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[CALL TO ORDER]
AND CONGRATULATIONS FOR THOSE DIDN'T HAVE TO DRIVE ACROSS TOWN.UH, TODAY'S TUESDAY, JANUARY 10TH, UH, 2023.
WE HAVE A FORUM, SO WE'RE GONNA BRING THIS URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING.
UM, AS ALWAYS, ARE THERE ANY CITIZENS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, UH, ON AGENDA ITEMS? THERE ARE NOT.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Urban Transportation Commission REGULAR MEETING on December 6th, 2022.]
UM, SHOULD HAVE A DOCUMENT FROM THE MINUTES LAST TIME, WHICH WAS, UH, SIMPLY A DRAFTING RECOMMENDATION, SORT OF TRAINING DISCUSSION.IS THERE ANYBODY THERE, UH, WHO WILLING TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THESE MINUTES? APPROVE.
IS THERE A SECOND? UH, WE CAN'T, WE'RE FIRST OPEN.
LET CHRIS DO THE, UH, I'M JUST GONNA STOP SO WE CAN SEE PEOPLE.
UM, ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE, ANYBODY OPPOSED OVER YOUR HAND? ANY NA ANY INTENTION? OKAY.
ONTO OUR ACTUAL AGENDA ITEMS. FIRST
[2. Discussion and possible action on Cap and Stitch Bi-Annual Update Presenter: Mike Trimble, Corridor Program Office]
ONE UP.DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE CAPTAIN AND STITCH.
THIS IS THE BIANNUAL UPDATE FOR MY TRIPLE IN THE PROGRAM FOR THE COURT PROGRAM OFFICE IS, I DON'T SEE HIM SOMEWHERE PRESENTING FOR HIM.
I'M WITH THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM OFFICE.
MIKE'S NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT TONIGHT, BUT I'LL BE GIVING THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, TRY TO SHARE MY SCREEN HERE AND I'LL BE THE ONE TO, TO SCROLL THROUGH.
UM, REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE TONIGHT.
AND LET ME, LET ME SEE IF I CAN GET THIS UP AND RUNNING.
IS EVERYTHING WORKING CORRECTLY NOW? IT IS.
WELL, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR HAVING US HERE.
UH, WE DO HOPE TO, UH, BE ABLE TO COME MORE FREQUENTLY IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
WE HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION AND, UM, ENGAGEMENT THAT'LL BE COMING UP OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
SO EXCITED TO TELL YOU ABOUT WHAT'S TO COME.
NOT ABLE TO ADVANCE THE SLIDES.
AND SUSAN, IF IT'S TOO MUCH TROUBLE, I CAN GO AHEAD AND START SHARING MY SCREEN AND WE CAN JUST DO NEXT SLIDE.
THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DELAY, TECHNOLOGY DELAY, I THINK ON OUR SIDE OVER HERE.
UM, I'M, I'M GONNA GO THROUGH THE FIRST COUPLE OF SLIDES PRETTY QUICKLY.
YOU ALL ARE PROBABLY VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE HISTORY OF I 35.
UM, THE, THE PAST EAST AVENUE AND THE TYPES OF OPPORTUNITY FOR GATHERINGS LIKE PSON COLLEGE HAD EVENTS HERE IN THE PAST.
UM, AND THEN I 35, UH, CONSTRUCTION CAME IN IN THE, THE SIXTIES AND REALLY CREATED A DIVIDE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, IN A VERY PHYSICAL WAY.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT HAD HAD SEGREGATION IN OUR CITY IN THE PAST AND A LARGE DIVIDE BASED ON OUR 1928 PLAN, AS WELL AS MANY, UM, POLICIES THAT CREATED SEGREGATION WITHIN OUR CITY.
UM, I 35 SERVES AS A REPRESENTATION OF THAT IN A VERY PHYSICAL FORMAT TODAY.
AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS BE LOOKING FORWARD, HOW CAN WE START TO RECONNECT OUR COMMUNITY? HOW CAN WE BE, BRING COMMUNITY BENEFITS TO THE I 35 PROJECT THAT TECHO IS UNDERGOING, UM, AND PLANNING FORWARD RIGHT NOW.
SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT WHAT WOULD GUIDE US AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF POLICIES AND PLANS WITHIN THE CITY THAT TALK ABOUT WHAT WE WOULD LIKE OUR CITY TO BE AND WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO INCLUDE IN, UM, COMMUNITY ASSETS.
SO THIS INCLUDES, IMAGINE AUSTIN, OUR STRATEGIC DIRECTION THAT GETS ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL EVERY FEW YEARS.
UH, WE HAVE THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN AND MANY OTHER PLANS AND POLICIES AND INITIATIVES, NOT JUST WITHIN THE CITY, BUT WITHIN THE TRANSPORTATION, UM, REALM SUCH AS THE JUSTICE SPORTY, UM, EQUITY INITIATIVE AND OTHER IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS, UM, THAT WE LOOK TO AS INSPIRATION
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FOR WHAT WE SHOULD BE GUIDING OUR DECISION MAKING AS WE GO FORWARD.UM, YOU ALL MAY KNOW THAT TEXT DOT HAS JUST RECENTLY IN THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS PUT OUT THEIR DRAFT E I S THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES, UH, FOR THE HIGHWAY.
UM, THIS IS, THIS IS A LITTLE SNAPSHOT OF WHAT THEY HAVE AS ALTERNATIVE TWO AND MODIFIED ALTERNATIVE THREE, WHICH IS, UM, THEIR PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE THAT THEY ANNOUNCED WITH THE DRAFT E I S DOCUMENTATION THAT THEY HAVE NOW UP ON THEIR WEBSITE THAT EVERYBODY CAN ACCESS.
UM, WE WILL BE LOOKING AT WHERE CAPS AND STITCHES ARE, UM, AVAILABLE WITHIN THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.
AND, UH, THE DIAGRAM HERE IS REALLY HARD TO SEE.
I'M NOT GONNA ASK YOU TO UNDERSTAND ALL OF THIS KIND OF COLOR CODING THAT YOU'RE SEEING ON YOUR SCREEN RIGHT NOW, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT SOME OF THESE GREEN SWATHS DOWN HERE, UM, THAT CAN CAP OVER THE HIGHWAY.
AZTEC.IS PLANNING TO LOWER THE MAIN LANES BELOW GRADE.
IT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A DECK OR A CAP OVER THE LANES, UM, TO CREATE A, A BIT OF A TUNNEL FOR THE TRAFFIC AND US TO PUT A SURFACE AMENITIES ON TOP.
UM, THEN AS WELL AS STITCHES, YOU PROBABLY HEARD, YOU KNOW, THAT TERM QUITE A BIT, CAP AND STITCH.
UH, WE ARE THE ONLY COMMUNITY WHO USES THAT TERMINOLOGY, BUT I DO WANT TO CLARIFY WHAT THAT MEANS.
SO A STITCH IS REALLY A WINDED BRIDGE STRUCTURE, OR MAYBE A MINI CAP IS A WAY TO THINK ABOUT IT.
UM, IT'S NOT AS LARGE AS A DECK THAT WOULD CREATE A TUNNEL, BUT IT IS AN EXPANSION OF THE AREA, UM, ADJACENT TO, UH, LIKE THE EDGES OF A BRIDGE WHERE WE CAN CREATE SOME COMMUNITY BENEFITS AND SOME COMMUNITY SPACE.
UM, THERE'S A WHOLE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE'RE EVALUATING WITH TECHO.
UM, THE ONES THAT ARE SHOWN HERE ARE JUST, UH, A HANDFUL THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY DEEP DIVING DEEPLY INTO TO SEE, UH, WHERE THEY ARE AVAILABLE TO DO THESE EXPANDED BRIDGES, THESE COMMUNITY SPACES AND, AND THE CAPS.
AND SO WANTED TO, UM, BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO SOME OF 'EM.
WE ARE WORKING IN, IN, UH, GREAT DETAIL WITH TEXT.TO SEE IF WE CAN EXPAND THE NUMBER OF CAPS THAT WE HAVE.
YOU KNOW, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE HERE, UM, AT 11TH AND 12TH STREET, DOWN HERE AT THE BOTTOM, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE, THE DIAGRAM HERE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, THERE'S THOSE TWO KIND OF PURPLE, PURPLE, UM, STITCHES.
AND WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE IF WE CAN MAKE THAT INTO A FULL CAP.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT IS A COMPLEX, UM, SET OF VARIABLES THAT TECHO IS LOOKING AT.
WE CONTINUE TO EVALUATE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CAPS, UM, UP AND DOWN THE CORRIDOR.
UM, AND JUST TO, TO ILLUSTRATE THE COMPLEXITY A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, AS YOU'RE STARTING TO MOVE ONE COMPONENT, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A RIPPLE EFFECT, RIGHT? SO, UM, IT, IT'S, IT'S NOT AS EASY AS SAYING, OH, WE WANT A CAP HERE.
YOU KNOW, CAN WE HAVE IT OR NOT? HAS A VERY COMPLEX SET OF VARIABLES THAT NEED TO BE ANALYZED IN ORDER TO SEE IF IT WILL WORK.
