[00:00:06]
[CALL TO ORDER]
COUNCIL MOBILITY COMMITTEE.I AM CALLING THIS MEETING TO ORDER AT 1:03 PM ON OCTOBER 7TH, 2021.
EVERYONE ELSE IS JOINING US REMOTELY.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR WHO HAS JOINED US, BUT HER CAMERA'S OFF FOR THE MOMENT COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN, AND WE HAVE VICE CHAIR, KELLY VICE CHAIR.
KELLY WILL BE ABLE TO JOIN US FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING.
UM, AND MAYOR PRO TEM IS GOING TO BE JOINING US LATE.
SO YOU WILL SEE HER JOIN LATER ON.
UM, I WANTED TO GIVE A BRIEF UPDATE ABOUT THE ORDER OF THE ITEMS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DISCUSSING.
WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF, UM, BACK AND FORTH ON WHICH ITEMS WERE ON THE AGENDA THAT WERE MOST APPROPRIATE TO BE DISCUSSED TODAY.
AND IF THIS WAS THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO BE TAKING THOSE ITEMS UP.
AND SO ITEM NUMBER TWO HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN.
THE EMERGING MOBILITY TECHNOLOGIES PANEL.
WE WILL BE TAKING THAT UP AT A FUTURE MEETING.
WE'RE JUST NOT GOING TO BE DOING IT TODAY.
AND ITEM NUMBER THREE, THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT TOOL HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN.
WE WILL LIKELY TAKE THAT UP AT ANOTHER MEETING AS WELL.
SO WITH THE ITEMS THAT ARE LEFT ON THE AGENDA, WE WILL BE GOING IN ORDER OF ITEM NUMBER ONE, THE MINUTES, AND THEN MOVING TO ITEM NUMBER SIX, TO GET AN UPDATE FROM ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, GINA FEEHAN DACA.
THE NEXT ITEM WILL BE A VISION ZERO PRESENTATION ITEM NUMBER EIGHT.
IT LOOKS LIKE MR. LEE IS HERE TO DO THAT PRESENTATION.
AND THEN ITEM NUMBER FOUR, THE, UM, ABI THE AIRPORT, UM, ADA COMPLIANCE AND SOME OF THE TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY ISSUES THAT THE MAYOR PRO TEM HAD BROUGHT UP AT THE LAST MEETING.
WE'LL BE DISCUSSING THAT ITEM.
AND THEN ITEM NUMBER SEVEN IS FUTURE ITEMS. SO AGAIN, THE ORDER WE WILL GO IN IS ITEM ONE, ITEM SIX, ITEM EIGHT, ITEM FOUR, AND THEN ITEM SEVEN.
SO WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS, BUT WE WERE JUST MIXING IT UP A LITTLE BIT TODAY.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Mobility Committee meeting of September 9, 2021.]
UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 9TH MOBILITY COMMITTEE MEETING MOTION MADE BY VICE CHAIR? KELLY, DO I HAVE A SECOND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER VICE CHAIR? OH YES.I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A NOTE REGARDING THE MINUTES.
MY LAST NAME IS SPELLED WRONG AND WHO ATTENDED THE MEETING.
SO IF THAT COULD BE CORRECTED BEFORE WE APPROVE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.
I BELIEVE WE CAN DO THAT ADMINISTRATIVELY.
SO WE WILL MAKE THAT ADJUSTMENT ON THE MINUTES AND THEN ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES WITH THAT ADJUSTMENT MADE BY VICE CHAIR, KELLY.
IT IS UNANIMOUS WITH THE MAYOR PRO TEM, NOT IN ATTENDANCE AT THIS MOMENT.
[6. Update from Assistant City Manager Gina Fiandaca on the City's Strategic Mobility Outcome (5 minutes).]
WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER SIX AND UPDATE FROM ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, GINA THE ENDECA.UM, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, GINA PHEON DACA.
I HAVE SUBMITTED THE, UH, MONTHLY MOBILITY OUTCOME REPORT.
AND I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THAT.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON HER REPORT? I ALWAYS FIND IT VERY INFORMATIVE, BUT I DON'T ALWAYS HAVE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE DISCUSSED PUBLICLY.
IT'S REALLY THERE FOR A BACKGROUND.
LET YOU KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE MOBILITY OUTCOME.
IF THERE'S ANY ISSUES THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE US HIGHLIGHT IN A FUTURE REPORT, PLEASE REACH OUT TO OUR OFFICE.
THANKS FOR PUTTING IT TOGETHER.
[8. Update on Vision Zero pedestrian and traffic safety measures.]
WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, THE VISION ZERO PRESENTATION.GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I'M THE TRANSPORTATION SAFETY OFFICER WITH AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.
WANT TO MENTIONED THAT COMMANDER, ERIC MISSY IS HERE WITH THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AS THEY'RE AN INTEGRAL PARTNER IN OUR, UH, VISION ZERO EFFORTS.
APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TO YOU AN UPDATE OF WHERE WE ARE WITH VISION ZERO, ALONG WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING ON OUR ROADWAYS RELATED TO TRAFFIC SAFETY.
BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THE BULK OF THE CONTENT, UH, I DO WANT TO, OF COURSE, THIS IS GOING TO NO, NOT WORK THIS TIME.
IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THE YEARS OF LIFE LOST IS A PUBLIC HEALTH METRIC THAT WE USE TO REMIND US THAT THIS IS REALLY ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO DO A LOT OF DATA SLIDES TODAY, BUT BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THAT, WE ALWAYS WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REMEMBERING THIS IS ABOUT PEOPLE THAT WE'VE LOST.
AND THE REALITY IS THAT WE'RE LOSING WAY TOO MANY ON OUR STREETS.
THAT'S THIRTY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY ONE YEARS OF LIFE THAT WILL NOT BE EXPERIENCED BECAUSE THEY HAVE PREMATURELY DIED BECAUSE OF A CAR CRASH.
THESE ARE BIRTHDAYS AND HOLIDAYS, OTHER MAJOR EVENTS IN LIFE THAT WILL NOT BE EXPERIENCED, NOT ONLY BY THEM HAVING LOST THEIR LIFE, BUT BY THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS AND THEIR FRIENDS AND THEIR COLLEAGUES THAT ARE GOING TO BE MISSING THEM FOREVER.
SO, UH, LET'S TAKE A MOMENT JUST TO HONOR THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THE FATHERS, THE MOTHERS THAT WE'VE LOST
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ON OUR ROADWAYS JUST THIS YEAR.SO KEY POINTS FATALITIES ARE RISING OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS.
UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S HAPPENING, NOT ONLY IN AUSTIN, BUT STATEWIDE, UH, NATIONALLY, THIS IS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS THAT WE'RE FACING AS A SOCIETY AND OUR COUNTRY.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT TO THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
I WANT TO MENTION ALSO THAT SERIOUS INJURIES ARE TRENDING LOWER, UH, THAN RECENT NORMAL YEARS.
AND I SAY NORMAL BECAUSE LAST YEAR WAS A VERY UNIQUE YEAR.
AS FAR AS THE PANDEMIC AND THE IMPACTS WE SAW ON THE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK.
WE KNOW THAT THE FOCUS NEEDS TO BE ON ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS AND WE ARE DOING A LOT IN THAT REALM THAT WE'RE EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT TODAY.
UH, AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A FOCUS ON THE SAFER DESIGNS THAT COME FROM ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS, BUT ALSO SPEED MANAGEMENT, HOW WE OPERATE, MANAGE, AND THE POLICIES AROUND SPEEDING IN OUR COMMUNITY.
ANOTHER CRITICAL NEED TO POINT OUT THAT WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT LATER IN THIS PRESENTATION IS THAT SOME NARROWLY DEFINED SPEED AND IMPAIRED DRIVING ENFORCEMENT DURING CRITICAL TIMES OF DAY AT CRITICAL LOCATIONS, OVERNIGHT, EARLY MORNING HOURS AND ON HIGH-SPEED ROADWAYS, LIKE OUR FREEWAYS IN FRONT OF THE ROADS, REALLY AS A CRITICAL NEED.
AND WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THE PARTNERSHIP WE HAVE WITH APD TO KEEP THIS DISCUSSION GOING ABOUT STRATEGIZING HOW WE BEST GET THAT NEED ADDRESSED DURING THIS TIME IN OUR CITY.
SO JUST TO REFRESH YOUR ABOUT WHAT VISION ZERO IS ALL ABOUT, IT'S A SAFE SYSTEMS APPROACH.
IT'S AN ETHICAL APPROACH TO SAFETY MOBILITY.
IT MEANS WE SHOULD NOT ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THESE FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES ARE HAPPENING ON OUR ROADWAYS.
WE KNOW THAT THE HUMAN BODY IS VULNERABLE.
IT CAN ONLY WITHSTAND SO MUCH FROM A CRASH IMPACT.
AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT HUMANS MAKE MISTAKES.
WE ARE CONTINUING TO DESIGN OUR ROADWAYS AND UNDERSTAND THAT THESE ARE JUST FACTS WITHIN THE TRANSPORTATION SAFETY REALM.
AND WE NEED TO TAKE A HOLISTIC VIEW AROUND THESE THINGS.
THIS IS A SYSTEMS BASED APPROACH, AND THE REALITY IS THERE'S A LOT OF RESOURCES REQUIRED.
POST-CRASH WE HAVE OVER 12,000 CRASHES THAT GET A REPORT EACH YEAR AND TENS OF THOUSANDS MORE THAT HAPPENED THAT DON'T HAVE A REPORT TIED TO THEM.
THINK ABOUT THE NUMBER OF FIRETRUCKS THAT ARE GOING OUT AND FIRE MEN AND FIRE WOMEN THAT ARE GOING OUT TO THESE SCENES AFTER THE CRASH HAPPENS.
THINK ABOUT THE NUMBER OF EMS PARAMEDICS THAT ARE GOING TO TRY TO ADDRESS THESE CRASHES AFTER THEY HAPPEN.
THINK ABOUT THE NUMBER OF POLICE OFFICERS, WRITING REPORTS WHEN THEY ARE HIGHLY TRAINED TO DO A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THAT WOULD BE GREAT FOR PUBLIC SAFETY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO WHEN WE TAKE A HOLISTIC VIEW ABOUT THIS, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT MORE TO DO PROACTIVELY SO THAT WE CAN GET AHEAD OF THAT AND USE THOSE RESOURCES A LITTLE BIT MORE EFFECTIVELY.
ALSO WANT TO MENTION A CRITICAL FACTOR.
I MENTIONED THAT EARLIER SPEED IS THE FACTOR THAT DETERMINES CRASH INJURY YOU CAN SEE ON THIS GRAPHIC RESEARCH IS VERY CLEAR THAT ONCE YOU GET BEYOND ABOUT 30 MILES AN HOUR, UH, IF YOU'RE WALKING, IF YOU'RE BIKING, IF YOU'RE IN A WHEELCHAIR, YOU KNOW, THE IMPACT FROM A CRASH AFTER 30 MILES AN HOUR MEANS YOU'RE MORE THAN LIKELY GOING TO HAVE A SEVERE INJURY WHEN YOU GET UP TO 40, 45 IS MORE THAN LIKELY THAT YOU'LL BE DEAD AFTER THAT IMPACT.
AND SO WE NEED TO FOCUS ON SPEED AS A PRIMARY STRATEGY.
WE NEED TO DO THAT THROUGH POLICY.
WE NEED TO DO THAT THROUGH ENGINEERING TREATMENTS.
SO AUSTIN DATA, UH, FATALITY CRASHES ARE UP, UH, WE FULLY EXPECT BASED ON THE TREND THAT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR, THAT IT'S VERY LIKELY THE NUMBER OF CRASHES THAT RESULT IN FATALITIES IN AUSTIN WILL BE THE HIGHEST ON OUR CITY'S RECORD.
UH, WE'RE PROJECTING THAT TO EXCEED OVER 105, MAYBE EVEN APPROACHING 110, UH, THIS YEAR ALONE, THAT WOULD GET US, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, BEYOND WHAT WE SAW LAST YEAR, WHICH WAS, UH, A STRANGE YEAR TO BEGIN WITH, BUT EVEN BEYOND OTHER RECENT YEARS, THAT WE'VE SEEN FATALITY CRASHES, UM, AT THE LEVELS THAT WE'VE SEEN THIS YEAR, SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES, HOWEVER, ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
UM, WE THINK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING A WHOLE LOT IN OUR ENGINEERING REALM TO TRY TO ADDRESS THESE CRASHES AND THE FATALITIES ARE HAPPENING.
THERE, THEY'RE A RARE EVENT IN RELATION TO THE REST OF, UH, ALL THE TRANSPORTATION THAT HAPPENS AROUND OUR CITY AND THE MOBILITY THAT WE HAVE, UH, SERIOUS INJURIES ARE TYPICALLY IN THE 550 S 450 TO 500 RANGE.
AND THIS YEAR WE'RE GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT LOWER PROJECTED TO BE A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN WE'VE SEEN, EVEN IN 20 16, 17, 18, WITH ALL THE POPULATION GROWTH THAT WE'VE HAD IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO COMBINES, UH, THE GOAL OF VISION ZERO IS TO REDUCE FATALITIES PLUS SERIOUS INJURIES TO ZERO.
