND GOALS.
SO AT THIS POINT WE'RE NOT, UM, GETTING AHEAD OF OURSELVES ON SCENARIOS AND SOLUTIONS.
UM, SO WE'LL JUST TALK THROUGH SOME OF THE, UM, DATA THAT WE'RE DIGGING INTO TO BETTER UNDERSTAND MOBILITY ISSUES IN THE PARK.
UM, I THINK YOU ALL KNOW FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS EXERCISE, THAT IT'S ALWAYS BEEN REALLY CLEAR THAT MOBILITY THINGS ARE GOING TO BE REALLY IMPORTANT TO THIS LOCAL PARK DIVISION PLAN.
UM, THEY'RE CENTRAL TO MANY OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WILL NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.
SO AS I WALKED THROUGH FINDINGS WITH MY COLLEAGUE, JONATHAN, UM, I THINK YOU'LL, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT A LOT OF OUR FINDINGS CONFIRM WHAT WE ALL PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW AND UNDERSCORING SOME OF THE EXPERIENCES THAT YOU ALL, UM, HAVE HAD AND OBSERVED, UM, IN ZILKER AS WELL.
UM, THE SHORT WAY OF SAYING THAT WE DIDN'T FIND ANY MAJOR SURPRISES IN OUR EXISTING CONDITIONS REVIEW.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MANY, MANY MODES TO GET YOU TO LOOKER, UH, NOT ALL EQUALLY USED, UM, WITH ITS, YOU KNOW, VERY CENTRAL LOCATION.
THERE ARE STILL SOME MAJOR ACCESS CHALLENGES TO ADDRESS THAT.
UM, WE PLAN TO LOOK INTO AS PART OF THIS VISION PLAN.
THE CURRENT MOBILITY OPTIONS ARE DOMINATED BY BARTON SPRINGS ROAD WHILE OR TRILL ABOUT PACK EXPRESSWAY AND BARTON SPRINGS AND MOPAC.
UM, ALSO, YOU KNOW, SERVICE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS WITHIN THE PARK AS WELL AS POINTS OF ACCESS.
SO I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE, JONATHAN MUSTER, AND HE'S GOING TO WALK US THROUGH, UM, DATA AND FINDINGS FROM EACH OF THE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION THAT WE LOOKED INTO FOR ZILKER.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COMMISSIONERS JONATHAN MUSTER WITH NELSON NYGAARD.
AND WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO WE ARE BREAKING DOWN SOME OF THE MOBILITY CHALLENGES, UM, KIND OF BY MODE OR BY TOPIC AREA ON THE FOLLOWING SLIDE.
SO THE FIRST TOPIC AREA WE HAVE HERE IS PARKING AND PARKING IN ZILKER TODAY, UM, CAN BEST BE DESCRIBED AS DISPERSED AND SORT OF SHAPED BY REALLY UNEVEN DEMAND.
UM, THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 700 SORT OF WHAT WE CALL GENERAL PARKING SPACES.
THESE ARE THE LOTS THAT RANGE IN SIZE FROM 50 TO 75 VEHICLES THAT ARE DISPERSED
[00:20:01]
PRIMARILY SOUTH OF BARTON SPRINGS ROAD THROUGHOUT THE PARK.UM, THESE ARE THE PARKING SPACES THAT CHARGE FOR PARKING, UM, FROM, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY BEGINNING OF MARCH THROUGH LABOR DAY, UH, DURING, UM, THE PEAK HOURS OF USE OF THE PARK FROM 8:00 AM TO 10:00 PM.
UM, AND THIS NUMBER INCLUDES ROUGHLY 200 PARKING SPACES, UH, THAT ARE ON-STREET PARKING SPACES ON LOU NEFF ROAD ITSELF.
UM, SO THAT, THAT NUMBER DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE ADDITIONAL ROUGHLY 2000 SPACES, UH, THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR OVERFLOW PARKING ON BOTH THE BUTLER LANDFILL SITE AND THE POLO FIELD, WHICH IS NOT HIGHLIGHTED ON THIS MAP.
UM, BUT BOTH OF THOSE PARKING, UH, PARKING LOTS CAN ACCOMMODATE APPROXIMATELY A THOUSAND VEHICLES EACH.
UM, WE, WE GOT SOME PARKING REVENUE INFORMATION FROM, UH, AUSTIN, UH, BOTH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION, UM, REALLY CONFIRMING THAT THE PEAK PARKING DEMAND IS DURING JULY AND AUGUST.
AND, UM, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PAID PARKING WITHIN ZILKER PARK, UH, HAS CERTAINLY HELPED MANAGE SOME OF THE DEMAND FOR PARKING.
BUT ONE THING WE DID WANT TO NOTICE THAT THERE WERE STILL REALLY, ISN'T A CONSISTENT PARKING MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, UH, IN USE PARK WIDE.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU CAN SEE SOUTH OF BARTON CREEK, UM, ALONG EASY MORTON, THERE ARE SOME PARKING, UH, PARKING FACILITIES THAT ARE NOT PAID PARKING.
UM, AND SO THERE, THERE IS A BIT OF A DISCONNECT, UM, WITH CERTAIN AREAS OF THE PARK CHARGING AND CERTAIN AREAS OF THE PARK, NOT CHARGING FOR PARKING.
ONE THING I ALSO WANT TO NOTE ON THIS MAP, UH, WE'VE NOTED OFFSITE PARKING LOCATIONS AS WELL, THAT ARE ADJACENT TO ZILKER PARK, AND THESE INCLUDE BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, UH, PARKING FACILITIES.
UM, AND REALLY THIS IS TO GIVE US AN IDEA OF WHERE, UM, AS WE START TO DEVELOP A MOBILITY STRATEGY FOR THE PARK, UH, OR FUTURE PARKING AGREEMENTS OR SHARED PARKING STRATEGIES COULD, UM, BE CONSIDERED, UM, PER PERHAPS CONNECTED TO THE PARK WITH SOME SORT OF A SHUTTLE SERVICE.
SO DID WANT TO NOTE THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE? SO THE CIRCULAR WITHIN ZILKER PARK, UH, IS REALLY DEFINED BY THOSE PARKING, UH, FACILITY LOCATIONS.
AND SO, AS WE MENTIONED, THEY'RE VERY DISPERSED.
AND SO SINCE THE PARKING LOCATIONS ARE DISPERSED THROUGHOUT THE PARK, UM, THERE'S A NEED FOR, FOR SEVERAL OF THESE, UM, INTRA PARK ACCESS ROADS TO SERVICES, PARKING LOTS, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE A COMBINATION OF ONE WAY STREETS, TWO WAY STREETS, UM, SOME SMALLER THAN OTHERS, SOME WIDER THAN OTHERS.
UM, AND, AND THIS KIND OF CAN CREATE SOME BOTTLENECKS, UM, ONE NOTEWORTHY, ONE ON, ON LOU NEFF ROAD, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, TRYING TO GET OUT OF THE PARK ON A BUSY WEEKEND AS ONE OF OUR COLLEAGUES, UH, DISCOVERED A FEW WEEKS AGO, CAN, CAN BE SOMETIMES A 45 MINUTE TO AN HOUR LONG PROCESS.
SO, UM, THAT THAT'S PART ONE OF THE ARTIFACTS OF THAT, UM, OF THAT PARK CIRCULATION PATTERN.
UM, ALSO AS LAUREN MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, BARTON SPRINGS ROAD, UH, IS, IS KIND OF THE PRIMARY VEHICULAR ACCESS WAY TO THE PARK THAT, AND STRAPPED FOR DRIVE BOTH PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE PARK, UM, FOR, YOU KNOW, RESIDENTS, NEIGHBORS, UM, IN ADDITION TO, TO MOPAC ITSELF.
UM, NOW BARTON SPRINGS, OF COURSE, IS A VERY BUSY KIND OF COMMUTER FOCUSED ARTERIAL.
UH, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE ONLY A COUPLE OF PLACES TO, TO CROSS THE STREET SAFELY, UM, AS A BICYCLIST OR PEDESTRIAN, OR FRANKLY, EVEN AS A, ANOTHER CAR TRYING TO GET FROM ONE SIDE OF THE PARK TO THE OTHER.
UM, AND WE'LL TOUCH ON THAT IN A SECOND HERE.
UM, BUT THE STREET ALMOST FUNCTIONS LIKE AN ON AND OFF RAMP TO MOPAC IN A LOT OF WAYS WITH THE WAY THAT THE STREET IS DESIGNED, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO CURVES, THERE'S NO, UM, YOU KNOW, MEDIANS OR ANY OF THESE SORT OF DESIGN FEATURES THAT TEND TO SLOW DOWN TRAFFIC.
AND SO, UM, IT REALLY IS A SIGNIFICANT BARRIER THAT SORT OF DIVIDES THE NORTH AND SOUTH PART OF THE PARK IN HALF.
AND SO BY THE PRESENCE OF SOME OF AUSTIN'S, YOU KNOW, MOST CHERISHED TRAILS LIKE THE BUTLER TRAIL, UM, THE GREENBELT TRAIL, UH, THEY'RE ACTUALLY KIND OF A DEARTH OF DEDICATED, COMFORTABLE BIKE, UH, FACILITIES WITHIN THE PARK.
SO, UM, THERE ARE BIKE ROUTES THAT DO SERVE THE PARK.
YOU KNOW, THERE IS A BIKE LANE ON BARTON SPRINGS ROAD.
UM, THERE IS A PINCH POINT AT THE BARTON CREEK BRIDGE, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, IS NOTEWORTHY.
I REALIZED THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS RECENTLY HAD A, UM, UH, AN INCIDENT ON, ON THAT BRIDGE WHERE THE BIKE LANE, UM, DISAPPEARS.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S AN INCREDIBLE, UH, INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING SAFETY ISSUE THAT, THAT MAKES, UM, GETTING TO AND FROM THE PARK BY BIKE, UM, PRETTY CHALLENGING, UH, ALSO WORTH NOTING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BUTLER TRAIL AND THE GREEN BELT TRAIL ARE GREAT, UM, SORT OF RECREATIONAL ASSETS, BUT THEY'RE NOT AT THIS POINT REALLY DESIGNED FOR, UM, SORT OF LIKE COMMUTER BIKE TRAFFIC, RIGHT.
THERE'S, THERE'S NOT REALLY A CONCRETE SURFACE ON EITHER OF THOSE TRAILS.
[00:25:01]
OF MORE, UM, DAY-TO-DAY KIND OF CYCLISTS WHO, WHO LIKED TO WRITE ON, ON ROADWAYS.UM, REALLY BARTON SPRINGS ROAD IS THE ONLY PRIMARY ACCESS POINT INTO THE PARK.
UM, AND SO THAT SAFETY ISSUE IS EVEN MORE, UM, MORE NOTEWORTHY, UM, JUST A COUPLE OTHER, UH, KIND OF CONNECTIONS.
