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[CALL TO ORDER]
EVERYBODY.IT IS MAY 3RD, 2022, UH, FIVE OR 7:00 PM, AND WE HAVE A QUORUM.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BRING THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING TO ORDER.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
ON THE AGENDA IS PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, CITIZENS, COMMUNICATION FOR ITEMS, NOT ON THE AGENDA FOR WHICH WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER SIGNED UP.OH, WAIT, DO WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR CHRIS? I DIDN'T NOTICE HE WAS GONE.
DID WE? ONCE I GOT THERE, DO WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR CHRIS TO DO THIS OR NO, WE DON'T NEED CHRIS.
YOU COME UP, UH, THREE MINUTES ON THE, UM, MIKE, MAYBE I FORGET.
IS THAT GOOD? YEAH, THAT'S GOOD.
UM, WE WOULD PROBABLY BETTER WITH TWO CANS AND A STRING, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER STORY.
UH, MY NAME'S MIKE LAVEY, UH, MOM LIFTED 95.
UH, THEY REQUIRED MOBILITY DEVICES.
I HAD A WRITER SHOT IN MEXICO, JAY, AND READ BULLET LODGE IN ITS, UH, SPINE.
UH, THEY SAID HE WOULDN'T WALK.
HE WALKED, YOU COULD LEAVE HIS FACE.
CONSTANT PAIN, NEVER BE ABLE TO HAVE A GOOD DAY, THE REST OF THEIR LIFE.
UH, MY OFFICE IS SIX IN CONGRESS THAT BIG BLACK TOWER I'M ON THE STREET ALL THE DAY, EVERY DAY, MOM AND DAD AND JAN WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO WALK IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN BECAUSE OF ALL THOSE SO-CALLED MOBILITY DEVICES, SCOOTERS THAT ARE ON EVERY SIDEWALK, LYING DOWN, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE MOBILITY IMPAIRED ARE CITIZENS.
THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO BE ABLE TO, UH, HAVE THE SAME DEGREE OF USAGE OF SIDEWALKS AND CROSSWALKS AS ANYBODY ELSE.
THIS CITY IS BEING CRUDE, UH, CRUEL TO THESE FOLKS, UH, TALKING TO THE PEOPLE WHO TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, UH, ABOUT NOT ONLY THE RIGHTS OF THE DISABLED, UH, THEIR EYES GLAZE OVER, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU TALKED TO THEM ABOUT ALL OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE BEING HURT AND KILLED WITH THESE SCOOTERS, UH, GAVE YOU ALL WHEN YOU'RE IN THE HANDOUT IS AN ITEM.
IT'S A STUDY BY, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH ON SCOOTER INJURIES.
UM, YOU KNOW, DOZENS EVERY WEEK AND MANY OF THEM ARE PROFOUND HEAD INJURIES.
UH, THEY'LL NEVER HAVE A GOOD DAY FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIFE, ASSUMING THEY LIVE.
UH, BUT LET'S GET BACK TO MOM AND DAD AND JAN, THEY CAN'T MOVE AROUND.
THE THREE OF THEM WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO MOVE AROUND DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.
AND EVERYBODY, I SEE THAT HAS A MOBILITY DEVICE, A WHEELCHAIR, A CANE, A WALKER.
THEY CAN'T USE OUR, UH, UH, OUR SIDEWALKS.
UH, YOU GUYS HAVE THE ABILITY BECAUSE SCOOTERS ARE EVIDENTLY UNDER THE PURVIEW, ACCORDING TO PEOPLE WITH TRANSPORTATION UNDER THE PURVIEW OF THIS, UH, COMMISSION, IF YOU WOULD JUST THINK ABOUT THE HUMANITY OF IT ALL, I'D BE GRATEFUL.
I MEAN, RIGHT NOW, THESE ARE, THESE ARE FOLKS.
I THINK EVERYBODY AT THIS COMMISSION KNOWS FOLKS WHO WERE OLDER, WHO WERE IMPAIRED ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
I THINK ABOUT THEM WHEN YOU WALK DOWNTOWN AND YOU SEE THAT THERE'S NO WAY THEY CAN USE THE SIDEWALKS BECAUSE YOU HAVE SCOOTERS LYING EVERYWHERE.
EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE STREETS, UH, WE HAVE 14,000 TRANSPORTATION, LICENSED AND TRANS, UH, TRANSPORTATION.
CAN'T JUSTIFY WHY 14,000 SCOOTERS ARE NECESSARY.
AND AUSTIN, THANK YOU FOR MY TIME.
UH, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA
[1. APPROVAL OF April 5th, 2022 MINUTES]
IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM APRIL 5TH, WHICH WERE EMAILED TO PEOPLE ARE IN YOUR PACKETS.IS THERE A, UM, QUICK ORDER QUESTION? DO WE HAVE TO HAVE ALL COMMISSIONERS HAVE THEIR CAMERAS ON, UH, UH, I REMEMBERED SOMEONE SAYING THAT, UM, I'M NOT PERSONALLY, I DON'T CARE EITHER WAY, BUT JUST SO WE DON'T GET IN TROUBLE IF COMMISSIONERS DON'T THAT'S CORRECT.
IF YOU COULD TURN ON YOUR CAMERAS, IT'D BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
I KNOW IT MAKES IT EASIER TO SEE HANDS.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM LAST TIME YOU APPROVE THE MINUTES? NOPE.
DID YOU, DID YOU SAY IT HERE? OKAY.
UH, ANY DISCUSSION ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES, RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY AYE.
ANY, ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? ALRIGHT.
THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED NOW WE'LL MOVE ON TO NEW BUSINESS.
[2.A. Austin Transportation Department Budget Overview]
UM, WE HAVE A KIND OF PACKED AGENDA.SO FIRST UP DIRECTOR, ROB SPILLER AND THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT WITH A BUDGET OVERVIEW.
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LET'S SEE THAT.THANK YOU, CHAIR AND COMMITTEE, UH, FOR ENTERTAINING US, UH, TO ALLOW US TO PRESENT YOU ARE F Y 23 BUDGET PROPOSAL THAT WE ARE TAKING FORWARD TO COUNCIL, UH, AND CERTAINLY INVITE, UH, INPUT AS WE MOVE FORWARD TODAY.
I'M JOINED BY ANTHONY SEEGER, MY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR THAT'S, UH, UH, OVER, UH, OUR FINANCE, UH, PROGRAM AND HAS HELPED PUT THIS BUDGET TOGETHER.
UM, I'M GOING TO RUN THROUGH THIS FAIRLY FAST, BUT PLEASE, UH, UH, ANY OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, PLEASE STOP ME AND ASK QUESTIONS.
UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS JUST TO REMIND YOU, UH, THE FIRST SLIDE HERE, UH, AS TO, UH, WHAT ATDS RESPONSIBILITY IS.
UH, OUR DEPARTMENT HAS A PRETTY DIVERSE AND OPERATION OF THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S EVERYTHING FROM, UH, 5,000 MILES, A ROADWAY MARKINGS, UH, TO, UH, 800 ON-STREET, UH, PAY STATIONS.
AND SO IT REALLY RUNS THE GAMBIT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANT YOU TO KEEP IN MIND AS WE MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION IS THAT, UH, INCREASINGLY WE WERE AT A POINT WHERE WE NEED TO START PLANNING FOR A GREATER MAINTENANCE OF THESE, UH, DEVICES THAT WE'VE BEEN PUTTING OUT OVER THE YEARS, WHETHER THEY BE BICYCLE DELINEATORS OR, OR THOSE PAY STATIONS, AS I TALKED ABOUT, UH, OR THOSE, UH, THAT STRIPING, WE NEED TO, UH, UH, BEGIN TO RECONFIGURE OUR BUDGET SO THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE LONG-TERM OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE OF THOSE, UH, ITEMS. UM, THE NEXT SLIDE I WOULD JUST WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS REMEMBER, WE ARE AN ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT, WHICH, UH, LIKE YOU WILL ALSO HEAR FROM PUBLIC WORKS.
UH, WE GENERATE OUR OWN REVENUE AND SURVIVE OFF OF THAT.
I KNOW EVERYONE'S GOING TO WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE STREET IMPACT FEE.
I'LL TALK JUST BASICALLY ABOUT THAT WHEN I GET TO THE CAPITAL FUND, BUT IN TERMS OF OPERATIONS, I WANT TO REMIND FOLKS THAT IT'S NOT JUST THE TRANSPORTATION USER FEE THAT, THAT WE COLLECT AND, AND USE AS PART OF OUR TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM, BUT IT'S ALSO A DEVELOPMENT FEES, COST OF SERVICE FEES, TRANSPORTATION, PERMITS, PARKING METERS, A VALET SPACE AND SIDEWALK CAFES, AND A USE OF THE RIGHT OF WAY.
I THINK SOMETIMES IT'S REALLY EASY TO TALK ABOUT PARKING FUNDS AND THE TRANSPORTATION FUND AND FORGET THAT THOSE TWO FUNDS THAT WE'LL BE FOCUSING ON ARE REALLY MADE UP OF A WHOLE COLLECTION OF FEES, UM, UH, THAT, THAT GENERATE EVERYTHING FROM QUARTERS TO DOLLARS.
UH, AND THAT THIS IS A MAJOR ELEMENT OF THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT IS FOCUSED ON GENERATING THESE FEES SO THAT WE CAN REINVEST THEM BACK INTO THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM AND THE OPERATIONS THERE.
UM, JUST A DEPARTMENTAL SUMMARY, UH, AS YOU SEE THERE, UM, UH, AS PART OF OUR MOBILITY FUND, UH, WE ARE PROPOSING FOR TRANSPORTATION AND INCREASE IN THE TRANSPORTATION USER FEE OF ABOUT $9 MILLION THAT EQUATES TO 85 CENTS PER MONTH.
UH, YOU'LL ALSO HEAR FROM PUBLIC WORKS THAT THEY ARE, UH, PROPOSING AN INCREASE IN THEIR PORTION OF THE TUFTS.
SO COLLECTIVELY, UH, THAT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE A $2 AND 34 CENT PROPOSAL.
UM, MUCH OF THAT IS BEING DRIVEN BY COST INCREASES DUE TO SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS AND, AND COMMODITIES THAT WE HAVE VERY LITTLE CONTROL OVER, UH, AS WELL AS WAGES.
AND SO, UH, JUST KNOW THAT, UH, WITHIN THE TRANSPORTATION, UH, DEPARTMENT SIDE, WE ARE INCREASING THE TUFTS SOMEWHAT TO PAY FOR ADDITIONAL VISION ZERO SERVICES, UH, AND SOME GROWTH IN SPECIFIC, UH, EFFORTS THAT WE THINK ARE IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD.
UH, THE PARKING MANAGEMENT FUND, UH, WE ARE INCREASING REVENUES BY EXPANDING OUR MANAGEMENT PROFILE IN THIS NEXT YEAR.
WE PROJECT AN INCREASE OF ABOUT ONE, 2.2 MILLION IN PARKING MANAGEMENT FEES.
AND SOME OF THOSE THOUGH WILL BE SHARED WITH PARKING MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS.
AND SO, UH, NOT ALL OF IT, UH, COMES TO, UH, TRANSPORTATION.
ALL OF IT GOES INTO TRANSPORTATION SERVICES.
SOME OF IT, WE ALLOW INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS TO HELP DECIDE ON THOSE DISTRIBUTIONS, A LITTLE PICTURE OF THE REVENUE YOU SEE THERE.
THE TRANSPORTATION USER FEE IS THE BIGGEST INCREASE, BUT ALSO LICENSE AND PERMITS.
UM, WE JUST SEE AN EXPLOSION IN DEVELOPMENT, UH, ACTIVITY THAT USES THE RIGHT OF WAY.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE THOSE DRAMATIC INCREASES IN THOSE TWO AREAS, BUT REALLY ACROSS OUR PORTFOLIO OF REVENUES, WE ARE INCREASING REVENUES, UH, THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT TO HELP US REINVEST, UM, EXCUSE ME.
AND YOU'LL SEE THAT OUR FY TWENTY-THREE PROPOSED REVENUE IS JUST OVER A HUNDRED MILLION AND ALL OF THAT GOES BACK INTO THE TRANSPORTATION OPERATIONS, UM, IN THAT YEAR.
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UH, YOU SEE THE EXPENDITURES THAT, THAT, THAT WILL THEN TAKE THOSE, UH, INCREASED REVENUES.ACTUALLY, WE'RE GOING TO BE SPENDING A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN WE BRING IN NEXT YEAR.
WE'RE DRAWING DOWN SOME OF OUR RESERVES, UH, TO MAKE SOME CRITICAL INVESTMENTS, UM, UH, ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT, UH, THE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, UH, YOU'LL SEE THERE AS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE, UH, THAT IS WHERE OUR VISION ZERO, UH, SIGNS AND MARKINGS, UH, AND ARTERIALS ARE LOCATED.
THAT'S REALLY WHERE WE'RE EXPANDING OUR, OUR MAINTENANCE OF, UH, DEVICES, UH, AS WELL AS IN PARKING FUND.
UH, I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A SECOND.
UH, BUT THE VISION ZERO, UH, INVESTMENT, UH, WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK TO INVEST IN, UH, MAKING SURE THAT ENFORCEMENT, UH, IS BACK OUT ON OUR STREETS, UH, ENFORCING SPEED LIMITS AND DANGEROUS ACTIVITIES, AS WELL AS THE INCREASED MAINTENANCE.
UH, THE PARKING FUND EXPENDITURES ARE, ARE INCREASING AS WE EXPAND, UM, THAT AREA OF SERVICE, UH, AND TRY TO CLOSE UP THE REMAINING, UH, HOLES IN OUR NETWORK WHERE THERE ARE UNMANAGED PARKING, UH, WITHIN PARKING MANAGEMENT AREAS.
AND SO WE'RE MOVING THAT FORWARD AS WELL.
UH, THIS JUST SHOWS YOU THE TWO FUNDS.
UH, THE BLUE LINE IS THE MOBILITY FUND AND THE PARKING IS THE GREEN FUND.
UM, WHAT'S CRITICAL HERE IS THAT BOTH REMAIN POSITIVE OUT INTO THE FUTURE.
FYI 27, THEY REMAIN POSITIVE WITH ENDING BALANCES OF 1.1 AND 1.6.
THE FACT THAT THE TWO LINES CROSS IS INSIGNIFICANT.
IT JUST MEANS THAT FOR THAT PARTICULAR YEAR AND FYI 23, UH, THE TWO FUNDS CROSS EACH OTHER, IT DOESN'T, THAT'S NOT SIGNIFICANT AS MY POINT.
UH, WHAT'S SIGNIFICANT IS THESE ARE INDEPENDENT FUNDS AND THEY BOTH REMAIN POSITIVE AS WE GO FORWARD INTO THE FUTURE.
CAN I ASK YOU ONE QUESTION? SURE.
WHY ARE THERE A BIG SPIKE IN F Y 19 ON THE, IN THE BLUE LINE, IF YOU KNOW, UM, THE, YOU MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO? SO THAT FY 19 REMEMBER WAS JUST BEFORE, UH, THE PANDEMIC.
AND SO WE HAD TO SPEND A FUND BALANCE TO KEEP THE OPERATIONS GOING.
AND SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THE BIG DROP.
UM, THE REASON THE TWO SEEM TO DIVERGE IN FY 19 IS BECAUSE, UH, THE PARKING TOOK A SPECIFIC KIT IN TERMS OF THE REVENUE THAT YEAR.
AND SO WE WERE HAVING TO FUND THE PARKING FUND TO KEEP IT SOLID.
SO IT REALLY IS THAT THAT'S, THAT'S D-DAY FOR THE PANDEMIC AS IT WOULD BE.
UM, WHY, WHY DID DEPENDENT MICROFACTORY REVENUE IN YEAR THAT THE PANDEMIC WAS NOT IN A, I THINK, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.
CAN YOU SAY THE QUESTION AGAIN, PLEASE? YEAH, I'M SORRY.
UH, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT FYI 19, UH, FUND BALANCES, EH, IN, IN REFERENCE TO THE PANDEMIC.
AND I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THAT CORRELATES, UM, WELL AT FY 19 PETE, AND THEY WENT DOWN RIGHT AFTER, UH, THE PANDEMIC, UH, IN TERMS OF FUND BALANCE BECAUSE WE WERE USING THE FUND.
AND SO WE WERE PLANNING A BIG YEAR IN FY 19, AND WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO SPEND ALL OF OUR FUN.
AND SO THEN IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAT, UM, OUR REVENUES WERE NOT SUFFICIENT TO KEEP OUR OPERATIONS GOING DURING THE PANDEMIC.
AND SO WE SUPPLEMENTED THAT WITH FUND BALANCE, IF THAT HELPS THE ANSWER.
I THINK JAMES ONE THING MIGHT BE THAT IF YOU LOOK AT
SO THAT'S WHAT THAT PEAK APPEARS LIKE THAT, BECAUSE THAT'S HOW I UNDERSTAND THAT.
THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO EXPLAIN THE MARIO.
UH, SO MOBILLY FUND SUMMARY, UH, AS PROPOSED, UH, YOU CAN SEE HERE THE FY 21 ACTUALS IN 22 ESTIMATED, AND THEN FYI 23, UH, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE'RE SPENDING DOWN THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR, THOSE FUND BALANCES, UH, REVENUES WILL BE GOING UP IN FY 23, UH, AS THEY DID AN FY 22.
UM, AND, UH, AT THE END OF THE YEAR, UM, UM, THE FUND BALANCE WILL BE, YOU KNOW, OUR TARGETS ABOUT 1 MILLION FOR THE END OF
UH, WE ARE PROPOSING 27 INCREASE OF 27 FTE IN
AND SO THAT, UH, UH, EATS INTO THAT INCREASED REVENUE THAT WE TALKED ABOUT BUILDING.
AND SO OUR FTS WILL GO UP TO ABOUT 3 35, UH, IN FY 23 WITH THE INCREASE OF 27 POSITIONS.
UH, THOSE WERE ALL FOR GROWTH POSITIONS AND, AND TO MAKE THAT WE ARE ALSO, UM, COMPLETING OUR EFFORTS, UM, THE PARKING FUND SUMMARY, UH, AS PROPOSED, YOU'LL SEE, UH, THE SIMILAR INFORMATION THERE,
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BEGINNING BALANCE, AND, AND WE'RE STARTING TO RECOVER INTO FY 23.AND SO WE'RE REBUILDING OUR RESERVES IN PARKING.
REMEMBER WE USE PARKING TO MAKE INVESTMENTS, UH, UH, CITYWIDE, UH, WE'RE ADDING 10 FTE.
THEY'RE MOSTLY IN SMART MOBILITY AS WELL AS, UH, IN ENFORCEMENT STAFF.
UH, SO ON THOSE INVESTMENTS, THESE ARE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE PROPOSED IN FY 23.
WE CONTINUE TO CONTRIBUTE OUT OF THE PARKING FUND INTO THE GREAT STREETS.
UH, UM, WE'RE STARTING TO PAY BACK, UH, UH, GEO DEBT, GENERAL OBLIGATION DEBT.
YOU'LL REMEMBER WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT WITH PARKS, UH, TO METER THEIR PARKING IN SPECIFIC AREAS.
PARKS OF COURSE, GETS THAT REVENUE.
UH, BUT OUT OF THAT REVENUE THAT WE KEEP BACK AS PART OF OUR EXPENSE, WE HAVE TO BUY THE STATIONS THAT SUPPORT THOSE ACTIVITIES, WHETHER THEY'RE USING THEM TO GET INTO, UH, BARTON SPRINGS OR TO PARK IN THE PARK ITSELF, THE REVENUE GOES TO THEM.
BUT PART OF OUR EXPENSES THAT WE PULL OUT IS TO PAY FOR THAT GENERAL OBLIGATION DEBT.
UH, AND YOU SEE A RANGE OF OTHER INVESTMENTS THERE, UH, UH, RANGING FROM RADIOS TO WORKER COMPENSATION, TO, UH, COMPENSATION ADJUSTMENTS, UM, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, A TOTAL INVESTMENT ESTIMATE OF 5 MILLION, A LITTLE BIT OVER $5 MILLION THERE OUT OF THE PARKING FUND.
UH, SO SOME CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS, UH, APPROPRIATIONS, UH, IN
AGAIN, THOSE, THOSE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PREVIOUS, UH, UM, APPROPRIATIONS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN SET.
AND SO FYI TWENTY-THREE WE'LL REALLY SEE A KICKUP IN THE AMOUNT OF, UH, CAPITAL INVESTMENTS GOING ON, UH, SOME KEY PROJECTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE STATE, OUR PARTNERS AT THE STATE, I 35, UH, COORDINATION PROJECTS.
UH, MIKE TREMBLE IS LEADING THE LID EFFORT.
AND SO THERE'LL BE A MAJOR EFFORT TO CONTINUE THE DESIGN PROCESS AND MOVE TOWARDS HOPEFULLY FUNDING AND INVESTMENT ON TOP OF WHAT, UM, TECHSTOP PROPOSES THAT THE
IT'S ACTUALLY THE FIRST ROADWAY THAT WE ARE FUNDING IN ADVANCE WITH ANTICIPATION OF, UH, SIF, UH, FUNDING.
REMEMBER THE SIF STREET IMPACT FEES, UH, CAN ONLY GO TO NEW CAPACITY.
THIS IS AN AREA OF HIGH GROWTH.
SO WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO, UH, BUILD AN ADVANCE, A ROADWAY THAT'S NEEDED, UH, TO ALSO ASSIST WITH EXPANSIONS AT SAMSUNG AND THAT PART OF NORTHEAST TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, AND THEN, UH, SUBSTANDARD STREETS, UH, WE'RE BUILDING OR KICKING OFF THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NUMBER OF MAJOR SUBSTANDARD STREETS, ROSS ROAD, JOHNNY MORRIS, BRADSHAW, AND KNUCKLES CROSSING.
UH, AND THEN ALSO SLAUGHTER LANE SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS WILL MATCH THE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN TERMS OF BIKE FACILITIES THAT ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION TODAY.
UM, THAT BRINGS THIS TO THE CIP STREET FUNDS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE STREET IMPACT WILL START TO GENERATE REVENUE STARTING THIS JUNE.
UH, BUT BECAUSE IT'S AN UNPROVEN, UH, REVENUE SOURCE, IT WILL REALLY BE THE FOLLOWING YEAR BEFORE WE'RE ABLE TO START, UH, HOPEFULLY SPENDING THOSE FUNDS.
REMEMBER THOSE ARE OVER 17 DISTRICTS.
UH, EACH IS ESSENTIALLY A SEPARATE FUND OR A SEPARATE BANK ACCOUNT.
WE CAN CERTAINLY SCOOP, UM, UH, CAPITAL PROJECTS WITHIN EACH OF THOSE AREA FUNDS, UH, TO SPEND ON PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THE PLAN, BUT WE CAN'T MOVE, CANNOT MOVE MONEY BETWEEN THOSE DISTRICTS.
AND SO, BUT THIS IS HUGE IN TERMS OF FLEXIBILITY OVER WHAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST.
AND SO, UH, CERTAINLY IN THOSE DISTRICTS WHERE, UM, UH, GROWTH IS RAPID, WE WOULD EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO START DOING PROJECTS SOONER THAN LATER.
UH, AND THAT NORTHEAST DISTRICT IS ONE OF THOSE, UH, ITEMS. SO WE DON'T EXPECT ANY MAJOR REVENUE PROJECTIONS UNTIL 24 UNTIL THEY BEGIN TO, TO, TO PROVE THEMSELVES OUT.
AND I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN WATCHING THE, UM, UH, SIF PROCESS VERY CLOSELY.
AND SO, UH, CERTAINLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO KEEP ASKING US TO COME BACK TO, TO REPORT ON THAT AS WE START TO GET THAT EXPERIENCE OF COLLECTING, BUT, BUT WE'RE PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT THAT'S GOING TO BE, UH, A POSITIVE INFLUENCE FOR THE CITY AS WE GO FORWARD, HELPING GROWTH PAY FOR ITS FAIR SHARE AS WE GO FORWARD, UH, HORIZON ISSUES THAT, THAT, AND CHALLENGES THAT WE REALLY JUST NEED TO BE AWARE OF VISION ZERO.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT CONTINUES TO BE A CHALLENGE WE'RE GROWING AT SOMETHING BETWEEN 160 AND 180 PEOPLE PER DAY.