UM, IT'S AN ONGOING PROCESS THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED THAT THERE'S THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THESE CAPS.
IT GIVES US THE, UH, THE, THE OPTION OF CONNECTING AND BRINGING NEW CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND LEVERAGING A TRANSPORTATION PROJECT TO GET OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS AS WELL.
NOT ONLY DOES THE CITY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO CAPS AND STITCHES, BUT THERE IS SOME OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, CAPS NEAR THE UNIVERSITY AS WELL.
SO YOU SEE OVER IN THE, THE LOWER LEFT-HAND CORNER, SOME LARGE GREEN AREAS THERE THAT WOULD BE ADJACENT TO THE UNIVERSITY SHOULD THE UNIVERSITY CHOOSE TO WORK WITH TEXT OT ON MAKING THOSE A REALITY.
UM, THE CITY, UM, HAS ABOUT 15 OR MORE ACRES WORTH OF CAP AND STITCH OPPORTUNITY, AND, UH, WE'LL BE TALKING MORE ABOUT WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE AS WE GO ON THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH TECH OT TO ALIGN OUR SCHEDULES.
UM, TECH OT, AS YOU KNOW, HAS JUST RELEASED THEIR DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.
THEY'LL BE LOOKING TO FINALIZE THAT IN 2023.
THEY'LL BE CONTINUING THE DESIGN PROCESS AND SELECTING A CONTRACTOR, UM, AND THE BULK OF THEIR COLLECTION OR THEIR CONSTRUCTION
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WOULD BEGIN IN 2025.THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT SOME EARLY OUT PROJECTS WOULDN'T BE MOVING FORWARD SOONER, BUT THE BULK OF CONSTRUCTION WOULD BE, UH, BEGINNING IN THAT TIMEFRAME.
WE'RE TRYING TO ALIGN OUR DELIVERABLES AND OUR, UM, ANALYSIS AND PLANNING WITH THE MILESTONES THAT TECH DOT HAS.
OUR GOAL IS TO GET THE CAP STRUCTURES, UM, BUILT AS THEY'RE DOING THEIR CONSTRUCTION SO THAT WE CAN COME BACK OVER THE TOP AND PUT ON ALL OF THE, UM, AMENITIES, UM, THAT CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE FROM, FOR THE COMMUNITY, FROM THE CITY SIDE.
AFTER THAT CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETED BY THE, UH, THE TECH STOCK CRUISE OR THEIR CONTRACTOR, UM, WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH A PROCESS.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE WORKED WITH FEASIBILITY.
WE ARE WORKING ON VISION GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS.
UH, BUT WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY AND OUR, UM, TEAMS INTERNALLY TO SET UP THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE IN 2023.
2023 IS GONNA BE A REAL PIVOTAL TIME FOR US, AND WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY TO DEVELOP CONCEPT PLANS AND SCENARIOS.
WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT TO SEE ON THESE, UH, CAPS AND STITCHES? WHAT TYPES OF AMENITIES AND BENEFITS DO WE WANT TO BRING TO OUR COMMUNITY? AND OF COURSE, THEN WE WILL, WE'LL FINISH THROUGH PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING AND DESIGN SO THAT AS TECHO IS DOING THEIR WORK, WE'RE ABLE TO COME IN, UM, RIGHT BEHIND THEM AND BUILD AMENITIES AT THE SAME TIME FOR ME AT THE MOMENT.
UM, I, I HAD MENTIONED THAT WE DID SOME FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS EARLY ON TO UNDERSTAND THE VIABILITY OF CAPS AND STITCHES.
UH, WE HAD A CONSULTANT TEAM LOOKING WITH US AND WORKING DIRECTLY WITH TECH.TO UNDERSTAND THEIR PLANS, UM, AND WHAT WAS FEASIBLE.
UM, A COUPLE OF VERY GOOD THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT IS THAT THERE IS QUITE THE CAPACITY TO DO CAPS AND STITCHES, UH, WITHIN THE TECH OP PROJECT.
UH, WE CAN DO A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT OPEN SPACES PARK-LIKE AMENITIES.
WE CAN ALSO HAVE ONE AND TWO STORY STRUCTURES, UM, THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO BE ACCOMMODATED WITHIN THE OVERALL, UM, PROJECT.
THERE WOULD BE SPACE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE COLUMNS AND THE, THE, UM, CAP INDEX STRUCTURES TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT FEASIBLE.
UM, WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS IN 2023 TO DETERMINE WHERE AND WHAT COMBINATION OF USES WOULD BE APPROPRIATE AND DESIRED BY OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WE HAVE ALSO LOOKED AT A NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS.
I, I WANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT NOT ONLY IS THIS A PROJECT FOR THE CAPS THEMSELVES, BUT OUR PROJECT AND OUR PROGRAM HAS A MUCH WIDER EFFECT.
UM, WE ARE COGNIZANT THAT THE LARGER COMMUNITY, UM, NEEDS TO BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
UH, WE WANT TO ENGAGE IN A DIFFERENT WAY, AND WE REALLY WANT THE, THE COMMUNITY TO COMMUNITY TO BE A PARTNER WITH US ON THIS.
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS DESIRED, BUT ALSO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE IMPACTS.
UM, HOW ARE WE CONNECTING THE, THE TISSUE BACK TOGETHER, EAST AND WEST? UM, WHAT ARE THESE, YOU KNOW, GREAT NUMBER OF DESTINATIONS, BOTH CULTURAL DESTINATIONS, UM, UH, CITY SERVICES, HEALTH SERVICES, UM, MAJOR DESTINATIONS, ENTERTAINMENT LOCATIONS THAT PEOPLE WILL NATURALLY WANT TO GO TO, AND HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ACCOMMODATING NOT JUST THE EN CORRIDOR CAP AND STITCH IMPROVEMENTS, BUT WHAT CAN WE DO TO TIE THE COMMUNITY BACK TOGETHER? HOW, UM, IN THE NEXT PHASE, UH, WE'LL BE WORKING WITH, UM,
AND THEN THE, THE THIRD PHASE THAT WE'LL BE DOING, UM, WITH THE CONSULTANTS WE HAVE ON BOARD CURRENTLY AS WORKING THROUGH KIND OF THAT PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DEVELOP THE PROJECT FAR ENOUGH IN ORDER WORK WITHIN THE TEXT DOT TIMELINE.
UH, WE WILL HAVE FUTURE PHASES AFTER THIS.
THESE ARE THE FIRST THREE THAT I WANTED TO PULL YOUR ATTENTION TO.
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OKAY.AS WE GO THROUGH THESE DIFFERENT PHASES OF OUR WORK.
UM, VISION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS, CONCEPT PLANS, ENGINEERING, FULL DESIGN, AND THEN CONSTRUCTION.
WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO ENGAGE WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE.
UM, WE'VE SET UP, UM, AN ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE FOR THIS WORK AHEAD OF US.
WE HAVE CREATED A COMMUNITY STEERING COMMITTEE.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE A TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND THERE WILL BE NUMEROUS PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS THAT WE WILL BE, UM, ENGAGING ALONG THE PROCESS.
AND WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO HAVE SOME FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS BASED ON CERTAIN TOPICS, UM, THAT NEED TO HAVE DEEP DIVE CONVERSATIONS SO THAT WE DO PLAN ON BRINGING FOLKS IN TO BE ABLE TO REALLY EXPLORE AND MORE DETAIL THOSE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS THAT, THAT NEED TO HAVE FOCUSED ATTENTION.
AND WHILE WE'RE DOING ALL OF THIS ENGAGEMENT, UH, WITHIN BOTH COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL, UM, STAKEHOLDERS, WE WILL BE GETTING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND THE PUBLIC IN A LARGER FORMAT THROUGH OPEN HOUSES, WEBSITE, SOCIAL MEDIA, SURVEYS.
UH, WE'LL HAVE A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT, UM, IN THE COMING YEAR.
DO YOU WANT TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE HEARD SO FAR? UM, WE, IN AUGUST, AT THE END OF AUGUST, HAD A, A LARGE OPEN HOUSE, UM, THAT HAD A GREAT NUMBER OF PEOPLE COMING THROUGH.
WE HAD ARTIST INTERPRETATION, UM, HELPING TO DRAW STORIES OUT OF INDIVIDUALS, UM, HIGHLIGHT AND OPPORTUNITIES TO COMMENT AND GIVE US INPUT ON ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT TOPICS HERE.
UM, AND AS WELL AS VISION AND GOALS.
UM, THAT WAS ONE OF THE PRIMARY ITEMS THAT WE WANTED TO ENGAGE ON WAS WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY, UM, WANTING TO SEE IN THIS PROJECT? WHAT WOULD BE SUCCESSFUL? WHAT IS OUR VISION? UM, WE GOT THOUSANDS OF DATA POINTS.
AND OUR TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING TO REALLY UNDERSTAND AND CATEGORIZE, UH, THE INPUT THAT WE'VE RECEIVED.
UH, YOU CAN SEE HERE FROM THIS PIE CHART, WE HAD A LOT OF COMMENTS AROUND HEALTH, UM, AND ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY AND MOBILITY.