I DID WANT TO NOTE HERE TOO, IS THE, UM, SHARED USE PATH ALONG MOPAC.
UH, CURRENTLY IT'S REALLY FUNCTIONS MORE AS THE SIDEWALK, BUT, UM, IT WILL POTENTIALLY IN THE FUTURE EVOLVE TO BE MORE OF A SHARED USE PATH AS THE MOPAC PROJECT MOVES ALONG.
UM, AND THERE'S ANOTHER, UM, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT CROSSING ISSUE, UM, WHERE BARTON SPRINGS ROAD SORT OF TRANSITIONS TO BECOME THE FRONTAGE ROADS OF MOPAC, UH, WHERE THAT TRAIL CROSSING IS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO SIGNAL, UM, THERE'S SORT OF A BLIND KIND OF CURVE THERE.
AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER SAFETY ISSUE THAT, UM, WE'VE DEFINITELY TAKEN NOTE OF.
AND THEN THE LAST THING I'LL JUST NOTE HERE TOO, IS THAT THERE ARE TWO, UM, METRO BIKE DOCKING STATIONS WITHIN THE PARK ONE RIGHT NEXT TO THE BARTON SPRINGS POOL.
AND ONE ALSO NEAR THE BUS STOPS ON BARTON SPRINGS ROAD, UH, NEAR LOU NEFF.
UM, AND SO THESE ARE GREAT, UM, ASSETS THAT ARE LOCATED CLOSE TO SOME OF THE BUSIEST PARTS OF THE PARK, BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE AREN'T ANY, UM, SORT OF DOCKING STATIONS CLOSE TO, YOU KNOW, DESTINATIONS LIKE THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OR, UM, THE NATURE CENTER.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE STILL SOME, SOME GAPS IN THAT, UH, THAT SHARED BIKE ACCESS WAY.
UM, PLEASE, SIMILARLY, WE ALSO TOOK A LOOK AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S MICRO MOBILITY DATA, AND SO MICRO MOBILITY BEING, YOU KNOW, THINK OF SCOOTERS SHARED, UH, USUALLY E-BIKES, UM, JUMP BIKES, UH, THOSE, THOSE SORTS OF DEVICES.
UM, AND REALLY WE WANTED TO LOOK AT TRIP PATTERNS, UM, TO, AND FROM THE PARK.
AND SO THIS SLIDE IN THE FOLLOWING SLIDE, UH, KIND OF GIVE US A SENSE OF WHERE SOME OF THE DEMAND FOR THESE SHORTER TRIPS TO AND FROM THE PARK ARE GENERALLY, UM, THIS DATA IS AGGREGATED AT THE CENSUS TRACT LEVEL.
AND SO IT DOESN'T GIVE US THAT SORT OF ZOOMED IN PICTURE, UH, OF ZILKER ITSELF.
HOWEVER, UM, YOU KNOW, IT INCLUDES SOME APARTMENTS AND OFFICES ALONG MOPAC WITHIN THE SAME TRACKS.
UM, BUT, BUT WE STILL THINK THIS IS A PRETTY GOOD INDICATOR OF WHERE PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY, UH, COMING TO AND FROM, FOR THESE, THESE SHORTER TRIPS TO THE PARK.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE THAT NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE SOAKER AND BOLDEN, SORT OF THE ADJACENT NEIGHBORHOODS CLOSE TO THE PARK, SEE SOME OF THAT HIGHEST, UH, TRIP PATTERN, UM, AS WELL AS DOWNTOWN NEXT SLIDE.
SO THIS LIGHT JUST SHOWS, UM, THE SAME DATA, BUT, UH, FROM ORIGINS A AND B OR PARK BEING THE DESTINATION FOR THOSE ORIGINS.
UM, WE'VE ALSO JUST TO NOTE HERE, WE'VE SHOWN THE TRIP SHARES, UH, FROM THESE DIFFERENT ZONES, BOTH PRE COVID AND DURING COVID.
UM, SO PRE COVID BEING AT THE TOP IN THAT DARKER BLUE, AND THEN THE TEAL COLOR, UM, THOSE PERCENTAGES BEING, UH, HOW, HOW MANY TRIPS ARE COMING FROM THE ZONES, UM, SINCE MARCH OF 2020, UH, AND REALLY ANOTHER THING WORTH NOTING IS THAT THOSE, THOSE PATTERNS HAVEN'T CHANGED DRAMATICALLY, UM, PRE AND POST COVID.
AND, AND SO THAT'S, UM, PROBABLY LIKELY DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE PARK HAS REMAINED OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE, UH, THROUGH THE PANDEMIC AND SORT OF HIGHLIGHTS.
I THINK WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN GENERAL OF THIS SORT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ALMOST A REDISCOVERY AND A LOT OF WAYS OF GETTING TO, AND FROM, UM, SOME OF THESE RECREATIONAL FACILITIES, UH, USING THEIR SHARED, UM, AND SMALLER MOBILITY DEVICES.
FINALLY, WE ALSO PULLED FROM THIS DATA A BIT OF A SENSE FOR THE, UM, TEMPORAL, UH, DISTRIBUTION OF THESE TRIPS.
UM, AND AS I SAID BEFORE, THE TRACK THAT, UH, THAT THE DATA IS AGGREGATED TO INCLUDE SOME OTHER DESTINATION.
SO IT'S, IT'S NOT LIKELY THAT THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE HOPEFULLY SCOOTING TO AND FROM ZILKER AT MIDNIGHT.
UM, BUT THIS DOES GIVE US A SENSE THAT, UM, ALTHOUGH THE DATA IS SPECIFIC TO SHARE DEVICES LIKE SCOOTERS, IT'S REALLY INDICATIVE OF MOBILITY DEMAND IN GENERAL, ACROSS ALL MODES.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT MORNINGS TEND TO BE PRETTY LIGHT IN TERMS OF THE MOBILITY DEMAND.
UM, AND, AND AS WE WOULD EXPECT, THE WEEKENDS TEND TO SEE THE HIGHEST DEMAND WITH THE HIGHEST PEAK BEING ON SATURDAY.
NEXT SLIDE, SIMILARLY, UM, TO HOW PARKING SORT OF DEFINES THE, UH, CIRCULATION PATTERNS WITHIN THE PARK, THOSE CIRCULATION PATTERNS, THOSE ROADWAYS, THOSE INTER PARK ROADWAYS ALSO DEFINE THE PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION WITHIN THE PARK.
UM, AND A BIG REASON FOR THAT IS THAT THERE ARE ACTUALLY VERY FEW DEDICATED PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES WITHIN THE PARK ITSELF.
THERE IS A TRAIL SLASH SIDEWALK ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF BARTON SPRINGS ROAD.
UM, AS I SAID BEFORE, THERE ARE THREE SIGNALIZED CROSSINGS, A BAR BARTON
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SPRINGS ROAD, UM, ALL THREE OF THOSE BEING AT GRADE.UM, SO AT THE STREET LEVEL, UM, AND THAT'S THAT STRATFORD DRIVE, UH, AT, UH, YOU KNOW, PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL, UM, NEAR LOU NEFF ROAD AND THEN THAT HAZY MORTON DRIVE.
UM, AND SO THIS IS CERTAINLY A BIG, UM, SAFETY CONCERN AND REALLY KIND OF A PEDESTRIAN, UM, CIRCULATION CONCERN.
YOU KNOW, YOU KIND OF HAVE TO FORCE YOURSELF TO GO TO ONE OF THESE SAFE CROSSINGS IF YOU'RE TRYING TO GET FROM ONE SIDE OF THE PARK TO THE OTHER AS A PEDESTRIAN OR CYCLIST.
UM, AND SO IT REALLY DOES SORT OF LIMIT, UM, THE, THE PATTERNS AND THE SORT OF TRIPS THAT YOU CAN TAKE ONCE YOU'RE WITHIN THE PARK ITSELF.
UM, ALSO WORTH NOTING HERE THAT THE, UH, TRAIL CONNECTION, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ROBERTA CRENSHAW BRIDGE UNDER MOPAC IS ANOTHER PRETTY IMPORTANT, UM, PEDESTRIAN CONNECTION, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, SEES A LOT OF PQS, ESPECIALLY DURING EVENTS, UM, BUT ALSO CONNECTS TO SOME OFF-SITE PARKING NORTH OF LADYBIRD LAKE.
GIVEN THE CONFLICT THAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING BETWEEN VEHICLES AND A LOT OF THE PARK VISITORS ON BIKE AND FOOT.
UM, WE DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT CRASHES WITHIN THE PARK WITH A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON CRASHES THAT INVOLVE A CYCLIST OR A PEDESTRIAN.
UM, AND SO NOT SURPRISINGLY, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL INJURY CRASHES, UM, WITHIN THE PARK AND ESPECIALLY ALONG BURNS SPRINGS ROAD.
UH, THIS IS DATA LOOKING BACK OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, APPROXIMATELY.
UM, THANKFULLY, UH, WE WERE, WE WERE HAPPY TO FIND THERE WERE NO FATALITIES WITHIN THE PARK.
UH, HOWEVER, UM, THERE HAVE BEEN THREE SEVERE INJURY CRASHES, UM, NEAR THE MOPAC INTERSECTIONS THAT ARE CLOSEST TO THE PARK.
UH, AND THOSE INTERSECTIONS ALSO, UH, TEND TO HAVE A PRETTY HIGH INCIDENTS OF, OF CRASHES IN GENERAL.
AND SO THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT, UM, KIND OF REINFORCES THE NOTION THAT MOPAC IS, IS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT BARRIER WITHIN THE PARK, UM, ESPECIALLY FROM A SAFETY PERSPECTIVE FOR, FOR BIKES AND PEDESTRIANS.
SO FINALLY, UM, WE, WE ALSO LOOKED AT TRANSIT SERVICE AND, AND RIDERSHIP, UH, SORT OF TWO AND WITHIN ZILKER PARK AND, AND TRANSIT TODAY, UM, IS LIKELY THE LEAST USED MODE FROM WHICH VISITORS ARE ACCESSING THE PARK.
UM, THE ONLY ROUTE THAT DIRECTLY SERVES ZILKER, UH, WITH STOPS WITHIN THE PARK IS ROUTE 30 AND ROUTE 30 IS A 30 MINUTE KIND OF AT PEAK, UH, FREQUENCY ROUTE, UM, 30 MINUTES ALL DAY.
UH, AND THAT'S NOT TYPICALLY A FREQUENCY THAT WE ASSOCIATE WITH, UM, VERY HIGH RIDERSHIP IN TRANSIT.
UM, THING TO NOTE OF COURSE, ABOUT ROUTE 30 IS THAT IT CONNECTS, UM, DOWNTOWN TO, UH MANCHAC AND SOUTHWEST AUSTIN.