UH, IF YOU'VE, UH, BEEN ON THE ROADWAY SYSTEM AND STOPPED AT A SIGNAL OR WALKING ON THE SIDEWALK, I TRY TO PAY ATTENTION TO HOW MANY OUT-OF-STATE LICENSE ARE GOING BY.
UH, THEY ARE SHOWING UP LEFT AND RIGHT.
AND SO, UM, WHAT WE DO KNOW IS SPEED CONTINUES TO BE
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A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO THE HIGH RATES OF CRASHES.UH, WE ARE GOING TO SET A RECORD THIS YEAR, UH, FOR FATALITIES AND SERIES INJURIES.
THERE'S NO WAY TO GET AROUND IT.
A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH, UH, NUMEROUS PEOPLE, UH, OR THE GROWTH REALLY, UH, THAT'S OCCURRING IN TOWN.
UM, BUT WE ALSO ARE SEEING AN INCREASINGLY, UH, ACCELERATING TREND THAT, YOU KNOW, 80% OF OUR SEVERE INJURIES IN FATALITIES ARE ACTUALLY ON STATE ROADWAYS, NOT THE CITY'S ROADWAYS.
WE COUNT THAT AS PART OF OUR TOTAL, BECAUSE THOSE ARE RESIDENTS AS WELL AND VISITORS.
UM, BUT INCREASINGLY IT'S BECOMING NOTICEABLE THAT, THAT WE HAVE A CHALLENGE WITH THE STATE SYSTEM.
AND SO, UH, WE WILL BE WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE STATE AND SHE TELL HER, MADE TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND, UH, WHERE THEY MAY BE ABLE TO MAKE SOME, UH, IMPROVEMENTS ON THAT.
UM, ONE SYSTEM, UH, AS WE APPROACH THE MAJOR CONSTRUCTION IN 2025, I LIKE TO CALL IT 2025 D-DAY BECAUSE IT'S DEMOLITION DAY THAT'S WHEN I, 35 IS PROBABLY STARTING TO KICK INTO GEAR, UH, SOUTH MOPAC, UM, UH, THE RAIL PROJECT AND MANY OF OUR QUARTERS WILL BE IN CONSTRUCTION.
UH, WE NEED TO START THINKING AS A ONE SYSTEM.
UM, OURS IS THE ONLY MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREA IN TEXAS THAT DOES NOT HAVE A COMBINED TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT CENTER.
UH, EACH AGENCY ESSENTIALLY HAS ITS OWN, UM, THAT THE BENEFIT OF THAT IS WE'VE GAINED A LOT OF, UM, UH, EXPERIENCE MANAGING ARTERIALS AND COORDINATING WITH OUR PARTNERS.
UH, THE DISADVANTAGE IS WE CAN'T LEAN ACROSS THE CUBICLE AND SAY, HEY, ARE YOU SEEING WHAT I'M SEEING? WHAT CAN WE DO TO, YOU KNOW, TAKE PEOPLE OFF THE FREEWAY OR TAKE PEOPLE OFF THE ARTERIAL SYSTEM.
AND SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE NEED TO DEVELOP IN THIS REGION TO GET READY FOR THE MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AND COORDINATION ACROSS A, UH, INCREASED FOCUS ON, ON TRAVEL DEMAND.
UH, WE ARE SHIFTING OUR, OUR FOCUS OF TRAVEL DEMAND MANAGEMENT, UH, TO OUR PARTNERS THAT MOVEABILITY, UM, AND WE ARE DEVELOPING A, UH, A, UH, UH, IMPROVED REGIONAL RIDE MATCH PROCESS THAT, THAT IS BASED ON A, UH, HANDLE, IF YOU WILL, UH, CALL GET THEIR ATX OR GET THEIR CENTRAL TEXAS, UH, TO TRY TO BUILD A VERY STRONG, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE AROUND TDM.
THAT WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT AS WE HEAD INTO THIS DECADE OF CONSTRUCTION.
UM, MAINTENANCE FUNDING IS ALSO ANOTHER ISSUE THAT, THAT THIS COMMISSION SHOULD, UH, I BELIEVE CONTINUE TO BE FOCUSED ON AS WE ARE.
UH, AGAIN, A LOT OF THESE NEW PRODUCTS AND NEW INFRASTRUCTURE WE'VE BEEN PUTTING OUT NEEDS TO NOW BE MAINTAINED.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE AN INCREASED FOCUS ON MAINTENANCE.
YOU'LL SEE US SHIFTING OUR CREWS TO MAINTENANCE AND MORE OF THE BOND PROGRAM TO CONTRACTORS, UH, AS WE GO FORWARD AND THEN LONG FUND LONG-TERM FUNDING, STABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT THAT HAS BECOME, UH, VERY APPARENT TO ME IN TERMS OF HUDSON TRANSPORTATION, AS WELL AS PUBLIC WORKS IS OUR FUNDING MECHANISM ALL DEPEND ON CURRENT TRAVEL PARADIGMS. AND I BELIEVE LIKE MANY PEOPLE THAT WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF A MOBILITY REVOLUTION, THAT, THAT PEOPLE WILL START TO DO THINGS VERY DIFFERENTLY IN THE NEAR FUTURE, WHETHER IT'S AUTOMATED VEHICLES OR NEW RIDESHARE SERVICES OR, OR TELEWORKING.
AND THAT WILL CHANGE OUR ABILITY TO COLLECT CERTAIN FEES, WHETHER THEY BE GAS TAX AT THE FEDERAL AND STATE LEVEL TO PARKING REVENUE, UH, FROM PEOPLE PARKING VEHICLES.
AND SO WE NEED TO START THAT PROCESS NOW OF EXPANDING OUR THINKING ABOUT HOW WE FUND TRANSPORTATION.
THAT'S WHY I SAY WE NEED TO START NOW TO START TO THINK ABOUT THAT.
UH, BUT I THINK THAT THERE'S A HIGH VULNERABILITY OF ALL OF OUR MOBILITY, UM, REVENUE SOURCES BEING TIED TO SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS, A PRIVATE AUTOMOBILE DRIVING, EITHER PARKING USING GAS OR, OR, UH, PAYING THE TRANSPORTATION USER FEE.
IT'S REALLY BASED ON THE VEHICLE.
SO WE NEED TO EXPAND OUR THINKING THERE AND THAT'S IT.
SO THAT'S THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT BUDGET PROPOSAL IN SHORT.
UM, WE ARE GOING STRONG, UH, AND I, I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST TALK ABOUT THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.
UH, YOU ALL KNOW THAT I, I HAVE INDICATED THAT I PLANNED TO STEP DOWN AT THE END OF THE MONTH FROM THE DIRECTORSHIP.
UH, WE HAVE A STRONG, UH, EXECUTIVE TEAM AND A STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH PUBLIC WORKS, AS WELL AS OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
AND I AM CONFIDENT THAT THIS BUDGET WILL CARRY THE DEPARTMENT THROUGH, UM, VERY STRONGLY AND THAT THERE WON'T BE A GAP IN SERVICE, UH, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU BACK UP.
NUMBER ONE, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR KEEPING IT AT A GOOD BULLET POINT LEVEL.
HAVING SEEN THIS FOR MANY YEARS, SOMETIMES IT'S SO IN THE WEEDS THAT IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT TOUGH, BUT THIS IS, THIS IS A GOOD LEVEL, AT LEAST FOR ME, I LIKED IT.
[00:25:01]
I, I WROTE A QUESTION EARLIER, WHICH YOU ACTUALLY ADDRESSED SORT OF RIGHT AT THE END, BUT I WANT TO ASK SOME DETAIL ABOUT IT.IF YOU IMAGINE 10 YEARS FROM NOW AND PEOPLE, I MEAN, I'M NEVER GOING BACK TO MY OFFICE.
IF I CAN AVOID IT, YOU KNOW, I USED TO RIDE A BIKE, BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE DROVE.
YOU CAN SEE IN THIS ROOM HERE, WE USED TO HAVE IT PACKED WITH PEOPLE.
WE DON'T MORE THAN HALF OF THE PEOPLE ARE THERE.
UM, HOW, HOW DOES THE CITY THINK ABOUT 10 YEARS FROM NOW? AND, AND ARE THESE PLANS THE RIGHT KIND OF PLAN? YEAH.
WELL, NONE OF US HAVE, YOU KNOW, MAGIC MONITORS THAT TELL US HOW THE FUTURE'S GOING TO BE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I GUESS I HEARD OF A REPORT THE OTHER DAY THAT AUSTIN HAS ABOUT A 60% OFFICE OCCUPANCY RATE IN THE CITY, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST IN THE CITY AND ONE OF THE HIGHEST, IF NOT THE HIGHEST IN THE COUNTRY.
UM, AND SO WHAT I THINK THAT'S DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO IS THAT AUSTIN IS A DESIRABLE PLACE TO MOVE TO.
AND SO AUSTIN IS IN A UNIQUE SITUATION THAT EVEN AS MORE OF OUR CURRENT RESIDENTS AND VISITORS CHOOSE TO GO VIRTUAL AND ELECTRONIC, UM, THERE'S 10 MORE COMPANIES WANTING TO MOVE DOWN OR 10 MORE OR 180 MORE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO MOVE TO TOWN.
AND SO WHAT I THINK INCREASINGLY YOU'RE GOING TO SEE IS THAT INDIVIDUAL COMPANIES, FOOTPRINTS IN THE COMMERCIAL SPACE IS GOING TO SHRINK, BUT YOU'LL HAVE A LOT MORE PLAYERS IN THE MARKET.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, OUR TDM PROGRAM HAS ALWAYS BEEN, UM, NOT FOCUSED ON REDUCING TRAFFIC AND THAT MAY BE ANTITHETICAL, BUT, UH, IT'S BEEN ABOUT MAKING ROOM FOR THE NEXT COMPANIES THAT COME TO TOWN.
AND I STILL THINK THAT THAT IS A VIABLE STRATEGY, UM, THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON A BROAD RANGE OF MULTIMODAL APPROACHES, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT TO GET INTO INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS, BUT HOPEFULLY YOU'VE SEEN, UH, THE CITY SUPPORTING, UH, TRANSIT AND ALTERNATIVE MODES, WHETHER THEY BE SCOOTERS, BIKES, OR WHATEVER, IN TERMS OF, OF FREEWAY CONSTRUCTION, I, 35, UH, I'M FIRMLY BELIEVING THAT MOST OF THE NEW CAPACITY IS MANAGED.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, W WE'VE BEEN IN A DEBATE WITH THE STATE ABOUT HOW TO MANAGE IT, BUT THE FACT IS IT'S MANAGED, IT'S HOV IN TRANSIT, UH, IN THE FUTURE CENTER BULLET, UM, AND ARTERIAL STREET LEVEL, THE FRONTAGE ROADS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL STILL WAIT TO SEE WHAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS, UH, EVOLVES IN, BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S REALLY AN ARTERIAL STREET AND, AND YOU NEED TO DEVELOP IT BASED ON THE MOVEMENTS THAT ARE OCCURRING.
AND SO I THINK THAT WE HAVE PREP THE CITY THE BEST WE CAN FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I REALLY DO BELIEVE THAT THE CONSTRUCTION OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS IS GOING TO BE SIGNIFICANT.
UM, OUR NEXT WAVE, UH, FORTUNATELY WE'D ALREADY BEEN INVESTING IT IS, IS THAT, UM, UH, TELECOMMUTING AND THE TRIP THAT'S MADE VIRTUALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, SECRETARY BUDDHA JUDGE JUST ANNOUNCED THAT IT'S THE LAST NEW TRANSPORTATION MODE.
UH, WE'VE ALL ALWAYS MEASURED IT AS THE TRIP NOT TAKEN.
WE NEED TO MEASURE IT AS THE TRIP TAKEN OVER THE INTERNET.
UM, YOU WILL SEE ON THIS COMING COUNCIL MEETING THERE, THAT WE ARE PROPOSING TO COUNCIL TO PURCHASE, UM, UH, WHAT'S CALLED NET, UH, SYSTEM, WHICH IS A CONDUIT SYSTEM THAT CIRCLES THE CENTRAL PART OF AUSTIN, UH, THAT HAS EXCESS CAPACITY.
AND WE ARE BUYING IT FROM THE PRIVATE MARKET TO PRESERVE ROOM FOR THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, NEW CONNECTIONS FOR, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, UNIVERSAL COVERAGE OF A WIFI AND, OR FAREWELL MESSAGE SIGNS OR WHATEVER THAT MAY BE NEEDED BY THE NEW SYSTEMS. IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY THAT CAME FORWARD.
SO, UH, AGAIN, WE'RE INVESTING IN EVERYTHING.
I KNOW WE CAN DEBATE THE SPECIFICS OF ANY, ANY GIVEN STRATEGY, BUT I, I REALLY DO BELIEVE THAT'S THE BEST STRATEGY MOVING FORWARD.
YOU MENTIONED TALKING TO TEXTILE ABOUT WHO, WHO IS GOING TO MANAGE.
I HAVEN'T READ ANYTHING IN THE PUBLIC PRESS.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT IS, YOU CAN TELL US ABOUT? YEAH, ACTUALLY I
I'M SORRY, MR. WELL, IN HOUSTON, UH, IT'S THEIR TRANSIT AUTHORITY THAT ACTUALLY MADE, MANAGES THE HOT AND HOV LANES, RIGHT? WHAT'S THE PLAN FOR US.
UM, SO MR. BROOKS ACTUALLY SAID HOW IT WOULD BE MANAGED VERSUS, YOU KNOW, HOV IN TRANSIT OR TOLL LANES OR ET CETERA.
AND SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER.
I DON'T THINK ANYONE DOES YET WHERE, WHERE WE'RE AT ON HOW IT GETS MANAGED OR WHO MANAGES IT.
I THINK THAT IS PART OF THE ONGOING PLANNING PROCESS, BUT I WAS SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT HOW IT GOT MANAGED.
UM, SO YEAH, I WILL TELL YOU, IN HOUSTON, THE REASON THE TRANSIT AGENCY MANAGES THE HOV SYSTEM IS THEY PAID FOR THE HOV SYSTEM VERSUS HERE IT'S THE STATE IS HELPING IN THE LOCALS.
[00:30:01]
I COULDN'T FIND ANY PLACE ELSE WHERE TECH STOCK ITSELF MANAGED HOV PLANES.SO THIS WOULD BE THEIR TEXT DOTS FIRST.
UH, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT ANSWER.
SO DID YOU EVER, NO, BUT YOU TOUCHED A LITTLE BIT ON, ON, ON, YOU KNOW, BUYING, IT SOUNDS LIKE FIBER AND THINGS OF THAT CAPACITY FOR FUTURE CAPACITY.
WHAT ELSE IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE'RE DOING? UM, AND I KNOW IT'S KINDA, LIKE YOU SAID, THERE'S NO CRYSTAL BALL, BUT IT JUST SEEMS LIKE WITH THE CHANGING TECHNOLOGIES, 5G, WIFI, EVERYTHING COMING IN, YOU KNOW, THEY REALLY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO NOT JUST CHANGE HOW WE MOVE, BUT, YOU KNOW, FUTURE FORECASTING OF WHERE PEOPLE ARE MOVING, ALL SORTS OF STUFF.
WHAT ELSE IS THE CITY DOING IN THAT, IN THAT CAPACITY TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF, TO THE EXTENT WE CAN KIND OF PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION, I CAN ONLY TALK FOR AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION, WHAT WE'RE DOING.
I CAN'T, OF COURSE I WISH I KNEW EVERYTHING THE CITY WAS DOING, BUT THAT'S JUST NOT POSSIBLE FOR ME.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, W WE ALSO ALLOW TECHNOLOGIES TO USE OUR SIGNAL POLLS, UH, IN DOWNTOWN.
UH, SO YOU SEE THE NEW SIGNAL BOWLS WITH THE BOXES AT THE BOTTOM AND ELECTRIC METERS ON IT.
THAT'S OTHER TECHNOLOGIES USING OUR, UH, SIGNAL POLES TO HANG, UH, TECHNOLOGIES ON.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER AREA WE'VE WORKED ON.
UH, AND, UH, WE, UH, ENCOURAGE NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO COME INTO TOWN THAT, THAT OFFER THOSE CAPABILITIES.
UH, WE HAVE A SMART, UH, OUR, UH, WHAT'S IT CALLED SPAT SIGNAL, PHASING AND TIMING, UH, DEMONSTRATION CORRIDOR, UH, HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO SMART VEHICLES CAN INTERACT WITH THOSE TECHNOLOGIES AND THOSE THAT, THAT INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO ENCOURAGE NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO COME TO TOWN.
UH, ONE OF THE BIGGEST DILEMMAS IS HOW TO MEASURE THAT TRIP.
AGAIN, TRADITIONALLY, YOU KNOW, A TRIP, UH, TAKEN OVER THE INTERNET HAS BEEN A TRIP NOT TAKEN, BUT IT'S NOW BECOMING OBVIOUS THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO MEASURE THAT.
AND IT'S HARD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MEASURE THAT OTHER THAN THROUGH SURVEY.
UM, UM, WE'RE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO DO IT, UH, WITHOUT HAVING TO ASK A PERSON, ARE YOU TELEWORKING TODAY? YOU KNOW, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S TECHNOLOGIES OUT THERE WHERE WE'RE EXAMINING, YOU KNOW, UH, THE INTERNET AND WE'RE ASKING, UH, PROVIDERS, IS THERE A WAY TO TELL HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE TELEWORKING ON ANY GIVEN DAY? I ACTUALLY THINK THAT IF WE INCORPORATE TELEWORKING INTO OUR SORT OF, UH, UH, PERCENTAGE PIE, IF YOU WILL, OF HOW PEOPLE ARE TRAVELING, THAT WE'LL FIND THAT WE ARE CLOSER TO THAT 50 50 GOAL THAT WE'RE STRIVING FOR.
UM, AT SOME POINT I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION.
UM, THIS IS NOW GOING BACK TO OLD SCHOOL STUFF.
YOU TALKED ABOUT MAINTENANCE FUNDING, UM, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO HOLD YOUR, HOLD YOU TO ANY NUMBER YOU THROW OUT THERE, BUT JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, WHAT IS THAT? LET ME, LET ME PREFACE THIS BY SAYING IF WE'RE LIKE ANY, EVERY OTHER CITY JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE IN THE U S WE'RE PROBABLY IN A DEFICIT OF MAINTENANCE FUNDING.
UM, WHAT IS THAT BALLPARK, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A PERCENTAGE OF ROADWAYS OR IF IT'S A GENERAL BALLPARK FIGURE OF WHAT WE NEED TO GET OUR STREETS UP TO PAR, UM, WHAT WOULD THAT BE? WHAT COULD WE BE, I, I DON'T, I CAN'T TELL YOU OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, DIFFERENT STRIPING HAS DIFFERENT LIFESPANS, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, UH, WHEN WE PUT PAINT OR THERMOPLASTIC, UH, WHICH IS ANOTHER, UH, TECHNOLOGY DOWN ON THE STREET TO MARKET, UM, IT USUALLY LASTS TWO TO THREE YEARS, BUT IT DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH WHERE THERE IS.
IT DEPENDS ON IF THE COLOR IS WHITE OR IF IT'S YELLOW, UM, GO FIGURE WHITE DISAPPEARS WHEN THE SUN'S AT ABOUT A 30 DEGREE ANGLE AND, AND IT'S A LITTLE BIT WET, IT ALL DISAPPEARS.
AND SO, UM, WE'RE REALLY, UH, TRYING TO CREATE DATABASES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THAT.
SO I WOULD TELL YOU, PAINT TYPICALLY GOES 2, 3, 3 YEARS, BUT SHORT LINES, WHICH ARE THE CROSSWALKS, UH, OFTEN NEED TO BE DONE EVEN MORE FREQUENTLY.
UM, THE, UH, CANDLESTICKS OR THE DELINEATORS, UH, A REALLY, YOU KNOW, THERE REALLY IS A SCIENCE TO WHERE THEY'RE PLACED.
WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW FREQUENTLY WE NEED TO PLACE THOSE DELINEATORS AND HOW CLOSE TO CORNERS SO THAT WE REDUCED, HOW MANY PEOPLE, UH, RUN OVER HIM ACCIDENTALLY OR HIT THEM.
AND SO, UH, IT, IT'S AN ONGOING ANALYSIS.
UM, PUBLIC WORKS DOES HAVE METRICS FOR THE PAVEMENT, UH, AND HOW LONG PAVEMENT LASTS AND YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY'RE SPENDING AND WHAT THEIR DEFICIT IS PROBABLY.
AND SO I'D ENCOURAGE YOU TO ASK THE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR WHEN HE PRESENTS HERE ON BEHAVIOR QUALITY.
DIFFERENT QUESTION ABOUT ALL THE SCHOOL STUFF.
IS THERE THE EQUIVALENT OF A DASHBOARD FOR TRAFFIC IN AUSTIN, OR EVEN
[00:35:01]
A DATA PORTAL WHERE SOMEBODY GRABBED THE DATE? SO WE DO HAVE A, A PRETTY RICH DATA DATA PORTAL, UH, AND IN TERMS OF DATA ACCESSIBILITY, UH, WE'RE WORKING ON A MORE COMPREHENSIVE DASHBOARD.UM, THE LINK TO WHERE THAT INFORMATION IS, UH, WHAT WE TENDED TO DO IS EACH, EACH SPECIALTY, WHETHER IT BE SIGNALS OR STRIPES OR MARKINGS, OR THE BIKE PROGRAM, THEY CREATED THEIR OWN DASHBOARDS, BUT NOW WE'RE PUTTING THEM ALL TOGETHER.
SO THEIR OVERALL TRAFFIC, YES, YES, WE DO HAVE THAT.
IS IT GOING UP, IS IT GOING DOWN? YEAH, WE ARE STILL JUST A LITTLE BIT BELOW PRE PANDEMIC, UM, WHICH IS, BUT, BUT WE'RE RIGHT.
OR WE'RE, WE'RE AT KEEP LOOKING OVER AT JIM CAUSE HE KEEPS THAT DATA.
SO YOU'LL KNOW THAT THAT'S WHY I'M NOT, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY CLOSE TO PRE PANDEMIC, BUT WHAT'S INTERESTING IS BECAUSE THE OCCUPANCY RATES ARE ONLY 6%.
THAT'S TRAFFIC ARE NOT HEADED TOWARDS THE NORMAL COMMUTE TO, YOU KNOW, INTO THE CITY IN THE MORNING AND OUT IN THE AFTERNOONS.
UH, WHEN I TALKED TO MY PEERS NATIONWIDE, THEY ALL SAY THE SAME THING.
OUR MODELS ARE ALL NOT ABLE TO PREDICT WHAT'S GOING ON.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL ACROSS THE INDUSTRY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BETTER PREDICT WHAT'S GOING ON POST PANDEMIC.
AND A LOT OF IT IS BECAUSE OF TELEWORKING, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE CAN DELAY THEIR TRIPS IN OR, OR GO BACK, GO HOME EARLY AND FINISH UP THE DAY OR, YOU KNOW, COME BACK TO WORK AT ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT AND DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO.
SO, UH, UH, IT IS A DILEMMA FOR EVERYONE TRYING TO BETTER PREDICT HOW TRAFFIC IS MOVING FORWARD.
I HAVE ONE, I THINK IT WILL BE VERY QUICK.
UM, YOU MENTIONED, UM, THE QUARTER CONSTRUCTION AT SOME POINT IN THE PRESENTATION, AND I KNOW THAT, UM, SOME PORTION OF THAT IS REALLY HEADING INTO MORE SERIOUS CONSTRUCTION THIS YEAR.