UH, WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS THAT.
I THINK WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THE IMPACT OF SOME OF THAT WORK PLAY OUT, AND WE'LL SEE MORE OF THAT PLAY OUT IN THE COMING YEARS.
UH, WE ARE ON TRACK TO BE LOWER THAN 2019 NUMBERS.
AND AGAIN, 2020 WAS AS A SIGNIFICANT DROP VERY STRANGE YEAR BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC IMPACTS.
WE WILL NOT UNDERSTAND AS BEST WE CAN WHAT'S HAPPENING ON OUR ROADWAYS WHEN AND WHERE IT'S HAPPENING.
AND WHAT WE LOOK AT HERE IS THE FATALITIES PLUS SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES AT THE CRASH LEVEL, NOT THE PERSON LEVEL CRASH LEVEL THROUGH ABOUT LAST WEEK, UH, ABOUT, YEAH, ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF AGO.
AND WHAT WE SEE IS CERTAIN HOTSPOTS THAT CONTINUE TO POP UP.
AND THIS HAS BEEN A SIMILAR THEME THAT WE'VE SEEN THROUGH RECENT YEARS, AND IT'S CONTINUED THIS YEAR AS WELL.
WE KNOW THAT THE SATURDAY, SUNDAY EVENINGS AND INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS CONTINUE TO BE SOME OF THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF, OF K CRASHES, FATALITIES,
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PLUS SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES THAT WE'VE SEEN IN OUR COMMUNITY.AND THAT'S WEEKEND WEEK OUT, IT'S CONSISTENT.
WE KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT A NEED TO TRY TO ADDRESS THOSE PARTICULAR TIMES A DAY.
I WANT TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, UH, BECAUSE WE DON'T OPERATING WITHOUT ADDITIONAL CONTEXT, RIGHT? SO IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, WE HAVE SEEN, UH, FATALITY NUMBERS KIND OF FLUCTUATE OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS.
WE'VE SEEN SERIOUS INJURIES FLUCTUATE, BUT THE REALITY IS AUSTIN REMAINS ON A PER CAPITA BASIS.
ONE OF THE RELATIVELY SAFER PLACES WITHIN THE STATE OF TEXAS COMPARED TO OTHER LARGER CITIES WITHIN THE STATE, WE ARE EXPECTED FOR PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND TO BE AT ONE OF THE LOWEST LEVELS THAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS WHEN IT COMES TO FATALITY PLUS SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES AND ON A NATIONAL LEVEL, WE'RE SEEING A SIMILAR TREND.
THE PANDEMIC IMPACTS HAVE BEEN VERY SIGNIFICANT, UH, AND WE ARE NOT UNIQUE TO THAT.
THERE'S 44 STATES THAT HAVE SEEN INCREASES IN FATALITIES, UH, WHEN COMPARING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THIS YEAR TO COMPARED TO LAST YEAR AND STATE OF TEXAS HAD ABOUT A 17% INCREASE.
AND SO AUSTIN IS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER.
I THINK WE'RE CLOSER TO 25% FOR THIS FIRST SIX MONTH PERIOD, BUT THE INCREASE IS CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT THE, THE NATION.
UM, AND I THINK WE'RE UNFORTUNATELY SEEING THE SAME IMPACTS PLAY OUT HERE LOCALLY.
SO HOW DO WE EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PANDEMIC? WELL, UH, TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE, UH, ROBERT WUNDERLICH IN PARTICULAR TRAFFIC SAFETY EXPERT, I THINK HAD THE MOST SIMPLE EXPLANATION THAT WE COULD SEE THAT REALLY GOT TO THE HEART OF IT.
UH, TRAVEL VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED IS ACTUALLY DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY DURING THE EARLY PART OF THE PANDEMIC.
I THINK WE'VE SEEN THAT REBOUND IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS, CRASHES OVER ALL WENT DOWN, BUT THE SPEED THAT WAS ALLOWED, THE LESS CONGESTION ENABLED A LOT MORE SPEED TO OCCUR AND WHAT THAT SPEED, AS WE KNOW, AS THE PRIMARY FACTOR WITH THAT SPEED GOING UP, SEVERITY ACTUALLY GOES UP EVEN BEYOND THAT.
IT'S AN EXPONENTIAL VALUE WHEN IT COMES TO THE KINETIC ENERGY THAT HAPPENS IN A CRASH.
SO THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT TRAVELING CRASHES WERE DOWN AND SPEED AND SEVERITY STARTED TO INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND WE'RE SEEING THAT PLAY OUT WITH THE FATALITY NUMBERS.
RESEARCH IS ALSO EMERGING AROUND WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE PANDEMIC.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN SOME RESEARCH COME OUT SAYING THAT INCREASED STRESS AND ANXIETY INCREASED FREE TIME, UH, INCREASED USE OF DRUGS AND ALCOHOL, AND ALSO JUST GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPEEDING AND STUNT DRIVING ON THESE LESS CONGESTED FREEWAYS IS STARTING TO RESULT IN THE CRASH, UH, IMPACTS THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE SEVERITY OF CRASHES THAT WE SEE ON THE ROADWAYS.
SO WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF INITIATIVES WERE EXCITED ABOUT MAKING PROGRESS ON WE'RE WE'RE EARLY IN THIS CYCLE ABOUT, UM, MAKING PROGRESS ON VISION ZERO, BUT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE RESULTS COME FROM THIS.
IF YOU'LL RECALL LAST SUMMER, UH, IN JUNE OF 2020 COUNCIL PASSED POLICY TO ALLOW FOR OVER 900 MILES OF STREETS TO SEE LOWER SPEED LIMITS ON POSTED SPEED LIMITS, THAT INCLUDES OVER 850 MILES OF RESIDENTIAL STREETS.
AND TO THIS DAY, WE'VE ALREADY, UH, THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION, PARTICULARLY OUR TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING STAFF, WE'VE ALREADY CHANGED OUT SPEED LIMIT SIGNS THAT OVER 370 LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, WE HAVE NOT YET ANALYZED THE IMPACT OF THAT.
WE'RE SEEING THIS PLAY OUT ON LOCAL STREETS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY THAN ON THE ARTERIALS.
AND SO WE WANT TO GIVE IT A LITTLE BIT OF TIME BEFORE WE START TO REALLY EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF WHAT THAT POLICY LOOKS LIKE, BECAUSE WHEN YOU CHANGE THE SPEED LIMIT DURING A PANDEMIC, YOU WANT IT TO PLAY OUT, UM, WITH MORE NORMAL CONDITIONS BEFORE YOU START TO EVALUATE IT FULLY.
SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE PROGRESS THERE.
AND I THINK WITH COUNCIL SUPPORT OF NEW POSITIONS IN THE ENGINEERING GROUP, WE'RE GOING TO START TO SEE A LOT MORE RAPID DEPLOYMENT OF THESE NEW POSTED SPEED LIMIT SIGNS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE CITY, CONTINUING ON WITH ENGINEERING.
UH, WE'VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR BOND PROJECTS TO REALLY ADDRESS THE MOST SEVERE CRASH LOCATIONS THAT WE'RE SEEING CRASHES HAPPEN, UH, WITH HIGHER SEVERITY AND MORE FREQUENCY FROM THE 2016 BOND WE'VE ALREADY COMPLETED.
UH, WELL, WE'RE COMPLETING 12 PROJECTS AND HAVE THREE AND ACTIVE DESIGN BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, WHICH IS REALLY EXCITING.
AND WE'VE STARTED TO ACCELERATE THAT AGAIN WITH THE SUPPORT OF NEW POSITIONS IN OUR DEPARTMENT, BEING ABLE TO REALLY PUSH FOR ACCELERATING HOW MANY LOCATIONS THAT WE'RE ANALYZING AND HOW MANY ARE GETTING IMPLEMENTED OVER TIME, WE'VE GOT 15 PRIORITY LOCATIONS ALREADY SELECTED AND SCOPING AND DESIGN WORK IS STARTING.
WE DO KNOW THAT OVER, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE IS THAT TRYING TO COVER 300 PLUS SQUARE MILES OF THE CITY IS GOING TO TAKE TIME.
AND, UH, WHEN PEOPLE ARE DYING AND SEVERELY INJURED IN CRASHES ON A REGULAR BASIS, WE NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT QUICKER.
SO WE REALLY SHIFTED OUR FOCUS, NOT ONLY TO THE LARGE AND MEDIUM SCALE INTERSECTION PROJECTS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, WE'RE STARTING TO DO INTERN TREATMENTS.
YOU'RE GOING TO START SEEING A LOT MORE DELINEATOR POSTS AND PAINT ON THE ROADWAYS TO PREVENT CERTAIN CRASH TYPES.
WE'VE GOT ONE OF THE BEST DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AROUND CRASHES IN THE COUNTRY, AND WE'RE ABLE TO SEE SPECIFIC CRASH TYPES, THAT SPECIFIC LOCATIONS, AND GO OUT AND TRY TO ADDRESS THOSE AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN WITH LOW COST AND RAPID BUILD PROJECTS.
IN ADDITION TO THE LARGE ENGINEERING, UH, WORK THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING OVER THE, OVER THE COURSE OF THE BONDS ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT SYSTEMIC SAFETY.
UH, THIS IS ONE WHERE YOU START TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE CONDITIONS THAT EXIST
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ON THE ROADWAY NETWORK AND START TO UNDERSTAND WHAT KIND OF TREATMENTS MIGHT ADDRESS THOSE PARTICULAR CRASH PATTERNS THAT ARE CAUSING THE MOST SEVERE CRASHES IN OUR COMMUNITY.AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE DID, UH, WITH THE HELP OF A CONSULTANT TO BE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHICH CRASH TYPES ARE MOST FREQUENT, WHERE DO THOSE CONDITIONS EXIST, NOT ONLY WHERE THE CRASH HISTORY IS, BUT TO BE PROACTIVE AND START TO ADDRESS LOCATIONS THAT HAVE THOSE SAME CONDITIONS BEFORE THEY BECOME A PROBLEMATIC LOCATION.
WE MAKING PROGRESS ON THIS, AND WE'RE GOING TO BE DEPLOYING THE FIRST, UH, SET OF COUNTER MEASURES AROUND CURVES IN PARTICULAR AND EARLY NEXT YEAR.
AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT SEEING THE IMPACT OF THAT PLAY OUT BECAUSE WE WILL BE ABLE TO DEPLOY DOZENS OF, OF TREATMENT, SAME TREATMENT AT DOZENS OF LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY TO TRY TO GET AHEAD OF THIS A LITTLE BIT.
I MENTIONED THE DATA ANALYSIS THAT WE DO, UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN CRASH TYPES THAT ARE MOST FREQUENT, THAT DO HAVE A SOLUTION THAT WE CAN TRY TO ADDRESS QUICKLY OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
ONE STRAIGHT ONE LEFT IS WHEN YOU'RE COMING UP TO A SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION AND YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE THAT LEFT TURN.
AND THERE'S AN ONCOMING VEHICLE, A DRIVER IN A VEHICLE.
AND YOU'RE TRYING TO JUDGE THAT GAP AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T GET HIT.
UH, IT'S HARD TO DO THAT, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT.
AND WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO GAUGE HOW FAST SOMEBODY ELSE MIGHT BE DRIVING AND WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING ON THE ROADWAY AT THAT TIME.
SO THAT'S ONE WHERE WE ABLE TO DO SIGNAL TIMING CHANGES, AND WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK WITH OUR SIGNAL ENGINEERS.
WHO'VE BEEN FANTASTIC AT ADJUSTING, LOOKING AT THE DATA ADJUSTING THE TIMES OF DAY WHEN THOSE PROTECTED TURNS ARE ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED.
AND WE'RE EXPECTING TO SEE THE LOWEST YEAR IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS FOR THIS TYPE OF CLASS CRASH BECAUSE OF THE, UH, SIMPLE, SIMPLE SIGNAL TIMING, UH, IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO WORKING WITH OUR ENGINEERS.
SO 30% REDUCTION OVERALL IN THIS ONE PARTICULAR CRASH TYPE, IT'S A VERY SEVERE CRASH TYPE.
AND SO IF WE COULD START TO MAKE PROGRESS ON DIFFERENT CRASH TYPES, WE'LL START TO SEE THAT IMPACT PLAY OUT OVER THE WHOLE NETWORK OVER TIME.
ALSO WANT TO MENTION OUR COORDINATION WITH TXDOT.
TXDOT IS A MAJOR PLAYER IN THIS.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, I THINK THERE'S A NUMBER OF, UH, FATALITIES THAT OCCUR ON THE, ON THE TEXTILE ROADWAY SYSTEM, JUST LIKE THEY OCCURRED ON THE CITIES, BUT IT'S AT A LARGER SCALE.
TYPICALLY THOSE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE HIGH SPEED AND LARGER.
AND SO THEY DON'T HAVE THE SAME KIND OF TRAFFIC CONTROLS.
THEY DON'T HAVE THE SAME KIND OF ENGINEERING TREATMENTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US ON THE CITY NETWORK.