UM, AND SO ANYONE COMING TO ZILKER PARK OR HOPING TO GET TO THE LOCAL PARK BY TRANSIT WILL HAVE TO TAKE A TRANSFER TYPICALLY, UM, THE LATEST PRE COVID DATA THAT WE WERE ABLE TO OBTAIN, UM, FOR RIDERSHIP WITHIN THE PARK INDICATES THAT THE DAILY USE OF THE STOPS WITHIN THE PARK IS, IS PRETTY LOW IT'S.
IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, DOZEN COUPLE DOZEN, UM, ON AVERAGE.
AND SO THAT'S, UM, PRETTY INDICATIVE OF, YOU KNOW, THE OVERALL USAGE OF TRANSIT, UM, AS A PERCENT OF PEOPLE WHO GET TO AND FROM THE PARK.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, ONCE YOU GET OFF THE BUS AND A LOT OF PLACES THAT THE HEAD AND BIKE CONNECTIONS THAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT ARE PRETTY LIMITED, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT THERE'S A STOP HERE RIGHT AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE BOTANIC GARDENS.
AND THERE ARE, THERE'S NO SIDEWALK, THERE'S NO CROSSING OR BARTON SPRINGS ROAD.
SO IF YOU GET OFF THE BUS THERE, YOU'RE KIND OF, YOU'RE EITHER FORCED TO GO DOWN TO STRATFORD AND CROSS OR, UM, OR, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GAMBLE WITH, WITH CROSSING THERE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S ANOTHER KIND OF SERIOUS, UM, SAFETY CONCERN.
UH, AND THEN JUST THE LAST THING I WANTED TO MENTION HERE, IT'S NOT SHOWN ON THE MAP AND IT'S NOT WHAT WE WOULD TYPICALLY DESCRIBE AS TRANSIT PER SE.
UM, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT SEVERAL OF THE PARK EVENTS HAVE REALLY WELL UTILIZED SHUTTLE SERVICES, UM, ESPECIALLY THOSE CONNECTING TO REPUBLIC SQUARE, LIKE DURING ACL, UM, AND THAT SUCCESS AND THAT SORT OF, UH, THAT, THAT PATTERN COULD REALLY PROVIDE A BLUEPRINT FOR IMPROVING ACCESS TO THE PARK IN GENERAL, THAT WE'LL, UM, DEFINITELY BE EXPLORING IN MORE DETAIL AS WE START TO DEFINE THESE FUTURE SCENARIOS FOR THE PARK.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT BACK OVER TO CLAIRE.
SO, UM, IN OUR REVIEW OF MORE THAN A DOZEN, UM, PLENTY MORE THAN THAT, UM, EXISTING REPORTS, UM, THAT ARE, UM, ABOUT THINGS WITHIN ZILKER OR ADJACENT TO ZILKER AND, UM, WITH OUR SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING DISCUSSIONS WITH THE TAG DISCUSSIONS WITH CITY STAFF, UM, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THESE THEMES ARISE, UM, AS IT'S RELATED TO ISSUES THAT THE PLAN MAY TRY TO SOLVE.
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SO UNDER CIRCULATION, UM, ONE OF THE TOP THINGS THAT PEOPLE MENTIONED WHEN WE TALKED TO THEM ABOUT CHALLENGES IN BILKER IS PARKING, NOT ENOUGH PARKING, UM, PARKING ON, UM, LANDFILL, UH, PARKING IN THE POLO FIELD, UM, PARKING IN AN AREA THAT COULD PERHAPS BE BETTER UTILIZED FOR SOMETHING OTHER THAN A CAR.UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT, UM, CARRYING CAPACITY.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, IN, IN TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE NUMBER OF VISITORS ARE COMING TO ZILKER ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, WHAT THAT MEANS EVERY DAY.
UM, WE OFTEN GET THE QUESTION ABOUT, WELL, HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN BE WITHIN ZILKER, WHICH IS A REALLY TOUGH QUESTION TO, UM, HAVE AN ANSWER TO.
AND WE, WE WON'T HAVE A BLACK AND WHITE ANSWER FOR THAT.
THINK THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, WE'LL START TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE COMMUNITY, UM, WANTS SOAKER TO BE AS IT EVOLVES OVER TIME.
UM, AND FROM THAT UNDERSTANDING OF THE TYPE OF PARK ZILKER ZILKER IS, WILL BE MOBILE TO BETTER ABLE TO BACK IN, UM, THE PROGRAM THAT PROGRAMMING THAT'S OFFERED AND UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE CAN COMFORTABLY GET TO THE PARK, WHETHER THAT'S IN CARS VIA TRANSIT, VIA WALKING OR BIKING, WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE COVERING ALL OF OUR BASES, UM, AND HELPING TO PLAN FOR ZILKER TO BE A SUSTAINABLE PARK FOR GENERATIONS TO COME STAY CIRCULATION.
TOP OF MIND, AS JONATHAN WENT OVER, UM, BARTON SPRINGS ROAD IS SUCH A DIVIDER, UM, IT'S SIGNED AT 35 MILES AN HOUR, BUT PEOPLE DO NOT DRIVE THAT, THAT SPEED ON, ON BARTON SPRINGS ROAD.
AND SO IT'S VERY PRECARIOUS, ESPECIALLY AS YOU HAVE PEOPLE CROSSING TWO MAJOR DESTINATIONS WITHIN THE PARK.
SO IF THEY GET OFF AT THE BUS STOP AT LUNESTA AND THEY WANT TO WALK OVER TO BARTON SPRING, OR SORRY, THE BOTANICAL GARDEN, UM, THERE'S A SIDEWALK ON THE SOUTH SIDE FOR A PORTION OF THAT.
UM, BUT THERE'S NO GOOD SIDEWALK CONTINUOUS FROM THAT BUS STOP OVER TO THE BOTANICAL GARDEN.
UM, AND ON TOP OF THAT, YOU'VE GOT UNSAFE, UH, PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE CROSSINGS WITH VERY FAST MOVING TRACK LAWN, BART SPRINGS.
UM, THERE IS A LOT OF CONCERN ABOUT, UM, HOW PEOPLE ARE GETTING IN AND AROUND THE PARK, UM, ONCE THEY ARRIVE THERE.
AND THEN WITH THAT GOING HAND IN HAND IS WAYFINDING.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF SIGNAGE OUT IN ZILKER RIGHT NOW.
IT JUST HASN'T BEEN, UM, COORDINATED, UM, WITH UNDERSTANDING WHERE PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO GO TO, UM, MAKING IT CLEAR, MAKING IT ACCESSIBLE, UM, AND THINKING THROUGH, UM, A VISITOR, UH, VISITOR'S DAY AT BILKER AND WHERE THEY MIGHT WANT TO GO.
SO THEY, YOU ARE VISITING FROM ANOTHER, UM, AREA.
YOU GO TO ZILKER BECAUSE IT'S ON YOUR, YOUR LIST OF THINGS TO DO IN AUSTIN AND YOU WILL ARRIVE.
AND YOU'RE NOT REALLY SURE WHERE TO GO.
UM, IT'S, YOU CAN SEE THE GRANT, THE GREAT LAWN, BUT THE BOTANICAL GARDENS MAY OR MAY NOT BE NEARBY.
SO WAYFINDING AND, AND HOW WE DO THAT INTERPRETIVE WAYFINDING WITHIN THE PARK IS, IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
NEXT SLIDE, UM, THEMES IS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS.
SO, UM, THE EROSION AND COMPACTION THAT'S EVIDENT ALONG BARTON CREEK IS A REALLY BIG CONCERN.
UM, THIS IS DEGRADATION OF THE BANKS WHERE YOU HAD HAVE, OR HAD PLANT MATERIAL AND TREES, AND PEOPLE JUST WANT TO BE CLOSE TO THE WATER, ESPECIALLY GIVEN OUR SUMMERS.
UM, SO WE'RE NOT GOING TO STOP PEOPLE FROM GETTING TO THE WATER, BUT IT'S, HOW DO WE DO THIS IN A WAY THAT WE CAN HEAL BACK THE EARTH AND THE, THE LAND ALONG THE CREEK, UM, AND, AND OTHER AREAS OF THE PARK AND LET PEOPLE, UM, UH, ENJOY THE WATER.
SO THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UM, IN ADDITION TO, UH, ALL OF THE STORM WATER IN ZILKER IS HANDLED ABOVE GROUND, UM, THROUGH CULVERTS.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, YOU SEE MAJOR, MAJOR EROSION WHERE, UM, WHERE WATER FLOWS DOWNHILL.
AND SO THINKING THROUGH HOW THAT MIGHT BE, UM, TIED TO CIRCULATION AND PATHS AND TRAILS THROUGHOUT THE PARK, MAYBE SOMETHING WE INVESTIGATE, UH, WATER QUALITY IMPACTS.
SO WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE, UM, PRECIOUS SPRINGS WITHIN ZILKER, UM, THAT ARE ALSO HABITAT TO BLIND SALAMANDER AND, UM, THE, THE TOUR AND FAUNA OF ZILKER,
[00:40:01]
WE HAVE OVER 200 SPECIES OF BIRDS JUST WITHIN THE PARK BOUNDARIES THAT HAVE BEEN SPOTTED.SO THERE'S A LOT TO PROTECT HERE.
UM, THE GLOW GROUP IS OUR, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT, AND THEY'VE DONE A VERY THOROUGH NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY, UNDERSTANDING THE, UM, THE PLANT MATERIAL.
THAT'S THERE, THE PLANT COMMUNITIES THAT EXISTED.
AND WE MAY LOOK TO BRINGING BACK, UM, WHERE INVASIVES ARE LOCATED AND, UM, HOW WE CAN, UM, BRING ZILKER BACK TO, UM, MORE OF ITS NATURAL CONDITION IS SOMETHING WE'LL LOOK AT.
UM, SO WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING HOW WE MAY BALANCE PARK USE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.
SO HOW DO WE ALLOW PEOPLE TO ENJOY BARTON CREEK AND CREATE THOSE MEMORIES, BUT ALSO PROTECTS THE TREES THAT ARE GOING TO NEED THE SPACE TO GROW FOR OUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN'S CHILDREN TO ENJOY DOWN THE ROAD.
PART OF THAT IS THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION.
SO WE'LL EXPLORE HOW THAT, UM, MAY BE DONE IN THE PARK AND TO A POINT THAT REALLY CONNECTS PEOPLE WITH WHERE THEY ARE IN ZILKER AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR, UM, OUR POSITION IN, IN THE WORLD.
AND WE'RE ON TOP OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER.
THERE ARE THESE BRINGS THAT ARE SO IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE AND MEMORABLE, AND, AND NOT JUST IN THE RECENT PAST, BUT FOR, UM, CENTURIES B BEFORE, UM, UH, SETTLERS GOT HERE.
UM, SOME OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN COMING UP ARE ABOUT REWILDING, WHICH AREAS OF THE PARK DO WE WANT TO RESTORE, UM, AND MAYBE WHICH AREAS ARE MORE PEOPLE OR CAN THOSE CO-EXIST, THOSE ARE QUESTIONS WE'LL EXAMINE.