SO THESE ARE THINGS LIKE, UM, CONNECTIVITY, UM, FEELING SAFE IN THESE SPACES, BEING ABLE TO GET EAST TO WEST IN A SAFE AND COMFORTABLE FORMAT.
UH, WE HEARD A LOT OF, UH, DESIRE FOR OPEN SPACES AND, UM, SHADING RIGHT ON THESE, UH, CAPS AND THESE DIFFERENT SPACES SO THAT PEOPLE COULD FEEL, UM, COMFORTABLE, UM, MOVING BACK AND FORTH AND REALLY ENGAGING IN THESE NEW CIVIC SPACES.
WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH ABOUT THE COMMUNITY STEERING COMMITTEE.
UM, WE DO HAVE A GROUP OF FOLKS WHO ARE VOLUNTEERING, UH, THEIR TIME, UM, MEETING WITH US, UM, AT LEAST MONTHLY AND PERHAPS MORE THAN THAT THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.
UM, THE, THE COMMUNITY STEERING GROUP IS REALLY LEADERS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE GOING TO BE HELPING US REFINE THE VISION AND GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.
UM, THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN TAKING THE WORK THAT, UM, THE ENGAGEMENT THAT WE'VE HEARD, UM, SIFTING THROUGH THAT WITH OUR TEAM AND REALLY STARTING TO ARTICULATE IT IN A VERY CONCRETE WAY.
AND THIS IS GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE, THE VISION GOALS AND OBJECTIVES REALLY SET UP, UM, SOME OF THE DECISION MAKING.
UM, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY DECISION THAT WE MAKE ON THIS PROJECT REALLY GOES BACK AND SUPPORTS THE VISION AND GOALS AND WILL BE JUDGED AGAINST THOSE VISION AND GOALS, UM, AS WE GO.
SO HOW WELL ARE WE DOING TOWARDS THOSE DIFFERENT ITEMS? UM, THE VISION AND GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ARE JUST ABOUT COMPLETE.
UM, WE WILL BE PUTTING SOME INFORMATION UP ON OUR WEBSITE WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS, I WOULD SAY.
UM, AND, UM, OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER PLACES WHERE, UH, THE PUBLIC CAN, UM, GET THAT INFORMATION READILY.
UH, THE STEERING COMMITTEE WILL ALSO BE HELPING US ENSURE THAT WE'RE DOING THE, THE RIGHT TYPES OF ENGAGEMENT THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THE RIGHT VOICES.
UM, AND IN THE INSTANCE THAT WE'RE
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NOT HEARING FROM ALL OF THE RIGHT VOICES HELPING US TO CRAFT AN ENGAGEMENT PLAN, TO BE ABLE TO SEEK OUT, UM, THE, THE VARIOUS LENSES THAT, UH, NEED TO BE, UM, INCLUDED IN THE PROJECT AND THE PEOPLE WHO WE NEED TO BE ENGAGING WITH, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF OUR PROGRAM, GETTING INTO THAT CONCEPT PLAN, CREATING THE COMMUNITY PLANS FOR AMENITIES ON TOP OF THIS NEW PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE.UM, THE COMMUNITY STEERING COMMITTEE WILL BE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH US ON THAT AND TRYING TO MAXIMIZE THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS AND MAKING SURE WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY LATCHING ONTO AND ABLE TO CREATE THE RIGHT COMBINATION OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THOSE, THOSE PLANS AND THOSE DESIGNS.
UM, THE COMMUNITY STEERING COMMITTEE ALSO HAS INFORMATION UP AND AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE, OUR FUTURE 30 FIVE.COM.
SO I MENTIONED BEFORE THAT NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE, UM, NEW CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE ON THESE CAPS AND STITCHES ON THE I 35 CORRIDOR, BUT WE'RE VERY COGNIZANT THAT THIS PROJECT HAS REACHED BEYOND THE CORRIDOR ITSELF AND INTO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO AS WE MOVE FURTHER INTO THE NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, THAT SURROUND THIS PROJECT, UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT WHAT IS NEEDED TO SUPPORT THAT COMMUNITY.
AND WE HAVE, UM, UM, HIRE SOME CONSULTANTS TO HELP US WITH AN EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR WORKING WITH THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, UM, ON THESE STRATEGIES.
AND OUR INTENT IS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT IMPACTS THIS NEW CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE MIGHT HAVE ON THE COMMUNITY.
UM, MIGHT, YOU KNOW, LARGE PROJECTS LIKE THIS IN OTHER LOCATIONS, PUT SOME STRESS ON AREAS THAT, THAT ARE ALREADY GENTRIFYING.
HOW CAN WE MITIGATE FOR THAT? HOW CAN WE ENSURE THAT SMALL BUSINESSES AND LOCAL BUSINESSES, UM, AREN'T, UH, DISPLACED AND, UH, ARE SUPPORTED? SO ALSO OUR MUSICIANS ARE OUR ARTIST COMMUNITY NONPROFITS.
HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT THIS PROJECT HELPS TO STABILIZE, UM, THEM AND CREATE THE RECONNECTIONS THAT WE NEED AND SUPPORT, UM, ANY MITIGATION AND, AND SUPPLY ANY MITIGATION THAT WE MIGHT NEED TO AS WE MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THE PROJECT? OUR INTENTION HERE REALLY IS NOT JUST TO COME UP WITH THE STRATEGIES, BUT WE WANT AN ACTION PLAN.
WE WANT TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN, UM, TAKE TO THE COMMUNITY, TAKE TO COUNCIL, UM, ENSURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO, UH, NOT ONLY PROVIDE THE BENEFITS ON THE CAPS STITCHES THEMSELVES, BUT WITHIN THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY.
UM, OF COURSE, ALL OF THIS COSTS MONEY TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THIS NEW CAP AND STITCH INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, WE HAVE A PRETTY ROBUST STRATEGY THAT WE'RE PUTTING INTO PLACE RIGHT NOW AS FAR AS ANALYZING ALL THE DIFFERENT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AND STRATEGIES THAT ARE, UM, AT HAND.
AND I WOULD SAY RIGHT NOW, ALL OF THE OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE FOR DISCOVERY AND ANALYSIS.
AND WE'LL BE LOOKING AT ALL OF, UH, THE VARIOUS, UH, OPPORTUNITIES TO GET GRANTS OR FINANCING, UH, THINGS LIKE VALUE CAPTURE AND PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.
UM, ONE OF OUR FIRST, UM, EMPHASIS IS GONNA BE TO GET THE CAP STRUCTURES FUNDED.
UM, ONCE WE GET THE STRUCTURES FUNDED, THAT WILL ALLOW US THEN TO COME OVER TOP WITH THE AMENITIES.
SO WE'RE, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE OVERALL FUNDING OF ALL OF THE CAPS AND STITCHES, BUT, UH, RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, UM, THE HIGHEST PRIORITY IS GETTING THE STRUCTURE SO THAT WE CAN CREATE THE AMENITIES.
UM, I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE HAVE ALREADY GOTTEN SOME FUNDING, UM, FOR THE PROJECT.
WE, UH, THROUGH CONGRESSMAN DOGGETT, HE HELPS SPONSOR OUR APPLICATION FOR COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING THAT HAS BEEN AWARDED TO US.
AND, UM, THE DOLLAR VALUE OF 1.5 MILLION.
WE HAVE ALSO PUT IN ANOTHER GRANT OPPORTUNITY FOR RECONNECTING COMMUNITIES, UM, HOPING TO HEAR BACK VERY SOON ON THAT APPLICATION.
UM, WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH THE, THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ON ALL OF THE OPPORTUNITIES, UM, BOTH FOR GRANTS AND FINANCING AND
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WORKING WITH OUR FINANCIAL SERVICES, UH, DEPARTMENT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE, THE DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, BOND FINANCING, OTHER FINANCING STRUCTURES, UM, AS WELL AS WITH OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT FOR PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.AND THIS IS THE LAST SLIDE THAT I HAVE.
AND REALLY, I JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE HERE THAT IT TAKES A LOT OF PEOPLE AND A LOT OF PARTNERS TO BE AT THE TABLE TO MAKE SOMETHING, UM, OF THIS MAGNITUDE A REALITY.
UM, WE HAVE SEVERAL D SEVERAL PARTNERS IN THIS THAT I WANT TO NAME FIRST AND FOREMOST IS A COMMUNITY.
WE WANT TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY IN THIS, UM, PROGRAM, IN THIS PROJECT, UH, THE COMMUNITY NEEDS TO BE, UH, SEEN AS A PARTNER AND NOT JUST, UM, FOLKS TO ENGAGE THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.
AND SO WE DO HAVE THAT INTENTION TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY HERE.
UH, WE ARE ALSO PARTNERING WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCES, WHO, YOU KNOW, HAS PROBAB, HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN PAST, UM, UH, OUR THIR FUTURE 35 ENGAGEMENT, UM, AND TECHO OF COURSE, AND OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.
SO REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF THE, UM, FOLKS WHO HAVE COME TO THE TABLE THUS FAR.
AND WE'RE GONNA NEED EVERYBODY TO BE AT THE TABLE TO MOVE THIS PROJECT FORWARD.
REALLY EXCITING TO, TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS.