UM, ARE THERE THINGS THAT ATD IS DOING IN COORDINATION WITH THE, IS AS FAR AS THE UPCOMING BUDGET TO COORDINATE WITH THAT, OR IS THAT PRETTY MUCH JUST, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT CORRIDOR OFFICE IS DOING AND WITH MANAGING THE BOND PROGRAM? NO, ABSOLUTELY.
THE, THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM IS, UM, UH, THE QUARTER PROGRAM BUDGET IS PART OF ATD BUDGET.
IT IS, IS, UM, SEAMLESS SINCE, UM, UM, FACTUAL QUARTER PROGRAM IS OWNED AS A PRODUCT OF AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION.
PUBLIC WORKS DEPENDING ON THE INDIVIDUAL PIECE.
AND SO YES, WE, WE ARE CONNECTED AT THE HIP AND FULLY COORDINATED.
SO ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS ONLINE? NOPE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS HERE? OKAY.
[2.B. Public Works Department Budget Overview]
WILL BE THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND BUDGET OVERVIEW TAKING THEIR SEATS NOW.GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS CHAIR, UH, I'M RICHARD MENDOZA.
I'M THE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR AND A THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND SHARING OUR, UH, FYI 23 PROPOSED BUDGET, AS WELL AS OUR FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST.
I'M GOING DO SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY THIS THAN IN PAST PRESENTATIONS.
I'M JOINED BY OUR DEPARTMENT, UH, FINANCE DIVISION MANAGER, MS. CHRISTIE FENTON.
I'M AN OPEN THE PRESENTATION WITH JUST A OVERVIEW AND THEN A DESCRIPTION OF OUR BUDGET PLANNING PROCESS, WHICH WE STARTED TO, UH, MODIFY THIS PAST YEAR.
AND THEN MS. FENTON IS GOING TO DIVE INTO THE NUMBERS FOR US.
SO WITH THAT, I THINK I HAVE THE CLICKER RIGHT HERE.
SO AGAIN, I'M GOING TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT, UM, AND THEN A DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANNING PROCESS FOR DEVELOPING THE BUDGET, WHICH WE STARTED TO MODIFY THIS, UH, PAST YEAR.
AND THEN MS. FENTON IS GOING TO GO OVER THE FINANCIALS FOR OUR THREE MAJOR SERVICE AREAS ARE AROUND THE GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS AS CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.
UM, THE MOBILITY OUTCOME, WHICH INCLUDES SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL, AS WELL AS TREATING BRIDGE AND MOBILITY OPERATIONS.
AND SO BY THE END OF OUR PRESENTATION, UH, MY HOPE IS THAT WE WILL LEAVE YOU TODAY WITH A PICTURE OF OUR BUDGET AND PLANNING PROCESS IN TERMS OF HOW IT SUPPORTS OUR CITY AND DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC GOALS, JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW OF OUR DEPARTMENT.
[00:40:01]
OUR MISSION IS TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN A BETTER COMMUNITY BY DELIVERING SERVICES TO EVERY CORNER OF AUSTIN.UH, WE DO THAT THROUGH THE DELIVERY OF SOME, UH, CORE SERVICES AROUND MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE, NAMELY STREET MAINTENANCE, WHICH INCLUDES ALMOST 8,000 LANE MILES OF STREETS, UH, NETWORK OF SIDEWALKS, TOTALLY IN ABOUT 2,700 CURB MILES, ABOUT 60 MILES OF BUILT URBAN TRAIL NETWORK, UH, OVER 13,000 BRIDGES, CULVERTS, AND OTHER CONCRETE STRUCTURES OF WHICH ABOUT 460 OF THOSE ARE MAJOR BRIDGES WITH SPANS OVER 20 FEET THAT ARE INSPECTED BY TXDOT.
UH, WE ALSO MANAGE AND PROVIDE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAMS, PROVIDING 200 CROSSING GUARDS AT OVER AT 200 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, LOW CATIONS, AND, UH, PROVIDE THE NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERING PROGRAM, WORKING WITH NEIGHBORHOODS FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS WITHIN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND THEN FINALLY CAPITAL DELIVERY, UH, MANAGING A PORTFOLIO OF OVER 490 PROJECTS TO INCLUDE THE MOBILITY BOND PROJECTS FOR VARIOUS, UH, ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS.
UH, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN OUR PAST BUDGET PRESENTATIONS.
AND THE REASON I WANTED TO SHOW THIS LIKE QUICKLY IS THAT IN THE PAST, WE'VE ALWAYS APPROACHED OUR, OUR BUDGET PLANNING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF, OF BASELINE BUDGETING.
AND THAT IS WE WOULD TAKE PRIOR YEAR BUDGET, ASSESS WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE FOR THE NEXT UPCOMING YEAR.
AND THEN WE WOULD EITHER ADJUST UP OR DOWN A DIFFERENT SERVICE AREAS OFF THAT PREVIOUS YEAR.
UH, THIS YEAR WE'VE, WE'RE FINDING, OF COURSE THE FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS ARE GETTING MORE CHALLENGING.
WE'RE EXPERIENCING LIKE A T D ESCALATION IN COSTS FOR SERVICES, MATERIALS, AND LABOR AND ACROSS THE BOARD AND CONTRACTS.
AND SO WE, UH, OUR GOAL IS TO START APPROACHING OUR BUDGET FROM AN OUTCOMES-BASED BUDGET.
SO HOW DO THOSE BUDGET RESOURCES TRANSLATE INTO OUR CORE SERVICES AND, UH, LEVELS EXPECTED BY THE COMMUNITY? AND SO WE ALIGNED OUR PLANNING PROCESS.
IT STARTED ACTUALLY LAST YEAR AND WE PRIMARILY IN PUBLIC WORK SUPPORT TWO OF OUR COUNCIL PROTEA OUTCOMES, THAT BEING MOBILITY AND GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS FOR ALL.
AND THIS ALLOWED US TO ENSURE THAT OUR DEPARTMENT GOALS AND OUR PLAN BUDGET WERE ALIGNED WITH THOSE COUNCIL PRIORITY OUTCOMES.
AND THEN WE ALSO DID A TOUCH BASE WITH THE COUNCIL TOP 10 INDICATORS FROM STRATEGIC DIRECTION, 23, AND PROVIDE A LITMUS TEST THERE TO MAKE SURE WE WERE ON TARGET.
AND THAT HELPED US THEN DEVELOP AND BUILD OUT OUR FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST.
SO IN THIS CHART HERE, WHAT I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO FOCUS ON IS THAT THE PUBLIC WORKS GOALS THAT WE HAVE ACROSS THE BOTTOM DIRECTLY SUPPORT THREE OF THE CITY COUNCIL'S TOP 10 INDICATORS.
AND THOSE THREE PRIORITY INDICATORS ARE ACCESSIBILITY AND EQUITY TO MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION CHOICES, ACCESSIBILITY TO QUALITY PARKS, TRAILS, AND RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, AND THEN FINALLY CONDITION AND QUALITY OF CITY FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND EFFECTIVE ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY.
SO IN SOME PART, EITHER FROM A HUMAN RESOURCE PERSPECTIVE, TECHNOLOGY PERSPECTIVE, MATERIAL, CONTENT TRACKS, ALL OF THESE GOALS SUPPORT UP TO THE CITY OUTCOMES AND KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.
AND THAT'S HOW WE FRAMED OUR BUDGET PLANNING AND RESOURCE NEEDS AROUND.
SO THE FINAL TWO SLIDES ARE A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON THOSE SPECIFIC PUBLIC WORKS GOALS.
AND THEN MS. FENTON IS GOING TO COVER THE SPECIFIC, UH, BUDGET PROPOSALS IN F UH, Y 23, AS WELL AS THE FIVE-YEAR FORECAST THAT SUPPORT BOTH THE GOALS, THE OUTCOMES, AS WELL AS SUPPORT, UH, SERVICES, UH, TO PROVIDE THOSE RESOURCES AND ALL OF THE SUPPORT OUTCOMES AROUND THE SMP AROUND VISION ZERO AROUND HEALTH ACTIVE MOBILITY AND, UM, THE CONDITION OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
THERE WAS A QUESTION THEY ASKED ABOUT HOW DO WE GET OUR STREETS UP TO PAR UH, OUR STREET NETWORK IN TERMS OF THE, UH, THE CONDITION OF THE PAVEMENTS.
WE MONITOR VERY CLOSELY, TAKES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT TO MAINTAIN QUALITY RIDE SURFACES FOR ALL OF OUR USERS TO INCLUDE NOT ONLY SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES, BUT ALSO TRANSIT AND, UH, MICRO MOBILITY AND, AND OTHER, UM, ACTIVE MOBILITY SOURCES.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND HAND IT OVER TO MS. FENTON.
SHE'S GOING TO COVER OUR DIFFERENT SOURCES OF FUNDS AND OUR PROPOSAL FOR FY 23.
OUR SOURCES OF FUNDS, WE HAVE, UH, SEVERAL DIFFERENT, UH, SOURCES OF REVENUE.
[00:45:01]
UH, WE SHARED THE, UH, TRANSPORTATION USER FEE, THE TOUGH, UH, WITH ATD.SO, UH, PUBLIC WORKS PORTION OF THAT IS PROJECTED TO INCREASE OF ABOUT 11.6 MILLION OR ABOUT 9%.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, FUNDS FROM OUR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT.
UM, THAT FUND IS, UH, REALLY, UH, SET UP TO FUND ITSELF AND NOT HAVE A HIGH ENDING BALANCE.
SO WE HAVE JUST COLLECTIONS FOR JUST COVERING OUR SERVICES AND THAT'S IT.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, REIMBURSEMENTS FOR UTILITY CUT REVENUES FROM THE AUSTIN WATER DEPARTMENT.
UH, WE, UH, GO THROUGH AND, UH, HELP WITH UTILITY CUTS AND WE PARTNER WITH THEM ON THAT, UH, SERVICE.
AND THEN WE GET A COLLECTION FROM THEM.
FROM THAT WE COLLECT REVENUE FROM A CIP SOURCE.
THIS IS FROM OUR SIDEWALKS AND CONCRETE REPAIR.
WE DO SOME IN-HOUSE WORK, UH, FOR SOME OF THE CIPS.
AND SO THAT, UH, COLLECTION FOR THAT WORK GOES BACK TO THE TRANSPORTATION FUND.
AND THEN WE HAVE SOME MISCELLANEOUS REVENUES FROM LICENSE FEE AGREEMENTS, UH, AND SOME OTHER SOURCES.
AND OUR CHILD SAFETY HAS REVENUE FROM THE COUNTY, FROM DRIVER'S LICENSE, REGISTRATION FEES, AND SOME TRAFFIC FINES.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, THESE ARE SUPPORTIVE OF OUR OUTCOMES AND OUR GOALS AND OUR PROGRAMS, UH, FOR BRIDGE MAINTENANCE OFF STREET ROAD, MAINTENANCE, COMPUTERS, COMPUTER SERVICES, COMMUNITY SERVICES, FORESTRY, AND OFFICE OF THE CITY ENGINEER.
WE ALSO SUPPORT SIDEWALKS AND WE HAVE A DEDICATED SIDEWALK FUNDING WITH APPROXIMATELY A 1.4 MILLION INCREASE FOR
AND THEN, UH, FOR OUR POSITIONS, WE ARE REQUESTING A TOTAL OF 38 NEW POSITIONS.
AND THE SPLIT AT THAT IS 20 UNDER THE MOBILITY OUTCOME AND 18 UNDER GOVERNMENT.
SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MOBILITY OUTCOME OPERATIONS FIRST.
UH, SO THE BULK OF, UH, SOME OF OUR COSTS, UM, INCURRED ARE DUE TO SOME CITY-WIDE COST DRIVERS.
WE HAVE ABOUT 1.8 MILLION IN INCREASES FOR
UH, THESE INCLUDE THINGS LIKE WAGE ADJUSTMENTS, INSURANCE FOR EMPLOYEES.
THERE ARE SOME ALLOCATION COSTS FROM CTM ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, UH, WORKERS' COMP, UH, FLEET FUEL FLEET MAINTENANCE, AND THEN SOME TO GENERAL DEBT OBLIGATION SERVICES.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, SOME INCREASES IN COMMODITIES.
UH, WE HAVE SEEN, UH, COMMODITY PRICES, UH, INCREASE FOUR TIMES, UM, JUST IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO STRIVE, STRIVING HARD TO KEEP UP WITH AND, UH, HAVE AN ACCURATE PREDICTION OF WHAT THOSE COSTS MIGHT NEED.
UH, THOSE INCLUDE, UH, ASPHALT AND HOTMIX HAS HAD ABOUT A 10%, 10% COST INCREASE FOR THE CONTRACT TERMS. UH, WE'VE SEEN STILL, UM, MESH WIRE.
THERE ARE CURRENTLY TWO TIMES TO FOUR TIMES THE PRICE OF COST INCREASES.
SO THAT IS DRIVING A LOT OF OUR, UH, COSTS.
ADDITIONALLY, UH, WE HAVE, UH, SOME CORE SERVICES FOR VEHICLES, EQUIPMENTS REPLACEMENTS.
THIS IS ABOUT 2.4 MILLION ANNUALLY.
UH, THIS INVESTMENT, WE ARE, UH, CASH FUNDING, AND WE'RE JUST, UH, IT'S HAS A MINIMAL IMPACT BECAUSE WHATEVER DEBT SERVICE THAT WE'VE PAID OFF, WE ARE JUST USING THE SAME AMOUNT TO CASH FUNDS.
WE'RE NOT INCREASING THAT FUNDING SOURCE.
IT'S JUST STAYING THE SAME AND CHANGING THE METHOD THAT WE'RE PAYING FOR IT.
AND THEN WE HAVE AN ENDING BALANCE TARGET.
WE WOULD LIKE TO KEEP A TARGET OF AROUND 2.5, UH, TO 5 MILLION IN THAT RANGE, SO THAT WE ARE ENSURED THAT WE CAN COVER, UH, AT LEAST 30 TO 45 DAYS OF OPERATIONS, UM, TO HAVE, AND SO THAT WE ENSURE WE DON'T GO NEGATIVE IN THE FUTURE.
SOME OF THE OTHER OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO, UH, ACCOMPLISH, WE HAVE CONTRACT OVERLAY.
UM, YOU SEE SOME INCREASES IN THAT OF ABOUT 4 MILLION OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
UH, WE ARE ADDING A DEDICATED BRIDGE MAINTENANCE, UH, CREW, UH, TO SUPPORT OUR BRIDGES.
WE HAVE NEVER HAD A CROUP FOR, UM, THAT SUPPORTS THE BRIDGE IT'S ALWAYS BEEN DONE, UH, KIND OF AS NEEDED.
SO WE FEEL LIKE THIS IS AN IMPORTANT THING THAT WE NEED TO START, UH, FUNDING AND MAINTAINING OUR BRIDGES.
AND ONCE I HAVE SOME DEDICATED SUPPORT FOR THAT, UH, WE'RE ADDING ANOTHER MILLION DOLLAR INCREASE ANNUALLY FOR THE SIDEWALKS AND THE ADA TRANSITION PLAN.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE STARTED IN THE PAST AND ARE TRYING TO CONSISTENTLY, UH, BUT THEN IN SLOW INCREMENTS, ADD MORE FUNDING
[00:50:01]
TO THAT TO SUPPORT OUR SIDEWALK NETWORK, URBAN TRAILS, UH, IS ANOTHER OUTCOME.UH, WE DON'T HAVE A LARGE INCREASE TO THAT FUND IN THE OPERATING.
UH, WE FOUND WAYS TO MITIGATE SOME OF THAT.
AND, UH, WE'VE HAD, UH, SOME POSITIONS THAT WE'RE GOING TO ADD, UH, THREE FORESTRY POSITIONS TO HELP, UH, WITH SOME MAINTENANCE AROUND, UH, THE RIGHT OF WAY ON THOSE TRAILS.
AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, SEVERAL OTHER POSITIONS IN OUR DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, UH, THAT ARE NEEDED TO HELP REVIEW THE PROJECTS TIMELY.
AND ALSO A LOT OF POSITIONS WITH OUR SUPPORT SERVICES THAT INCLUDE FINANCE, UM, OUR PUBLIC, UH, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE, OUR, UH, TECHNOLOGY, UH, SYSTEM INFORMATION SUPPORT AND OUR SAFETY GROUPS.
SO ALL OF THE OUTCOMES THAT WE HAVE, UH, SUPPORTING THE MOBILITY OUTCOME, THERE'S A LITTLE SUPPORT SERVICES THAT HELP, UM, HELP THEM DO THEIR JOB AS WELL.
SO WE ARE FUNDING THE SUPPORT BEHIND THAT.
WHAT, WHAT EXACTLY ALL, YOU MENTIONED 40 POSITIONS DEVELOP INTERVIEW AND PROJECT CONNECT.
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE PROJECT CONNECT STUFF, WHEREAS THAT OVERLAPPING WITH ATP AND YOU KNOW, WHY ISN'T THAT GOING INTO UNDER ATP'S BUDGET? YEAH.
UM, EXCELLENT QUESTION OF THOSE POSITIONS WE'VE GOT PROPOSED TO, UH, TO, UH, REVIEW THE PLANS, UH, THAT, UM, AT THE 30, 60, 90% REVIEW TO ENSURE THAT THE CONSTRUCTION THAT OCCURS WITHIN THE RIGHT OF WAY, UH, IS RECONSTRUCTED TO OUR DESIGN STANDARDS.
AND IT'S PART OF THE STANDARD DESIGN REVIEW PROCESS, AND THERE'LL BE AVAILABLE FOR, UH, THE PROJECT CONNECT, BUT WE'RE ALSO SEEING DEVELOPMENT RISE ALL OVER THE CITY AND REVIEW TIME STARTING TO SLIP, UM, UH, FOR THOSE.
SO THE OFFICE OF CITY ENGINEER WILL ACTUALLY HOUSED THESE TWO ENGINEERS TO REVIEW THOSE PLANS AND ENSURE THAT THE PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IS, UH, RESTORED, YOU KNOW, TO OUR DESIGN STANDARDS.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT REVIEWING PLANS ON ACTUALLY GOING OUT THERE AND ENSURING THAT THEY'RE IMPLEMENTED IN THE WAY.
SO THOSE ARE OTHER POSITIONS IN OUR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT DIVISION.
SO WE HAVE CONSTRUCTION INSPECTORS, UH, FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, UH, FOR PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, THOSE INSPECTIONS WILL BE DONE BY BUILDING SERVICES OR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, UH, AND LESS PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT OR PROJECT CONNECT IS RECONSTRUCTING, UH, SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS LIKE PUTTING IN, UH, SIDEWALKS, UM, SO THAT WE WOULD ASSUME THE MAINTENANCE FOR IT.
THEN WE WOULD GO OUT AND INSPECT THOSE OUT OF OUR, UM, CAPITAL PROJECT DELIVERY.
AND SO THESE ARE JUST PLAN REVIEWERS.
AND I DON'T MEAN THAT IN A DISPARAGING WAY, NOT THE JUST PART, THESE ARE PLANNING FOR THOSE FOUR OF THOSE ARE YES.
AND FOR PROJECT CONNECT SPECIFICALLY TO, FOR PROJECT CONNECT AND THEN TWO OTHER, JUST FOR THE INCREASE IN DEVELOPMENT OVERALL THROUGHOUT THE CITY, WHEN WE OPENED THE ONE-STOP SHOP, THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, UH, WE COMMITTED TO PROVIDE TWO FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES TO, UH, CO-LOCATE, UH, WITH THE OTHER PLAN REVIEWERS.
SO YOU GOT WATERSHED PROTECTION, YOU'VE GOT, OF COURSE OUR OWN TRANSPORTATION.
AND SO THERE'S A PROCESS BY WHICH THOSE GO THROUGH TO GRANT THOSE PERMITS AND OUR PLAN REVIEWERS.
UH, THESE TWO WILL BE SEATED RIGHT THERE SO WE CAN FACILITATE, UM, THOSE PERMIT APPLICATIONS.
THE NEXT PART OF OUR MOBILITY IS FOR SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL, UM, OR OUR CHILD SAFETY FUND.
UH, THIS FUND, ADDITIONALLY HAS SOME, UH, COST DRIVERS AND THAT INCLUDE WAGES INSURANCE FOR EMPLOYEES, AND SOME ADMINISTRATIVE, UM, FUNDING FOR CTM WORKERS' COMP AND SOME FUEL AND FLEET MAINTENANCE.
AGAIN, THE REVENUE FROM THESE ARE, UM, COMING IN FROM FINES, UH, WITHIN, UH, SCHOOL ZONES OR FROM YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE, REGISTRATION FEES.
AND THE REST OF IT IS SUPPLEMENTED WITH THE TRANSPORTATION USER FEE.
UH, WE'RE UH, EXPECTING THAT TO BE FLAT FROM
WE'RE NOT PROJECTING ANY INCREASES, NEED TO SUPPORT THAT.
AND, UH, WE'RE EXPECTING AN ENDING BALANCE OF AROUND $200,000, UH, TO END THE YEAR, THERE IS ONE NEW STAFFING POSITION, UH, THERE'S NO COST IMPACT FOR THAT.
WE'RE DOING ATTEMPT TO A PERM CONVERSION.
UM, SO WE HAD, UH, SOME TEMPORARY COME IN AND HELP WITH THAT STAFFING
[00:55:01]
AND THE COST FOR TRANSFERRING A TEMP TO A PERMANENT POSITION IS VERY MINIMAL UH, SO, UH, WE ARE SHOWING OUR FIVE-YEAR FORECAST PROJECTION OF FEES WITH THIS SLIDE.I WANTED TO JUST KIND OF POINT YOU IN THE DIRECTION OF, FOR
WE HAD A ONE POINT, UH, A DOLLAR SEVEN INCREASE, AND WE HAD ACTUALLY FORECASTED ORIGINALLY THAT TO BE QUITE HIGHER.
UH, AND WE DID NOT, UH, GET AS MUCH FUNDING AS NEEDED WITH THAT.
UH, SOME OF THE PROJECTED IN THE OUT YEARS WAS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN WHAT YOU WOULD NORMALLY EXPECT BECAUSE WE WEREN'T COVERING OUR TRUE COST OF SERVICE.
UH, SIMILARLY TO WHAT 80 DID, DID, WE ARE DRAWING DOWN OUR FUND BALANCE AND WE USED OUR FUND BALANCE TO COVER SOME OF THOSE COSTS DURING THE PANDEMIC TO, UH, KEEP THE MINIMAL IMPACT TO THE CITIZENS.
BUT WE ARE, HAVE BEEN DRAWING OUR FUND BALANCE DOWN FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
AND WE'RE REACHING THAT POINT WHERE WE NEED TO ASK FOR A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE TO COVER SOME OF THE COSTS, UH, TO KEEP FROM GOING IN A NEGATIVE POSITION.
SO OUR, UH, REQUEST FOR
UH, THE IMPACT FOR PUBLIC WORKS TO THE SINGLE FAMILY IS A DOLLAR 24, AND THAT'S A COMBINED INCREASE WITH ATD OF $17 AND 30 CENTS UH, SO AS I STATED BEFORE, WE HAVE BEEN DRAWING DOWN OUR FUND BALANCE.
AND SO THIS GRAPH JUST SHOWS WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE, AND YOU CAN SEE THE SIGNIFICANT DECLINE FROM, UH,
UH, WE HAVE ON THE ORANGE LINE, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT'S A 5 MILLION MARK.
THAT'S KIND OF A TARGET WHERE WE WANT TO KEEP OUR FUND BALANCE SO THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH FUNDING TO SUPPORT OPERATIONS BETWEEN 30 TO 45 DAYS.
UM, AND YOU'LL SEE A DIP A LITTLE BIT BELOW THAT, AND WE'RE GOING TO SLOWLY TRY TO RAMP THAT UP TO KEEP SOME FUND BALANCE IN PLACE AS WE GO, BUT NOT AT A RATE THAT IT'S GOING TO BE AS PART OF AN IMPACT TO THE CITIZENS.
AND SO I'LL GO OVER THE GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS FOR ALL OUTCOMES.
A GOVERNMENT WORKS FOR ALL IS IN OUR CAPITAL DELIVERY PROGRAM AREAS.