AND THEN, UM, SOMETHING I SHOULDN'T FAIL TO MENTION IS VOLKER'S OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME AN EXEMPT, AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHER PARKS IN AUSTIN, AND REALLY THE WORLD IN SUSTAINABILITY IN HOW WE CAN POSITIVELY AFFECT CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND PART OF THAT IS ADDRESSING THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER THINGS WE'LL BE INVESTIGATING WITH CLIMATE RESILIENCY AS RELATED TO THESE 300 PLUS ACRES, NEXT SLIDE, AND THEN PROGRAMMING.
SO, UM, WHEN I SAY PROGRAMMING, THAT MIGHT BE AUSTIN CITY LIMITS ACL, OR THE KITE FESTIVAL, OR IT MIGHT BE, UM, UH, PICNIC AREA FOR A FAMILY TO GO OUT AND ENJOY, UM, ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
SO, UM, THERE'S THE PROGRAMMING THAT WE'LL LOOK AT IS, UM, WHEN EVENTS MIGHT HAPPEN, HOW THEY MIGHT'VE HAPPENED, THAT GOES ALONG WITH CIRCULATION, UM, AND IMPACTS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ON, ON THE PARK.
UM, BUT HOW DO WE BALANCE THE EVERYDAY USER WITH THESE LARGE EVENTS THAT ARE BENEFICIAL FOR THE CITY ECONOMICALLY, UM, AND WITH THAT AS WELL, UM, PARK IDENTIFICATION AND, UM, BILKER AS IT IS NOW, BUT LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT, THE NEXT CENTURY, NEXT SLIDE.
SO, UM, LET ME, LET ME MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND I WANT TO GIVE YOU A PREVIEW OF WHAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT, SO WE CAN DO THIS ALL TOGETHER SINCE, UM, WE'LL TURN THE PRESENTATION OFF AND WE CAN HAVE MORE OF A DISCUSSION.
UM, BUT WE ASKED HER, I PRESENTED THESE TWO SLIDES.
WE CAN PULL THE PRESENTATION DOWN AND WE'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND TAKE ANY COMMENTS YOU MAY HAVE INCLUDING ON, UM, IF YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE REPORT AT ALL.
UM, BUT I ALSO WANT TO GET INTO THIS DISCUSSION ABOUT GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND GOALS AND WHAT I MEAN BY GUIDING PRINCIPLES AS THE, THESE ARE THE FUNDAMENTAL GUIDELINES THAT WILL DRIVE THE PLANNING PROJECT.
THESE ARE BIG STATEMENTS THAT ARE MEANT TO DESCRIBE THE BIG PICTURE.
SO THEY'LL ALSO HELP THE CITY, UM, ONCE SOLIDIFIED MAKE DECISIONS WHEN THERE'S COMPETING IDEAS THAT ARE PRESENTED, WHICH WITH FILMMAKER, THERE'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE A LOT OF THAT.
UM, SO WHEN, WHEN WE'RE FACING A TOUGH DECISION, WE CAN GO BACK TO THESE GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND THAT MIGHT HELP UNDERSTAND WHERE, WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO.
SO THINK OF GOALS ON THE NEXT SLIDE AS THE SPECIFICS OR HOW WE ACHIEVE THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES.
SO, UM, I ALWAYS LIKE TO MENTION SMART GOALS, THEY'RE SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, RELEVANT, AND TIME-BASED, UM, SO AN EXAMPLE I HAVE HERE NOT RELATED TO ZILKER, BUT IT'S A VERY WELL-WRITTEN SMART GOAL IS I WILL OBTAIN A JOB AS A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, UM, WITHIN THREE MONTHS AFTER GRADUATING WITH MY DEGREE.
SO THAT'S, UM, THAT NEEDS ALL OF THOSE SMART, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, RELEVANT, AND TIME-BASED, SO DURING OUR DISCUSSION, YOU MAY
[00:45:01]
HAVE SOME IDEAS ABOUT GUIDING PRINCIPLES, WHICH ARE THE, THE BIG STATEMENTS, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE SOME IDEAS ABOUT GOALS.UM, BUT WE CAN, UM, TAKE THE PRESENTATION DOWN AND OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION.
COMMISSIONERS, UM, LET'S SEE, LET ME CHANGE MY LAYOUTS.
UM, LET'S JUST TAKE THEM AS THEY COME.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR COMMENT YOU WANT TO START WITH, OR WE'RE ALL, I'LL START WITH SOMETHING, HAVE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS THAT I DID MAYBE NOT READ DEEPLY, BUT I LOOKED THROUGH THE, UH, THE ATTACHMENTS.
UM, ONE THING THAT DID JUMP OUT AT ME AND SORT OF MENTIONED TO JASON HERE IS THE ROLE OF MOPAC.
ONE SPECIFIC ITEM THAT JUMPED OUT AT ME IS THAT THERE'S APPARENTLY SOME PLANNING FOR MOPAC PACK ITSELF CAUSE RESTRUCTURED AND POTENTIALLY HAS DIFFERENT, UH, ACCESS POINTS IN, IN THE WASHINGTON.
OFF-RAMPS, WHAT'S THE ROLE OF THAT? I MEAN, I KNOW THE CITY DOESN'T CONTROL THAT FREEWAY EXACTLY, BUT WHAT'S THE ROLE OF THAT IN THIS PLAN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE AWARE OF, UM, TEACHING RMA AND THEIR PLANS.
UM, AND WE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM TXDOT ON OUR TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UM, BUT NOT, HOPEFULLY I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE, UM, AT THIS POINT NOW WHERE OUR PLANS CAN PERHAPS POSITIVELY INFLUENCE HOW MOPAX PLANS COME TOGETHER.
UM, SO I THINK OUR TIMING WORKS OUT WHERE THIS PLAN IS HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME, THEY'RE THINKING THROUGH POTENTIAL EXPANSION, BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN AS FAR AS, UM, AN HOV LANE OR A SHARED USE PATH? SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES THERE AND JONATHAN AND LAUREN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD THERE.
THE ONLY THING I WOULD ADD IS JUST, UM, REALLY PERHAPS THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY SPECIFICALLY WITH ANY KIND OF A SHARED USE PATH THAT IS PROVIDED.
UM, I KNOW THAT THE, THE MOPAC, UM, SOUTH PROJECT'S BEEN ON HOLD FOR, FOR A FEW YEARS NOW, BUT THAT SHARED USE PATH IS STILL SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS, IS VERY MUCH INTENDED TO BE CARRIED FORWARD.
AND SO, UM, SOMETHING THINK WE'RE GOING TO WANT TO LOOK AT WHEN WE START TO LOOK AT SCENARIOS OR, YOU KNOW, HOW THE INTERNAL PARKS CIRCULATION IS WORKING, UM, ARE THERE ARE WAYS TO, UM, TO REALLY TAP INTO THAT PATH, UH, AND USE THAT, UM, NOT JUST AS, AS A FACILITY THAT, YOU KNOW, TTR AMAZE PUTTING IN, BECAUSE SOMEONE ASKED THEM TO WHERE, YOU KNOW, IT'S SERVING SOME SORT OF LIKE LONGER COMMUTE PATTERN.
IT COULD ALSO SERVE AS A REALLY IMPORTANT INTRO PARK CIRCULATION FUNCTION TOO.
UM, SO I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT OTHER TRAIL CONNECTIONS WITHIN THE PARK TO THAT PATH SO THAT THEY CAN FUNCTION AS A HOLISTIC CENTER.
SO I THOUGHT YOU DID A GREAT JOB OF HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE ISSUES.
I, YOU KNOW, THE TRANSIT SITUATION IS REALLY INTERESTING WITH, SO GIRTH, UM, YOU KNOW, THE LOW FREQUENCY, UM, IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE HEARD IN THE COMMUNITY FOR YEARS.
IT WAS LIKE, PEOPLE WOULD LOVE TO TAKE A BUS TO ZILKER, BUT IT'S NOT VERY FREQUENT.
I THINK PART OF THE ISSUE TOO, IS, IS AS YOU NOTED, IT'S SORT OF, ESPECIALLY AS YOU MOVE TO THE WESTERN PART, IT KIND OF BECOMES LIKE A HIGHWAY.
IT LITERALLY DOES BECOME AN ACCESS ROAD.
AND SO THAT'S NOT REALLY A GREAT TRANSIT DESTINATION TO SERVE, BUT I THINK THERE IS OPPORTUNITY THERE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS, IT'S ALMOST LIKE A LAST MILE ISSUE, BECAUSE IF YOU GO, YOU KNOW, JUST A LITTLE BIT EAST ON LAMAR, YOU'VE GOT PRETTY, PRETTY HIGH FREQUENCY, GOOD TRANSIT.
SO I THINK THE QUESTION IT MAY BE IN PART IS LIKE A LAST MILE ISSUE AND WAYS TO LIKE, AS YOU SORT OF STAYED AT MAYBE SHUTTLING OR WHETHER IT'S MICRO MOBILITY OR BIKES.
UM, AND UNFORTUNATELY AS YOU ALSO NOTED THE TRANSIT, LIKE THE BIKE LANES DISAPPEAR FOR A LITTLE BIT, OR, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S NOT LIKE SUPER SAFE.
UM, BUT IT'S JUST THAT LITTLE GAP THERE MAYBE IS, IS THE OPERA AND OPPORTUNITIES ZONE THAT WE HAVE.
UM, CAN YOU SPEAK TO WHAT YOU'RE HEARING ABOUT THAT OR ANY KIND OF INITIAL THOUGHTS, I GUESS I'M MAYBE MAKING A COMMENT.
I JUST, UM, UNLESS WE TRANSFORM, WE REALLY NEED TO TRANSFORM THE BARTON SPRINGS ROAD THERE, BUT THE QUESTION IS LIKE, HOW MUCH CAN WE GIVEN THEM THE CONSTRAINT OF MOPAC BEING THERE? AND WE'RE NOT GONNA TEAR OUT MOPAC, I ASSUME, UH, WE'RE GONNA EXPAND IT PROBABLY.
UM, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I ASSUME WE CAN MAKE THAT STREET SAFER, BUT ALSO KIND OF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
[00:50:01]
TO ADDRESS THE LAST MILE ISSUE.I THINK, UM, I DON'T KNOW, I GUESS THIS IS A COMMENT MORE THAN A QUESTION, BUT MAYBE YOU CAN RESPOND TO SOMETHING I SAID IN THERE.
UH, CLAIRE, I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN MOST ENGAGED IN THE OUTREACH STEPS.
I'M NOT SURE, UH, EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE BEEN HEARING.
UM, A LOT OF IT MADE IT INTO THE PLAN, BUT, UM, IT IT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID, UM, WHAT YOU HIGHLIGHTED.
