Aug 04, 2022 Mobility Committee

SORRY.

WE'LL GIVE YOU HER EMAIL ADDRESS SO THAT Y'ALL CAN COMMUNICATE THE EMAIL.

SHE WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU CAN TAKE HER EMAIL ADDRESS SO SHE CAN TALK FOR HER.

YES, MA'AM I HAVE IT.

AND I'LL BE GLAD TO MISS OFFICER.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

THANK YOU, MR. LEVY, FOR COMING DOWN.

I WANTED TO ASK IF THE CLERK CAN MAKE SURE THAT THOSE OF US WHO ARE, UM, VIRTUAL TODAY RECEIVE THE PACKET THAT MR. LEVY MENTIONED THAT HE SHARED.

I THINK IT DOES INCLUDE SOME OF THE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING AND THE SUGGESTIONS ON REGULATION.

AND I THINK, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO START, YOU KNOW, REVIEWING THAT MATERIAL, I'M AWARE OF THE ER, DOCTORS, UM, COMMENTS THAT MR. LINDSEY HAD MENTIONED.

UM, AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT GOT CONVEYED TO THE CHAIR YET, BUT HAD ASKED MY STAFF THAT WE SHOULD HAVE A FOLLOW-UP ON SCOOTERS AND PERHAPS HAVE A CONVERSATION, UM, WITH SOME OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS SO THAT WE HAVE GREATER CLARITY ON THE IMPACT, BECAUSE I THINK IT IS VERY REAL AND IMPORTANT.

UM, AND I'M NOT SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING, UM, THAT KIND OF INFORMATION DIRECTLY.

SO I APPRECIATE YOU COMING.

AND I WOULD ASK THE CHAIR IF WE COULD FOLLOW UP WITH SOME KIND OF, UM, DISCUSSION ALONG THAT LINES.

AND WHAT ARE YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THE CITY THEORETICALLY COULD DO IF IT CHOSE TO, UM, I BELIEVE YOU HAD THAT IN THE PACKET.

THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING THAT THAT WOULD BE THE PLACE TO START WAS WITH THE MATERIAL YOU ALREADY PUT TOGETHER.

BUT WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF, UM, UH, MEETING WAS REALLY GETTING SOME CLARITY ON THE MEDICAL CONDITIONS THAT WE'RE SEEING THAT RELATE TO SCOOTER USAGE, UM, WHICH IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN THE ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES THOUGHT.

I THINK MY COLLEAGUE WAS EMPHASIZING, UM, I REMEMBER, UM, CONSTITUENTS, INCLUDING YOURSELF, MR. LEVY, BRINGING UP THE, THE ISSUE, UM, AND WHAT WE WERE HEARING FROM THE ER DOCTORS.

UM, I NOTED THE ABSENCE OF US HEARING ABOUT THAT HERE AT COUNCIL.

AND SO I THINK WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD FOLLOW UP WITH THAT IN A SUBSEQUENT MEETING WHERE WE CAN PERHAPS INVITE THE DOCTORS TO JOIN US.

UM, YES, MA'AM UM, THE IMMEDIATE ISSUE I BELIEVE IS ASKING, UM, TRANSPORTATION TO BENCHMARK AGAINST OTHER CITIES.

I MEAN, IT GETS BACK TO MANY OF THE PROBLEMS, UM, WHETHER IT'S LITTER IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS OR DISABLED, UH, PEOPLE NOT GETTING, UH, BEING ABLE TO MOVE, UH, DOWNTOWN STILL GETS RIGHT BACK TO WHY ARE THERE 14,000 SCOOTERS AND THEN TALK ABOUT HOW THEY REGULATE THERE IS NONE.

UH, BUT EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID GETS BACK TO THE CITY TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT BENCHMARKING.

I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYBODY ON THE COUNCIL.

WHO'S NOT AWARE OF THE LITTER IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS, MUCH LESS DOWNTOWN AND HOW YOU ALL MANAGE IT.

UH, IT IS A DOABLE DEAL.

UH, IT'S POSSIBLE.

UH, MS. ELLIS, WE WILL START, WE WILL CERTAINLY FOLLOW UP.

PROCEED WITH THE OTHER TWO SPEAKERS THAT HAVE SIGNED UP MR. JONATHAN MARTIN THANK YOU AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

MA'AM UH, THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.

I'M GOING TO ASK IF WE NEED TO TAKE A QUICK PAUSE.

I HEAR ATX SEN IS NOT CURRENTLY LIVE CORRECT.

WE'RE WORKING TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE, BUT A QUICK BRIEF WOULD BE A, OKAY.

LET'S JUST WAIT A COUPLE MINUTES UNTIL WE CAN ENSURE THAT THAT'S STREAMING FOR THE FOLKS AT HOME.

[00:11:12]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO YOU TODAY.

I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE BLACK BIKE BLOCKAGE PROGRAM.

THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT I THINK IS GOING TO COME TO YOU FROM THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.

AND I THINK THAT MARIO CHAMPION WOULD HAVE BEEN TALKING TO YOU ABOUT IT TODAY.

UNFORTUNATELY, HE DIDN'T MAKE IT.

UH, HE'S ALSO THE AUTHOR OF THIS PROGRAM AND WHAT THIS AMOUNTS TO IS THAT THE CITY HAS GONE TO A LOT OF TROUBLE TO MAKE DEDICATED BIKE LANES AROUND THE CITY, UH, FOR A SOCK LIST.

I'VE BEEN A SOKOLA SINCE I STARTED AT UT IN 1977, I'VE BEEN CYCLING AROUND AUSTIN FOR THE LAST 44 YEARS.

THE PROBLEM NOW IS THAT WE HAVE DEDICATED BIKE LANES, BUT NOW WE HAVE CARS PARKING IN THE DEDICATED BIKE LANES.

THEY TREAT IT AS IF IT'S A VERY CONVENIENT PARKING SPACE.

AND THE PROBLEM IS THAT IF YOU'RE A CYCLIST, SAY, SAY MYSELF, I'LL SOCK LAWN SHOAL CREEK, QUITE A BIT.

AND ON RIO GRANDE, BOTH OF THOSE TWO, UH, BACH LANES HAVE BARRIERS.

SO ON SHOAL CREEK, YOU HAVE THE LITTLE CONCRETE BUTTONS OVER ON RIO GRANDE.

YOU HAVE BIG CONCRETE CURVES THAT SEPARATE THE BIKE LANE FROM THE TRAFFIC LANE.

AND THE PROBLEM IS IF THERE'S A CAR PARKED IN THAT BIKE LANE, NOT ONLY DO I NOW HAVE TO GO AROUND THE CAR, BUT ALSO HAVE TO NAVIGATE AROUND THE BARRIERS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO KEEP THE CARS OUT OF THE BIKE LANES.

AND IT MAKES FOR A VERY HAZARDOUS SITUATION FOR CYCLISTS LIKE ME.

AND LIKE I SAID, I'VE BEEN SOCKING FOR 44 YEARS.

I KNOW HOW TO DO IT.

AND IT'S STILL DIFFICULT FOR ME, UH, SAY ON SHOAL CREEK, PART OF THE PROBLEM IS THAT SHOAL CREEK, UH, TRAFFIC LANES HAVE BEEN NARROWED.

SO NOW I'M DEALING WITH A NARROW TRAFFIC LANE WHILE TRYING TO GET AROUND A VEHICLE ON THE BIKE LANE.

AND IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME.

I SUBMIT PARKED CARS IN THE BIKE LANE TO 3, 1, 1 ALMOST DAILY.

THE PROBLEM WITH 3 1 1, THE WAY IT IS NOW IS THAT IT TAKES 3, 1, 1, 3 OR FOUR HOURS TO GET SOMEBODY OUT THERE.

AND BY THAT TIME, THE CAR HAS MOVED.

AND SO THE BLACK BIKE BLOCKAGE PROGRAM WOULD ALLOW ME TO TAKE THE PICTURE OF THE CAR PARKED IN THE BACH LANE, SUBMIT IT TO 3, 1, 1, AND THEN A CITATION WOULD BE ISSUED TO PREVENT PEOPLE OR DISSUADE THEM IN SOME WAY FROM PARKING IN THE BACK LINES, ASIDE FROM ME, DISSUADING THEM BY YELLING AT THEM, WHICH IS ANOTHER TACTIC I USE SOMETIMES.

BUT ANYWAY, UH, I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE TO GET IT ON YOUR RADAR.

IF YOU WANT A PETITION FROM BICYCLIST, IF YOU WANT ME TO SHOW UP WITH A COUPLE OF HUNDRED BICYCLISTS, I CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT.

I DON'T THINK IT'S NECESSARY.

I THINK IT'S SORT OF A NO BRAINER.

UH, IT'S ALREADY DONE FOR ADA NONCOMPLIANCE.

PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE CARS PARKED IN A RESTRICTED PARKING SPOTS AND TURN THEM IN FOR A CITATION.

AND I'M JUST ASKING THAT FOR BICYCLISTS TOO.

SO THAT'S IT FOR ME.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS.

AND I KNOW MR. CHAMPION WOULD HAVE LIKED TO BE HERE, SO WE HOPE TO GET AN UPDATE ON THAT FROM HIM SHORTLY NEXT IS MICHAEL BERNETT.

YES, SIR.

UNEXPECTEDLY, MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE DRIVEWAY ACCIDENTS, UH, ON, ALONG THAT STRETCH OF ROAD.

UH, I'M HERE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT SOME OF THE TRAFFIC CALMING INITIATIVES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED ON WEST GATE BOULEVARD.

WE HAVE THREE MAJOR ISSUES GOING THE FIRST.

AND I'D LIKE TO SAY ON THE RECORD, OF COURSE, IS THAT MANY OF THE HOMEOWNERS HAVE PUT TREES AND BOULDERS AND I MEAN, BOULDERS IN THE EASEMENTS MAKING EMERGENCY MANEUVERING ON WESTGATE, ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE IN THE TRAFFIC CALMING AREA.

THE SECOND BEING THAT MANY OF THE HOMEOWNERS ARE DOING ILLEGAL U-TURNS TO GET INTO THEIR DRIVEWAYS, UH, STOPPING

[00:15:01]

AND THE THIRD IS THIS LOVELY TRAFFIC CALMING INITIATIVE.

YOU SEE, BEFORE YOU, WHICH IS ONE OF THE WHITE STICKS THAT IT WAS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, THE BLACK STAINS ON THEM ARE FROM ACCIDENTS.

AND WE HAVE HAD HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS OF UNREPORTED ACCIDENTS ALONG WEST GATE BOULEVARD, SINCE THIS INITIATIVE WAS IMPLEMENTED.

AND SO AS A MOTORCYCLE RIDER, AND OF COURSE PEOPLE RIDING, UH, YOU KNOW, MOTORED SCOOTERS, UH, NO WARNING THAT THESE THINGS ARE OUT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT POSES, A SIGNIFICANT RISK OF MAJOR INJURY ACCIDENT, IF NOT DEATH.

AND SO I'VE TALKED WITH ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING BASICALLY SAID TOUGH.

TURKEY'S THE BEST WE'RE GOING TO DO IS SIGNAGE.

SO IF YOU'RE GOING TO GO WITH SIGNAGE TO TRY TO CLEAN THIS UP, I WOULD STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU PUT UP THE ILLEGAL U-TURN SIGNAGE.

YOU GET THE CLEANUP DONE ON THE EASEMENT AND PUT THE SIGNS IN THE APPROPRIATE POSITIONS.

UH, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL SOMEBODY ON A MOTORCYCLE OUT THERE.

THIS IS CLEARLY PREMEDITATED.

THIS IS CLEARLY DONE WITH MALICE AND WITH THE AMOUNT OF FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION ADMINISTRATION MONEY THAT'S BEEN SPENT ON THAT ROAD, THERE'S A CLEAR QUESTION OF WHAT THE APPROPRIATE VENUE TO PURSUE LITIGATION ON INJURY OR, OR OTHER TYPES OF, UH, ACCIDENTS OUT THERE IS.

AND SO WITH THAT BEING THE CASE, I DON'T MIND THAT YOU PUT THEM THERE.

YOU GUYS CONVERTED THIS ROAD FROM A RESIDENTIAL STREET, 12 YEARS AGO INTO A THOROUGHFARE AND THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO CONVERT FROM A THOROUGHFARE BACK TO A RESIDENTIAL STREETS OR RATES RIGHT UP THERE WAS SPENDING $300 MILLION TO GO FORWARD WITH LOW-INCOME INITIATIVES AT A TIME WHEN PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD TO PULL A HUNDRED BUCKS TO GET THEIR KIDS BACK IN SCHOOL.

OUR FIRST ITEM IS APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE MEETING FROM MAY 12TH.

I MEAN, IT'S JUST, THIS IS JUST ALMOST INSANE WITH WHAT THEY'VE DONE, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SEE THESE THINGS AND YOU COME ACROSS SOME UNEXPECTEDLY.

AND AS I SAY, SOMEBODY'S GOING TO HIT THEM AND SOMEBODY'S GOING TO GET KILLED.

AND THAT'S JUST ONE, EACH BLACK MARK UP THERE REPRESENTS ONE OR TWO OR THREE STRIKES TO THAT, WHICH HAPPENED OVER THE COURSE OF SIX OR SEVEN DAYS.

SO I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ENGINEERING, TELL ME THAT, WELL, IT'LL GET BETTER BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL GET USED TO IT SO ON AND SO FORTH BECAUSE FRANKLY, THIS WHOLE THING IS OBJECTIONABLE TO ME.

UH, YOU'VE BEEN ASKED TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX, OR ENGINEERING'S BEEN TOLD TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX BY THE MAYOR, YOU KNOW, AND WE'D LIKE TO SEE MORE THAN THINKING ABOUT 50 TO 75 STORY BUILDINGS VERSUS 20 TO 40 STORY BUILDINGS AS THE BOX THEY THINK OUTSIDE OF.

THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.

UH, YES.

I'LL JUST ASK OUR STAFF TO, TO, UM, NO, I'M, I'M TALKING TO OUR STAFF.

UM, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, SIR.

UH, JUST, UH, I DON'T NEED ANY ANSWER RIGHT NOW, BUT IF YOU WOULD JUST CHECK BACK WITH MY OFFICE AND LET US KNOW INVESTIGATE THE SAFETY CONCERNS THAT HE'S RAISING.

WE'LL DO.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

[1. Approve the minutes of the Mobility Committee meeting of May 12th, 2022. ]

DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THAT VICE CHAIR? KELLY, DO I HAVE A SECOND COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MINUTES PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

[3. Project Connect Program Status Briefing. ]

THE NEXT ITEM WE ARE GOING TO TAKE UP.

ITEM THREE, THE PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM STATUS BRIEFING THANK YOU, CHAIR.

UH, ON BEHALF OF ATP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GREG , WHO IS TRAVELING TODAY, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE PETER MULLEN, CHIEF OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN TO BRIEF YOU TODAY ON, UM, THE COST ESTIMATES FOR THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM.

UM, ATP AS THE ENTITY THAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION IS ADDRESSING THE COST INCREASES IN A TRANSPARENT AND HONEST WAY.

AND SOUNDS FISCAL MANAGEMENT AT THE START OF ATP HAS RESULTED IN THEIR REVENUE BUDGET REMAINING IN GREAT SHAPE AS PREDICTED, AND NO NEW TAXES WILL BE REQUESTED, BUT CHOICES AND TRADE-OFFS WILL NEED TO BE MADE TO COMPLETE PROJECTS DEVELOPMENT AND MOVE FORWARD WITH AN IMPACTFUL FIRST LIGHT RAIL PROJECT.

SO WITH THAT, A NATIONAL TEAM OF EXPERTS HAVE ADVISED US AND HAVE WEIGHED IN THAT NOW IS THE RIGHT MOMENT TO FOCUS AND GET THIS WORK DONE, UM, AND TO WORK WITH OUR COMMUNITY.

AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN THIS OVER TO PETER MULLIN TO REVIEW ON THE WORK OF ATP.

THANK YOU, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, APPRECIATE IT.

AND, UH, CHAIR ELLIS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.

REALLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY, UM, AND GO TO THE NEXT.

SO, UM, AS, AS

[00:20:01]

ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, FIDANKA SAID, I'M HERE TODAY TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM AS PART OF PROJECT CONNECT.

UM, WE'D LIKE TO START WITH THE VISION, RIGHT, BECAUSE THAT'S THE THING THAT GUIDES US, UM, IN EVERYTHING THAT WE DO AND ALL OF OUR DECISIONS AND ALL OF OUR WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY TO MOVE THE PROGRAM FORWARD.

UM, THIS IS LANGUAGE FROM THE BALLOT, UM, THAT, UH, UH, FOR THE VOTE IN, IN FALL OF 2020, UM, AND YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S, IT'S JUST, I'M NOT GOING TO READ THE WHOLE THING, BUT, UH, IT'S IMPRESSIVE AND IT'S A SCALE.

UM, BUT ALSO ALSO IN THE BREADTH OF ITS AMBITION, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON OUTCOMES.

UM, THIS ISN'T JUST ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, BUILDING TRACK FOR TRAINS.

THIS IS ABOUT PROVIDING MEANINGFUL OUTCOMES FOR OUR COMMUNITY, A WHOLE HOST OF, OF DIFFERENT, UM, UH, ISSUES.

UM, AND ALSO IT SPEAKS TO OUR KIND OF HOLISTIC HUMAN CENTERED APPROACH.

AND, UM, THIS IS WHAT GUIDES OUR WORK EVERY DAY.

AND I THINK WE KEEP IT FRONT AND CENTER TOP OF MIND.

UM, AND THAT, UM, AS, AS ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER MENTIONED, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE SOME CHOICES TO MAKE, BUT CERTAINLY WE ARE COMMITTED TO THIS VISION.

AND THAT IS ONE THING THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE A CHOICE ABOUT, RIGHT.

WE'RE GOING TO IMPLEMENT AND FULFILL THE VISION THAT WAS LAID OUT, UM, FOR THE COMMUNITY, UH, NEXT.

SO, UM, WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK TO DATE.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN OUT IN THE COMMUNITY PRETTY FREQUENTLY, UM, TALKING ABOUT VARIOUS SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THE PUBLIC IS INFORMED, GATHERING FEEDBACK, ET CETERA, BUT WE ARE STILL VERY EARLY DAYS ON THIS SITE.

AS YOU CAN SEE, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT HALFWAY THROUGH THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE.