BUT ONE THAT WE SAW THAT WAS HAPPENING FREQUENTLY WAS PEDESTRIANS CROSSING IN THE MIDDLE OF
AND WE SAW FOUR PEDESTRIAN DEATHS PER YEAR IN 2018 AND 2019, WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY A TREATMENT THAT WE THOUGHT WAS AN INTERIM TREATMENT.
IT DOES NOT SOLVE FOR THE LACK OF CROSSINGS, BUT IT DOES SOLVE FOR THE IMMEDIATE NEED OF TRYING TO PREVENT THOSE PEDESTRIAN DEATHS.
AND WE SAW THIS AND WE STARTED TO WORK WITH TEXTILES WHO HAVE BEEN GREAT PARTNERS IN IMPLEMENTING THIS.
THEY'VE IMPLEMENTED THIS FROM THAT STRETCH OF 51ST UP TO RUNDBERG.
AND WE'VE SEEN ONE FATALITY AS TO FOUR OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS INSTEAD OF A YEAR.
SO REAL PROGRESS REAL LIVES SAVED.
UM, IT'S HARD TO PROVE THE NEGATIVE, BUT WE KNOW WHAT THE TREND WAS.
AND NOW WE ARE SEEING A DIFFERENT TREND HAPPEN.
UH, THAT PARTICULAR TREATMENT, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTING THAT ACROSS MUCH LONGER SECTIONS OF
ALSO WANT TO MENTION THE HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
THIS IS FEDERAL FUNDS THAT COME THROUGH FOR SAFETY PROJECTS.
WE'VE FOCUSED PARTICULARLY ON LIGHTING.
UH, WHEN WE TALK AGAIN, TALK ABOUT THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND THE CONDITIONS THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT MIGHT LEAD TO SEVERE CRASHES.
LIGHTING IS A SERIOUS ONE THAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER ADDRESSING.
AND SO WE IDENTIFIED LOCATIONS THAT HAD THE TOP DARK AND UNLIT CONDITIONS STARTED TO WORK WITH, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY AND TECH STOCK TO TRY TO IMPLEMENT THOSE, UH, TO IDENTIFY PROJECTS THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT TO ADDRESS THE LIGHTING NEEDS THERE.
AND SO THOSE WILL START TO BE ROLLING OUT EARLY NEXT YEAR AS WELL.
UH, WE'LL SEE CAMERON ROAD, UH, FOR THE FIRST LIGHTING PROJECT AND WE GOT HOWARD AND SLAUGHTER ON DECK.
UH, ONE, I MENTIONED A COUPLE OF AREAS WHERE WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS NEW PEDESTRIAN SAFETY LAWS THAT PASSED FROM THE STATE, UH, MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS THAT WERE DRIVING AND HIT SOMEBODY IN A CROSSWALK WERE PROSECUTED FULLY FOR THAT BEHAVIOR AND THAT INCIDENT.
AND WE HAD SOME COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS AROUND THAT, UH, IN THE EARLY, EARLY SEPTEMBER, UM, MAYBE LATE AUGUST TIMEFRAME AS THOSE LAWS BECAME LAW.
AND THEN, UH, SAFEST DRIVER COMPETITION.
MANY OF YOU ALL HELPED OUT TO TRY TO PROMOTE THIS SAFEST DRIVER COMPETITION.
THIS IS A MOBILE APPLICATION TO ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO NOT PICK UP THEIR PHONE WHILE THEY'RE DRIVING.
WE'VE, UH, GLAD TO REPORT THERE'S OVER 1300 PARTICIPANTS IN THE SAFEST DRIVER COMPETITION.
WE'VE SEEN 800 PLUS HOURS OF UN-DISTRACTED DRIVING THROUGH THIS COMPETITION.
THAT'S DOCUMENTED, THEY'RE NOT PICKING UP THEIR PHONE OR USING IT.
IT'S A PILOT TO SEE IF THAT SORT OF APPROACH AND STRATEGY MAKES SENSE FOR US TO DEPLOY, UH, AT A LARGER SCALE IN THE FUTURE.
AND THE LAST ONE IS THE VISION ZERO STORIES.
AND THIS IS ONE WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPACTS TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AS YOU SAW IN THE FIRST COUPLE OF SLIDES, THIS IS IMPACTING EVERYBODY ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, FATHERS AND SONS AND DAUGHTERS AND MOTHERS AND SISTERS AND BROTHERS.
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ALL KNOW SOMEBODY WHO'S BEEN IN A SEVERE CAR CRASH.AND THAT, AGAIN, DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ACCEPTABLE.
WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW NOT JUST THE NUMBERS, BUT THE IMPACT TO OUR COMMUNITY FROM THAT INITIATIVE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE ROLLING THAT OUT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, AND WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE, UH, HOPEFULLY THE COMMUNITY REACTION TO THAT AS WELL.
DO YOU WANNA SPEND A MINUTE TALKING ABOUT TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT? UM, WE STARTED TO ANALYZE WHEN THE CITATIONS RELATED TO TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS WERE HAPPENING AND PARTICULARLY A SUBSET OF SPEEDING.
SO THE LIGHT BLUE IS TRAFFIC RELATED CITATIONS.
THE DARKER BLUE IS SPEEDING CITATIONS AS A SUBSET OF THAT.
AND THE LINE THAT YOU'RE SEEING IN THE ORANGE IS THE NUMBER OF K THE FATALITY AND SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES THAT HAPPEN.
UH, AND I THINK THIS ACTUALLY MIGHT BE ON THE PERSON'S BASIS AND NOT CRASHES.
SO SEEING THE TIME OF DAY AGAIN, WHEN THESE CRASHES ARE HAPPENING, VERSUS WHEN THAT PROACTIVE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT WAS AVAILABLE, WE STARTED TO SEE A TREND THAT WAS PLAYING OUT OVER YEARS.
AND SO WHAT NEED THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED AND TALKING WITH APD WAS TRYING TO STRATEGIZE WHAT THOSE POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES MIGHT BE TO ADDRESS THE NEED.
WE SEE THOSE GAPS WHERE CITATIONS ARE NOT AS HIGH DURING THE TIMES THAT WE'RE SEEING THE MOST SEVERE CRASHES HAPPENING.
HOW DO WE START TO REDEPLOY RESOURCES OR REPRIORITIZE? HOW DO WE START TO ADD ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO TRY TO REALLY ADDRESS THIS ISSUE OVER TIME? AND AGAIN, WE SEE THIS SAME PATTERN PLAY OUT YEAR AFTER YEAR, WHERE THE PEAK REALLY HAPPENS IN THE LATE EVENING PM PEAKS AND OVERNIGHT HOURS.
AND THEN THE NUMBER OF CITATIONS ISN'T QUITE MATCHING UP WITH THAT IN THAT PARTICULAR PERIOD.
I DO WANT TO MENTION AGAIN HOW GRATEFUL WE ARE.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF GREAT OPEN DIALOGUE WITH APD.
THEIR LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN FANTASTIC TO WORK WITH TRYING TO HELP US STRATEGIZE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE COULD TRY TO ADDRESS THIS CREATIVELY.
AND I THINK, UH, A GREAT THING THAT HAPPENED RECENTLY, THEY ACTUALLY CONVENED A MEETING WITH OTHER PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES IN THE REGION WHO HAVE OVERSIGHT OVER AUSTIN AND STARTED TO TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT APPROACHES THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER FOR ADDING THOSE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND THOSE OVERNIGHT PERIODS, PARTICULARLY ON OUR FREEWAYS AND SERVICE ROADS AND HIGH-SPEED ARTERIALS.
SO WE COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
UH, LASTLY, THE NO REFUSAL PROGRAM IS ANOTHER ONE THAT WE'VE SECURED FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
UH, Y'ALL PROBABLY SEEN THE NEWS REPORTS SAYING IT'S, IT'S NEW.
IT'S NOT ALL THAT NEW, UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING THAT THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHTS CONSISTENTLY WHEN WE SEE THE MOST IMPAIRED DRIVING AND IMPAIRED DRIVING CRASHES.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE, UH, HAVING THAT NO REFUSAL PROGRAM IN EFFECT THAT CAN BE ANY NIGHT OF THE YEAR THAT WE DETERMINED WITH APD WHEN THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, TRYING TO FOCUS ON AREAS OF TOWN, PARTICULARLY ON FREEWAYS, WHERE WE'RE SEEING THE MOST SEVERE CRASHES.
AND AGAIN, THAT NO REFUSAL PROGRAM ENSURES PEOPLE GET A BLOOD TEST SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY FULLY PROSECUTE THOSE IMPAIRED DRIVERS FOR THAT BEHAVIOR.
SO JUST GET THROUGH THE LAST COUPLE OF SLIDES ABOUT SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM ITEMS HERE.
SO IN ADDITION TO OUR CONTINUED INITIATIVES, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY NEED TO IDENTIFY A PATH FOR THIS NARROWLY DEFINED, SPEEDING, IMPAIRED DRIVING FOCUS, UH, OVERNIGHT HOURS, EARLY MORNING HOURS, AND HIGH SPEED ROADWAYS.
THAT'S WHERE WE SEE A LOT OF THESE CRASHES HAPPENING.
AND I THINK IF WE COULD HAVE THAT NARROWLY DEFINED APPROACH, UH, IN LINE WITH WHAT WE'VE HEARD THROUGH REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY, WE WANT IT TO BE ABOUT THE DRIVER BEHAVIOR AND NOT ABOUT THE DRIVER AND NOT ABOUT ECONOMIC OR REGULATORY ISSUES.
THIS IS ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY AND FROM A PUBLIC SAFETY PERSPECTIVE, WE KNOW THAT'S THE HIGHEST PRIORITY NEED AT THIS POINT.
WE ALSO WANT TO INCREASE THE COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE PUBLIC.
UH, YOU'LL BE SEEING THOSE ROLLOUT IN THE, IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, MAKE SURE THAT WE GOT THAT PUBLIC AWARENESS AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO MAKE SIGNAL TIMING IMPROVEMENTS, PARTICULARLY AROUND PROTECTING TURNS.
UH, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT WORKING TOWARDS A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A STANDARD THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
SO WE'LL SEE CONSISTENCY AROUND THESE MAJOR ARTERIALS, WHERE THOSE TURNS ARE MOST DIFFICULT.
AND WE'RE GOING TO TRY SOME NEW THINGS AS WELL.
WE'RE GOING TO BE PILOTING, UH, DYNAMIC SPEED, DISPLAY DEVICES, D STDS.
UH, TYPICALLY YOU'VE SEEN THOSE IN NEIGHBORHOODS.
YOU'VE SEEN THEM ON COLLECTORS.
WE'RE GOING TO BE TRYING THOSE, THAT SOME OF THE HIGHER CRASH ARTERIAL LOCATIONS AND SEE IF THAT'S GOT AN IMPACT ON THE SPEEDS THAT WE'RE SEEING AROUND TOWN.
AGAIN, ANOTHER APPROACH THAT TRIES TO ADDRESS THE FACT THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE MANPOWER TO BE OUT THERE AT THE MOMENT, UH, THE WOMANPOWER TO BE OUT THERE AT THE MOMENT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO REALLY ADDRESS THAT THROUGH OTHER WAYS TO AT LEAST MAKE PEOPLE AWARE OF HOW FAST THEY'RE ACTUALLY GOING ON THE ROADWAYS.
LONG-TERM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO SCALE UP.
UH, AGAIN, I, I CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH HOW APPRECIATIVE WE ARE OF THE COMMUNITY OF THIS COUNCIL TO PROVIDE US THE FUNDS THROUGH BONDS AND THE POSITIONS FOR OUR DEPARTMENT TO BE ABLE TO REALLY RAMP UP WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
WE KNOW THAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TIME TO GET THERE, BUT MAURICE HAS RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE DEDICATED TO IT, THE STRONGER AND MORE LIKELY WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE PROGRESS FASTER ON THAT.
ANOTHER AREA FOR LONGTERM CHANGE REALLY IS ABOUT LEGISLATIVE CHANGES.
UM, THE REALITY IS WE DON'T HAVE MUCH IN THIS STATE TO BE ABLE TO, UH, WORK TOWARDS.
AND I THINK SOME LEGISLATIVE CHANGES MIGHT ACTUALLY ENABLE A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS TO HAPPEN, ESPECIALLY AROUND AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT.
UH, WE KNOW THERE'S BEEN CONCERNS ABOUT WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE AT THE STATE LEVEL.
UH, BUT THE REALITY IS IT'S VERY EFFECTIVE.
OTHER CITIES THAT ARE DOING VISION ZERO EFFORTS HAVE USED AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT, BOTH IN THIS COUNTRY AND ELSEWHERE.
AND THE ONES THAT HAVE MADE THE MOST PROGRESS TYPICALLY HAVE AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT AS PART OF THEIR STRATEGIES,
[00:25:02]
INCREASING THE PENALTIES.WHEN YOU WERE AT FAULT FOR CAUSING A COLLISION, WHEN THAT'S PROVEN THAT YOU WERE AT FAULT, WE HAVE THIS IN PLACE RIGHT NOW FOR ONE PARTICULAR BEHAVIOR, AND YOU COULD ACTUALLY INCREASE THAT FOR NOT ONLY SPEEDING, BUT DISTRACTED DRIVING AND OTHER KEY BEHAVIORS THAT WE SEE SHOW UP IN OUR SEVERE CRASHES AND THEN LOWERING THE BLOOD ALCOHOL CONTENT LIMITS.