AND I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER SLIDES, BUT I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS FROM YOU ALL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
I'M SURE THERE WILL BE SOME QUESTIONS.
I HAVE A COUPLE, BUT LOOKING AT THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THEY WANNA JUMP IN WITH? WELL, THAT'S, WELL, WE'LL COME BACK THEN.
I, I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS, UM, PARTLY ABOUT PROCESS AND JUST SORT OF WONDERING WHERE YOUR ANSWERS THESE QUESTIONS I GET MIGHT BE A SMIDGE EARLY SINCE YOU SAID THE VISION OF GOALS ARE COMING UP SOON, BUT I THINK THAT WHEN IT GETS TIME TO ENGAGE THE DEEPER COMMUNITY, IT WOULD, IT WOULD BE A REALLY MISSED OPPORTUNITY IF THERE WEREN'T, UH, A LOT BETTER VISUALS OF WHAT THIS PACIFIC AMENITIES MIGHT BE.
YOU KNOW, THOSE OTHER EXAMPLES.
AND, AND YOU KNOW, TEXT.IN PARTICULAR HAS THROWN OUT KIND OF RANDOM THINGS THAT ARE JUST VERY NOT PLEASING.
SO, UM, SO I GUESS THE QUESTION IS, ARE THERE ANY VISUALS OF WHAT THIS SPACES MIGHT BE LIKE, EVEN IF THEY'RE TAKEN FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD THAT, YOU KNOW, BENCHMARKS AND THAT SORT OF THING? YES.
AND THAT'S A REALLY GOOD, GOOD COMMENT, AND THANK YOU FOR MAKING THAT.
UM, WE DO HAVE SOME, UH, RENDERINGS FROM OUR FEASIBILITY STAGE.
UH, WE WILL BE CREATING A LOT MORE IN THE NEXT, UH, COMING MONTHS AS WE GO THROUGH, UH, THE PROCESS OF REALLY DETERMINING WHAT COMMUNITY AMENITIES WE CAN PUT ON THESE CAPS AND STITCHES, AND WE GO THROUGH THAT ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
UM, IT IS OUR GOAL TO HAVE VERY ROBUST RENDERINGS AND ILLUSTRATIONS, UM, BECAUSE WE DO WANT IT TO COME ALIVE.
WE WANT PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO ENVISION THEMSELVES THERE AND BE ABLE TO ILLUSTRATE, YOU KNOW, THE POTENTIAL OF WHAT THESE CAPS AND STITCHES COULD BE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THE POINT IS VERY WELL TAKEN, AND YES, OUR INTENTION IS TO, UH, CREATE A LOT OF THOSE VISUALS, UH, FOR THE COMMUNITY TO, TO BE ABLE TO, TO UNDERSTAND THE POSSIBILITIES AND, AND REALLY THOSE VISUALS WILL HELP US GET FEEDBACK AS WELL.
I MEAN, I ASKED YOU THIS MIKE, SO JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THEY WEREN'T JUST, UH, LEFT OFF ACCIDENTALLY.
UM, AND THEN, UH, SO A QUESTION THEN SORT OF PHILOSOPHICALLY, AND YOU, YOU USED THE WORD CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND YOU ALSO USED THE WORD SORT OF CIVIC SPACE, AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS THAT THAT MAY, THAT MAY BE, MAY MANIFEST.
AND I GUESS MY SPECIFIC QUESTION IS, PHILOSOPHICALLY, IS THERE A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW MUCH OF THIS CAP IS A TRANSPORTATION SPACE? HOW MUCH OF IT IS A STATIC LINGERING SPACE, OR, OR PROBABLY HOW ARE THOSE BALANCED? YOU KNOW, IS IT THIS PART, THE VISUALIZATION VISUALIZATIONS WOULD COME IN HANDY? ARE THERE FOOD TRAILERS NEXT TO A BIKE TRAIL OR IS IT A PARK MUCH MORE LIKE YOU SEE THE WAY WATERLOO PARK HAS, YOU KNOW, SORT OF TURNED INTO A SPACE WITH A WINDING THING, YOU KNOW, IS THERE DISCUSSION OF THAT YET? NO, ACTUALLY, THOSE ARE THE EXACT CONVERSATIONS THAT, THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE LAUNCHING INTO IN 2023, AND WE'LL NEED TO HAVE ROBUST CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT.
SO YOU HIT ON A LOT OF THE TYPES OF AMENITIES AND TYPES OF DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'LL NEED TO HAVE.
EVERYTHING FROM GREEN SPACES, UM, YOU KNOW, DO WE WANT TO HAVE FOOD
[00:30:01]
COURT AREAS? DO WE WANNA HAVE A FARMER'S MARKET HAVE ONE AND TWO STORY BUILDINGS? WHAT WOULD BE IN THEM? UM, SO ALL OF THAT IS CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE YET TO COME, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE CRAFTING AND PREPARING FOR IN THE COMING MONTHS.AND 2023 IS GONNA BE THE TIMEFRAME FOR US TO REALLY LAUNCH INTO AND, UM, UH, WRAP OUR HEADS AROUND WHAT THOSE OPTIONS ARE AND THEN START TO COME UP WITH A PREFERRED SCENARIO, UM, THAT OUR COMMUNITY CAN ALL GET BEHIND.
UM, YOU, YOU MENTIONED AS WELL, THINGS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IS THIS A, A TRANSPORTATION FUNCTION? UM, YES.
I, I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE, UM, A VERY ROBUST BIKE PEDESTRIAN, UM, REALM, UM, BOTH IN THE, THE, THE BRIDGES, THE STITCHES, THE CAPS.
UM, WE ALSO NEED TO BE LOOKING AT TRANSIT.
UH, WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH CAP METRO TO LOOK AT HOW TO BEST SERVE THE NEW DESTINATIONS, UM, BUT ALSO OTHER ROUTES THAT MIGHT CROSS, UM, THE AMENITIES, UH, THE, THE NEW CAPS AND STITCHES, THE, UM, THE WORK THAT THE CITY AND CAP METRO HAS DONE FOR THE EQUITABLE TRANSFER, UH, T EQUITABLE T O D, EXCUSE ME.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT THAT AS SOME INSPIRATION AND A STARTING POINT FOR SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE'LL NEED TO HAVE AS WELL.
UM, SO WE DO WANT TO BUILD UPON, UH, THE EXPERTISE AND THE THINKING THAT THEY HAVE ALREADY CREATED AND SEE HOW WE CAN APPLY SOME OF THAT TO THESE CAPS AND STITCHES AS WELL.
SO WE DON'T KNOW JUST YET WHAT PERCENTAGES WILL BE.
YOU KNOW, BUILDING OR GREEN SPACE OR TRANSPORTATION, BUT ALL OF THAT WILL NEED TO BE DISCOVERED AND DISCUSSED AND FINALIZED IN THE NEXT YEAR.
YEAH, I MEAN, I, LISTENING TO IT, I FIGURED IN PROBABLY THESE ARE SMID, BUT AHEAD, JUST FIGURED I WERE TO ASK, UH, ONE MORE THING AND THEN I'LL THROW TO OTHER COMMISSIONERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN PARTICULARLY, I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED GENTRIFICATION AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DEAL WITH IT.
YOU KNOW, IT'S OBVIOUSLY A SUPER COMPLEX ISSUE.
I JUST WANNA THROW ONE SPECIFIC THING OUT THERE THAT WAS ATTEMPTED IN THE, IN THE LEDGE SEVERAL SESSIONS BACK.
I THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT IDEA AND IT ACTUALLY HAD A LITTLE BIT OF BIPARTISAN SUPPORT.
AND IT WAS, UM, WORKING FROM THE THEORY THAT ONE OF THE BIGGEST CAUSES OF GENTRIFICATION IS, UH, PARENTS AGING OUT.
THE PROPERTY TAX GOES WAY UP AND THE KIDS DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO PAY FOR IT.
AND DEVELOPERS COME IN AND THEY BUY PROPERTY VERSUS PEOPLE JUST SELL, JUST SELL.
IF PEOPLE WANNA SELL, THAT'S THEIR RIGHT.
THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO SELL WHENEVER THEY WANNA SELL.
UM, SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE THE CITY TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH PROPERTY TAX, UM, UH, THAT, THAT IT'S KIND OF REVERSE OF A CLIFF.
IT'S BEING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CLIFF.
YOU KNOW, YOUR PARENTS AIN'T OUT OF A PROPERTY OR THEY DIE.
YOU INHERIT A PIECE OF PROPERTY THAT HASN'T HAD ITS PROPERTY TAX GO UP IN 25 YEARS, AND THEN SUDDENLY IT'S, NOW IT'S UN IT'S UNSUSTAINABLE.
SO THAT MIGHT BE A, A, A, A THING TO LOOK AT FOR THOSE PROPERTIES RIGHT AROUND THERE.
YOU CAN IMAGINE FROM, THAT'S JUST TYPICALLY 11TH AND 12TH, ALL THE STREETS THERE THAT ARE NOW SUDDENLY NEAR A THOROUGHFARE WITH A NICE BIKE PATH THAT HAS A 3:00 AM SPONSORSHIP WITH THE, YOU KNOW, ET CETERA.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A THING I WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO LOOK AT.