UM, AND THESE ARE PHASES THAT ARE REALLY, UH, LAID OUT FOR US BY THE FTA, THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION.

UM, SO WE'RE NOT EVEN INTO ENGINEERING, ACTUAL ENGINEERING YET.

UM, AND SO IT'S, IT'S THE, IT'S THE EXACT RIGHT TIME FOR US TO BE, UM, COMING TO GRIPS WITH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE REALITIES OF THE PROGRAM AND, AND, AND MAKING CHOICES.

AND WE'VE GOT TIME TO MAKE THOSE SMART CHOICES.

AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THAT PLAYS OUT, UM, COMING FORWARD NEXT.

UM, SO, UH, AS I THINK YOU ALL KNOW, UM, COSTS ON THE PROGRAM HAVE BEEN RISING, AND I THINK WE CAN EXPECT THEM TO RISE, UM, CONTINUE TO RISE BASED ON, UM, SOME THINGS THAT ARE WITHIN OUR CONTROL AND SOME THINGS THAT ARE NOT WITHIN OUR CONTROL.

UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE REALITY OF OUR, OF OUR WORLD THESE DAYS.

UM, AND SO IT'S REALLY BEHOLDEN TO US TO MAKE SURE THAT GOING FORWARD, UM, THAT THE PROGRAM IS ALIGNED, UM, WITH OUR, OUR FUNDING AVAILABILITY, RIGHT? AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE COMMITTED TO DOING.

UM, WE HAVE A REALLY FANTASTIC FUNDING MECHANISM AVAILABLE TO US, UM, THAT ALLOWS US TO BUILD AN INCREDIBLE PROGRAM THAT ACHIEVES THE VISION THAT I TALKED ABOUT A FEW SLIDES AGO.

UM, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE TWO THINGS ARE ALIGNED.

AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE ENGAGING IN RIGHT NOW AS PART OF THIS PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS NEXT.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, UH, WE HAVE BEEN DOING IS JUST ASSESSING OUR, OUR WORK TO DATE AND ALSO, UM, HAVING THAT INFORM HOW WE MOVE FORWARD.

UM, YOU KNOW, I WILL SAY FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE HAVE REALLY ESTABLISHED A FANTASTIC PARTNERSHIP.

UM, AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP HAS PARTNERSHIP IN THE NAME FOR A REASON, AND WE ARE PUTTING THAT TO WORK.

UM, YOU KNOW, THE PARTNERSHIP OF ATP CAP METRO AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN WE'RE WORKING DAY IN, DAY OUT EVERY DAY TOGETHER, HAND IN GLOVE.

UM, AND I THINK WE'VE ESTABLISHED A GREAT TRACK RECORD OF WORKING TOGETHER AND GOING TO CARRY US FORWARD AND MAKE OUR WORK GOING FORWARD, UH, SUCCESSFUL.

UM, WE'RE ALSO, AS I SAID, WE'RE COMMITTED TO IMPLEMENTING THE VISION AND DOING THAT WITHOUT NEW TAXES.

I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR ABOUT THAT.

WE ARE NOT ANTICIPATING AT THIS POINT, ANY NEW TAXES TO SUPPORT, UH, THE PROGRAM.

WE HAVE A GREAT FUNDING MECHANISM, WE'RE GOING TO USE IT.

UM, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE COMMITTED TO BEING TRANSPARENT WITH THE COMMUNITY.

UM, OUR NEW INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GREG CANAL, HE SAYS, YOU KNOW, ATP IS A COMMUNITY CORPORATION.

UM, THIS IS A COMMUNITY EFFORT AND WE'RE COMMITTED TO, UH, FULFILLING THAT MISSION.

UM, AND LASTLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO BOTH IMPLEMENT THIS WITH THE FUNDING THAT'S AVAILABLE TO US AND DO THE WORK THAT'S NECESSARY TO SECURE FEDERAL INVESTMENT.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO BE, UM, UH, CRUCIAL FUNDING PARTNER AND PARTNER IN GENERAL TO THE PROGRAM.

AND SO THAT HAS OBVIOUSLY IT'S SOMETHING THAT INFORMS OUR WORK AND OUR PROCESS AS WELL.

UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO MAKE CHOICES THAT, THAT BASICALLY MAXIMIZE, UM, THE BENEFITS OF THAT PARTNERSHIP NEXT.

UM, AND THIS IS JUST A, A LITTLE BIT OF A DIAGRAM SHOWING, UM, HOW THE FTA FITS INTO THE PICTURE.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ESSENTIALLY

[00:25:01]

IN TERMS OF OUR OVERALL FUNDING, UM, THE FDA REALLY CONSIDERS OUR FUNDING AS A LOCAL MATCH TO THEIR FUNDING.

UM, AND WE HAVE, I THINK IN THE, IN THE, IN THE ORIGINAL FUNDING MODEL HAD TARGETED A 46, 40 6% PARTICIPATION FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

SO AROUND 50%, UM, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, WORK WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ACTUALLY MAXIMIZE THAT CONTRIBUTION.

UM, THERE ARE LIMITS TO WHAT THE FTA IS ABLE TO COMMIT.

UM, BUT CERTAINLY WE WANT TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE GET EVERY DOLLAR THAT WE CAN.

AND I THINK WE'VE ESTABLISHED A REALLY GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FTA TO DATE.

AND SO WE'RE GOING TO BUILD ON THAT GOING FORWARD, UH, NEXT, UM, AND JUST TO COME BACK TO THE FEDERAL GRANT PROCESS AND WHERE WE ARE, AND IN THAT, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT BASICALLY THERE ARE TWO MAJOR MILESTONES, AND AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT HAPPENS IN BETWEEN THESE MILESTONES.

WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, GO AWAY, UM, AND THEN COME BACK EVERY TWO YEARS TO, TO MEET WITH THE FDA WE'RE TALKING TO THEM CONSTANTLY.

UM, BUT CERTAINLY, UH, THE ENTRY INTO ENGINEERING IS AN IMPORTANT ONE.

AND SO THAT'S WHEN WE COMPLETE THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE AND GO INTO ENGINEERING.

UM, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE FTA REALLY HAS A HAND IN SORT OF GIVING US THE GO-AHEAD SAYING, YES, YOUR PROJECT MAKES SENSE.

WE THINK THAT IT'S FUNDABLE GO, UM, AND WE'RE SUPPORTIVE.

AND THEN, AND THEN, UM, EVENTUALLY THERE IS A, A FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT, UM, THAT HAPPENS, YOU KNOW, AROUND THE TIME THAT WE GO INTO CONSTRUCTION, IT IS POSSIBLE TO START CONSTRUCTION IN ADVANCE OF THAT.

UM, BUT THOSE ARE THE MAJOR MILESTONES.

AND SO WE HAVE OUR, CERTAINLY OUR EYES ON THOSE GOING FORWARD.

UM, I THINK PART OF THE PART OF MESSAGE HERE IS THAT, UM, IT'S NOT JUST THE GRANT AGREEMENT ITSELF.

IT IS THESE INTERIM MILESTONES, SPECIFICALLY ENTRY INTO ENGINEERING THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IN LOCK STEP WITH THE FTA GOING FORWARD.

AND SO THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING NOW IN PROJECT DEVELOPMENT REALLY LEADS TO THAT.

UH, NEXT, UM, THE OTHER THING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, NOW IS THE TIME FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THIS ALIGNMENT BETWEEN PROGRAM SCOPE AND COSTS.

UM, WE ARE, HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE PROGRAM NOW, RIGHT.

AND DO IT ACTUALLY, AND HAVE THE ABILITY TO INFLUENCE COSTS.

SO THAT'S THE, YOU CAN SEE THE BLUE LINE RIGHT NOW, THE, THE ABILITY TO INFLUENCE COST IS HIGH, RIGHT, AS WE GO FORWARD, THAT ABILITY DECREASES, UM, AT THE SAME TIME AS YOU GO THROUGH THE PROCESS COSTS GENERALLY, USUALLY GO UP.

NOW YOU PLAN FOR THAT, RIGHT? YOU HAVE CONTINGENCIES, ET CETERA.

UM, ALL THIS IS TO SAY IS THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY NOW TO KIND OF BRING THIS INTO ALIGNMENT.

AND SO WE WANT TO NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS MOMENT TO DO JUST THAT, UM, NEXT AND THE GOOD NEWS IS WE ALSO HAVE LOTS OF LEAVERS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US, UM, THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT AND EXAMINE AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, EXPLORE TO THE FULLEST EXTENT POSSIBLE.

UM, OBVIOUSLY SCOPING AND DESIGN, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE, UM, WHAT'S IN THE PROJECT.

EXACTLY.

UM, AND HOW ARE WE DESIGNING IT TO MAXIMIZE EFFICIENCY, UM, AND PERFORMANCE EFFICIENCY, UM, CERTAINLY SEC PHASING AND SEGMENTING.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE KNOW THAT WE CAN'T BUILD THE ENTIRE PROGRAM ALL AT ONCE ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

UM, HOW DO WE MAKE DECISIONS AROUND PHASING TO, TO, UH, FIT WITHIN OUR, OUR, OUR FUNDING CAPACITY, UM, AND SERVE THE PUBLIC TO THE BEST DEGREE OF OUR POSSIBLE, UM, SERVICE PLANET TECHNOLOGY.

UM, CERTAINLY THAT'S PART OF THE DESIGN PROCESS.

AND SO WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THAT AS WELL.

UM, SOURCES OF FUNDING, RIGHT? WE HAVE, UH, CERTAINLY WE KNOW THAT OUR, OUR, OUR BIGGEST GRANT IS GOING TO BE THROUGH THE NEW STARTS PROGRAM WITH THE FTA.

UM, BUT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT, ARE THERE OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING THAT WE, UM, CAN COMBINE WITH THE FTA FUNDS AND OUR LOCAL PROPERTY FUNDS, UM, TO BRING TO THE PROGRAM SO THAT WE CAN MAXIMIZE WHAT WE DELIVERED TO THE PUBLIC, UM, AND THEN RISK AND DELIVERY.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, WE ARE, WE DON'T GET OURSELVES INTO, INTO A PLACE THAT WE, WHERE WE CAN'T DELIVER WHAT WE'VE PROMISED.

UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT PROJECT DELIVERY OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE TO US TO REALLY, UM, MAXIMIZE THE PROGRAM THAT WE DELIVER.

AND I THINK THERE ARE SOME INNOVATIVE OPTIONS AND REALLY THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY ATP WAS FORMED TO BE ABLE TO, UM, UNDERSTAND THOSE OPTIONS AND TO BASICALLY UTILIZE THE ONES THAT COULD BE APPROPRIATE TO OUR PROGRAM.

UM, SO THESE LEAVERS REALLY INFORMED WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW AND INTO, AND OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, UM, GO TO THE NEXT PLACE.

UM, SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED A SERIES OF, UM, IN THESE, THESE HONEYCOMB, UM, HEXAGONS, UM, A SERIES OF AREAS THAT, WHERE WE NEED TO GET MORE DATA AND WE NEED TO DO SOME ASSESSMENT AND

[00:30:01]

DISCOVERY, UM, TO INFLUENCE DECISION-MAKING THAT THE COMMUNITY WILL OBVIOUSLY BE A HUGE PARTICIPANT IN, UM, ABOUT THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM GOING FORWARD.

AND THESE INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS ARE NOT, UM, INDEPENDENT OF ONE ANOTHER.

THEY WORK TOGETHER, UM, THEY INFLUENCE EACH OTHER.

AND SO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL THOSE IN PARALLEL AND SIMULTANEOUSLY AS PART OF THIS VERY HOLISTIC APPROACH TO THE PROGRAM THAT WE'VE IMPLEMENTED TO DATE, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT.

UM, SO I JUST WANT TO GO THROUGH THEM REALLY QUICKLY AND THEN, YOU KNOW, HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, ABOUT ANY OF THIS AND, AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.

UM, NEXT, SO FIRST IS PLANNING.

UM, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S THE BIGGEST SCALE, UM, QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UM, LOOKING AT THE PROGRAM, UM, WHO ARE WE SERVING? HOW ARE WE SERVING IT, WHERE, UM, WHERE THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE, WHERE THE RISKS ARE, UM, DISPLACEMENT, OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING THAT WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT AND WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MITIGATE TO THE FULLEST EXTENT POSSIBLE, UM, UH, LOOKING AT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, LOOKING AT RIDERSHIP, ET CETERA.

UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF BIG PICTURE PLANNING.

UM, LOOKING AT THE PLANNING WE'VE DONE TO DATE, THERE'S A LOT OF THAT, WHICH IS GREAT.

AND THEN SEEING IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES OR ADAPTATIONS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE IN OUR THINKING BASED ON CHANGES THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, NEXT, UH, TECHNICAL REVIEW.

SO WE'VE DONE A LOT OF PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING, WHICH I THINK IS GOING TO HELP US.

UM, IT GIVES US A LOT OF GOOD DATA TO MAKE STRATEGIC DECISIONS GOING FORWARD.

UM, AND WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE TO OPTIMIZE THE PROGRAM.

AND SO CERTAINLY WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT, UM, YOU KNOW, BIG ITEMS THAT SOME OF WHICH HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, DURING OUR WORK TO DATE, UM, TUNNEL EXTENTS, LAKE CROSSING STATIONS AND STATION AREAS, ET CETERA.

SO WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING KIND OF ASSESSMENT AND REVIEW OF THE PROGRAM AND THE PROGRAM COSTS TO SEE WHERE WE CAN OPTIMIZE, UM, NEXT, UH, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS.

UM, CERTAINLY, UH, WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THIS GREAT TRACK RECORD OF THE LOCAL PARTNERS.

UM, WE'VE ESTABLISHED A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FTA.

OBVIOUSLY WE NEED TO, UH, CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THAT AND, UM, SUPPORT THAT ENHANCE THAT GOING FORWARD.

UM, BUT WE'LL, WE ALSO WILL BE LOOKING, ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHER PARTNERSHIPS THAT COULD SUPPORT THE PROGRAM, UM, FINANCIALLY OR OTHERWISE? UM, AND IT, DOES THAT HAVE A MATERIAL IMPACT ON SOME OF THE, OF HOW WE MOVE FORWARD NEXT? UH, CERTAINLY LOOKING AT THE FINANCIAL MODEL I'M LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, HOW OUR INCOME STREAM THROUGH THE PROPER FUNDS, UM, WILL GET UTILIZED OVER THE LONGTERM.

UM, BOTH FOR THE INITIAL PHASE AND BEYOND, UM, LOOKING AT LOAN PROGRAMS AND OTHER GRANT PROGRAMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US, UM, THAT WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NEXT, UH, MARKET SOUNDING REALLY INTERESTING ONE, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE IN A VERY HOT CONSTRUCTION MARKET RIGHT NOW, UM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO JUST COME TO TERMS WITH.

UM, WE NEED TO TALK TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AND THE MARKET TO UNDERSTAND HOW DO WE SET OURSELVES UP FOR SUCCESS FROM THEIR POINT OF VIEW, UM, SO THAT WE CAN BOTH MINIMIZE RISK AND ALSO MAXIMIZE, UM, WHAT WE DELIVER TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND ALSO LOOKING AT DELIVERY STRATEGIES AND HOW THEY MIGHT INFLUENCE OUR, OUR PROCESS GOING FORWARD, UH, AND NEXT, UH, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, TALKING TO THE COMMUNITY, OBVIOUSLY, UM, AND, AND THIS INFORMS ALL OF THE, THE, THE BUCKETS HERE, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE HEARING AS MUCH AS WE CAN FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT COMMUNITY PRIORITY PRIORITIES, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE MAKING CHOICES ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE COMMUNITY HAS THAT OWNERSHIP OVER THOSE DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES AS WELL.

UM, SO WORKING WITH OUR, UM, OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UM, THIS COMMITTEE OTHERS, UM, TO MAKE SURE AS WELL AS JUST GOING OUT TO THE PUBLIC AND HAVING ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UM, INCORPORATING THOSE VOICES INTO OUR PROCESS, UM, AS WE HAVE IN THE PAST NEXT, SO THAT ALL THOSE ELEMENTS OF ANALYSIS, UM, CONSTITUTE THE BASIS OF WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO OVER THE NEXT, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, SIX TO NINE MONTHS, UM, TO BASICALLY ASSESS THE PROGRAM AND TO OPTIMIZE IT, UM, AND TO GET IT ALIGNED WITH OUR FUNDING CAPACITY IN OUR FINANCE CAPACITY.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IS, UM, BASICALLY LAYING OUT THIS PROCESS AND KIND OF IN THIS ROUGH FORM, UM, THIS MONTH AND IN, THROUGH THE END OF AUGUST, UM, AND THEN INTO STARTING SEPTEMBER, WE'LL START, WE'RE GETTING FEEDBACK ON THAT PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INCORPORATING, UM, EVERYTHING THAT NEEDS TO GET INCORPORATED

[00:35:01]

INTO THAT ANALYSIS.

UM, AND THEN WE'LL START EXECUTING ON THE WORK PLAN, UM, PROBABLY LATE SEPTEMBER AND GOING INTO OCTOBER.

UM, AND THEN WE WILL BE BACK IN THE SPRING, I THINK WITH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESULTS OF THAT ANALYSIS, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, A DECISION, YOU KNOW, THAT WILL BE TIME FOR DECISION ABOUT HOW WE MOVE FORWARD.

OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT GOING TO GO AWAY DURING THAT PERIOD.

WE'RE GOING TO BE COMING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY CONSTANTLY THROUGHOUT THAT PROCESS.

UM, WE DO HAVE A BUNCH OF TECHNICAL WORK TO DO TO SET UP THOSE CONVERSATIONS, UM, IN THE SHORT TERM.

UM, BUT CERTAINLY THIS IS GOING TO BE A COMMUNITY BASED PROCESS AS WELL.

SO, UM, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GOING.

I THINK WE'RE ACTUALLY IN, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY DEALING WITH COST IS NOT SOMETHING THAT, UM, ANYBODY KNEW.

I MEAN, WE ALL KNEW THIS, THAT WE HAD TO DO THIS, UM, NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME FOR US TO, TO, TO, TO DO THIS WORK SO THAT WE SET OURSELVES UP FOR SUCCESS.

LONG-TERM HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER, KITCHEN.

UH, YES.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS INFORMATION.

THIS IS, YOU KNOW, VERY HELPFUL.

UM, I HAVE, UM, I HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS CHAIR.