UH, THIS IS ONE WHERE IT'S A LITTLE BIT, PROBABLY MORE DIFFICULT TO GET FULL SUPPORT ON THIS.
UM, BUT THERE ARE SOME STATES THAT HAVE DONE THIS, UH, RIGHT NOW IT'S 0.08.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND CITIES THAT HAVE MADE THE MOST PROGRESS ON TRAFFIC SAFETY, THEY HAVE MUCH LOWER LEVELS OF WHAT'S ACCEPTABLE TO BE BEHIND THE WHEEL.
AND SO GOING FROM POINT A TO 0.05 OR EVEN LOWER WOULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE IMPAIRED DRIVING THAT WE SEE ON OUR ROADWAYS.
AND THEN THE LAST PIECE, YOU KNOW, AS WE TRY TO ADDRESS THE SHORT-TERM NEED FOR ENFORCEMENT DURING THOSE KEY TIMES AND KEY LOCATIONS, UH, HAVING SOME DEDICATED RESOURCES TO DO THIS AGAIN, WE'VE HAD SOME GREAT CONVERSATIONS WITH APD LEADERSHIP ABOUT WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE TWO OR THREE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, IF THEY CAN GET THEIR STAFFING UP.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE WE'VE LOOKED AT DIFFERENT MODELS LIKE THEY HAVE OUT AT THE AIRPORT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, A DEDICATED UNIT THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO TRAFFIC SAFETY AT KEY TIMES TO KEY LOCATIONS THAT WOULDN'T BE PULLED OFF, CALL IT A CALL WHEN THOSE CALL VOLUMES ARE TOO HIGH OVERNIGHT.
SO I'M GONNA END THERE, UH, THE LAST, LAST PIECE, VERY IMPORTANT PIECE.
UH, ANOTHER THING THAT WE SEE AND MOST SUCCESSFUL, UH, VISION ZERO TYPE CITIES ARE SAFE SYSTEMS APPROACHES, YOU KNOW, THE, THE MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM BEING VERY SAFE OPTION.
UH, WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS THAT HERE IN AUSTIN.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ON THAT.
AND THE NEXT DECADE, UH, THE OTHER TRANSPORTATION BOND PROGRAMS CAN'T SPEAK HIGHLY ENOUGH OF, YOU KNOW, PROTECTED BIKE LANES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
IT'S GOING TO MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
BEING ABLE TO IMPLEMENT SIDEWALKS ACROSS THE CITY IS GOING TO MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
SO AGAIN, THAT COMMUNITY SPORT HAS BEEN REALLY IMPACTFUL AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE THE BENEFITS OF THAT PLAY OUT OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
SO I WANT TO LEAVE IT THERE AND MAKE SURE WE'VE GOT TIME FOR, UH, ANY KIND OF COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION.
AND THANK YOU AGAIN, REALLY APPRECIATE THAT PRESENTATION.
I WON'T BE ABLE TO ASK EVERY QUESTION THAT I HAVE.
UM, BUT, BUT THERE WAS A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION IN THAT PRESENTATION.
UM, BEFORE I GO TO ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE QUESTIONS THAT TOP OF MIND, THEY WANTED TO ASK COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS OVERDUE AND THE CONTEXT THAT YOU PUT IT IN.
AND I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN A PRIORITY FOR THE CITY FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
AND, AND IT'S, IT'S HEARTBREAKING TO SEE THE NUMBERS GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, EVEN IF IT'S GOING FOR THE WHOLE WHOLE COUNTRY.
UM, I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND BETTER WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE PROPORTION OF THE FATALITIES THAT ARE HAPPENING ON OR NEAR, UM, TXDOT RUN ROADS, AS OPPOSED TO CITY OF AUSTIN RUN ROADS.
AND THEN I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THAT COOPERATION THAT YOU MENTIONED, UM, WITH TEXTILE OR OTHER ENTITIES THAT, THAT ARE HELPING.
SO THE DATA SHOWS US THAT, UM, THERE'S THE DIFFERENCE OF TEXTILE BEING ON SYSTEM AND THE CITY IS OFF SYSTEM.
SO THE DATA SHOWS US THAT ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF THE FATALITIES THAT OCCURRED TO YOUR HAPPEN ON SYSTEM.
THAT'S CONSISTENTLY OVER THE PAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS, 65 TO 70%.
I THINK LAST YEAR MIGHT'VE EVEN BEEN AS HIGH AS 70% OF THE FATALITIES ARE HAPPENING ON SYSTEM.
AND THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A PRETTY GOOD RATIONAL EXPLANATION FOR THAT.
THE LARGER THE ROADWAYS ARE THE HIGHER SPEEDS.
THEY ARE THE LESS TRAFFIC CONTROL THAT'S ON THERE.
YOU'RE GOING TO SEE MORE INCIDENTS LIKE THAT.
CAUSE SPEED IS THE PRIMARY FACTOR.
SO TEXTILE ON SYSTEM ROADWAYS ARE TYPICALLY FRONTAGE ROADS, TYPICALLY THE FREEWAYS, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING PLAY OUT IN THE, IN THE SEVERITY OF CRASHES THAT HAPPEN.
AND SO WE'RE SEEING THE FATALITIES PLAY OUT THERE AS FAR AS THE RELATIONSHIP.
YOU KNOW, I THINK IN THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF, THERE'S BEEN, UH, SOME REALLY GREAT COORDINATION WITH THEM AS FAR AS UNDERSTANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEDERAL FUNDING, LIKE THE HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
AND I THINK IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'VE HAD OVER $5 MILLION AWARDED TO AUSTIN AND THAT'S ALL COORDINATION WITH THE DIFFERENT AREA OFFICES AND THEIR TRAFFIC SAFETY GROUP.
BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY THAT, PULL THAT FUNDING IN FOR AUSTIN AND START TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE NEEDS.
I THINK THEY'RE ALSO TAKING A DIFFERENT APPROACH, A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THAT SYSTEMS BASED APPROACH, UH, THAN THEY HAVE IN THE PAST.
AND SO THAT'S GOING TO BE GREAT PROGRESS AND WE CONTINUE TO BUILD THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM ON UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S POSSIBLE.
THE GEOMETRIC CHANGES ARE VERY DIFFICULT ON THESE KIND OF LARGER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT THEY'VE GOT, UM, SO THAT WE ALWAYS HAVE TO LOOK FOR OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIFFERENT STRATEGIES THAT MIGHT WORK ON THOSE.
SO WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WOULD THERE BE FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE ON CAMPO? BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE THE STATE HAS A VISION ZERO STATEWIDE PROGRAM.
UM, I THINK WE'VE BEEN PUSHING FOR, FOR, UH, IMPROVED POLICY AT CAMPO, BUT WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE FOR US? UM, SINCE TWO THIRDS OF THE CRASHES ARE NOT ON CITY OF AUSTIN ROADS, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY DO NEED TO STEP UP OUR EFFORTS,
[00:30:01]
UM, IN THAT COORDINATION.UH, I'LL TELL YOU, I THINK FOR A FULL, ROBUST ANSWER, I'D PROBABLY PREFER TO GET BACK WITH YOU AFTER A LITTLE BIT OF CONVERSATION WITH MY COLLEAGUES AND DIRECTOR, BUT I THINK THE, THE REALITY IS, YOU KNOW, THE PROGRESS WE CAN MAKE TOWARDS THIS ALIGNMENT OF GOALS.
AND I THINK, UM, TEXAS TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION IN MAY OF 2020, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, MAYBE 2019, THEY ACTUALLY DID ADOPT A ZERO FATALITY GOAL FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND THAT'S ZERO DEATHS BY 2050 AND HAVING THAT BY 2035.
SO THANKFULLY WE'RE ALIGNED ON THE POLICY GOAL, UH, HOW WE GET THERE MIGHT BE A LITTLE DIFFERENCE IN THE STRATEGY AND AGAIN, THEIR FACILITIES ARE QUITE DIFFERENT THAN OURS.
AND SO ON A REGIONAL BASIS, I THINK WE KNOW THE, THE CORE TYPES OF TREATMENTS AND STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE EFFECTIVE, UH, REGIONAL COOPERATION ON KIND OF STANDARDS AROUND USING SAFE SYSTEMS APPROACHES WITH OTHER MUNICIPALITIES THAT ARE IN THE REGION, UNDERSTANDING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE MAJOR ARTERIALS AND THE FREEWAYS ARE GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT APPROACH THAN, THAN WHAT WE'VE GOT ON OUR LOCAL ROADWAYS.
I THINK WE'D BE GLAD TO SHARE WHAT WE'VE LEARNED WITH OTHER REGIONAL PARTNERS AND BE ABLE TO BE A PART OF THAT CONVERSATION.
BUT AS FAR AS, UH, A FULL KIND OF LIST OF STRATEGIES, I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK WITH YOU ON THAT.
AND WHEN YOU DO, UM, PERHAPS YOU CAN THINK ABOUT, UM, CONCRETE STEPS THAT THOSE OF US WHO ARE ON CAMPO CAN TAKE, BECAUSE I THINK WE WOULD ALL LIKE TO DO OUR PART TO SUPPORT YOUR EFFORTS, UM, IN THIS REGARD.
UM, AND, AND JUST WANT TO PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER TO DO THAT.
I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN WAS NEXT.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER.
I THINK THAT, UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE OF INTEREST TO, TO HEAR WHAT YOU ALL MIGHT SUGGEST WITH REGARD TO, TO CAMPO.
UH, SO MY QUESTION IS JUST PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER, UH, WHERE WE SHOULD LOOK, UH, FOR THE LIST OF PRIORITY, UM, INTERSECTIONS AND ROADS FROM, UH, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THE PRIORITY AREAS THAT YOU ALL ARE WORKING ON.
I ALREADY ROADS IN OR INTERSECTIONS, WHERE CAN WE SEE THAT LIST? SURE.
SO AS IT RELATES TO THE BOND, THERE'S A, UM, I THINK IT'S AN OPEN DATA PORTAL PAGE.
THAT'S GOT THE 2016 INTERSECTION SAFETY PROJECTS AND THAT'S LISTED THERE AND YOU CAN SEE THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED, THE ONES THAT ARE IN DESIGN AND ANOTHER ONES THAT WILL BE HANDLED BY OUR COURT PROGRAM.
AND I THINK THAT'S ALL TIED INTO THE 2016 BONDS WEBPAGE SITES, UH, FROM A VISION ZERO PERSPECTIVE.
WE'VE ACTUALLY GOT AN INITIATIVE CALLED THE HENDRY ROADWAYS.
AND WE'VE GOT A WEBPAGE ON THAT WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO GO IN AGAIN WITH THESE KIND OF RAPID TREATMENTS, LOW COST.
THERE ARE 13 SEGMENTS IN THE CITY THAT CONSISTENTLY SHOW UP MULTIPLE INTERSECTIONS HAVING HIGH SEVERITY OF CRASHES.
AND THAT'S ONE WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE AS MUCH PROGRESS AS POSSIBLE, TRYING TO WORK WITH OUR COLLEAGUES OVER AT APD ON SOME TARGETED ENFORCEMENT IN THOSE LOCATIONS AND REALLY LEADING WITH THE ENGINEERING TREATMENTS THAT ARE THERE.
SO, UH, THOSE WOULD BE THE TWO SUGGESTIONS I'D HAVE FOR YOU.
THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION AS WELL.
UM, I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ARTERIAL STUDIES.
I KNOW THAT IN THE CORE WE HAVE LOWERED SOME OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S SPEED LIMITS, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT SIGNAGE BECAUSE IT HAS ACTUALLY LIKE A YELLOW BANNER AT THE TOP THAT SAYS NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND SO IT REALLY TELLS YOUR BRAIN, YOU NEED TO SLOW DOWN, YOU KNOW, THERE CAN BE CHILDREN IN THE STREET OR, YOU KNOW, ANIMALS, OR JUST PEOPLE IN GENERAL, TRYING TO GET ACROSS THE STREET.
UM, WHAT ABOUT THE NON-CORE ARTERIAL STUDY? HOW HAS THAT GOING? SURE.
SO SPEED MANAGEMENT EFFORTS ARE LED BY OUR TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING GROUP AND WE'VE GOT A CONTRACT IN PLACE TO GO OUT AND COLLECT ALL THE DATA THAT NEEDS TO BE COLLECTED IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE U S LIMITS TO SAFE KIND OF SPEEDS APPROACH.
AND SO WE'VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO GATHER ALL THAT DATA AND INFORMATION.
I THINK THERE ARE ACTUALLY UNDERWAY CURRENTLY, AND WE'LL BE COLLECTING THAT DATA IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
SO I WOULD ANTICIPATE, UH, I DON'T WANT TO PUT A TIMELINE ON IT CAUSE IT'S NOT MY GROUP IN PARTICULAR, BUT I WOULD ANTICIPATE, UM, GETTING AN UPDATE ON THAT EARLY NEXT YEAR, TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ARTERIALS OUTSIDE OF THE URBAN CORE, WHAT THE TIMELINE MIGHT LOOK LIKE FOR CHANGING SPEED LIMITS ON THOSE.