UH, SO WE HAVE, UH, AGAIN WITH THIS FINE, WE HAVE SOME CITY-WIDE COST DRIVERS, UH, FOR WAGES AND INSURANCE.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE A LEASED FACILITY, UH, THERE'S, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF AN INCREASE FOR THAT LEASE.
UH, BUT IT DOES GO THROUGH
WE ARE LOOKING AT THOSE OPTIONS TO SEE IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD RENEW OR THAT WE WOULD LET GO OF THAT LEASE.
UH, GIVEN THE NEW ENVIRONMENT WE'RE IN, WE'RE REALLY TAKING A HARD LOOK AT WHO'S COMING INTO THE OFFICE AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR OUR ORGANIZATION.
SO POTENTIALLY SOME COST SAVINGS IN THE FUTURE.
IF WE DO NOT RENEW THAT LEASE, UH, WE HAVE POOR, UH, VEHICLE REPLACEMENTS FOR THIS GROUP.
UH, THESE ARE, UM, EMPLOYEES THAT ARE OUT IN THE FIELD AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT OUR PROJECTS AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE BEING MANAGED PROPERLY AND THEN DOING INSPECTIONS ON THIS SUCH.
SO WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A FLEET COST FOR THAT.
UH, WE'D LIKE TO HAVE AN ENDING BALANCE, UM, VERY MINIMAL.
THE TARGET IS BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, TWO 50 TO 450,000.
WE DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A HIGHER BALANCE IN THIS FUND RIGHT NOW.
SO WE'RE PLANNING ON A, PASSED THAT SAVINGS DOWN TO THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN OUR CUSTOMERS, UM, TO LOWER THE IMPACT OVER THE YEARS FOR THEM.
AND THEN OUR INDIRECT RATE, UH, CURRENTLY IT'S 163, AND WE'RE TARGETING TO TRY TO GRADUALLY REDUCE THAT TO 150, UH, BY A FY 27 SO SOME OF THE DETAILS, UH, FOR THE, UH, CAPITAL DELIVERY, UH, SERVICE, WE HAVE, UH, 33 NEW BILLABLE POSITIONS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
UM, SO THE COST TO THAT IS APPROXIMATELY 5.6 MILLION, AND THAT INCLUDES THE VEHICLES AND, UM, THE OTHER THINGS THAT THEY NEED TO PERFORM THEIR JOB.
UH, THERE IS SOME SUPPORT STAFFING, UM, THAT IS, UM, PROJECTED TO HELP WITH THAT.
WE HAVE SOME COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST.
UH, THIS POSITION IS GOING TO BE BILLABLE AS WELL.
THESE ARE FOLKS THAT GO OUT AND, UH, HELP EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE BUILDING, UM, AND HAVE SOME TALENT ACQUISITION COSTS, UH, FOR OUR HUMAN
[01:00:01]
RESOURCES AND, UH, SOME OTHER, UH, POSITIONS TO HELP WITH INVOICE PROCESSING, UH, DIRECTLY RE RELATED TO THE CAPITAL PROJECTS.UH, WE HAVE A TEAM OF INDIVIDUALS THAT PROCESSES INVOICES FOR THE ENTIRE CITY, UM, FOR THE CAPITAL PROJECTS AREA.
SO WE'VE SEEN SOME, UM, INCREASED IN THOSE CAPITAL PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AND SOME OF THAT WORK HAS INCREASED AS WELL.
AND THEN WE HAVE A COUPLE OF IT POSITIONS THAT ARE THERE TO SUPPORT, UH, SOME OF THE DEVELOPMENT.
UH, ONE OF THEM IS DIRECT SUPPORT FOR THE, UH, PMI S UH, SYSTEM THAT IS BEING PROJECTED TO COME ONLINE.
AND THEN SOME OTHER THINGS ARE SUPPORTING, UM, UH, QUANTITY BOOKS, APPLICATION, A PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR THE CITY.
UH, SOME EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION, A LOT OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT.
A LOT OF THAT IS MOVED TO ONLINE AND WE'RE HAVING TO, UH, TRANSITION OUR RESOURCES TO ONLINE SERVICES.
WE NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE IT SUPPORT TO BUILD THAT OUT.
AND JUST FOR CLARITY, WHAT IS PMI S I'LL TAKE THAT IT'S A PROJECT MANAGEMENT PICTURE.
UH, SO THIS GRAPH SHOWS OUR CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.
THERE IS A LINE THAT SHOWS THE INDIRECT RATE, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW IN, UH, IN PRE PRIOR YEARS, IT'S KIND OF GONE UP AND DOWN.
UM, A LOT IN OUR GOAL IS TO KIND OF HAVE THAT BE A STEADY INDIRECT RATE THAT IS CHARGED, UH, IN THE PAST, WE'VE KIND OF, UH, HAD OUR FUND BALANCE GO REALLY LOW.
AND AT ONE POINT IT WENT NEGATIVE AND
SO WE WANT TO TRY TO MANAGE THAT WHERE IT'S CONSISTENTLY GOING DOWN AND WE'RE NOT GOING UP AND DOWN, UM, WITH THAT INDIRECT RATE TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO IT'S A STEADY LINE AND KIND OF REACH A POINT WHERE IT'S, YOU KNOW, ABOUT 150, AND THEN FOR THE, UH, ORANGE, UH, GRAPHS ASSIST THE ALLOCATION PORTION THAT IS CHARGED TO THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY FOR THE, UH, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, THE ALLOCATION SUPPORTS, UH, THE SUPPORT SERVICES AREAS.
SO THE INVOICE PROCESSING, THE PURCHASING PROCESSING THE CONTRACTS BEHIND THAT.
UH, WE HAVE STAFF THAT DOES ALL OF THAT WORK FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
IF THEY USE OUR CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE A, UH, A SMALL ADDITION ON THIS SLIDE.
UH, THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS CAPITAL DELIVERY DIVISION MANAGES AN ANNUAL PORTFOLIO OF ABOUT $1.5 BILLION IN PROJECTS, UH, FOR MULTIPLE SPONSOR DEPARTMENTS.
UH, SO THE INDIRECT RATE, AND WE HAVE PROJECT MANAGERS AND ENGINEERS, UH, BOTH IN THE PLANNING, UH, PROJECT MANAGEMENT, CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT, AND DESIGN THAT DIR, UH, BUILD THEIR DIRECT HOURS, UH, THE ENGINEER HOURS.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE A STAFF OF PROJECT COORDINATORS, UM, MANAGERS, SUPERVISORS, THEY DON'T DIRECTLY CHARGE THEIR TIME TO PROJECTS.
WE COMPENSATE THEM THROUGH THIS INTERNAL SERVICE FUND FROM THE INDIRECT RATE, WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO KEEP OUR SOFT COSTS AS LEAN AS POSSIBLE, UH, TO PROVIDE AS MUCH VALUE, UH, TO OUR SPONSORS.
AND THEN THE ALLOCATION ACROSS THE BOTTOM IS OUR MEANS FOR, UH, FUNDING AND, UM, PAYING THOSE SUPPORT SERVICES.
UM, AND THEN BEFORE I KIND OF WRAP UP IN A SUMMARY, I DID WANT TO GIVE YOU SOME INFORMATION ABOUT OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM.
UH, WE'VE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF TURNOVER IN FINANCE AND WE HAVE DO EMPLOYEES THAT ARE DOING THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
UH, SO WE DIDN'T HAVE IT FINALIZED BEFORE, UH, PUBLICATION HAD TO BE SENT IN.
UH, BUT WE DO HAVE A TOTAL SPEND FOR FISCAL YEAR 23 OF $95.3 MILLION IN OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM WITH $11.6 MILLION OF APPROPRIATION FOR
UH, THIS IS COVERING, UM, SEVERAL DIFFERENT OF OUR PROGRAMS. UH, SIDEWALKS IS APPROXIMATELY 19 MILLION OF THAT TOTAL STREET.
RENEWAL IS APPROXIMATELY 40.9 MILLION OF THAT TOTAL.
UH, THE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM IS APPROXIMATELY 4.7 MILLION OF THAT TOTAL.
AND OUR TRAILS PROGRAM IS APPROXIMATELY $19.7 MILLION OF THAT TOTAL.
AND THOSE ARE THE MAJOR PROGRAMS THAT MAKE UP THAT 95.3 MILLION.
AND, UH, JUST TO SUMMARIZE EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE PRESENTED TO YOU, UH, WE DID TAKE A LOOK AT TRYING TO DESIGN OUR OUTCOMES, UH, WITH OUR S OUR DEPARTMENTAL GOALS AND THE CITYWIDE, UH, STRATEGIC GOALS.
AND WE ALIGN THOSE WITH OUR BUDGET,
[01:05:01]
UM, AND WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT PROVIDED, UH, FOR THE SERVICES, SAFETY AND TRAINING RESOURCES THAT WERE NEEDED.AND WITH THAT, WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UM, CAN WE GET THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS ON THE SCREEN? THERE YOU GO.
DOES ANYONE ON THE LINE, ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS ONLINE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS SINCE LAST TIME WE STARTED HERE IN THIS ROOM? NOPE.
I HAVE REALLY JUST SORT OF ONE QUESTION, AND I'M SURE YOU HAVE AN ANSWER, I'M JUST ASK IT.
UM, SO THINGS ARE GETTING MORE AND MORE AND MORE EXPENSIVE, AND THAT'S GOING TO BE A PROBLEM DOWN THE ROAD.
I'M SURE YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF STRATEGY FOR THAT.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN TALK ABOUT? ARE YOU STOCKPILING ALL THE THINGS YOU CAN STOCKPILE? LIKE HOW HOW'S THAT HOW'S THAT WORKING OUT? LIKE WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE PLAN? IT IS BECOMING A CHALLENGE.
UH, IN FACT, EVEN IN OUR CURRENT, UH, FISCAL YEAR, OUR CURRENT YEAR, END OF YEAR ESTIMATE, UH, WE'RE ANTICIPATING SPENDING PRETTY CLOSE TO A HUNDRED PERCENT OF OUR PLAN, UH, FY 22 BUDGET.
UH, AND THEN FOR F UM, FOR FYI 23, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE EXPECTING PER UPWARDS OF THAT 1.2 TO 1.5 MILLION.
AND WE'VE ACCOMMODATED FOR THAT IN OUR BUDGET PROPOSAL.
SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE STRETCHING AVAILABLE DOLLARS AS FAR AS WE CAN IS, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS.
WE'RE LOOKING AT PROCESS EFFICIENCIES.
UH, I HAVE A GROUP OF, UM, A TEAM THAT JUST LOOKS AT CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT ACROSS ALL OF OUR, UH, DIVISION FUNCTIONS TO ACHIEVE EFFICIENCIES AND SAVINGS AND BEING COGNIZANT OF, UH, OF OUR SPANS.
SO JUST TIGHTENING OUR BELTS AND, UH, BUT CONTINUING FORWARD, WE'RE NOT, UM, GOING TO SACRIFICE ANY LEVELS OF SERVICE THAT THE COMMUNITY EXPECTS.
UH, WE'RE STILL GOING TO, UM, UH, STRIVE TOWARDS OUR GOALS FOR QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE.
THERE'S SO MANY OTHER, UH, SERVICES THAT RELY ON QUALITY STREETS AND SIDEWALKS, UH, AND OTHER PROGRAMS. SO WE'RE NOT TAKING OUR EYE OFF THAT, BUT WE ARE KEEPING A CLOSE PULSE ON THOSE COSTS.
UM, SO LIKE, AND THE REASON I ASK THIS QUESTION IS YOU, YOU SHOULD, ONE OF THE CHARTS AND YOU HAVE BASICALLY TWO AND A HALF, A MILLION DOLLAR KIND OF BUFFER.
IT SORT OF SEEMED BLANK, YOU KNOW, AND YOU SAID THAT COVER A 30 TO 45 DAYS, BUT WHEN I THINK ABOUT INFLATION, AND THEN YOU TALK ABOUT THINGS GOING UP TWO X AND FOUR X, AND THAT BUFFER IS NOT REALLY GETTING BIGGER.
THE REAL VALUE OF THAT BUFFER IS GETTING SMALLER AND FOUR YEARS FROM NOW THAT BUFFER IS GOING TO BE ALMOST MEANINGLESS AT THIS RATE.
UM, SO THAT'S WHAT I WAS JUST WONDERING HOW, UH, HOW YOU'RE PLANNING FOR THAT.
I DIDN'T HEAR YOU SAY YOU WERE GOING TO TRY AND INCREASE THIS BUFFER OR THAT WE'RE GONNA, AND I'M NOT SAYING, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU WOULD DO IT, BUT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT THAT? I'M SURE.
UH, YES, WE ARE THINKING ABOUT THAT.
WE ARE TRYING TO THINK OF A DIFFERENT, UM, REVENUE SOURCES THAT WE CAN BRING IN.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, ATD SHARED THAT WE HAVE TO START THINKING ABOUT THAT NOW.
UH, SO WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK INTO THAT WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE AND HOW WE COULD, UH, BRING DIFFERENT REVENUES IN TO SUPPORT OUR SERVICES.
YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT 2.5 MILLION TO $5 MILLION BUFFER WILL NOT EQUATE TO 30 TO 45 DAYS.
IT WILL BE MUCH LESS THAN THAT IN THE FUTURE WITH RISING COSTS.
I DON'T HAVE A MAGIC ANSWER FOR WHAT THAT IS RIGHT NOW.
DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YES.
YOU MENTIONED A ONE BUILDING WHOSE LEASE YOU COULD POSSIBLY REDUCE.
HAVE YOU DONE A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF ALL OF YOUR PHYSICAL SPACE TO SEE HOW MUCH OF THAT YOU REALLY NEED ANY MORE? WE ARE IN PROGRESS OF LOOKING AT THAT AS WELL.
UH, THE, UH, BERKSHIRE TECH CENTER WAS A NEW LEASE THAT WE JUST RECENTLY SIGNED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
SO THAT WAS ONE THAT WE DO HAVE THE OPTION TO LET GO AFTER
UH, BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT ALL, UH, ALL OF OUR FACILITY SPACES AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS DONE CITYWIDE.
UM, SO IT'S NOT JUST THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT LOOKING AT THAT IT'S A CITY-WIDE APPROACH TO SEE HOW WE CAN COMBINE OUR RESOURCES AND USE OUR FACILITIES IN THE BEST WAY.
ONE MORE CHANCE FOR, UM, COULD YOU EXPLAIN SLIDE 21 AGAIN, I, I GOT LOST IN THAT ONE, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, I'M NOT GONNA LIE.
UM, A LOT OF ACRONYMS IN THERE AND THE PERCENTAGE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT, THE PERCENTAGE OF MAYBE I WAS DAYDREAMING.
I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT SLIDE AT ALL.
ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE INDIRECT RATE AND THE CORRECT? YEAH.
G TWA CAPITAL DELIVERY, CPM F INDIRECT RATE PLUS ALLOCATION.
[01:10:01]
OF? UH, SO THE INDIRECT RATE IS A PERCENTAGE OF THE COST FOR OUR SALARIES, FOR THE CAPITAL DELIVERY.SO THE EMPLOYEES THAT WORK ON THE CAPITAL DELIVERY PROJECT, UH, THERE'S A, A PERCENTAGE OF THEIR RATE THAT WE COLLECT TO HELP SUPPORT PART OF THEIR SALARIES, UH, TO COVER THEIR SERVICES.
UH, SO THAT IS, UH, FOR EMPLOYEES THAT ARE BILLING DIRECTLY TO CIP PROJECTS.
UM, SO WHEN THEY BUILD TO THOSE CIP PROJECTS, IT'S A, IT'S A COST THAT'S RELATED TO THE PROJECT.
SO IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR IT TO BE BILLED TO CIP.
THERE'S A PORTION OF THAT THAT COMES BACK, UH, TO HELP COVER SOME OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE, UM, COST DRIVERS FOR INSURANCE.
UM, AND THE LIKE, UH, THAT'S PART OF THAT PERCENTAGE RATE IT, OR YOU SORT OF SAY, IF THIS WERE NOT, YOU WOULD, IF IT WASN'T THE CITY, IT WOULD BE, THIS IS SORT OF THE PERCENTAGE MARKUP IN ORDER TO COVER THE COSTS THAT ARE NOT DIRECTLY BILLABLE.
SO RIGHT NOW YOU HAVE TO DO THAT BASICALLY 163%, BUT YOU'D PREFER TO DO IT AT 150%.
CAN YOU GET THAT? SO SORT OF THE MARK OUT TO COVER THE NON-BILLABLE FOLKS.
REALLY DIDN'T I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T QUITE GET IT EITHER.
I THOUGHT MAYBE THAT'S WHAT IT WAS, BUT YEAH.
AND THEN JUST A GENERAL COMMENT, UM, AND NOT TRYING TO GET INTO Y'ALL'S BUSINESS OR HOW YOU RUN YOUR OPERATIONS, BUT YEAH.
GIVEN WITH THE RECENT COST ESTIMATES FOR PROJECT CONNECT AND, UH, INCREASE IN COST, I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT AND KIND OF SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS AND THERE'S MULTIPLE REASONS FOR THAT.
AND I KNOW THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH Y'ALL WHATSOEVER.
I'M JUST WONDERING THOUGH, YOU KNOW, THOSE TWO FTES, AND I KNOW IT'S JUST A TINY DROP IN THE BUCKET, BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK AS A CITY, MY, MY THOUGHT PROCESS IS THAT WE ALL HAVE TO BE LOOKING AT WAYS TO DELIVER PROJECT CONNECT MORE EFFICIENTLY.
UM, AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S NOT A DIFFERENT WAY TO APPROACH THOSE TWO FTES AND NOT JUST FROM Y'ALL STANDPOINT, BUT I'M SURE OTHER DEPARTMENTS WILL HAVE, WE'LL BE TOUCHING PROJECT CONNECT IN SOME SORT OF WAY THAT WILL WANT THEIR REVIEWERS IN THERE TO ENSURE THE QUALITY OF THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE GET THAT THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE GETS DELIVERED TO THE STANDARDS THAT THEIR DEPARTMENT EXPECTS.
UM, I'M JUST WONDERING, COMING FROM THE ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY SPACE MYSELF, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, THINKING THROUGH OF HOW THESE, HOW DESIGN BILL CONTRACTS ARE IMPLEMENTED, WHERE IT'S ESSENTIALLY YOU HAVE, WE'RE HOLDING YOUR FEET TO THE FIRE TO, TO DELIVER THIS LEVEL OF SERVICE, TO DELIVER ACCORDING TO THESE DESIGN STANDARDS, WHETHER IT BE OUT, WHETHER IT BE, UM, ANY SORT OF TRENDS IN AUTHORITY.
IS THERE SOMETHING, I MEAN, TO ME IN MY HEAD, I THINK, I THINK TO MYSELF, THIS, COULD THIS BE AS SIMPLE AS SIMPLY AS SIMPLE AS JUST AMENDING THE ILA AND PUTTING A CLAUSE IN THE ILA, AND IT SAYS PROJECT CONNECT WILL DELIVER ANY SORT OF, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC WORKS FACILITIES TO THE, TO THE EXACT STANDARDS AND DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS THAT THAT PROJECT WORKS REQUIRES.
AND THEN AS, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING TO FTES REVIEWING PLANS CONSTANTLY, AND NOT JUST THIS DEPARTMENT, BUT MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY, PERHAPS WE'RE DOING SPOT CHECKS TO ENSURE THAT THAT, THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY DELIVERING TO THE STANDARDS OF PUBLIC WORKS.
I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN CUT COSTS ACROSS THE BOARD.
AND I APPRECIATE THAT, THAT FEEDBACK, YOU KNOW, THE TWO FTES PROPOSED ARE A LITTLE ON THE LEAN SIDE FOR A DEPARTMENT, UM, UH, ACROSS THE CITY AND I'VE ALREADY BEEN ENGAGED.
I MEAN, WE'RE GOING TO SEE A MOUNTAIN OF DESIGN SUBMITTALS BEFORE THIS IS ALL SAID AND DONE, WE'RE DOING 30% REVIEWS.
NOW IT'S GOING TO GO TO 60% REVIEWS.
AND, UM, THOSE SUBMITTALS ARE, ARE JUST GOING TO BE, UH, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE ENORMOUS ON A $7 BILLION PROGRAM.
UM, BUT THESE REVIEWERS, UH, WILL BE, UM, EMBEDDED IN AND WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF, UM, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND THEY COLLECT FEES ON OUR BEHALF, UH, OFF OF PROJECTS.
AND SO MY EXPECTATION IS THAT WE WOULD HAVE SOME COST RECOVERY ON THOSE TWO, TWO POSITIONS.
SO IF I'M UNDERSTANDING YOU CORRECTLY, ATP IS GOING TO BE PAYING FEES TO Y'ALL TO REVIEW THOSE PLANS, THEY'LL BE PAYING TO DSD.
SOMEONE'S GONNA BE PAYING FEES TO THE CITY.
THE CITY IS ESSENTIALLY THE CITY IS GONNA BE PAYING FEES TO ITSELF TO REVIEW THE PLANS, TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE, UH, IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR STANDARD DETAILS AND DESIGNS.
UM, IT'S LIKE I PAY OUR, OUR, UH, TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT FOR A RIGHT OF WAY FEES TO GET A RIGHT AWAY PERMIT TO CLOSE THE LANE AND, AND, AND REPAIR PROJECT.
I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S NOT A DIFFERENT WAY KIND OF OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING WE CAN, WE CAN IMPLEMENT THAT ESSENTIALLY
[01:15:01]
GETS US TO THE SAME PLACE WITH A LESSER COST.I WOULD CERTAINLY WELCOME THAT CONVERSATION.
MS. BUDAE DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD? YEP.
AND ECO DAY WITH PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE, I JUST WANTED TO OFFER SUPPORT, UM, TO, UH, RICHARD IN PUBLIC WORKS THAT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF, OF, UM, REVIEW WORK AT, AT THIS JUNCTURE WITH REGARDS TO IDENTIFYING WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE FOOTPRINT OF THE PROJECT AS WE GO THROUGH THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.
UM, AND IT'S DEFINITELY BEEN A STRAIN ON THE WHOLE ENTERPRISE ON THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION.
AND SO, AS RICHARD SAID, AS WE'VE MOVED THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WON'T, WHEN WE ACTUALLY GO TO SUBMIT FOR OUR PERMITS AND WE ARE RIGHT NOW IN THE PROCESS, THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE IN COOPERATION WITH, UM, ALL RELEVANT CITY DEPARTMENTS ON OCTOBER 29TH, THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECTED THE CITY MANAGER TO DO A REVIEW OF CODES AND PROCESSES.
SO EXACTLY KIND OF WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TO ASSURE, UH, WE CAN DO THINGS IN THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY AND DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY FOR DIFFERENT RESULTS BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FOR A PROJECT OF THIS SIZE.
AND SO THAT IS IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND I'M SURE WE'LL BE BACK TO THIS COMMISSION TO GIVE YOU ALL, UM, AND OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND UPDATE ON HOW THAT'S PROGRESSING AND START TO SOCIALIZE WHAT WE FOUND AND WHAT WE THINK WILL BE, UM, GOOD SUGGESTIONS AND CHANGES.
BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MANY DEPARTMENTS WHO ARE RESOURCING UP TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE RESOURCES TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WHAT WE'RE TEEING UP AT THIS POINT, UM, MEETS ALL CODE AND CRITERIA, UM, AND TRANSPORTATION OPERATIONS.
MULTI-MODAL THE NEW TCM TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL.
UM, BUT I'M HOPING AS WE PROGRESS IN THE PROGRAM, THAT WE CAN FIND WAYS TO BECOME MORE EFFICIENT PER YOUR COMMENT.
BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, I DO BELIEVE THAT THE, THE POSITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN TEED UP ARE DEFINITELY NEEDED.