I'LL JUST ASK A FUSE AND GIVE TIME FOR OTHER FOLKS.

SO I FIRST WANT TO JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR, UM, FOR POINTING OUT, UM, THE VISION, UM, AS SET FORTH IN THE BALLOT ITEM.

AND ALSO, AS YOU SAID ON SLIDE FIVE AND JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE FOR THE PUBLIC AND THEN ASK A QUESTION THAT, UM, THAT ADP REMAINS COMMITTED TO IMPLEMENTING AUSTIN'S VISION WITHOUT ANY NEW TAXES, WANT TO MAKE SURE THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT NEW TAXES.

THE SECOND THING I WANT TO EMPHASIZE FROM PAGE FIVE IS THAT THE, THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT COMPONENTS WILL BE BUILT.

SO WE'RE ALSO NOT TALKING ABOUT CHANGING.

WE MAY BE TALKING ABOUT OPTIONS FOR THE DESIGN OF IT, BUT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT TAKING PROJECTS OFF OF THE IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE THAT THE VOTERS VOTED ON.

SO THANK YOU FOR EMPHASIZING THAT, UH, AN ITEM THAT'S NOT ON HERE, BUT I'M UNDERSTANDING IS ALSO, UM, IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE FOR FOLKS.

AND, AND SO PEOPLE UNDERSTAND IS WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT CHANGING THE 300 MILLION THAT HAS BEEN DEDICATED TO ANTI-DISPLACEMENT.

AND WE'RE ALSO NOT TALKING ABOUT CHANGING THE TIMELINE FOR THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT DOLLARS.

SO IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO THAT FOR JUST A MINUTE AND CONFIRM THAT THAT'S CORRECT.

UH, THAT'S ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.

SO THERE'S A TIMELINE, UM, SCHEDULE WE'VE ALREADY HAD THE BENEFIT OF, UH, OF, UH, SEVERAL YEARS NOW OF, UH, OF, UH, OF DOLLARS FOR ANTI-DISPLACEMENT.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UM, THEN I WILL ASK ONE QUESTION AND THEN TURN IT OVER TO GIVE OTHERS A CHANCE.

SO, UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SPEAK TO ALSO, SO PEOPLE UNDERSTAND TO PROJECT CONNECT AS A WHOLE, UH, IN TERMS OF WHAT, UM, WHAT FOLKS VOTED ON AND THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT A PORTION OF IT.

WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE, THE STEPS MOVING FORWARD, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE BRT LINES ARE CONTINUING ON SCHEDULE.

IN FACT, A LOT OF THAT WORK IS BEING DONE.

NOW, SOME OF IT, YOU KNOW, CAP METRO IS, IS ENGAGED WITH, SO THE BRT LINES THAT THE PICKUP ZONES, WHICH ARE WHAT YOU'RE SHOWING A LOT OF SUCCESS WITH PEOPLE, THINGS LIKE METRO BIKE.

UM, SO CAN YOU JUST SPEAK TO THAT OR IF IT'S APPROPRIATE, UM, HAVE, UM, DOTTIE WALK-INS SPEAK TO THAT.

I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND THAT AS WE TALK ABOUT THESE, THESE, UH, COSTS, UM, INCREASES, UM, AND TALK ABOUT ANALYZING AGAIN AND LOOKING AGAIN AT THE, UM, THE SCOPE OF DESIGN, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LIGHT RAIL ONLY.

YOU'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT AS A WHOLE, AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY SEEN, WE'RE ALREADY SEEING A NUMBER OF THESE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, TO TRANSIT, UM, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE THOSE.

AND THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT AND I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE POINTED THAT OUT MYSELF AT THE BEGINNING.

SO, UH, APPRECIATE IT FOR THAT.

AND YES, UM, CAP METRO HAS ALREADY BEGUN IMPLEMENTING A NUMBER OF THE ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM.

UM, WE HAD A GROUNDBREAKING ON THE NEW MCCALLA STATION ON THE RED LINE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.

UM, TWO NEW METRO RAPID LINES ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION ALREADY.

UM, SO THERE ARE PICKUPS, NEW PICKUP ZONES THAT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED ALREADY.

UM, SO WE ARE ALREADY IMPLEMENTING AND AHEAD OF SCHEDULE IN SOME CASES, UM, MANY OF THE ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM,

[00:40:01]

UM, THE TOPIC TODAY IS REALLY FOCUSED ON THE LIGHT RAIL, UH, ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM.

MS. WATKINS, DO YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT? GOOD AFTERNOON.

I'M DOTTIE WATKINS.

I'M THE INTERIM PRESIDENT CEO FOR CAP METRO.

UM, SO AS PETER MENTIONED, WE, UH, UM, ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY ON A NUMBER OF THE PROGRAMS, UM, MOST NOTABLY OUR MITCHELL RAPID MINDS, UM, WHICH ARE ALREADY UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

UM, SO WE HAVE THE EXPO LINE, THAT'LL GO OUT TO THE EXPO CENTER INTO DOWNTOWN AND THE PLEASANT VALLEY LINE THAT WILL GO UP AND DOWN PLEASANT VALLEY, SERVING FROM THE MUELLER COMPLEX ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE, UM, GOODNIGHT RANCH NEIGHBORHOOD IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN.

UM, SO THOSE, UM, ARE ALREADY UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

WE ALSO, UM, BROKE GROUND AND HAVE STARTED CONSTRUCTION, UM, IN COUNCIL MEMBER POOLS DISTRICT FOR THE MCCALLA STATION, UM, AS WELL AS A DOUBLE TRACKING PROJECT BETWEEN OUR LANDER STATION AND LAKELINE STATION THAT WILL ALLOW US TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE THE RED LINE.

SO A LOT OF WORK IS ALREADY UNDERWAY, UM, AND ON SCHEDULE AND, AND, AND NOT AT ALL THE TOPIC OF THIS, UM, REVISITING TO SEE WHAT PHASING AND, AND FINANCING OPTIONS WE HAVE THAT REALLY IS FOCUSED ON THE LIGHT RAIL, WHICH ADMITTEDLY IS THE LARGEST COST COMPONENT IN THE PROGRAM, BUT ONLY PART OF A LARGER SYSTEM.

TH THANK YOU.

AND I'LL JUST GIVE A PLUG FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF, OF, UH, RAPID TRANSIT, UH, THAT WE COMING IN, THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE.

AND THAT'S THE, THE LINE DOWN MEN CHAKA, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, I KNOW, UH, THE CHAIR ELLIS IS CONCERNED ABOUT THE LINE DOWN TO OAK HILL.

SO, UM, SO THANK YOU FOR, UH, UPDATING PEOPLE ON THAT.

UM, CHAIR, I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I'LL TURN IT TO OTHERS AND, AND IF YOU COULD COME BACK TO ME LATER, YEAH.

LET'S SEE IF THERE'S A COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS AND THEN WE'LL CIRCLE BACK TO YOU.

SO YOU CAN FINISH ASKING THEM.

I SEE MAYOR PRO TEM, ALISON HIS HAND UP.

GO AHEAD.

UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS, SO IT'S A BIT HARD TO HEAR YOU.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YEAH, THAT'S BETTER.

THANKS.

IS TO IDENTIFY IF THERE ARE ANY THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY OR BENEFICIAL TO THE PROGRAM GOING FORWARD.

I'LL TRY AND SPEAK UP.

I'M NOT SURE THIS IS A QUESTION AS MUCH AS SOME COMMENTS THAT I WANTED TO, UM, TO MAKE FIRST, I WANTED TO THINK, UM, FORMER HOUSTON TILLOTSON, PRESIDENT COLETTE PIERCE BURNETTE FOR HER SERVICE ON THE ATP, UM, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY OF THE PUBLIC THAT IS WATCHING THIS AS AWARE THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING ANOTHER MEMBER OF OUR ATP BOARD, THOSE APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN UNTIL AUGUST 12TH.

UM, AND I HOPE THAT ALL FIVE CANDIDATES, UM, WHO ARE WATCHING WILL CONSIDER APPLYING.

UM, I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION, I CAN'T SEE IF COMES TO MY TROUBLES ON THE DIOCESE AS WELL OR NOT, BUT, UM, AS CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, WE HAVE BEEN SPEAKING WITH, UM, , WHO'S THE INTERIM HEAD FOR ATP AS WELL AS, UH, ACM KEN DONKA.

UM, AND WE WILL BE HOLDING AN AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING THAT WILL FOCUS ON THE FINANCING PIECES OF PROJECT CONNECT.

UM, IT WOULD LIKELY BE IN OCTOBER AND I WOULD INVITE MY FELLOW, UM, MELODY COMMITTED MEMBERS TO JOIN US FOR THAT SESSION.

UM, AND THEN, UM, THE QUESTION THAT I DO HAVE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS WHOLE PROCESS IS BEING LED BY, UM, ATP IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CITY AND WITH, UM, CA METRO.

BUT AT THIS POINT IN TIME, WE ARE OPERATING WITH AN INTERIM CEO FOR ATP.

I'M WONDERING IF SOMEONE CAN SPEAK TO THE TIMING OF THAT SEARCH PROCESS.

SURE.

I CAN TALK TO THAT.

UM, SO THE, THE SEARCH IS GETTING UNDERWAY.

I THINK THAT THE BOARD IS SCHEDULED TO VOTE, I BELIEVE ON, UM, CONTRACTED WITH THE SEARCH FIRM.

UM, THINK, UH, THE INTERIM CEO'S INTERIM MIDI, GREG KELLY, HIS CONTRACT RUNS THROUGH, UM, I THINK THE END OF JANUARY OF 2023, UM, AT THIS POINT, BUT I THINK THAT THE TIMING, NOT EXACTLY CLEAR ON THE TIMING OF WHEN THAT SEARCH WOULD BE COMPLETED AND SO THAT, THAT TERM MAY HAVE TO BE ADJUSTED ACCORDINGLY.

SO THANK YOU.

AND I APPRECIATE YOU ALL COMING AND SPEAKING WITH US AND LAYING OUT SOME OF THE CHOICES AND OTHER, UM, ONE OF THE ASPECTS THAT WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD SPEAK MORE TO IS THE NEED FOR SOME, UM, PERHAPS LEGISLATIVE CHANGES THIS SESSION, UM, SO THAT WE CAN PROCEED IN THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE WAY.

COULD YOU SPEAK, UM, TO THOSE, TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU'RE PREPARED TO? YEAH, WE, UM, WE ARE NOT, UH, ANTICIPATING LEGISLATIVE CHANGES AT THIS TIME, BUT HONESTLY, THAT'S PART OF WHAT THIS PROCESS NEEDS TO DO

[00:45:01]

SO, UM, THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT AS PART OF THIS PROCESS.

THANK YOU FOR THOSE QUESTIONS.

AND YES, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL HAS JUST RECENTLY JOINED US WHILE COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN WAS ASKING QUESTIONS.

UM, I HAVE A BRIEF QUESTION.

I KNOW THERE MAY STILL BE SOME OTHERS AMONG THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

UM, WHEN YOU HAD ON SLIDE 12, THE TUNNEL EXTENTS.

I KNOW I WAS FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO ATTEND ONE OF THE BUS LINE TOURS WHERE WE GOT TO SEE IN REAL TIME, SOME OF THE INTERSECTIONS THAT Y'ALL ARE TRYING TO PLAN AROUND AND JUST SOME OF THE MOVING PARTS AS, AS THE PLANNING UNFOLDS.

BUT CAN YOU TALK TO ME A BIT ABOUT THE TUNNEL EXTENTS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE CAPITOL VIEW CORRIDOR AND WHAT KIND OF SITUATIONS YOU'RE TRYING TO WORK WITH? SO, UM, ALL I WOULD SAY IS, AGAIN, WE DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS YET, RIGHT? WE KNOW THAT THE TUNNEL IS, UM, ONE OF THE SIGNIFICANT COST DRIVERS ON THE PROGRAM.

SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY IS NEAR THE TOP OF THE LIST OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT.

HOW DO WE OPTIMIZE THAT AND HOW DO WE OPTIMIZE ITS ROLE IN THE OVERALL PROGRAM? UM, SO WE'RE MAKING THE BEST USE OF THE FUNDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US.

UM, AND I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE YET.

I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE STARTING TO UNCOVER RIGHT NOW.

WE'LL TOP IT OFF WITH EVEN MORE INFORMATION SO THAT, UM, EVERYBODY CAN KIND OF STAY ALIGNED WITH, UM, US AS WE MAKE THESE REALLY IMPORTANT KEY DECISIONS GOING FORWARD.

AND I'M REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT THOSE DETAILS, SO I'M NOT SURE IF MAYBE YOU CAN POINT ME TO THE PERSON WHO'S MOST IN CHARGE OF THAT CONVERSATION, MAYBE ON THE CITY SIDE, AGAIN, I THINK RIGHT NOW WE'RE GOING TO BE COMING BACK TO, TO THIS GROUP AND OTHERS.

UM, ONCE WE HAVE A BETTER IDEA ABOUT WHAT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES ARE, RIGHT? SO THAT THEN WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SHARING.

AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THIS PROCESS IS, IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES, COME BACK, SHARE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

ALL THOSE OPPORTUNITIES HAVE IMPACTS.

SO WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO TALK TO WHAT THOSE IMPACTS ON THE PROGRAM ARE.

UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT IS WHAT THIS PROCESS IS, AND WE'RE JUST NOT READY YET TO DO THAT.

SO I CAN APPRECIATE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.

NO, THANKS CHAIR.

THANKS FOR JOINING US.

OH, UM, I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE AND SEE MY GOOD FRIEND, PETER MULLEN AT THE EPIDIDYMIS.

THAT'S GREAT.

I WANTED TO, AND, AND HELLO TO DOTTIE WATKINS OUT THERE AS WELL.

I WANTED JUST TO MENTION THERE'S A WHOLE SLATE OF, UM, OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PUBLIC TO LISTEN IN AND HEAR INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON JUST IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS, JUST IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, IN FACT, I'M INTO OCTOBER, WOULD IT BE HELPFUL IF I MENTIONED SOME OF THESE DATES AND THE COMMITTEES OR STAKEHOLDER GROUPS THAT ARE BEING PRESENTED TO, OR DO YOU GUYS HAVE THAT AND YOU'D LIKE TO DO IT, OR WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO DO, I MEAN, WE, HOWEVER YOU THINK WOULD BE BEST, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, IF YOU WANT TO DO IT OR WE CAN MAKE SURE WE GET THAT OUT.

I THINK ACTUALLY BOTH WOULD, WOULD BE REALLY GREAT.

I'LL JUST MENTION A COUPLE COMING UP AND THEN MAYBE YOU CAN TELL EVERYONE WHERE TO LOOK FOR THE CONCISE, COMPLETE ACCUMULATION OF ALL THE, UH, ALL THE MEETINGS, THE ONE PLACE THE ONE-STOP SHOP.

SO TODAY IS MOBILITY COMMITTEE.

UM, THERE'S, UM, UH, THERE ARE TWO ATP MEETINGS ON AUGUST NINE AND 10, BOTH AT 5:00 PM.

ONE IS THE FAR MEETING AND THE OTHER IS THE EAC MEETING AND FAR IS FINE FINANCE AND RISK ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

AND THE EAC IS ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE, AND CONSTRUCTION.

SO TWO REALLY GOOD, UM, NUTS AND BOLTS KINDS OF MEETINGS TO THIS AND, AND ON, YEAH, THOSE, THOSE MEETINGS TYPICALLY ARE NOT, UM, PUBLIC MEETINGS.

UM, BUT THERE IS, I KNOW A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING THAT IS, I BELIEVE NEXT THURSDAY, THE 11TH, UM, THAT IS CERTAINLY ABSOLUTELY OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

AND SO, UM, THE INFORMATION ON THAT IS ON THE ATP WEBSITE, WHICH IS ATP ATP, T X.ORG.

GREAT.

SO WOULD THAT, AND THEN THERE'S THE CAC MEETING AT FIVE O'CLOCK ON THE 11TH.

RIGHT.

UM, AND, UH, LET'S SEE, WE'VE GOT THE APPLICATIONS, DEADLINE FOR THE BOARD APPLICATIONS FOR THE VACANCY.

WE'VE GOT THE CAP METRO BOARD MEETING ON AUGUST 29.

UM, WE'LL PROBABLY BE TALKING ABOUT SOME ELEMENTS OF PROJECT CONNECT THERE.

AND THEN WE GO INTO SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER WITH WORK SESSIONS AND ADDITIONAL COUNCIL MEETING INFORMATION OPPORTUNITIES AND MOBILITY AND THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING.

SO THE WHOLE POINT IS WASN'T NECESSARILY TO GIVE EVERYBODY JUST A CONCISE LIST, ALTHOUGH I THINK ONE NEEDS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE, BUT THE POINT IS WE ARE TRYING REALLY HARD AND STAFF IS REALLY COMMITTED TO TAKING THE TIME TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS, BOTH WITH POLICYMAKERS, STAKEHOLDERS, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, AND JUST INTERESTED PARTIES TO LISTEN IN AND GET AS MUCH OF A GROUNDING IN THIS INFORMATION AS YOU MAY HAVE THE TIME OR INTEREST IN.

UH, AND THEN

[00:50:01]

ABSOLUTELY.

AND I JUST WANT TO ASSURE EVERYBODY THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE ANY DECISIONS UNTIL WE'VE HAD THAT THOROUGH, ROBUST DIALOGUE WITH THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE THIS IS THEIR PROGRAM.

SO, YEAH.

AND, UM, AND I GUESS REALLY THE, THE, THE CAPSTONE OF ALL OF THESE CONVERSATIONS FOR THIS YEAR WILL BE WHEN THE TRI-PARTY MEMBERSHIP MEETS TOGETHER AND HAS THIS CONVERSATION.

SO WE'LL ALL LOOK FORWARD AND PUSH TO THAT END FOR, FOR GOOD RESULTS.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

THANK YOU FOR DAYLIGHTING THOSE DATES.

UM, AND I APPRECIATE THE, THE CHAIR OF THE ATP BOARD, UM, ALSO CARES VERY MUCH ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN THESE BIG TYPES OF PROJECTS.

AND SO I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SEE THAT TYPE OF LEADERSHIP.

UM, IT'S GOT A COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.

I WAS LOOKING FOR OTHER HANDS, BUT NO.

DID, DID YOU HAVE OTHER HANDS FIRST OR NO? OKAY.