I DO KNOW WHAT THE POLICY THAT WAS PASSED LAST JUNE.
IT'S ABOUT 20% OF OUR HIGH INJURY NETWORK WAS COVERED WITH THAT.
AND SO WE DEFINITELY WANT TO KEEP MAKING PROGRESS AND AGAIN, WITH THE RESOURCES THAT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED FOR IN THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE ACCELERATION OF THAT.
UM, I KNOW IN A DISTRICT LIKE MINE, A LOT OF OUR STREETS, THEY DON'T QUALIFY AS CORE ARTERIAL STREETS, BUT THEY ARE WIDER.
AND SO EVEN IF THE SPEED LIMIT IS NOT HIGH PEOPLE DRIVE AT HIGH RATES OF SPEED.
AND SO WE'RE SEEING THIS IN A LOT OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND A LOT OF THE ARTERIAL STREETS IN MY DISTRICT AND PROBABLY IN OTHER DISTRICTS THAT ARE MORE ON THE OUTSKIRTS.
UM, YOU SEE THESE WIDER LANES, PEOPLE DRIVE FASTER, CREATING THAT DANGEROUS SITUATION.
UM, SO I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT STUDY BEING COMPLETED.
UM, THE DYNAMIC SPEED DISPLAYS ARE ALSO REALLY HELPFUL.
UM, I'VE, I'VE SEEN THEM IN ACTION WHERE PEOPLE HONESTLY JUST DON'T REALIZE THEY'RE
[00:35:01]
SPEEDING.YOU KNOW, THEY'RE COMING DOWN A HILL OR, YOU KNOW, THE STREET HAPPENS TO BE WIDE AND PEOPLE ARE, ARE SPEEDING.
AND WHEN THEY SEE THAT BLINKING LIGHT, I CAN SEE THEM PUTTING THEIR BRAKES ON AND THEY REALIZE, OOPS, I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE GOING THAT FAST.
THIS, THIS IS A NEIGHBORHOOD STREET, OR THIS IS AN ARTERIAL THAT NEEDS, THAT NEEDS A LITTLE MORE THOUGHT AND CARE AS PEOPLE ARE DRIVING THROUGH THEM.
UM, AND THEN THE SAFEST DRIVER APP, IT'S REALLY EXCITING TO HEAR THAT INFORMATION.
CAN YOU GIVE IT A QUICK PLUG AND WHERE DO PEOPLE GO TO DOWNLOAD THAT APP? WHAT'S IT CALLED? UM, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S FASCINATING THAT PARTICIPATING IN A CHALLENGE LIKE THAT IS HAVING A REAL, A REAL CHANGE IN FOR PEOPLE BEHIND THE WHEEL.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? ABSOLUTELY.
AND THANKS FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CERTAINLY ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE PILOT PARTNERSHIP WITH SAFE TO SAVE.
IT'S, UH, IT'S ONE OF A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS THAT WE'VE SEEN OUT THERE.
UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM TO, TO PROMOTE THIS AND IT'S USING SAFE TO SAVE APP.
YOU SIGN UP WITH A CODE FOR THE AUSTIN COMPETITION.
ALL OF THAT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON A WEBPAGE ON OUR VISION ZERO WEBPAGE.
SO ANYBODY GOES, AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV AND VISION ZERO.
YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FIND THAT, UH, YOU JUST DOWNLOAD THE APP, YOU, YOU KNOW, AGREE TO THE TERMS AND YOU SIGN UP, BUT THEN YOU'RE ABLE TO, UM, BE A PART OF THAT.
AND SO YOU'RE NOT ONLY EARNING REWARDS TO BE ABLE TO USE THAT LOCAL BUSINESSES OR BUSINESSES IN THE LOCAL AREA.
UM, BUT YOU'RE ALSO PART OF THE COMPETITION SIGNING UP FOR CASH PRIZES.
UH, THERE'S GOING TO BE A GRAND PRIZE WINNER OF $3,000.
UM, THEY'VE GOTTEN SPONSORSHIPS FROM STATE FARM TO BE ABLE TO FUND THAT AND WORKING WITH FARM AND CITY A NON-PROFIT GROUP TO BE ABLE TO ADMINISTER THOSE.
SO THERE'S CASH PRIZES INVOLVED.
UM, AND AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S ALL IN THE NAME OF SAFE DRIVING.
WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE DATA AT AN AGGREGATE LEVEL.
YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE, WHERE ARE THE LOCATIONS WHERE PEOPLE ARE PICKING UP THEIR PHONE THE MOST, UH, ON AN AGGREGATE LEVEL AND, AND, UH, HOW MANY HOURS OF UN-DISTRACTED DRIVING ARE WE SEEING FROM THIS? THE, THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE BEHIND THE INCENTIVE-BASED MODEL IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE REAL INTERESTED IN EXPLORING AND UNDERSTANDING BECAUSE IT IS VERY DIFFICULT AS ALL THE RESEARCH SHOWS.
IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO GET INDIVIDUALS TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR ONE BY ONE, UH, IF WE CAN DO IT ON A LARGER SCALE, THAT'S GREAT, BUT THAT'S WHY WE CONTINUE TO LEAD WITH ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS BECAUSE THAT'S HOW YOU MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, NOBODY'S GOING TO BE SURPRISED WHEN THEY'RE GOING 70 IN A 50, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT REALLY SHOULDN'T BE, UH, UH, POSSIBLE ON THAT ROADWAY.
AND SO HOW DO WE START TO DESIGN OUR ROADWAYS, OPERATE THEM IN A WAY THAT PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THAT CHANCE, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, UH, I THINK JUST AWARENESS IS ALWAYS A GOOD STARTING POINT.
UM, AND IS, IS YOUR TEAM INVOLVED IN, I'VE SEEN SOME OF THE BIKE LANES, ESPECIALLY IF YOU GO DOWN SOUTH CONGRESS, THERE'S THIS EFFORT TO CHANGE THE TURN RADIUS.
SO INSTEAD OF BEING WIDER WHERE PEOPLE CAN TAKE THE CURVE FASTER, NOW YOU REALLY HAVE TO SLOW DOWN TO MAKE A RIGHT-HAND TURN.
IS THAT PART OF THE VISION ZERO PROGRAM, OR IS THAT ANOTHER EFFORT OF THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT? YES, IT'S UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK EVERYTHING'S IN THE NAME OF SAFETY, RIGHT? WE'RE ALL TRYING TO MAKE IT SAFER ON OUR ENVIRONMENT.
AND WE'RE SEEING TREATMENTS LIKE THE LEFT TURN HARDENING AS IT'S CALLED IN OTHER LOCATIONS.
AND WE WANT TO TRY TO BORROW AND PILOT SOME OF THAT HERE, ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO ENSURE THAT DRIVERS ARE ABLE TO SEE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE USING THE CROSSWALK APPROPRIATELY, BE ABLE TO PREVENT THAT CRASH FROM HAPPENING.
YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO DO THOSE PARTICULARLY AT THE COST.
I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A BENEFIT COST RATIO OF, OF AN AMAZING AMOUNT TO BE ABLE TO SAVE A LIFE, SAVE A SERIOUS INJURY JUST BY ADDING SOME PAINT AND POSTS IN THAT PARTICULAR LOCATION.
SO THERE ARE TREATMENTS LIKE THAT THAT WERE REALLY STARTING TO RAMP UP AND HAVE A BETTER MENTALITY TOWARDS THE LOW COST RAPID TREATMENTS IN OUR CITY.
AND SO HOPEFULLY PEOPLE START TO SEE THAT PLAY.
I KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA WHERE I DRIVE AND BICYCLE AND WALK, I'VE REALLY NOTICED, UM, THAT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MULTIMODAL, UM, TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS IS HELPFUL.
IT'S A LITTLE TRICKY GETTING USED TO SOME OF THE TIGHTER TURNS, BUT YOU REALLY DO HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF, I CAN LOOK BEHIND ME AND SEE IF THERE'S A BICYCLE IS COMING A LOT EASIER THAN WHEN THE, WHEN THE TURNS ARE A LITTLE WIDER.
UM, I THINK THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT I'M GOING TO ASK TODAY.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM MY COLLEAGUES BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO ANOTHER PRESENTATION? ALL RIGHT.
UM, I DO APPRECIATE THE SLIDES.
THERE WAS ONE BEFORE I LET YOU GO.
UM, I JUST COULDN'T SEE ON THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF IT, THERE WAS A MAP THAT TALKED ABOUT, LET ME SEE IF I CAN FIND IT.
UM, I'LL SHOW YOU, IT WAS SLIDE NUMBER 13.
UM, DOES THAT LIVE SOMEWHERE ON YOUR WEBSITE WHERE I COULD GET A BETTER PICTURE, JUST SO I CAN SHARE IT WITH MY CONSTITUENTS.
IT JUST WAS KIND OF CUT OFF ON, ON THAT CORNER.
SO I WANTED TO SHARE THAT WAS A SCREENSHOT.
SO THAT'S MY BAD FOR NOT CAPTURING THE WHOLE CITY THERE.
I WAS JUST TRYING TO GIVE AN IMPRESSION, BUT THAT'S ON OUR SPEED MANAGEMENT WEBSITE.
IT'S A MAP OF WHERE ALL THE SPEED LIMIT CHANGES THAT WERE PASSED BY COUNCIL IN 2020 WILL BE OCCURRING OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO, UH, THAT MAP IS DEFINITELY AVAILABLE.
YOU CAN ACTUALLY ZOOM IN ZOOM OUT WHICHEVER WAY YOU'D LIKE TO GO WITH IT.
WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR INFORMATION THAT WE CAN SHARE WITH OUR CONSTITUENTS, AND I'M SURE I'M SURE OTHER PEOPLE WANT TO SEE IT AS WELL.
BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM, WHICH IS GOING TO BE THE AIRPORT, ADA ACCESSIBILITY ITEM, I DID JUST WANT
[00:40:01]
TO BRIEFLY MENTION THAT, UM, WE DID NOT BRING UP CITIZENS COMMUNICATION.IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE INDIVIDUALS SIGNED UP DID NOT CALL IN, IS THAT STILL THE CASE? OKAY, SO WE'RE GOING TO MOVE PAST THAT ITEM.
[4. Americans with Disabilities Act Mobility at Austin Bergstrom International Airport (20 minutes).]
THE NEXT ONE WILL BE ITEM NUMBER FOUR, AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT MOBILITY AT AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TODAY TO PRESENT OUR ACCESSIBILITY AT AUSTIN AIRPORT AND THE TRAVEL JOURNEY FOR OUR PASSENGERS AND SOME OF THE REGULATIONS AND THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE AT THE AIRPORT, UM, SPECIFICALLY ON THIS NEXT SLIDE, UM, WE, I'M GOING TO COVER JUST A LITTLE BIT OF THE REGULATIONS THAT WE ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH AND WE REGULARLY WORK WITH, UH, FIRST IS THE AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT, THE ADA, WHICH, UM, MOST OF ALL THE REGULATIONS, UM, OR ALL OF THE REGULATIONS WE DEAL WITH, I SHOULD SAY, UH, FOR HABITS, US FROM DISCRIMINATION AGAINST DISABILITY, UM, AND BE ABLE ALSO GIVES US SOME GUIDELINES OF HOW TO PROVIDE THAT ACCESSIBILITY AT AN AIRPORT ENVIRONMENT.
UM, SOME OF THE REGULATIONS, UH, APPLY FOR EITHER RAIL OR BUS SERVICE OR AIRPORT.
UM, ALSO THERE'S SOME SPECIFIC, UH, TO AIRLINES AS THE AIRLINE CARRIER ACCESS ACT.
AND THAT SPECIFICALLY TALKS ABOUT, UM, AN EMPHASIZES, NO DISCRIMINATION TO DISABILITY FOLKS ON BOARD OF AIRCRAFT AND OF HOW TO BOARD THE AIRCRAFT OR HOW TO HANDLE THE SITUATIONS.
UM, IT ALSO GIVES THEM GUIDELINES OF, UM, HOW TO, UM, ASSIST THE PASSENGERS WITH DISABILITY, UH, REGARDLESS OF WHAT TYPE OF DISABILITY IT IS, AND ALSO GIVES US SOME GUIDELINES.
UM, OVERALL, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HAS THAT OVERSIGHT FOR THE AIRLINES AND STABILITY TRAINING PROGRAMS AND COMPLIANCE, BUT, UM, ADD THE AIRPORT, DEFINITELY LIKE EVERY OTHER AIRPORT, THE AIRPORT FOLKS, UM, BY THE CITY DEPARTMENTS AND THE CARRIERS AND THE TENANTS WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE, UH, WE ALL OWN THAT SERVICE FOR THE CUSTOMERS, UH, REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION AND THAT THE CURBSIDE TO THE PLANE OR THE CURBSIDE TO THE SKY AS WE CALL IT IS A FOLLOW THROUGH AS A SERVICE PROVIDER THROUGHOUT THE AIRPORT.