AND I'M HAPPY TO HAVE A CONVERSATION OFF THE KNOW OFFLINE ABOUT THIS, BUT I THINK THERE'S OTHER WAYS TO POTENTIALLY THINK ABOUT HOW GET TO THE SAME PLACE THAT COULD REALLY HAVE SOME OVERALL LIKE COST EFFICIENCIES IN THIS ENTIRE THING.
YOU KNOW, JUST THINKING ABOUT IT, LIKE I SAID, FROM A DESIGN BUILD STANDPOINT, YOU'RE NOT NECESSARILY GOING TO BE SOMEONE FROM TECH SIDE, ISN'T REVIEWING EVERY SINGLE PLAN SHEET.
THAT'S WHY THERE'S TEXTILE DESIGN STANDARDS, YOU KNOW? UM, AND I KNOW YOU'RE AWARE OF THESE THINGS.
SO I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, IN A SIMILAR VEIN, YOU KNOW, DO WE NEED TO AMEND THAT CONTRACT THE ILA WITH PROJECT CONNECT TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE STILL DOING WHAT NEEDS TO GET DELIVERED, BUT WE'RE IN A, IN THE MOST EFFICIENT MANNER POSSIBLE.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE SPEAKING FOR PROJECT CONNECT TODAY, ARE YOU RIGHT? OKAY.
NEXT UP IS THE PROJECT CONNECT AND BLUE LINE UPDATE.
IS THIS VERY, VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PEAK AND MEETING PAST THURSDAY? YES.
[2.C. Project Connect Blue Line Update]
ON TO SEE, I THINK ON, ON THAT, UM, THAT ITEM AND I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE THE ITEM.IT IS A, AN ABBREVIATED, UH, SUMMARY OF WHAT OCCURRED ON APRIL 26 AT THE, UM, AT THE DESIGN, UM, PUBLIC MEETING FOR THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE, UM, FOR THE BLUE LINE OF PROJECT CONNECT.
SO, UH, I'M HERE, UM, ALONG WITH PETER MULLEN WHO IS ONSCREEN AND ANNA MARTIN.
SO PETER FROM AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AND ANNA FROM, UM, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, UM, MY PARTNER AT THE CITY IN HELPING TO IMPLEMENT PROJECT CONNECT.
AND SO I'M GOING TO HAND, UM, AND SO WE WERE HERE, UM, BACK IN DECEMBER AND IN FEBRUARY TO TALK ABOUT THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE, UM, AND THE MOBILITY OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES PRESENTED.
AND, UM, I'M HAPPY TO SAY, AS YOU ALL KNOW, FROM THE APRIL 26 MEETING THAT THE TEAM COLLABORATED, UM, LIKE, LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS TO FIND A WAY TO, UM, ACCOMMODATE BUSES PER THE FEEDBACK WE GOT HERE AND FEEDBACK THAT WE'D HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
UM, AND WE HAVE THOSE TWO OPTIONS.
SO I'M GOING TO HAND IT OVER TO PETER TO GIVE AN ABBREVIATED SUMMARY OF WHAT WE DID, UM, ON THE 26TH.
WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE MORE INPUT FROM THIS COMMISSION TONIGHT, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS AND MANY OTHER, UM, ITEMS, UH, ALONG THE, ALONG THE TWO ROUTES, UM, WHERE WE STILL HAVE DESIGN OPTIONS.
SO PETER, GO AHEAD AND, UM, YOU CAN START US OUT.
I APOLOGIZE IF MY VOICE, A LITTLE SCRATCHY TODAY.
UM, YEAH, SO I'M PETER MELINDA, CHIEF OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN FOR, UH, AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.
[01:20:01]
FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT.UM, UH, COMMISSIONERS AND, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO JUST GO THROUGH THE, THE ANALYSIS THAT WE, UM, PARTS ABOUT BACK IN FEBRUARY, THAT WE'RE GOING TO SET OUT TO DO, TO, TO EVALUATE, UM, AS THOROUGHLY, AS THOROUGHLY AS WE COULD, THE TWO DESIGN OPTIONS FOR THE BRIDGE.
UM, ONE THAT INCLUDES, UM, UH, BUSES, UH, ONE THAT IS LIGHT RAIL ONLY.
UM, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT HOW, WHERE WE ENDED UP WITH THAT ANALYSIS.
UM, AS, UH, AS ANNE SAID, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE ARE CARRYING BOTH OPTIONS INTO THE DEIS SO THAT WE, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE ABILITY TO IMPLEMENT EITHER ONE OF THEM.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE DO NOT HAVE A RECOMMENDATION AT THIS TIME AND WE'RE STILL WANTING TO TAKE AS MUCH INPUT AS WE CAN FROM STAKEHOLDERS AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
THE NEXT I'M GOING TO TRY TO GO, UH, WENT BACK.
SO JUST, I MEAN, I GO PRETTY QUICKLY THROUGH THE INTRO, CAUSE I THINK MOST OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE PROGRAM AND THE BLUE LINE.
UM, BUT HERE IS A MAP JUST SHOWING THE ALIGNMENT, UM, FROM THE AIRPORT, UH, INTO DOWNTOWN WHERE IT CONNECTS, UH, WITH THE ORANGE LINE OF REPUBLIC SQUARE.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THOSE DOTTED LINES DOWNTOWN AS THE, AS THE PORTION OF THE BOTH BLUE LINE AND ORANGE LINE ALIGNMENTS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY, UM, CONSIDERING TO BE IN A SUBWAY.
UM, SO, UH, THE BLUE LINE COMES DOWN ESSENTIALLY THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR.
UM, AND THEN WHEN IT GETS TO THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT TAKES A RIGHT TURN, UM, AND THEN CROSSES THE LAKE AT A BRIDGE AND IMMEDIATELY GOES INTO THE SUBWAY AND WE'LL SHOW HOW THAT WORKS.
UM, NEXT, UM, SO THIS IS A ZOOM IN, ON THE BRIDGE, UH, LOCATION ITSELF.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE WE'VE GOT STATIONS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE BRIDGE.
THERE'S THE WATERFRONT STATION, WHICH IS AT GRADE, UM, ON THE SOUTH SIDE.
SO DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO THE STATESMAN PUD, UM, AND SORT OF CLOSER TO RIVERSIDE.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE AN UNDERGROUND STATION, UH, NORTH OF THE RIVER, UH, AT, UM, THE RAINY MAX STATION, WHICH, UH, STRETCHES THE PLATFORM, BASICALLY STRETCHES FROM CESAR CHAVEZ TO SECOND STREET.
UM, AND WE HAVE ENTRANCES, UM, BOTH TO THE SOUTH AND TO THE EAST AS WELL AS SMALLER ONES, UM, ADJACENT TO THE, THE ENDS OF THE PLATFORM.
SO WE ARE WE'RE ARE EVALUATING TWO, UM, OPTIONS, UH, FOR THE BRIDGE.
THIS IS A KIND OF A REALLY DIAGRAMMATIC CARTOON.
AND, UM, I'M SORRY, I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE IF I SAY THIS TOO MANY TIMES, BUT THIS IS NOT A DESIGN.
THIS IS WHY WE REALLY CLEAR LIKE THIS.
THIS IS ABOUT FEASIBILITY AND, UM, AND GEOMETRY MOSTLY AS WELL AS SOME OPERATIONAL CONCERNS AND, OR, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERATIONS.
UM, AND SO FOR THE PURPOSES OF SIMPLICITY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SHOWING, UM, OPTION OPTION A IS THE LIGHT RAIL LRT, UM, AND SHARED USE PATH.
UM, THE LRT IS IN THE BLUE AND THEN THE, UM, THE SHARED USE AS THE RED OR SHOWING THE SHARED USE PATH AS THIS KIND OF RED SQUIGGLY LINE NOW, BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE SQUIGGLY OR RED.
BUT BECAUSE WE JUST WANT TO DISTINGUISH IT FROM THE LIGHT RAIL AND THE BUS WEIGHTS, WE HAVE A LOT MORE FLEXIBILITY, OBVIOUSLY IN TERMS OF HOW YOU DESIGN A SPACE FOR PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS, UM, JUST IN TERMS OF STRUCTURAL LOADING AND GEOMETRY, ET CETERA.
SO IT'S REALLY JUST A KIND OF A CARTOON TO SIGNAL THAT.
SO, UM, UM, AND THEN IN THE OPTION B WE'VE BASICALLY FIT A DEDICATED BUS WAY FOR, UM, UH, FOR BUS TRAVEL ACROSS THE LAKE IN BETWEEN THE LRT AND THE SHARED USE PATH.
SO THIS IS A VIEW SUCH THAT LOOKING NORTHWEST SO THAT THE LRT IS IN THE SAME LOCATION, BOTH OPTIONS, UM, CAUSE THAT ALIGNMENT IS PRETTY, PRETTY FIXED IN TERMS OF WHERE WE NEED TO GET TO ON EITHER SIDE.
UM, AND THEN THAT'S ON THE EAST SIDE WITHIN THE, THE BUSWAY IS NEXT TO IT.
AND THEN THE, THE CRDS PATH IS TO THE WEST NEXT.
SO WE, UM, AS WE TALKED ABOUT IN FEBRUARY, WE'VE LOOKED AT THE OPTIONS FROM A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CRITERIA, WHICH ARE LISTED HERE, UM, YOU KNOW, STARTING WITH WHAT IS THE TRANSIT OPPORTUNITY TRANSIT NEED AND BENEFIT, RIGHT? HOW DO WE, UM, HOW WILL THIS ENHANCE OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM? UM, NETWORK-WIDE TO ADD THIS CAPACITY FOR BUSES ON THE BRIDGE? UM, IT WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
THE SECOND WE HAVE SOME FOLKS FROM CHEMISTRY, ROBERTO GONZALEZ FROM KENT METRO, AS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT, UM, WE WERE GOING TO TALK ABOUT DESIGN AND ENGINEERING, HAS IT FIT BECAUSE IT'S A PRETTY TIGHT SQUEEZE, BUT I THINK WE FIGURED OUT HOW TO MAKE IT WORK.
AND I WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, JUST, I WAS SKEPTICAL ABOUT MAKING THIS FIT, BUT OUR DESIGN TEAM FIGURED IT OUT.
SO I GOT TO GIVE THEM KUDOS AND I GIVE, GIVE THIS COMMISSION KUDOS FOR PUSHING US TO REALLY FIGURE THAT OUT.
SO, UM, UH, I WAS, I WAS CONVERTED.
UM, ALSO OBVIOUSLY WE WANT TO LOOK AT IMPACTS TO THE BUTLER TRAIL, UM, WITH BOTH OPTIONS,
[01:25:01]
YOU KNOW, THE, THE, WE REALLY WANT THIS BRIDGE TO BE A VERY SENSITIVE INSERTION, UM, INTO THE EXPERIENCE OF THE TRAIL AND THE LAKE.UM, SO WE'LL SORT OF HOPEFULLY SHOW HOW THAT WORKS.
UM, AND YOU COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ADDITIONAL CITY POLICIES AND OPERATIONAL, UM, SUPPORT THAT REALLY WILL BE NECESSARY TO LEVERAGE THIS OPPORTUNITY.
UM, SOME CHANGES ABOUT HOW WE OPERATE SIXTH STREET, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, REALLY ARE GOING TO BE NECESSARY TO MAKE THIS WORK, UM, FOR TRANSIT FOR BUSES, I WOULD SAY, UM, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE FEDERAL PROCESS.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS KNOW, I THINK WE'RE IN A GOOD POSITION TO BE ABLE TO EXECUTE ON EITHER OPTION IT'S PART OF THE DAI S AND THE NEPA PROCESS.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT COST IMPACTS BECAUSE THE, THE, THE BUS OPTION DOES HAVE AN ADDITIONAL COST PREMIUM TO IT.
SO I'M GOING TO HAND IT OVER TO ROBERTO GONZALEZ, WHO, UM, FROM CAP METRO TO TALK ABOUT, UH, ABOUT THE, THE BENEFIT AND, UH, FOR TRANSIT OPERATIONS, WITH THE NEW BUS OPTION FOR, THANK YOU, PETER.
I'M WITH CAPITAL METRO IN THE SERVICE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
SO I HELP OVERSEE A TEAM THAT LOOKS AT THE PLANNING AND DESIGN OF ROUTES, AND MORE SPECIFICALLY WITH A METRO BUS, BUT WE ARE WORKING VERY, VERY CLOSELY WITH PROJECT CONNECT AND PETER AND THE REST OF THE GROUP.
AS WE LOOK AT THE FUTURE INTEGRATION OF OUR NETWORK.
SO AS EVERYONE RECOGNIZES OUR BUS AND LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM ARE COMPLIMENTARY COMPONENTS TO THE TRANSIT NETWORK.
WE WANT THEM AND NEED THEM TO WORK TOGETHER.
UH, WE EXPECT TRANSIT RIDERS TO USE BOTH BUS AND LRT AS OUR COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO GROW.
NOW, OUR FUTURE PLANS FOR BUS SERVICE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP, UM, IN THE NEXT COMING YEARS, ALL DESIGNED TO COINCIDE WITH THE OPENING OF THE NEW, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF PROJECT CONNECTS.
SO PROJECT CONNECT, DOESN'T JUST TURN ON.
AND IN ONE PIECE, IN ONE ELEMENT, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ELEMENTS THAT ARE PART OF PROJECT CONNECT, UH, FROM LIGHT RAIL TO RAPID BUS, TO, TO SOME INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO AS EACH ONE OF THOSE DEVELOPS AND IS IMPLEMENTED, OUR SYSTEM WILL, WILL BE REDESIGNED TO MEET THAT NEED.
UM, AND OUR GOAL IS TO, TO DESIGN THE SYSTEM.
SO IT INCREASES ACCESS TO TRANSIT AND SERVE OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY'S NEEDS.
SO OUR GOAL IS FOR THIS, THE SYSTEM TO BE A NETWORK THAT REACHES, UH, BEYOND JUST, UM, JUSTICE LOCALITY HERE.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, EVEN AT 40, YOU PASS IT ON THAT.
YOU GOT TO POINT PEOPLE TO THE LITTLE, THE LITTLE ASTERISK AT THE BOTTOM, BECAUSE WHEN I ASKED AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO CALL THAT OUT GORDON, UH, ON BULLET NUMBER TWO, WHEN I SAID THAT WE EXPECT TRANSIT RIDERS USE BOTH BUSTING TEA.
IT'S NOT JUST BECAUSE OF, OF, UH, NEEDS OR, UH, THE ABILITY TO USE BETWEEN BOTH MODES.
BUT OUR GOAL IS ALSO TO ENSURE THAT THAT, THAT THE MODES ARE WITHIN THE SAME FARE STRUCTURE SO THAT THEY CAN USE THAT.
AND THAT'S NOT A DETERRENT, BUT THAT IS JUST HELPS STREAMLINE, UH, THE USE OF THE SYSTEM IN THAT AREA.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE EXPECT AT THIS POINT.
OF COURSE, THE ACTUAL FARE STRUCTURE WILL BE DETERMINED BY, BY THE METRO BOARD AT THE TIME WHEN IT BEGINS.
BUT RIGHT NOW OUR ASSUMPTIONS ARE THAT THE FARES WILL BE THE SAME FOR BOTH MODES.
NEXT SLIDE, JUST SORRY, BEFORE YOU GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON.
JUST TO CLARIFY, WHEN YOU SAY THE SAME, WHAT, WHAT ARE Y'ALL ASSUMING IS IT, YOU PAY ONE FARE AND YOU GET ONE RIDE ALL THE WAY INTO DOWNTOWN, WHETHER DO YOU HAVE TO CONNECT TO A BUS OR A TRAIN, OR YOU GET OFF, YOU PAY THE, I DUNNO, TWO BUCKS FOR A BUS GET OFF THE BUS PAINTER, THE TWO BUCKS FOR THE, FOR THE TRAIN.
WHAT DOES THAT, WHAT DOES THAT ASSUMPTION? UM, PERHAPS YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH SOME OF OUR FAIREST STRUCTURES, BUT WE'VE GOT MONTHLY PASSES DAY PASSES, SINGLE RIDE, UH, PASSES AND ALL.
SO THE GOAL IS THAT THE FARE STRUCTURE THAT THE COST OF, OF A SINGLE RIDE WOULD BE THE SAME FOR BOTH, FOR EITHER MODE IN THAT THERE IS NOT A DIFFERENT, UM, UH, DIFFERENTIAL OR, OR, OR, OR INCREASE TO USE ONE MODE OVER THE OTHER THAT IS ALL EQUAL IN TERMS OF FAIR STRUCTURE.
IF THAT MAKES SENSE, THERE STILL WILL HAVE TO BE DISCUSSIONS AS TO WHAT DOES THE DAY PASS OUR TRANSFERS INCLUDED AS, AS IN YOUR DAY PASS YOU JUST, AND TYPICALLY THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE RIGHT NOW, A DAY PASS.
YOU CAN USE THE ENTIRE SYSTEM, UM, FOR THAT, FOR THAT COST.
NOW, CURRENTLY WITH CAPITOL MATCHA, WE HAVE A COMMUTER FAIR, A LOCAL FAIR, AND COMMUTER FAIR IS TYPICALLY HIGHER FOR USE OF RED LINE FOR THE EXPRESS BUS.
LOCAL FAIR IS FOR THE REST OF THE BUS NETWORK, BUT THERE IS A DIFFERENTIAL A DIFFERENCE IN THOSE TWO FAIRS RIGHT NOW, BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE IN THE FUTURE, IDEALLY WITH BOTH LRT AND BUS.
APPRECIATE THAT CLARIFICATION.
SO, UM, REGIONALLY AND DIRECT SPILLER SPOKE ABOUT THIS AT HIS PRE PREVIOUS, UM, PRESENTATION.
EVERYONE RECOGNIZES THAT OUR COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO GROW.
[01:30:01]
JUST GROWING INSIDE OF AUSTIN, BUT THROUGHOUT OUR ENTIRE REGION.SO OUR PROJECTIONS SHOW THAT EMPLOYMENT AND POPULATION GROWTH WILL CONTINUE, WILL CONTINUE, AND THERE WILL BE A, UH, A NEED TO RELY ON BUSES TO REACH DOWNTOWN.
WHILE WE ARE LOOKING CLOSELY AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM, THAT SYSTEM WILL BE FED BY SOME BUSES, BUT THERE'LL STILL BE A NEED TO, TO TRANSPORT, UH, PEOPLE DIRECTLY FROM OTHER AREAS, NOT SERVED BY RAIL INTO THE CORE AREA.
AND SO DESIGNING THIS BRIDGE TO ACCOMMODATE BOTH LRT AND BUSES, IT GIVES US SOME OPPORTUNITIES.
ONE IS IT, IT WILL HELP WITH THE RELIABILITY OF OUR SERVICE.
IT'LL HELP US TO DESIGN DESIGNER SERVICES A LITTLE MORE EFFICIENTLY.
UM, AND THEN IT HELPS ADDRESS SOME OF THAT FUTURE GROWTH AND ANYTHING THAT, THAT WE SEE WHERE WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGES OF, OF EFFICIENCY.
THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS WE WANNA, WE WANNA LOOK AT SO THAT WE CAN REINVEST ANY, ANY OF OUR RESOURCES SAVED BACK INTO THE SYSTEM SO THAT WE CAN ATTRACT RIDERSHIP AND ADDRESS SOME GROWTH.
IN SOME OF THE PREVIOUS PRESENTERS TALKED ABOUT A CONTINUING NEED TO REINVEST, UH, REVENUES OR RESOURCES BACK INTO THE SYSTEMS TO MAKE OUR SYSTEMS WORK BETTER.
SO THE, UM, THE CORRIDOR OP GIVES US A NEW OPPORTUNITY.
MOST OF YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH THE GUADALUPE LAVACA TRANSIT CORRIDOR TRANSIT PARTY LANES THAT WE HAVE IN THAT AREA.
A LOT OF WORK WENT INTO THAT DISCUSSION AND THAT DESIGN WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY DIRECTOR, SPILLER, WHO, WHO SPOKE AT THE FIRST WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN WORKING WITH US FROM THE ATD SIDE AND CAPITAL METRO TO KIND OF BRING THOSE, THOSE, UM, THOSE, UM, CORRIDORS INTO PLAY.
THERE WAS A LOT THAT WERE ENTAILED IN THERE, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT, UH, WE'RE REQUIRED TO MAKE THOSE THINGS HAPPEN, INCLUDING THE REMOVAL OF PARKING DEDICATING, AT LEAST ONE LANE FOR THE MOVEMENT OF TRANSIT, UM, LOOKING AT SIGNAGE, SIGNALIZATION, TIMING, THINGS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND SO THEY'VE SERVED US WELL THERE.
AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS LOOKING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO OPEN A SECOND MAJOR PRIORITY CORRIDOR ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF DOWNTOWN.
AS YOU CAN SEE WITH A MAP THERE ON THE SLIDE, THIS, THIS WILL AFFORD US THE OPPORTUNITIES TO MORE DIRECTLY CONNECT WITH THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT DISTRICT DOWNTOWN, AS IT CONTINUES TO EXPAND THE STATE, WE ALL KNOW HAS CONTINUED TO, TO REINVEST AND EXPAND THEIR CAPITAL COMPLEX.
WE NOW HAVE THE MEDICAL SCHOOL IN THE AREA AND THE MEDICAL COMPLEX WILL CONTINUE TO GROW.
AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HAS ALL CONTINUED TO GROW.
SO THIS GIVES US ANOTHER CHANCE TO LOOK AT THINGS FROM A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE, AS
AND LOCALLY, IT HELPS US LOOKING AT A NEW NORTH SOUTH CORRIDOR TO SUPPORT OUR LOCAL SERVICES TO AND THROUGH DOWNTOWN.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS, AS WE LOOK AND DO SERVING DOWNTOWN, IT'S A, IT'S A COMPLEX, UH, SET OF, OF, OF, UH, REQUIREMENTS.
EVERYONE KNOWS THAT CROSSING THE LAKE IS, IS AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF OUR, OF OUR NETWORK, WHETHER YOU'RE IT'S BIKE, RIDING THE BUS AUTOMOBILE.
UM, IT IS, IT IS, THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO CROSS THE RIVER.
AND SO FOR US, UH, PRIORITIZING TRANSIT OVER LADY BIRD LAKE, THIS AREA WOULD HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE A RELIABLE AND MORE EXPEDIENT SERVICE TO AND THROUGH DOWNTOWN.
WHILE WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT SOUTH FIRST STREET BRIDGE, UH, RIGHT NOW, AND THAT IS KIND OF MOST OF OUR MAIN OPERATIONS, YOU SAW FIRST STREET BRIDGE THAT BAIT THIS ONE PARTICULAR ITEM, UM, GIVES US ANOTHER OTHER CHANCE TO LOOK AT SOME THINGS OR EFFICIENTLY.
UM, WITHOUT IT, IT FORCES US TO LOOK AT THINGS SUCH AS
SO, UM, FIRST STREET BRIDGE IS BEING WORKED ON RIGHT NOW IN UNISON WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO LOOK AT SOME FUTURE, TRY TO, UH, FEATURE TRANSIT PRIORITY TREATMENTS, AND THAT WILL HELP OUR NETWORK FOR ALL THE SERVICES THAT ARE KIND OF SERVING THE NORTHWESTERN SOUTHWESTERN SOUTH CENTRAL SIDE, THAT BAR COMMUNITY, THIS PARTICULAR ALIGNMENT HELPS US WITH SOME OF OUR SERVICES THAT ARE COMING FROM THE SOUTH EASTERN NORTHEASTERN AND EASTERN PART OF OUR COMMUNITY WITHOUT HAVING TO MIGRATE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT CORRIDORS.
SO THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN, INTO THE FUTURE AND WORKING TOGETHER.
WE BELIEVE THAT THIS WILL BE A POSITIVE IMPACT FOR OUR NETWORK AND FOR OUR WRITERS.
IT'S, I'M GOING TO HAND IT BACK OVER TO PETER, WHERE HE'S GOING TO GET TO GIVE YOU SOME OVERVIEWS OF SOME DESIGN OPTIONS AND GET A LITTLE BIT FURTHER INTO THE DETAILS OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING.