NO, GO FOR IT.

UM, UH, OKAY.

SO, UM, JUST, UM, JUST TWO THINGS REALLY, AND THEY'RE RELATED, UM, THIS, UM, AS, UH, AS, UH, AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL FOR TALKING ABOUT THE MEETINGS, IS THIS IN THE FALL? I DO WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT.

UM, I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT THE, UM, THAT THIS IS A JOINT EFFORT, UH, AS IT HAS BEEN SINCE, YOU KNOW, BEFORE THIS WAS PUT ON THE BALLOT BETWEEN THE CITY, UH, CAP, METRO AND ATP.

SO REMEMBER POOL REFERENCED IS THE, UH, PERIODIC MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE OF ALL THREE BOARDS TOGETHER.

SO I'M NOT SEEING THE DATE FOR THAT YET.

AND, UM, JUST WANT THE PUBLIC TO KNOW THAT IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE WILL BE A TRI-PARTY MEETING THIS FALL.

WE DON'T HAVE THE DATE YET, BUT WE WILL.

WE'RE GETTING THAT DONE.

SO THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT KEEPS ALL BOARD, ALL THE BOARDS.

UM, IT GIVES ALL THE BOARDS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO EACH OTHER.

UM, I THINK THAT THESE MEETINGS THAT WE'RE HAVING THAT COUNCIL MEMBER TOOL POOL TALKED ABOUT ARE REALLY GOOD AND THEY GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET INTO THE DETAIL, BUT THEY'RE NOT, NOT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CAP METRO BOARD OR THE CITY COUNCIL TO TALK TO THE ATP BOARD.

SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING THAT DATE SET.

UH, THE OTHER THING I WOULD JUST WANT TO, I JUST WANT TO SAY THIS IS BECAUSE WE KIND OF JUMPED INTO THIS.

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO PICK UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF AND JUST TO PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION TO FOLKS BECAUSE FOLKS IN THE, IN THE COMMUNITY WHO, UH, MAY NOT UNDERSTAND WHY WE'RE DOING THIS NOW, BECAUSE THIS IS A DIFFERENT TIMELINE AND IT IS DIFFERENT THAN THE SCHEDULE WE LAID OUT IN THE SPRING AT THE LAST TRI-PARTY MEETING THAT WE HAD, WE WERE VERY CLEAR WITH THE PUBLIC, THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE A SERIES OF COMMUNITY MEETINGS.

UM, AND THEN, AND THEN VOTES IN, UH, YOU KNOW, THE EIS BEING MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC AND, UH, YOU KNOW, INPUT IN THE FALL AND A VOTE BY THE END OF DECEMBER, UM, ON THE DESIGN DESIGN TO GO TO THE NEXT PHASE.

WELL, THAT'S VERY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW FOR VERY GOOD REASON AND IT'S APPROPRIATE, BUT WE KIND OF, WE KIND OF JUMPED TO THAT AND WE DIDN'T EXPLAIN THAT TO THE PUBLIC.

SO I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO SAY.

AND SO I'M GOING TO TELL YOU MY EXPLANATION AND YOU CAN ADD TO THAT AND TELL ME IF I GOT IT RIGHT.

SO BASICALLY YOU GOT THE, THERE WAS A SERIES OF VERY IN DEPTH MEETINGS, UH, COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT, UM, I KNOW I ATTENDED ALMOST EVERY ONE OF THEM AND I KNOW OTHERS ATTENDED THEM TOO.

AND YOU ALL LEARNED THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND THROUGH OTHER THINGS THAT YOU'RE DOING THAT THERE'S MORE TO BE DONE.

SO, UM, SO I WANT TO SHARE THE, THE, THE, UH, PUBLIC THAT PART OF THIS CHANGE IN TIMELINE IS REALLY COMING FROM THE WORK THAT Y'ALL DID AND THAT WE PROMISED THE COMMUNITY IN THE SPRING.

UH, THE OTHER THING I WANT TO POINT OUT IS THAT THE VOTE BY THE BODIES, THE CITY, AND, UM, THE CITY AND CAP METRO IS STILL GOING TO HAPPEN.

IT'S JUST A LATER TIMELINE.

AND SO IF I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY, WHAT YOU ALL ARE DOING NOW IS GOING BACK.

I THINK IT WAS THAT, THAT PAGE THAT, UM, THE CHAIR REFERRED TO, UM, IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU'RE GOING BACK AND LOOKING AT THE DESIGN OF SOME OF THESE AREAS, UH, FOR GOOD REASON.

AND YOU'VE LAID THEM OUT ON, I FORGET WHAT SLIDE IT IS, UM, THE TUNNEL BEING ONE OF THEM, UH, BUT YOU'VE LAID THEM OUT, BUT THEN WE'RE STILL GOING TO BE GOING BACK TO THE, THE, UM, THE PROCESS, WHICH IS ONCE YOU ALL MAKE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS, UM,

[00:55:01]

THERE WILL BE A VOTE OF THE CAP METRO BOARD.

THERE WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO COMMENT ON THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.

UM, AND THERE'LL BE THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS IS FOR THE CAPITAL METRO BOARD AND THE CITY COUNCIL TO, TO VOTE ON THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND THE GOAL OF COURSE, IS AS YOU ALL HAVE BEEN DOING IS TO WORK HAND IN GLOVE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND TO WORK HAND IN GLOVE WITH THE CITY AND CAP METRO.

SO THAT BY THE TIME THE BODIES GET TO THE POINT OF VOTING THERE'S CONSENSUS.

SO I I'VE LAID OUT A LOT OF STUFF.

UH, AND SO I INVITE YOU TO SPEAK TO THAT.

DID I GET THAT ALL? I THINK YOU NAILED IT.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU, I THINK YOU DESCRIBED IT REALLY EXTREMELY WELL.

UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, UH, ALL OF THAT'S EXACTLY CORRECT.

UM, AND I WOULD JUST ADD, THE ONLY THING I WOULD ADD IS THAT THIS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAD PROJECTED A CERTAIN PROCESS, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH NEW INFORMATION, WE'VE AMENDED THE PROCESS, BUT EVEN THAT NEW PROCESS IS STILL HAPPENING WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE FEDERAL PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.

RIGHT.

SO, UM, WE'RE STILL WITHIN THAT, THOSE GUARDRAILS.

UM, AND SO I JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO REALIZE THAT IS WE'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING AT THE RIGHT TIME.

IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE YOU'RE ADDING, ADDING MORE COMMUNITY INPUT AND YOU'RE ALSO ADDING MORE ANALYSIS.

IS THAT FAIR TO SAY? YEAH.

SO I THINK THE TUNNEL IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT.

IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT THAT'S LIKE THE BIGGEST ADDITIONAL COST.

AND SO IT'S PRUDENT TO GO BACK AND THINK ABOUT THAT AND DO SOME ANALYSIS ABOUT WHETHER THE WHAT'S PROPOSED AT THE MOMENT IS REALLY THE BEST WAY TO DO IT.

IS THAT RIGHT? I THINK THAT'S A GREAT DESCRIPTION.

BUT IT'S STILL COMING BACK TO THE BOARDS FOR FINAL VOTE BEFORE IT'S SUBMITTED TO THE FEDS, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU MEANT EARLIER ABOUT THE DECISION MAKING.

SO, OKAY.

NUMBER FOUR WILL BE A STAFF BRIEFING ON POLICIES AND REGULATIONS REGARDING AUTOMATED DELIVERY TECHNOLOGY.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I KNOW IT'S, IT CAN BE KIND OF COMPLEX AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE NEWER TO FOLLOWING THE CONVERSATION, THE CITY IS THE FINANCIAL COMPONENT OF THIS BECAUSE OF THE TAX REFERENDUM ELECTION, AND THEN CAPITAL METRO WILL ULTIMATELY BE THE OPERATORS OF THE PROGRAM.

SO THE ATP IS A PERFECT MIDDLEMAN THAT GETS TO PUT ALL THE PIECES TOGETHER AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO BUILD A SYSTEM AND TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S GOING TO WORK WELL WHEN CAPITOL METRO STARTS RUNNING THE LIGHT RAIL SERVICE, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE ALREADY ADDRESSED THAT THE METRO RAPID ROUTES, THE NEIGHBORHOODS CIRCULATORS, AND A LOT OF THE OTHER, UM, PIECES THAT WENT INTO THAT PROGRAM ARE ALREADY WELL UNDERWAY.

SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.

UM, YES, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM ALTAR HAD REMINDED FOLKS THAT THERE ARE, THERE'S AN OPEN WINDOW FOR APPLICATIONS TO JOIN THE BOARD OF THE ATP.

PROBABLY THE EASIEST WAY TO FIND THAT IS TO GO TO PROJECT CONNECT.COM.

THERE'S A BIG, YOU KNOW, SPOT RIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE THAT SAYS TO SUBMIT YOUR, YOUR RESUME AND THE APPLICATION I SERVE ON THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE THIS TIME AROUND COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN HAD DONE IT THE FIRST TIME AROUND SINCE SHE IS THE LAST CHAIR OF THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE.

AND NOW THAT I'M IN THIS POSITION, I'M ON THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE AS IS MAYOR PRO TEM ALTAR AS THE CHAIR OF AUDIT AND FINANCE.

AND WE ALSO DO HAVE THREE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT ALSO SERVE ON THE CAPITAL METRO BOARDS.

SO THAT'S AN EXTRA LAYER OF OVERSIGHT AND, UM, AND INFORMATION AND JUDGMENT THAT CAN GO INTO THIS PROCESS.

AND SO COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, COUNCIL MEMBER, KITCHEN COUNCIL MEMBER, RENTER, MARIA, SERVE ON THE BOARD OF CAPITAL METRO AS WELL.

SO IT'S A REALLY GREAT PARTNERSHIP.

I KNOW IT'S NOT AN EASY TASK TO BUILD A PROJECT OF THIS NATURE, BUT I THINK WE'VE GOT THE RIGHT MINDS IN PLACE TO DO THIS SUCCESSFULLY.

ANY LAST QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE TO COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN, NOT A QUESTION.

I JUST WANT TO AMPLIFY AMPLIFY WHAT THE CHAIR JUST SAID, AS WELL AS THE MAYOR PRO TEM, UM, IN TERMS OF PUTTING IN A PLUG FOR THIS POSITION ON THE ATP BOARD.

UM, AND JUST TO REMIND EVERYBODY WHILE WE'RE HERE, WHY, WHY WE ARE HERE.

I MEAN, THIS IS SUCH AN EXCITING, UH, PROJECT AND A GAME CHANGER FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

AND, UM, AND TO BE PART OF THAT, I WOULD SUGGEST, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY IS EXCITING AND A GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

AND SO, UH, I KNOW WE'VE GOT LOTS OF WONDERFUL PEOPLE IN THIS, UM, AND THEY CAN STEP UP TO THE PLATE.

AND SO, UM, THEY'VE GOT, I THINK THE DEADLINE IS AUGUST 12TH.

IF, IF, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HADN'T, DIDN'T SAY THAT YET.

AND SO I INVITE PEOPLE TO, TO, UH, TO, UM, APPLY.

OKAY, WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, REALLY GRATEFUL AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO COMING BACK TO THIS GROUP.

THANKS FOR BEING HERE WITH US TODAY.

WE APPRECIATE IT.

ITEM

[4. Staff briefing on policies and regulations regarding automated delivery technology. ]

WE ARE FIRST GOING TO HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT,

[01:00:01]

AND THEN WE WILL HAVE TWO OTHER PRESENTATIONS FROM GROUPS THAT ARE DOING ROBOT DELIVERY HERE IN AUSTIN.

SO I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE INFORMATION PRESENTED ABSOLUTELY GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

I'M JASON REDFERN WITH THE PARKING ENTERPRISE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.

I THANK YOU FOR HAVING US TODAY TO TALK ABOUT, UH, PERSONAL DELIVERY DEVICES.

PDDS, UH, I CALL IT COOL NEW AND EXCITING TECHNOLOGY THAT'S COMING.

UM, TODAY I'VE GOT OUR SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT.

UH, JACOB CULBERSON WILL BE DELIVERING THE PRESENTATION.

HE IS OUR DIVISION MANAGER OVER MOBILITY SERVICES.

UM, WE DON'T, WE DO NOT CURRENTLY REGULATE THESE, UM, DEVICES.

UH, IT IS A STATE REGULATORY STRUCTURE AT THIS TIME.

UM, AND THEN WE HAVE A COUPLE LIKE YOU SAID A COUPLE OF THE COMPANIES THAT ARE HERE TO ALSO DELIVER INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR SERVICES.

SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO JACOB.

UH, TO TALK ABOUT ACTIVITIES AND HOW IT'S GOING OUT THERE IN, IN THE, IN, IN AUSTIN AND WITH ROBOTIC DELIVERY.

THANK YOU, JASON.

UH, MADAM CHAIR, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS JACOB CULBERSON AND I'M THE DIVISION MANAGER FOR MOBILITY SERVICES, UH, FOR THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.

AND WHAT WE HAVE HERE, UH, BEFORE US IS, UH, TWO OF THE COMPANIES, UH, OPERATING IN AUSTIN, UH, PERSONALLY PERSONAL DELIVERY DEVICES, OR PDDS, UH, ALSO KNOWN AS ROBOT DELIVERY DEVICES.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO BRIEF HISTORY, UH, ABOUT PDDS IN AUSTIN, UH, IN JULY OF 2016, STARSHIP TECH TECHNOLOGIES, UH, PROVIDED A DEMONSTRATION OF THEIR PDDS IN THE MILLER NEIGHBORHOOD.

UH, THEN IN MAY OF 2017, UH, CITY COUNCIL, UH, CALLED FOR EXPLORING THE ROBOTIC DELIVERY MODEL.

UM, AND IN AUGUST OF 2017, UH, CITY COUNCIL PASSED RESOLUTION, UH, DIRECTING, UH, THE CITY TO OPERATE A PDD PILOT.

WE DID CONDUCT A BRIEF PILOT WITH STARSHIP, UM, AND WE PUT OUT A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION TO MULTIPLE COMPANIES, UH, WITH VERY LITTLE RESPONSE AT THE TIME.

UH, THEN IN SEPTEMBER, 2019, UH, SENATE BILL 9 69, UH, WENT INTO EFFECT ENACTING STATEWIDE REGULATION FOR PDDS.

UH, AND THAT IS NOW THE TRANSPORTATION CODE SECTION 5 52 A NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH SECTION 5 52, BY THE WAY.

UM, UH, THEN IN JUNE OF 21, UH, REFRACTION LAUNCHED PDD OPERATIONS IN AUSTIN, AND THEN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, COCO LAUNCHED THE THERAPY DD OPERATIONS IN AUSTIN AS WELL.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE 5 52 A, UH, IT DEFINES A PDD, UH, PERSONAL DELIVERY DEVICE AS A DEVICE THAT IS MANUFACTURED PRIMARILY FOR TRANSPORTING CARGO IN A PEDESTRIAN AREA, UM, OR ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD OR, OR, OR SHOULDER OF THE ROAD, UH, IS A QUICK WIT WITH AN AUTOMATED DRIVING TECHNOLOGY, INCLUDING SOFTWARE, UH, THAT ENABLES THE OPERATION OF THE DEVICE WITH THE REMOTE SUPPORT AND SUPERVISION OF A HUMAN, UH, NEXT LINE.

UM, SO SOME OTHER REQUIREMENTS FROM TRANSPORTATION CODE 5 52 8 IS TO YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY TO ALL THE TRAFFIC, INCLUDING PEDESTRIANS, NOT UNREASONABLY INTERFERE WITH, OR OBSTRUCT OTHER TRAFFIC, INCLUDING PEDESTRIANS TO OPERATE IN A PEDESTRIAN AREA AT A SPEED OF NOT MORE THAN 10 MILES PER HOUR OR ON THE SIDE OF A ROADWAY OR THE SHOULDER OF A HIGHWAY AT A SPEED OF NOT MORE THAN 20 MILES PER HOUR, THEY HAVE TO BE EQUIPPED WITH MARKERS THAT CLEARLY CLEARLY INDICATE THE NAME OF THE COMPANY AND CONTACT INFORMATION, UH, WITH, UH, ADEQUATE BRAKING SYSTEM, UH, WITH LIGHTS ON THE FRONT AND REAR, IF THEY OPERATE AT NIGHT AND, UH, AN ADEQUATE, UH, INSURANCE POLICY THAT MEETS THE REGULATION.

NEXT SLIDE, UH, ADDITIONALLY, UH, TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE, UH, 5 52 A ESTABLISHES THAT A LOCAL AUTHORITY MAY REGULATE THE OPERATION OF A PERSONAL DELIVERY DEVICE ON A HIGHWAY OR IN A PEDESTRIAN AREA IN A MANNER NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THAT SUB CHAPTER.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO WE HAVE TWO COMPANIES OPERATING IN AUSTIN AT THIS TIME.

UM, AND, UH, BOTH OF THOSE COMPANIES HAVE BEEN PUT THROUGH THIS BRIEF PROCESS, UM, OF EVALUATION, ONBOARDING, MONITORING, AND DEVELOPMENT.

AND SO WHAT WE FIRST DO IS WE EVALUATE EACH PDD COMPANY ENTERING AUSTIN MARKETPLACE TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH SAFETY STANDARDS AND STATE LAW.

WE ONBOARD THEM AND WORK WITH EACH NEW PDD COMPANY ATTEMPTING TO ENTER AUSTIN.

UH, WE PROVIDE THEM WITH STAKEHOLDER CONTACT INFORMATION, MAPPING, DATA, GENERAL GUIDELINES, SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPORT.

UH, WE ALSO COORDINATE WITH APD AFD, EMS AND AUSTIN 3 1, 1 TO ENSURE THESE DEPARTMENTS ARE AWARE OF THE PDDS PRESENCE AND FAMILIAR WITH THE PDD EQUIPMENT IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

UM, WE THEN, UH, PARTNER WITH THE COMPANY, UH, FOR MONITORING PURPOSES.

UM, WE COMMUNICATE, UH, REGULARLY, UM, AND HAVE MEETINGS PERIODICALLY,

[01:05:01]

UM, AND THEN WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING FROM 2021 TO 22, UM, WITH COMPANIES OPERATING PDDS IN AUSTIN TO DEVELOP SAFE AND EFFECTIVE BEST PRACTICES AND GUIDELINES.