SO, UM, HERE JUST A QUICK HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE OBLIGATIONS THAT WE HAVE, AND SOME OF THEM ARE SUGGESTED, AND SOME OF THEM ARE REQUIRED SPECIFICALLY FOR ADA 5 0 4, AND WE ARE ACTUALLY IN FULL COMPLIANCE WITH ALL OF THEM, EVEN IF THEY ARE SUGGESTED OR JUST RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO ADA COMPLIANCE OVERVIEW, UM, AS I MENTIONED QUICKLY, THE AVIATION DEPARTMENT WORKS WITH THE AIRLINES AND TENANTS, UH, TO ENSURE THE COMPLIANCE WITH THE AIRLINE ACCESS ACT REQUIREMENTS.
UH, WE ALSO, THE AIRLINES HAVE A CONTRACT IN MOST AIRPORTS WITH A THIRD PARTY WHEELCHAIR SERVICE PROVIDERS, SPECIFICALLY TO WHEELCHAIRS.
UH, BUT ALSO THE AIRLINE IS RESPONSIBLE TO PROVIDE THAT ASSISTANCE, UM, TO, TO CUSTOMERS.
AS SOON AS THE CUSTOMER IDENTIFIES THEMSELVES AT THE TICKET COUNTER FOR THE AIRLINE, THEY CAN REQUEST SOME OF THAT SPECIALIST IS SINCE, AS THEY'RE BOOKING THEIR TICKET, BUT AS SOON AS THEY IDENTIFIED HIMSELF.
SO THE DAY OF THE TRAVEL AT THE TICKET COUNTER, THE AIRLINES TAKES OVER THAT OWNERSHIP OF THAT SERVICE AND ASSISTANCE.
UM, AS FAR AS THE DEPARTMENT OF AVIATION ITSELF, UM, WE HAVE A DESIGNATED ADA COORDINATOR THAT WORKS WITH DFA, WORKS WITH THE CITY, UM, ADA COMMITTEES.
WE ALSO WORK WITH THE AIRLINES TO ENSURE THAT COMPLIANCE AND TO HANDLE, UM, ANY OF THE COMPLAINT FORMS THAT WE HAVE ON OUR WEBSITE AVAILABLE TO THE, TO OUR CUSTOMERS OR ANY CONCERNS, AND ALSO WORK WITH OUR PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, BECAUSE PART OF THE ADA'S ALSO IN THE PLANNING EITHER WE ARE MODIFYING, ENHANCING, UPGRADING A FACILITY THAT EXIST TODAY, OR EVEN BUILDING NEW FACILITIES.
UM, AND SOME OF THAT WOULD BE FOR EXAMPLE, A STEP FREE ACCESS THROUGHOUT THE TERMINAL AND THE FACILITIES AT THE AIRPORT FOR PASSENGERS WOULD WHEELCHAIRS NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SPECIFICALLY ALSO AT AUSTIN, UM, AIRPORTS, WE HAVE A ADA COMPLIANCE SHUTTLES THAT BUSES THE PASSENGERS THROUGHOUT THE CAMPUS FROM THE OUTLYING PARKING LOTS AND, UM, OR ECONOMY LOSS, WHAT WE CALL IT, UM, THAT IT AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY CONTRACTOR.
ALSO, WE ALSO HAVE PET RELIEF AREAS FOR SERVICE ANIMALS.
UM, SO PASSENGERS NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE A SERVICE ANIMAL DUE TO THEIR DISABILITY THROUGHOUT THE TERMINAL.
WE HAVE SERVICE PET RELIEF AREAS BEFORE AND AFTER THE TSA CHECKPOINTS.
WE HAVE GUEST SERVICE STAFF THAT ARE S UM, CITY EMPLOYED, UM, THROUGHOUT THE, TO PROVIDE INFORMATION AND ALSO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE, UM, AND GUIDE THE PASSENGERS TO THE RIGHT PATH THROUGHOUT THE TERMINAL.
WE ALSO HAVE THE WAYFINDING TO SPECIFIC, UM, ASSISTANT PROGRAMS AND THEN VISUAL PAGING SCREENS.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING WITH TECHNOLOGY TODAY'S CONTINUOUSLY ENHANCING ON A DAILY BASIS.
SO WE WERE LOOKING AT WAYS TO IMPROVE THE TECHNOLOGY USAGE ALSO, AND ALSO THE PA SYSTEM FOR THE FOLKS THAT ARE, UM, VISUALLY IMPAIRED BY ABLE TO HEAR THE ANNOUNCEMENTS.
[00:45:01]
THE WAY WE THINK OF ACCESSIBILITY AT THE AIRPORT IS NOT ONLY ALSO DURING NORMAL OPERATIONS, BUT ALSO THROUGH, UM, EVACUATIONS FOR EXAMPLE, OR EMERGENCIES OR INCIDENTS AND HOW WE CAN GET TO THOSE FOLKS TO MAKE SURE WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE AIRPORT.UM, WHEELCHAIR SERVICE, AS I MENTIONED, IS PROVIDED AT THE AIRPORT, BUT IS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY CONTRACTED BY THE AIRLINES.
AND OF COURSE WE ALSO HAVE THE LANGUAGE TRANSLATION SERVICES THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR FOLKS THAT DO NOT ABLE TO SPEAK ENGLISH.
UM, IN ADDITION TO WE HAVE TRAM SERVICE AND I HAVE MORE ABOUT THAT LATER, SOC UH, ADDRESS IT IN A LITTLE BIT.
AND THEN OF COURSE OUR FACILITIES, EITHER RESTROOMS OR WATER FOUNTAINS, UM, OR EVEN THE ELEVATORS AS PART OF A DESIGN FROM DAY ONE, THE AIRPORT WAS BUILT.
THERE IS ACCESSIBILITY THROUGHOUT, UH, COMPLY WITH THE REGULATIONS.
SO, UH, SPECIFICALLY TO THE RIDE SHARE AND TAXI, UM, AS I HEARD, UM, FROM THE COUNCIL MEMBERS REQUEST LAST TIME, UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS THE RIGHT SHARE, AND THE TAXI SERVICES ARE ABLE TO DROP OFF AT THE CURB SIDE ON THE DEPARTURE LEVEL FOR DROPPING OFF PASSENGERS.
SO THERE'S ACTUALLY NO WALKING DISTANCE.
THEY WALK INTO THE CURB, DROP OFF ON THE CURBSIDE AND WALK INTO THE TERMINAL RIGHT AWAY FOR THE DEPARTURES FOR THE ARRIVALS IS WHERE THE RIDE SHARE IN THE TAXI IS LOCATED IN OUR GROUND TRANSPORTATION CENTER.
AND SPECIFICALLY THAT HAPPENED IN 2018.
WE OPENED THAT CENTER, UH, IN, IN, IN SEVERAL REASONS, ONE, UM, THE CONGESTION OF THE CURBSIDE AND THE SAFETY ISSUES FOR CROSSING AND THE TRAFFIC BACKUP.
UM, IT DID NOT WORK VERY WELL, BUT BETWEEN THE COMBINATION OF THE PRIVATE PICKUPS AND ALSO THE RIDE SHARE PROGRAM, AND BECAUSE OF THE DWELL TIME FOR THE RIGHT SHARE AND TAXI, BY THE TIME YOU ORDERED THE SERVICE AND THE EVENTUALLY THE MARRYING BETWEEN THE CUSTOMER AND THE VEHICLE, THERE'S A LOT OF DWELL TIME.
SOMETIMES THAT ADDS TO THE CONGESTION AND THE VOLUME THAT WE WERE EXPERIENCING.
AND WE ARE TODAY, THE SAME THING, UH, PRE COVID.
AND NOW TODAY AS A RECOVERY, UM, IS ACTUALLY BOOMING.
WE WERE SEEING THE SAME CONGESTION ISSUE.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE RIDESHARE HAD MOVED INTO THE GROUND TRANSPORTATION.
UM, WHAT WE HAVE THOUGH TO MAKE THAT DISTANCE, UM, ACCESSIBLE AND ACTUALLY MORE COMFORTABLE FOR OUR PASSENGERS IS WE DO HAVE ELEVATORS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BUILDING.
IT'S ABOUT A 900 OR SO, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT LESS BETWEEN THE FRONT DOOR OF THE TERMINAL TO THE RIGHT SHARE.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UM, THE ARRIVAL LEVEL, THE TRAM SERVICE, OR MORE OF A GOLF CART LOOKING TRAIN THAT BE ABLE TO TAKE PASSENGERS FROM ONE END OF THE GARAGE TO THE OTHER END OF THE GARAGE WHERE THE RIDE SHARE IS NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, SO SPECIFICALLY IN A TRAM SERVICE, THAT'S WHAT THE VEHICLES LOOK LIKE.
THEY OPERATE FROM 9:00 AM TO MIDNIGHT.
THEY ARE AE OPERATED BY A THIRD PARTY AND THE AIRPORT PAYS FOR THAT SERVICE.
UM, THEY ARE ADA COMPLIANT AND THEY INCLUDE A WHEELCHAIR RAMP AND A CAR SPECIFICALLY FOR FOLKS THAT HAVE TO BE IN A WHEELCHAIR AND CANNOT TRANSITION FROM A WHEELCHAIR TO A REGULAR CHAIR.
UM, AND AS I SAID, THEY DROP OFF AT THE TAXI SHARE RIDE LEVEL WITH ELEVATORS ALSO TO THE RENTAL CAR.
SO THE FOLKS THAT WANT TO GO TO THE RENTAL CAR, NOT JUST SPECIFICALLY TO RIDE SHARE, THEY CAN STILL UTILIZE THE TRAM SERVICE FOR FREE, FOR SURE.
IT IS COVERED IN A LOWER LOVER OF THE RED GARAGE.
SO IT'S OUT OF THE ELEMENT, UM, AND IT REDUCES, UM, THE, UH, BAGGAGE CLAIM LEVER TO TRANSIT FROM THE BAGGAGE ARRIVAL LEVEL, NOT THE DEPARTURE LEVEL.
SO SPECIFICALLY FOR WHEELCHAIR SERVICE, WHEELCHAIR SERVICE AT THE AIRPORT, UM, AND SIMILAR TO ALL OTHER AIRPORTS.
AND I WON'T READ EVERY BULLET IN HERE, BUT IT REALLY BOILS TO ON A DEPARTURE SIDE, THE PASSENGER REQUESTED ON THE BOOKING TIME THEY CAN DURING THEIR BOOKING RESERVATION OR WHEN THEY GET TO THE TICKET COUNTER, THEY CAN ACTUALLY REQUEST IT WITH THE AIRLINE AT THE TIME, UH, WHATEVER ASSISTANCE THEY HAVE, EITHER AS BEING WHEELCHAIR OR SOMETHING ELSE.
UM, THE THIRD PARTY, ONCE THEY GET NOTIFIED BY THE AIRLINES, WE'LL TAKE THE PASSENGER ALL THE WAY TO THEIR GATE, UM, ASSIGNMENT, AND ALSO MAY ABLE TO HELP THEM EITHER GET TO A PET RELIEF AREA IF THEY HAVE A PET WITH THEM OR A RESTROOM, IF THEY NEED TO, OR SO, UM, ONCE THEY GET TO THE GATE, THEY MEET WITH THE GATE AGENT AND THE GATE AGENTS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THAT THAT PASSENGER WILL GET ON THE, ON THE FLIGHT AND THEY OFFERED THEM A PRE-BOARDING PASS.
SO THEY'RE ABLE TO BOARD AND HAVE, UM, EXTRA TIME TO BOARD THE AIRCRAFT BEFORE THE REST OF THE PASSENGERS GET IN ON THE ARRIVAL SIDE.
THEY REQUESTED AGAIN FROM THE DESTINATION THEY'RE COMING FROM, THEY COME INTO THE AUSTIN AIRPORT AND ARRIVE.
IF THEY HAVE A WHEELCHAIR SERVICE REQUESTED, IT WILL WAIT FOR THEM IN A JET BRIDGE.
UM, THE AIRLINE, UM, CREW WILL MANAGE TO MARRY THE PASSENGER WOULD THE WHEELCHAIR SERVICE FOLKS, AND THEY WILL TAKE THEM ALL THE WAY TO THE BAGGAGE CLAIM OR AGAIN, TO THE, TO THE CURBSIDE FOR PICKUP WHAT WE HAVE.
UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF THE SUMMARY OF THAT SERVICE.
I CAN TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN HELP AGAIN, UH, WHEN WE'RE FORWARD.
[00:50:01]
OKAY.THANK YOU UM, SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON AND, UM, WE'RE ACTUALLY MAKING, IT'S HAVE SOME OF IT AS A SERVICE IS ALREADY AVAILABLE.
IT'S JUST PROBABLY WAS NOT ADVERTISED CORRECTLY IN THE TERMINAL THROUGHOUT THE FACILITY.
SO AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE AN ADA COORDINATOR.
WE HAVE, UM, MADE SOME IMPROVEMENT TO OUR AUS WEBSITE INFORMATION.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE A TAB THAT'S CALLED ACCESSIBILITY, THAT FOLKS THAT BEFORE THEY TRAVEL, THEY CAN PREPARE THEIR AND UNDERSTAND HOW TO MANEUVER THROUGHOUT THE AIRPORT.