AGAIN, MAYBE YOU CAN LOOK BACK AT THE LEGS AND SEE HOW IT FAILED AND SEE THERE MIGHT BE SOME POSSIBILITIES JUST TO THROW THAT OUT THERE.
AND THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE WILL, WE'LL ADD IN TO THE CONVERSATION.
UM, I AM AWARE OF SOME OF THOSE PAST CONVERSATIONS AND, UH, WE DO HAVE, UH, SOME OF THE, THE COORDINATION MECHANISMS, UM, TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UM, TO, TO HIGHLIGHT THAT AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT THOSE, THOSE PARTICULAR ITEMS. SO THANK YOU.
COMMISSIONERS LOOKING THEIR SCREEN? ANYBODY, ANYBODY HAVE THE QUESTION OR COMMENT? YES.
UM, YOUR SLIDES SHOW THAT THE HEIGHT OF STRUCTURES ON TOP OF THE CAPS AND STITCHES WOULD BE ONE TO TWO STORIES.
WHAT IF WE DECIDED WE BE IN THE COMMUNITY, DECIDED THAT THEY REALLY WANTED 10 STORY BUILDINGS ON TOPS OF THE CAPS AND STITCHES, WHAT WOULD BE THE BARRIERS? AND HAS TEX, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS TECH DOT GIVEN OUT A STRICT LIMIT? HAVE THEY SAID, WELL, YOU CAN NEGOTIATE IT, BUT YOU GOTTA PAY FOR IT.
WHY? WHAT'S THE SITUATION? WHY, WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO HAVING 10 STORIES? YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
THERE'S A, THERE'S A COUPLE OF, OF DIFFERENT, UM, MAJOR COMPONENTS TO KEEP IN MIND.
SO ONE IS, UM, A VERY TECHNICAL ONE, AND THAT IS, UM, THE, THE LARGER
[00:35:01]
STRUCTURE ON THE BUILDING, THE MORE LOADING HAS TO BE SUPPORTED, RIGHT? UM, SO DO WE HAVE SPACE TO MAKE THE COLUMNS WIDER, UM, FOR A LARGER STRUCTURE? DO WE HAVE THE, THE SPACE FOR AN ELEVATOR PIT, RIGHT? THAT, THAT ADDS SPACE BELOW THE, THE SURFACE LEVEL, UM, THAT NEEDS TO BE ACCOMMODATED.THAT'S ONE OF THE, THE MORE DIFFICULT, UM, COMPONENTS.
AND WE'RE LOOKING WITH SOME OF OUR, UM, STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS OR ARCHITECTS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO EXPLORE, UM, HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UH, WE, WE, SOME OF THE ANALYSIS THAT WAS DONE, UM, EARLY ON IN THE FEASIBILITY PHASE, UM, WHICH WAS RECOMMENDING THE ONE AND TWO STORY BUILDINGS, UM, PART OF THE CONFLICT THAT WE RAN INTO WITH ANYTHING ABOVE THAT WAS THAT ELEVATOR PIT, UM, KIND OF GOING DOWN BELOW THE, THE SPACE OF THE, THE BEAMS ABOVE WHERE THE CARS ARE.
AND SO KIND OF EATING INTO THAT CLEAR SPACE THAT WE NEED FOR CARS TO TRAVEL IN.
UM, SO THERE'S A WHOLE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT COMPONENTS THAT, UH, WILL DETERMINE, UM, HOW TALL OUR BUILDINGS CAN GET.
UH, WE FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE RIGHT NOW WITH ONE AND TWO STORY BUILDINGS.
CAN WE GO A LITTLE BIT HIGHER? WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO ASK THAT QUESTION AND EVALUATE IT.
UM, IT, AT THIS POINT, IT LOOKS VERY UNLIKELY THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO A 10 STORY BUILDING, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, BUT, UM, IT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT.
ANY, ANY FOLLOW UPS? UH, KI BURKES? NO, NO FOLLOW UP.
WELL, WELCOME FORWARD, UH, COMMISSIONER WEATHERBY.
UM, I, IF YOU WERE, IF YOU'VE READ THIS DOCUMENT AND WE'RE JUMPING INTO TO, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, WE'RE SORT OF AT THE END OF OUR QUESTION ANSWER SECTION.
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO ADD? I DON'T, I DID LOOK OVER IT ALL.
SO I'M STILL, AND I, I GUESS I'M JUST, UM, I, I'VE BEEN STRUGGLING WITH THIS PROJECT.
I'M STRUGGLING WITH THE WAY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS PROJECT.
UM, RIGHT NOW IN THE COMMUNITY.
I DON'T, I FEEL LIKE PEOPLE WORKING ON THE PROJECT ARE IN A VERY DIFFERENT PLACE THAN MOST PEOPLE I TALK TO OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, I'LL JUST PREFACE THAT, AND THIS IS NOT, UM, I HAVE REALLY STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT IT, BUT, UM, I THINK MY QUESTION IS, SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED TALKING ABOUT THIS PROJECT, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY GUIDELINES, LIKE NO HIRE, NO WIDER, YOU KNOW, NOT KNOCKING DOWN THINGS THAT ARE EXISTING NOW, CAPPING THE WHOLE THING.
AND IT JUST FEELS LIKE ALL OF THOSE, UM, UH, THINGS THAT WERE COMMUNICATED OR EXPRESSED OR LIKE JUST NOT, NOT BEING RESPECTED.
AND SO, UM, I I, I'M STRUGGLING WITH THIS AND, YOU KNOW, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S THE REAL PROSPECT THAT A LOT OF THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE CAPPED THROUGH CRUCIAL PARTS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, I, YOU, I'M, I THINK A LOT OF US WHO ADVOCATE FOR TRANSPORTATION AND SAFETY AND CLIMATE CHANGE AND THESE VARIOUS TOPICS ARE REALLY STRUGGLING WITH IS, IS THE BEST THING RIGHT NOW TO TRY TO PUSH ON TECH DOT AND STAFF TO TRY TO GET AS MUCH OF IT CAPPED AS POSSIBLE AND TO SORT OF MITIGATE WHAT WE SEE AS QUITE HONESTLY THE HARM OF THIS PROJECT, UM, OR TO JUST TRY TO FULL FORCE OPPOSE IT.
AND SO I'VE BEEN STRUGGLING WITH THAT QUESTION.
UM, I GUESS WHAT I'M REALLY ASKING IS, UM, WHAT IS THE PROSPECT? WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THIS, LET'S SAY FROM THE RIVER TO, UM, I DON'T KNOW, 51ST STREET AIRPORT, LET'S DO AIRPORT, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE HEIGHT RISING AND, AND THE SEPARATION.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THIS IS LIKELY TO BE CAPPED? HOW LIKELY ARE WE TO HONOR THE, UH, SORT OF REALLY, I FELT LIKE COMMITMENTS THAT WERE MADE BY TECHO SOME YEARS AGO TO NOT GO ANY HIGHER OR WIDER ON THIS PROJECT? YEAH.
THANK YOU FOR, FOR VOICING THAT.
UM, OF COURSE, TECHOS NOT HERE TO TALK ABOUT THEIR PROJECT SPECIFICALLY.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE BACK ALL OF THE COMMENTS TO THEM.
UM, I, I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THAT AREA, KIND OF LADY BIRD LAKE UP TO, I THINK
[00:40:01]
YOU SAID AIRPORT BOULEVARD, UM, THE CITY HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO AROUND 15, MAYBE 18 ACRES.UH, WE'RE STILL WORKING TO REFINE WHAT THAT IS WITH TECH DOT, AND THEN UT HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO ANOTHER 15 OR SO.
UM, I THINK OVERALL IT WOULD ADD UP TO ABOUT 30 ACRES OF CAPS AND STITCHES.
AND, UM, I, I THINK ONE THING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER WITH THE, THE CAP AND STITCH PROJECT ITSELF IS WHILE WE ARE VERY MUCH TIED TO THE TECH OP PROJECT, UM, WE ARE USING THE TECHO PROJECT FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE THE CAPS AND STITCHES.
UM, AND SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THEM ON, UH, GETTING, UH, VERY VALUABLE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ABLE TO CAP OVER THE HIGHWAY.
BUT I DO THINK THAT'S AN ONGOING CONVERSATION AND SOME OF THAT, UM, I, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE BACK DIRECTLY TO TEXT DOT BECAUSE I THINK SOME OF THAT, UM, THAT SENTIMENT THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT REALLY IS, UM, SOMETHING THAT THEY NEED TO BE, UM, HEARING AND NEED TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO AS WELL.
YEAH, THEY, THEY CAME A FEW, FEW MEETINGS AGO AND SORT OF REALLY PRESENTED IT AS A SOCIAL JUSTICE, JUSTICE AND EQUITY AND CLIMATE PRO, ALL THOSE THINGS, PROJECT, WHICH I STRUGGLED WITH.
UM, SO I THINK THAT, UM,
AND I REALLY WANNA UNDERSTAND, MAYBE YOU CAN HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT I KNOW YOU SAID ABOUT ACRES, BUT LIKE WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THAT LENGTH, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF IT WILL BE CAPPED, WHAT PERCENTAGE WILL BE STILL BE A HORRIFIC, DANGEROUS STINKING PIT THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE CITY? YEAH, I DON'T THINK WE'VE DONE ANY CALCULATION, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS PERCENTAGE GOES.