[01:35:02]
SO, UM, I'M JUST GOING TO GO THROUGH A SERIES OF RENDERINGS THAT SHOW THE TWO COMP TWO OPTIONS GOING TO START BY SIDE OR COMPARED WITH ONE ANOTHER.SO YOU GET A SENSE OF WHAT THE DIFFERENCES ARE.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS AN AERIAL VIEW LOOKING NORTHWEST TOWARDS DOWNTOWN.
YOU'VE GOT THIS AS THE OPTION A WHICH IS THE LRT ONLY, UM, AND YOU HAVE THE LRT GUIDEWAY, UM, AND THEN YOU'VE GOT THE SECURITIES PATH NEXT TO IT, TO THE WEST THE NEXT, AND THAT'S THE VERSION THAT HAS THE DEDICATED BUS WAY, UM, SORT OF SANDWICHED IN BETWEEN THE LRT AND THE SHARED USE PATH.
NOW, WHY JUST TAKE A MOMENT JUST TO TALK ABOUT, UM, THE, WE DID, AS PART OF THE ANALYSIS STUDY, THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING THE BUS WAY, SHARE THE GUIDEWAY OR HAVE AN OCCUPY, A SHARED GUIDEWAY WITH THE LRT SYSTEM.
UM, AND WE DID SOME MODELING OF WHAT THE IMPACTS TO BOTH BUSES AND RAIL WOULD BE IN THAT CASE.
UM, AND THE DETERMINATION WAS THAT IT REALLY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE IMPACTS, THE OPERATIONS WERE NOT WORTH THE BENEFITS OF DOING THAT.
UM, PART OF THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE NORTH SIDE, EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T SHARE THE GUIDEWAY, THE BUS WAY IS GOING TO HAVE TO LIKE PEEL OFF AND BE ITS OWN THING AS THE, AS THE, AS THE TRAIN, THE LRT GOES DOWN UNDERGROUND.
SO, YOU KNOW, FOR MUCH OF THE CROSSING, THEY HAVE TO BE SEPARATED ANYWAY.
SO REALLY THERE WASN'T MUCH BENEFIT TO THAT.
AND I THINK THE BENEFIT TO HAVING EACH OF THESE MODES AND THE DEDICATED GUIDEWAY FAR OUTWEIGHED, UM, THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THAT BEING SHARED.
SO JUST WANT TO PUT THAT OUT THERE, UH, NEXT.
SO THIS IS THE SOUTH SHORE, UM, AND JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF HOW ALL THIS WILL WORK.
SO, UM, IN THE ARTSY ONLY THE ALLERGY COMES ACROSS THE LAKE, UM, AND THEN BASICALLY COMES, HITS THE, THE GRADE AT WHO'S AT THE TOP OF THE BANK, RIGHT? SO THE, THE, THE BUTLER TRAIL COULD PASS UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE.
UM, I'LL SHARE HOW THAT WORKS IN A SECOND.
UM, AND THEN THE SHARED USE PATH, WE CONNECT BOTH TO THAT SORT OF EXTENSION OF BARTON SPRINGS ROAD TO THE SOUTH, AS WELL AS TO THE SOUTH WATERFRONT, AS WELL AS TO THE TRAIL ITSELF NEXT.
SO IN THE VIRTUAL WITH THE BUSES, THE BUS HAS COME DOWN, UM, AND THERE WOULD ACTUALLY BE, UH, A BUS STOP ON THAT EXTENSION OF BARTON SPRINGS ROAD.
SO RIGHT AT THE SORT OF THE SOUTH END, THAT'S WHERE THE SOUTHBOUND, UM, ROUTES THERE'D BE A BUS STOP, RIGHT.
UM, AND THEN THE NORTHBOUND BUSES WOULD BE, UH, JUST NORTH OF THE INTERSECTION BEFORE THEY GET ON THE BRIDGE.
SO THERE'S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE LIGHT RAIL UP WATERFRONT STATION DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO IT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S REALLY, IT'S JUST TRYING TO KEEP THIS AS GEOMETRY, AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE TO MAKE ALL THIS WORK CURIOSITY, HOW DOES ONE TAKE THE BUSES ARE TRAVELING WITH CARS ON ROADS WITH CARS, AND THEN AT A CERTAIN POINT, THE BUS ROAD BECOMES A BUS ROAD ONLY.
HOW DOES THE, I'M GUESSING OTHER CITIES HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF WHY THAT WORKS? I CAN JUST ENVISION CARS.
HOW DO YOU KEEP CARS OFF OF THE BEST WAY? I WILL TELL YOU THAT THAT IS MY BIGGEST CONCERN ABOUT THIS.
SO, BECAUSE I WAS, YOU KNOW, CAR USERS ARE GONNA WANT IT, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY A DESIGN THING.
SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DESIGN INTO THE SOLUTION IS TO DISCOURAGE AND LIMIT THAT ACCESS.
SO, UH, YEAH, SO THIS IS A VIEW LOOKING NORTH.
UM, THIS IS OPTION ONE WITH THE, THE, THE LRT ON THE RIGHT'S REDUCED PEPPER LEFT.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THESE KINDS OF BRIDGES THAT CONNECT TO THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AND SOUTH, AND THEN THE TRAIL KIND OF COMING IN UNDERNEATH, UH, THE SHARED USE PATH.
SO THAT, AGAIN, THAT THE TRAIL IS CONTINUOUS THROUGHOUT NEXT, AND THIS IS TAKEN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER UP, BUT YOU GET A SENSE OF HOW THAT ADDITIONAL, UM, GATEWAY FOR THE BUSES SORT OF FITS IN BETWEEN THE LRT AND THE SHARED USE PATH.
UM, YOU NEED JUST A LITTLE EXTRA SPACE FOR BUFFER AND FOR, YOU KNOW, ACCESS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY AND THINGS LIKE THAT NEXT.
SO HERE WE GET TO THE NORTH SIDE WHERE THINGS GET, UM, INTERESTING.
UM, SO THIS IS OPTION A, WHICH IS LIGHT RAIL ONLY.
YOU COULD SEE THE, THE LIGHT RAIL KIND OF DIVING INTO THE SUBWAY, SO THE UNDERGROUND SYSTEM.
SO THAT KIND OF, UH, THAT KIND OF GREEN ROOF, IF YOU WILL, UM, JUST SOUTH OF THE, OF THE TRAIL IS BASICALLY US COMING BACK AFTER WE'VE BUILT THE PORTAL AND LANDSCAPING ON TOP OF THAT.
SO THAT, YOU KNOW, FROM THE, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW, THE LAKE, YOU DON'T REALLY EXPERIENCE THE LIGHT RAIL AND WE'LL SHOW HOW THAT WORKS FROM THE GROUND LEVEL.
UM, YOU'VE GOT THE, UH, THE CHARITIES, BUT THE LEFT AND THAT CONNECTS TO THE TRAIL.
THERE IS SOME SORT OF REGRADING OF THE TRAIL ITSELF.
THAT'S GOING TO BE REQUIRED HERE,
[01:40:01]
PROBABLY THE TRAIL AND THIS LOCATION IS ACTUALLY REALLY STEEP AND NOT ADA ACCESSIBLE.SO WE WANT TO KIND OF LINCOLN SOME OF THOSE PATHS OUT TO MAKE THEM MORE ACCESSIBLE.
UM, AND THEN YOU CAN SEE GOING IN THAT.
SO THE TRAIL, BASICALLY BY THE TIME THE TRAIN GETS TO THE, TO THE TOP OF THE BANK, THE TRAIL BASICALLY IS RIGHT ON TOP OF IT AND CONTINUES TO THE EAST, EAST, WEST, AND THEIR CONNECTIONS TO THE BLUE GREENWAY TRAIL, ET CETERA.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT KIND OF DARK GRAY BOX.
THAT IS THE, AN IDEA ABOUT THE ENTRANCE INTO THE, UM, THE RAINY MAX STATION AND AGAIN, NOT DESIGNED, BUT THE IDEA IS THAT THERE'S A KIND OF A CUT IN THE GROUND SO THAT, UM, PEOPLE CAN USERS CAN RAMP DOWN INTO THE CONCOURSE LEVEL.
AND SO BY THE TIME THEY GET DOWN TO THAT LEVEL, THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY IN A SPACE ON TOP OF THE LIGHT RAIL, AND THEN THEY CAN GO TO EITHER PLATFORM NORTHBOUND OR SOUTHBOUND.
UM, I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS A GREAT IDEA.
THE, OF, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU ARRIVE IN THE CITY AND YOU COME OUT OF THE STATION AND YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GARDEN.
I MEAN, IT SEEMS LIKE ABOUT AS AUSTIN EXPERIENCES ONE COULD HAVE.
SO I'M STILL EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THE, THE LAKESIDE APARTMENTS WE ARE WORKING WITH DACA, UM, THEY HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO BE ADJACENT TO THEIR PROPERTY AND WHAT THAT IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE FROM AN OPERATIONAL STANDPOINT.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON WITH THEM, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S NOT A, UH, A NUISANCE TO THEM.
SO, UM, SO THIS IS OPTION B RIGHT? WHERE WE FIT IN THE, THE SH THE BUS WAY.
AND YOU COULD SEE WHAT IT ESSENTIALLY, WHEN THE LRT GOES DOWN INTO THE SUBWAY, THE BUS ESSENTIALLY WEAVES ON TOP OF THE LRT, UM, AND THEN CONTINUES NORTH AND CONNECTS TO TRINITY STREET GOING NORTH.
UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF MODIFICATIONS WE HAVE TO MAKE TO THE TRAIL BECAUSE OF THE REGRADING IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
SO ACTUALLY WE BRING THE TRAIL DOWN THE SLOPE A LITTLE BIT, AND IT KIND OF SLIPS IN BETWEEN THE BUS WAY AND THE LRT I'LL SHOW HOW THAT WORKS IN A SECOND, BUT IT IS CONTINUOUS.
SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY SORT OF ACT GRADE SAFETY ISSUES OR CROSSINGS.
UM, WE WILL HAVE AN ADDITIONAL SIDEWALK, I THINK, ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE PATHWAY, JUST TO ALLOW PEOPLE COMING FROM THE NORTH TO HEAD, YOU KNOW, ON THE TRAIL EAST NEXT.
SO THIS IS AGAIN THE VIEW OF THE PORTAL AND THE LIGHT RAIL ONLY HE COULD SEE HOW THAT WORKS.
UM, AND THEN THE, UH, OPTION WITH THE SHELTER PAT BEHIND, AND THEN THE NEXT.
SO YEAH, HERE, YOU CAN SEE HOW THE, AGAIN, LRTS IN THE SAME PLACE LANDSCAPE HAS COMING ON TOP.
UM, BUT THE BUS WAY IS KIND OF COMING ON TOP OF THAT.
SO THERE'S ALMOST LIKE A TRIPLE DECKER SANDWICH HERE, UM, WHERE THE TRAIL, YOU KNOW, THE BUSES ARE ON TOP OF OUR CHEESE, ON THE BOTTOM, AND THEN THE TRUCK THAT WEAVES IN BETWEEN, UM, AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO DESIGN AND SOME PROTECTION.
SO PEOPLE CAN'T THROW THINGS INTO THE GUIDEWAY, BUT I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S DESIRABLE FOR SURE.
UM, BUT THAT ALLOWS US TO, YOU KNOW, TO KEEP THE TRAIL AS A CONTINUOUS TRAIL, NON IMPACTED.
UM, BUT IT'S BECAUSE WE'VE GOT THIS TIGHT SANDWICH, WE'VE MINIMIZED THE IMPACT OF THE, OF THE BUS STRUCTURE, IF YOU WILL NEXT.
SO THIS IS A VIEW LOOKING DOWN TRINITY STREET OPTION A, YOU CAN SEE THE, SORT OF THE CURRENT DRIVEWAY, WHICH PROVIDES ACCESS TO THE WALNUT CREEK FLOOD CONTROL FUNNEL.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT.
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN CONTINUOUS ACCESS TO THAT WITH THE SHARED USE PATH ON THE RIGHT, THAT WOULD THEN CONNECT TO THE BRIDGE.
SO THIS IS LOOKING KIND OF AT THE END OF THE TRINITY STREET, THE LOOKING SOUTH YOU'RE THE SECOND.
SO IN THIS CASE, YOU'VE ESSENTIALLY GOT THE, THAT ACCESS DRIVE IS CONVERTED INTO A BUS WAY, WHICH SHOULD BE SHARED WITH THE ACCESS DRIVE FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, AT SOME POINT THE ACCESS RESCUE APPEALS OFF AND DOES ITS OWN THING WHERE THE BUS GOES OVER THE RIVER.
UM, BUT YOU HAVE THIS SHARED USE PATH, THE RIGHT, AND THEN A SEPARATE CHARITIES PATH ON THE LEFT, ON THE HEADACHE, THE POINT EAST NEXT.
UM, SO THIS IS HOW THAT WORKS IN PLAN.
UM, SO PART OF THIS IS TO INSTALL A TWO-WAY BIKE WAY ON TRINITY STREET TO, UM, UH, ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE STREET THAT BASICALLY CONNECTS FROM LANCE ARMSTRONG BIKEWAY TO THE BRIDGE.
UM, SO THAT'S THAT GREEN STRIPE AND THAT CONNECTS TO THE SHARED USE PATH SOUTH OF THE CUL-DE-SAC.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT KIND OF SALMON COLOR IS THE BUS WAY.
UM, AND THEN THE, THE, THE SORT OF LATER SALMON COLOR IS THE, IS A SIDEWALK ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE MUSLIM.
AND THEN THAT BLUE IS THE, IS THE ENTRANCE THAT WOULD BE FACING SOUTH.
IT COULD BE A CANOPY OR SOMETHING JUST COVERING THAT, WHICH ENTRANCE INTO THE SYSTEM.
UM, AND PART OF THIS IS THAT WE KNOW WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN ACCESS TO ALL THESE DRIVEWAYS ON THIS ROAD.
UM, LAKESIDE APARTMENTS, SORT OF LIKE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL AND THEIR LEARNING DOCK, UM, THE FOUR SEASONS, THE RESIDENTS AND THEIR, UH, LEARNING DOCK AND GARAGE.
SO, AND THE FUTURE 99, TRINITY LIKELY, WHICH WILL BE ON THE FACING CAESAR SERVICE.
SO A LOT OF SERVICING NEEDS THAT WE HAVE TO GET A MANAGED AND THAT'S GOING TO BE, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING WE JUST GOT DESIGNED TO NEXT.
[01:45:03]
UM, SO CROSS SECTION THAT'S EXISTING GO TO THE NEXT AND THAT'S THE PROPOSED.SO WE DO HAVE A FEW PLACES WHERE WE HAVE SOME PARKING, BUT I THINK WE ARE ELIMINATING SOME SPACES, CERTAINLY THE ONES THAT CURRENTLY SERVE THE BOATHOUSE.
UM, AND WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, SO TWO WAY BY WAY SIDEWALKS STREET TREES NEXT.
UM, UH, OKAY, SO THIS IS A VIDEO, UM, I, IN ORDER TO SHARE IT, I'D PROBABLY NEED SHARING PRIVILEGES, OR WE COULD JUST GO TO QUESTIONS.
I MEAN, I THINK I HOPE YOU ALL GET THE IDEA IT'S REALLY UP TO YOU ALL, WHETHER YOU WANT TO SEE, WE HAVE VIDEOS FOR EACH, EACH OPTION.
I MEAN, I'M FINE WITHOUT THEM, I'VE SEEN THEM, BUT NO ONE ELSE WHO'S NOT SEEING THEM WHO FEELS THE NEED TO SEE HIM.
I THINK HE CAN PROBABLY EVEN GET THEM ON THE PROJECT CONNECT SITE.
I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE THERE YET, I GUESS.
THERE'S PROBABLY AVAILABLE IF THEY'RE NOT UP, THEY WILL BE SHORTLY.
WELL, LISTEN, LET'S MOVE ON TO QUESTIONS.
I'M SURE THERE'LL BE SEVERAL FIRST THING I JUST WANT TO SAY IS THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT.
UM, I WATCHED THIS PRESENTATION A FEW WEEKS AGO AS WELL, AND, UM, ALSO WANTED TO SAY, I ACKNOWLEDGED THE EXCITEMENT IN YOUR VOICE WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT IT, WHICH IS AWESOME TO HEAR AS WELL.
AND AS A FORMER ARCHITECTURE PERSON MYSELF, I CAN JUST IMAGINE THESE SPACES AND THERE IT'S, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY EXCITING.
UM, QUESTION-WISE THOUGH, UM, WHO, WE'LL START AGAIN WITH THE PEOPLE ON SCREEN.
DO I SEE ANY HANDS FOR PEOPLE WITH QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OR CONCERNS THAT THEY WANT TO TALK ABOUT, JAMES? WAS THAT YOU RAISING YOUR HAND OR THAT WAS, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M SORRY, SAM, I MEAN, SORRY, CHAIR.
WE, THERE WERE A FEW MORE SLIDES TO TALK ABOUT THE OPERATIONAL NEEDS.
WE REALLY NEED TO DO THOSE, SO, SORRY.
UM, AND SO PETER REFERENCED EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE COLLABORATION THAT HAPPENED AS YOU JUST POINTED OUT, UM, CHAIR WAS, UM, ESSENTIAL TO, TO MAKING THESE DESIGN OPTIONS POSSIBLE, BUT ALSO WHAT CAME UP AND THAT WHAT'S IMPORTANT, UM, YOU KNOW, TO CATALOG AS WE MOVE THESE DESIGNS FORWARD, IS POLICY CHANGES NECESSARY TO REALIZE THE BENEFITS OF THE BUSES BEING ON THE BRIDGE AND HAVING THAT NEW, UM, EASTERN SECTOR, UH, NORTH SOUTH CORRIDOR.
SO, UM, PETER REFERENCED TO, UH, SIXTH STREET AND HOW THAT'S CLOSED ON THE WEEKENDS.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD FOR VEHICLES TO DIVERT TRAVERSE NORTH SOUTH ALSO FESTIVALS.
I KNOW THIS WEEKEND IS PECAN STREET FESTIVAL.
UM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A PROJECT CONNECT, UM, AN ANTI-DISPLACEMENT BOOTH THERE TO TALK ABOUT THE PROGRAMMING.
SO STOP ON BY AND SEE US IF ANYONE'S GOING OUT TO THE FESTIVAL.
BUT, UM, SO THE CITY STANDS, UM, READY TO SUPPORT EITHER ONE OF THESE OPTIONS AS THE PUBLIC PROCESS RULES OUT, UM, WITH COMMITMENTS TO, WE FEEL LIKE NONE OF THESE POLICY CHANGES HAVE ANY FATAL FLAWS AT THIS POINT IN THE PO IN THE PROCESS.
UM, WE ALSO, UH, WANT TO STATE THAT MAINTAINING ACCESS ON TRINITY STREET, UM, FOR BUSES DURING SPECIAL SPECIAL EVENTS, UM, THROUGH THE WHOLE LENGTH OF IT THROUGH TOWN TOWN IS ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND ALSO POINTING OUT THAT THIS TYPE OF POLICY SUPPORT IS SUPPORTED BY THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, UM, AS IT LOOKS TO AS 50 50 MOLD, UH, MODE CHAIR GOAL.
UM, AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, JUST TO KEEP, IF YOU CAN JUST TWO SLIDES UP, WHAT WAS THAT? OH, TWO SLIDES UP NEXT ONE.
CAN YOU BE MORE SPECIFIC WITH, WHEN YOU SAY THIS TYPE OF POLICIES IS SUPPORTED BY THE SMP? YES, WE HAVE.
UM, WE HAVE A SUBSECTION OR CHAPTER, UM, THAT'S CLOSURES AND DETOURS.
AND SO WE HAVE POLICY STATEMENTS ABOUT, UM, RELOOKING AT DETOURS ENCLOSURES TO ASSURE A BALANCE WITH OUR TRANSPORTATION NETWORK.
SO I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT LANGUAGE WITH ME, BUT I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ALL AND, UM, POINT YOU TO, UH, THE LANGUAGE AND THE S AND P THAT SUPPORTS LOOKING AT CHANGES TO, UM, NOT ONLY, LIKE I SAID, CLOSERS OF STREETS AND HOW IT BALANCES WITH THE NETWORK, UM, NEEDS, BUT ALSO REGULATING DELIVERIES, UM, AND CURB SPACE AS WELL.
SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT, AS YOU ALL KNOW, IS A, IS A HUGE CHALLENGE DOWNTOWN AS WE BALANCE DELIVERY NEEDS, UM, AND, AND, UH, RESTRICTED OR CONSTRAINED RIGHT AWAY WITH ALL OF THE NEEDS.
AND SO WE, YOU KNOW, AND I, AND I CAN HELP ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS
[01:50:01]
RELATED TO THOSE THINGS, BUT, UM, WE DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY FATAL FLAWS WITH MAKING THIS WORK IF THIS IS THE OPTION THAT MOVES FORWARD.UM, THE NEXT SLIDE TALKS ABOUT THE NEED TO INTRODUCE OF COURSE, TRANSIT PRIORITY TREATMENTS THAT WE'VE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED ACROSS THE CITY THAT YOU SEE ON GUADALUPE AND LAVACA WEST FIFTH STREET, OTHER, UH, CORRIDORS.
SO WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT DOING THE SAME TYPES OF THINGS ON SAN JACINTO AND TRINITY, AND THEN ALSO EXPLORING LIMITED TWO WAY CONVERSION OF TRINITY STREET, NORTH OF CESAR CHAVEZ AND ASSOCIATED SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS AT CESAR CHAVEZ.
AND SO WE'VE ALREADY STARTED ON THAT CONCEPTUAL DESIGN BECAUSE THAT'S ABSOLUTELY GOING TO BE NECESSARY.
UM, AND SO I'M GOING TO HAND IT BACK OVER TO PETER PETER TO TALK ABOUT THE COST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO AND THE FEDERAL PROCESS.
AND THEN WE'LL BE READY TO TAKE YOUR OVERALL QUESTIONS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL THE, THE FTA, SO FTA OBVIOUSLY ARE A PARTNER IN THE, IN THE BLUE LINE, UH, PROJECT.
WE ANTICIPATE THE BLIND TO BE A PART OF THIS, THE, UM, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FTAS, UH, CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY RATE THE PROGRAM FOR A WHOLE SET OF DIFFERENT MATERIA, UM, THAT INCLUDE RIDERSHIP AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SO, UH, WE'LL BE PREPARING AN EVALUATION FOR THE FDA THAT THEN THEY REVIEW OF BOTH OPTIONS, YOU KNOW, ALONG SOME OF THESE CRITERIA.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S JUST IMPORTANT FOR EVERYBODY TO KNOW THAT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S PART OF THE FDA'S ROLE IN THIS PROCESS TO LOOK AT THOSE OPTIONS TO DO AND TO EVALUATE THE PROGRAM, THE PROJECT QUARTERLY.
UM, BUT WE ARE BOTH OPTIONS ARE IN THE EIS AND WE'LL BE MOVING FORWARD THROUGH THE EIS PROCESS THAT PEOPLE PROCESS, UM, NEXT, SO COMMISSIONER, I GET YOU, YOU REFERENCED THE, THE COST, UM, ISSUES ON PROJECT CONNECT.
UH, PROGRAM-WIDE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL SAY SOME OF THE EARLY PRO PROJECTS OUT OF THE GATE ARE, ARE DOING FINE, BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE, THE TWO LIGHT RAIL LINES, YOU AWAY ARE ANTICIPATING, UM, SIGNIFICANT COST INCREASES TO, UM, TO THOSE PROJECTS.
UM, AND THIS IS BEING DRIVEN BY, UM, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT, UH, YOU KNOW, ISSUES, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, JUST THE COST OF REAL ESTATE OR THE ADDITIONAL REAL ESTATE NEEDED, UM, THAT'S GREATER THAN WHAT WE THOUGHT, UM, IN ORDER SOMETIMES IN ORDER TO PROVIDE ALL THE, YOU KNOW, MULTIMODAL AND BACKUP CURB IMPROVEMENTS THAT, THAT ARE THE RIGHT THING TO DO, UM, THAT HAS INCREASED OUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS SIGNIFICANTLY, UM, INFLATION, OBVIOUSLY, NO SURPRISE TO ANYBODY.