UM, AND I, THERE HAS BEEN, UM, DISCUSSION AND, UM, REQUESTS TO LOOK INTO SHUTTLE, UM, SYSTEMS, WHETHER THAT'S A PARK AND RIDE OR LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, PARKING RIGHT NEAR, NEAR ZILKER WHERE THE LOCATION IS IMMEDIATELY OUTSIDE OR EVEN WITHIN, OR, UM, LONGER DISTANCE.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHUTTLES THAT HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED.
UM, AND I THINK YOU'RE KIND OF HIGHLIGHT REEL OF SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES RESONATE WITH WHAT WE'VE OBSERVED AND, UM, WHAT WE'VE HEARD SO FAR.
AND I CAN JUMP IN LAUREN ABOUT WHAT IS, UM, STARTING TO COME UP IN SOME OF OUR DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THINGS LIKE, UM, THE ZILKER EAGLE COMING BACK.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE THINKING ABOUT BIG IDEAS, IS THERE OPPORTUNITY FOR ZILKER EAGLE AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE TO ALSO SERVE AS, OR BE THE INSPIRATION FOR A PEOPLE MOVER IN AND AROUND THE PARK.
SO YOU CAN ARRIVE ONCE ZILKER, NO MATTER HOW YOU GET THERE AND THEN HAVE AN, UH, A SHUTTLE OR A TRAIN OF SOME SORT THAT TAKES YOU TO THE DIFFERENT DESTINATIONS WITHIN ZILKER.
SO, SO OFTEN YOU GO TO ZILKER AND YOU'RE LIKE, I'M GOING TO GO TO THE BOTANICAL GARDENS AND THAT DEBT, OR YOU'RE GOING TO GO TO THE POOL AND THAT'S IT.
UM, SO, UH, PART OF THAT IS JUST BEING CONNECTED IN A SAFE MANNER, UM, TO BE ABLE TO GET AROUND IN THE PARK.
UM, AND THAT'S, IT'S HARD ENOUGH IF YOU'RE JUST A ONE PERSON WITH MAYBE A BAG, BUT IMAGINE IF YOU'VE GOT STUFF OR YOU'VE GOT KIDS WITH THEIR STUFF AS WELL, UM, COOLER, OR, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT, UM, PEOPLE WANT TO BRING TO A PARK TO ENJOY IT AS, AS, UH, AS SUCH AS DELKOR, UM, AND TO BE ABLE TO GET AROUND AND NOT HAVE TO GET IN YOUR CAR TO FIGHT THE TRAFFIC, WHICH SEEMS CRAZY TO SAY IN A PARK, RIGHT, IT'S FIGHTING TRAFFIC AND APART, BUT TO GET AROUND.
UM, THAT'S CERTAINLY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE SEEING, UH, AS, UM, A MAJOR, UM, OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT IS HOW WE CONNECT IN THE LAST MILE SENSE FOR ZILKER, UM, IN, IN ALLOWING PEOPLE TO EITHER DO ONE THING OR SPEND AN ENTIRE DAY THERE.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD TO SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT IN TERMS OF TRYING TO CIRCULATE THROUGHOUT THE PARK SAFELY AS A PARK USER, WHETHER YOU'RE A SINGLE PERSON OR WHETHER YOU HAVE YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY.
THERE IS AT BARTON SPRINGS ROAD RIGHT NOW, UH, ACCESS THAT DIVIDE AND PEOPLE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN OVER OVERCOMING THAT AND HOW IT CAN BE IMPROVED SO THAT PEDESTRIANS CAN CIRCULATE, UM, SAFELY ACROSS IT WILL.
UM, AND THERE HAVE BEEN IDEAS THROWN OUT, AND THESE ARE JUST IDEAS THAT PEOPLE ARE THINKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, DOES THAT, IS THERE A POSSIBILITY OF TAKING BARTON SPRINGS ROAD AND, AND, AND KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, GOING SUBTERRANEAN WITH IT, UM, OR HOW CAN WE, HOW CAN THE ROAD BE TREATED SO THAT IT, IT, UM, IS SAFER FOR OUR VISITORS TO, TO NAVIGATE, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT DOES DIVIDE THE PARK KIND OF NORTH THE SOUTH, UM, AND IT THAT'S BARRIER FOR PEOPLE.
UM, AND IT, IT, IT, A LOT OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT YOU BROUGHT UP COMMISSIONER WERE, WERE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD FROM MANY PEOPLE THAT WE'VE MET WITH SO FAR.
IT'S JUST, I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO KILL IN A GIANT COOLER AROUND FOR MY FAMILY.
I WANT TO BE ABLE TO GO TO WHERE THE SOCCER FIELDS ARE AND BUY SOME DRINKS OR GET SOME DECENT WATER FOUNTAIN.
SO THERE'S THAT SORT OF OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE, IF I, YOU KNOW, ASSUMING I CAN ACTUALLY GET ACROSS PARK EXPERIENCE, BUT IF I COULD GET OVER IN THERE, I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO GET TACO AND, YOU KNOW, A BEVERAGE THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
UM, UH, THE OTHER PART IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WELL, AS A PRODUCT MANAGER, I JUST HAVE TO SAY IT THIS WAY.
[00:55:02]
STORIES THAT SAY AS A, A MOTHER WITH THREE KIDS, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO SEND BY TEENS ON THE BUS AND HAVE THEM NOT CHANGE AND SHOW UP AT BARTON SPRINGS POOL, NOT ON THE FAR SIDE, BECAUSE I'M COMING FROM THE EAST OR I'M COMING FROM THE SOUTH.I'M NOT SURE IF UP ON THE NORTH SIDE OF BARTON SPRINGS AND TRY TO WAIT ACROSS AND THEN FIND MY WAY THROUGH THE PARKING LOT.
I WANT THEM TO JUST FEEL TO GO TO THE POOL, YOU KNOW, AND I WANT THEM TO COME BACK FROM THE POOL AND NOT HAVE TO GO UP TO THE ROAD AND WAIT RANDOMLY, YOU KNOW, OR AS THE PERSON WHO'S GONNA PLAY SOCCER AND THEN MEET MY FRIENDS FOR A DIP IN THE POOL.
I WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT WITHOUT HAVING TO RISK MY LIFE RUNNING ACROSS THE STREET.
I GET WOULD, YOU KNOW, THOSE KINDS OF, UH, STORY OUTCOMES, YOU KNOW, STORIES WITH OUTCOMES, AND THEN YOU CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT WOULD BE.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, HELP SET ME AGENDAS, BECAUSE YOU COULD SAY THESE STORIES MATTER, THESE STORIES MATTER, OR LAST THESE, UH, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON PEOPLE WHO RUN PEOPLE TO BUY PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SEND THEIR KIDS FOR THE DAY, WHATEVER IT IS.
UM, I WOULD LOVE THAT THAT KIND OF APPROACH LET'S TELL THAT THEY HAD THAT BARTON SPRINGS RED WILL EVER BE CLOSE THROUGH TO THREE TRAFFIC.
THE BIG QUESTION, AND WE'VE HEARD, WE'VE HEARD THAT, THAT THAT CONNECTION IS, IS PRETTY CRITICAL AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I SORT OF DESCRIBED IT AS LIKE A COMMUTER, UM, A COMMUTER CONNECTION, BUT, BUT IN A WAY, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, I MEAN, IT'S THE ONLY PLACE TO CROSS BARTON CREEK BETWEEN BEN WHITE AND THE LAKE, RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S A REALLY CRITICAL CONNECTION FOR A VARIETY OF MODES.
AND WE DESCRIBED THE BIKE LANE.
IT COULD PERHAPS BE IMPROVED, BUT IT IS STILL A CONNECTION.
IT'S A CONNECTION FOR TRANSIT.
SO I THINK HAVING SOME KIND OF A CONNECTION THERE IS, IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE HEARD FROM, UH, FROM VARIOUS FOLKS.
THAT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND, BUT REALLY MAYBE TAKING A MORE, UM, BIG PICTURE APPROACH TO WHAT THAT CONNECTION LOOKS LIKE, HOW IT FUNCTIONS, WHAT ARE, HOW IT'S DESIGNED, UM, ARE ALL WAYS THAT WE COULD, UM, SORT OF MITIGATE THAT ALL THOSE NEGATIVE IMPACTS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, UM, WITH THE DIVIDE AND WITH THE SAFETY ISSUES.
AND WE, UM, WE HEARD A REALLY INTERESTING IDEA.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU KIND OF ZOOM IN TO THE, ON THE GROUND LEVEL, THERE'S SOME GRADE CHANGES THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, UM, FOR AN EXAMPLE WHERE, UM, STRATFORD NEEDS BARTON SPRINGS.
IF YOU LOOK OVER INTO THE GREAT LAWN AREA, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THAT AREA IS QUITE DEPRESSED.
SO IS THAT AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAYBE LIFT UP BARTON SPRINGS A BIT THERE TO ALLOW FOR A VERY COMFORTABLE UNDERPASS? UM, SO I THINK THAT IT'S, IT WILL LIKELY BE A COMBINATION OF SOME OF THESE, UM, THESE TECHNIQUES THAT WE LOOK AT, BUT WE, WE DEFINITELY DO WANT TO EXPLORE THE, WHAT IF THE, WHAT IF YOU WERE TO CLOSE BARTON SPRINGS, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? WHAT KIND OF IMPACT IS THAT? AND ONLY THEN CAN WE TRULY SAY, LOOK, THIS, THIS ALTERNATIVE DOESN'T WORK, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS HOW MUCH IT'S GOING TO COST OR, OR MAYBE IT SURPRISES US ALL AND MAYBE IT DOES WORK, BUT WE HAVE TO PUT THOSE THINGS ON THE TABLE, UM, TO FULLY VET THE ALTERNATIVES.
COULD YOU, COULD YOU SPEAK TO, THIS IS A UP QUESTION.
I KNOW THERE ARE TIMES OF THE YEAR WHERE BARTON SPRINGS IS CLOSED DURING ACL, DURING TRAIL OF LIGHTS.
WHAT, LIKE HOW MANY WEEKS IS THAT CLOSED? I MEAN, ONE OF THE THINGS IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE BEEN TO ACL, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER IS THE BIKE PARKING AT ACL.
I WAS LIKE, WHEN YOU CLOSE IT OFF AND PEOPLE FEEL SAFE, BIKING THERE A LOT.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST HUGE BIKE PARKING, SOME OF THE LARGEST BIKE PARKING I'VE EVER SEEN.
UM, SO I JUST KIND OF THINK TO MYSELF, GOSH, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN MAKE THAT SAFE OR CLOSE IT OFF, PEOPLE WOULD BIKE THERE.