UM, I THINK THAT CAN'T BE DONE.
AND, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO, TO LOOK AT IT THROUGH THAT LENS, UM, AND BE REALLY HELPFUL TO ME.
AND, AND, UM, WE ARE IS, IS THIS, THIS PLAN IS WHERE WE'RE HEADED NOW, DO WE HAVE A PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE? WE DO, OR WE'RE CLOSE TO IT.
SO TECH DOT DID RELEASE THEIR DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, AND IT DOES HAVE THE MODIFIED ALTERNATIVE THREE AS THEIR PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.
AND SO, UM, THAT IS AVAILABLE UP ON THEIR WEBSITE NOW.
SO I'D SAY YES, WE DO HAVE A PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE AND THE DRAFT STATE, UM, THEIR INTENTION IS TO, UH, I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT DATE, BUT, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF THIS YEAR, UM, THEY WILL GO THROUGH THE PROCESS, UM, UH, TO FINALIZE THAT DECISION AND, AND THEY'LL HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEY'LL HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING, UM, ON, ON THE DRAFT E I S AND THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK AS WELL.
DOES A BOB HAVE TO RATIFY THAT? LIKE DOES CAMPO HAVE TO RATIFY THAT OR SOMEBODY? UM, THEY HAVE A, THEY HAVE A COMMISSION THAT WILL, WILL TAKE A VOTE ON IT
UM, BUT I, I REALLY THINK, YOU KNOW, I, I CAVEAT THAT TO SAY, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT A TEXT ON EXPERT, UM, AND I'M HAPPY TO GET YOU THE INFORMATION OF WHERE THEY HAVE THAT LINED OUT.
UM, BUT YES, THEY DO GO THROUGH, YOU KNOW, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, THEIR RATIFICATION PROCESS FOR IT.
CAN YOU, YOU CAN ANSWER ONE MORE QUESTION FOR ME.
IT'S NOT EXACTLY CAT, BUT IT'S PRETTY RELATED FOR THE, FOR THE MODIFIED THREE MM-HMM.
SO, UM, THE VAST MAJORITY OF WHAT THEY'RE DOING AS LOWERING THE LANES, THE MAIN LANES THROUGH, THEY WILL HAVE RAMPING UP AND DOWN, UM, FOR GETTING UP TO THE FRONTAGE ROADS, RIGHT? UM, AND THEY WILL HAVE ONE OR TWO LOCATIONS WHERE DUE TO ELEVATIONS, UM, THEY WILL, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE SOME BRIDGES THAT GO ACROSS AND SOME AREAS THAT WILL GO OVER AND UNDER.
SO IT'S A LITTLE COMPLEX TO TALK ABOUT.
UM, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE INTENT OF THE PROJECT IS TO LOWER THE, THE LANES AND THEY'RE, THEY ARE DOING THAT FOR, UH, QUITE A LONG STRETCH.
AND SO THEY ARE TAKING DOWN THE ELEVATED, UM,
[00:45:01]
STRUCTURES THAT WE HAVE TODAY AND LOWERING THAT EITHER TO GROUND LEVEL OR LOWER.UM, THERE ARE SOME LOCATIONS LIKE WHERE THE, THE RAIL CROSSES THAT THEY STILL HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE, UM, UH, SOME ELEVATION, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING, UH, GOOD RAMPING UP AND DOWN.
BUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY A TEXT DOT, UM, QUESTION.
I, I WANNA CAVEAT EVERYTHING TO SAY THAT, THAT THAT'S, TECH OT WOULD BE THE BEST PEOPLE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION, BUT I DO KNOW THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF WHAT THIS PROJECT INTENT IS, IS TO LOWER THE MAIN LANES.
I KNOW, I KNOW MY QUESTIONS PROBABLY AREN'T THAT EASY, SO I APPRECIATE YOU ANSWERING THEM.
WELL, I SAY THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP TO, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF MS. DANIELS KNOWS WE AS THE BODY, UH, PRODUCED A COUPLE OF RECOMMENDATIONS STRONGLY PO OPPOSED TO REALLY THIS WHOLE PLAN, YOU KNOW, IN AN IDEAL WORLD, IS IT GONNA BE BETTER, YOU KNOW, IS IT POSSIBLE TO ENVISION A BETTER I 35? SURE.
UM, IS IT WORTH IT TO TRY THIS PLAN? I MEAN, WE'VE, WE'VE DECIDED IT'S NOT, BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT SAID, SO I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THAT UP AGAIN, SUSAN, SO THAT IT'S, IT'S A TRUE STATEMENT.
UM, I WANNA KNOW IF ANY OF THE PEOPLE ON THE COMMITTEE STEERING COMMISSION, UM, ACTUALLY LIKE CROSS I 35 ON A REGULAR BASIS ON FOOT OR BY BIKE OR IN ANY OTHER WAY OTHER THAN BY CAR? THAT'S SECOND QUESTION IS ONE THAT WE HAVEN'T ASKED THEM SPECIFICALLY.
UM, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN, A ASK OF THAT COMMITTEE, UM, TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THEY TRAVEL.
SEEING NONE, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND FOR THE PRESENTATION.
[3. Discussion and possible action on Austin Core Transportation Plan Presenter: Dan Hennessy, Austin Transportation Department]
NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, MR. DAN HENNESSY WILL TELL US ABOUT, UM, THE COURT TRANSPORTATION PLAN, WHICH IS LISTED FOR DISCUSSION AND ALSO ACTION.THANKS MARIO AND CHRIS, I'LL SHARE MY SCREEN AND CONTROL THE PRESENTATION FROM HERE.
UM, WANTED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TODAY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
IT'S AN EFFORT THAT'S STOPPED AND STARTED A COUPLE TIMES SINCE IT INITIALLY KICKED OFF A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
UH, BUT WITH THE PROGRESS THAT BOTH TECHSTAR IS MAKING ON THE CAPITAL EXPRESS CENTRAL PROJECT AND THAT THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP IS MAKING ON PROJECT CONNECT, UH, WE ARE SPURRED TO GET OUR DUCKS IN A ROW ABOUT WHAT THE SURFACE STREETS DOWNTOWN ARE GOING TO LOOK LIKE, WHAT THEY'RE INTENDED TO DO, AND HOW TO CREATE, UH, COMPLETE MODAL NETWORKS THAT ARE, UH, ALIGNED WITH BOTH OUR URBAN DESIGN AND OUR, UH, MOBILITY GOALS.
UH, ESPECIALLY WITH THE CONTEXT OF THE DOWNTOWN CORE.
UH, SO I'M GONNA TALK TODAY ABOUT, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WHY WE'RE DOING IT.
UM, THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE USING TO GO THROUGH IT, HOW WE'RE GONNA DELIVER ON THIS PROJECT AND WHAT'S GONNA COME OUT OF IT.
UM, WE'RE ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE PROJECT SO FAR, SO I'M GONNA RECAP A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'VE HEARD SO FAR AND SOME OF THE WORK WE'VE DONE, AND THEN GIVE EVERYBODY AN UPDATE ON, UH, TIMELINE FOR, UM, NEXT STEPS, INCLUDING, UM, SOME OF THE ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE COMING UP AS PART OF THE SECOND PHASE OF OUR OUTREACH PROCESS.
SO THE ACT PLAN IS REALLY A REVIEW OF, UH, THIS CORE OF THE CITY, UM, BOUNDED BY I 35 TO THE EAST MARTIN LUTHER KING DRIVE TO THE, UH, NORTH LAMAR BOULEVARD TO THE WEST, AND LADYBIRD LAKE TO THE SOUTH.
UH, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PLANS AND PROJECTS THAT HAVE STUDIED THIS AREA, HAVE, UM, SUGGESTIONS ABOUT WHAT IT SHOULD BE, HAVE DICTATED WHAT IT SHOULD BE.
MANY OF THOSE DOCUMENTS DO NOT SPEAK TO ONE ANOTHER, UM, NOR DO MOST OF THEM HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT'S HAPPENING RELATED TO I 35 AND PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, AND SO THIS WAS A MAJOR OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, ALIGN ALL OF THOSE DOCUMENTS AND BRING IT INTO WHAT WE KNOW.
UM, AT THE START OF 2023, UM, SOME OF THESE DOCUMENTS ARE AS OLD AS THE TURN OF THE MILLENNIA.
UM, THE GRAY STREETS MASTER PLAN WAS ADOPTED IN 2001, DOWNTOWN ACCESS AND MOBILITY PLAN, 2002, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN 2011.
SOME MORE RECENT PROJECTS INCLUDE, UM, THIS PARKING STRATEGY IN 2018 AND THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN IN 2019.
BUT WHAT THOSE PRO NONE OF THESE PROJECTS DO, EVERYTHING THAT WE WANT THE ACT PLAN
[00:50:01]
TO DO, WHICH IS TO CREATE MODAL NETWORKS FOR VEHICLES, PEDESTRIANS, CYCLISTS, AND MICRO MOBILITY AND TRANSIT RIDERS THAT ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THE CONSTRAINTS OF THE RIGHT OF WAY.UM, THE CLOSEST THAT DO THIS ARE THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, WHICH CREATE, CREATES COMPLETE MODAL NETWORKS.