UH, WE HAVE A SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT, EMAIL ADDRESS SPECIFICALLY TO ADA, UM, REGARDLESS, AND WE HAVE A DIFFERENT OTHER, SO THAT WAY IT DOESN'T GET MIXED UP WITH OTHER REQUESTS AND OTHER EMAILS THAT WE GET FOR OTHER AIRPORT PROJECTS.
UH, WE HAVE ALSO A WEB BASE, UM, ADA FEEDBACK FORM THAT FOLKS CAN FILL THAT FORM IF THEY HAVE AN ISSUE OR THEY WOULD LIKE TO US TO LOOK INTO SOMETHING THEY'RE ABLE TO FILL THAT FORM ONLINE.
AND WE CAN SEE THAT, UH, WE ALSO ADJUSTED OUR PA SYSTEMS. UM, LAST WEEK AFTER THE FEEDBACK WE GOT FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS TO ADD THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRAMP SERVICE AVAILABLE IN THE LOWER LEVEL, UH, WE HAVE VISUAL PAGING, AS I MENTIONED, AND THROUGHOUT THE AIRPORT.
AND NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT IMPROVING IT A LITTLE BIT MORE TO BE ABLE TO ADD A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THE LANGUAGE IN THE LINE BECAUSE OF THE CAPACITY OF THE SCREEN AND WHERE THEY ARE IN THE TERMINAL.
UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT ALSO DOING DEDICATED TRAINING FOR OUR AVIATION STAFF TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY HOW THE JOURNEY CAN GOES FROM POINT A TO POINT B SO THEY CAN HELP THE CUSTOMERS OR ANY OF THE QUESTIONS THEY HAVE.
AND SO GIVE THEM MORE INFORMATION TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE TO THE CUSTOMERS.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO LOOKING NOW AT DIGITAL CURBSIDE SIGNAGE THAT THE CUSTOMER WILL SEE WHEN THEY ARRIVE, UH, AT EITHER LEVEL OF THE AIRPORT TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE HAVE A WHEELCHAIR SERVICE AND HAVE TO REQUEST ONE FROM THE AIRLINE AND THE PROCESS OF THEY'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, EXCUSE ME, AND ALSO DIRECTIONS AND INFORMATION ABOUT THAT TRAM SERVICE THAT WE HAVE ON THE LOWER LEVEL.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE SUMMARY OF WHAT WE HAVE AT
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS SPECIFIC.
THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THAT PRESENTATION TOGETHER.
THAT WAS A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION FOR US TO SEE.
DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE? LET'S START WITH MAYOR PRO TEM AND THEN VICE CHAIR.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IT WAS VERY, VERY HELPFUL, AND I'M HAPPY TO SEE ALL OF THE COMBINATIONS THAT ARE IN PLACE FOR FOLKS, UM, WITH VARYING DEGREES OF ABILITY.
UM, I'D LIKE TO ASK, GIVEN THAT THE WHEELCHAIR PROVISION IS OUTSOURCED TO A THIRD PARTY.
WHAT, WHAT ASSURANCES DO YOU ALL HAVE THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE SUFFICIENT? UM, AND MAYBE EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW DO, HOW DO WE MONITOR COMPLIANCE? UM, GOOD QUESTION.
SO THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS.
WE DO HAVE OUR OWN AUDIT OFFICE AT THE AIRPORT THAT WE AUDIT CONTRACTS THROUGHOUT THE AIRPORT ON THE SERVICES WE DO, UM, A SECRET.
UM, WHAT WE SIMILAR IS OUR SECRET SHOPPER, WHERE WE ACTUALLY GO AND WATCH.
WE HAVE OPERATION STAFF THROUGHOUT THE TERMINAL 24 7, WATCHING THE FOLKS THAT ARE, DO SERVICES AT THE AIRPORT, WHEELCHAIR OTHERS.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE INFORMATION BOOTH AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE, THE TERMINAL FOR ANY CUSTOMERS THAT ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH ANY OF THE SERVICES THAT THEY HAVE AT THE AIRPORT, BUT ALL IN ALL IS SPECIFICALLY TO ADA IN WHEELCHAIR SERVICE.
UM, IT'S ONE OF THE ONES ITEMS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON WITH THE AIRLINES TO CREATE A CONSORTIUM, UM, WHERE THEY CAN ACTUALLY ALL AGREE ON ONE SERVICE PROVIDER AND BE ABLE TO MONITOR VERSUS SEVERAL SERVICE PROVIDER THROUGHOUT THE AIRPORT.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UH, POST COVID THAT A LOT OF THE FOLKS AT THE AIRPORT HAS SUFFERED OR HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH IS THE SHORTAGE OF STAFFING, UM, AND AVAILABLE STUFF TO BE ABLE TO OFFER ANY SERVICE, EITHER BEING THE SHUTTLE DRIVERS OR EVEN THE, THE CONCESSION FOLKS AND WITH THE NUMBERS THAT WOULD A RECOVERY THAT WE'RE SEEING AS FAST AS, UM, ACTUALLY, UH, FASTER THAN WE ANTICIPATED.
THAT IS PART OF THE ISSUE THAT WE'RE HAVING ON SOME OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING WHEELCHAIR FOR SERVICES, AS THERE'S A SHORTAGE OF STAFFING, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES, HOWEVER, THE AIRLINES AND SOME OF THEM SPECIFICALLY I'VE SEEN AIRLINE CRUDE THEMSELVES, OR AIRLINE TICKET COUNTER FOLKS OR SERVICE, UM, REPRESENTED AIRLINE REPRESENTATIVE, PUSHING THE WHEELCHAIRS THEMSELVES TO, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE AND CLOSE THAT GAP OF THE STAFFING ISSUE THAT WE'RE HAVING TODAY.
AND IT DEFINITELY SPEAKS TO THE POLICY, BUT THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE POLICY IS MY QUESTION.
UM, IF, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, SOMEONE WERE TOLD THAT THE SHUTTLE WASN'T RUNNING BECAUSE OF COVID HOW, WHAT WOULD BE THE RESPONSE FOR THAT PERSON? UM, IF, FOR EXAMPLE,
[00:55:01]
A PERSON NEEDS WHEELCHAIR SERVICE AND FRANKLY, YOU KNOW, DOESN'T GET IT IN A TIMELY MANNER.UM, I KNOW, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, A SITUATION WHERE A PERSON HAD TO WAIT LONG ENOUGH TO WHERE THEY MISSED A FLIGHT.
UM, THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT I WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THERE ARE SOME PROTECTIONS FOR SOME LEVEL OF QUALITY CONTROL.
I APPRECIATE THE AUDITS, BUT I JUST DON'T KNOW THAT IT GETS TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER OF, UH, OF A CUSTOMER BEING ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY SECRETLY.
UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS I MENTIONED THAT WE'RE WORKING ON ON THOSE DIGITAL SIGNS THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE TERMINAL FOR PASSENGERS TO ACTUALLY THERE'S, THERE WILL BE DISPLAYING THE AIRPORT CENTER, NUMBER FOUR, THE AIRPORT OPERATION CENTER, THAT IF A CUSTOMER HAS A MAJOR CONCERN, THAT THEY CANNOT ADDRESS WITH THE WHEELCHAIR SERVICE PROVIDER OR THE AIRLINE RIGHT THERE ON THE SPOT, THEY CAN CALL THAT NUMBER AND REQUEST FURTHER ASSISTANT TO HAVE AN OPERATIONS PERSON, A SYSTEM.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE WILL DO, WE'RE DOING, UM, RIGHT ON THE SPOT TO FIX THE SITUATION RIGHT THERE.
BUT AS FAR AS THE, UM, THE OTHER THINGS WE CAN WORK ON WITH IS WORKING AGAIN WITH THE AIRLINE AND THE CONSORTIUM.
SO WE CAN HAVE METRICS ON, UM, REQUEST TIME, THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS WITH WHEELCHAIRS AND ANY OF THE ISSUES THAT RISE TO MATCH IT WITH THE COMPLAINT FORM THAT WE HAVE ONLINE.
SO WE WERE HAPPY TO LOOK INTO THAT FOR SURE.
THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE ALONG THOSE LINES IS WHAT EXPECTATION IS PUT IN PLACE BY WAY OF COVID PROTOCOL FOR CHAIRS TO BE SANITIZED.
UM, AND I HAD THAT REMINDER OF MY SLIDES, WHAT I FORGOT TO SPEAK TO IT.
UM, SO THE COVID REQUIREMENTS IS STILL, AGAIN, WE ARE ONE OF THE HIGHEST AGENCY OR DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY THAT WE HAVE STRINGENT STRICT REGULATIONS IDFA FROM THE DAY ONE.
AND WE STILL HAVE THOSE WHERE THEY'RE REQUIRING THE MASK IN PLACE, UM, AND DISINFECTING.
SO THAT IS A PRACTICE THAT WE HAVE THROUGHOUT THE AIRPORT, TERMINAL ALL THE SERVICE PROVIDERS, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY DO AND OUR FATE FACILITY FOLKS, UM, THE DISINFECTING SOLUTIONS AND THE, THE AMOUNT AND THE TIME THAT THEY DO.
SO OUR AIRPORT ACTUALLY GOES THROUGH THIS HUGE THROUGH CLEANING, UM, PRACTICES THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT HOURS.
AND THEN THROUGHOUT THE TERMINAL, THE, THROUGH THE DAY WE HAVE, UM, PRACTICES IN PLACE TO DISINFECT THE FACILITIES.
UM, SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE REQUIRED TO CLEAN UP AND DISINFECT THE ITEMS THAT THEY'RE USING.
UM, CONCESSIONS HAVE CERTAIN REGULATIONS AND PROTOCOLS IN PLACE.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE SERVICE PROVIDERS HAVE AND THEY PROVIDE ON A DAILY BASIS.
THEY'RE ALSO REQUIRED TO WEAR THE MASK THROUGH, UH, EXCUSE ME, THROUGHOUT THE TERMINAL.
IT MIGHT WHERE THEY MIGHT PROBABLY THE AREA THAT THEY'RE WALKING BETWEEN THE TERMINAL AND THE RIDESHARE BECAUSE IT'S OUTDOORS, BUT MOST OF THEM HAVE BEEN WEARING A MASK FROM DAY ONE.
AND THE DISINFECTING, UM, IS A PRACTICE FROM THE AIRPORT FROM DAY ONE.
WE HAVE OPERATION STAFF, UM, INSPECT THAT REGULARLY EVERY DAY.
THERE WAS ONE LAST THING I WANTED TO SAY.
I REALLY LIKED THE IDEA OF A CONSOLIDATED EFFORT FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS.
I THINK THAT WOULD HELP TO SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS.
UM, UH, CERTAINLY ONE SIZE DOESN'T FIT ALL AND I DON'T THINK ALL SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE PROVIDING THE SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE.
UM, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THE IDEA OF GETTING ONE COLLECTIVE EFFORT WITH THE SAME, YOU KNOW, WITH UNIFORM PROTOCOLS.
THANK YOU FOR THOSE QUESTIONS.
VICE-CHAIR KELLY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THANK YOU, MAYOR PRO TEM FOR BRINGING THIS ITEM FORWARD FOR US, ACTUALLY WITH MY ANKLE INJURY, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE A EXPERIENCE THAT I HAD AT THE AIRPORT RECENTLY RELATED TO USING THE WHEELCHAIR.
I WAS ABLE TO GET DROPPED OFF AT CURBSIDE.
THE WHEELCHAIR PROVIDER WAS ABLE TO COME OUT FOR ME AND TAKE ME TO MY GATE AND THROUGH SECURITY.
IT WAS A VERY, UM, GOOD STREAMLINED EXPERIENCE THAT I HAD.
I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT WE WANT TO KEEP TRACK OF THE SUCCESSES THERE.
AND ALSO SOME WAYS THAT THE PROCESS MIGHT BE SMOOTHER.
I WILL SAY THAT GETTING THROUGH THE TSA LINE SEEMED A LITTLE BIT MORE EFFICIENT FOR SOMEONE WHO WAS IN A WHEELCHAIR.
UM, THE ATTENDANT GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO STOP AND GET SOMETHING TO EAT BEFORE WE GOT TO THE GATE AND ALSO GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE THE BATHROOM BY TAKING ME BY THERE.
AND IT WAS JUST OVERALL A GOOD EXPERIENCE THAT I HAD.
AND I KNOW THAT IT'S NOT ALWAYS GOING TO BE ALWAYS GOING TO BE GOOD FOR EVERYONE.
SO I'M EXCITED TO HEAR THAT THERE ARE WAYS THAT PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE A LESS THAN IDEAL EXPERIENCE ARE ABLE TO SPEAK UP ABOUT IT SO THAT WE CAN IMPROVE THE PROCESS.
UM, YOU TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT UPCOMING INITIATIVES AND IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS IN THE LINE OF WAYFINDING.