AND, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME, SOME PROGRAM SCOPE CHANGES THAT HAVE COME UP THROUGH THE DESIGN PROCESS AND THE PUBLIC PROCESS.
UM, CERTAINLY THE, THE INCREASE OF THE TUNNEL LENGTH ON THE ORANGE LINE REPRESENTS THE MOST, UM, DRAMATIC, UH, COST IMPACT TO THE PROGRAM.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, THE, THE BRIDGE AND THE, YOU KNOW, PUTTING ADDITIONAL FACILITY FOR BUSES WOULD ALSO HAVE AN IMPACT, UM, AT A DIFFERENT SCALE, BUT NOT INSIGNIFICANT.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE STILL, WE DON'T HAVE AN UPDATED COST ESTIMATE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBERS YOU SAW REALLY WERE KIND OF, SORT OF AN INCH FROM PULSE CHECK, UM, 30% DESIGN WHEN WE COME OUT THIS SUMMER, UM, THAT WE'LL HAVE, YOU KNOW, MUCH BETTER COST ESTIMATES.
AND THEN WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT, UM, HOW WE PHASE THE PROJECT IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO BUILD OUT THE PROGRAM.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE BENEFIT BECAUSE OUR FUNDING SOURCE IS NOT A POND, BUT IT'S A, IT'S A TAX RATE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE, UM, THE ADDITIONAL TOOL OF TIME AS COSTS.
AND SO I THINK, UM, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT AND TALKING WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR HOW WE CAN PHASE THE PROGRAM TO BUILD IT, UNDERSTANDING THAT THESE, THESE COSTS ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, IN SOME CASES BECAUSE OF CHOICES, WE'VE MADE SOME CASES, THINGS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF OUR CONTROL.
UM, WE ARE NOT ANTICIPATING TAXES INCREASED TO BEING ABLE TO WITH THE PROGRAM AT THIS TIME.
UM, SO AGAIN, ROUGH ORDER OF MAGNITUDE, THIS, THIS, THESE BRIDGES ARE NOT DESIGNED.
SO PLEASE, YOU KNOW, TAKE THIS WITH A GIANT GRAIN OF SALT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED EIGHT, UH, CONSTRUCTION COST OF RENTAL OF ABOUT 60 MILLION, UM, BETWEEN THE TWO OPTIONS.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S BASED ON SOME SORT OF ROUGH ORDER MAGNITUDE ABOUT MATERIALS AND SCALE AND, AND, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, AND TIME OBVIOUSLY.
SO, UH, SO THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, BUT AGAIN, THAT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE DEPENDING ON HOW THE DESIGN GETS REFINED.
UH, NEXT, UM, SORRY, LET'S GO BACK ONE.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS COST ISSUE IS, IS REALLY, IS OBVIOUSLY IT'S A CHALLENGING ONE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE TO JUST FIGURE OUT HOW WE CREATE A PROCESS, UM, WITH
[01:55:01]
STAFF CONSULTANTS IN THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS LONG-TERM FOR OUR COMMUNITY.UM, AND YOU KNOW, I THINK SO I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE US NOT TO LOOK AT THIS DECISION IN ISOLATION, BUT REALLY WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO LOOK AT IT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE OVERALL PROGRAM.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S, THIS IS ONE THING FOR US TO, TO, TO CONSIDER AS WE WERE THESE, UM, THESE TWO OPTIONS NEXT.
UM, YEAH, SO PROCESS WISE, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THIS PUBLIC MEETING LAST WEEK, UM, THE, WE NEED TO STAFF, WE USE STAFF RECOMMENDATION ON WHICH OBVIOUSLY WE RECOMMEND IN THE EIS, IT GETS SUBMITTED TO THE FDA IN JUNE.
UM, TH THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THAT'S THE END, BUT THAT HAS JUST HAS TO BE DONE.
UM, THERE ARE FURTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR INPUT AND, AND DELIBERATION.
WE'VE GOT THE PUBLIC RELEASE OF THE EIS AND THE 30% IN AUGUST LIKELY, UM, AND THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FIND OUT IN THE PUBLIC HEARING.
SO THERE ARE MORE BITES OF THAT APPLE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LOOKING TO PUT A RECOMMENDATION IN JUNE.
UM, AND THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, THE GOAL IS WORKING TOWARDS CONSENSUS, UM, ON THESE DECISIONS BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, LEADING TO THE FTA, UH, DELIVERY RECORD DECISION AND PROBABLY MARCH OF NEXT YEAR NEXT.
THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE AGAIN.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY COMMENTS IN THE ROOM OR OF WORKS? THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I HEARD WAS THE STATEMENT THAT BUSES AND LIGHT RAIL ARE AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM.
I'VE NEVER HEARD THAT STATED IN PROJECT CONNECT EVER SINCE THE VOTE ON THAT WAS PREDOMINANTLY CONSIDERED A VOTE ON LIGHT RAIL, AND IT IS TERRIBLY TERRIBLY IMPORTANT.
UM, IF THE SMP, WELL, MOST OF THE NEW OF THE LIGHT RAIL ALLIANCE REPLACE PARTS OF EXISTING BUS LINES OR ALL EXISTING BUS LINES, THE ONE EXCEPTION IS THE NUMBER 10 ROUTE, WHICH IS WITHIN THE TOP FIVE FOR CAP METRO.
AND I JUST HAVE THIS VISION OF THE FIRST STREET BRIDGE, NUMBER 10 BUSES, FOLLOWING EACH OTHER, LIKE ELEPHANTS WITH EACH ONE ATTACHED TO THE ONE IN FRONT OF IT, BECAUSE THAT'S THE DENSITY OF BUSES.
IT WILL TAKE TO SUPPORT THE PASSENGER LOAD.
IF THE ASM P GOALS ARE RECEIVED AND WERE RELYING ON ONE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION OF ONE BRIDGE TO HANDLE THAT POSSIBLE TRAFFIC JUST DOESN'T SEEM TO BE LIKE A VERY WISE IDEA.
THEY'VE GOTTA BE MORE, THERE'S GOTTA BE MORE CAPACITY FOR BUSES IN THE SYSTEM AND JUST HOW MUCH CAPACITY.
WELL, I WENT BACK, I'VE BEEN PLAYING WITH THE FDA STOPPED SOFTWARE, AND I WENT BACK AND FIGURED OUT WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE RIDERSHIP IN 2045 WAY IN THE FUTURE WAS GOING TO BE LIGHT RAIL AND WHAT WAS GOING TO BE BUSES.
AND THE ANSWER IS THAT SOMETHING LIKE 50 TO 60% OF THE RIDERSHIP IN 2045 WILL BE BUS RIDERSHIP.
THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM CERTAINLY WILL ADD TO THE TOTAL CAPACITY, BUT AROUND MORE THAN HALF OF TRANSIT CAPACITY IN AUSTIN WILL STILL BE BUSES.
SO ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO STRESS THE CONTINUED IMPORTANCE OF THE BUS SYSTEM.
UM, GOOD COMMENTS AND GOOD DATA TO KNOW, UH, SAN MANUEL OR, YEAH, SURE.
I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, THE SECOND TIME I'VE SEEN IT, IT ONLY GETS BETTER.
UM, I DO WANT TO SAY THOUGH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO, TO PETER AND ALL OF YOUR STAFF, ALL OF YOUR CONSULTANTS, EVERYBODY FROM ATD, EVERYBODY FROM CAP METRO, YOU KNOW, INITIALLY THIS WAS NOT THE END.
THIS WAS THIS WASN'T EVEN ON THE TABLE.
UM, AND NOT TRYING TO GO BACK AND PICK VEGAN SCARS OR OPEN UP OLD WOUNDS, BUT, UM, CERTAINLY WANT TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE COME A LONG WAY AND I DO APPRECIATE, UM, ALL OF THE HARD WORK THAT THIS TOOK TO GET US HERE, UM, WHO KNOWS WHAT'S GOING TO BE, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, RIGHT? WHETHER WE'LL HAVE BUSES ON THE BLUELINE BRIDGE OR NOT.
BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT WE AT LEAST UNDERSTAND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AS OPPOSED TO WHERE WE WERE AT SIX TO NINE MONTHS AGO.
SO THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH TO EVERYBODY FOR, FOR THE EXCELLENT WORK.
UM, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ON THE, ON THE COSTS SPECIFICALLY.
WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS, BUT YOU SAID THAT WE HAVE THE BENEFIT OF TIME.
UM, WHAT DOES THAT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE TO YOU AS FAR AS THE BENEFIT OF TIME WITH WHEN IT COMES TO COST AND PHASING, I GET, I KIND OF GET THE PHASING, IF YOU WANT TO ELABORATE ON THAT, I'D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FROM A PHASING PERSPECTIVE AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO SAVE MONEY THERE, BUT AS FAR AS BENEFIT OF IT'S.
[02:00:01]
SO, UH, I'M GONNA, I'M A LITTLE THAT OVER MY SKIS, CAUSE I'M NOT THE FINANCE GUY, BUT, UM, BASICALLY BECAUSE OUR REVENUE IS THAT AS A TAX RATE, RIGHT, THE REVENUE FOR PROJECT CONNECT COMES IN EVERY YEAR, RIGHT? THE LONGER THAT IT TAKES TO BUILD THE PROGRAM, RIGHT.OR ANY GIVEN PORTION OF IT, THE MORE REVENUE WE HAVE AGAINST WHICH TO ISSUE DEBT.
SO IT JUST, IT JUST MEANS THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THE, THE TIMEFRAME IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD A PROGRAM THAT IS MORE EXPENSIVE, IT WILL JUST TAKE LONGER TO IMPLEMENT IT.
AND I THINK, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THE QUESTION IS WE DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER OF HOW MUCH LONGER, WHAT COMES FIRST NOW THAT IS KNOWN AT THIS TIME.
BUT I THINK JUST, THAT'S THE THING THAT I THINK WE NEED TO, UM, THAT'S THE TOOL THAT WE HAVE NOW.
WE HAVE OTHER TOOLS TOO, RIGHT? THERE ARE ADDITIONAL GRANT PROGRAMS THAT WE CAN GO AFTER.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, WE CAN TRY TO GO FOR INCREASE, SHARE WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE PROBABLY LIMITS TO HOW MUCH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WOULD GIVE TO THIS PROGRAM IN ANY ONE LUMP SUM.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT REALLY ANY STONE UNTURNED, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, BY, BY EXTENDING THE TIMEFRAME OF THE PROGRAM AND PHASING THE WORK, UH, WE ACTUALLY SEE SOME, UH, FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES.
IT ALSO, BECAUSE OUR REVENUE STREAM IS ALSO, UM, PROVIDING FUNDING FOR THE OPERATION OF THE SYSTEM ONCE IT'S BUILT RIGHT.
THEN THAT SLOWS THAT FUNDING NEED DOWN IF THAT TAKES LONGER TO BUILD NOW.
SO FROM A PHASING PERSPECTIVE, JUST HIGH LEVEL, 30,000 FEET, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE RIGHT NOW? I'M SURE YOU GUYS ARE GOING, ARE DIVING INTO SOME OF THESE, NO IDEA, NO IDEA.
AND HONESTLY, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL, WE HAVE TO GET THE COSTS IN.
WE HAVE TO RUN THE FINANCIAL MODEL.
THERE'S A WHOLE PROCESS AGAIN, HOW WE CAN BREAK IT UP AGAIN.
I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS ON THAT.
THAT'S AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S WORKING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE BACK AND TALKING WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE SUMMER.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I'M GOING TO, I'M GOING TO GO OUT ON MY SKIS HERE, UM, TO ASK AS FAR AS THE TUNNEL LENGTH, RIGHT? THAT'S THE MAJOR COST DRIVER AND INCREASING COSTS GIVEN THAT WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE BENEFIT OF TIME, AS YOU STATED.
UM, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FROM A DESIGN PERSPECTIVE? DO WE HAVE THE, DO WE HAVE THE BENEFIT OF TIME TO SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, LET'S RETHINK THAT ENTIRE TUNNEL IN WHETHER OR NOT WE ACTUALLY NEED IT OR WHETHER WE CAN DESIGN SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? YEAH.
I MEAN, WE ARE, WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS ON THE DESIGN AS WE'VE DEVELOPED IT, RIGHT? SO THE 30% DESIGN AND THE, THE SORT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE FOR THAT DESIGN IS KIND OF UNDERWAY.
SO I WOULD SAY WE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY WITHIN THAT TIMEFRAME TO, TO FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE THOSE ASSUMPTIONS.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ALWAYS AMEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS IF THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, WILLS IT.
AND I MEAN, MY WORD WE'RE TRYING TO IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM THAT THE COMMUNITY ASKED US TO IMPLEMENT RIGHT.
TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY, RIGHT.
SO THAT'S BEEN THE BASIS OF THE 3% DESIGN AND THE BASIS OF THE COST.
SO, SO, SO IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO RETHINK THAT TUNNEL IS NOT ASSUMING THAT THE EIS IS NOT ON THE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE PUSHED BACK THE EIS WHEN WE SUBMITTED THAT.
IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO RETHINK HOW WE DO? I SAY, LOOK, THAT OPTION IS GOING TO BE ASKED ABOUT NO, YOU'RE NOT GETTING THE OLDEST PERSON THAT ASKS ABOUT THAT OPTION.
SO I THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS FROM ALL DIFFERENT ANGLES, RIGHT.
AND WHAT THAT WOULD MEAN TO THE PROGRAM AND THE PROGRAM DELIVERY.
UM, I THINK FROM A PROCESS STANDPOINT, WE PROBABLY WANT TO GET THROUGH THE, I S WITH THE PROGRAM WE HAVE, AND THEN IF THERE ARE CHANGES THAT WE NEED TO MAKE, THEN WE CAN START TO LOOK AT THOSE, RIGHT.
BECAUSE YOU KNOW, OUR GOAL IS THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, START AND KEEP MOVING THE PROCESS FORWARD.
IT'S KIND OF A COMMENT IT'S DIRECTLY FOLLOWING UP ON SAM WELLS' QUESTIONS, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE BEEN REALLY STRUGGLING WITH WITH THE COSTS INCREASES, AND I'M JUST STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP WITH INFORMATION.
I'VE BEEN REALLY CONNECTED WITH PROJECT CONNECT AND IT'S LIKE, IT'S MOVING SO FAST PACED.
IT'S REALLY HARD TO KEEP UP WITH.
AND I THINK, UM, THE THING THAT I'VE BEEN STRUGGLING WITH WITH THE, THE COSTS RIGHT NOW IS, UM, KNOWING THAT THERE'S SOME COSTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE, WE MIGHT WANT TO ADD THAT ARE REALLY, REALLY GREAT.
LIKE THIS PROPOSAL WE SAW TODAY FOR THE BUSES ON THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE AND, AND, UM, OPENING UP SORT OF A NEW VENUE FOR EFFICIENT BUS SERVICE.
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF DOWNTOWN, UM, ON THE OTHER HAND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE COSTS OVERRUNS THAT WE COULD DO THAT MIGHT COME FROM CONCERNS THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE, LIKE LET'S TUNNEL TO AVOID A RESTAURANT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S DIFFERENT TRADE-OFFS AND THE THING THAT I'M THINKING ABOUT LONGTERM IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE EARLY PHASES OF
[02:05:01]
PROJECT CONNECT, LIKE, I'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT THE ORANGE LINE NORTH OF 180 3, AND GOING UP THROUGH RUNDBERG UP TO TECH RIDGE AND REALLY SERVING THE RUNDBERG AREA.WE KNOW THAT EARLY MODELING SHOWED THAT THAT, THAT THE LIKE RUNDBERG STOP ON NORTH LAMAR WAS GOING TO BE, I THINK THE SECOND HIGHEST, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, STATION IN THE, IN, IN THE, ON THE ORANGE LINE.
AND THAT WAS LIKE PRETTY, PRETTY AMAZING FINDING.
AND YET MY FEAR IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE DON'T THINK ABOUT OUR COSTS, UM, THAT, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA PUT THE FULL LENGTH OF THE ORANGE LINE WAY, WAY OFF INTO THE FUTURE, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF THE TIME.
THAT'S ALSO SCARY, RIGHT? LIKE HOW LONG IS THIS GONNA TAKE TO BUILD? AND LIKE, ARE WE GOING TO MAKE DECISIONS TO TRY TO NOT IMPACT, UM, BUILDINGS, UM, OR, UM, MAYBE CAR USERS WHEN THOSE THINGS, YOU KNOW, UH, A BELOVED BUSINESS ISN'T NECESSARILY TIED TO A SINGLE BUILDING OR MAYBE, UM, CARS, SINGLE OCCUPANCY CARS THAT AREN'T AUTOMATED, OR MAYBE THAT'S THE WAY OF THE PAST IN TERMS OF TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS AS DIRECTOR SPILLER WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER IN OUR, UH, UM, MEETING TODAY.
SO, UM, I THINK I JUST SORT OF SAY IT ON THE RECORD THAT MY I'VE BEEN REALLY STRUGGLING TO UNDERSTAND AND BALANCE LIKE THOSE MOMENTS WHERE YES, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY WE WANT TO TAKE TO INCREASE OUR COSTS A LITTLE BIT TO CREATE AN OPERATIONAL THING.
AND THEN THERE'S SOME OTHER PLACES WHERE THERE MIGHT BE COMMUNITY DISCUSSION ABOUT INCREASING COSTS OR TUNNELING MORE DOING THINGS MAYBE TO TAKE THE WAY IT PAY AWAY THE PAIN FROM CARS OR FROM BUSINESSES OR THINGS.
AND LIKE WHICH OPPORTUNITIES DO WE REALLY WANT AND LIKE REALLY BEING REAL WITH OURSELVES.
LIKE WE WANT TO IMPLEMENT THIS WHOLE PROGRAM, I THINK, AND WE DON'T WANT TO PUT OFF SERVING PEOPLE IN THE FARTHER REACHES OF BOSTON TOO LONG, BECAUSE TIME IS OUR ADVANTAGE, BUT IT'S ALSO MEANS THAT PEOPLE AREN'T GETTING SERVICE THAT THEY DESERVE.
SO I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER TO THAT.
I JUST REALLY JUST A COMMENT, BUT I JUST THINK IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT.
I ACTUALLY THINK YOU'VE FRAMED THE ISSUE PERFECTLY, RIGHT.
WE, AS A COMMUNITY HAVE TO, AND, AND WE HAVE TO MAKE FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE THE RIGHT DECISIONS TO EFFECTUATE THE GREATEST BENEFIT FOR OUR COMMUNITY, RIGHT? WHAT ARE THE RIGHT INVESTMENTS TO MAKE AND WHAT ARE NOT THE RIGHT INVESTMENTS TODAY? AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE CONVERSATION? WHAT ARE THE CHOICES WE HAVE TO HAVE, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE CAN'T, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE COSTS TO SOME CHOICES.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE CONVERSATION WE HAVE TO HAVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THE, I THINK WHEN WE COME BACK THIS SUMMER, WE'LL HAVE SOME WAYS TO FRAME SOME OF THESE CHOICES A LITTLE BIT IN A MORE ORGANIZED WAY RIGHT NOW WE'RE STILL JUST LIKE PUTTING OUT AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE CAN JUST TO GET PEOPLE SORT OF FAMILIAR WITH WHAT THE ISSUES ARE.
SO THEN WE COME BACK AND WE HAVE A MORE, I WOULD SAY, FOCUSED DISCUSSION ON THIS.
PEOPLE ARE NOT SEEING THINGS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
AND THEIR, THEIR, THEIR FAMILIARITY IS GROWING.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND I WOULD SAY THIS HAS BEEN THE VALUE OF, OF GOING AS QUICKLY AS WE'VE GONE TO GET TO 30%, BECAUSE WE KNOW SO MUCH MORE NOW THAN WE DID A YEAR AGO.
AND CERTAINLY A TWO YEARS AGO.
SO NOW WE'RE ACTUALLY EMPOWERED, WE'RE IN A POSITION BECAUSE OF ALL THIS INFORMATION, WE HAVE TO MAKE SMART STRATEGIC DECISIONS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, AND WE, WE WOULDN'T HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE IF WE HADN'T DRAWN THROUGH THE PROGRAM IN THE WAY THAT WE'VE DRAWN IT.
SO, YEAH, I WOULD JUST COMMENT, UM, AS WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT INPUT BECAUSE IT'S TIMELY AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH, UM, THE SCENARIOS, AS PETER SAID, LEADING UP TO, YOU KNOW, RELEASING, YOU KNOW, UM, DIFFERENT SCENARIOS AND COSTS IN THE SUMMER, AND THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND IT'S, IT'S NICE TO HAVE THEM VALIDATED OF, YOU KNOW, WHERE'S THE RIDERSHIP, WHAT HAS THE PUBLIC SAID, AS PETER SAID THROUGH THIS, UM, ARDUOUS AWESOME PROCESS WE'VE BEEN THROUGH OVER THE LAST YEAR, UM, REALLY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, UM, DURING THE VISIONING OF PROJECT CONNECT DURING THE SMP AND HEARING ALL THE COMMENTS, UM, DURING THAT TIME AS WELL.
AND, AND JUST THINKING THROUGH THE, ALL THE THREE T THE THREE TEAMS, THREE STAFFS FROM EACH OF THE AGENCIES, JUST, YOU KNOW, BRAINSTORMING AND THINKING THROUGH EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE HEARD TO HELP INFORM THESE SCENARIOS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WITH REGARDS TO, UM, RESPONDING TO THE COST, UH, INCREASE AND YOU KNOW, HOW WE MIGHT UNFOLD THIS.
SO, UM, REALLY TIMELY COMMENTS.
UM, I WANT TO ADD A COUPLE OF LITTLE THINGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK AN IMPORTANT GUIDING PRINCIPLE TO ME IS THINGS ARE NEVER GOING TO GET CHEAPER.
THEY'RE ONLY GETTING WAY MORE EXPENSIVE, I MEAN, WAY MORE EXPENSIVE.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE TO PRIORITIZE, AND I THINK THAT SUSAN BRINGS UP THIS EXCELLENT, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, UH, DISCREPANCY BETWEEN OPTIONS OR
[02:10:01]
THESE DIFFERENT OPTIONS.I THINK IT WOULD BE A USEFUL AS A, AS A LISTENER.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, THIS IS JUST SOME ADVICE, UM, TO TELL A LITTLE STORY ABOUT WHICH PEOPLE WE ARE PRIORITIZING, BECAUSE IF WE PICK DOWNTOWN AND THE SOUTH CENTER WATERFRONT AND, AND THIS, AND THE BLUE LINE WITHOUT THE BUS, THAT'S A DIFFERENT STORY THAN WITH THE BUS.
AND THEN WITH THE BUS AND ALL THE WAY THROUGH TRINITY AND UP TO THE STATE OFFICE BUILDINGS, THERE'S A, THERE'S A DIFFERENT POTENTIAL KIND OF USER THAT TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THAT WHOLE JOURNEY.
AND I THINK THAT WOULD GO A LONG WAY IN HELPING THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND WHO IS NOT GOING TO NECESSARILY GO THROUGH THIS, THE KIND OF THE LANGUAGE AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS TALKS ABOUT POLICY AND OPERATIONAL SUPPORT AND TRANSIT NEED BENEFIT.
I THINK THE STRAIGHT STORY ABOUT THIS KIND OF PERSON, OR, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE SOFTWARE WORLD, THIS KIND OF PERSONA, YOU KNOW, TH TH THE SETS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO ENJOY THIS AND BENEFIT FROM THIS.
SO WHEN YOU SAY THE GREATEST COMMUNITY BENEFIT, WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF COMMUNITIES, SO LET'S PICK SOME AND JUST DESCRIBE THEM.
AND THEN I THINK THEY WOULD HELP PEOPLE WEIGH IN ON THAT'S THE KIND OF COMMUNITY I WANT TO SUPPORT.