BUT IF WE BUILT EVERYTHING THAT WAS SUGGESTED IN THOSE MO MODAL NETWORKS IN THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, WE WOULD REQUIRE 110 TO 120 FEET OF SPACE ON SOME STREETS.
AND THROUGH THE DOWNTOWN GRID, WE HAVE 80.
AND THEN THE GRAY STREETS MASTER PLAN ALSO DOES A GREAT JOB OF FIGURING OUT WHAT TO DO IN THAT 80 FEET.
UM, BUT IT DOES NOT, UM, ACCOMMODATE TRANSIT NOR CYCLISTS AND MICRO MOBILITY USERS, UM, BASED ON THE BEST PRACTICES THAT WE KNOW NOW.
AND SO WE'RE REVIEWING ALL OF THOSE TO COME UP WITH CONSTRAINED CROSS-SECTIONS FOR ESSENTIALLY MOST OF OUR KEY CORRIDORS DOWNTOWN.
UM, THAT WOULD BOTH COMPLETE CREATE COMPLETE NETWORKS, UM, BUT ALSO BE FEASIBLE WITHIN THE SPACE THAT'S ALLOTTED AND KIND OF COMPLY WITH BOTH THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL AND NAT NATIONAL BEST PRACTICES.
UM, OUT OF THAT, WE ARE GOING TO, UM, HAVE THAT LIST OF PROJECTS, BUT THEN ALSO IDENTIFY AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT ALIGNS WITH BOTH THE PROJECT CONNECT AND POTENTIAL I 35 TIMELINES, AS WELL AS OUR ABILITY TO FUND THESE IMPROVEMENTS.
I WOULD SAY MOST SE SEVERAL OF THESE IMPROVEMENTS ARE GONNA INVOLVE MOVING CURBS.
THESE ARE NOT, UH, LIKELY TO ONLY BE SIGNING AND STRIPING PROJECTS THAT ARE GONNA BE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT, SIGNIFICANT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS THAT COME OUT OF THIS.
AND, AND ANOTHER KEY ASPECT OF THIS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HEAR, AGAIN FROM THE COMMUNITY, UM, THAT THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UM, APPROVED A MULTIMODAL MOBILITY BOND IN 2016.
WE ADOPTED A VERY MULTIMODAL STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN IN 2019.
THE PUBLIC VOTED ON A HUGE TRANSIT BOND IN 2020, AS WELL AS A, UM, MULTIMODAL MOBILITY BOND.
UM, BUT AGAIN, WE WANNA KEEP CONFIRMING THAT, UM, PEOPLE REALIZE THE, UH, WHAT WHAT'S GONNA COME OUT OF THOSE DECISIONS AND, AND KIND OF CONFIRM AGAIN AS WE BRING THEM ALONG THE PROCESS OF THIS IS WHAT THOSE MULTIMODAL INVESTMENTS LOOK LIKE.
UM, PLEASE HELP US REFINE THEM AND, AND GET US TO A PATH WHERE WE'RE, UH, IMPLEMENTING THESE PROJECTS.
SO WE, WE PAUSED THIS IN 2020, UH, AS A RESULT OF TWO THINGS.
ONE IS THAT COVID HIT AND ALL OF A SUDDEN WE WEREN'T SURE WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH DOWNTOWN.
WE WERE ALSO, UH, IN THE SPRING OF 2020, STEAMROLLING TOWARDS THE NOVEMBER ELECTION THAT INCLUDED PROJECT CONNECT AND WAS GOING TO DRASTICALLY CHANGE WHAT, UH, THE AUSTIN COURT TRANSPORTATION PLAN MIGHT NEED TO DO, UM, THAT AMOUNT OF WORK, UH, YOU KNOW, WE STILL WEREN'T SURE, UH, THAT THEN LED TO FURTHER UNCERTAINTY AROUND I 35 AND WAITING FOR THAT.
AND SO WE REALLY KICKED THIS OFF IN EARNEST, UM, LAST YEAR, MOSTLY WITH INTERNAL STAFF WORK TO AGAIN, KIND OF DO OUR EXISTING CONDITIONS AND DATA COLLECTION AND GET OUR DUCKS IN A ROW ABOUT WHAT ALL THOSE PREVIOUS DOCUMENTS I I HAD SHOWN YOU ACTUALLY SAID, UM, WHILE ALSO REVIEWING SOME BEST PRACTICES FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY AND FRANKLY AROUND THE WORLD, UH, IN TERMS OF HOW TO CREATE, UM, SUSTAINABLE MULTI MOBILITY NETWORK IN, UH, CONSTRAINED AREAS OF AN URBAN CENTER.
UM, SO AGAIN, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE, WE'RE UPDATING ALL OF THOSE PREVIOUS DOCUMENTS AND CREATING THIS PLAN WITH THE LATEST ON OTHER TRANSPORTATION EFFORTS, UM, UH, AROUND THE AREA.
AND AN OUTCOME OF THIS IS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THOSE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES.
SO ONE ELEMENT OF THE ACT PLAN IS TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO TEXT DOT ON THE I 35 CAPITAL EXPRESS CENTRAL PROJECT.
UM, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THAT COMES FRUITION IN, IN A FEW MOMENTS.
SAME WITH THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AS THEY'RE CONSIDERING, UM, DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THEIR DESIGNS AROUND SOME OF THE SURFACE STREETS THAT THEY'RE CREATING ON, UM, SANTO AND TRINITY AND FOURTH STREET, AND SOME OTHER KIND OF COMPLIMENTARY PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING CONSIDERED.
UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO PARTNER WITH THE DAA WHO HAVE HELPED US, UM, ENGAGE A WIDE SWATH OF COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS.
WE'VE IDENTIFIED MORE THAN 80 DIFFERENT, UM, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE HAVE TALKED TO AND OR MET WITH, UM, THAT A, A NUMBER OF THEM ARE HELPING US GET THE WORD OUT ON THIS AND, AND HELPING US, UH, GROW OUR OUTREACH AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HITTING AS MANY PEOPLE AS WE CAN ALONG THIS, UH, EFFORT.
LIKE I SAID, THIS IS GONNA INVOLVE SOME CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, SO WE WANNA UNDERSTAND THE POTENTIAL FUNDING REQUIRED TO DO THAT.
UM, IT'S ALSO A FOLLOW UP ITEM IN THE AS AND P.
UM, AND SO WE ARE, WE ARE FOLLOWING THROUGH ON THOSE POLICY PRIORITIES FROM THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN TO UPDATE, UM, A DOWNTOWN MOBILITY PLAN.
[00:55:01]
AS FAR AS WHAT WE'VE DONE, I MENTIONED THE KIND EXISTING CONDITIONS AND, AND DATA COLLECTION PROCESS.ESSENTIALLY WHAT CAME OUT OF THAT WAS A LONG NEEDS ASSESSMENT, UM, TO MEET OUR AS S AND P GOALS, WHETHER THAT WAS FOR INDIVIDUAL STREETS, WHAT FACILITIES ARE BEING LACKED OR FOR THE NETWORK AS A WHOLE IN TERMS OF OUR INABILITY TO FUNCTIONALLY CREATE THOSE NETWORKS.
UM, SOME OF THIS ALSO REFLECTED THE DESIGN STANDARDS THAT ARE IN BOTH THE GREAT STREETS, UH, MASTER PLAN, UH, AS WELL AS THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL, WHERE MAYBE SOME OF THOSE, UM, UPDATED, UH, CRITERIA DON'T NECESSARILY STRICTLY APPLY TO, UM, DOWNTOWN AREAS.
AND SO, UH, THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT REALLY HELPED US IDENTIFY WHERE WE WERE LACKING IN TERMS OF OUR ABILITY TO IMPLEMENT THE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT, UM, WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS BASED ON OUR CURRENT ADOPTED DOCUMENTS AND POLICIES.
WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IS REVIEWING, UM, UH, THOSE OTHER, UH, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT, UH, I'VE MENTIONED INCLUDING, UM, 2016 MOBILITY BOND PROJECTS, 2020 MOBILITY BOND PROJECTS, THE LATEST SCHEMATIC, INCLUDING THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE THAT SUSAN MENTIONED, UH, ON THE CAPITAL EXPRESS PROJECT, AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF, UM, DESIGN SCENARIOS THAT THE, THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP IS WORKING ON RELATED TO PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, WE'RE ALSO WORKING THROUGH, UH, SOME TRAFFIC MODELING TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE IN THE AS S P AND IN IN SOME OF THE OTHER DOCUMENTS TO, UM, ENSURE THAT SOME OF THESE POTENTIAL PROJECTS SHOULD BE CARRIED FORWARD FOR FURTHER EVALUATIONS.
ESSENTIALLY, COMING OUT OF THIS, WE ARE GONNA HAVE THREE SETS OF RECOMMENDATION.