I THINK IT'S JUST THE DANGER THAT PEOPLE FEEL NOW IS, IS, YOU KNOW, INHERENT, UM, TO THE HIGH SPEED OF THAT STREET AND THE UNSAFENESS.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, W WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE TIME, OR HOW MANY WEEKS PER YEAR, DAYS PER YEAR IS IT CLOSED? IS BARTON SPRINGS CLOSE TO TRAFFIC CLOSE TO TRAFFIC NOW? UM, SO THERE'S A TOTAL OF 26 DAYS OUT OF THE WHOLE YEAR THAT THE PARK IS CLOSED FOR THE BIG EVENTS.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THAT IS THAT WHERE BARTON SPRINGS IS CLOSED? I KNOW DURING ACL, OF COURSE IT'S CLOSED OFF COMPLETELY, BUT DURING TRAIL OF LIGHTS, IT'S OPEN FOR PART OF THE DAY AND THEN CLOSED WHEN PEOPLE START TO ARRIVE FOR TRAIL OF LIGHTS.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE ASKING THAT QUESTION TO THOSE THAT LIVE CLOSE, UM, AS WELL AS OUR, UM, EVENTS, OUR LARGE EVENTS, SMALL GROUPS, TO SEE HOW THAT'S BEEN FUNCTIONING,
[01:00:01]
UM, TO GET A READ ON, YOU KNOW, MAYBE, MAYBE IT'S A PILOT PROJECT AT THE END OF THIS TO SEE, UM, AS A HEALTHY STREET, HOW DOES BARTON SPRINGS FUNCTION? UM, BUT IT IS IT'S SOMEWHERE IN THE REALM OF, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN A WEEK AND 26 DAYS IS THAT IS SHUT DOWN.IS THERE ANY CHANCE, LIKE, SO, SO AT THE CLOSING OF THE BARTON SPRINGS, LIKE, COULD YOU CLOSE IT DOWN FOR JUST PEOPLE ACCESS IN THE PARK AND THEN TREAT IT LIKE A HUMBLING TYPE SITUATION WHERE YOU PAY EXTRA TO USE IT AS A CUT-THROUGH, THAT'S A REALLY INTERESTING IDEA.
KIND OF LIKE WHEN YOU GO THROUGH LONDON IN A, IN A CAR.
UM, I THINK WE SHOULD ADD THAT TO OUR LIST OF THINGS TO INVESTIGATE.
I WAS JUST GOING TO ASK, UH, UM, SUSAN BROUGHT UP, UH, COMMISSIONER SUMMERS BROUGHT UP A TOPIC THAT I WAS GOING TO BRING UP IN THAT IS SAFETY.
UH, I HAVE BEEN TO ACL RECENTLY AND TRAIL OF LIGHTS, AND IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S NOT A REALLY GOOD SEPARATION BETWEEN THE PEDESTRIANS AND THE, UM, THE UBER LYFT AND THE BUSES AND ALL THE OTHER TRAFFIC.
SO I KNOW THAT'S ONLY A SHORT TIME PERIOD, BUT I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD DESERVE SOME LOOK.
AND THAT'S JUST THE SAFETY OF PEDESTRIAN VEHICLE INTERACTION AND COMMISSIONER, WHETHER IT BE, ARE YOU SPEAKING ABOUT BARTON SPRINGS ROAD OR JUST GENERALLY ACROSS SPRINGS ROAD AND, UH, ALL THE CONNECTIONS THAT YOU USE WHEN YOU GO TO TRAIL OF LIGHTS OR WHEN YOU'RE LEAVING ACL.
AND IT'S JUST A MASSIVE PEOPLE AND VEHICLES TRYING TO GET INTO THAT MASS OF PEOPLE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF SEPARATION OR PLAN THAT PEOPLE COULD UNDERSTAND, AND MAYBE THAT SIGNAGE OR OPERATIONAL, BUT YEAH.
AND IF YOU THINK BACK TO THE, OH, SORRY, IF YOU, UM, THINK BACK TO THE, I THINK IT WAS THE PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION MAP THAT WE LOOKED AT EARLIER.
UM, YOU, I SAID WE DIDN'T FIND A TON OF SURPRISES IN OUR, UM, REVIEW, BUT THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A REMINDER, UM, HOW LITTLE SEPARATED PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE THERE IS IN THE PARK, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT ASTOUNDING.
UM, AND SO CERTAINLY A LOT OF THE INTERNAL CIRCULATION WITHIN THE PARK WAS NOT DESIGNED WITH PEDESTRIANS IN MIND.
UM, AND OF COURSE, UM, DESIGN FAR BEFORE THE LEVELS OF PICKUP AND DROP-OFF ACTIVITY.
SO I AGREE WITH YOUR OBSERVATIONS.
ALONG THOSE SAME LINES, SOMETHING THAT, UM, DURING SOME OF OUR SITE VISITS AND CONVERSATIONS, WE'VE HAD, UM, THE BUTLER HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL BEING RIGHT ADJACENT TO ZILKER AND A MAJOR WAY THAT PEOPLE DO AND COULD GET TO THE PARK IN THE FUTURE.
UM, YOU'VE GOT A MIX OF USERS EVEN ON THAT TRAIL.
THERE'S NO CARS OR HOPEFULLY RARELY ANY CARS ON THE BUTLER TRAIL, BUT YOU'VE GOT WALKERS AND JOGGERS PEOPLE MOVING AT SAFE SPEEDS.
BUT THEN IF, IF WE ARE TO PAVE OR WHY IT IN PARTS OF THE TRAIL, YOU DO HAVE SOME OF THOSE USERS WHO ARE GOING VERY, VERY FAST AND IT THEN STARTS TO BECOME A SAFETY ISSUE WITH THE DIFFERENT USERS, EVEN ON JUST THAT TRAIL.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL KEEP IN MIND TOO.
IS THIS IDEA ABOUT CONNECTING MILKERS AS HUB OF CONNECTION POTENTIAL FOR PILOT CROWN? UM, PERHAPS EVEN THE, THE EASTLINK TRAIL ON THE RED LINE PARKWAY, UM, AND, AND OTHER, UM, UH, TRAILS AND CONNECTIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING, UM, WHICH ONES ARE FOR SLOWER SPEEDS AND WHICH ONES ARE, ARE MORE OF A COMMUTER ROUTE, MAYBE A WAY TO THINK ABOUT THAT.
AND THAT'S BEYOND EVEN THE PEDESTRIAN VEHICULAR CONFLICTS THAT, UM, WE KNOW EXIST WITHIN THE PARK.
UM,
I HAVEN'T BEEN DOWN TO WHO WAS ON A GREEN BACK WHEN THEY USED TO BE AVAILABLE.
AND ONE THING THAT I REALLY APPRECIATED IS THAT PEOPLE WERE COMING ON THEIR BIKES AND THEY'RE COMING AND WALKING INTO, COMING WITH STROLLERS, UH, FROM ALL OVER, UH, TO GET THE BLUES ON THE GREEN, BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THEY CAN'T PARK, WHICH IS AWESOME.
BUT TO WHAT YOU JUST SAID ABOUT THAT MIXED THE PEDESTRIANS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S EDUCATIONAL SIGNAGE, MAYBE IT'S A SMIDGEN OF ENFORCEMENT, BUT YEAH, THERE IS DEFINITELY TIMES NCLB, ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE BLUES AND THE GREEN BEING JUST A RANDOM WEDNESDAY OR WHATEVER IT WAS THERE'S IT GETS PRETTY CROWDED.
AND I THINK IT COULD DEFINITELY BENEFIT FROM, HEY, GREAT.
[01:05:01]
YOU KNOW, HIS FIRST THING ABOUT THE BIKE ALL THE TIME.IT'S GREAT, BUT IT IS NOT, IT DOES NOT MIX WELL, THERE'S JUST, YEAH.
THERE'S PEOPLE, UH, WINDING THROUGH PEOPLE AND OTHER PEOPLE WITH KIDS IN STROLLERS AND TODDLERS RUNNING.
AND YEAH, I THINK THAT COULD SERVE, UH, WELL TO MAKE A MUCH BETTER EXPERIENCE IF THERE WERE SOME, SOME EDUCATION OR IF IT GETS WIDENED AND IT'S LIKE, HEY, BIKES, YOU GET THE LEFT THREE FEET OR 16 OR WHATEVER IT IS.
BUT YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD POINT, MARK, IF YOU DON'T MIND ME CUTTING IN, I, UH, I WAS GONNA, UM, TALK ABOUT BUTLER TRAIL SPECIFICALLY IN MY COMMENTS, UM, AS I'VE BEEN WRITING TO, OR THROUGH ZILKER, UM, FIVE TIMES A WEEK OR SO BEFORE THE PANDEMIC ANYWAY, UM, FOR YEARS NOW.
SO I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS ON THAT.
UM, AND, UM, I, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S, UH, ANALYSIS THUS FAR, AND I THINK YOU'LL HIT A LOT OF MY CONCERNS AND I HAVE A LOT OF SITE-SPECIFIC, UH, CONCERNS THAT, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE NOT LOOKING FOR THE MOMENT.
MAYBE I CAN GET WITH ALL IN ANOTHER TIME, BUT IN GENERAL, UM, MY CONCERNS WITH THE BUTLER TRAIL IS THAT, UM, YEAH, AS WE SAID, IT'S NOT EQUIPPED TO ACCOMMODATE BIG, BIG, UH, MOVEMENTS OF PEOPLE AND COMMUTERS IN GENERAL.
UM, UH, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE NOT COMFORTABLE AROUND FAST MOVING BICYCLES, BUT I, ON THE OTHER HAND, UM, WE DID HAVE A, UH, PRESENTATION, UH, I THINK A YEAR OR TWO AGO ABOUT, UH, MICRO MOBILITY ON THE TRAIL AND BASICALLY THEIR RESPONSE TO SCOOTERS AND E-BIKES AND SUCH THINGS WERE, UH, PUNITIVE APPROACHES RATHER THAN ACTUALLY THINKING ABOUT WAYS TO EXPAND CAPACITY AND ACTUALLY COMBINATE DIFFERENT USERS ON THE TRAIL.
AND I, I, MY, ONE OF MY BIG PICTURE THINGS, UM, UH, TH THAT I HARP ON HERE IS THAT, UH, RECREATION FACILITIES ARE JUST LOOKED AT AS, OR FUN AND, AND FITNESS RATHER THAN AS VERY VITAL ARTERIES FOR PEOPLE MOVING AROUND.
BUT AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT, UH, PEOPLE LOVE TO GET TO THE, UM, UH, PARK BY TRAIL IF THEY CAN.
SO I, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH, UH, INFLUENCE YOU'LL HAVE ON THE TRAIL DEVELOPMENT, BUT I THINK JUST IN THE LONG-TERM, IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE A SEPARATED USE SITUATION WHERE THERE WILL BE A COMMUTER TRAIL THAT'S PAVED, PERHAPS, AND THEN YOU CAN YOU MAINTAIN THE GRAVEL TRAIL FOR RECREATION USES.