RIGHT NOW, WE'RE, WE'RE OPERATING, UM, ON INFORMAL AGREEMENTS WITH THE COMPANIES TO, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, REFRAIN FROM UTILIZING PARKLANDS OR, OR TRAILS OR THINGS LIKE THIS, UM, TO REFRAIN FROM USE AROUND THE STATE CAPITOL.

UM, AND, BUT REALLY THESE ARE JUST INFORMAL AGREEMENTS AT THIS TIME.

UM, THE COMPANIES HAVE BEEN GREAT PARTNERS SO FAR, UH, AND HAVE BEEN DOING SOME GOOD BUSINESS OUT THERE.

SO WE HAVE SOME OTHER TYPES OF PDDS ON THE HORIZON.

UM, ONE IS FOR EXAMPLE, THE, THE FORD ROBOT THERE, UH, THAT DEPLOYS ITSELF FROM THE BACK OF, UH, AN AUTOMATED VEHICLE, UH, AND UNLOADS A PACKAGE AND BRINGS IT TO THE DOOR UBER'S AIR, UH, DELIVERY SERVICE, UH, QUITE A LARGE, UH, AIR DEVICE, AERIAL DEVICE OR DRONE, UH, THAT WILL BE CARRYING, UH, PACKAGES, UM, UH, AMAZON PRIMES AIR, UH, WHICH IS A SIMILAR DEVICE, UM, AND FEDEX HAS DELIVERED, UH, UH, OR COME UP WITH A, UH, PARCEL ROBOT THAT DELIVERS PARCELS.

SO THESE THINGS ARE NOT CURRENTLY IN AUSTIN, BUT THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE, HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND ARE OPERATING IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE WORLD.

EXCELLENT.

SO THANK YOU.

UH, AND ANY QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE A COUPLE OF THE PDD COMPANIES HERE TO PRESENT.

SO IF YOU WANT TO WAIT AND ASK QUESTIONS AFTER THAT, UH, OR IF YOU WANT TO ASK QUESTIONS NOW, THAT'S FINE.

I'LL ASK ONE OR TWO NOW JUST SINCERE OUR TRANSPORTATION FOLKS.

SURE.

UM, THE LANGUAGE AROUND PEDESTRIAN AREA, DOES THAT APPLY TO BIKE LANES AND TRYING TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND THE, THE APPLICATION OF STATE CODE WHEN THERE'S HIGHWAYS, YOU KNOW, CITY-OWNED STREETS, SIDEWALKS, HOW THAT WORKS IS BY BEING CONSIDERED PEDESTRIAN.

YES.

THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD, UH, APPLY TO, UH, TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD.

I BELIEVE AS PART OF THE TRANSPORTATION CODE 5 52 A I BELIEVE, UH, THE BIKE LANES WOULD OCCUPY THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD.

SO NOT NECESSARILY A PEDESTRIAN AREA, BUT, UM, SHOULDER OF THE ROAD AREA, BUT THAT'S HOW IT'S CODIFIED AND IN THE LAW.

UM, AND THEN 10 MILES AN HOUR.

I KNOW THAT WE TALK A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE RATE OF SPEED SOMEONE'S WALKING VERSUS THE RATE OF SPEED OF SOMEONE IN A BIKE LANE, UM, THAT CAN APPLY TO OTHER, YOU KNOW, SCOOTERS AND BIKES USING THE SAME AREA.

AND THEN YOU'VE OBVIOUSLY GOT CARS THAT TAKE THE LANE OF TRAFFIC.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SPEED LIMITS THAT WE HAVE ON, YOU KNOW, 60 MILE, AN HOUR FOR SCOOTERS AND 10 MILE AN HOUR FOR DELIVERY VEHICLES.

DOES THAT CAUSE ANY CONFLICTS? UM, SO THE ROBOT DELIVERY DEVICES RIGHT NOW ARE REMOTE PILOTED.

SO THERE'S SOMEONE LOOKING THROUGH THE FORWARD AND 3, 360 DEGREE CAMERAS AROUND THE DEVICE ITSELF AND THAT DEVICE.

UM, SO IT IS PILOTED BY A HUMAN AT THIS TIME REMOTELY.

UM, AND SO THEY WATCH OUT FOR, FOR ANY OBSTRUCTIONS IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.

UM, THEY TAKE THE, THE SAFEST AND BEST ROUTE, UM, AND, UH, THEY, THEY ALSO TRY TO GIVE THE RIGHT OF WAY TO ANY PEDESTRIAN THAT MIGHT MAYBE CROSSING PATHS WITH THEM AT THIS TIME.

UM, SPEED IS, IS DEFINITELY ONE THING THAT WE WANT TO EVALUATE.

UM, AND, AND, UH, UH, MAYBE THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF OUR BEST PRACTICE DISCUSSIONS IS WHAT SPEEDS AND WHERE I WOULD HOPE THAT PEOPLE WOULD USE THE BEST PRACTICE WE USE ON THE HIGHWAYS, WHICH IS THAT SLOWER TRAFFIC NEEDS TO STAY TO THE RIGHT.

SO THEY'RE NOT HANGING OUT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD, YOU KNOW, CAUSING THAT FRICTION AND TRAFFIC, TRYING TO MOVE, MOVE AROUND EACH OTHER.

SO I HOPE THAT THAT PRACTICE CAN ALSO APPLY TO SITUATIONS LIKE A BIKE LANE.

YES.

DO WE HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS BEFORE WE HEAR FROM THE OTHER TWO? THERE ARE, THERE ARE TWO MORE PRESENTATIONS ON THIS TOPIC.

IT LOOKS LIKE WE CAN GO AHEAD WITH THE OTHER PRESENTATIONS AND WE'LL DO OUR QUESTIONS AT THE END.

I WOULD CALL A REFRACTION AI, UH, UP FIRST.

UM, THEY'RE THE FIRST COMPANY TO BEGIN OPERATIONS IN AUSTIN.

HOLD ON.

I HEAR A VOICE.

I DON'T SEE ANYONE.

SO IT'S A VICE-CHAIR KELLY.

I'M SORRY.

I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU COULD SEE ME.

I HAD MY HAND RAISED, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A CUP, LIKE A QUICK COMMENT BEFORE THEY GIVE THEIR PRESENTATION THAT JUST TODAY I HAD A LUNCH DELIVERED VIA ONE OF THESE PERSONAL DELIVERY DEVICES, AND I'VE LEARNED QUITE A BIT ABOUT THEM AND THEIR USES HERE IN TOWN.

AND I JUST SEE IT AS A PRETTY EFFECTIVE WAY TO GET PEOPLE, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED IN A TIMELY MANNER AND FROM EVERYTHING THAT I CAN TELL IT'S PRETTY SAFE.

SO I APPRECIATED THE PRESENTATION FROM CITY STAFF.

THAT'S ALL.

AND I KNOW WE'RE SEEING THIS PRESENTATION BECAUSE OF YOUR SUGGESTION, VICE CHAIR, KELLY.

[01:10:01]

SO WE APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THIS UP, AND I KNOW THAT YOU AND I ALSO GOT TO SEE A DEMONSTRATION OF REFRACTION AI A COUPLE MONTHS AGO.

ACTUALLY, THEY CAME OVER TO CITY HALL AND SHOWED US HOW, HOW THE TECHNOLOGY WORKS.

SO I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THIS UP TO THE COMMITTEE.

GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.

GOOD AFTERNOON, MADAM CHAIR AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

THANKS FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.

WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE.

I'M LUKE SCHNEIDER.

I'M THE CEO OF REFRACTION AI.

AND I'LL JUST START BY SAYING THAT, UM, I'M FROM HERE.

I LIVE HERE, MY WHOLE FAMILY LIVES HERE.

I WENT TO COLLEGE HERE, UM, AND IT'S SORT OF IN MY BLOOD AND IT'S REALLY EXCITING TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK HERE AND LAUNCH A COMPANY AS EXCITING AS FRACTION FROM AUSTIN.

UM, JUST A QUICK BIT OF BACKGROUND, UH, FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS.

UM, I HAVE WORKED AT THE INTERSECTION OF TRANSPORTATION AND TECHNOLOGY, USUALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO 120 YEARS OF HISTORY BETTER, UM, BY IMPROVING BUSINESS MODELS, UM, MAKING THEM MORE SUSTAINABLE, UH, AND, AND REALLY JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN ALL GET AROUND LESS EXPENSIVELY, MORE SAFELY, UM, AND WITH GREATER ENERGY EFFICIENCY.

UM, A COUPLE OF COMPANIES YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF ONE OF THEM IS WHERE, UH, ELISE, UM, WHO WILL INTRODUCE HERSELF IN A MOMENT.

AND I MET THAT'S CALLED ZIPCAR.

ZIPCAR WAS DESIGNED TO TAKE CARS OFF THE ROAD BY SHARING CARS.

UM, THAT ACTUALLY TURNED INTO SOMETHING THAT I LAUNCHED HERE ABOUT, UH, SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS AGO NOW CALLED SILVERCAR, WHICH WAS A PLATFORM TO HELP MAKE TRANSPORTATION MORE AFFORDABLE AND TO DISTRIBUTE IT IN A WAY THAT WAS MORE EFFECTIVE.

GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE HAVE A PHILOSOPHY OF REFRACTION AI, THAT THERE IS A BENEVOLENT FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION, WHETHER THAT'S MOVING PEOPLE OR GOODS, UM, BUT THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO TO GET THERE.

BUT FORTUNATELY WE HAVE ALL THE TOOLS THAT WE NEED TO DO IT NOW.

UM, AND YOU KNOW, JUST ONE LAST THING, YOU KNOW, WE THINK THAT TRANSPORTATION IS IMPORTANT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF, UM, GETTING THINGS PLACES MORE EFFICIENTLY AND MORE SUSTAINABLY.

UM, BUT IT ALSO TIES IN VERY DIRECTLY WITH ENERGY.

AND YOU'LL HEAR THAT THEME A LOT SAFETY, UH, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, UH, AND FRANKLY DOING SOMETHING IN A WAY THAT JUST MAKES A LOT MORE SENSE THAN THE WAY WE'VE DONE IT FOR THE LAST FEW DECADES WITH THAT GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE I'M ELISE PEREZ.

I AM ALSO A NATIVE TEXAN.

I WENT TO UT OR BACK IN THE DAY, UM, AND ALL MY FAMILY'S FROM HERE AS WELL.

IF, IF YOU'VE HEARD OF LESS MONEY BEST FROM BACK IN THE DAY, THOSE ARE MY AUNTS.

AND IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE EATEN IT LAST MONDAY, THIS I MIGHT'VE SERVED YOU YOU'RE INTO LETTUCE.

AND THEN IN THE NINETIES, I'VE BEEN IN TRANSPORTATION AND, UH, TECHNOLOGY ALSO FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS WITH ZIPCAR.

AND THEN I WAS ALSO AT WAYMO, GOOGLE SELF-DRIVING CAR COMPANY.

AND I'M BEEN HERE AT REFRACTION FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS NOW, AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT WE'RE HAVING ON OUR HOMETOWN.

GREAT.

WE'RE GOING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT A FEW THINGS TODAY.

UM, AND, AND AGAIN, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A SHOWCASE, BUT IT'S A CHANCE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT SOMETHING THAT IS KIND OF NEW TO A LOT OF CITIES AS JACOB JUST SORT OF TOLD US, UM, IT'S BEEN A HECK OF A FIRST YEAR.

WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW.

UM, WE HAVE SERVED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WE'VE LEARNED A LOT, BUT YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS IS WE'VE TAKEN OUR UNIQUE PHILOSOPHY ABOUT PERSONAL DELIVERY DEVICES AND LAST MILE GOODS DELIVERY, UM, AND DEMONSTRATED IT IN A REALLY GOOD SETTING.

OUR ROBOTS ARE DIFFERENT.

WE START BY, WE BELIEVE THAT SIDEWALKS ARE FOR PEOPLE, SO WE DON'T DRIVE OUR ROBOTS ON SIDEWALKS.

WE USE THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD, WE USE A BIKE LANE, AND THAT ALLOWS US TO DO A COUPLE OF THINGS.

THE FIRST IS IT'S A SLIGHTLY BIGGER ROBOT.

IT'S ESSENTIALLY BUILT ON A BIKE FRAME, BIKE MESSENGERS IN CITIES HAVE FOR A LONG TIME, BEEN THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO CURRY YOUR THINGS AROUND.

UM, AND SO WE TOOK THAT AS A STARTING POINT.

UM, BUT WITH THE SIZE OF THE ROBOT, WE CAN ACTUALLY CARRY A MEANINGFUL PAYLOAD OF SEVEN GROCERY BAGS OR SO, AND WE CAN ALSO GO A FURTHER DISTANCE.

WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT CONSTRAINED BY SIDEWALKS.

WE CAN USE ROADS.

UM, AND THOSE ROADS TYPICALLY ALLOW US ACCESS TO A BROADER AREA AROUND A GROCERY STORE OR A RESTAURANT OR SOMEBODY ELSE WHO MIGHT BE SERVING.

SO WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, ACTIVE AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

AND ALICIA'S GOING TO TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT IT'S BEEN LIKE HERE THIS FIRST YEAR.

KNOW, PHOTOS HERE OF KIDS ENJOYING THE HALLOWEEN, DRESSED IN HALLOWEEN, JOINED THE ROBOTS.

SO WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR JUST OVER A YEAR NOW AND AT OUR LUNCH, THE UNLAUNCH OF OUR OPERATIONS, UM, MAYOR ADLER ACTUALLY SAID THIS WAS A WOW MOMENT.

INTRODUCING LAST MILE DELIVERY THAT IS ACCESSIBLE AND SUSTAINABLE FOR THE FUTURE, THAT IT ACTUALLY BUILDS ON CONTRIBUTING TO MAKE AUSTIN THE AMAZING CITY THAT WE WANTED TO BE.

AND THAT ALREADY IS.

AND SO WE HAVE OVER THOUSANDS OF DELIVERIES IN COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.

UM, IT'S GREAT TO HEAR THAT YOU JUST HAD A DELIVERY TODAY, AND WE KNOW THAT YOU'VE HAD SOME IN THE PAST AS WELL.

GLAD TO HEAR THAT YOU HAD SOME, UM, SOME GOOD INTERACTIONS WITH OUR ROBOT.

UH, AND SO YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE, YOU

[01:15:01]

WE HAVE, UM, ALL DIFFERENT, UH, WE HELP, UH, ALL DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS AND DEMOGRAPHICS.

WE HAVE, UM, SOME, THE ELDERLY POPULATION ENJOYS ACCESS TO DIFFERENT THINGS, THEIR GROCERIES, AND, UH, AND FOOD AS WELL.

AND WE'RE HAPPY TO MAKE THIS ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE TO AUSTINITES.

AND THE NEXT SLIDE, IT'S JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS.

UM, THESE ARE TENANTS ARE JUST SORT OF CORE FOUNDATIONAL BELIEFS WITH THE COMPANY.

UM, FIRST THE SUSTAINABILITY, UM, THESE ARE ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

SO THE ONLY CARBON WE GENERATE HAPPENS AT THE PRODUCTION OF THE POWER.

UM, THERE ARE NO TAILPIPE EMISSIONS OR ANYTHING ELSE.

ONE OF THE CRAZY THINGS IS THAT OVER 90% OF ALL DELIVERIES TODAY HAPPEN WITH PEOPLE DRIVING CARS, UM, WHICH IS GOOD, BUT IT'S INCREDIBLY INEFFICIENT.

IT GENERATES A LOT OF CARBON.

UH, IT USES A LOT OF ENERGY.

UM, AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT WE CAN REDUCE THAT BY 90% AT A MINIMUM.

UM, AND IF WE'RE USING RENEWABLES, THAT PRETTY MUCH GOES TO A HUNDRED PERCENT.

UM, THE EFFICIENCIES, THE OTHER THING, WE JUST DON'T USE THAT MUCH ENERGY TO DO DELIVERY BECAUSE WE HAVE A SMALLER VEHICLE AND WE'RE USING MORE EFFICIENT POWERTRAINS.

UM, AND THE LAST PIECE IS THE SCALABILITY, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT.

NEXT, THE REASON THIS IS IMPORTANT IS YOU CAN MAKE A LOT OF THINGS WORK AT SMALL SCALE.

I LEARNED THIS IN THE FIRST FEW COMPANIES, UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S GREAT, BUT UNTIL YOU CAN MAKE IT SOMETHING THAT CAN TRULY CHANGE THE LANDSCAPE THAT YOU'RE SERVING, UM, AND, AND SERVE A NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS THAT PREVIOUSLY WERE INACCESSIBLE.

UM, YOU REALLY HAVEN'T DONE MUCH, BUT, UH, KIND OF A SCIENCE PROJECT.

WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT ROBOT DELIVERY IN GENERAL, IS IT, IT DRAMATICALLY REDUCES THE COST ABOUT 90% OF ALL DELIVERIES THAT PEOPLE WANTED LAST YEAR WERE UN-SERVED ONLY 9% ACTUALLY WERE DELIVERED.

AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS BECAUSE THE COSTS ARE TOO HIGH, NOT JUST THE FINANCIAL COSTS, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS, THE SOCIAL COSTS, THE LIVABILITY COST OF CITIES, BECAUSE THOSE ARE TOO HIGH.

THERE'S A LOT OF DEMAND OUT THERE THAT'S UNMET.

AND THAT DEMAND, ISN'T JUST PEOPLE WHO WANT SMOOTHIES AND CHICKEN SANDWICHES.

AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, IT'S PEOPLE WHO NEED MEDICINE AND IT'S PEOPLE WHO NEED GROCERIES AND PEOPLE WHO NEED NECESSITIES AND PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A GROCERY STORE.

SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT NEXT IS WHY PERSONAL DELIVERY DEVICES AND, AND, AND ROBOT DELIVERY DEVICES ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.

I'M GOING TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

SAFETY IS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.

IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN, IT ALWAYS WILL BE.

SO, AS YOU HAVE SEEN OUR ROBOTS DRIVING AROUND, YOU PROBABLY HAVE SEEN THAT, UH, WE CURRENTLY HAVE A CHASER.

IT'S A ROBOT VALET ACCOMPANY IN OUR ROBOT.

WE HAVE REMOTE SUPERVISION FROM THE TELE OPERATORS, AS JACOB MENTIONED, AND WE ARE USING THE BIKE LANES AND THE ROAD SHOULDERS, OUR PRIMARY, PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION.