HOW DO INDIVIDUALS, IF THEY SHOW UP AT THE AIRPORT AND HAVE NOT REQUESTED ASSISTANCE YET, WHAT WOULD BE THEIR FIRST STEPS? IS THERE ONE BOOTH YOU GO TO, IS THERE A SIGN THAT TELLS YOU TO, YOU SAID COLLIN NUMBER MIGHT BE AN OPTION.
DO THEY GO TO THEIR TICKET COUNTER? WHAT'S THE BEST WAY FOR SOMEONE TO GET CONNECTED
[01:00:01]
WITH THE ADA SERVICES? UM, SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE IT'S CONNECTED TO THE AIRLINES.SO OUR, UM, UM, GUIDELINES ON THE WEBSITE AND THE INFORMATION IS THEY NEED TO GO TO THE TICKET COUNTER TO THE AIRLINE, WHICH FORTUNATELY OUR AIRPORT LAYOUT IS, IS SHORT ENOUGH THAT FROM THE CURBSIDE, THE TICKET COUNTERS ARE RIGHT INSIDE.
UM, AND THEY'LL BE ABLE TO GET THAT FOR THEM.
THAT IS THE NUMBER ONE WAY TO BE ABLE TO GET WHEELCHAIR SERVICE OR ASSISTANCE WITH ANY OTHER DISABILITY ISSUES WITH THE AIRLINE TO ENSURE ALSO, AS, AS PROTON MENTIONED, TO ENSURE THAT THEY DON'T MISS THE FLIGHT AND THAT SERVICES PROVIDED CAUSE THE WHEELCHAIR SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE ACTUALLY POSITIONED CLOSELY NEXT TO THE TICKET COUNTERS FOR EACH OF THE AIRLINES, WHOEVER UTILIZE, OR THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO CALL THEM ON THE RADIO RIGHT AWAY.
AND THEN I THINK I'VE SEEN, WHEN YOU CHECK INTO A FLIGHT, YOU HAVE AN OPTION TO SAY, I WILL NEED ASSISTANCE SO THAT IT'S ALREADY FLAGGED IN THE SYSTEM.
WHEN YOU SHOW UP AT THE AIRPORT, THEY KNOW THAT THAT'S CORRECT, AND THERE'S SOME WEBSITES AND MOST OF THEM WILL ASK, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ADD NOTES OF WHAT TYPE OF ASSISTANCE YOU NEED TO BEING AT A SERVICE DOG OR A BLIND OR DEAF OR LANGUAGE OR WHATEVER IT IS.
SO YOU CAN ALSO IDENTIFY SOME MORE INFORMATION.
SO THE AIRLINE HAVE THAT IN FRONT OF THEM.
WELL, THIS WAS REALLY HELPFUL TO SEE ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON.
ANY LAST QUESTIONS? NO, THANK YOU.
AND LET ME PULL UP MY SCHEDULE.
IT SEEMS THAT WE ARE MOVING IN.
UM, DO YOU HAVE A MECHANISM FOR CAPTURING, UH, FEEDBACK THAT YOU MAY RECEIVE FROM THE PUBLIC OR COMPLAINTS THAT YOU MAY RECEIVE FROM THE PUBLIC, UM, WITH REGARD TO ADA, UM, ACCESS OR ACCESS IN GENERAL? UH, YES, MA'AM WE HAVE, WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT WAYS ACTUALLY ON OUR WEBSITE.
SO UNDER ACCESSIBILITY TAB ON OUR WEBSITE, SPECIFIC LEADERS, ONE FOR FORMS THAT THE CUSTOMERS CAN PUT INPUT IN AND GIVE US THEIR COMPLAINT OR FEEDBACK THAT THEY HAVE SPECIFICALLY TO ADA, BUT ALSO, UM, OUR WEBSITE, OUR GENERAL WEBSITE, OUR AIRPORT INFO AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.
WE GET ALL THOSE EMAILS FOR ANYTHING THAT HAS AT THE AIRPORT AT ANY, FROM ANY CUSTOMER.
SO THERE'S TWO WAYS FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK.
AND THEN WHAT DO YOU ALL DO WITH THAT FEEDBACK? SO SPECIFICALLY, UM, WE HAVE FOLKS DEDICATED TO REVEAL THEIR EMAILS ON A REQUEST, UM, READ THROUGH IT, UH, FORWARD IT TO THE RIGHT DEPARTMENT FOR THE ANSWERS TOGETHER AND LOOK INTO IT AND PROVIDE ANSWERS TO THE CUSTOMER, UH, BACKFILL VIA WHATEVER TOOL THAT THEY PROVIDED BEING TEXT, EMAIL, OR PHONE CALL.
HAVE YOU GOTTEN MUCH IN THE WAY OF COMPLAINTS OR CONCERNS RAISED ABOUT ACCESS? W WE GET ONCE, YOU KNOW, WE GET SOME EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, IT'S, IT'S NOT SOME, A NUMBER THAT I WOULD SAY DEFINITELY, UM, RAISE A CONCERN, BUT IT'S STUFF THAT WE LOOK INTO AND SEE WHY SOME OF IT, FOR EXAMPLE, IS THE WAIT TIME.
UM, AND AGAIN, SOMETIMES AGAIN WITH THIS TODAY'S WORLD, WE HAVE, UM, THE STAFFING IS A HUGE ISSUE ACROSS THE WHOLE AIRPORT AND ACROSS EVERYWHERE IN OUR COUNTRY, I THINK.
UM, BUT WE DEFINITELY MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, ANSWERED THE CUSTOMER.
WHAT WOULD, WHATEVER SERVICE, SOMETIMES IT'S MISINFORMATION, THEY WEREN'T, UM, AVAILABLE TO THEM, OR THEY DID NOT KNOW THAT WE HAVE SERVICES AVAILABLE LIKE THE TRAM SERVICE.
SO, UM, AGAIN, THOSE ARE THINGS WE TAKE AS LESSONS LEARNED BECAUSE WE OWN EVERY EXPERIENCE.
OUR CUSTOMER HAVE NO MATTER WHO'S PROVIDING THAT SERVICE AND WE MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENTS AND WE DEFINITELY SEND THE FEEDBACK STILL TO THE CUSTOMER.
THAT WAS ALSO A GOOD QUESTION.
WELL, THE ONLY THINGS LEFT ON OUR AGENDA, UM, FOR THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION
[5. Update from the Chair of the Urban Transportation Commission (UTC) regarding recent UTC actions from the September 7, 2021 meeting (10 minutes).]
COMMISSION, THE CHAIR MR. CHAMPION WAS UNABLE TO JOIN US TODAY, BUT THE INFORMATION HE WANTED TO SHARE IS POSTED IN BACKUP.SO WE WILL LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM HIM AT ANOTHER MEETING,
[7. Identify items to discuss at future meetings (5 minutes).]
AND THEN WE HAVE FUTURE ITEMS TO IDENTIFY SOME OF WHICH WOULD INCLUDE THE, UM, EMERGING MOBILITY TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE DID NOT TAKE UP TODAY, THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT TOOL FOR PROJECT CONNECT.AND THEN ONE OF MY IDEAS WAS FOR OUR NEXT MEETING, WAS TO DO A ONE YEAR RECAP OF HOW PROJECT CONNECT AND THE TRANSPORTATION AND SAFETY MOBILITY BOND, UM, HAVE BEEN WORKING OVER THE PAST YEAR.
SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE AN INTERESTING TOPIC.
UM, THEY ARE ALSO CURRENTLY COLLECTING INFORMATION FOR ATX WALK, BIKE ROLE, AND THERE'S A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS SUCH AS, UM, THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN AND OTHER THINGS THAT ARE ONGOING THAT WE COULD ALWAYS TAKE UP.
SO IF THERE'S ANY OTHER FUTURE ITEMS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO IDENTIFY COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN ON PROJECT CONNECT, UM, WHAT IS OUR NEXT MOBILITY COMMITTEE MEETING? IS IT ABOUT A MONTH OR SO, OR I BELIEVE IT'S NOVEMBER 10TH.
IT MIGHT BE INTERESTING TO LOOK AT THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE
[01:05:01]
MEETINGS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.AND, UH, I, I, I THINK YOU'VE BEEN DOING THIS IN TERMS OF SCHEDULING PERIODIC PROJECT CONNECT UPDATES, BUT I THINK IT'D BE, UH, AND, AND SO YOU MAY ALREADY BE DOING THIS, BUT MY THOUGHT IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS, UM, THE, YOU KNOW, UH, GETTING THE, UM, THE LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE FOR LIKE THE ORANGE LINE AND THE, UH, BLUE LINE.
UH, AND I THINK THE TARGET IS BY THE END OF NEXT YEAR.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S GOING TO BE POINTS ALONG THE WAY THAT WE WANT TO BE SURE AND STAY, UH, STAY UP ON.
SO YOU MIGHT THINK ABOUT THOSE OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WHEN THEY REACHED 30% DESIGN, WHICH MIGHT BE NEXT SUMMER, UM, IT MIGHT BE USEFUL TO DO THAT.
SO, UM, SONYA JUST A THOUGHT, AND I THINK WHAT, YOU'RE, WHAT YOU PROPOSED A MINUTE AGO.
I KNOW WE HAVE OUR EYES ON A LOT OF DIFFERENT PROJECTS GOING ON IN TOWN, INCLUDING PROJECT CONNECT, I 35, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR REGULAR CITY PLANNING AND BOND IMPLEMENTATIONS.
AND SO THESE ARE CERTAINLY, UM, ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO KEEP ON OUR RADAR.
WE WILL ALSO NEED TO ADOPT, UH, ANOTHER SCHEDULE FOR NEXT MEETING DATES.
I THINK WE'RE GETTING TOWARD THE END OF OUR, UH, APPROVED MEETING DATES AND WE'LL NEED TO SORT OUT WHEN WE'RE HAVING MEETINGS IN 2022 MAYOR PRO TEM, I THINK YOU'RE MUTED.
UM, SO MY STAFF AND I, WE MET WITH, UH, WITH A BUILDER THIS WEEK, HE'S WORKING ON A TRULY IMPRESSIVE PROJECT IN DISTRICT ONE.
UM, YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY SEEN THE CHICAGO VMU IT'S ON CHICAGO, JUST NORTH OF, UH, 12TH STREET.
A LOT OF PEOPLE LOOK AT IT AND THINK IT'S JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF GENTRIFICATION, BUT INSTEAD IT'S ALL AFFORDABLE HOMES, ALL AFFORDABLE HOMES.
AND THEY INTENTIONALLY LOOK FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES FOR THE GROUND FLOOR COMMERCIAL SPACES.
UM, THEY'RE WORKING ON THE CHICAGO PHASE TWO RIGHT NOW.
AND LIKE I SAID, THE PLANS ARE REALLY INTERESTING.
AND I THINK SOMETHING THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE OTHER PROJECTS DUPLICATE WHEN AND IF POSSIBLE, UM, THEY'RE USING AFFORDABILITY UNLOCKED TO NEARLY QUADRUPLE THE AMOUNT OF AFFORDABILITY, AFFORDABLE UNITS THAT THEY COULD HAVE BUILT OTHERWISE.
UM, THEY DRASTICALLY REDUCED THE AMOUNT OF PARKING THEY'D NEED UNDER THE EXISTING ZONING.
AND ON TOP OF THAT, THEY ARE REALLY THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX WHEN IT COMES TO PROVIDING OPTIONS FOR THEIR RESIDENTS TO LIVE THERE WITHOUT HAVING TO OWN A CAR, UM, THINGS LIKE PROVIDING TWO ELECTRIC VEHICLES ONSITE, IT'S A SHARED, UH, THEIR SHARED VEHICLES OR RESIDENTS OF THE PROPERTY.
UM, AND I MEAN, I KNOW THAT WE, AS A MUNICIPALITY, WE HAVE OUR OWN WORK TO DO, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT REDUCING PARKING REQUIREMENTS IN THAT WAY THAT IT IMPROVES WALKABILITY AND PEOPLE CAN EXIST FOR THAT OCCUR.
SO WE NEED THOSE SIDEWALKS, SAFER CROSSINGS, ENCOURAGE BETTER TRANSIT.
UM, I THINK WE COULD ALSO USE SOME HELP FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
AND I THINK THIS ONE IS A REALLY GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT.
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE TO ASK US FOR ANYTHING.
THEY DON'T NEED ANYTHING, EVERYTHING THEY'RE DOING, THEY CAN GENERALLY DO BY.
UM, AND SO I I'D LIKE TO INVITE THE DEVELOPER TO COME IN AND TALK TO US, UM, IN GREATER DETAIL ABOUT WHAT IS IT THEY'RE DOING, HOW WE CAN HELP, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR OTHER BUILDERS TO BE ABLE TO DUPLICATE SOMETHING SIMILAR? I APPRECIATE THAT SUGGESTION.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE A REALLY INTERESTING TOPIC TO BE ABLE TO TAKE UP.
AND I'M GLAD THAT THEY'RE THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX, LIKE YOU SAID, ARE THERE ANY OTHER FEATURE ITEMS TO IDENTIFY? IF NOT, WE ARE FINISHED WITH OUR AGENDA, WE WILL SEE YOU NOVEMBER 10TH FOR THE NEXT MOBILITY COMMITTEE MEETING.