THAT'S THE KIND OF COMMUNITY OR SUPPORT FIRST, AS LONG AS THIS OTHER THING HAPPENS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
AND THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD GO A GREAT WAY.
IT'S SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST HOPEFULLY CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM.
I'VE SEEN THIS PRESENTATION A COUPLE OF TIMES NOW IT IS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER.
SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, SAMUEL SAYS IT IS, IT IS GENUINELY EXCITING.
I THINK, UM, A DEDICATED BUS WAY HAS MY VOTE, BUT W WHATEVER IT ENDS UP BEING, I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THAT THERE'S GENUINE, UH, ANALYSIS OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THEN WE CAN MAKE A BETTER DECISION BECAUSE WE'VE ACTUALLY DONE THE ANALYSIS.
IF I CAN, IF I CAN INTERJECT JUST A WILD, CRAZY IDEA, I JUST HAD, THIS MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT, IT MIGHT BE HARD TO DO, WHO KNOWS, BUT IT'D BE SUPER INTERESTING IF WE HAD A LIVE DASHBOARD, YOU KNOW, LIKE A WEEKLY DASHBOARD OF RIDERSHIP COST PER MILE, HERE'S THE SERVICE AREA, JUST TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE TRADE-OFFS ARE LOOKING LIKE, AS WE, AS WE IMPLEMENT MORE AND MORE OF THE DESIGN, RIGHT? LIKE SUSAN, LIKE SUSAN SAID, I MEAN, UH, IT MIGHT COST A LITTLE BIT, A LITTLE BIT MORE TO GET UP TO THAT, TO THAT RUNDBERG AREA, BUT THEN THE AMOUNT OF RIDERSHIP WE CAN SEE THE TRUE BENEFIT THERE.
WHEREAS IF WE'RE BUILDING A TUNNEL TO GO DOWN SOUTH CONGRESS, MAYBE THE RIDERSHIP ISN'T AS GREAT, WHO KNOWS MAYBE THOSE THAT IS MORE, UH, MORE OF A CAR CENTRIC AREA.
AND SO THAT WE, AS A COMMUNITY CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE TRADE OFFS ARE AND WHY THOSE WHY THE COST IS, IS THERE YEAH.
AND INTEGRATED, SORRY, IT'S REALLY THE SCENARIOS.
IT'S NOT THE PERSONA THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, BUT I THINK HAVING A TOOL TO MEASURE THAT EASILY WOULD BE GREAT.
SO THIS IS MARK FOR, UM, I THINK ALL OUR THINGS ARE ALWAYS MARKED FOR POTENTIAL ACTION.
POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS. WE DON'T HAVE ONE IN FRONT OF US, BUT I'M GOING TO PROPOSE ONE SORT OF ON THE FLY IF, UNLESS YOU WERE GOING TO PROPOSE SOMETHING.
I, I WOULD PROPOSE THAT, UM, UTC RECOMMENDS, UH, ONE OF THESE OPTIONS AS A PREFERRED OPTION.
IF WE CAN COME TO THAT, I PERSONALLY PREFER THE OPTION WITH THE DEDICATED BUS WAY.
SO I'M GOING TO MAKE A PROPOSAL, UM, THAT I MAKE A MOTION THAT THE, SORRY, MAKE A MOTION THAT THE UTC, UH, EXPRESSES A PREFERENCE FOR THE OPTION.
THAT INCLUDES A DEDICATED BUS WAY ON THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE.
IS THERE A SECOND FOR THE MOTION COMMISSIONER BOOKS? I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY, I'M SORRY.
IS THIS A, IS THIS A WRITTEN RECOMMENDATION OR IS THIS GOING TO BE A VERBAL JUST SUPPORT OF, UM, I COULD WRITE IT UP AFTER THE FACT WE CAN LITERALLY IT'S LIKE THAT ONE SENTENCE.
SO, UM, UM, I GUESS VERBAL FOR RIGHT NOW, AND WE CAN WRITE IT UP AND SEND IT IN, BUT I'LL LOOK AT THE TAPE TO GET THE EXACT WORDING.
I THINK, I THINK UTC SHOULD WEIGH IN IF, IF WE HAVE A PREFERENCE, I MEAN, WE'LL JUST TAKE A POLL HERE AND IF WE DON'T, WE DON'T, WE, WE CAN DO RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE DYES.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S NOT PROPOSAL.
SO THERE'S A MOTION THAT THE UTC, UH, PREFERS THE DEDICATED BUS WAY OPTION ON THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE.
UM, THERE'S A SECOND FOR THAT.
IS THERE A DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF UTC RECOMMENDING DEDICATED BUS AWAY ON THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE.
I SAY, I, MY PHONE BATTERY'S GOTTEN SO LOW THAT IT'S TAKEN ME TO AUDIO ONLY.
UM, ANY NAYS, ANY ABSTENTIONS, BECAUSE LIKE TO CECILIA YOU'RE STATING I COULDN'T TELL IF YOUR HAND WAS UP HER.
SO THEN, UM, I CAN, I CAN WRITE THIS UP AFTER THIS MEETING.
I THINK WITH THAT CONCLUDES, I SAY ONE COMMENT, UH, TO THE PROJECT CONNECT TEAM.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LAST NIGHT'S MEETING ABOUT THE NORTH LAMARA TRANSIT CENTER AND WHAT WAS GOING ON IN LARA NORTH LAMAR.
IT'S THE FIRST TIME IN TWO YEARS
[02:15:01]
THAT I'VE SEEN ANY SIGN WHATSOEVER THAT THAT PRIOR TO PROJECT CONNECT IS REAL.I'M WONDERING IF WE COULD JUST TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK.
I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT COULD USE, MAYBE IT NEEDS A BIO BREAK.
LET'S TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BIO BREAK.
AND THANK YOU, MR. MULLEN AND OTHERS WHO ARE ON THIS CALL.
LET'S TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK.
[2.E. Right of Way Vacation- Cornell Avenue]
UH, WE HAVE A QUORUM.IT IS 7 26 OR SO 7 28, AND WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM TWO E RIGHT AWAY, VACATION ON CORNELL AVENUE.
UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
I'M WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF, UH, I'M SORRY, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
JUST, UM, THIS IS FOR A VACATION APPLICATION OF A PAVED CORNELL STREET RIGHT AWAY, TRAVERSING EAST TO WEST FROM POQUITO STREET TO CHECON IT'S FILE NUMBER 2 0 2 1 0 1 9 2 4 1 UTC ITEM TWO E.
SO THIS IS THE PATHWAYS AT ROSEWOOD COURTS.
THE APPLICANT PROVIDED THIS MAP AS PART OF THE APPLICATION, UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S ROSE WOOD, UH, POQUITO AND CORNELL, AND I'M UNDERSTANDING THE APPLICANT IS HERE IF WE HAVE, UM, QUESTIONS, BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S SOME GRADING ISSUES.
SO CORNELL, ALTHOUGH IT LOOKS LIKE IT ON HERE, IT LOOKS LIKE IT GOES STRAIGHT THROUGH IN REALITY, IT'S SPLIT.
AND THAT PART OF THE CORNELL, IN FACT, A VERY SMALL SLIVER OF CORNELL HAD ALREADY BEEN, UM, VACATED YEARS AGO.
UM, SO THE OWNER OF THE ABUTTING PROPERTY IS THE HOUSING AUTHORITY CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH IS, AND EVERYONE CALLS IT HAKA.
UM, PUBLIC NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNERS WITHIN 300 FEET WERE MAILED ON APRIL 28TH, 2022, AND THERE 303 PEOPLE.
UM, IT'S A TOTAL OF 32,508 SQUARE FEET.
UM, I DID WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THERE'S A A HUNDRED PERCENT WAIVER OF FEES LISTED.
UM, AND SO THEY, THEY, IT IS FOR, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, THIS WAS ALSO SHOWN IN THE APPLICATION ON HOW THEY PLAN TO BELT TO DEVELOP THE, UH, VACATED AREA.
UM, THE WESTERN PORTION OF THE PIPE DRIVE WILL REMAIN TO PRESERVE THE HISTORIC NATURE OF THE SITE.
THE EAST PORTION IS PROPOSED TO BE A PARKING LOT AND SINGLE FAMILY STYLE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIVITY WILL BE PROVIDED TO LINK CHICKEN AND POQUITO.
UM, THESE ARE THE REVIEWERS, SO IT GOES THROUGH, I THINK THERE'S 26 REVIEWERS.
AND, UM, THESE ARE THE ONES THAT APPROVED IT, UH, APPROVED AS TWO CONDITIONS RATHER THAN JUST A STRAIGHT APPROVAL.
UM, I DON'T, I KIND OF READ THOSE TO YOU, BUT I'LL CAN, CAN SEE THE GENERAL CONSENT THERE.
SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE RIGHT OF WAY PROCESS.
UM, AND THEN THE APPLICANT CAN ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS REGARDING THE ABUTTING PROPERTIES IN THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT.
AND I DID LIST MY PHONE NUMBER THERE IF CASE IF AFTER TOMORROW, Y'ALL THINK OF SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL NEED ME TO ANSWER.
UM, DO ANY COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THIS, UM, VACATION OF PROPERTY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING? SEEMS SOME HEADS SHAKING, NO.
SEEING SOME HEADS SHAKING, MAYBE.
I'M WORKING ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING WILL GO ON THE SIDE OR CAN YOU JUST GIVE MORE DETAIL AS FAR AS MAYBE I MISSED THAT PORTION? OKAY.
YES, NO, IT'S AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING SITE.
SO THERE'S EXISTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND THEY'RE GOING TO REDEVELOP THAT.
DO YOU WANT TO COME UP AND SPEAK, UM, UM, LAURA TIPS, WE'VE DONE WAY ASSOCIATES LAURA TUBES WITH DUNAWAY ASSOCIATES AND WE ARE, UM, CONSULTANTS TO HAKA.
SO IT'S THE EXISTING ROSEWOOD, UM, HOUSING PROJECT.
AND IT'S REDEVELOPMENT OF THAT.
AND WHAT HAPPENS IS HAKA MOVES THOSE RESIDENTS TO OTHER LOCATION DURING CONSTRUCTION, AND THEN THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO COME BACK TO THIS LOCATION.
AND SO IT'S CURRENTLY 123 UNITS AND AFTER DEVELOPMENT WE'LL HAVE 184 PLUS 13, UH, HOME OWNERSHIP, UM, HOUSES THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, WHICH WILL BE ON POQUITO.
SO EXCUSE ME, AS MICHELLE MENTIONED, WHAT HAPPENS NOW, THE, UM, AND IF YOU WANT,
[02:20:01]
DO YOU WANT US TO SEE THE SITE PLAN? I DON'T, CAN YOU BRING UP THAT COLORED SITE PLAN, WHICH I THINK IS BEAUTIFUL.Y'ALL GOT EXCITED ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT.
I WANT YOU TO BE EXCITED ABOUT, AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, I'M IN FAVOR OF THIS.
I JUST WANTED TO TEASE OUT THIS INFORMATION AND, AND, AND I'M EX THE WHOLE, TEAM'S EXCITED ABOUT IT AND HOCKEY AS WELL.
SO THIS IS THE PROPOSED, AND IF YOU SEE IN THE LOWER LEFT CORNER, UH, SORT OF THE, UH, WHAT IS THAT SORT OF A BROWN OR, OR RED RUSS COLOR? THOSE WERE PRESERVING THOSE.
THEY EXISTS THERE RIGHT NOW, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE, CINDER-BLOCK CONSTRUCTION.
THEY DON'T HAVE AIR CONDITIONING AND HEAT THEY'RE DISMAL.
WE WILL MAINTAIN THE EXTERIORS, BUT THEY WILL BE TOTALLY RENOVATED INSIDE.
SO YOU SEEK THE RIGHT OF WAY, ACTUALLY GOES TO THE SITE RIGHT NOW.
AND IT'S THAT DRIVE BETWEEN DISTRICT PART IN THE HISTORIC DISTRICT AND WHAT HAPPENS.
THERE'S A DROP ONCE YOU GET PAST THAT PROPOSED PARKING LOT, THAT'S AT THE END, THERE'S LIKE A 15, 18 FOOT DROP DOWN TO POQUITO.
SO THE STREET ACTUALLY DOESN'T GO THROUGH, BUT AFTER WORDS, THAT, THAT THOROUGHFARE AREA WHERE MAINS, BECAUSE IT'S PART OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICT, AND THEN YOU SEE IN BLUE IS THE MULTIFAMILY UNITS.
AND THEN THE YELLOW ROOFS WILL BE THE HOME OWNERSHIP, WHICH THEY WILL BE, UM, UH, SINGLE-FAMILY TYPE DEVELOPMENT AND WILL BE ACCESSED OFF OF POQUITO.
AND SO WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH PARD AND WITH, UM, ATD, THERE WILL BE A BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN PATH, WHICH HUGS THAT, THAT MIDDLE LINEAR, UM, PARKING LOT TO THE SOUTH OF IT, THERE WILL BE A, UM, A ROUTE THAT GOES THROUGH THE SITE EXITS ON POQUITO AND THEN PICKS UP WITH THE BOGGY CREEK CREEK TRAIL, WHICH IS ACROSS THE STREET.
SO, UH, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF COOPERATION FROM DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS WITH THIS, AND IT'S, UM, IT'S AN EXPENSIVE SITE TO REDEVELOP, BUT IT WILL INCREASE AN ALL BE A HUNDRED PERCENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
IS THERE, UM, OR ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, SOME OTHER COMMISSIONERS CAN'T SEE.
SO, UM, THIS IS LISTED FOR ACTION, UM, AS ARE ALL I THINK, SO IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS, UH, VACATION? I'LL MOVE THE RECORD THIS SECOND THEN IN THAT CASE, I'LL TAKE IT AT THE END OF THE
NO ONE LEFT THAT I'LL SAY, EH, ANY, ANY, ANY DAY, ANY ABSTENTIONS.
UNANIMOUS APPROVAL, CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK.
[3. BRIEFINGS]
ALL RIGHT.AND WITH THAT, WE WERE AT THE END OF OUR NEW BUSINESS AND, UM, ONTO OUR BRIEFINGS AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. FIRST BRIEFING DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, UH, WAS A CONTROL, WHETHER BE SHE IS NOT HERE.
UH, GEORGE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION, MS. WHEELER.
YES, WE DID NOT HAVE QUORUMS. SO WE DID NOT, UM, MEET, THERE WERE SEVERAL NEW COMMISSIONERS WHO HAD NOT GONE DOWN TO GET THEIR OATH SWORN.
SO ANYWAY, BUT VERY MUCH LIKE WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE, WE'RE HAVING DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS COME AND, UH, TALK ABOUT THEIR BUDGET, BUT ALSO TALK ABOUT HOW THEIR BUDGETS WILL, UM, WILL MESH WITH THE, UH, CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UM, COMMISSIONER LAYTON, BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL.
UM, WE RECEIVED THE PRESENTATION, WHICH WE REVIEWED AT OUR LAST MEETING REGARDING THE RED RIVER REALIGNMENT AND TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA UPDATE.
UM, WE ALSO GOT A PRESENTATION ON THEIR RAINY STREET, TRAILHEAD DESIGN.
THERE ARE TWO CONCEPTS, ONE SEEMS TO FOCUS MORE ON SEPARATE GREEN ZONES, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE A DESIGNATED CHILDREN'S PLAY AREA.
AND THE OTHER SEEMS TO SLIGHTLY FOCUS MORE ON OUTDOOR SPACE FOR ADULTS.
UM, THEY BOTH INCORPORATE A LOT OF NATURAL GREENERY GATHERING SPACES AND MAINTENANCE, MAINTAINING ACCESS TO THE WATER.
UM, I DO NOT SEE COMMISSIONER INEZ, SO NO PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY, A MOBILITY COMMITTEE.
I WENT, I, UH, TALKED ABOUT THE, UM, RECOMMENDATION WE HAD PASSED AROUND AS CTR, RMA OR CAMPO.
UH, YOU HAVE NOT SAVED YOUR MIND OR THE CAMPO, UH, COMPOSITION, UM, THINK COMMISSION OR COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.
WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH THAT ONE.
THERE DID SEEM TO BE SOME INTEREST IN HOW THAT, UM, UH, COULD GO FORWARD.
I DID NOT STAY FOR THE REST OF THE COMMITTEE BECAUSE I WAS, UM, AT THE VERY BEGINNING.
[02:25:01]
DID YOU STAY CHRISTOPHER CHANCE? DO YOU REMEMBER? YEAH, I WORK THERE, I GUESS, I GUESS THAT'S TRUE.I DID KNOW NO OTHER MAJOR UPDATES THOUGH.
UM, THEY WERE VERY INTERESTED IN THE, UH, RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU ALL PASS, BUT THE REST OF THE MEETING PROCEEDED WITH JUST STAFF BRIEFING, SO, OKAY.
AND THEN, UM, COMMUNITY COMMITTEE, WE DID NOT MEET IN APRIL.
WE'D HAD TWO MEETINGS IN MARCH REGULAR AND A SPECIAL CALL.
SO WE CANCELED THE APRIL MEETING.
WELL THAT WAS QUICK WITH THE BRIEFINGS.
[4. Future Agenda Items]
ITEMS, WE HAVE SEVERAL THINGS.UM, I WANT TO SUGGEST ONE THING.
UM, THERE'S A COUPLE OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I WANT TO WRITE THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT OUT OF THE BLUE PERHAPS, UM, THAT I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ON OUR NEXT THING.
I THINK THE CITY SHOULD, SHOULD PURSUE, UH, A VERY STRONG E-BIKE PILOT PROGRAM.
UM, I MEAN, I HAVE A BUNCH OF RESOURCES SAVED.
I'LL MAKE A RECOMMENDATION WITH, UM, UH, WITH THE BACKGROUND, BUT YOU JUST THE WAY CALIFORNIA AND NEW HAMPSHIRE, ET CETERA, THERE'S MULTIPLE STATES.
AND IT'S GOT A LITTLE BIT IN THE FEDERAL, THE KIND OF DIED OUT AROUND E-BIKES.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, I'M A BIG FAN OF E-BIKES.
I THINK THEY ARE MUCH CHEAPER THAN E E CARS AND, UM, UH, REDUCE CONGESTION A LOT BETTER.
I THINK THE CITY SHOULD PURSUE SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, I THINK ALSO THE CITY SHOULD PURSUE A BIKE LANE BOUNTY PROGRAM BASED ON THE, UH, PROGRAM THAT THEY DO IN NEW YORK CITY, WHICH IS WHERE YOU SUBMIT THE REPORT FOR PEOPLE IN VIOLATION OF IN THEIR CASE.
IT'S, IT'S MOSTLY STANDING IN IDLING AND, UM, THE PEOPLE WHO SUBMIT THE REPORT GET A REVENUE SHARE OF THE, OF THE TICKET, AND IT IS GENERATED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR THE CITY AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR CITIZENS AND BIKE LANES ARE NOT ENFORCED BY ANYBODY.
AND AS A PERSON WHO RIDES WITH BIKE ALL THE TIME, IT'S A BIG PROBLEM.
SO THE BIKE LANE, DOWNEY AND THE E-BIKE PROGRAM, I WANT TO THROW IN THERE.
I'LL, I'LL, I'LL WRITE UP SOME STUFF, UM, INTENDED.
UM, OTHER THAN THAT, THERE'S THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE HAS LISTED IN FRONT OF THEM THAT THEY WANT TO ADD ON TO.
YEAH, I'D LIKE TO ADD SOMETHING.
WE GOT A PRESENTATION, SO I'M ON THE DESIGN COMMISSION.
UM, AND, UM, THROUGH THE DESIGN COMMISSION, I'M THE LIAISON TO THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFORD ADVISORY BOARD.
WE FINALLY GOT A PRESENTATION ON, UH, AN UPDATE GENERAL UPDATE ON WHERE THE NEW POTENTIAL REGULATING PLAN FOR THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AREA WILL GO OR IS GOING.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY INCLUDED IN THERE, WHICH I WAS HAPPY TO SEE, UM, IT'S NOT CODIFIED YET.
OBVIOUSLY ONE OF, TWO OF THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT ARE NO PARKING MINIMUMS IN NEW D NEW BUILDINGS DESIGNED OVER THERE AND POTENTIALLY A PARKING MAXIMUM, UM, IN NEW BUILDINGS DESIGNED AND MAXIMUM DENSITY.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE WORTHWHILE IF WE ASKED FOR AN UPDATE ON THAT PRESENTATION OR THAT SAME PRESENTATION FROM THE URBAN TRANSPORT TO THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, BECAUSE THEY WILL BE, YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE, THE REGULATING PLAN WILL AFFECT ALL SORTS OF, UM, DIFFERENT, UH, ASPECTS OF, OF THE DESIGN OR THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE FOR THAT AREA OF TOWN TO INCLUDE HOW WE MOVE AROUND.
UM, SO, UH, I THINK IT'S, I THINK BE GREAT FOR US TO GET A PRESENTATION WE'VE BEEN NEXT MONTH MEETING.
AND IF WE HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS, THINGS WE'D LIKE TO SEE OR POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, WEIGH IN ON, YES, WE THINK NO MINIMUM PARKING IS FANTASTIC IN THESE BUILDINGS.
IS THERE A TIMELINE BECAUSE SOMETHING'S COMING UP SOMEWHERE OR SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE TRYING TO TRACK, UM, IN LINE WITH THE POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCE OR ONE OF THE POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCES, WHICH IS THE TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE.
THEY'RE TRYING TO TRACK IN LINE WITH THAT.
SO, UH, BASICALLY THEY WANT TO HAVE A DRAFT OUT IN JUNE TO THE ENTIRE, TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THEN I THINK I SAW BY, BY FALL TIMEFRAME HABITS HAVE SOMETHING TO COUNCIL, BUT IT'S GOT TO GO THROUGH A SERIES OF, OF, UH, COMMISSIONS, ONE OF THEM IN THE, UH, UH, CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE.
AND I DON'T REMEMBER WHO MAKES UP, WHO MAKES THAT ONE UP? I JUST KNOW THAT ONE OF THEM IS IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN IS NOT THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.
SO IF WE WANTED TO SEE IT, WE'D HAVE TO REQUEST A PRESENTATION ON IT.
AND SAM KNOW, YOU REQUESTED YOU, YOU GOT THIS PRESENTATION THROUGH, WELL, WHAT OTHER COMMISSION THAT YOU'RE A PART OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD, WHICH, UM, THE REGULATING PLAN IS JUST FOR THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AREA.
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT AREN'T, THAT AREN'T FAMILIAR, IT'S BASICALLY THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF, OF, UH, UH, RIVERSIDE TO CONGRESS TO, TO, UM, WELL, I CAN'T THINK OF THE STREET WEST, UM, WHERE, UH, JOE'S CRAB SHACK USED TO BE AROUND THAT AREA.
YEAH, NO ACADEMY, BUT TRUMP HAS BOULEVARD ON THOSE, BUT NOT QUITE THAT FAR AROUND THERE.
AND SO EVERYTHING THAT IN TO THE RIVER, UM, THERE'S A NEW, THERE'S A, THERE'S A, UH, A BROADER VISION PLAN FOR HOW THAT GETS GETS REDEVELOPED.
[02:30:01]
AND, UM, THERE'S AN ENTIRE BODY THAT IS, THAT IS ADVISING COUNCIL ON, UM, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT, WHICH IS THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD, WHICH I'M A MEMBER OF.UM, AND YEAH, I THINK IT'D BE INTERESTING TO, TO SEE THE, WHAT THAT REGULATING PLAN HAS.
UM, ANY OTHER IDEAS, CONCERNS THAT PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT, ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S URGENCY ON THEM? NOPE.
AS ALWAYS WE HAVE EMAILS, YOU HAVE CITY EMAILS.
UM, I DON'T CHECK MINE OFTEN ENOUGH, BUT WE SHOULD ALL CHECK IT MORE OFTEN BECAUSE THINGS DO COME IN.
AND THEN WITH THAT, I THINK WE ARE READY TO GO, UM, AND MOVE MOTION TO ADJOURN.