AND I THINK, I THINK TODAY YOU COULD, UH, CONVERT LUTON F UH, UH, ROAD TO A, UH, PEDESTRIANIZE AND, UH, OR CYCLING ONLY ROAD AND MAKE THAT A COMMUTER ROUTE, UM, THAT WOULD GREATLY INCREASE THE CAPACITY.
UM, BUT THAT GETS DOWN TO THE ISSUE OF THERE'S A HUGE BOTTLENECK, UH, CROSSING BARTON CREEK, OF COURSE.
AND THERE'S, UM, THAT'S ONE OF THE SITE-SPECIFIC ISSUES.
UM, BUT I JUST, IN GENERAL, I'D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT, UM, MAYBE THINKING ABOUT MULTIMODAL USES AND NOT MAKING PUNITIVE RULES ABOUT WHERE THEY CAN RIDE AND CAN'T RIDE AND TRYING TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT RATHER THAN ACTUALLY ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO USE DIFFERENT, UM, FORMS, TRANSPORTATION, AND GETTING IN THAT WAY.
I, I CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, UM, THE BUTLER TRAIL.
SO OUR FIRM WAS ACTUALLY, UM, WE'VE BEEN SUPPORTING THE TRAIL FOUNDATION, UH, AS THEY'VE BEEN, UM, CONDUCTING A SAFETY MOBILITY STUDY FOR THE LAST, UM, SO WE ACTUALLY DO HAVE A LOT OF GOOD INSIGHT ON, UM, SORT OF THE WAY THAT, THAT, UM, THE TRAIL MANAGERS ARE KIND OF THINKING ABOUT THE TRAIL.
AND I THINK EXACTLY WHAT YOU MENTIONED AND THAT SORT OF DUAL TRACK, JUST LIKE WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NOW ON THE BODY CREEK TRAIL BY 12TH STREET, UM, SORT OF SEPARATING THE BIKES AND PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENTS IS DEFINITELY, UM, I THINK THE DIRECTION THAT THE TRAIL WANTS TO GO AND, AND ACTUALLY WORTH NOTING THAT THAT SECTION OF BUTLER TRAIL IS THE BUSIEST PART OF THE TRAIL, THE SECTION THROUGH ZILKER PARK.
SO, UM, THAT, UH, IN TERMS OF A PRIORITY, UH, YOU KNOW, PROJECT THAT THE TRAIL FOUNDATION MIGHT BE LOOKING INTO, OR POTENTIAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY AS PART OF THE, UM, THE VISION PLAN, THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S DEFINITELY, UH, WILL PROBABLY RISE TO THE TOP.
UM, I ALSO KNOW THAT ONE OF THE, UM, DISCUSSIONS, ONE OF THE POTENTIAL PROJECTS THAT WERE DISCUSSED, UM, WAS POTENTIALLY PROVIDING ANOTHER CROSSING OF BARTON CREEK.
UM, THAT'S CLOSER TO LOU NEFF POINT, UM, JUST SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT SORT OF DETOUR THAT YOU HAVE TO MAKE RIGHT NOW TO GET TO THAT PRETTY NARROW, UM, KIND OF RICKETY PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE THERE OVER, OVER BARTON CREEK COULD BE, UM, A MUCH BETTER, YOU KNOW, MORE LOGICAL FLOW FOR PEOPLE, BOTH CYCLISTS AND PEDESTRIANS, AND HAVING THAT CROSSING BE WIDER AND A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCOMMODATING OF, OF, UM, UH, VARIETY OF MODES WOULD ALSO BE SOMETHING.
AND I THINK THAT, UH, HAVING THAT SEPARATION COULD ALSO BE A WAY TO HELP, UM, MANAGE THE INTRODUCTION OF BIKES AND, AND MICRO MOBILITY DEVICES INTO THE PARK.
UM, AND LIKE I SAID EARLIER, UH, SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, HAS COME UP IN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE MOPAC SHARED USE PATH, I THINK IS ALSO RELEVANT FOR THE BUTLER TRAIL.
YOU KNOW, IF THERE IS SORT OF A SEPARATED, UM, KIND OF MAYBE PAVED CONCRETE BIKE AND MICRO MOBILITY SYSTEM, YOU KNOW,
[01:10:01]
HOW DOES THAT CONNECT TO THE OTHER, UM, FACILITIES WITHIN THE PARK ITSELF? AND THAT'S SOMETHING I THINK WE'RE GOING TO WANT TO TAKE A REALLY CLOSE LOOK AT IS, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A SYSTEM OF PAVED TRAILS THAT CAN ACCOMMODATE CYCLISTS AND, UM, AND, AND SCOOTERS, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THAT THAT'S A LITTLE SAFER AND MORE ENCOURAGING FOR THOSE USERS.SO WE DEFINITELY DO WANT TO ENCOURAGE A VARIETY OF MODES TO GET TO IT FROM THE PARK.
AND LIKE I SAID, I HAVE A LOT OF SITE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, MAYBE I CAN EMAIL YOU SOME OF MY IDEAS, JONATHAN.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE PROBABLY THE MOST PERFECT.
I WRITE A LOT IN THAT AREA, SO THANK YOU.
I'M JUST SO FULL OF, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I, I COULD HAVE MISSED IT, I DON'T KNOW THAT I HEARD IN THE PRESENTATION IS PEOPLE WITH, UH, INDIVIDUALS WITH MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS, UM, PERHAPS WHEELCHAIR USERS.
I ACTUALLY THINK THAT'S ALSO VERY CONNECTED TO AN ISSUE THAT YOU, UM, HIGHLIGHT IT, WHICH IS THAT YOU MIGHT, AND THEN LIKE, THERE'S NO WAYFINDING, THERE MIGHT BE SUPPOSED TO NO SIDEWALKS.
SO YOU'RE SORT OF WALKING OVER A LAWN TO YOUR FINAL DESTINATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU MIGHT NOT EVEN KNOW WHERE TO GO, LIKE THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, BUT I THINK THAT THOSE ISSUES ARE GOING TO BE, I'M NOT A WHEELCHAIR USER, BUT I IMAGINED THAT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS, THOSE WOULD BE EXACERBATED.
SO IT WAS KIND OF CURIOUS TO HEAR YOU SPEAK ABOUT THAT, LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING FROM THAT COMMUNITY, WHAT OUTREACH YOU'VE DONE TO THEM AND, AND WHAT THINGS MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO THEM.
BECAUSE I THINK LIKE A LOT OF THE PARKING, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU JUST GET OUT AND THERE'S NO REAL SAFE CONNECTIVITY FOR THOSE FOLKS, PERHAPS.
THAT'S A REALLY GREAT QUESTION.
ESPECIALLY AS RELATED TO MOBILITY.
UM, I WANTED TO POINT OUT ONE OF OUR SUB-CONSULTANT TEAM MEMBERS IS ALTURA SOLUTIONS IS AN ACCESSIBILITY SPECIALIST HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND THEY DO BOTH PLAN REVIEWS, GO OUT TO BUILD PROJECTS AND MAKE SURE THAT THE PROJECTS ARE BUILT CORRECTLY, UM, AND TO TOSS IN ADA STANDARDS, BUT ALSO THAT, UM, IN TOSSES, TEXAS, UH, ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS, UM, THEY'RE ALSO AT THE PLANNING LEVEL, WORKING WITH TEAMS WITH MUNICIPALITIES TO LEARN, TO PLAN FOR HOW THIS PART CAN BE ACCESSIBLE, TRULY ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL, UM, MOVING FORWARD.
SO, UM, THE CITY DID A 2015 SELF-ASSESSMENT OF THEIR ADA, UM, AS IT EXISTED WITHIN ZILKER PARK AND HAVE SLOWLY BEEN MAKING HEADWAY ON THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME FROM THAT ASSESSMENT.
AND, UM, OUR CONSULTANT ALTURA IS HELPING US, UM, UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT THOSE THINGS ARE, UM, AND WHERE MAYBE THE BIGGER IMPROVEMENTS OR IMPROVEMENTS THAT, UM, MAYBE DON'T TAKE A LOT OF MONEY, UM, BUT WOULD HAVE A REALLY PIVOTAL INFLUENCE ON BENEFITING THOSE WITH MOBILITY CHALLENGES COULD BE, AND THEN THINKING THROUGH EVEN BIGGER PICTURE TO FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, AND NOT JUST ABOUT MAYBE 2% VERSUS 5% CROSS FLOATS, BUT, BUT THINKING EVEN BIGGER AS IT RELATED TO ACCESSIBILITY.
AND, UM, IT GOES BACK TO WAY-FINDING THROUGHOUT THE PARK.
SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, UM, USERS THAT SPEAK DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, AND WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO TRANSLATE TO ALL OF THE LANGUAGES THAT EXISTS WITHIN THE PARK.
SO IS THERE A WAY FINDING SYSTEM THAT'S INTUITIVE FOR A PERSON, NO MATTER IF THEY'RE EXPERIENCING, UH, PTSD OR, UM, SOME OF OUR OTHER DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES, UM, OR, UM, YOU JUST SPEAK A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE, BUT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO KNOW THROUGH COLORS AND SYMBOLS.
THIS IS WHERE THE POOL AREA IS.
UM, SO IT'S CONNECTING THOSE DIFFERENT DESTINATIONS.
IT'S MAKING IT EASY TO GET AROUND.
UM, WE HEARD A HEARTBREAKING STORY FROM ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE'VE SPOKEN TO ABOUT, UM, THE WAY THIS PERSON WHO IS DISABLED GETS TO THE PARK IS MAINLY THROUGH TRANSIT AND THEY GET OFF ON THE STOP.
UM, THEY ARE ABLE TO GO TO THE POOL, BUT SOMETIMES THE PAST, IT MAY HAVE THE CORRECT CROSS SLOPE AND IT MAY HAVE THE CORRECT RUNNING SLOPE, BUT IT MAY NOT BE WIDE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE SOMEBODY IN A WHEELCHAIR.
AND, UH, TWO PEOPLE WALKING SIDE BY SIDE, WHICH MAKES IT REALLY CHALLENGING TO GET AROUND.
UM, EVEN IF SHE'S GOT THE SIDEWALKS THERE, UM, NOT TO MENTION WHERE IF YOU WERE TO GET OFF ON A BUS STOP AND WANT TO GO TO THE BOTANICAL GARDEN, LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU CAN'T DO THAT IF YOU'RE, UM, W DON'T
[01:15:01]
HAVE TWO FUNCTIONING LENS OR HEIGHT.UM, SO IT, IT'S TOUGH TO GET AROUND NOW.
AND, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES, I THINK THAT WE'RE SETTLING ON IS THAT BILKER SHOULD BE A PART FOR ALL.
AND SO THE GOALS THAT WE SET UNDER THAT ARE HOW, HOW DO WE MAKE THAT REALISTIC? HOW DO WE MAKE THAT ACHIEVABLE? UM, SO THERE WILL BE SHORT-TERM, UM, IMPLEMENTATION STEPS TO GET THERE SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE MAJOR PATHWAYS THAT NEED TO CONNECT.