ONE IS AN IDENTIFICATION OF EXISTING POLICIES THAT STILL CONFLICT WITH OUR OVERALL GOALS AND WHERE WE NEED TO AMEND THOSE, UM, SOME PROGRAMMATIC ELEMENTS TO, UM, CHANGING MOBILITY DOWNTOWN.
THAT CAN INCLUDE SOME PARKING STRATEGIES, UM, AND OTHER, UM, UH, ON A POLICY LEVEL, UH, BUT IMPLEMENTABLE, UM, CHANGES TO OUR MOBILITY, UH, OUTCOMES AS, AND THEN AS I MENTIONED, SPECIFIC PROJECTS, WHICH WILL INCLUDE CROSS-SECTIONS, UM, TIED TO THOSE CONSTRAINED AREAS THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.
SO THIS IS KIND OF OUTLINE OF OUR PROCESS.
THE GREEN WAS REALLY PHASE ONE WHERE WE WERE DOING THAT DATA COLLECTION AND EXISTING CONDITIONS AND REVIEWING ALL THE EXISTING DOCUMENTS.
PHASE TWO HAS BEEN US INTERNALLY AS A TEAM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT COMBINATIONS OF DIMENSIONS FOR SOME OF THE DIFFERENT STREET ELEMENTS, UM, GET US TO FEASIBLE MODAL NETWORKS, UM, INCLUDING THAT INCLUDES SOME PROJECTS FROM THE AS S AND P, UM, THAT ARE, ARE TRANSIT PRIORITY PROJECTS WHERE NO CHANGES ARE CURRENTLY PLANNED OR DESIGNED, BUT THEY'VE BEEN IDENTIFIED FOR FUR FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS, UH, A COMPLETE BICYCLE AND MICRO MOBILITY NETWORK, UM, AND SOME STREET CONVERSIONS, BOTH THE GREAT STREETS MASTER PLAN AND THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
UH, IDENTIFY A NUMBER OF STREETS TO BE CONVERTED FROM ONE WAY TO TWO-WAY, UM, THAT IN INCLUDES SOME, UH, ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES RELATED TO BEING ABLE TO FIT EVERYTHING ON A STREET AND HAVE IT FUNCTION LIKE IT NEEDS TO.
UM, AND SO WE'RE FURTHER REFINING THAT, UM, UH, TO, TO DEVELOP ADDITIONAL PROJECT OPTIONS TO REVIEW WITH THE COMMUNITY.
AND I WANNA SHARE, UM, THIS IS A SAMPLE PROJECT FROM PORTLAND, OREGON THAT, UM, ESSENTIALLY IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO EMULATE IT.
UH, THE OUTCOME OF IT WAS A LIST OF 18 PROJECTS THAT IDENTIFIED A CONSTRAINED CROSS SECTION, THE EXTENTS OF WHERE THOSE PROJECTS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE, UM, WHY THESE CROSS SECTIONS WERE CHOSEN, UM, ROUGH COST ESTIMATES AND REALLY HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT COME ALONG WITH IT.
THERE'S ALSO A COUPLE OF MAPS AS PART OF THIS THAT STITCH ALL THESE PROJECTS TOGETHER, UM, TO REALLY SHOW HOW THEY CREATE A, UH, BOTH CONSISTENT, UH, BUT ALSO SAFE, UH, MOBILITY NETWORK, UH, INDEPENDENT OF THE MODE THAT YOU'RE ON.
AND THEN AGAIN, THAT KIND OF THE LIST OF PROJECTS COMES TOGETHER TO CREATE A FULL SET OF, UM, PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WILL HELP US IDENTIFY THE LEVEL OF FUNDING NEEDED TO TAKE THE POLICIES SET FORTH IN THE GRAY STREETS MASTER PLAN AND THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, AND ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT THEM, UH, IN THE COMING YEARS.
THIS IS ALSO HELPFUL TO PROVIDE INPUT TO BOTH, UH, TECH DOT AND TO THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP ON PROJECTS WHERE THEY'RE AFFECTING, UH, SOME OF THE FACILITIES THAT, UH, ARE OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND WE CAN GIVE THEM DIRECT FEEDBACK AS TO HOW TO PUT THEM BACK, UM, HOW TO INCORPORATE THESE PROJECTS INTO THEIR PROJECTS.
UM, AND WHAT OTHER, UM, ASPECTS DO WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND AS WE BOTH PROVIDE FEEDBACK, BUT ALSO FRANKLY NEGOTIATE
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ON SOME OF THE, UH, CHANGES IN THE RIGHT OF WAY THAT ARE GONNA OCCUR.LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'VE BEEN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE HAS BEEN A GREAT STRATEGIC PARTNER.
WE'VE HAD, UH, MORE THAN 20 PUBLIC EVENTS IN COMMUNITY MEETINGS IN THE FIRST PHASE THAT OCCURRED MOSTLY AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR.
UM, WE ARE TRYING TO, UH, BE AS CONSCIOUS OF ALL THE OTHER ONGOING EFFORTS DOWNTOWN, SO WE'RE COMBINING ON ENGAGEMENT EVENTS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE COLLABORATING WITH OUR OTHER CITY PARTNERS.
UM, WE ALSO IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FOCUS POPULATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, WEREN'T ONLY TALKING TO, FRANKLY MIDDLE TO UPPER CLASS OFFICE WORKERS DOWNTOWN.
UM, SO WE HAVE MADE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO, UM, ADVERTISE IN BLACK AND HISPANIC POP, UM, PUBLICATIONS.
WE HAVE MADE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO BE AT MUSIC VENUES AND, UM, TALKING TO SOME OF THE DIFFERENT MUSICIAN ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE DOWNTOWN.
WE HAVE TALKED TO, UH, HOTEL STAFF, UH, FROM ACROSS DOWNTOWN.
WE HAVE TALKED TO JANITORIAL STAFF FROM ACROSS DOWNTOWN.
UM, FEEL LIKE WE HAVE GOTTEN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ABOUT NOT JUST THE INFRASTRUCTURE FROM SEVEN TO 9:00 AM AND FOUR TO 7:00 PM BUT ALSO WHAT HAPPENS AT MIDNIGHT ON A TUESDAY NIGHT AFTER YOUR RESTAURANT CLOSES OR YOUR SHIFT ENDS AT, AT THE HOTEL THAT YOU'RE WORKING AT, OR, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT DO WEEKENDS LOOK LIKE FOR STAFF MEMBERS OF DIFFERENT, UM, BUSINESSES.
UM, SO THAT, THAT HAS BEEN REALLY HELPFUL TO KIND OF ROUND OUT OUR PERSPECTIVE ON, ON THESE.
UM, THE GEOGRAPHY OF THESE EVENTS HAVE BEEN SPREAD ACROSS DOWNTOWN, AND THIS IS BASED ON, UH, THE DOWNTOWN PLAN AND THE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS THAT THAT HAD IDENTIFIED.
UH, WE MADE IT OUT TO PEACE PARK.
WE WERE AT THE BULLOCK, WE WERE AT WATERLOO FOR HAM DAY, UM, AND EVENT AT THE MAC.
UM, SO A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT EVENTS FROM AROUND DOWNTOWN, UM, THROUGHOUT THE FIRST PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT WORK, CURRENTLY WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS TO, UH, DEVELOP THAT EVENT LIST FOR PHASE TWO.
AND WE EXPECT IT TO BE MORE EXTENSIVE THAN THE FIRST PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THAT FIRST PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT, WE ALSO RELEASED A SURVEY THAT GOT MORE THAN 2100 RESPONSES, UM, WHICH WE WERE VERY HAPPY ABOUT.
IT EXCEEDED OUR GOALS SIGNIFICANTLY.
UM, FOR REFERENCE, THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN UPDATE THAT OCCURRED LAST YEAR, UM, HAD JUST ABOUT A THOUSAND, UM, RESPONSES TO OUTREACH.
SO OUR PARTNERS DID A REALLY GOOD JOB OF HELPING US GET ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK ON THIS.
UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE ASKED WAS, WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF DOWNTOWN STREETS FOR YOU? AND ACROSS, UM, THOSE FOCUSED POPULATIONS I MENTIONED THERE WAS A STRONG PREFERENCE FOR SAFE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE AND MICRO MOBILITY, UH, ACCOMMODATION.
SO WE'RE TALKING PROTECTED BICYCLE AND MICRO MOBILITY LANES, WIDE SIDEWALKS TO THE GREAT STREET STANDARDS THAT INCLUDE ACTIVE BUILDING, FRONTAGES AND STREET TREE AND FURNITURE ZONES, UM, THAT, THAT ARE, UM, UN ALLOWED AS OF THE DOWNTOWN STREETS, ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTHERN SECTION OF DOWNTOWN WHERE THERE'S BEEN A, A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT, ESPECIALLY A PART OF THE, UH, THE REDEVELOPMENT.
BUT REALLY, UH, AGAIN, JUST HIGHLIGHTING AGAIN, HOW MUCH PEOPLE REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, KIND OF THE B THE BEHIND THE CURB FACILITIES FOR EITHER, UM, PEOPLE WALKING, YOU KNOW, AT THE KIND OF THREE MILE AN HOUR PACE OR THE, THIS MICRO MOBILITY SCOOTER AND CYCLISTS AT THE 10 TO 15 MILE AN HOUR PACE.