UM, AND, AND ONE OF THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS IS JUST BEING A GOOD CITIZEN IN THE BIKE LANE.

WE ARE A BIG PROPONENT OF BIKE LANES, AND WE ALWAYS YIELD TO OTHER BICYCLISTS AND OTHER PEDESTRIANS OR MOTOR VEHICLES AS WELL.

WE WANT TO BE KNOWN AS THE POLITE BICYCLIST, AND WE REINFORCE THAT IN OUR TRAINING, UH, THE TRAINING THAT WE BRING ON FOR OUR NEW STAFF MEMBERS, UH, WE GIVE THEM THAT SAFETY, UH, TENANT THROUGH AND THROUGH AND THROUGH, AND THEN ALL THE FOLLOWUP TRAINING THAT WE PROVIDE FOR THEM AS WELL.

SAFETY IS NUMBER ONE FOR US.

AND THEN FINALLY, UM, YOU CAN'T REALLY START A BUSINESS LIKE THIS WITHOUT SOME KIND OF A VISION, YOU KNOW, AND THAT VISION, ISN'T JUST, YOU KNOW, MILLIONS OF ROBOTS RUNNING AROUND.

CAUSE THAT WOULD BE COOL.

THE, THE VISION IS ACTUALLY, CAN YOU IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT IN SOME WAY? SO THE FIRST PIECE WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY, CLEARLY CLEANER AIR, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THIS IS ALSO DOING IS IN A NUMBER OF CITIES, DRIVING SUPPORT FOR MORE EVY INFRASTRUCTURE, WHETHER THAT'S HOW WE USE OUR REAL ESTATE ON OUR ROADS, UH, OR THAT'S HOW WE GENERATE POWER OR HOW WE DISTRIBUTE POWER.

UM, IT, IT ACTUALLY RESULTS IN REDUCED STRESS ON THE POWER GRID SIMPLY BECAUSE IT TAKES LESS ENERGY TO DO THE SAME DELIVERY THAT YOU WOULD DO IN SOME OTHER KIND OF VEHICLE ACCESS.

AND INCLUSION IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL TALK ABOUT ALL THE TIME, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT'S BECOMING INCREASINGLY A CHALLENGE TO DEAL WITH THE PANDEMIC, HIGHLIGHTED A LOT OF STUFF FOR US.

IT MADE DELIVERY SOMETHING THAT WASN'T JUST A NICE TO HAVE, OR, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE FEELING LAZY ON A FRIDAY NIGHT, IT BECAME SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY A NECESSITY FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.

UM, AND THIS MEANS MEDICINE GROCERIES, THIS ABILITY TO RETIRE IN PLACE IS REALLY A GREAT THING.

IT ALLOWS OUR COMMUNITIES TO TAP INTO THE WISDOM AND THE EXPERIENCE OF OLDER GENERATIONS, UM, BUT ACTUALLY HAVE THEM LIVE SIDE-BY-SIDE AND SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH PEOPLE OF YOUNGER GENERATIONS AND WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM IT.

UM, AND THEN THE LAST PIECE IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COMES UP A LOT IS WHILE YOU'RE USING ROBOTS, THEY'RE DRIVING THEMSELVES SOME OF THE TIME.

[01:20:01]

YES, WE DO SUPERVISE THEM WITH TELE OPERATIONS TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE SAFE.

WHAT DOES THAT DO FOR EMPLOYMENT? AND THE SIMPLE ANSWER IS WITH AS MUCH UNMET DEMAND AS THERE IS IN DELIVERY, WE ARE HIRING AND WE ARE HIRING FAST AND WE HAVE PLENTY OF PLACES FOR THESE PEOPLE TO WORK, WHO WOULD EVER BE DISPLACED BY SUCH A THING.

BUT AT THE MOMENT, WHAT WE'RE FINDING IS THAT THERE'S PLENTY OF ROOM FOR EVERYBODY.

UM, AND IT'S JUST GENERALLY A GROWTH MARKET.

SO WITH THAT, JUST LIKE TO SAY AGAIN, WE ARE PROUD TO CALL AUSTIN HOME.

WE ARE EXCITED TO BE HERE.

UM, AND BETWEEN JACOB MAYOR'S STATEMENT AND, AND REALLY THE, THE, THE SUPPORT WE'VE FELT, UM, FROM THIS COUNCIL IN THIS COMMITTEE, UM, WE JUST FEEL LIKE IT'S AN IDEAL PLACE TO LAUNCH THIS BUSINESS, UM, AND CREATE THE NEXT GENERATION OF HOW THE WORLD GETS AT STUFF.

THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE WE SEE THE OTHER PRESENTATION AND YOU MAY NEED TO SPEAK UP IF YOU'RE REMOTE, THE SCREEN IS MINIMIZED AS MY HAND IS RAISED CHAIR.

THERE WE GO.

COUNCIL MEMBER HARBOR MADISON.

THANK YOU, JERRY.

I APPRECIATE IT.

UM, WHEN YOU SAID, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE WE DO THE NEXT YOU CUT OUT ON ME JUST A LITTLE BIT.

WHAT WAS THAT DURING THE NEXT PRESENTATION OR WAS THERE, THERE IS ANOTHER PRESENTATION BY ANOTHER COMPANY ON THIS SAME SIMILAR TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY.

OH, OKAY.

THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID.

IMITATES.

I'LL HOLD MY QUESTION UNTIL, UM, BOTH COMPANIES HAVE PRESENTED.

OTHER QUESTIONS? COULD I ASK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, AS I SEE YOU STILL ENJOYING YOUR LUNCH, HOW DID YOUR DELIVERY GO TODAY? IT WENT REALLY WELL, ACTUALLY IN ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LIKE ABOUT YOUR SERVICE IS THAT WHEN THEY DO DELIVER WITH THE ROBOT, THERE'S A CODE THAT'S NEEDED IN ORDER TO ACCESS THE FOOD THAT YOU HAVE DELIVERED.

AND SO I WAS ABLE TO SEND ONE OF MY STAFF DOWN TO GO GET IT FOR ME WITH THE CUBS.

SO IT'S JUST, IT'S GREAT.

LET'S SEE THE NEXT PRESENTATION.

AND THEN WE'LL SEE IF THERE'S QUESTIONS AFTER THAT.

THANKS FOR JOINING US TODAY.

I KNOW IT'S NOT OFTEN THAT PEOPLE DOING TECHNOLOGY ARE ASKED TO COME SPEAK IN FRONT OF A COMMITTEE MEETING, SO WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.

UH, THRILLED TO BE HERE.

CAN YOU HEAR ME ALL RIGHT.

GREAT.

I'M BARBARA HANSON.

I'M HEAD OF GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS, UH, AT GOCO.

UM, AND WE'VE BEEN OPERATING, UH, IN AUSTIN, UM, PROVIDING, UH, SUSTAINABLE LOCAL DELIVERY FOR RESTAURANTS IN BROCHURES, UM, SINCE, UH, FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR.

UM, SO THE, THE, THE VISION OF COCO IS TO MAKE, UH, LOCAL DELIVERY MORE SUSTAINABLE, MORE COST-EFFECTIVE AND MORE RELIABLE.

UM, W WE, WE LIKE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO REASON TO HAVE A 2000 POUND CAR DELIVER A ONE POUND BURRITO, TWO MILES OR LESS WHEN YOU CAN HAVE A SIGNIFICANTLY MORE EFFICIENT, UH, VEHICLE WE'LL MAKE THAT SAME TRIP.

UM, NOT THE CARS ON THE ROAD, THE DELIVERY DRIVERS DOUBLE PARKED IN THE BIKE LANE RUSHING IN TO FIND OUT WHICH ORDERS THERE'S.

UM, THIS ALLOWS THE MERCHANT TO PUT, UH, THE MEAL DIRECTLY INTO, UH, INSULATED, UH, DELIVERY VEHICLE, UH, RIGHT WHEN IT'S READY.

AND THEN IT TRAVELS TO THE CUSTOMER, UM, WHICH ALLOWS US TO HAVE A VERY RELIABLE, UM, UH, DELIVERY TIMEFRAME.

UH, NEXT SLIDE, UM, HOW IT WORKS ON THE MERCHANT END IS WE PARTNER OVER WHATEVER DELIVERY PLATFORMS THE MERCHANTS ARE ALREADY USING.

SO THAT COULD BE A, THEIR OWN WEBSITE THAT COULD BE OVER THE PHONE ORDERS.

IT COULD BE A PLATFORM LIKE DOOR DASH OR UBER EATS.

ALL OF THOSE ALLOW THE MERCHANT TO SET A LOCAL RADIUS WITHIN WHICH THEY DO, THAT THEY COULD FULFILL THEIR OWN LOCAL ORDERS OR WORK WITH A SEPARATE LOCAL COURIER.

UM, AND WE ESSENTIALLY JUST ACT AS THAT LOCAL COURIER, UM, AND PROVIDE DELIVERIES WITHIN THAT SET RADIUS, WHICH IS USUALLY ONE TO TWO MILES.

UM, THE ORDER COMES IN THE, UH, ADDRESS HAS SEEMED TO BE WITHIN THE RADIUS.

UH, AND THEN WHEN THE MEALS READY MERCHANT TAKES IT OUTSIDE, UH, UNLOCKS THE BOT, UM, PUTS THE MEAL INSIDE AND THEN THE COCOA TRAVELS TO THE CUSTOMER, THE CUSTOMER RECEIVES AN ALERT ON THE PHONE THAT THEIR COCO'S ARRIVED AND THEY CAN UNLOCK IT DIRECTLY FROM THEIR PHONE, TAKE THE FOOD, AND THEN THE BOT RETURNS, UH, TO THE MERCHANT.

UH, 3,200 POUNDS OF CO2, UM, OVER THAT DISTANCE, UH, NEXT SLIDE.

UM, SO SINCE LAUNCHING IN FEBRUARY, WE'VE HAD A GREAT SUCCESS, UH, IN AUSTIN.

I THINK WE'RE IN ABOUT LIKE THREE OR FOUR DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, SOUTH CONGRESS, DOWNTOWN SOUTH LAMAR.

UM, MAYBE A COUPLE OF OTHER PLACES.

UM, I'VE HAD, I THINK AROUND A DOZEN DIFFERENT MERCHANT PARTNERS, UH, IN THE RESTAURANT AND KIND OF MARKET SPACE, UM, AND HAVE DONE OVER 2000 DELIVERIES, UH, AND EXCITING, UH, ELEMENT OF THAT IS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TRAVELED 3,600 MILES, WHICH HAD THOSE SAME ORDERS BEEN PASSED TO A CAR.

UM, THE AVERAGE CAR WOULD HAVE ADMITTED,

[01:25:01]

UM, AND THIS IS OUR ALL TIME STATISTICS.

UH, SO WE, WE CURRENTLY ARE OPERATING IN FOUR DIFFERENT CITIES.

UH, WE'VE DONE OVER 20,000 DELIVERIES SO FAR TRAVELED OVER 30,000 MILES, UM, AND, UH, THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT 27,000 POUNDS OF CO2 REDUCE, UH, NEXT SLIDE.

UM, SO THE COOL PIECES OF THIS FOR THE RESTAURANT SIDE IS, AS I MENTIONED, IT'S THAT LOW TIME IMPROVEMENT.

SO BECAUSE THE FOOD'S GOING DIRECTLY INTO THE BOT, THEY'RE SAVING 30%, UM, UH, ON THE, UH, CLICK TO DELIVERY TIME.

UM, AND THAT ALLOWS US TO HAVE A 97% ON TIME DELIVERY RATE, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY UNHEARD OF IN THIS SPACE.

UM, AND IT'S SUPER COMPELLING TO MERCHANTS, UM, AND THEN IMPORTANTLY, A SIGNIFICANT COST SAVINGS.

SO, UH, CAR-BASED DELIVERY, UM, BOTH BEING UNRELIABLE AND, UH, UH, POLLUTING, UM, TRAFFIC GENERATING IS ALSO VERY EXPENSIVE.

UM, AND PARTICULARLY, UM, THROUGH THE PANDEMIC PERIOD, AND EVEN NOW, AS WE'RE COMING OUT OF THIS, YOU KNOW, MERCHANTS HAVE HAD TO RELY MORE AND MORE ON DELIVERY AND I'VE BEEN HIT WITH THESE REALLY HIGH, UH, COMMISSIONS.

UH, WE COME IN AT ABOUT 20 TO 50% LESS, UM, UH, WHICH BRINGS A SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS, UH, TO THE MERCHANT AND ALLOWS THIS KIND OF DELIVERY SERVICE TO, UH, REACH A BROADER VARIETY OF MERCHANTS, UH, NEXT SLIDE, UM, AND THEN A HAPPIER CUSTOMERS.

SO IT'S, IT'S FUN TO, YOU KNOW, SEE COCO'S COMING DOWN THE SIDEWALK AND JUST THE LOOK ON PEOPLE'S FACES IS IT'S ALWAYS A SMILE.

UM, THE BOTS ARE CUTE WHEN THEY GET TO THE CUSTOMER.

WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, FAMILIES THAT REGULARLY ORDER WITH US.

THEY BRING THEIR KIDS OUT TO GREET THE ROBOT, UM, AS IT ARRIVES.

UM, AND IT'S BEEN, UH, BY AND LARGE, JUST A SUPER PLEASANT EXPERIENCE.

UH, NEXT SLIDE, UM, SAFETY, UH, OBVIOUSLY A, YOU KNOW, TOP PRIORITY FOR US.

WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY SIGNIFICANT, UH, INCIDENTS OR ACCIDENTS INJURIES, UH, WITH TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MILES TRAVELED ACROSS THE MARKETS WE'RE IN, UM, IT'S, COVID SAFE AND CONTACT FREE, UM, WHICH HAS BEEN ESPECIALLY APPEALING TO PEOPLE THAT WERE CONCERNED ABOUT EXPOSURE TO THE PANDEMIC, BEING ABLE TO ORDER GROCERIES, ORDER FOOD WITHOUT HAVING TO RISK EXPOSURE.

UM, SO SOMETIMES WHEN PEOPLE HEAR ABOUT THIS, THEY THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SHARED SCOOTERS.

I HEARD THE COMMENTS FROM THE GENTLEMEN EARLIER, AND I THINK IT'S REALLY KEY TO LIKE, STRESS WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS.

UM, THESE ARE ONLY OUT IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT AWAY WHEN THEY'RE UNDER THE CONTROL OF ONE OF OUR OPERATORS.

UM, ALL OF OUR OPERATORS GO THROUGH, I THINK IT'S 30 HOURS OF TRAINING BEFORE THEY EVEN DO THEIR FIRST, UH, DELIVERY IN THE STREETS.

UM, THEY'RE TRAINED TO YIELD TO ALL PEDESTRIANS, UM, AND BE PARTICULARLY MINDFUL OF ANYBODY THAT HAVE, MAY HAVE A MOBILITY ISSUE PULLED UP BESIDE OR BACK UP, GET OUT OF THE WAY.

UM, UH, THEY TRAVEL IT AT WALKING SPEEDS, UM, AND THEY'RE NEVER PARKED, BLOCKING THE SIDEWALKS.

SO, SO THESE DON'T JUST END UP IN RANDOM LOCATIONS, THEY'RE AT THE MERCHANT, AND THEN THEY'RE, THEY'RE UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE OPERATOR WHEN THEY'RE TRAVELING, UH, TO THE, UH, THE CUSTOMER.

AND THEN THEY RETURN BACK, UM, UH, BACK TO THE MERCHANT.

UM, SO IF EVER ANYTHING GOES WRONG, IF A TIRE GOT CAUGHT IN A CRACK OR SOMETHING, OUR FIELD OPERATIONS TEAM THAT'S BASED IN THE CITY WOULD BE ALERTED RIGHT AWAY, THEY WOULD COME OUT AND WRITE THAT SITUATION.

SO THERE'S NOT THIS PROBLEM OF, YOU KNOW, CLUTTER OF THE DEVICES.

UM, THEY'RE NEVER BLOCKING, UM, THE, THE PEDESTRIAN SPACE, UH, NEXT SLIDE.

UH, WE'VE HAD, UH, A LOT OF REALLY GREAT PRESS, UM, EVERYTHING FROM, UH, YOU KNOW, MAJOR NATIONAL OUTLETS, WALL STREET, JOURNAL, BUSINESS, INSIDER, YAHOO FORTUNE, UM, UH, TO, TO LOCAL PRESS, UM, UH, IN, IN AUSTIN.

AND THEN IN THE OTHER MARKETS WHERE WE OPERATE, UH, I PUT UP HERE ONE OF THE COOL ONES, UH, THIS YEAR THAT A FAST COMPANY IDENTIFIED US AS ONE OF THE 10 MOST INNOVATIVE ROBOTICS COMPANIES.

UM, AND IF YOU SEE THE LITTLE SUBTEXT THERE, UM, IT SAYS FOR MAKING A ROBOT DELIVERY WORK FOR SMALL BUSINESS AND THAT SOMETHING WE'RE SUPER PROUD ABOUT, ABOUT 75% OF OUR MERCHANT PARTNERS ARE SMALL, MEDIUM SIZED BUSINESS.

SO THIS ISN'T JUST SOMETHING FOR, YOU KNOW, BIG CHAINS AND FAST RETAIL.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS HELPING A LOCAL MOM AND POP A RESTAURANT TOURS AND MARKETS, UH, REACH THEIR CUSTOMERS MORE AFFORDABLY.

UM, SO YEAH, AS I SAID, IN ADDITION TO OPERATING IN AUSTIN, WE'RE ALSO IN HOUSTON, TEXAS, UM, LOS ANGELES AND SANTA MONICA IN CALIFORNIA, UM, AND ARE HAVING CONVERSATIONS NOW, UM, IN CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND EVEN INTERNATIONALLY, UM, UH, THE EXPERIENCE SO FAR BOTH WITH OUR MERCHANT PARTNERS, COMMUNITY GROUPS, UM, AND, UH, CUSTOMERS HAS JUST BEEN SUPER POSITIVE AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT, UH, CONTINUING TO REACH MORE MERCHANTS AND MORE CUSTOMERS.

BUT I LIKE TO GIVE Y'ALL THE FLOOR.

YEAH, I GUESS THAT'S THE END.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND LOOK FORWARD TO ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS? I'VE GOT A FEW,

[01:30:01]

IF YOU HAVE ANY INITIALLY COUNCIL MEMBER HOPPER, MADISON, WHY DON'T YOU GO? WHY DON'T YOU START? THANK YOU, CHAIR.

I APPRECIATE IT.

THANKS FOR BOTH PRESENTATIONS.

AND, UM, I, I SUPPOSE IT'S POSSIBLE THAT BOTH ORGANIZATIONS WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO WEIGH IN HERE, BUT I HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, MY INTEREST IN AI HAS PROBABLY LIKE A LOT OF LAY PEOPLE PRETTY RAPIDLY EVOLVED DURING THE COURSE OF COVID RECOVERY.

UM, AND JUST WATCHING A LOT OF MY FRIENDS WHO WERE ALREADY KIND OF STRUGGLING, FRANKLY, WITH THEIR SMALL BUSINESSES LEADING INTO COVID AND THEN COMING OUT OF, YOU KNOW, RECOGNIZES SOME PEOPLE'S PIVOT IS TO DECREASE THEIR STAFF.

UM, AND I HAVE A LOT OF FRIENDS WHO WERE AUTOMATING.

UM, AND SO I DO WHILE I OBVIOUSLY APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S, UM, NEED TO, YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR BUSINESS PLAN, SHOULDN'T BE THIS STAGNANT DOCUMENT, RIGHT? IT SHOULD BE YOUR PLAYBOOK.

IT SHOULD BE FLUID AND MOVE WITH YOUR BUSINESS.

AND I THINK FOR A LOT OF FOLKS, THEY'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, MAKING THE NECESSARY MOVES TO MAKE THE NUMBERS MAKE SENSE.

BUT I WORRY ABOUT A COUPLE OF THINGS.

ONE, LIKE, IS THERE SOME SORT OF COUNTERBALANCE FOR THE WORKFORCE WHEN WE START TO AUTOMATE, RIGHT.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, UH, SOMEBODY, A PERSON ON AN E-BIKE MAKING THESE DELIVERIES, UM, IS, IS THE AUTOMATION OF THE DELIVERY SERVICE, UM, IS THE PROVISION BY WAY OF A AI SO MUCH BETTER THAN A HUMAN THAT WE SHOULD HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT A COUNTERBALANCE FOR HOW WE SHOULD BE MAKING UP FOR EMPLOYMENT LOSS BY WAY OF MOVING FORWARD THROUGH, YOU KNOW, FAST CHANGING TECHNOLOGY.

AND THEN THE OTHER THING I, I REALLY THINK ABOUT WITH, UM, US AUTOMATING IN THAT WAY IS WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE PRESENTING THEMSELVES TO SORT OF OFFSET WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN THE WORKFORCE AS THE DIRECT RESULT OF, YOU KNOW, SORT OF SHIFTED AND ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

SO THOSE ARE SOME OF MY QUESTIONS, UM, AND, AND MAYBE NOT, UH, NOT CAN BE ANSWERED ENTIRELY HERE, BUT IF YOU COULD TOUCH ON IT A LITTLE BIT.

AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS ABOUT LOGISTICS.

SO, YOU KNOW, YOU HEARD, WE HAD SOMEBODY PRESENT TO US TODAY, UM, THEIR TESTIMONY ABOUT SCOOTERS AND JUST SORT OF GENERAL SAFETY AROUND DEVICES, ON SIDEWALK, SHARING SIDEWALKS, UM, WITH OTHER PEDESTRIANS AND FROM AN ADA PERSPECTIVE.

SO I DO HAVE SOME, SOME GENERAL QUESTIONS THERE AS WELL IF EITHER ORGANIZATION OR BOTH, UM, CAN BRIEFLY SORT OF TOUCH ON WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS AROUND, UM, A AI, UM, TECHNOLOGY SHARON THAT PEDESTRIAN RIGHT AWAY SPACE.

AND WE'VE GOT REFRACTION FOLKS AND ATD UP HERE WILLING TO ANSWER THE QUESTION AS WELL.

SO I WONDER IF, UM, CARE I'LL CERTAINLY DEFER TO YOU, BUT I WONDER IF, SINCE BOTH THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE PRESENTED FOR US TODAY ARE LIKE PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS.

I WONDER FROM A PROPRIETY PERSPECTIVE, THAT MIGHT BE BETTER THAT OUR CITY STAFF SPEAK TO MY QUESTIONS, BUT OF COURSE I'LL DEFER TO YOU.

THAT SOUNDS GOOD TO ME.

SIDEWALK, UM, THE SCOOTERS AND WHERE THEY ARE PARKED IN.

AND SO, EXCUSE ME, JASON REDFERN, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION.

WHAT'S THE QUESTION AGAIN ON SCOOTERS? UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS A QUESTION ON SCOOTERS NECESSARILY.

I, I POSED A QUESTION ABOUT WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE CHOREOGRAPHY BETWEEN THESE DEVICES, DELIVERY DEVICES, LAST MILE DELIVERY DEVICES AND, AND SCOOTERS OF COEXISTING ON SIDEWALKS WITH HUMANS.

I DO HAVE THAT QUESTION.

UM, IN GENERAL.

YES.

SO WHAT W WHAT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR, JACK OVER SOME, UH, MOBILITY SERVICES, UM, WHAT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR IS NOT NECESSARILY BUSINESSES REPLACING, UH, DELIVERY SERVICES.

UM, FOR EXAMPLE, IF A BUSINESS ALREADY HAS A BICYCLE DELIVERY, UM, THEY HAVEN'T BEEN REPLACING THAT WITH ROBOTIC DELIVERY NECESSARILY IN AUSTIN, BUT I'M SORRY, I'M GOING TO INTERRUPT YOU.

CAUSE I DON'T THINK YOU UNDERSTOOD MY QUESTION.

SO THE QUESTION WAS, WHAT AM I ASKING AS IT PERTAINS TO SCHOOL, TO WHAT I'M ASKING AS IT PERTAINS TO SCOOTERS IS ABOUT THE THREE THINGS THAT USE THE SIDEWALK.

YOU HAVE HUMAN PEDESTRIANS, YOU HAVE HUMANS ON A THING.

AND THEN NOW WE'RE INTRODUCING A THIRD THING.

THAT'S, UH, A DEVICE THAT MOVES ON ITS OWN THIS ROBOT.

I'M ASKING ABOUT ALL OF THOSE THINGS, MOVING IN CONCERT WITH ONE ANOTHER ON SIDEWALKS, AND LIKE, HOW DID, HOW DO THEY ALL WORK TOGETHER? WAS MY QUESTION.

WELL, AS, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THE ROBOTS ARE PILOTED BY HUMANS.

AND SO THE, THE, THE FACT THAT WE HAVE HUMAN CONTROL OVER THESE PERSONAL DELIVERY DEVICES IS A BONUS FOR, UH, NEGOTIATING THE

[01:35:01]

UM, UM, THEY, THEY CAN BE PARKED IN AN, IN ADVANTAGEOUS LOCATION.

UM, AND, AND THESE PILOTS ARE MANEUVERING AROUND THAT.

UM, US AS THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT ARE LOOKING AT, UM, CREATING, UM, SCOOTER INFRASTRUCTURE SO THAT AS PEOPLE ARE PARKING THESE DEVICES, THEY HAVE VISUAL CUES OF WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO PARK THE DEVICES.

SO WE HAVE BOND MONEY SET ASIDE FOR CREATING THAT INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, IN THE SIDEWALK RIGHT OF WAY.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE FACT THAT WE HAVE, UH, PEOPLE PILOTING THESE ROBOTS AND ABLE TO NEGOTIATE, UM, WHETHER THEY'RE LIVE PEDESTRIANS OR IF THERE'S A SCOOTER, IS, IS, UM, AN ADVANTAGE TO THIS SERVICE.

UH, WE HAVE NOT HEARD OF, UM, ANY INSTANCES OF A PEDESTRIAN OR A ROBOT OR A ROBOT HITTING A SCOOTER.

WE HAVE NOT HEARD ANY OF THOSE, UM, UH, TYPE ISSUES YET.

UM, BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT, AT PLANNING THE RIGHT OF WAY INFRASTRUCTURE SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE A MORE ORDERLY PLACE FOR THE SCOOTERS TO RESIDE SO THAT YOU CAN, UM, RELY ON WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO BE LOCATED, UM, JUST TO MAKE NEGOTIATION OF THE, UH, THE SIDEWALK EASIER.

AND I THINK I HAVE, I THINK THAT'S HELPFUL.

I WOULD JUST LIKE, UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, JASON, JOHN MICHAEL.

I WAS THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.

HELLO, UH, MOBILITY COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND, AND, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM AND COUNCIL, UM, TO, TO, UH, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON'S, UH, UH, CONCERN AS WE LOOK AT NEW MODES OF TRANSPORTATION.

AND I WILL, I WILL STATE THAT RIGHT NOW.

THERE ARE ABOUT 480 NEW ELECTRIC VEHICLE MODES.

AND MOST OF THEM ARE UNDER 3,500 POUNDS COMING TO THE UNITED STATES THAT WE'RE LIKELY GOING TO SEE A LOT OF, UM, UH, NEED OF UNDERSTANDING HOW WE CREATE A SAFE PLACE FOR EVERYTHING IN AN AREA THAT IS THE AREA OUTSIDE OF THE MAIN VEHICULAR ENVIRONMENT.

SO IN OUR BIKE LANES AND UP INTO, UH, THAT SIDEWALK.

SO AS WE LOOK AT THIS, WE ARE, WE ARE BLESSED ACTUALLY IN THE FACT THAT WE HAVE, UH, SOME POLICIES AROUND STRIKES, UH, AROUND AN ALL AGES, ALL ABILITIES NETWORK FOR A LOT OF ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION.

WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT AND HOW, UH, WE CREATE A, THE ABILITY FOR THESE THINGS TO COHABITATE WITH ONE ANOTHER IN A SAFE MANNER THAT PROVIDES THAT LEVEL OF, OF SAFETY AND UNDERSTANDING AND CLARITY FOR EVERYONE.

SO THAT BIKE RIDERS, WHEN THEY, UM, WHEN THEY ADDRESS THESE THINGS IN THE, IN, IN, IN OPERATIONS, WHEN THEY'RE OUT IN, IN, IN, IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEY'RE TAKING, TAKING OVER CERTAIN THINGS ON ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER.

SO TO THE QUESTION THAT WAS ASKED EARLIER AROUND, UH, IS THERE ONE SIDE OF THE, SHOULD THEY PASS ON THE RIGHT OR LEFT? I THINK A COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, ALICE HAD ASKED THAT QUESTION.

I THINK THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL LIKELY NEED TO ADDRESS AS WE SEE MORE AND MORE ACTIVITY HAPPEN IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA OF OUR BUILT ENVIRONMENT.

HOW WE REGULATE THE ENVIRONMENT AND WHAT JASON DOES.

I APPRECIATE IT.

THAT'S VERY HELPFUL.

I'M ACTUALLY COUNSEL MCGRAY LISTEN.

I WERE ON A, A LEARNING TOUR WHERE, UH, WE GOT TO GO TO, UM, THE NETHERLANDS AND WATCH HOW THOSE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION HAPPENED SIMULTANEOUSLY.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE BOTH TEXAS GIRLS.

WE HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT, YOU KNOW, AND IT WAS ALL THESE THINGS GOING ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

AND THERE WERE, IT WAS JUST VERY CAREFULLY CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE.

UM, AND THEN MAYBE EVEN THIS IS THE PART THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'LL BE MORE DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO QUANTIFY, BUT A LOT OF IT WAS HUMAN BEHAVIORAL CHOREOGRAPHY.

YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WERE INDICATING, YOU KNOW, THE SLIGHTEST SORT OF GLANCE IN ONE ANOTHER'S DIRECTION OR TURN TO THE CHANNEL, YOU KNOW, IT WAS, IT WAS INTERESTING TO WATCH.

AND SO I'M, I'M FASCINATED TO WATCH IT MOVE FORWARD.

DID YOU SAY 480 DEVICES UNDER 35, A HUNDRED POUNDS? DID YOU SAY THAT, UH, ROUGHLY 480 NEW ELECTRIC VEHICLE DESIGNS ARE COMING TO MARKET IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS? UH, ABOUT 80% OF THOSE ARE UNDER 3,500 POUNDS.

NOT ALL OF THEM ARE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION.

I'LL POINT OUT SOME OF THOSE ARE ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY DEVICES, BUT TO YOUR POINT AROUND, UM, OUR FRIENDS, UH, ACROSS THE ATLANTIC, UM, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT.

THE COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, WE'RE WE'RE DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW IS THE FACT THAT WE ARE REALLY TRYING HARD TO BUILD IN SOMETHING THAT IN EUROPE WAS ALREADY THERE.

AND THAT WAS A VERY ELABORATE, ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION, UH, NETWORK.

AND THEN OVER TIME THEY ADOPTED VEHICLES RIGHT OVER TIME, THEY ADOPTED OTHER THINGS.

WE ARE KIND OF, WE FLIPPED THAT EQUATION UPSIDE DOWN, RIGHT IN THE UNITED STATES, WE ARE A CAR DOMINANT SOCIETY, AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO PULL BACK RIGHT THAT HUMAN ELEMENT.

AND THAT'S A LOT OF DIFFICULTY IN BOTH

[01:40:01]

AND JACOB DO AS FAR AS BRINGING THESE NEW, HELPING, HELPING THESE NEW COMPANIES THAT ARE SO BOLD AND BRINGING GREAT, GREAT SOLUTIONS, BUT EACH TIME THESE NEW SOLUTIONS COME, IT, IT MEANS THAT NOT ONLY DO WE NEED TO LEARN FROM IT, DO OUR PARTNERS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR WHO ARE DELIVERING THOSE SERVICES NEED TO LEARN FROM IT.

BUT AS WE'VE SEEN WITH, UH, STARTING IN 2018 WAS SCOOTERS.

AND NOW AFTER A BIT OF A BREAK DURING THE PANDEMIC, AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING TODAY RIGHT NOW IS SCOOTERS SHOWCASES THE FACT THAT CONSTANT HUMAN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING IS THE KEY TO SAFE ADOPTION OF ANY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION.

WE'VE JUST BEEN KIND OF, WELL, WE'VE BEEN STUCK IN JUST THE CAR MODE FOR SO, SO LONG THAT GENERATIONS PAST, WE DON'T RECOGNIZE THE DIFFICULTIES, THE CHALLENGES THAT, THAT OUR PREDECESSORS AND TRANSPORTATION, UM, TOOK ON TO, TO, TO HAVE WHAT WE HAVE TODAY.

AND SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A NEW WORLD AND IT'S, UH, IT'S, IT'S BRIGHT, BUT IT ALSO MEANS THERE'S A LOT OF NEW MODES COMING.

AND SO WE HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH OUR COMMUNITY.

WE HAVE, WE, WE'VE GOT TO GET OUT THERE AND REALLY USE THE, THE, THE, THE EVENTS AND OTHER THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO SHOWCASE ALL OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES.

SO PEOPLE AREN'T SEEING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN THEY'RE ON A BIKE RIDE GOING TO WORK, RIGHT.

THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO SEE IT IN ANOTHER WAY THAT PROVIDES THAT LEVEL OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING, UH, TO LESSEN THAT HUMAN REACTION OF DISRUPTION.

IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BRING TOGETHER MAYBE SOME OF THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY, INCLUDING CTM AND THE OFFICE OF INNOVATION TO KIND OF HAVE A, A GENERAL DISCUSSION AROUND EXACTLY WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE WORLD OF AUTONOMY AND HOW THAT AFFECTS A WHOLE HOST OF THINGS OUTSIDE OF JUST, UH, WHAT WE SEE OUT ON THE STREET, BUT JOBS AND THE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY OF OUR, OF OUR REGION.

AND I APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER.

MADISON'S REFERENCED TO THAT TRIP WHERE WE REALLY WERE TAUGHT.

YOU JUST HAVE TO COMMIT TO WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

YOU HAVE WHATEVER YOU'RE GOING TO DO, JUST DO IT.

AND DON'T DO THAT SECOND GUESSING.

CAUSE WE'VE ALL DONE THAT WHERE YOU'RE WALKING DOWN THE HALL AND SOMEONE'S WALKING AT YOU AND YOU MOVED TO THE RIGHT AND THEY MOVE TO THE RIGHT AND YOU GO TO THE LEFT AND YOU GO TO THE RAFT AND YOU'RE LIKE, HOW DO I GET OUT OF THIS SITUATION? SO, I MEAN, THERE REALLY IS AN ART TO JUST COMMITTING TO IT, LEARNING HOW TO WORK WITHIN OTHER PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR.

UM, BUT I THINK A LOT OF WHAT PEOPLE GET TRIPPED UP ON WITH, WITH NEW MODES OF MOBILITY IS KIND OF LIKE WHERE THEY'RE PARKED, WHERE THEY'RE LEFT.

WHEN ARE THEY BLOCKING ADA ACCESSIBILITY? LIKE OUR FIRST SPEAKER HAD MENTIONED TODAY, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE BIG ISSUES.

WHEN THE SIDEWALKS ARE NO LONGER OPEN AND CLEAN AND SAFE FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED TO USE A WHEELCHAIR OR HAVE A BABY STROLLER, OR HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, A DOG THAT HELPS THEM, IF YOU'RE VISUALLY IMPAIRED, LIKE THESE SORTS OF THINGS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO, TO MANAGE THAT.

AND UNFORTUNATELY, WITH THE SITUATION WITH SCOOTERS IN THE SIDEWALK IS IT'S NOT THE SCOOTER COMPANY THAT PUT IT THERE.

AND IT'S PROBABLY NOT THE LAST USER THAT PUT IT THERE, IT EITHER FELL OVER OR SOMEONE KICKED IT OVER.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE JUST SOMETIMES HAVE TO WORK THROUGH WHAT, WHAT THOSE SITUATIONS ARE FOR PEOPLE.

WE HAVE MORE QUESTIONS, MAYOR PRO TEM ALTER, AND THEN WE'LL GO BACK TO, DID YOU WANT, DID YOU HAVE MORE COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON? DID YOU WANT TO CONTINUE? WHAT HAVE YOU EVER ANSWERED THE QUESTION ABOUT, UM, ABOUT AI AND ITS IMPLICATIONS AROUND WORKFORCE AND SUCH, AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, TEAR OUT I'LL REALLY DEFER TO YOU.

I WANT YOU TO BE ABLE TO, TO, YOU KNOW, KEEP, KEEP TIME ON THE MEETING.

CAUSE IT MIGHT, THAT MIGHT BE JUST A BIGGER QUESTION IN GENERAL ABOUT WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS ON, UH, AUTOMATION AND THE WORKFORCE.

BUT THOSE ARE SOME QUESTIONS THAT I DO DEFINITELY HAVE, LIKE I SAID, I'VE BEEN WATCHING A LOT OF MY FRIENDS STARTED TO SHIFT OVER TO AUTOMATING, AND THERE IS A REAL IMPLICATIONS ON THERE.

YOU KNOW, SPREADSHEETS, YOU KNOW, THESE LINE ITEMS THAT HAVE IMPLICATIONS AROUND LIKE HUMAN STAFF, HAVING THAT COMPLETELY GO AWAY HAS CHANGED THE GAME FOR SOME OF MY FRIENDS WHO OWN BUSINESSES.

AND I JUST, I SEE ALL THE ANGLES THOUGH, RIGHT.

YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF WE'RE GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO BEST UTILIZE TIME AND TALENT IN THE WAY THAT WE SHOULD.

SO IF ROBOTS DO THIS BETTER, BUT HUMANS DO THAT BETTER.

I JUST WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT OUR WORKFORCE VOCATIONAL TRAINING, ET CETERA, IS KEEPING PACE WITH WHAT IT IS THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO KEEP HUMANS POSSESSING.

SO THAT THEY'RE COMPETITIVE ALSO.

SO THAT MIGHT JUST BE A BIGGER CONVERSATION.

IN WHICH CASE, MAYBE NOT A QUESTION SO MUCH AS I'M EXPRESSING THAT THAT'S SOMETHING I'M THINKING ABOUT AS WE ARE MOVING IN THIS DIRECTION AROUND AI IN AUSTIN, REALLY BECOMING A TRUE PIONEER IN THE SOUTH, AROUND, AROUND OUR, UM, WILLINGNESS TO BE BOLD AND COURAGEOUS WITH TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION.

I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO THAT.

I WOULD SAY FIRST THAT, UH, PROUD, UH, CHARACTERISTIC TO HAVE, BUT ALSO WITH THAT COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY.

UH, WE'RE LUCKY THAT WE HAVE, UH, THE FORETHOUGHT ACROSS MULTIPLE, UH, SET OF DEPARTMENTS THAT WE'VE LAUNCHED THE, THE GOOD SYSTEMS CONTRACT WITH, UH, WITH UT.

AND THAT IS AROUND BUILDING AND UNDERSTANDING AND ASSESSING AND VALIDATING AI SYSTEMS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE PROVIDING GOOD, RIGHT.

THAT THEY'RE NOT PROVIDING ANY HARM OR THEY'RE NOT INTRINSICALLY OR WITH ANY LEVEL OF MALICIOUSNESS PROVIDING HARM.

AND THEN PAST THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, OKAY, WELL, WHAT ARE THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF SOME OF THOSE THINGS? I DO BELIEVE, UM, A CHAIRPERSON, UH, ELLIS

[01:45:01]

I KNOW WE TALK A LOT ABOUT JOB SKILLS, TRAINING AND JOB SKILL TRANSFERRING AS CERTAIN CHANGES HAPPEN, WHETHER THEY'RE INNOVATION OR JUST POLICY, POLICY DECISIONS THAT WE DO ON THE CITY COUNCIL.

AND SO I KNOW THERE'S ALWAYS A CONCERTED EFFORT NOT TO ELIMINATE A JOB, BUT MAYBE TO EITHER TRANSFER THAT TO SOMETHING ELSE OR CREATE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY SOMEWHERE ELSE.

AND SO I AM VERY INTERESTED IN, AND I'LL GIVE ONE THING THAT MAY PROVIDE SOME, SOME, SOME INFLUENCE FOR THAT THOUGHT FOR Y'ALL AS FAR AS HOW YOU WANT TO CREATE THAT.

UM, IF YOU THINK ABOUT AUTONOMOUS AUTOMATED VEHICLES, UM, 10 YEARS AGO, THE, THE TALK WAS AROUND THAT DISRUPTING PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS TODAY, AND ALSO NOTED THAT, UM, PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS AND, AND LOGISTICS OR BUS OR TRANSIT OR OTHER THINGS AVERAGE AGE IS 50 OR ABOVE, RIGHT? WE'RE NOT GETTING FRESH NEW PEOPLE IN THERE BY BRINGING THE AUTONOMY PIECE IN.

WE ARE ACTUALLY CREATING THESE JOBS, CHANGING THESE, TRANSFORMING THEM INTO MORE ATTRACTIVE JOBS THAT FOR, FOR YOUNGER PEOPLE TO, TO, TO COME IN AND BUILD THEIR CAREERS AROUND THIS, BECAUSE IT'S NOT AS MUCH ABOUT DRIVING THE BUS AS IT IS ABOUT MAINTAINING THE CUSTOMER SUPPORT ON THAT BUS, AS WELL AS ALL OF THE OTHER SYSTEMS THAT NEED TO BE OPERATING OR THAT YOU'RE HAVING TO TAKE CARE OF WHILE THEY'RE ON THIS, ON THAT BUS.

AND SO IT'S A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT BUS DRIVERS, TRUCK DRIVERS, EVERYTHING, RIGHT.

UM, AND THAT TO ME IS THE BENEFIT OF HOW WE EMBRACE THESE TECHNOLOGIES AND OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO ENSURE THAT WE DON'T JUST LET IT HAPPEN, BUT WE FIND A WAY THAT WE DO IN AUSTIN TO ENSURE THAT IT HAPPENS THE WAY THAT AUSTIN WANTS TO SEE THE OUTCOME.

I APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH.

MAYOR PRO TEM, I SEE YOUR HAND UP.

AND JUST AS A TIME CHECK, WE ARE AT 2 55 AND ONLY HAVE THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS UPDATE LEFT.

SO MAYOR PRO TEM, I'LL BE QUICK.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M A BIG FAN OF EUROPEAN URBAN DESIGN.

UM, BUT I WAS JUST IN EUROPE AND, AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, PARIS AND MADRID AND OTHER CITIES THEY'RE REALLY STRUGGLING WITH THE SCOOTERS.

UM, AND WHILE PARIS HAS MADE A LOT OF STRIDES LATELY WITH THEIR BIKE STUFF, IT'S, IT'S REALLY RATHER LIMITED TO CERTAIN PARTS OF THE CITY AND YOU GO OFF ON ANY OTHER ROADS AND IT'S VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO BIKE, LET ALONE, YOU KNOW, BE SAFE ON A SCOOTER.

SO I THINK THERE ARE SOME CITIES ON HAVE DONE THIS WELL AND OTHERS THAT HAVEN'T.

AND, AND, UM, SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE BE INTENTIONAL WITH OUR MOBILITY CHOICES AND THAT WE MAKE THE RIGHT INVESTMENTS AND, YOU KNOW, DO IT, UM, WITH A PLAN, UM, THAT BEING SAID, AND I REALIZED THAT WE ARE AT THE EARLY STAGES OF INTRODUCING THIS TECHNOLOGY STILL IN THE EARLIEST STAGES WITH THE SCOOTERS.

UM, BUT NONETHELESS, THE BUSINESS MODEL IS DEPENDENT UPON USING OUR RIGHT OF WAY.

UM, AND THERE ARE NO CURRENT MECHANISMS FOR THEM TO BE INVESTING IN THAT RIGHT AWAY AND HELPING US TO BUILD OUT THE NETWORK THAT WOULD SUPPORT THEIR BUSINESSES.

UM, SO CAN YOU SPEAK, UM, I THINK, UM, MAYBE COCO, YOU WERE IN YOUR, THE FOLKS FROM COCOA ARE IN OTHER CITIES, BUT, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES WHAT WE'RE DOING IN AUSTIN COMPARE TO THE REGULATION IN OTHER CITIES AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU AS BUSINESSES SEE YOUR OBLIGATIONS WITH RESPECT TO HELPING US BUILD OUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE? AND, YOU KNOW, YOU BOTH CAN SPEAK TO IT QUICKLY, BUT I, BUT I KNOW THAT, UM, COCOA MENTIONED THAT THEY HAD OTHER CITIES THAT THEY WERE IN.

WITH YOU OR YOUR TEAMS. UH, VERY INTERESTING.

HAPPY TO SPEAK TO THAT.

UM, IT'S, IT'S INTERESTING ABOUT HALF OF, UH, US STATES HAVE REGULATIONS LIKE TEXAS FOR PERSONAL DELIVERY DEVICES.

UM, UH, THE OTHER HALF, UH, DOES NOT.

SO, UH, CALIFORNIA, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE WE OPERATE, DOESN'T HAVE STATE LEVEL REGULATIONS AND WE WORK WITHIN CITY SPECIFIC PROGRAMS. UM, AND, UH, AWESOME.

OBVIOUSLY WE'RE OPERATING UNDER THE TEXAS, UH, PERSONAL DELIVERY DEVICE DEFINITION.

UM, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN SPEAKING TO, UM, LA DMT ABOUT IS, IS THERE A WAY FOR US TO USE, UM, OUR PILOTS, UH, TO REPORT KIND OF REAL TIME, UM, UH, IMPEDIMENTS AND THE PUBLIC RIGHT AWAY.

SO LIKE MAYBE, UH, OUR PILOTS COULD SEND AN ALERT WHEN THEY COME ACROSS A SCOOTER THAT'S FALLEN OVER, UM, TO HELP PROVIDE LIKE GOOD INFORMATION FOR THAT SPACE TO IMPROVE, UM, THE PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE FOR ALL USERS OF THE SIDEWALK.

UM, BUT YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE, UH, VERY RECEPTIVE TO ANY IDEAS IN THAT SPACE AND WOULD LOVE TO EXPLORE THOSE

[01:50:01]

I STOPPED FOR THE OTHER LAWYER AND THE OTHER COMPANY WANT TO SAY ANYTHING THEY'RE STEPPING UP TO THE MICROPHONE.

CERTAINLY.

THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTION.

UM, SO I GUESS FROM THE STANDPOINT OF, UM, OF THE RIGHT OF WAY BEING A CRITICAL COMPONENT TO THE BUSINESS MODELS AND LAST MILE DELIVERY, WE AGREE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST THING I THINK IS TO ENSURE THAT YOU'RE NOT ENDANGERING PEDESTRIAN.

SO IT'S A SAFETY SOLVE AFTER THAT.

IT'S ABOUT TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE ALL THE BENEFITS THAT THE CITY GETS FROM PERSONAL DELIVERY DEVICES, UM, BALANCING THAT OUT WITH THE BENEFITS THAT THE PROVIDERS OF THOSE SERVICES GIVE.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, CURBSIDE MONETIZATION IS A GIGANTIC THING RIGHT NOW.

AND A LOT OF THE CITIES THAT WE ARE TALKING TO UNDERSTANDING HOW CURBSIDE ARE USED AND HOW UNDERSTANDING HOW THEY CAN GENERATE REVENUE FOR A CITY.

UM, SECONDLY SHIRT VIOLATIONS, YOU KNOW, OUR SCOOTERS IN THE WRONG PLACES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

WE'VE GOT 12 STEREO CAMERA PAIRS ON THESE ROBOTS.

THEY SEE A LOT, RIGHT.

AND THEY CAN BASICALLY COMMUNICATE THOSE THINGS REAL TIME.

UM, I THINK THAT THAT'S KIND OF BEEN OUR PHILOSOPHY FROM THE BEGINNING IS KIND OF PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, UM, BECAUSE IT IS CODEPENDENT.

UM, AND WE'VE JUST BEEN REALLY PLEASED WITH AUSTIN SIMPLY BECAUSE IT HASN'T BEEN A HEAVY HANDED APPROACH.

IT HAS BEEN A BIT OF A LET'S, YOU KNOW, DO SOME THINGS THAT ARE SENSIBLE AND THEN LET'S REVISIT THE TOPIC.

AND SO I THINK IT'S AN EVOLVING TOPIC AND, AND, YOU KNOW, LIKE ANY GOOD COMPANY, WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW BEST TO MOVE IT FORWARD, BUT WE WOULD LOVE NOTHING MORE THAN TO BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO DEVELOPING THAT INFRASTRUCTURE AGAIN, IF I COULD JUST ADD, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF STAFF WANTED TO SPEAK, BUT, YOU KNOW, BEFORE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT SCOOTERS AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ALL REGULATION QUESTIONS THAT WE WERE DEALING WITH, THING TO DO WITH SCOOTERS WERE KIND OF PUT ON ICE, UM, DURING THAT PROCESS.

AND, AND CLEARLY WE NEED TO BE REVISITING THOSE.

UM, BUT I WILL JUST SAY, AS SOMEONE WHO IS CHARGED WITH OVERSEEING THE REGULATION, I DO THINK WE REALLY DO NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT, UM, THOSE, THOSE, UM, WAYS THAT THE COMPANIES CAN HELP US, UM, IMPROVE OUR RIGHT OF WAY.

AND I APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, THE EXAMPLE YOU GAVE, IT WAS NOT ONE THAT I THOUGHT OF.

AND SO I'M SURE THERE ARE PLENTY OF CREATIVE WAYS AND I HOPE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WILL BE HAPPENING.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

[5. Update from Assistant City Manager Gina Fiandaca on the City's Strategic Mobility Outcome. ]

IT'S THREE O'CLOCK.

I KNOW WE JUST HAVE THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS, STRATEGIC OUTCOME UPDATE, AND I THINK WE'RE OUT OF QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US TODAY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

CHAIR, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, CINA FAN DACA.

UM, YOU HAVE MY STRATEGIC OUTCOME REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST, UM, FOR YOUR REVIEW, SOME MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS AT SOME MAJOR INTERSECTIONS RELATED TO VISION ZERO INTERSECTION SAFETY PROGRAMS. UH, WE'VE UPGRADED OUR BAGGAGE HANDLING SYSTEM AT THE AIRPORT.

UH, WE'VE CELEBRATED THE AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT TURNING 32.

UM, AND WE'VE SEEN TRAFFIC PICK UP GREATLY IN OUR SKIES AS WELL.

UM, AND WE CELEBRATED THE OPENING, UH, GROUNDBREAKING AT MCCULLOUGH STATION.

AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOME FEEDBACK ON DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, STREETSCAPES.

IT'S ALL THERE FOR YOUR REVIEW AND I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

HAVE A RUNNING LIST OF FUTURE ITEMS, INCLUDING NOW SCOOTERS, AND SOME OF THE INJURIES THAT MIGHT BE HAPPENING FROM PEOPLE RIDING ON SCOOTERS.

I FOUND THE SECTION ON THE DOWNTOWN STREETSCAPES TO BE REALLY FASCINATING.

UM, I HADN'T HEARD THAT WE HAD DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN THE PAST, AND MAYBE IT JUST PREDATES MY TIME HERE, BUT I THINK IT'S A REALLY INNOVATIVE WAY TO ENGAGE WITH HOW DO WE BEST USE OUR STREETSCAPES AND HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THERE'S ENOUGH ROOM FOR PEDESTRIANS OR RESTAURANTS OR, UM, TREES THAT NEED TO BE PLANTED AND, AND TRYING TO RIGHT SIZE SOME OF THOSE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS OF DOWNTOWN.

SO I THINK THAT'S A REALLY CREATIVE LINE ITEM FOR PEOPLE TO LOOK AT IF, IF THEY HAVE THE ABILITY, ANY, ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS? OKAY.

I DON'T SEE HANDS.

SO JUST SPEAK UP IF YOU'VE GOT YOUR HAND RAISED AND I CAN'T SEE YOU DOESN'T LOOK, SO THANK YOU ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, WE APPRECIATE THESE UPDATES AND THOSE ARE ALL THE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.

TODAY.

WE DO

[6. Identify items to discuss at future meetings. ]

WE'VE GOT WORKFORCE IMPLICATIONS OF AI TECHNOLOGY, THE GREAT SPRINGS PROJECT, SOMETHING RELATED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, FOLKS WHO HAVE A HARD TIME KEEPING THEIR VEHICLE MAINTENANCE AND THEIR REGISTRATION UP TO DATE AND WANTING TO MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS OF, OF THOSE ARE.

UM, TDM VISION, ZERO CAPITAL EXPRESS WILL BE COMING BACK TO US SHORTLY, SOUTH CONGRESS PARKING DISTRICT,

[01:55:01]

AND A COUPLE OF TOPICS RELATED TO THE AIRPORT.

I KNOW THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT MOBILITY NEEDS FOR TRAVELERS WHO ARE COMING INTO OUR AIRPORT.

WE'VE HEARD ABOUT TSA CHALLENGES, AND WE KNOW THAT THE AIRPORT IS CURRENTLY, UM, IMPLEMENTING ITS EXPANSION.

AND SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DAYLIGHTING SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT IS COMING OUT FOR THAT.

SO ARE THERE ANY OTHER TOPICS PEOPLE WISH TO ADD AT THIS TIME? AND OF COURSE YOU CAN ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, WE CAN ALWAYS CHAT AND EMAIL ABOUT OTHER TOPICS PEOPLE WANT IN THE FUTURE MAYOR PRO TEM.

UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US TALKING ABOUT WILDFIRE EVACUATION.

I DON'T KNOW THAT HAS TO BE THE NEXT MEETING, BUT, UM, AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, THANK YOU.

I KNOW THERE'S REPORTS ALMOST DAILY OF, OF WILDFIRES IN PLACES NEARBY.

AND I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME GRASS FIRES, YOU KNOW, HERE LOCALLY IN AUSTIN, THIS IS DEFINITELY A HUGE CONCERN.

AND I KNOW THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS COME AND SPOKEN ABOUT EVACUATION POLICIES AND JUST THE NUANCE AROUND TRYING TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR.

IF THE MOMENT ARISES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN KEEP THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES SAFE.

SO IF THERE'S NO OTHER TOPICS PEOPLE WANT TO, JUST TO BE CLEAR, JUST IF I COULD JUST BE CLEAR, WHAT I WANT US TO BE TALKING ABOUT IS SORT OF WHAT, UM, OBVIOUSLY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO EVACUATE, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE THE COORDINATING SYSTEMS IN PLACE SO THAT, YOU KNOW, APD AND ATG KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO IN THE CASE OF EVACUATION.

AND WE NEED TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW, HOW OUR CITY STAFF AND OUR ARE COORDINATING AMONGST THEMSELVES WITH COUNTY AND, AND STATE OFFICIALS ON THAT GUARD.