UM, BUT ALSO THE, THE BIGGER, UM, THE BIGGER IDEA THAT THE BIG PICTURE OF MAKING AN ACCESSIBLE, I HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION OR WENT FROM BEING IN THERE.
THERE'S GOING TO HAVE TWO LAST QUESTIONS.
UM, ARE THERE SOME PARKS THAT HAVE A SIMILAR SCALE THAT HAVE, UM, THE FEATURES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, WHETHER IT'S INTERNAL CIRCULATIONS ARE THE RIGHT KIND OF ACCESSES, UM, YOU CAN TALK ABOUT, YEAH.
JONATHAN OR LAUREN, DO YOU WANT TO SPEAK ABOUT SOME OF THE PRECEDENT RESEARCH YOU'VE BEEN DOING AS RELATED TO TRANSIT? SURE.
YEAH, WE, WE HAVE, UM, I KNOW A COUPLE OF THE OTHER TEAM MEMBERS ARE ALSO LOOKING AT PURE PARKS JUST FROM LIKE A MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE AND ACTUALLY A LOT OF THOSE PARKS, UM, ESPECIALLY PARKS THAT HAVE SORT OF, YOU KNOW, NON-PROFIT CONSERVANCIES OR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP WITH, WITH MANAGEMENT ARE REALLY GOOD EXAMPLES.
ALSO FROM MY MOBILITY PERSPECTIVE, UM, A REALLY GOOD ONE THAT, THAT WE'D LIKE TO LOOK TO IS WASHINGTON PARK AND PORTLAND.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S SORT OF, I, I WOULD SAY IT'S THE CLOSEST ANALOGY THAT, YOU KNOW, PORTLAND HOUSES, OCHRE SORT OF THEIR CENTRAL KIND OF MAIN, UH, PARK, AND, AND THEY ACTUALLY USE, UM, THEIR PARK PARKING REVENUE TO FUND A DEDICATED FREE SHUTTLE, UM, SERVES MAJOR PARK DESTINATIONS.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S AN INTERESTING MODEL.
UM, THEY HAVE A TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION, THE TMA, UM, THAT IS, UH, BEEN SET UP SPECIFICALLY TO MANAGE THAT FUNDING AND HELP COORDINATE, YOU KNOW, MARKETING OUTREACH TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS ABOUT HOW YOU CAN GET TO AND FROM, UM, ALL OF THE DIFFERENT DESTINATIONS, THE ROSE GARDEN, THE ZOO THAT ARE WITHIN THAT PARK.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S DEFINITELY A GOOD MODEL.
THERE'S SOME OTHER ONES, A LITTLE CLOSER TO HOME.
I KNOW, UM, MEMORIAL PARK AND HERMAN PARK IN HOUSTON ARE ALSO, UM, SOME MODELS THAT ARE MAYBE A LITTLE MORE, UM, RELEVANT JUST IN TERMS OF OUR CLIMATE AND OUR, YOU KNOW, UM, GEOGRAPHIC PROXIMITY.
SO, UM, THOSE ARE A COUPLE WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, AND I THINK THERE MAY BE A FEW OTHERS, BUT, UM, THAT'S DEFINITELY PART OF OUR, UH, OUR APPROACH IS LOOKING AT BEST PRACTICES AT, AT PARKS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND HOW THEY'VE, THEY'VE DEALT WITH SOME OF THESE REALLY STICKY ISSUES LIKE PARKING.
JONATHAN, DID YOU MENTION THE ST.
YOU PARK, YOU PARKED IN THE PERIMETER OF THAT PARK AND THEN YOU COME IN RIGHT VIA SHADOW OR ST.
LOUIS AND I THINK BALBO PARK IN SAN DIEGO.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? NO, I WAS JUST GOING TO ADD A QUICK THING TO THE COMMENT YOU WERE MAKING EARLIER ABOUT THE DISABILITY ISSUE, UH, ACCESS, UH, BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, A FEW FOLKS FROM THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD PUT TOGETHER A WALKTHROUGH ZILKER TO SORT OF GET A SENSE OF THE WHOLE CONNECTIONS.
AND I PARTICIPATED IN THAT AND WE BROKE UP INTO PAIRS AND WALKED IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOUND, WE WERE MY GROUP, MY TWO, WE TWO WERE ASSIGNED THE, UH, ZILKER THEATER AREA.
AND WE NOTICED THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY HARD WHEN YOU PARK, AND THEN YOU'RE TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO WALK DOWN INTO THE THEATER.
UH, IT'S GOT A LOT OF GRADE TO IT AND WE WERE LOOKING AND LOOKING AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, WELL, HOW COULD YOU IMPROVE THAT? AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN WE SAW THERE WAS SOME STAIRS WITH RAILS THAT WE DIDN'T SEE.
SO EVEN THEY WEREN'T GREAT STAIRS OR GREAT RAILS, BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING THERE THAT WAS SO UNAPPARENT TO US AND WE WERE LOOKING FOR THEM.
SO IT'S JUST THOSE HIDDEN THINGS THAT MAY BE, COULD BE SOME EARLY WINS TO MAKE SOME CHANGES WITH.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT GOT DOCUMENTED IN ANY WAY OR NOT, BUT IT HAS, UM, I'LL CHECK WITH OUR SET, OUR SPECIALISTS BECAUSE THAT MIGHT HAVE SHOWN UP IN THEIR REPORT.
[01:20:16]
OH, CHAIR.I JUST BEEN FIDDLING WITH MY HEADPHONES.
I WAS JUST SAYING, UM, IF THERE'S NO MORE FINAL STATEMENTS FROM ANYBODY, FINAL QUESTIONS, CLOSING WORDS.
WELL, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, I GUESS A GOOD QUESTION.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR US? IF WE, YOU KNOW, DANIEL MIGHT EMAIL YOU SOME SUGGESTIONS.
UM, I, IF I WANT TO HAVE SOME MORE COMMENTARY OR SOMEONE ELSE DOES, DO WE SEND IT TO, YOU CAN SAY YES, YOU CAN SEND IT TO ME.
UM, STAFF LIAISON SHOULD HAVE MY CONTACT INFORMATION AND THEN I CAN PASS IT ALONG TO THE CONSULTANT TEAM.
WELL THEN THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I WAS GOING TO SAY, UM, ALSO WE HAVE THE, OUR FIRST COMMUNITY MEETING COMING UP, UM, AT THE END OF JUNE, WHICH WILL HAPPEN IN A SURVEY, UM, TO GO ALONG WITH IT.
UM, SPEAK UP AUSTIN IS AVAILABLE AT ANY TIME FOR ANYONE TO LEAVE, UM, COMMENTS ON THIS PROJECT AND WE ENCOURAGE ANY AND ALL OF THOSE, UM, AVENUES OF, UM, INVOLVEMENT AS WELL AS REACHING OUT TO GREG WHO'S OUR PROJECT MANAGER.
BUT, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME COMMISSIONERS.
UM, THIS IS REALLY GREAT INPUT AND LOVE SOME OF THESE IDEAS.
WELL THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH AND KEEP, TAKE CARE.
[3. STAFF BRIEFINGS]
30 STAFF PREACHINGS FIRST ON THE LIST, DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, IF THERE IS A, THE MEETING SINCE OUR LAST MEETING, WHICH WAS NOT THAT LONG AGO.I THINK, UH, THE LAST, UH, COMMISSION MEETING IN, UH, APRIL, WE RECEIVED A REALLY GOOD OVERVIEW ABOUT ALL THE ACTIVITIES THAT TOOK PLACE SINCE THE PANDEMIC IN, UH, THAT WAS SPONSORED BY THE AUSTIN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE DAA.
UM, SO I'D RECOMMEND THAT TO YOU.
IT DOESN'T HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH TRANSPORTATION, ALTHOUGH, UH, IT STILL WAS A REALLY GOOD FEEL, GOOD, UH, TO SEE ALL THE CREATIVITY AND ALL THE ACTIVITIES TOOK PLACE IN THIS TIME.
UM, THEY MEET AGAIN A WEEK FROM TODAY AND IT'S GOING TO BE A BIG, UH, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN HOMELESS ACTIVITY PROGRAM.
SO, I MEAN, THEY, THE COMMISSIONED DOWNTOWN COMMISSION HAS BEEN WAITING FOR A LONG TIME TO GET A BIG DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE HOMELESSNESS ISSUE.
AND, UM, THAT TOO IS NOT VERY TRANSPORTATION ORIENTED, BUT THAT'S, WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT WEDNESDAY ALONG WITH, UH, OVERVIEW OF THE WALNUT CREEK GREENWAY CONSERVANCY.
UM, COMMISSIONER WHEELER, DID YOU MAKE IT TO THE DRUNK SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION? YOU'RE SPEAKING.
I SEE EITHER HERE OR HERE, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE THINKING YOU'RE ON MUTE.
UM, I, FOR ADVISORY, UH, DID SHE MISS THAT MEETING? IT WAS MY FIRST, UM, MEETING POSTS, LIKE THING ASSIGNED TO IT AND THEY DO NOT HAVE THEIR MINUTES UP, SO I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO REVIEW THEM, BUT THEIR NEXT MEETING IS ON THE 18TH.
UH, THERE'S NOT BEEN ANOTHER, UH, MOBILITY COMMITTEE MEETINGS SINCE OUR LAST MEETING.
SO NOTHING NEW TO REPORT THERE FOR ME.
UH, WE'LL GO BACK TO MR. WHEELER, IF YOU ARE AROUND AND WENT TO JOINT SUSTAINABILITY.
I KNOW THERE WAS AN EMAIL FLOP.
SOME THINGS DIDN'T COME THROUGH WITH, THEY DID COME THROUGH EVENTUALLY.
WELL, BEFORE WE BURN OR WANT TO, UM, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO SOME THINGS VIA EMAIL.
UH, THEY, THEY DIDN'T GET ON THE AGENDA.
TALK ABOUT, UH, SOME PROPOSALS FOR FUTURE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. AND ALSO THERE IS A FOCUS GROUP THAT WANTS TO CITI FOCUS GROUP.
THEN ONCE, UM, SOME, UH, MEMBERS OF US ARE CONDITIONED TO ATTEND.
UH, BUT SINCE IT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA, I WILL HAVE TO DO IT THROUGH EMAIL.
SO PLEASE, IF YOU DON'T CHECK YOUR,
[01:25:01]
UH, CITY OF AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, REGULARLY CHECK IT AT LEAST ONCE IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.UM, AND, UH, IT'S ABOUT METRO BIKE.
SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THAT, CHECK YOUR DOWN AND WITH THAT, UM, WE ARE READY TO RETURN ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.
WELL, THANKS FOR COMING THEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY.