[CALL TO ORDER ]
[00:00:02]
WE WILL HOLD JUST A MOMENT.IT IS JANUARY 18TH, 2023, AND IT IS FIVE FORTY ONE.
I CALL THE MEETING OF THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION TO ORDER.
UH, THE FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS IS TO CHECK THE ROLL.
PLEASE RESPOND IF YOU ARE HERE.
AND, UH, DOES EVERYBODY ONLINE, UH, EVERYBODY'S MIC'S ON.
UH, COMMISSIONER ISHMAEL? HERE.
UH, COMMISSIONER WEAVER IS, HAS AN EXCUSED ABSENCE.
COMMISSIONER TAYLOR? UH, SHE RESIGNED, DIDN'T SHE? WOULD THAT BE CONSIDERED AN EXCUSED EXCUSE? UH, COMMISSIONER WEATHERBY, I BELIEVE, HAD AN EXCUSED ABSENCE.
UH, AND COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ HERE.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH AGAIN.
IT'S GOOD TO SEE EVERYBODY'S FACES BOTH HERE AND ONLINE.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY HERE FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? NOBODY.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
THE NEXT ITEM IS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.HAS EVERYBODY HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE MINUTES? DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR CHANGES THAT THEY FEEL NEED TO BE MADE? I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
WITH REGARD TO THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, UM, PRESENTATION THAT WAS MADE, IT SHOWS ON THE MINUTES THAT YOU MOVED TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION OR THE, UM, QUESTION.
AND I DIDN'T, I THOUGHT YOU WERE ONE OF THE ONES THAT VOTED AGAINST.
AND SO THAT, THAT'S A CORRECTION THAT WOULD NEED TO BE MADE THAT I DID NOT MOVE TO SUPPORT.
YOU WEREN'T ALONE,
UM, WITH THAT, UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER CHANGES OR COMMENTS IN REGARD TO THE MINUTES? HEARING NONE.
I MEAN, THE MINUTE STAND IS AMENDED.
[2. Staff briefing on Plan: Assessing mobility and right-of-way options for Downtown by Dan Brooks, Austin Transportation Department. ]
THE FIRST ITEM IS, UH, STAFF.WELL, LET ME JUST GO BACK AND CHECK ONE THING.
I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE GONE BACK AND CHECKED ON THIS, UH, WHEN WE HAD THE, WHEN I DID THE ROLL.
UH, BUT I KNOW A NUMBER OF FOLKS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE NO LONGER ON THE DIAS.
AND SO YOUR TERMS WILL EXPIRE AT THE END OF FEBRUARY.
UM, AND YOU CAN STAY AS A HOLDOVER, IF NOT REPLACED FOR UP TO TWO MONTHS.
SO IF YOU'RE, IF THE COUNCIL MEMBER THAT APPOINTED YOU HAS NOT FILLED YOUR SPOT, YOU WOULD, YOU COULD CONTINUE FOR TWO MONTHS IF YOU CHOSE TO DO SO.
AM I, CHRISTINE, MONA, AM I CORRECT ON THAT? YES.
SO THOSE OF YOU WHO THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE LEAVING US MIGHT BE STAYING WITH US A LITTLE WHILE LONGER.
[00:05:01]
UM, IF, IF Y'ALL HAVE REACHED OUT TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, FOR A REAPPOINTMENT, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL BECAUSE I, I ENJOY WORKING WITH EACH OF YOU.UM, SO ANYHOW, PLEASE DO CHECK WITH YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, AND, UH, IF YOU WEREN'T REPLACED, WE, WE HOPE TO CONTINUE TO SEE YOU FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
NOW, THE FIRST STAFF BRIEFING ITEM IS, UM, THE ASSESSMENT MOBILITY AND RIGHT OF WAY OPTION FOR DOWNTOWN BY DAN BROOKS, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.
AND WE ARE VIRTUALLY PRESENTING.
IF YOU CAN HEAR ME IN THE ROOM.
THIS IS DAN HENNESSY WITH THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.
UNFORTUNATELY, DAN BROOKS COULDN'T BE THERE TONIGHT, BUT I'M THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR THIS, THIS EFFORT, AND I CAN PROVIDE THE PRESENTATION AND UPDATE TO THE COMMISSION.
IF YOU'RE GONNA SHARE THE PRESENTATION, LET ME KNOW, OR IF I CAN CONTROL IT FROM HERE, I'M HAPPY TO DO SO.
AND ONCE YOU'RE READY, WE CAN JUMP RIGHT TO THE SECOND SLIDE.
UH, WHAT, WHAT OUTLINED TONIGHT IS AN EFFORT BY THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TO, UM, POTENTIALLY AMEND AND, UM, REALLY CORRECT A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT CONFLICTING DOCUMENTS, UM, WHILE ALSO COORDINATING SEVERAL ONGOING MAJOR MOBILITY EFFORTS FROM OTHER, UH, PARTNERS, UM, RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION AND, AND AFFECTING DOWNTOWN.
I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY WE'RE DOING THAT AND HOW WE GOT TO THIS POINT.
UM, HOW WE'RE GONNA DO IT, WHAT THE END PRODUCT IS GONNA LOOK LIKE, WHAT WE'VE LEARNED SO FAR FROM OUR ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS AND SOME OF OUR BACKGROUND RESEARCH, AND THEN WHAT WE'RE DOING NEXT, AND, UM, HOW THIS COMMISSION MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP US MOVING FORWARD.
UH, AND ALSO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE'LL BE BACK TO YOU IN THE FUTURE WITH AN UPDATE, UM, DURING SOME ADDITIONAL RESULTS AND A, AND A DRAFT PLAN THAT THAT'LL BE ROLL FOR, UH, THE PRESENTATION THIS EVENING.
THAT SHOULD TAKE, UH, 15 OR 20 MINUTES OR SO.
UH, SO THE ACLI IS A STUDY OF OUR MOBILITY OPTIONS THROUGH, WITHIN, INTO AND OUT OF DOWNTOWN.
UM, WE ARE CONSIDERING THE AREA BOUNDED, UH, IN THE IMAGE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN WHERE 35, UH, THE LAKE LAMAR BOULEVARD AND MLK ARE OUR BOUNDARIES.
UM, REALLY THIS IS DEFINED AS A RESULT OF A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT, UH, EFFORTS.
ONE IS THAT, UH, IT HAS, UH, HISTORY AND OTHER PLANNING DOCUMENTS THAT WE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST, UM, INCLUDING THE GREAT STREETS MASTER PLAN, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN, AND THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PARKING STRATEGY.
UH, IT ALSO IS A CORE REGION OF THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
UM, AND SO, UH, IT MADE SENSE FOR THIS, FOR THIS EFFORT TO FOCUS ON, ON THIS AREA SPECIFICALLY.
THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT IT'S NOT CONSIDERING SOME OF THE, UH, BOUNDARY STREETS AND, AND ENTRYWAYS INTO, ESPECIALLY THOSE BRIDGES ACROSS THE LAKE AND CONNECTIONS, UH, ACROSS THE INTERSTATE, UH, AS WELL AS CONNECTIONS TO UT ON THE NORTH SIDE.
UH, BUT THIS IS OUR, OUR FOCUS AREA FOR THIS EFFORT.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, REVIEWED A NUMBER OF PLANS AND, AND FOUND SOME CONFLICTS AND HAVE, FRANKLY, SOME CONFLICTS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION, SPECIFICALLY BETWEEN THE GREEK STREETS MASTER PLAN, UH, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN, AND THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE ISSUES WHERE IF WE DID EVERYTHING THAT ALL OF THOSE DOCUMENTS SAID WE WOULD NEED ANOTHER 30 OR 40 STREET, UH, FEET ON, ON EACH OF THESE STREETS TO ACCOMMODATE, UM, THE PRIORITIES THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THOSE PLANNING DOCUMENTS.
AND SO, WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WITH THIS WAS, UM, AS A RESULT OF ONGOING EFFORTS ON THE EAST SIDE, ON I 35 AND ON THE SOUTHERN AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE DISTRICT WITH PROJECT CONNECT, UM, REALLY GET OUR DUCKS IN A ROW WITH RESPECT TO WHAT WE EXPECT THESE STREETS TO DO IN THE FUTURE, SO THAT WE COULD COMMUNICATE ON BOTH OF THOSE EFFORTS AS TO WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T LIVE WITH, UM, AS THOSE ENTITIES CH POTENTIALLY CHANGE OUR STREETS, UM, AND ALSO THEN BUILD TOWARDS A FUTURE AND CREATE MODAL NETWORKS THAT MAKE SENSE AND, AND ARE COMPLETE THROUGH THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
UM, A BIG PART OF THIS IS TO WORK TOWARDS WHAT IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE PROJECTS MIGHT LOOK LIKE, AND TO CONTINUE TO BRING THE COMMUNITY ALONG AND CONFIRM WITH THE COMMUNITY THAT, UH, THE THINGS THEY'VE TOLD US IN THE PAST CONTINUE TO BE WHAT THEY WANT AND, AND FOR US TO SHOW THEM WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN TERMS OF POTENTIAL DESIGN OPTIONS.
THE, WE STARTED THIS EFFORT IN 2019.
WE PAUSED IT IN 2020 FOR TWO REASONS.
[00:10:01]
PANDEMIC CHANGED EVERYONE'S PRIORITIES, UH, AND CREATED SOME NEEDS FROM STAFFING IN OTHER AREAS.THE SECOND IS THAT IT BECAME CLEAR THAT PROJECT CONNECT WAS GONNA HEAD TO, UH, BALLOT EFFORT, AND WE NEEDED TO WAIT AND SEE THE IMPACTS OF THAT, UH, ON THIS STUDY.
UH, SO WE RESTARTED IN EARLY 2022 WHEN WE HAD A BETTER IDEA, UM, PULL IT PLEASE.
UM, WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO UPDATE WITH THE LATEST ON THE DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES THAT TECH DOT WAS PRESENTING WITH CAP, UH, CAPITAL EXPRESS CENTRAL EFFORT, UM, ONGOING, AND AN UPDATED EFFORTS FROM THE 2016 MOBILITY BOND AND THE LATEST FROM PROJECT CONNECT.
THE GOAL WAS, AGAIN, TO ALLOW US TO KNOW WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO TO COMPLIMENT THOSE EFFORTS, BUT ALSO THEN BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A COHERENT SET OF FEEDBACK FOR THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AND FOR TECH DOT, UM, BOTH INFORMALLY AS THEY WORKED WITH US AS PARTNERS, BUT ALSO FORMALLY IN, IN THE FORM OF COMMENT, LETTERS ON, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTATION AND, AND OTHER, UM, FORMAL EFFORTS AS PART OF THEIR APPROVAL PROCESSES.
THE DAA HAS ALSO BEEN A KEY PARTNER FOR US IN TERMS OF ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS DOWNTOWN.
THEY HELP US IDENTIFY MORE THAN 80 ORGANIZATIONS TO MEET WITH CONTACT WITH, UM, HELP DISTRIBUTE OUR INFORMATION TO HELP ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY, AND WE'VE BEEN REALLY APPRECIATIVE OVER THERE FOR SO FAR.
UH, WE ALSO WANTED TO GET AN IDEA OF JUST EXACTLY HOW MUCH MONEY IT MIGHT TAKE TO TRANSFORM THESE STREETS.
YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE PROJECTS MIGHT BE PRETTY EASY IN TERMS OF SIGNING AND STRIPING.
OTHERS MIGHT BE MORE SIGNIFICANT IN TERMS OF MOVING CURBS AND, UH, AFFECTING, UH, UTILITIES AND OTHER THINGS THAT WE MIGHT NEED TO BRING IN THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TO HELP US SORT OUT AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UH, THIS IS ALSO AN IDENTIFIED ACTION ITEM WITHIN THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN TO UPDATE OUR, OUR PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN AND CREATE, UH, A FEASIBLE, UH, NETWORK THAT WE CAN WORK TOWARDS IMPLEMENTING.
WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR IN PHASE ONE WAS TO DO A LOT OF DATA COLLECTION AND REVIEW OF THOSE EXISTING DOCUMENTS AND IDENTIFY ALL OF THE DIFFERENT ISSUES THAT EXIST, UM, WITH IMPLEMENTING EACH OF THEM, UM, TO ANY PRACTITIONERS ON THE COMMISSION.
UH, YOU KNOW, THAT THE GREAT STREETS MASTER PLAN IS A TERRIFIC PLANNING TOOL AND A GREAT, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE STREETS, BUT IT IS ALSO A DIFFICULT, UH, MANUAL TO DESIGN WITH.
UM, SIMILARLY IN THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, UM, IDENTIFIES SOME OF THE ISSUES RELATED TO THE SPATIAL CONSTRAINTS DOWNTOWN, BUT DOESN'T REALLY RECKON WITH HOW TO RECONCILE THOSE ISSUES.
SO THIS IS THE DOCUMENT TO DO THAT, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING THROUGH BEST PRACTICES FROM BOTH AROUND THE COUNTRY, BUT FRANKLY ALSO AROUND THE WORLD TO DEVELOP A LIST OF NEEDS, UM, TO KIND OF CREATE A COHERENT, UH, PLANNING DOCUMENT THAT WE COULD WORK TOWARDS IMPLEMENTING.
AS WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT, WE'VE ALSO BEEN DOING SOME TRANSPORTATION MODELING, UH, RELATED TO WHAT WE EXPECT IN TERMS OF GROWTH AND MODE SHIFT AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE BASED ON WHAT WE KNOW.
RELATED TO PROJECT CONNECT AND I 35, WE'VE BEEN REVIEWING OUR TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY POLICIES, SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE IN PLACE RELATED TO, UH, COMMUTE TIMES, COMMUTE, UH, PROGRAMS, UH, PARKING POLICIES, UM, AND THEN ULTIMATELY LEADING TO A SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT REALLY FOCUSING ON POTENTIAL PROJECTS THAT, UM, WE COULD WORK TOWARDS IMPLEMENTING, UH, AS PART OF THAT PLAN.
UH, THAT, THAT INITIAL PART IN PHASE ONE IS, IS SHOWN IN THE GREEN HERE, AND IT'S REVIEWING THE EXISTING CONDITIONS, UH, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE SPACE AVAILABLE TO US.
THAT SECTION IN BLUE, THE KIND OF FEEDBACK LOOP IS TO REVIEW AND DEVELOP POTENTIAL PROJECT OPTIONS, TALK TO THE COMMUNITY, UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT BEST PRACTICES ARE FOR DESIGNING STREETS, PARTICULARLY IN, UH, URBAN ENVIRONMENTS AND IN DOWNTOWN GRID NETWORKS, UM, WHILE ALSO KIND OF UNDERSTANDING UPDATES THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM OUR PARTNERS AT TEXT AND WITH THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AND HOW THOSE AFFECT WHAT THE CITY CONTROLS ON THE SURFACE STREETS.
UM, AS WE WORK TOWARDS FINALIZING THAT LOOP AND UNDERSTANDING THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVES FROM BOTH, UH, THE CAPITAL CENTRAL EXPRESS PROJECT AND PROJECT CONNECT, THEN WE CAN KINDA LEAVE THAT BLUE SECTION AND HEAD TOWARDS THE RED, WHERE WE START TO COMPILE A DRAFT PLAN FOR REVIEW.
AND THAT'S WHEN WE WILL BE BACK WITH, UH, AN UPDATE AS TO WHAT THE COMMUNITY HAS TOLD US, HOW THOSE PLAY INTO, UM, WHAT WE KNOW WE CAN AND, AND WHAT WE HAVE TO DO AS A RESULT OF THOSE OTHER PROJECTS.
UH, AND TO GET CONFIRMATION THAT WE'VE HOPEFULLY, CONFIRMATION THAT WE'VE HIT THE MARK WITH RESPECT TO IMPLEMENTING THOSE PROJECTS.
AND IF NOT, WE'LL FURTHER REFINE THEM AND, AND RESPOND TO THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GET AS WE FINALIZE THE PLAN.
PLEASE WANTED TO SHARE A SAMPLE OF WHAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS.
UM, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A PLAN DEVELOPED
[00:15:01]
BY THE CITY OF PORTLAND, OREGON.IT, IT BASICALLY IS 18 PROJECT SHEETS THAT LOOK LIKE THIS.
UM, WHY THE PROJECT'S IMPORTANT, WHAT IT DOES TO THE NETWORK, WHAT THE STREET SECTION IS GONNA LOOK LIKE, HOW IT LOOKS IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR DOWNTOWN ENVIRONMENT, AND WHERE IT APPLIES TO.
UM, THERE'S ALSO SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR, YOU KNOW, UH, POTENTIAL SPECIFICS ABOUT THE CORRIDORS THEMSELVES, UNDERSTANDING THAT, UM, NOT ALL SITUATIONS ARE EQUAL.
NOT EVERY BLOCK IS THE SAME DIFFERENT ACCESS POINTS TO BUILDINGS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, I DO WANNA SAY THAT THE FRAMEWORK OF THIS PLAN IS, UH, MOVING PEOPLE THROUGH DOWNTOWN, BUT WE ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT PEOPLE DON'T MOVE FOR THE SAKE OF MOVEMENT.
AND WE KNOW THAT, UH, THE, A SUCCESSFUL END PRODUCT OF THIS GOAL IS TO, UH, COMPLIMENT AND ALLOW MORE PEOPLE TO ACCESS DOWNTOWN FOR THE FUNCTIONS AND SERVICES THAT IT PROVIDES, NOT FOR THE SAKE OF JUST MOVING PEOPLE AROUND.
UH, WE'LL GET A LIST OF THOSE PROJECTS AND, AND KIND OF LINE 'EM UP AND FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT IN THE SHORT TERM, WHAT THOSE COSTS LOOK LIKE, UH, HOW THEY COMPLEMENT OUR NETWORKS.
UM, AND WE REALLY WANT THESE TO ALL BE CONSTRAINED WITH THE SPACE AVAILABLE TO US, UM, AND GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO IDENTIFY HOW WE MIGHT IMPLEMENT THEM, WHICH WILL THEN PROVIDE, UH, AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNDING NECESSARY TO DO SO, BUT ALSO COULD HELP US, UH, GENERATE MOMENTUM FOR SOME OF THESE PROJECTS BY IDENTIFYING WHAT WE COULD DO IN YEAR ONE OR YEAR TWO, OR WHAT, UH, THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP OR TECH DOT MIGHT DO FOR US AS PART OF THE MITIGATION FOR THEIR PROJECTS, OR AS THEY TEAR UP CERTAIN AREAS AND, AND REPLACE THEM, WE CAN BE CLEAR WITH THEM ABOUT HOW THOSE AREAS SHOULD BE REPLACED.
AS, AS PART OF OUR ENGAGEMENT, I MENTIONED THAT THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
WE HAVE MORE THAN 20 EVENTS, UM, THROUGH THE LATE SUMMER AND EARLY FALL, AND AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, MEETING WITH DIFFERENT, UH, INTEREST GROUPS AROUND DOWNTOWN.
UM, WE'VE REALLY BEEN TRYING TO FOCUS ON BOTH A GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE OF DOWNTOWN AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE NOT LIMITED TO JUST OFFICE WORKERS OR JUST WEEKEND, UH, VISITORS TO DOWNTOWN.
UH, AND THROUGH THAT, UM, WE IDENTIFIED A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT FOCUS POPULATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TOUCHED BASE WITH THAT WE KNOW OUR CORE CONSTITUENCIES TO DOWNTOWN.
SO WE TALKED WITH CONSTRUCTION WORKERS, WE TALKED WITH MUSICIANS, WE TALKED WITH HOTEL WORKERS.
UM, WE DID, WE COMMUNICATED WITH OFFICE WORKERS.
UM, WE TALKED WITH, UH, RESTAURATEURS, RESTAURANT WORKERS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GOT A RANGE OF OPINIONS FROM PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE EIGHT TO FIVE ON WEEKDAYS, TO PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE LATE NIGHT WEEKNIGHTS ON WEEKEND DAYS, ON WEEKEND NIGHTS, UH, AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING HOW DOWNTOWN FUNCTIONS FOR ALL OF THEM THROUGHOUT THE 24 7 OF A TYPICAL WEEK, UH, AND NOT JUST FOCUSING ON THOSE TYPICAL COMMUTE TIMES.
UH, THIS IS JUST THE SAMPLING OF SOME OF THE EVENTS WE WENT TO.
WE MADE SURE WE WERE AT PUBLIC SQUARE.
THAT MAP ON THE LEFT, UM, SHOWS THE COVERAGE OF THE EVENTS AT KEITH PARK, AT THE MAC, UM, SUPPORTING SOME DIFFERENT PALM DISTRICT EFFORTS THAT WE WERE AT, UH, WITH THE DAA NEAR REPUBLIC SQUARE, UH, AT WHOLE FOODS, UH, AT HAM BAY.
WE WERE AT, UH, WATERLOO PARK FOR THAT, AND HAD A TABLE THERE AND GOT GREAT FEEDBACK BASED ON TALKING TO VISITORS AND MUSICIANS AND FOLKS INTERESTED, OR, OR PARTICIPATING IN THE LOCAL MUSIC INDUSTRY HERE.
UM, THAT WAS A GREAT EVENT THAT WE HAD, UH, BUT JUST WANTED TO SHARE KIND OF THE EXTENT OF OUR, OUR COVERAGE OF, OF THE FIRST STAGE OF ENGAGEMENT.
THE BIGGEST PART OF OUR FIRST PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT WAS A SURVEY THAT WE RELEASED THAT ASKED FOLKS A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
UM, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT WE RECEIVED MORE THAN 2100 RESPONSES TO THIS SURVEY, WHICH WAS TWICE AS MANY AS ATB HAS RECEIVED ON ANY OTHER SURVEY.
UM, THAT'S NOT A RESULT OF OUR EFFORTS.
THAT'S A RESULT OF ALL OF OUR PARTNERS.
WE WERE ABLE TO TRACK TO SOME EXTENT, UM, HOW PEOPLE GOT TO THE SURVEY AND WHERE THEY WERE DIRECTED FROM.
AND IT REALLY CAME FROM BEING INCLUDED IN DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, NEWSLETTERS, AND DIRECT MAILINGS.
UM, EVEN MORE SO THAN ANYTHING WE PROVIDED, WE WOULD'VE GOTTEN TYPICAL RESPONSES TO A CITY SURVEY, UH, AND THIS, UM, SHATTERED PREVIOUS, UH, RECORDS AND EVEN OUR OWN EXPECTATIONS FOR ENGAGEMENT, QUANTITY OF RESULTS.
AND, AND I'LL, I'LL SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, THE BREAKDOWN OF, OF WHO WE HEARD FROM IN A FEW MINUTES.
BUT WHAT WE ASKED PEOPLE FIRST AND FOREMOST WAS, WHAT DO YOU WANNA SEE ON YOUR STREETS? AND ACROSS THE BOARD, WE HEARD FROM PEOPLE THAT THEY WANTED WIDE SIDEWALKS.
THEY WANTED PROTECTED BICYCLE LANES, AND THEY WANTED ACTIVE EDGES TO THEIR BUILDINGS, INCLUDING STREET TREES, UH, CAFES
[00:20:01]
IN FRONT OF BUILDINGS, SPACE FOR PEOPLE MORE SO THAN SPACE FOR CARS.UH, WE WERE A LITTLE BIT SURPRISED THAT EVEN TRANSIT ONLY LANES SCORED FAIRLY LOW COMPARED TO THOSE OTHER THINGS.
BUT IT REALLY HELPED HIGHLIGHT FOR US THAT THE CURB TO CURB SPACE FOR PARKING AND LOADING, FOR MOVING VEHICLES, EVEN FOR MOVING BUSES, UH, IS NOT AS IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE AS THAT SPACE BEHIND THE CURB WHERE, UM, PEOPLE ARE ENJOYING DOWNTOWN MORE THAN ANY OTHER.
I THINK YOU'RE GONNA SEE THAT WE'RE HIGHLIGHTED, THOSE, THOSE FOUR TOGETHER.
YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE NOW, AND IF YOU'LL HIT, UM, NEXT ONE MORE TIME.
UM, WE ALSO ASK PEOPLE HOW WE SHOULD PRIORITIZE THINKING ABOUT MOBILITY DOWNTOWN, WHETHER END, WHETHER ENTERING DOWNTOWN, EXITING DOWNTOWN, MOVING THROUGH DOWNTOWN, OR WITHIN DOWNTOWN SHOULD BE OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY.
AND WE ASK PEOPLE TO RATE THAT ONE TO FOUR AND AVERAGE 'EM ACROSS OUR RESPONSES.
AND, AND ACROSS, AGAIN, ACROSS THE BOARD, WE HEARD PRIORITIZE MOVING WITHIN DOWNTOWN.
UH, WE WILL FIGURE OUT HOW TO LEAVE DOWNTOWN.
WE'RE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT HOW TRAVELING THROUGH DOWNTOWN, BUT WE WANNA BE ABLE TO MOVE SAFELY AND EFFICIENTLY WITHIN DOWNTOWN.
UH, AND ENTERING DOWNTOWN WAS THE SECOND PRIORITY.
SO ACCESS TO DOWNTOWN WAS A HUGE PRIORITY.
AND THEN ACCESS TO USES WITHIN DOWNTOWN, UM, REALLY WAS THE FOCUS OF OUR RESPONDENTS.
AND, AND WE APPRECIATED THAT FEEDBACK.
IT KIND OF CONFIRMED WHAT WE KNEW, BUT WE WANTED TO ASK THE QUESTION EXPLICITLY TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, NOTHING HAD CHANGED AND THAT WE WERE ON THE RIGHT TRACK IN, IN MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR SECOND PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT.
THIS PROVIDES A HEAT MAP OF A LOT OF DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWNS THAT WE LOOKED AT.
UM, REALLY THOSE, THOSE 25 OR SO ROWS AT THE TOP, UH, WE SHARE THOSE NOT FOR YOU TO HACK THROUGH ANY DATA, BUT THE HEAT MAP REALLY TELLS US THAT EVERY ONE OF THOSE DEMOGRAPHICS, UH, THOSE CROSS SECTIONS TOLD US THE SAME THING.
THERE ARE SOME SLIGHT VARIATIONS.
UM, SOME OF THESE BREAKDOWNS REPRESENT, YOU KNOW, THOUSANDS OF RESPONSES WHERE WE'RE JUST ASKING, UH, ABOUT GENDERS.
MOST OF THEM ARE HUNDREDS OF RESPONSES.
THERE ARE A FEW, ALMOST ALL OF THEM ARE MORE THAN 25 RESPONSES IN SOME OF THOSE, UH, MORE SPECIFIC, UH, FOCUS POPULATIONS THAT WE HAVE AT THE BOTTOM.
BUT I REALLY WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THOSE LAST FIVE ROWS.
UM, IT'S HELPFUL THAT ALL THE GROUPS HEARD TOLD US THE SAME THING, BUT WE KNEW COMING INTO THIS THAT WE WERE NOT GOING TO GET A PERFECT REPRESENTATION OF THE CITY ACROSS OUR DEMOGRAPHICS AND OUR, AND OUR BREAKDOWNS PER CENSUS DATA.
AND WE WANTED TO BE COGNIZANT OF THAT AND KIND OF SMOOTH THE DATA, THE, THE, UH, RESULTS WE RECEIVED TO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE DISTRIBUTION IN TERMS OF GENDER, ETHNICITY, INCOME, AND AGE.
AND EVEN AS WE DO THAT, WE GET VERY SIMILAR RESULTS.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A RESULT OF ESSENTIALLY EVERYBODY TELLING US THE SAME THING, BUT WE WERE COGNIZANT OF, UM, TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTOOD, UM, WHAT PEOPLE WERE TELLING US.
UH, NOT ONLY THAT, BUT ALSO WHO OUR RESPONDENTS WERE.
UM, AND SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THIS THROUGH THE REST OF THE, UM, THE SURVEY.
I'M ALSO HAPPY TO SAY THAT OUR, OUR BREAKDOWNS IN TERMS OF OUR NON-WHITE POPULATION IN TERMS OF GETTING, UM, WOMEN TO RESPOND IN TERMS OF LOWER INCOME FOLKS RESPONDING IS BETTER THAN PAST EFFORTS.
SO, UH, I THINK AS A DEPARTMENT AND AS A PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE, WE ARE LEARNING ABOUT HOW TO DO THAT BETTER.
AND, AND WE EXPECT TO CARRY SOME OF OUR SUCCESSES IN TERMS OF ENGAGING THOSE COMMUNITIES, UM, FORWARD IN TURN IN IN OUR NEXT PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT.
THIS IS, UH, THE LAST QUESTION WE ASKED FOLKS.
AND IT, IT WAS BASICALLY TO TELL US HOW DO YOU MOVE AROUND DOWNTOWN RIGHT NOW, AND HOW DO YOU WANT TO MOVE AROUND DOWNTOWN? SO THOSE BLUE BARS ARE HOW PEOPLE MOVE AROUND RIGHT NOW, AND THE GREEN ONES ARE HOW THEY WANT TO, AND IF YOU'LL HIT ENTER ONE MORE TIME, WHILE THIS IS A HELPFUL, UH, BREAKDOWN, IT'S ALSO EASIER MAYBE JUST TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF THE PREFERENCES OF MODES.
AND SO YOU'LL HIT ENTER ONE MORE TIME.
THOSE TOP FIVE MODES ARE WHAT PEOPLE WANNA DO MORE OF.
THEY WANNA BE ABLE TO TAKE THE TRAIN THAT'S COMING FOR THEM.
THEY WANNA BE ABLE TO WALK, BIKE AND TAKE A BUS MORE.
ESSENTIALLY ANYTHING THAT HAS THEM IN A TYPICAL CAR DRIVING IN A TAXI OR AN UBER AND LYFT OR, UH, IN A CARPOOL THEY WANT TO DO LESS OF, THEY WANNA HAVE MORE ACCESS THROUGH THOSE OTHER MODES.
UM, WE JUST KIND OF, IT'S CONSISTENT WITH THE STREET ELEMENT PREFERENCES THAT WE HEARD FROM.
IT'S CONSISTENT WITH THE 2016 MOBILITY BOND VOTE.
IT'S CONSISTENT WITH THE APPROVALS OF THE 2018 AND 2020 BONDS.
IT'S CONSISTENT WITH THE STATED PREFERENCES FROM THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN AND THE, UM, PACKAGE OF NETWORKS THAT WERE PUT INTO THAT PLAN AS A RESULT OF FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT THERE.
SO, AGAIN, CONFIRMING THAT WE'RE HEARING THE SAME STORY FOR THE SEVENTH YEAR IN A ROW, AND THAT WE NEED TO BE WORKING TOWARDS IMPLEMENTING THAT, UM, IN A SPECIFIC WAY IN DOWNTOWN.
[00:25:01]
TOWARDS A SECOND PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT WHERE WE'RE GONNA ASK PEOPLE, UH, SPECIFICALLY TO KIND OF CONFRONT, UM, WHAT THOSE PRIORITIES LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF MAKING SPATIAL, UH, TRADE-OFFS TO FURTHER IMPROVE THE BICYCLE NETWORKS, TO CONSIDER DIFFERENT CROSS-SECTIONS THAT PRIORITIZE PEDESTRIANS, UM, WHAT THEY'RE WILLING TO, UH, ACCEPT IN TERMS OF A DOWNTOWN TRANSIT NETWORK THAT COMPLIMENTS PROJECT CONNECT AND ALSO CONSIDER STREET CONVERSIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PART OF ALL THOSE PAST PLANS SINCE THE ADOPTION OF THE GREAT STREETS MASTER PLAN IN 20, UH, 2001.UM, THOSE SAME STREET CONVERSIONS FROM ONE WAY TO TWO WAY WERE ADOPTED IN THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN, THEY'VE BEEN CARRIED FORWARD INTO THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
UM, BUT LITTLE HAS BEEN DONE IN TERMS OF ACTUALLY CONSIDERING IMPLEMENTATION.
UH, WE'RE GONNA DO THAT HERE BECAUSE A LOT OF WHAT PDOT IS CONSIDERING REQUIRES US TO CONSIDER AND POTENTIALLY MAKE SOME OF THOSE CONVERSIONS ON SOME OF THE EASTWEST STREETS, UH, ADJACENT TO I 35, BETWEEN FIFTH AND 10TH STREETS.
UM, AND AS A RESULT, SO WE'RE CONSIDERING NOT ONLY DO PEOPLE WANT US TO DO THAT, BUT HOW FAR SHOULD WE CARRY THOSE CONVERSIONS? SHOULD IT BE A BARE MINIMUM THAT WE NEED TO, TO FACILITATE I 35, YOU KNOW, JUST TO POTENTIALLY RED RIVER STREET, SHOULD IT BE FARTHER TO THE WEST, NEARING THE EXISTING FIFTH STREET THAT, UM, IS TWO-WAY CONGRESS OR BRAZOS, OR SHOULD WE CAN, CAN CARRY THOSE EVEN FARTHER WEST.
WE WANT PEOPLE'S OPINIONS AND WE GIVE THEM SOME INFORMATION TO HELP MAKE THAT DECISION.
UH, SO THAT SURVEY WILL OPEN MONDAY.
IT'LL BE OPEN, EXTENSIVELY SCHEDULED, WILL BE OPEN FOR ABOUT SIX WEEKS.
UH, WE HAD HAD THE PHASE ONE SURVEY OPEN FOR EIGHT WEEKS LAST TIME.
WE GOT THE MAJORITY OF OUR RESPONSES IN THE FIRST THREE.
UM, SO WE'RE FAIRLY COMFORTABLE WITH THAT.
IT'LL PROBABLY BE, WE'LL LEAVE THE SURVEY OPEN AFTER THAT, BUT THAT'S OUR OFFICIAL DATES RIGHT NOW THAT WE'LL BE STARTING TO LOOK AT RESULTS AFTER, UH, THE CLOSE OF THE MARCH 3RD DATE.
UH, WE'VE GOT MORE THAN 20 EVENTS, UM, PLANNED FOR THIS, UM, UH, TIME PERIOD THROUGH MID-MARCH.
UM, THOSE, IF, IF, FRANKLY, WE'RE STILL LOOKING FOR SUGGESTIONS, IF YOU'VE GOT IDEAS FOR PLACES FOR US TO TABLE, SMALL GROUPS FOR US TO MEET WITH, WE'D LOVE TO HEAR IT.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GET WITH US AFTER THIS OR SHOOT DAN BROOKS OR, OR MYSELF AN EMAIL ABOUT THAT.
UH, AND WE'LL BE MEETING WITH ALL THOSE ED STAKEHOLDER GROUPS AGAIN, TO KIND OF SHARE IN THESE SAME RESULTS AND, AND GET THEM TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS, UH, UNDER PLEASE.
WE WILL THEN BE MOVING TOWARDS, UM, ANALYZING THE RESULTS OF THIS ENGAGEMENT EFFORT IN MARCH OR APRIL.
WE'LL HAVE, WE RECENTLY GOT THE MOST, UM, RECENT SCHEMATIC FROM TEXT DOT AND THEIR PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE ON THE CAPITAL CENTRAL EXPRESS PROJECT.
WE SHOULD HAVE ADDITIONAL UPDATES FROM PROJECT CONNECT IN THAT TIMEFRAME ABOUT THEIR PLANS FOR DOWNTOWN.
AND SO IF YOU'LL, UH, HIT ENTER ONE MORE TIME, PLEASE.
WE THEN CAN START TO WEAVE ALL OF THIS TOGETHER TO A DRAFT PLAN THAT, UH, RECKONS WITH WHAT POTENTIALLY NEEDS TO BE CHANGED TO THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, TO THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN, TO, UH, EVEN POTENTIALLY THE GREAT STREETS DESIGN STANDARDS, WHILE ALSO BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE US WITH A FRAMEWORK FOR PROVIDING COMMENTS TO BOTH TEXT DOT AND TO THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, UH, IN TERMS OF THEIR, UM, PREFERRED ALTERNATIVES IN THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTATION, UH, ESPECIALLY RELATED TO POTENTIAL MITIGATION THAT THEY MIGHT, UH, THAT THE CITY MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN PURSUING AS A RESULT OF THEIR CHANGES, THEIR REQUIRED CHANGES TO OUR DOWNTOWN STREET NETWORK.
UM, ONE MORE TIME, PLEASE HIT EMPIRE.
AND THEN, WE'LL, DEPENDING ON THE OUTCOME OF THAT, WE'LL BE ENGAGING BOARDS, COMMISSIONS COUNCIL.
AGAIN, DEPENDING ON WHAT NEEDS TO BE AMENDED, THAT'LL KIND OF ENGAGE OUR, OR DETERMINE OUR PROCESS.
WE'D LOVE FOR THAT TO BE THE END ALL, BE ALL OF, OF THIS PROCESS AND EVERYBODY TO SAY, THUMBS UP, YOU DID A GREAT JOB.
IF THAT'S NOT THE CASE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK AND REFINE AND COME BACK THROUGH THE SUMMER, UM, IF NECESSARY.
BUT, UH, THAT TIMEFRAME, GIVEN THE, THE TIMING OF THIS WITH PROJECT CONNECT 9 35, UM, WE REALLY DO NEED SOME UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THIS PLAN IS GONNA SAY, UM, BY SUMMERTIME TO, TO BE ABLE TO, UM, INFLUENCE THOSE EFFORTS.
WITH THAT, UH, THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION, AND I'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT WE'VE DONE, WHY WE'RE DOING IT, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO, OR, OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU MIGHT HAVE FOR US.
[3. Discussion and possible action on Austin Core Transportation (ACT) Plan, which is assessing mobility and right-of-way options for Downtown. ]
WE WILL MOVE INTO DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. AND OBVIOUSLY THE FIRST ITEM IS, UH, THIS PARTICULAR ONE.DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. HENNESSY? ANYBODY DOWN HERE? I KNOW THAT YOU'LL BE COMING BACK, PRESUMABLY, UH, APRIL, MAY WITH OR MAY WITH THE,
[00:30:01]
THE FINDINGS.UM, I'M WONDERING THOUGH, UH, DO HAVE ONE QUESTION.
DO YOU HAVE ANY HARD DATA ON HOW MANY PEOPLE USE BIKES TO COMMUTE INTO AND AROUND DOWNTOWN? NOT RECREATIONAL RIDERS, BUT SPECIFICALLY PEOPLE THAT ARE USING BICYCLES AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO CARS, TO COMMUTE, TO WORK DOWNTOWN? YEAH, WE DO, UM, AS A, AS A PERCENTAGE OF MODE SHIP, IT'S IN THE SINGLE DIGIT STILL, BUT THAT'S STILL, UH, IS MORE THAN A THOUSAND PEOPLE A DAY THAT ARE NOT IN A CAR.
UM, IT, IT'S ALSO A REFLECTION.
UH, WE KNOW FROM COMPARABLE COMMUNITIES THAT IT'S A REFLECTION OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, WE HAVEN'T PROVIDED, UM, SAFEWAY TO DO THAT.
AND SO, UM, IT REALLY IS, UH, A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU'RE HARDCORE CYCLISTS WHO ARE COMMITTED TO DOING IT, WHO FEEL COMFORTABLE, UM, FROM OUR DIFFERENT PROJECTS AROUND, NOT EVEN THE CHANGES THAT WE'VE MADE ON CONGRESS AVENUE.
WE KNOW THAT CYCLING GOES UP WHEN WE PROVIDE THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO DO IT.
UM, PEOPLE KEEP TELLING US THAT THEY WANT US TO DO IT.
UM, AND SO NOW WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO EXAMINE SOME OF THE TRADE-OFFS IN TERMS OF THE SPACE ALLOTTED TO, UH, THE DIFFERENT MODES DOWNTOWN RIGHT NOW, ON A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS MAY BE MORE THAN YOUR QUESTION WAS INTENDING, BUT RIGHT NOW ON A LOT OF CITY STREETS, WE'RE DEDICATING, UH, 75% OF THE SPACE TO CARS, 60 FEET FROM, TO CURB TO CURB.
THAT'S FOR MOVING AND FOR PARKING AND LOADING.
THE GREAT STREETS MASTER PLAN STILL CALLS FOR, UH, 44 FEET OF SPACE TO BE DEDICATED TO CARS.
SO MORE THAN HALF, WE'RE NOT INTENDING TO CHANGE THAT DRAMATICALLY, BUT IT WOULD HELP US, UM, YOU KNOW, TO IDENTIFY PLACES WHERE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO STEAL TWO FEET AND CHANGE SOME OF THAT SPACE FROM, UM, YOU KNOW, UNUSED LANE CAPACITY TO A BICYCLE LANE.
UM, AND SO THAT, THAT'S PART OF THIS SURVEY.
IT'LL BE SHOWN, UM, VERY CLEARLY THROUGHOUT THE CROSS-SECTIONS AS TO WHAT THE TRADE-OFFS WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE TO CONSIDER.
FORGET THE FEEDBACK THAT, YOU KNOW, BIKE LANES SOUND GREAT IN PRACTICE, BUT, UM, WHEN WE SEE HIM IN REALITY, WE ACTUALLY DON'T LIKE WHAT WE HAVE TO GIVE UP, THEN WE'LL UNDERSTAND BETTER, BUT IF NOT, WE'LL, WE'LL POTENTIALLY HAVE CONFIRMATION ON SOME DESIGN.
ALTERN, TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, REAL QUICKLY, HOW MANY PEOPLE USE SCOOTERS TO COMMUTE INTO AND OUT OF DOWNTOWN RATHER THAN USING THEM AS A METHOD TO EXTEND THEIR WALK WITHIN DOWNTOWN? YEAH, WE DO.
THE SCOOTER DATA IS HARDER TO USE IN TERMS OF TRIP PURPOSE.
UM, WE DO KNOW THAT WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, AGAIN, USING SCOOTERS, UM, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE USING THEM IN UNSAFE MANNER JUST BE BECAUSE WE YES, INDEED HAVEN'T PROVIDED THEM WITH INFRASTRUCTURE TO DO SO.
SO, UM, I JUST, I CAN'T ANSWER THE COMMUTE QUESTION FOR YOU, BUT OKAY.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE USING 'EM FOR ALL KINDS OF REASONS.
UM, COMMISSIONER MA, UM, UM, MR. DAN, IN YOUR SURVEY, I'M WONDERING IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION TO ASK PEOPLE, WILL THEY TAKE FREE CIRCULAR TRANSPORTATION AROUND DOWNTOWN? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A PASSION TO BRING BACK THE BILL, YOU KNOW, SO I REALLY THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU BRING THIS HEAT, YOU CANNOT WALK A BLOCK, YOU KNOW, IN DOWNTOWN BECAUSE THERE'S NOT THAT MANY SHADES.
BUT IF YOU BRING BACK THE DI YOU HAVE THIS FREE CIRCULAR TRANSPORTATION, AND PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE TO DRIVE THROUGH DOWNTOWN.
THEY CAN, THEY CAN PARK THEIR CAR OUTSIDE, AND I THINK IT WILL TREMENDOUSLY REDUCE THE, UH, THE CONGESTION.
SO, UH, DID YOU ASK THAT QUESTION? NO, NOT DIRECTLY.
I WOULD SAY WE ASKED IT INDIRECTLY, AND YOU'RE ALSO NOT THE FIRST PERSON TO BRING UP THE DI AND HOW MUCH A CIRCULATOR WOULD HELP.
UM, TO BE CLEAR ABOUT WHY IT'S NOT DIRECTLY ASKED, WE AS ATV WOULD NOT BE THE OPERATOR OF THE DI UH, THAT WOULD BE CAPITAL METRO.
WHAT WE DO ASK IN THE SURVEY IS HOW, HOW MUCH, UM, PEOPLE WOULD USE AN EXPANDED TRANSIT SERVICE, AND ALSO HOW MUCH SPACE WE SHOULD DEDICATE TO SOLELY PROVIDING SPACE FOR TRANSIT SERVICE.
SO WE HAVE EXISTING TRANSIT ONLY LANES ON GUADALUPE AND LAVACA.
UM, WE ARE CONSIDERING, UH, ADDITIONAL TRANSIT ONLY LANES TO CREATE BETTER NETWORKS THROUGHOUT DOWNTOWN.
BUT AGAIN, THAT REQUIRES TAKING SPACE FROM SOMETHING ELSE.
[00:35:01]
VERY INTERESTED IN PROVIDING THE SPACE OR CAPITAL METRO TO OPERATE A SERVICE LIKE THAT.THEY ARE INTERESTED IN US ASKING THIS QUESTION.
THEY'RE, THEY HAVE BEEN A PARTNER ON THIS TOO, UM, AND HELP DEVELOP, UH, THE SURVEY QUESTIONS TO GET FEEDBACK TO HELP INFORM THEIR SERVICE PROVISIONS.
UM, SO THERE'S NOT A QUESTION DIRECTLY ABOUT THE DILO, BUT THERE IS A SECTION OF THE SURVEY SPECIFICALLY ABOUT TRANSIT, ABOUT DEDICATING SPACE TO VEHICLES AND ABOUT EXPANDED SERVICE AND MAKE IT, MAKE IT FREE
I, I REALLY WORRY ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO WORK, ESPECIALLY THE HOTEL, HOW PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THE HOSPITALITY, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS REALLY HARDSHIP TO GO THROUGH DOWNTOWN FOR THEM TO GO TO WORK DAILY.
UH, I DID, I THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT IN YOUR SURVEY, UM, BOTH THROUGH TRAFFIC AND TRANSIT ONLY LANES HAD LOWER LOWER PRIORITIES AMONG THE RESPONDENTS, WHICH, YOU KNOW, WHEN PROJECT CONNECT PEOPLE CAME AND SPOKE TO US SOME TIME AGO, THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MOST OF THE BUSES GOING, UH, THAT ARE IN THE TRANSITON LANE ARE ACTUALLY THROUGH TRAFFIC, NOT NECESSARILY SERVING ANY, OR THEY'RE SERVING FEW PEOPLE DOWNTOWN.
SO, INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT THE SURVEY RESPONDENTS, UH, DIDN'T THINK AS MUCH OF TRANSITON LANES.
I, IT'S REALLY INFORMATIVE AND I APPRECIATE IT.
UM, I DO HAVE A QUESTION FOLLOWING UP ON THE SCOOTER QUESTION THOUGH, AND IT REMINDED ME TO ASK, I'M VERY CURIOUS, UH, NOTHING TO DO WITH WHETHER SCOOTERS ARE GOOD OR BAD, BUT I'M WONDERING, DO YOU GET, DOES YOUR DEPARTMENT RECEIVE FROM THE SCOOTER COMPANIES ANY OF THE DATA REGARDING THE SCOOTERS? YOU SAID THAT YOU DON'T LIKE HAVE THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE USE OF THE SCOOTERS AND STUFF, BUT I MEAN, CERTAINLY THE COMPANIES HAVE CHARTS WITH LINES THAT SHOW WHERE THE SCOOTERS GO, CAUSE THEY ALL GPS ON, AND SO DO WE GET THAT INFORMATION? YEAH, NOT ONLY DO WE GET IT, BUT IT IS PART OF OUR OPEN DATA PORTAL THAT ANYBODY CAN OKAY.
UH, VIEW SOME ELEMENTS OF THAT.
UM, SO WE DO GET, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT EVERY RECORDED SCOOTER TRIP.
UM, WE HAVE THAT GOING BACK, UH, AT LEAST A COUPLE YEARS AT THIS POINT.
WE WERE ABLE TO TRACK SCOOTER, UH, USAGE ON EVENTS LIKE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST OR A C L.
WE WERE ABLE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO SCOOTERS DURING THE PANDEMIC.
UH, WE DO UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY GO TO AND WHERE THEY COME FROM.
UM, THEY HAVE GPS DEVICES ON THEM SURE.
THAT ALLOW US TO MONITOR, UM, WHERE THEY'RE SET OUT, UM, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS ON EACH OF THE SCOOTER COMPANIES ABOUT WHERE THEY CAN PLACE THEIR DEVICES AND HOW MANY OF 'EM IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE CITY.
SO WE DO HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE ACTUAL USAGE OF THEM.
WE JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE ARE USING THEM AS UNDERSTOOD.
JUST, BUT, SO THERE COULD BE POTENTIALLY, I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO DO THIS, BUT THERE COULD BE POTENTIALLY, AND MAYBE IT'S ON THE OPEN DATA PORTAL.
I DON'T KNOW, UM, A MAP THAT SHOWS LIKE, HERE'S THE LINES OF THE, YOU KNOW, THIS A THICK GREEN LINE FOR A THOUSAND SCOOTERS COMING THIS WAY DOWN LAMAR EVERY DAY, OR WHATEVER IT IS.
AND THEN I'D PROBABLY NOT DOWN LAMAR, I'D HOPE FOR THEIR SAKE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN, WE KNOW THIS, IT'S KNOWABLE FROM UT TO DOWNTOWN PERHAPS OR SOMETHING.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THE MAP YOU'RE DESCRIBING EXISTS.
UH, ONE QUESTION TO SORT OF FOLLOW UP ON COMMISSIONER LEVINE'S QUESTION.
HOW CLOSE CAN U GEOFENCE FOR SCOOTERS? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I'M, I'M NOT THE EXPERT IN TERMS OF THE TECHNOLOGY.
UH, I DO KNOW THAT THAT HAS WORKED, YOU KNOW, LIKE FOR INSTANCE, THE CAPITAL IS RESTRICTED.
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF OTHER AREAS THAT ARE RESTRICTED TO SCOOTERS.
I DON'T KNOW OF THE DEGREE TO WHICH THAT'S SENSITIVE IF, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD DO IT DOWN TO 10 FEET OR YOU NEED A BIGGER, YOU KNOW, COUPLE BLOCK AREA LIKE THE CAPITOL.
UM, I'D HAVE TO FOLLOW UP WITH SOMEBODY ELSE IN THE DEPARTMENT ON THAT.
I THINK AS WE'RE WORKING FORWARD ON THIS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS COME UP IN OUR PRIOR DISCUSSIONS IS SCOOTERS ON FAIRLY DENSELY PACKED SIDEWALKS.
AND I, I THINK THE BICYCLE FOLKS DIDN'T LIKE THE FACT THAT SCOOTERS WERE IN BICYCLE LANES, BUT PEDESTRIANS WERE MUCH MORE AT RISK FROM A LOT OF THESE SCOOTERS BECAUSE THEY MOVED MUCH SLOWER.
UH, AND SO I, IF THERE WERE A WAY TO CARVE OUT, UM, OR CITY SIDEWALKS FROM SCOOTER USE, UH, PARTICULARLY THOSE THAT ARE MORE HEAVILY TRAFFICKED, UM, THAT CERTAINLY WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO BE, BE CONSIDERED AS WE WORK FORWARD IN THIS PACKAGE.
YEAH, THAT'S A PRIORITY FOR US, COMMISSIONER S FOR BRINGING THAT UP, UH, THROUGHOUT THE SURVEY AND THROUGHOUT THE PLAN DOCUMENT.
UM, BICYCLE LANES ARE NOT CALLED BICYCLE LANES.
THEY'RE CALLED BICYCLE AND SCOOTER LANES,
[00:40:01]
OR BICYCLE AND MICRO MOBILITY LANES, UH, TO THE EXACT POINT THAT YOU BRING UP.THEY'RE, THEY MATCH SPEEDS MOST CLOSELY TO ONE ANOTHER, AND THEY SHOULD SHARE THE SAME SPACE.
UH, IT ALSO MAKES SENSE THAT SCOOTER USERS WOULD USE SIDEWALKS RATHER THAN, UM, POTENTIALLY, UH, INCUR ADDITIONAL RISK BY BEING IN TRAVEL LANES.
AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER REASON FOR US TO PROVIDE THEM A SPACE TO OPERATE IN AND, AND FURTHER IMPROVE THE SAFETY OF PEDESTRIANS THROUGH DOWNTOWN TOO, BECAUSE FRANKLY, PEDESTRIANS ARE OUR PRIORITY IN DOWNTOWN.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO, UH, MORE IMPORTANT, UH, LIFEBLOOD TOO HOW DOWNTOWN OPERATES THAN PEOPLE WALKING AROUND.
WELL, I'D BE FI FASCINATED TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE GEOFENCING.
COMMISSIONER, UM, I JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION.
WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A QUESTION OR A REQUEST, BUT JUST AS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CITY AND WE, WE ALL OVERALL START FOCUSING MUCH MORE ON MULTIMODAL SORT OF TRANSPORTATION AND FOCUSING ON TRAIN AND BICYCLE AND WALKING ACCESS AND BUS ACCESS JUST TO REQUEST TO KEEP, UM, UM, PEOPLE WITH LIMITED MOBILITY, PEOPLE WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS WITH DISABILITIES IN MIND AND THE DISTANCES THAT THEY HAVE TO TRAVEL.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE BUILD OUT SOME OF THESE PATHWAYS TO CREATE DISABLED ACCESS TO BUSES, THE DISTANCE THEY HAVE TO TRAVEL SOMETIMES DOUBLES OR TRIPLES.
AND SO JUST, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH OF THAT IS BEING CONSIDERED AT THIS PART IN THE PROCESS, BUT MAKING SURE THAT IT'S INCORPORATED AS OPPOSED TO JUST ADAPTED AT THE, AT THE BACK END.
WE HAVE, AS I MENTIONED, THE GROUPS THAT WE'VE ENGAGED WITH SO FAR.
WE HAVE, UH, FOUR DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT REPRESENT FOLKS WITH DISABILITIES.
UH, THE BLIND, THE DEAF, THE MOBILITY IMPAIRED.
WE HAVE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT MOBILITY ADVOCATES, UM, FOR THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE ALSO PART OF OUR DIFFERENT ENGAGEMENT GROUPS.
AND IT WAS INTERESTING AND FRANKLY, EYE OPENING FOR ME TO HEAR JUST HOW IMPORTANT PROXIMITY IS FOR THEM AND, AND PARKING NEAR AND, AND KIND OF SPACED OUT AND, AND JUST THE HASSLE THAT GOING TWO BLOCKS IS FOR SOMEBODY LIKE THAT, ESPECIALLY WITH OUR IN FLEET PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE, EVEN CURB RAMPS AND CROSSWALKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, I APPRECIATE THAT COMMENT AND IT FURTHER CONFIRMS WHAT WE HEARD FROM SOME OF THOSE GROUPS.
JUST THE, THE WHOLE DISTANCE TRAVEL THING IS, YOU KNOW, TO, TO HAVE TO WALK THREE SIDES OF A BUILDING TO GET TO THE ACCESSIBLE ENTRANCE AND JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE KEEPING THAT SORT OF STUFF IN MIND AS WE'RE DESIGNING TRANSPORTATION AS WELL WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL.
I THINK IT'S A NICE REMINDER AND WE OFTEN FORGET THAT WE HAVE THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF HERE, WHICH IS A REMARKABLE, A REMARKABLE SCHOOL.
UH, AND WE HAVE THE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND.
WE HAVE RESOURCES AND WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY HAVE MOVED HERE TO BE CLOSER TO THESE FACILITIES.
I I ALSO WANTED TO THANK DAN, UH, FOR YOUR WORK.
I THINK IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND I'M, I'M SURPRISED WE DON'T HAVE A CHANCE TO REALLY TAKE THIS STEP BACK MORE FREQUENTLY OR, YOU KNOW, USE THAT AS A, AS A WAY OF REALLY GUIDING, UH, SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WHICH ARE GOING TO HOPEFULLY HAVE SOME REAL OOMPH BEHIND THEM.
UM, I, I WANT TO SPECIFICALLY FOCUS ON YOUR FOCUS POPULATIONS.
UH, I DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING SPECIFIC ABOUT, UH, I THINK AN IMPORTANT POPULATION, UH, IN YOUR DISCUSSIONS.
AND IT MAY ALSO LEAD INTO WHERE YOU MAKE YOUR PRESENTATIONS, BUT HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THOSE PEOPLE AROUND THE CITY WHO DON'T ACCESS DOWNTOWN, UH, AND MORE SPECIFICALLY OF THEIR GROUPS THAT MIGHT, IF THEY FELT OR ACTUALLY COULD, COULD, UH, ENGAGE IN DOWNTOWN MORE READILY? UH, AND SO I, YOU KNOW, I, I, I WORRY A LITTLE BIT THAT A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING IS STILL PREACHING TO THE CHOIR AND THERE IS A LOT OF POTENTIAL SUPPORT AND POTENTIAL ENGAGEMENT WITH DOWNTOWN THAT'S BEING THWARTED.
AND YOUR PROCESS DOESN'T SEEM, AT LEAST ON THE SURFACE TO HAVE ADDRESSED THAT, OR, OR PERHAPS THAT YOU'RE EARLY ENOUGH IN THE PROCESS THAT YOU COULD DO MORE TO ADDRESS THAT.
UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS IN OUR BREAKDOWN WAS WHERE DO PEOPLE LIVE AND WHERE DO PEOPLE WORK? UM, AND PROVIDED AN OPPORTUNITY TO LET US KNOW HOW FREQUENTLY AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE THEY ACCESS DOWNTOWN.
UM, THEY INCLUDED ZIP CODE DATA.
PEOPLE WERE WILLING TO PROVIDE THAT LEVEL OF, UM, GEOGRAPHIC SPECIFICITY IN THEIR RESPONSES.
AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO DO BREAKDOWNS BASED ON PEOPLE WHO WORK DOWNTOWN, PEOPLE WHO LIVE DOWNTOWN, AND THEN PEOPLE WHO DO NEITHER.
UM, AND SO EVEN WITHIN THAT NEITHER GROUP, WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, BREAK DOWN BASED ON HOW FREQUENTLY THEY COME FOR RECREATION OR LEISURE.
UM, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, EVERY WEEK, MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK, OR ONCE A MONTH OR ONCE A YEAR OR NEVER.
UM, WE DID HAVE A QUESTION IN THERE THAT, THAT BROKE DOWN THAT POPULATION EVEN MORE.
BUT I DO APPRECIATE THAT, UM, WE SHOULD NOT BE FOCUSED SOLELY ON SERVING THE
[00:45:01]
EXISTING DOWNTOWN POPULATIONS, BUT ALSO TRYING TO ATTRACT MORE PEOPLE, UH, AND, AND PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MORE PEOPLE TO GET DOWNTOWN.YEAH, I THINK, UH, BY, BY MEASURE OF YOUR SUCCESS, I THINK THAT ADDRESSING WHAT, UH, ARE BOTH PERCEIVED IMPEDIMENTS AND IN MANY CASES ACTUAL IMPEDIMENTS, UH, I, I WAS HEARTENED BY SEEING THAT THE ENTRY POINTS, EVEN THOUGH IT'S THAT SECOND, IT'S STILL RANKING AS A HIGH PRIORITY.
AND I THINK THAT CERTAINLY BEARS MY UNDERSTANDING AS WELL.
UH, KNOWING AS MANY PEOPLE AS I DO, UH, YOU KNOW, THROW UP THEIR HANDS AND SAY, WELL, I JUST WON'T DO THAT CUZ IT'S DOWNTOWN.
AND, UH, AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S A COMBINATION OF REAL AND PERCEIVED IMPEDIMENTS.
THEN BEING ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT POPULATION POTENTIALLY HEAD ON, UH, EVEN WITH SOME OF YOUR FOCUS MEETINGS MIGHT, UH, DO A LOT TO SAY, HEY, WAIT, WE KNOW IT'S AN ISSUE AND PART OF YOUR WORK IS TO ADDRESS THAT.
EVEN IN OUR, UH, THE OPEN COMMENTS AND IN SOME OF OUR MEETINGS, PEOPLE HAVE EXPRESSED A WILLINGNESS TO DEAL WITH A BURDEN OF LEAVING DOWNTOWN.
IT'S THE BARRIER TO ENTRY THAT THEY REALLY WANT US TO REMOVE AND, AND PROVIDE BETTER ACCESS TO GETTING THERE.
UM, AND SO THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON.
UH, A PART OF OUR TECHNICAL ANALYSIS IS REVIEWING ALL THE ENTRY POINTS TO DETERMINE WHERE THERE'S ADDITIONAL POTENTIAL VEHICLE CAPACITY, HOW WE BETTER IMPROVE THE TRANSIT CONNECTIONS, WHERE WE COULD GET MORE PEOPLE ACROSS ON BIKES, ON SCOOTERS, THINGS LIKE THAT TO DETERMINE IF WE'RE ACTUALLY USING ALL OF THOSE CONNECTIONS ACROSS THE FREEWAY, ALL THE BRIDGES ACROSS THE LAKE TO OUR, THE FULLEST OF OUR CAPABILITIES.
COMMISSIONER ISHMAEL, UM, IN YOUR REPORTING, YOUR PRESENTATION WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PROTECTED BIKE LANES, UM, EXACTLY WHAT DID YOU, OR HOW DID YOU DESCRIBE HOW THE LANE ITSELF WOULD BE PROTECTED AS OPPOSED FROM JUST DESIGNATED BIKE LANES? AND I THINK OF COPENHAGEN WHEN WE VISITED THERE AND HOW THERE WERE AT LEAST, UH, ROAD BUMPS BETWEEN THE LANES AND THE ACTUAL CAR PART OF THE STREET, AND IT MADE US FEEL SAFER.
UM, AND IT CERTAINLY SEEMED AS IF IN THAT CITY ANYWAY, THE BIKE LANES ARE VERY WELL USED.
SO I WAS JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT FROM READING WHAT I READ ABOUT THE REPORT AND YOUR PRESENTATION, WHAT DID, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY PROTECTED BIKE LANES? YEP.
UH, WE MEAN, WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED, UH, A STRIPE OF PAINT IS NOT GONNA DO IT ANYMORE.
AND THOSE KINDS OF BIKE LANES ARE NOT GONNA FIND THEIR WAY INTO THIS PLAN.
UM, WHERE THE LANE IS STILL, UH, ADJACENT TO MOVING VEHICLE TRAFFIC, THE VERTICAL DELINEATORS, UM, IS NOT, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE PART OF OUR LONG-TERM PLANS.
OUR UPDATED TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL THAT COUNCIL APPROVED LAST YEAR SHOWS PROTECTED BIKE LANESS EITHER SEPARATED BY A CURB OR ACTUALLY PART OF THE CURB AND RAISED FROM THE REST OF THE STREET.
UH, THOSE ARE THE DESIGN SOLUTIONS WE'RE INCLUDING THROUGHOUT THIS PLAN.
YOU WILL NOT SEE ANYTHING THAT IS AT THE STREET LEVEL, UH, AND THAT GA SAID TO MOVING TRAFFIC WITHOUT A RAISED SOLID DELINEATION BETWEEN, UH, CYCLISTS AND SCOOTERS AND MOVING MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC.
COMMISSIONER GOMEZ, UH, GOING BACK TO THE PREVIOUSLY ASKED QUESTION, I'M WONDERING, LOOKING AT YOUR PAGE 10, WHERE IT'S GOT STARS ON ALL THE DIFFERENT PLACES THAT YOU GUYS HAD EVENTS TO GET DATA FROM, UH, I DON'T SEE ANY, UH, IN AREAS THAT ARE NOT, UH, DOWNTOWN.
AND SO GETTING THE DATA OF, FROM PEOPLE THAT DON'T COME DOWNTOWN, FROM PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT DOWNTOWN MAY BE A GOOD PIECE OF DATA TO HAVE.
SO IF YOU COULD GET IT AT THE DIFFERENT LIBRARIES THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND FIND OUT FROM THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHY THEY REFUSE TO COME DOWNTOWN AND WHAT WOULD INVITE THEM TO COME DOWNTOWN, UM, I'M JUST SAYING THOSE MIGHT BE GOOD, UH, DATA POINTS.
YEAH, I APPRECIATE THAT COMMENTED.
UH, SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE IN OUR RECENT PLANNING MEETING, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR PHASE TWO EVENTS WOULD BE AND HOW TO ENGAGE SOME OF OUR POPULATIONS THAT WE MISSED OR, OR DIDN'T GET AS MUCH RESPONSE FROM IN OUR FIRST TIME AROUND.
UH, AND GOING TO THEM AND UNDERSTANDING WHY WE'RE MISSING THEM, UH, AND WHY DOWNTOWN IS MISSING THEM IS A BIG PART OF OUR NEXT PHASE.
SO APPRECIATE THAT AND, AND KIND OF CONFIRMATION ON THE PATH WE'RE ON.
UM, THE LARGEST SINGLE EMPLOYER DOWNTOWN, I BELIEVE IS THE STATE OF TEXAS.
WHAT ENGAGEMENT HAVE Y'ALL HAD WITH EITHER THE FACILITIES COMMISSION PRESERVATION BOARD OR ANY OF THOSE, UH, ABOUT, UM, THEIR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS REQUIREMENTS, UH, THEIR EMPLOYEE CONCERNS, ET CETERA? YEP.
UH, SO AS PART OF OUR WORK WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, WE HAVE FORMED A, A WORKING GROUP THAT
[00:50:01]
INCLUDES SOME OF THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS.THOSE INCLUDE CAPITAL METRO, THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, UH, OUR TMA MOVEABILITY, UH, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
IT ALSO INCLUDES, UM, THE STATE AGENCIES THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED, THE PRESERVATION BOARD, THE FACILITIES COMMISSION, UH, SOME OTHERS ARE THE WATERLOO GREENWAY, UH, I'M GONNA MISS A BUNCH OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT THERE'S ABOUT 20 OR SO.
UM, IN OUR FIRST ROUND OF ENGAGEMENT, THOSE SURVEY RESULTS, UH, INCLUDED ALMOST 400 RESPONSES FROM STATE WORKERS.
UM, NOT ONLY STATE OFFICE WORKERS, BUT SOME OF THE STATE CUSTODIAL WORKERS, COMPLIMENTARY WORKERS TO DESCRIBE THEIR NEEDS, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS WORKING FOR THE STATE.
UM, AND SO THEIR INVOLVEMENT HAS BEEN CRUCIAL TO MAKING SURE THAT THIS PLAN RESPONDS TO ONE OF, NOT ONLY ONE OF OUR LARGEST EMPLOYERS, BUT ONE OF OUR LARGEST LANDHOLDERS MM-HMM.
UM, AND FRANKLY, SOMEBODY WHO GETS TO WRITE SOME OF THE RULES ON THE DOWNTOWN STREETS.
YOU KNOW, NOT EVERY STREET IS OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AND SO THEY NEED TO BE A PARTNER FOR THIS PLAN TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSION? ANYBODY ONLINE? OKAY.
WE APPRECIATE THE, THE REPORT.
WE WILL LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU GUYS WHEN YOU DO, UH, THE BOARDS AND COMMISSION CIRCUIT IN MAY.
NEXT TIME WE'LL SEE YOU IN PERSON.
[4. Discussion and possible action on the creation of a Downtown Commission Graffiti Working Group. ]
RIGHT.MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS.
UM, THIS WAS SOMETHING, UH, THE NEXT ITEM IS ABOUT THE CREATION OF A GRAFFITI WORKING GROUP.
AND Y'ALL HAVE THE RESOLUTION THAT I DRAFTED IN FRONT OF YOU.
UM, THE GENESIS OF THIS WAS THE, WHAT I WAS SEEING AS A RAPID INCREASE IN GRAFFITI AROUND OUR COMMUNITY.
BUSK, DON'T GIVE THAT PERSON ANY MORE CREDIT.
UM, WHO IS BUSK IT? IT DOES CREATE, UH, WELL, IT'S A PROBLEM AND IT AFFECTS PRIVATE PROPERTY.
UH, I HAVE BEEN DOING A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH AND AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE MOTION OR IN THE RESOLUTION, UH, IT COSTS OUR NATION 12 BILLION A YEAR.
UH, I CAN TELL YOU, AND I'M WAITING FOR, UH, WORD FROM OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS, BUT PARKS AND RECREATION HAS FOUR STAFF MEMBERS AND $500,000 OF THEIR BUDGET GOES TO GRAFFITI ABATEMENT EVERY YEAR IN THE PARKS.
THAT'S $500,000 THAT COULD BE SPENT ON OTHER THINGS IN OUR PARKS THAT ARE DESPERATELY NEEDED.
UM, IT IS VANDALISM, IN SOME CASES IT'S CRIMINAL TRESPASS.
UH, AND IN DOING SOME RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT, AND IT'S NO DISCREDIT TO ANY OF THE CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT THAT DEAL WITH THIS, UH, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IT FALLS UNDER THE REALM OF PUBLIC HEALTH THAT, UM, EACH OF THE DEPARTMENTS AS THEY FACE GRAFFITI FACE TAGGING ON THEIR PARTICULAR PROPERTIES, PUBLIC WORKS, TRANSPORTATION, PARKS, UH, THAT THEY ALL DEAL WITH IT.
THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT ON THEIR OWN OWN.
AND SO THERE'S NO COHESIVE EFFORT.
IT'S AN EXPENSIVE PROBLEM TOO.
AND EACH OF THOSE BUDGETS ARE IMPACTED BY THAT.
UM, I WAS TALKING TO, UM, APD ABOUT THIS, AND Y'ALL WILL REMEMBER THE MURAL THAT WAS ON 12TH STREET.
UH, IT WAS A PROJECT THAT HAD FALLEN APART AND HAD SOME ENGINEERING ISSUES.
UH, AND I WAS TOLD THAT, UM, THERE'S NOW A BUILDING THAT HAS BEEN BUILT THERE.
AND THAT WHEN THEY FENCED THAT OFF TO BEGIN THE, THE REMOVAL THAT ALL OF A SUDDEN ALL THE OTHER BUILDINGS IN THE AREA WERE BEING TAGGED.
AND I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS SO BAD THAT THERE WAS A, AN AC VENDOR THAT WENT TO REPAIR AN AC AT A BUSINESS ADJACENT OR NEARBY.
THEY WALKED IN, THEY WALKED OUT, AND THEIR TRUCK WAS ALREADY TAGGED.
UM, YOU KNOW, I I I LOOK AT, UH, I SEE SOME SMALLER BUSINESSES THAT HAVE DELIVERY VANS, THAT'S THEIR BRAND, AND THEIR BRAND HAS BEEN TAGGED OVER BY GRAFFITI.
UM, UH, COMMISSIONER ISHMAEL AND I WERE TALKING ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF VANDALISM THAT'S BEEN OCCURRING UP AND DOWN THE MOORE BOULEVARD.
Y'ALL HAVE, Y'ALL HAVE SEEN, Y'ALL HAVE SEEN IT.
AND IT'S, IT'S AN EXPENSIVE PROBLEM.
IF I MAY COMMISSIONER ADD THAT AS A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER, IF YOU GET GRAFFITI ON YOUR BUSINESS, LIKE EVEN IF IT'S NOT A, THE FRONT FACING PART OF IT, BUT LIKE WE HAD A, AT THE CLUBHOUSE,
[00:55:01]
WE HAD A, UH, IN THE BACK, LIKE A DELIVERY PORT AREA AND YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY, I DON'T KNOW WHO GRAFFITI SOME JUNK ON THERE.AND IT WASN'T EVEN LIKE BAD WORDS, IT WAS JUST INCOHERENT.
BUT WHAT HAPPENS IS SOMEBODY REPORTS IT TO THE CITY, THE CITY COME, AND I'M NOT MAD AT THE CITY ABOUT THIS, LIKE THE RULES OF THE RULES, BUT THE CITY COMES OUT AND THEY CITE THE BUSINESS, AND THEN THE BUSINESS HAS TO, IS ON THE HOOK TO GET RID OF IT UNDER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, OTHERWISE YOU GET SOME SORT OF FINE OR WHATEVER FROM THE CITY.
AND IT'S THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, I THINK THAT COMES OUT, I THINK IT'S THE CODE ENFORCEMENT ANYWAY, SAME FOLKS THAT COME UP FOR HEALTH INSPECTIONS AND STUFF.
I BELIEVE I'M RIGHT ABOUT THAT.
SO THAT'S KIND OF A, SOMETHING THAT SHOULD PROBABLY BE ADDRESSED WITHIN ANY KIND OF WORKING GROUP.
NOT, NOT THAT, THAT ONE, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS TAGGING, BEGETS TAGGING MORE TAGGING.
AND THEN THAT'S, THERE ARE SOME INDICATIONS THAT'S, THAT'S A GATEWAY TO OTHER CRIME.
ONE THING I HAVE SEEN BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS IS, UH, WE DID AT THE CHURCH AT KIND OF ACROSS FROM LALAS AT THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, WE HAD, UH, THE, THEY HAD THE, UH, GRAFFITI ATX THEY'RE CALLED, I BELIEVE.
IT'S LIKE THEY DO THESE COOL EVENTS, SO THEY'LL GET LIKE 12 GRAFFITI ARTISTS OUT AND DO BIG MURALS AND WHATNOT AND DJ AND ALL THIS.
IT MEANT, AND THEN, UM, BUT AROUND THAT YOU DON'T SEE ANY MORE GRAFFITI, WHICH IS KIND OF COOL.
SO THERE'S MAYBE SOME DIVERSIONARY, DIVERSIONARY OR, YOU KNOW, UM, THINGS WE CAN DO TO BE, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE, UH, MORE PROACTIVE ABOUT PREVENTION.
I'M JUST TALKING HERE, BUT THAT'S WHAT I'VE SEEN MORE.
THE FIRST THING YOU SAY IS IT, IT'S A CRIME.
DOES A B D EVER MAKE ARRESTS? YOU HAVE TO TO CATCH THEM IN THE ACT.
AND IT'S VERY DIFFICULT BECAUSE A LOT OF THESE FOLKS ARE OUT AT NIGHT.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, LIKE, THERE'S ALSO A DIFFERENCE I THINK BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, PUNK KIDS, MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS WHO HAVE NOTHING TO DO, YOU KNOW, DURING THE SUMMER.
AND THEN THE ONES WHO ARE OUT THERE BEING PRETTY AGGRESSIVE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, TAGGING THEIR, THEIR MARK ALL OVER THE CITY.
WELL, THE, UH, AND UH, I SPOKE WITH DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE ABOUT THIS.
THEY HAVE AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF MONEY DEDICATED TO GRAFFITI ABATEMENT DOWNTOWN, UH, COMMISSIONER.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WHAT THAT IS, BUT I DON'T KNOW THE AMOUNT, BUT I KNOW THAT THE AMBASSADORS, THAT'S A BIG PART OF THEIR JOB YEAH.
TOWN, WHICH IS WHY YOU DON'T SEE GRAFFITI EXACTLY.
IN THAT WHATEVER THE PIT AND BUILDING OWNERS DUES PAY FOR THAT.
SO, UH, THERE IS A REAL COST TO IT.
UH, THERE IS A FRAGMENTED EFFORT, AND AGAIN, I'M NOT FAULTING ANY CITY DEPARTMENT.
UM, THEY DO WHAT THEY CAN WITH WHAT THEY HAVE, AND IT, YOU KNOW, THE MORE THERE IS OUT THERE, THE MORE THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
SO MY INTENT IN BRINGING THIS TOGETHER AND PUTTING, UH, A WORKING GROUP TOGETHER IS TO LOOK AT THE PROBLEM.
AND WHILE OUR FOCUS IS DOWNTOWN, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT IT ACROSS THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE IT DOES AFFECT ALL 10 DISTRICTS, UH, AND COME UP WITH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS CAN MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL ON BUDGET COMMITMENTS THROUGH THE END OF MARCH.
AND IF WE HAVE FINDINGS AND THERE ARE FUNDS THAT ARE NEEDED TO SUPPORT THOSE, THEN I WOULD LIKE TO BE IN A POSITION WHERE WE, UH, WE CAN MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNSEL.
I DO HAVE INTEREST FROM DAA AND PARTICIPATING BECAUSE IT IS SUCH A, AN EXPENSIVE ISSUE.
UH, I'M WORKING WITH CITY STAFF FROM VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND I'M HOPING THAT THEY WILL PARTICIPATE.
I'VE BEEN GIVEN, UH, SOME VERY POSITIVE FEEDBACK WORKING, UH, CHAMBER AND SOME OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE INCLUDED BECAUSE IT DOES AFFECT BUSINESSES.
SO I'M COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER HEIM, SETH.
UM, I'M, I, I'M, OF COURSE I CAN'T VOTE, UH, AS A, A NON-VOTING MEMBER, BUT I APPLAUD THE EFFORT AND I DO THINK IT'S THE RIGHT APPROACH.
IT REMINDS ME THAT THERE'S, UH, POSSIBLY, UM, NEED TO REACH OUT TO SEVERAL OF THE ARTS GROUPS AS WELL.
UH, AN ADDED COMPLICATION IS A, A GROWING INTEREST IN STREET ART, WHICH IS A VERY FINE DISTINCTION BETWEEN MAYBE WHAT SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY IS, UH, COMPOSITIONS THAT ARE WORTHY AND THOSE THAT AREN'T.
UH, AND THAT MAY EVEN BE IN CERTAIN PEOPLE'S EYES, BUT I THINK THAT BEING CLEARER ABOUT WHAT THAT DISTINCTION IS AND WHERE THESE TYPES OF, UH, EVENTS ARE APPROPRIATE AND WHERE THEY'RE NOT, UH, I THINK THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY, UM, I THINK TO COME UP WITH A VERY STRONG, IF NOT OUTRIGHT CONSENSUS, BUT, UH, BRINGING THE RIGHT GROUPS TOGETHER.
UH, COMING UP WITH SOMETHING THAT'S CONSTRUCTIVE AND REALLY WORKS WELL SO THAT THE IDEA THAT, UH, THERE ARE PLACES TO BE CREATIVE DOESN'T HAVE
[01:00:01]
TO NECESSARILY INTERFERE WITH, THERE ARE PLACES ALSO TO RUN A BUSINESS AND RESPECT PRIVATE PROPERTY.I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE ADOPT THE RESOLUTION THAT HAS PRESENTED AND AS WRITTEN.
OH, I'VE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND.
UM, I THINK THIS WILL BE FAIRLY FAST TRACKED AGAIN.
UM, THE INTENT IS TO, TO COME BACK WITH SOMETHING, IF THERE IS A BUDGET ITEM THAT NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT TO COUNSEL, THAT WE'RE IN A POSITION TO DO THAT BEFORE THE END OF MARCH.
IF I THINK WE NEED A BIG MARKETING CAMPAIGN TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE KIDS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHERE YOU GO TO DO YOUR HARD WORK INSTEAD OF YOU CAN, YOU CAN GO PAINT ANYWHERE YOU WANT AS LONG AS THE OWNER ALLOWS IT.
WELL, AND, AND ALSO I THINK WHAT, WHAT YOU WERE SAYING IS THERE IS A DISTINCTION.
I MEAN, THERE'S, STREET ART IS A, IS A, IS A REAL CULTURE AND A REAL ART FORM, AND IT'S APPRECIATED NOW.
AND THERE'S SOME AMAZING STUFF OUT THERE.
I THINK AS WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT STUFF, WE COULD PROBABLY ALL AGREE THAT SOME OF THE SINGULAR THINGS WE'RE TALK WE'VE SEEN ALL OVER TOWN ARE NOT THAT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THERE HAS TO BE AN AGREEMENT ON.
AND I THINK THAT THE MORE YOU INCLUDE THE ART COMMUNITY IN THAT DISCUSSION, THE, THE MORE EFFECTIVE WHATEVER SOLUTION YOU COME UP WITH'S GONNA BE.
YOU KNOW, I THINK, AND THIS GOES BACK TO ONE REASON THAT PUBLIC HEALTH PROBABLY HAS, UM, SOME RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE UNION PACIFIC BRIDGE ACROSS THE LAKE, THERE'S, IT'S VERY INTERESTING AND CREATIVE.
BUT EVERY TIME SOMEBODY IS OUT THERE THAT, BY THE WAY, THAT IS CRIMINAL TRESPASS DANGER, EVERY TIME SOMEBODY IS OUT THERE, THEY ARE JEOPARDIZING THEIR LIVES IN FRONT OF A 500 TON TRAIN TO PAINT SOMETHING ON THE SIDE OF THE, THE BRIDGE.
AND IF YOU LOOK, UH, AND I'VE SEEN IT ON PEC, I HAVEN'T SEEN I 35 OF LATE, BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT WILL GET UP ON THE HIGHWAY SIGNS AND EITHER PAINT THE BACK OR FRONT.
AND NOT ONLY ARE THEY ENDANGERING THEMSELVES, BUT THEY ARE ENDANGERING THE PEOPLE THAT ARE DRIVING BENEATH THEM AT HIGH SPEED.
AND SO, SO IT IS A REAL HEALTH RISK.
WELL, I, I'M HAVING BEEN INVOLVED WITH HELPING PEOPLE THAT HAD A, AN ADDICTION TO SNIFFING SPRAY PAINT BACK IN THE SEVENTIES MM-HMM.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT, AND I HOPE THAT IT GETS ADDRESSED HERE, IS THAT SOMETIMES PEOPLE JUST WANT TO BE HEARD.
AND IF WE CAN PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO BE HEARD MM-HMM.
UM, AND I THINK, UM, WELL ANYWAY, I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT PART OF IT BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S, IT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF THAT.
AND, AND I THINK, AGAIN, NOT NOT WANTING TO MAKE LIGHT OF, OF THE SITUATION, BUT, UM, IN, UM, DIFFERENT RESTAURANTS, THE, THE BATHROOMS THAT USED TO BE GRAFFITI ALL OVER THE PLACE WITH ALL KINDS OF STUFF, THEY GOT TO THE POINT WHERE THEY WERE JUST PUTTING CHALKBOARDS THERE SO THAT PEOPLE COULD DO IT AND THEN ERASE IT AND LET SOMEBODY ELSE GO IN AND DO IT.
SO IT'S NOT THE SAME THING, BUT MAYBE
AND I THINK THAT GOES BACK TO COMMISSIONER HIATT'S POINT ABOUT CREATING SPACE FOR THOSE, WHETHER IT'S FOR A PARTICULAR MESSAGE OR NOT, THAT THEY HAVE THAT VENUE TO DO IT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IN DOING, JUST AGAIN, VERY CURSORY RESEARCH, THE ISSUE OF SNIFFING PAINT CAME UP AGAIN, HEALTH ISSUE.
BUT, UM, THERE WAS A TIME WHERE THE, UM, I HATE TO CALL 'EM BIG BOX, BUT THE HOME IMPROVEMENT CENTERS HAD, UH, GREATS OVER THE SPRAY PAINT.
WE, WE BOUGHT REAL HARD TO GET THAT PASS.
OH, WELL THEN THERE'S ONE THAT'S THE CITY ORDINANCE, THEN THERE'S ONE THAT'S NOT DOING IT.
BUT, BUT THE, THE, THE QUESTION IS, FOR INSTANCE, THERE WAS A BURGER KING THAT'S BEEN CLOSED NEAR ME THAT WAS COMPLETELY TAGGED OVER ONE NIGHT, WHOLE BUILDING SPRAYED, AND IT COST THE, THE OWNER A COUPLE OF THOUSAND DOLLARS TO COME IN AND ABATE THE GRAFFITI.
AND I WENT AND LOOKED FOR SPRAY CANS, COLLECTED SOME EVIDENCE NOBODY WANTED, BUT I GOT IT.
UH, BUT ONE OF THOSE CANS AT THE RETAILER COST $20.
AND OF COURSE, THE OTHERS WERE LITTLE CANS.
[01:05:01]
WHERE'S ALL THAT PAIN COMING FROM? BECAUSE IT IS AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF PAIN, AND THEY'RE, I IT'S AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF PAIN.IT, IT'S OCCURRED TO ME, AND THIS IS TOTALLY ANECDOTAL, AND I'M SURE IT DOESN'T, IT MAY NOT BE FACT, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE SINCE THE GRAFFITI PARK WAS TAKEN AWAY DOWNTOWN, WE'VE SEEN A PRETTY BIG BOOST IN GRAFFITI, WHICH GOES TO YOUR POINT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IN A PLACE TO BE HEARD AND, YOU KNOW, HAVE THEIR, THEIR VOICE HEARD.
AND THAT'S KIND OF AN INTERESTING CASE STUDY.
LIKE THAT WAS, I THINK A REAL DETERRENT IS THE FACT YOU GO THERE, DO YOUR THING, LEAVE YOUR TAG AND, AND, AND GO THERE AND MAKE YOUR ART AND, AND GET IT OUTTA YOUR SYSTEM.
YEAH, I THINK I JUST, UH, JUST KIND OF WANTED TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND I FEEL LIKE, UM, NOT TO MINIMIZE THE EXPENSE, THE NUISANCE, EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON, BUT I FEEL LIKE INCREASE IN GRAFFITI IS A SYMPTOM OF A CITY THAT IS SEEING A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT AND SEEING A LOT OF SPACE TAKEN AWAY THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY SEEN AS PUBLIC AND SEEN AS SHARED.
AND SO I FEEL LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF TENSION IN THE CITY IN GENERAL OVERALL, UM, WITH REGARDS TO THAT.
AND THE GRAFFITI IS SORT OF A SYMPTOM OF THAT.
SO I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S AS SIMPLE AS, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN HAVE THIS WALL AND IT WILL GO AWAY.
I MEAN, I THINK IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A LARGER SORT OF, SORT OF CULTURAL THING THAT'S HAPPENING IN SORT OF RESISTANCE TO A LOT OF THE DEVELOPMENT THAT'S GOING ON.
AND I WILL ALSO SAY THAT I DON'T, I, I, I STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH THE IDEA THAT GRAFFITI BREEDS MORE CRIME.
UM, I DON'T, I DON'T AGREE WITH THAT AT ALL.
I THINK THAT'S A FEAR SORT OF TACTIC.
UM, I DON'T THINK THAT A TAG THAT SAYS BUSK OR PYREX BEHIND YOU MEANS THAT NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE LIKE SHOOTING A HEROIN OR SOMETHING.
LIKE THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S A LITTLE, I THINK THAT'S A LITTLE LIKE SCARE TACTIC.
SO, UM, UM, I UNDERSTAND THE WORKING GROUP, I, I, AND, AND FIGURING OUT HOW TO POTENTIALLY PUT TOGETHER SOME FUNDING AND A MORE SORT OF DIRECTED AND COHESIVE WAY TO DEAL WITH SOME OF THE ABATEMENT.
BUT, UM, BUT PRETENDING THAT WE'RE GONNA GET RID OF GRAFFITI, UM, IN A CITY THAT'S SEEING THIS MUCH DEVELOPMENT AND SEEING THIS MUCH SORT OF SOCIOECONOMIC CLASHING FEELS A LITTLE LIKE NOT REALISTIC.
SO JUST SAY THAT I THINK, UM, AGAIN, SOME OF THE DATA THAT WAS COLLECTED BACK IN THE SEVENTIES WITH REGARDS TO GRAFFITI AND STUFF LIKE THAT WAS THAT, UM, THE INCREASE IN CRIME WAS MORE CONNECTED TO THE FACT THAT SOMEBODY COULD GET TO THAT PIECE OF PROPERTY OR THAT LOCATION MM-HMM.
AND SO IF THEY CAN GET IN THERE TO TAG, THAT MEANS NOBODY'S REALLY WATCHING IT, SO I CAN GET IN.
AND IT'S, SO IT'S NOT EXACTLY TIED TO IT, BUT THAT'S HOW IT'S KIND OF CONNECTED.
OR AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT THEY FOUND BACK THEN.
WELL, THIS WILL BE AN INTERESTING DISCUSSION,
UM, UH, THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR INPUT.
EVERY BIT IS VALUABLE AND, AND HOPEFULLY, UH, YES, COMMISSIONER.
HEY, UM, HOW'S EVERYONE DOING? I'M, I'M GOOD TO SEE YOU.
UM, UH, O O ON THIS NOTE, I, YOU KNOW, UH, THE, I I WOULD, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK A WORKING GROUP, I THINK WE CAN TRY AND FIND ANY KIND OF DATA THAT IS NEEDED OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, MITIGATE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE ISSUES.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, UM, I, I, I WOULD IN IN, IN THE RESULTS AND, AND, AND US, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDING SOME KIND OF BUDGET, BUDGETARY, YOU KNOW, UM, ACTIONS TO, TO, TO COUNSEL.
UM, YOU KNOW, I I, IT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE WE MIGHT WANT TO TREAD A LITTLE LIGHTLY.
UM, AND, AND, AND I'M, AND I'M KIND OF SAYING THAT BECAUSE I THINK THAT IF WE WERE TO GO AND SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE DATA THAT WE'VE FOUNDED AND WE NEED TO DO X, Y, AND Z AND MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE GET RID OF AS MUCH OF THE GRAFFITI AS POSSIBLE, THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY FUEL, YOU KNOW, ARTISTS, UM, OR GRAFFITI ARTISTS TO DO MORE, UM, UM, OF THEIR, OF THEIR OWN WORK, UM, THUSLY, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BASICALLY BE COMPOUNDING THE ISSUE IN, UM, IN A VERY FEW SHORT MONTHS, RIGHT BEFORE, PROBABLY RIGHT BEFORE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST OR RIGHT AFTER SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST.
SO, UM, AND YEAH, I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, I THINK A COUPLE OF OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF SOCIOECONOMIC, YOU KNOW, CLASHINGS THAT ARE GOING ON.
I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE WITH THAT, UM, A HUNDRED PERCENT.
UM, BUT IT, IT'S, UM, I THINK IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE WE NEED TO, IF, IF THE WORKING GROUP IS TO BE FORMED AND WE, IT NEEDS TO BE FORMED IN A WAY THAT WE, THAT WE KIND OF UNDERSTAND FROM
[01:10:01]
THEIR PERSPECTIVE, UM, AND NOT NECESSARILY, YOU KNOW, COMING AT IT FROM A, UM, THIS IS THE PROBLEM THAT WE NEED TO ERADICATE SORT OF SITUATION.MAYBE IT IS, YOU KNOW, CREATING A SPACE FOR THEM TO, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING A SAFE SPACE TO, TO TO, TO HAVE THAT KIND OF WORK OR MAYBE SOME KIND OF WAY TO, UM, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE TAKING AWAY SOME OF THE CRIME AND SOME OF THE TRESPASSING IN THOSE THINGS, AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT PUTTING THEIR LIVES AT, AT DANGER BY, YOU KNOW, SPRAY PAINTING A FREEWAY SIGN, BUT ALSO GIVING THEM A SPACE TO, UM, UM, HAVE THEIR WORK AND SHARE IN THAT AND, AND THRIVE IN THAT TOO.
UM, COMMISSIONER MEACH, UM, I WONDER IF, UM, WE, WE STARTED WITH A LITTLE BIT OF GRAFFITI IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, JUDGES HILL, UM, ON ELECTRIC BOXES.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S WHAT YOU CALL 'EM, BUT THEY'RE ABOUT THIS TALL, THEY'RE PLAIN, NICE, SMOOTH, UH, FEATURE.
AND THAT THAT'S, WE DIDN'T KNOW WHO WE WOULD CONTACT TO REMOVE THAT.
AND NOW WE HAVE IT ON EVERY WALL IN THE ENTRANCE TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH IS VERY NEAR UT.
SO I THINK IN THE WORKING GROUP, IF IT COULD BE LOOKED AT WHEN IT IS OKAY TO REMOVE THINGS, LIKE THESE WALLS THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT IN THE ENTRANCE TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ARE SIT CREATED BY THE CITY, BUT WE, WE COULD TAKE IT OFF.
SO, BUT I WOULDN'T WANNA TRESPASS THE CITY.
UM, WE CAN HAVE UP TO FOUR COMMISSIONERS ON THE WORKING GROUP.
I AM GONNA BE ON THE WORKING GROUP.
UM, WOULD I BE THERE AS AN EX OFFICIO OR AS A MEMBER FOR THE PURPOSES OF MONA? SO I'D BE A MEMBER.
SO, UH, WE CAN TAKE THREE OTHER VOTING MEMBERS ON THE WORKING GROUP.
COMMISSIONER ISHMAEL O UM, IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE WHO'S A COMMISSIONER GOMEZ, AND I KNOW YOU HAD EXPRESSED SOME INTEREST IN YEAH.
AND, AND THOSE ARE JUST VOTING MEMBERS TO CREATE A QUORUM.
SO, UM, ES COMMISSIONER MA, I, I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST, BECAUSE I'M, I'M, I'M LISTENING TO, TO THIS, UH, PHENOMENA, YOU KNOW, AND IT IS, IT IS REALLY INTERESTING TO REALLY, UH, STUDY THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IT.
YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE THE EXCITEMENT OF ALL OF THE ARTISTS THAT HE WILL GO OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND TAKE, YOU KNOW, TAKING SUCH HIGH RISK OF THEIR LIFE TO DO SOMETHING, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT IS HIGHLY CREATIVE AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CERTAIN EXCITEMENT IN IT.
AND SO I THINK WE NEED TO REALLY LOOK AT THAT.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST, NOT MYSELF, BUT TO, UM, TO INCLUDE, UH, A A P I MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE US IN PUBLIC PLACES AND, YOU KNOW, UM, INTO THIS, THIS GROUP.
SO MAYBE, MAYBE WE CAN HELP, I MEAN, IN FROM THE, UH, CREATIVE COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, TO TO, TO ADDRESS THIS.
AND ANOTHER THING I, IT COMES TO MY MIND IS LIKE, MAYBE OUR CITY NEED TO CREATE SOMETHING LIKE HYDE PARK, UH, FOR PEOPLE TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES, YOU KNOW, THE, PROVIDE THEM WITH THE, THE PLATFORM AND THIS, THEY CAN SAY WHATEVER THEY WANT, YOU KNOW, OR, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THAT, THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE A NEED FOR PEOPLE TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES, BUT OF COURSE, WITHOUT CIVILITY, IT'S A CRIME.
I THINK FOR PEOPLE TO DO THAT, TO THINK THAT THEY'RE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER, THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT IS JUST SELFISH BECAUSE I, I REALLY THINK THAT, THAT, THAT MIGHT NEED TO LOOK AT THE NEEDS FOR, FOR THIS TYPE OF EXTRACTION AND, UH, AND, AND HOW CAN WE ADDRESS IT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE, THE NEEDS FOR IT.
AND I THINK IT, IT REQUIRE PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES TO REALLY, I MEAN, GO TO THE GRAFFITI ARTISTS, YOU KNOW, I THINK THEY SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THIS CONVERSATION.
I THINK OF, UM, THE FOLKS THAT DID THE, WAS IT THE, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH WALL ART, AND SOMEBODY CAME AND DEFACE IT.
ONE WAS ART, ONE WAS NOT, I GUESS ONE, SOMEBODY DIDN'T FEEL LOVED.
[01:15:01]
I, THERE YOU GO.THEY WERE MAKING IT, THEY WERE MAKING A STATEMENT.
UM, WE'LL MOVE THE REST OF THE DISCUSSION TO THE WORKING GROUP, UM,
[5. Discussion of recent activities and actions taken by the Historic Landmark Commission ]
HISTOR LANDMARK COMMISSION UPDATE, COMMISSIONER HEAP.UM, WE'VE HAD A BUSY COUPLE OF MONTHS, UH, EVEN AS CHRISTMAS AND THE NEW YEAR APPROACHED.
UM, WE HAD A COUPLE OF DOWNTOWN CASES THAT, UH, BEST, AS I CAN TELL, HAVE BEEN RESOLVED, UH, AND WILL PRESERVE SOME OF THOSE, UH, BUILDINGS IN QUESTION.
UH, AS I'VE SAID IN PREVIOUS REPORTS, UH, WE STILL ARE OVERSEEING MULTIPLE DEMOLITIONS, UH, PARTICULARLY, UH, HARD HIT OR THE NEIGHBORHOODS IN TRAVIS HEIGHTS AND EAST CAESAR CHAVEZ.
UM, I THINK OUR NET IS, UM, FAIRLY POROUS, BUT I DO BELIEVE WE'RE AT LEAST CATCHING THOSE, UH, PROPERTIES THAT HAVE THE MOST IMPORTANCE IN TERMS OF BOTH ARCHITECTURAL AND CULTURAL AND, UH, INDIVIDUAL ASSOCIATIONS WITH OUR HERITAGE.
UM, WE HAVE OCCASIONALLY BEEN ABLE TO, UH, CONVINCE OWNERS THAT, UH, THEY ARE STEWARDS OF VALUABLE RESOURCES AND HAVE CHANGED THEIR PLANS.
BUT WAY TOO OFTEN, UH, WE FIND THAT, UH, OUR TOOLS STILL ARE WANTING, AND, UM, EVEN IN THE WORST CASE SCENARIOS, ALL WE CAN DO IS JUST HAVE AN OWNER WAIT US OUT, WHICH WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF TIMES AND HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL.
SO, UH, WE HAVE, WE'RE, WE'RE PUSHING FORWARD AS BEST WE CAN WITH THE TOOLS WE HAVE.
NOW, ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, WE SPENT A, A GOOD YEAR AS I'VE BEEN REPORTING, UH, IN LOOKING, UH, CRITICALLY AT OUR, UH, PRESERVATION PLAN ON THE CITY.
AND, UH, WITH THE HELP OF A, UH, WORKING GROUP OF OUTSIDE INTERESTED GROUPS, UH, INDIVIDUALS, UH, WE'VE BEEN DEVELOPING THE EQUITY BASED, UH, PRESERVATION PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THAT HAS NOW BEEN FUNDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION, AND WE ARE VERY EXCITED.
WE'RE SUPPLEMENTING THAT WORKING GROUP WITH SOME NEW MEMBERS.
WE'LL HAVE STAFF, AND YOU MAY ALREADY HAVE BEEN SEEING SOME OF THE PUBLIC OUTREACH, BUT OUR GOAL IS TO REALLY RAISE THE PROFILE OF PRESERVATION AS, UH, SOMETHING THAT CONCERNS EVERY COMMUNITY, UH, AND IN PARTICULAR, BEING ABLE TO FOCUS ON AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN DISENFRANCHISED OR HAVE BEEN, UH, OVERLOOKED OR NEGLECTED, UH, FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, SO THAT WE HAVE A MUCH BROADER UNDERSTANDING OF THE HISTORY THAT WE ARE ABLE TO PRESERVE AND BRING FORWARD TO FUTURE GENERATIONS.
SO PART OF ME, EVERY MEETING I'M SORT OF LIKE, OH, LOOK WHAT WE LOST HERE.
AND THEN WE ARE DOING ALL THIS WONDERFUL STUFF TO REALLY EXPAND AND ADD MORE OPPORTUNITIES.
SO, UH, IT, IT'S SORT OF THIS MIXED BAG, BUT I'M, I'M, UH, I'M EXCITED STILL BY THE PROSPECT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND I'M HAPPY TO REPORT, UH, AS, AS MUCH AS WE DO AND AS MUCH AS OUR SUCCESSES ARE.
WERE WE SUPPOSED TO GET AN UPDATE ON THE PRESERVATION PLAN? YOU WILL.
UH, WE, WE, UH, MADE OUR INITIAL, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEN, UH, REALLY THIS REGROUPING ALLOWS US TO GO TO THE NEXT PHASE.
AND ONE OF THE EARLY THINGS WE'LL BE DOING, IT'D PROBABLY BE A COUPLE OF MONTHS YET, UH, BUT AS THE NEW WORKING GROUP AND, UH, IDEALLY THE NEWLY ASSIGNED STAFF ARE IN PLACE PROBABLY SOMETIME LATER IN THE SPRING, ONE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THEN WILL BE TO GET MORE INPUT FROM BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
THAT WAS GONNA BE MY NEXT QUESTION.
DO WE HAVE AN HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER?
AND I, I HAVE IT ON GOOD AUTHORITY THAT, UH, THAT IS COMING.
SO MARCH 30TH IS THE DEADLINE FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TO MAKE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, COMMISSIONER WEATHERBY IS NOT HERE.
[7. Discussion of recent activities and actions taken by the Arts Commission ]
COMMISSIONER AH, MO, UM, THE, UH, US COMMISSION HAVE BEEN WORKING IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, UH, TO ADDRESS THE, UM, THE EQUITY AND INCLUSION ISSUES, UM, IN PROVIDING FUNDING FOR THE UNDERREPRESENTED, UH, UH, CULTURE ARTS.SO WE HAVE, UM, LAUNCHED THE FIRST PROGRAM THRIVE.
I THINK WE, UH, IS, WE ARE VERY LUCKY BECAUSE THE, UM, THE HARD FUND, UM, MORE HARD FUND THAN IT IS EXPECTED.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO FUND MORE OF THOSE PROJECTS.
THE SECOND THING IS WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN LOOKING FOR, UH, SPACE FOR THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY, THE PERFORMING SPACE.
[01:20:01]
WE, UH, EXPANDED, YOU KNOW, UH, DOWNTOWN, UH, BEFORE THESE TALL BUILDINGS COMING, BUILDINGS COMING UP NOW, I'M WONDERING, UM, SHOULD IT BE SOME KIND OF A DISCUSSION ABOUT ANY OF THESE NEW, NEW BUILDINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, GOING TO BE IN DOWNTOWN AREA? SHOULD, SHOULD THERE ALSO BE SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT PROVIDING SOME PERFORMING SPACE, UM, FOR THE ARTISTS? SO WE, WE ARE WORKING ON ALWAYS WORKING ON PRIVATE, PUBLIC, UH, PARTNERSHIP TO HELP OUR CREATIVE, UM, COMMUNITY, UH, TO ALLOW FOR MORE PERFORMING SPACE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE, WITH THE HIGH RENTAL RATE.SO, JUST THOUGHT THAT I'M GOING TO JUST PUT IT OUT THERE.
[8. Discussion of recent activities and actions taken by the Music Commission ]
MUSIC COMMISSION.HEY THERE, UH, YEAH, THERE, THERE'S A FEW UPDATES THAT WE, UM, HAVE, UM, SOME THAT ARE PROBABLY PERTINENT TO, UH, UH, THIS BODY.
BUT WE HAVE, UH, AN ACCESSIBILITY TASK FORCE THAT WE HAVE WITH CODA.
UM, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, UH, CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS FOR PROBABLY, I, I WOULD SAY, UH, ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE MONTHS NOW TO KIND OF HAVE THEM SHORE UP THEIR ACCESSIBILITY, UM, UM, UM, ACCESSIBILITY PART OF, OF, OF THEIR, UM, PLANS AND WHATNOT, UM, AS THERE WERE A FEW ISSUES THERE.
BUT THEY HAVE BEEN SINCE, UM, UM, UM, REMEDY.
AND MOSTLY THOSE WAS CON THOSE WERE CONCERNING, UM, THE CONCERTS THAT THEY WOULD HAVE ON O OBVIOUSLY AT THE CIRCUIT OF AMERICA.
SO WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM, BUILDING THAT PARTNERSHIP, AND IT'S GOING GREAT.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A, UM, A RESOLUTION ON THE BOARD FOR, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO GET FREE PARKING BASICALLY FOR MUSICIANS DOWNTOWN WHEN THEY PLAY DOWNTOWN.
UM, PARKING HAS INCREASED TO ABOUT $20 A NIGHT ON A WEEKEND NIGHT, ON A BUSY NIGHT.
AND SO WE'RE WORKING, UM, VERY CLOSELY WITH THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, MR. RYAN ROYAL, UH, TO SHOW UP EFFORTS FOR MUSICIANS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, IN THE CITY, E T J AND S MSA, SO THAT, UM, WE CAN PROVIDE PARKING FOR THEM AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN EXPAND THIS TO JUST OTHER ARTISTS IN GENERAL AND SEE WHERE IT GOES FROM THERE.
UM, WE ALSO, UH, GOT AN INCREASE OF PAY FOR AUSTIN MUSICIANS FOR, FROM A 1 50, 100 $50 AN HOUR TO $200 AN HOUR, UM, IF THEY ARE DOING A CITY PERFORMANCE OR PERFORMANCES BEING PUT ON BY THE CITY.
THAT, OF COURSE, HAS BEEN ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION SINCE THE PANDEMIC AND THAT WE HAVEN'T ROLLED OUT IN THE MUSIC DIVISION OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT HAS NOT ROLLED OUT THEIR, UM, UH, PROGRAM JUST YET.
BUT WHEN THEY DO, MUSICIANS WILL BE PAID AT THAT HIGHER RATE.
AND THEN THERE'S THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, WHICH WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR THE LAST MAN, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR A LONG TIME, THREE OR FOUR YEARS.
AND I CAME IN PROBABLY RIGHT AS THE, THE PAINT WAS DRYING, AND IT'S BASICALLY A FUND THAT'S TO PROMOTE TOURISM FOR, FOR, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO IT'S GONNA HAVE A HUGE IMPACT FOR MUSICIANS.
WE'RE OFFERING 5,000 AND $10,000 GRANTS.
WE'RE PUTTING OUT AN RCA, UM, SO THAT COUNCIL CAN, UM, HOPEFULLY GET THIS STITCHED UP AND APPLIED SO THAT WE CAN GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD WITH THE, UM, IMPLEMENTING OF THAT, THAT FUND, SO THAT MAYBE THIS FALL WE'D BE ABLE TO USE IT.
AND IT'S THE FIRST OF ITS KIND OF THE COUNTRY.
SO IT'S, IT'S A VERY, VERY EXCITING, UH, TIME FOR THE MUSIC COMMISSION RIGHT NOW.
AND COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND, IT'S, IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU.
[9. Discussion of recent activities and actions taken by the Parks & Recreation Board ]
OKAY.UM, PARKS AND RECREATION, NOT TONIGHT.
UM, HAVE WE EVER HAD A PRESENTATION SINCE I, FROM PARKS AND RECREATION? SINCE I'VE BEEN FROM THE DEPARTMENT? YEAH.
UH, HAVE WE EVER HAD A PRESENTATION BY PARKS AND RECREATION AND I YET WE TIED ON THE BOARD.
I, UH, WHAT ABOUT THE, THE SEA HOME INTAKE FACILITY WOULD'VE BEEN ONE, BUT WERE YOU ON THE BOARD THEN? I DON'T THINK SO.
WELL, WE CAN ALWAYS ASK, ASK FOR THEM TO COME.
HA HAS ANYBODY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE INTAKE FACILITY? I, I, IT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC NOW, I BELIEVE.
YEAH, THAT WAS A, A SIGNIFICANT PROJECT.
[01:25:01]
HAS BEEN WORKING ON FOR A WHILE.IN FACT, UH, IN MY CONVERSATIONS WITH PART ABOUT GRAFFITI, UM, THEY HAVE HAD TO USE, UM, BOND MONEY ON THAT TO ABATE THE GRAFFITI ON THE INTAKE FACILITY RATHER THAN GENERAL REVENUE.
[10. Discussion of recent activities and actions taken by the Public Safety Commission]
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION, COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ, UM, UH, WE, UM, AT OUR LAST MEETING, UM, HAD OUR QUARTERLY REPORT UPDATE FROM THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.UM, WE ALSO GOT A FIRST LOOK AT A TOWING FEE STUDY, UM, THE, UM, POTENTIAL RAISING OF TOWING FEES FOR NON-CONSENT TOES, LIKE IN ACCIDENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO WE GOT A FIRST LOOK AT THAT.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO, WE DID, WE HEARD FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF THE POLICE ACADEMY REVIEW PANEL, UM, AND JUST IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR IN TERMS OF BEING INCLUDED IN THE PROCESS, UM, AND WHAT KIND OF CHANGES CAN BE MADE TO SORT OF THE, UH, POLICE ACADEMY REVIEW PANEL.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO PASSED A RECOMMENDATION ON COUNSEL AT FIRST APPEARANCE, WHICH I DO NOT FEEL QUALIFIED TO JUST SORT OF RAMBLE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD AS TO WHAT THAT IS,
UM, BUT THE RECOMMENDATION SHOULD BE POSTED ON OUR SITE.
IT, IN ESSENCE, IS ADVOCATING FOR A PROGRAM SO THAT, UM, PEOPLE HAVE REPRESENTATION FROM THE VERY BEGINNING WHEN THEY GET, UM, ARRESTED FOR SMALL FENCES AS WELL.
WOULD THAT, WOULD THAT BE THROUGH A PUBLIC DEFENDER? UM, I BELIEVE THERE WAS A TRIAL PROGRAM THROUGH THE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE, AND THIS IS, UM, IN HOPES OF GETTING THE CITY TO INVEST IN SOME WAY IN A COUNCIL AT FIRST APPEARANCE PROGRAM TO HELP SAVE WITH JAILING FEES AND ALL SORTS OF STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, THE FULL RECOMMENDATION, LIKE I SAID, IS POSTED ONLINE AND THERE'S MORE INFORMATION THERE.
THERE'S QUITE A BIT IN THE WAREHOUSES TO SORT OF SPEAK TO THE STRENGTHS AND WHY WE THOUGHT IT WAS AN IMPORTANT PROGRAM.
UM, AND AS FAR AS WHAT COMES NEXT, WE WILL BE WORKING ON BUDGET STUFF.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
THAT MOVES US TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. DOES ANYBODY HAVE SOMETHING? I BELIEVE WE WERE HOPING TO HAVE THE ARCH, AN UPDATE ON THE ARCH FOR THIS MEETING, BUT FEBRUARY.THEY'LL BE HERE FOR THE FEBRUARY MEETING.
UH, AS Y'ALL MAY REMEMBER, UH, AND COMMISSIONER GOMEZ CAN CORRECT ME ON THIS, THAT, UH, THE SERVICE PROVIDER FOR THE ARTS CHANGED NOW URBAN ALCHEMY, NOW URBAN ALCHEMY.
AND SO WE'LL HEAR AN UPDATE AT OUR NEXT MEETING ABOUT THAT.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER AGENDA ITEMS THAT ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO SEE? WELL, WE GONNA GET EMS TO COME AND TALK TO US ABOUT THE SCOOTER STATISTICS.
I THINK WE WERE JUST TRYING TO GET STATISTICS FROM THEM, NOT WHETHER THE THEY WERE GONNA COME SPEAK ON THAT PARTICULAR ITEM, BUT, WELL, WHO'S GONNA PRESENT? THEY WERE JUST GONNA SEND IT.
I THINK THEY WERE JUST GONNA SEND FOR CIRCULATION.
UM, WE'RE, I THINK WE'RE STILL LOOKING FOR STATS FROM EMS ON SCOOTER RELATED ACCIDENTS.
COMMISSIONER GOMEZ, I WONDER IF IN THAT PRESENTATION ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENED AT THE ARCH, I GUESS IT'S TOO LATE TO, TO ASK ABOUT THE SHELTER.
SALVATION ARMY AND AUSTIN RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE HOMELESS AND THEIR, THEIR SHELTER THERE HAS ONLY RECENTLY GONE BACK TO A HUNDRED PERCENT.
AND I WAS JUST WONDERING WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS.
AND I KNOW THAT DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE KEEPS TRACK OF, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
AND I WAS JUST WONDERING IF AFTER THE WHOLE COVID THING, THE RELAXING OF THE MANDATES THAT SAID THEY, THEY COULDN'T GO ABOVE 50% IF, WHAT, WHAT'S HAPPENED IN, IN THE INTERIM.
SO HOW DID, HOW DID, HOW DID COVID IMPACT THEIR, UM, CENSUS AND NOW THAT THEY'VE REDUCED IT OR, OR GOTTEN IT BACK TO, TO FULL CAPACITY, UH, WHAT'S HAPPENED? CAN WE HAVE THAT ADDRESSED ANYTHING ELSE? LET'S, LET'S MAKE SURE I KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW THEY HAVE 130 PERMANENT OVERNIGHT GUESTS THERE EVERY NIGHT.
I DON'T KNOW THE SALVATION ARMY AND THE, UH, WHOLE SITUATION.
I, I ACTUALLY WENT ON A TOUR OF THE ARCH IN, TOWARDS THE END OF DECEMBER, AND HONESTLY I WAS SHOCKED AT HOW, HOW IT'S IMPROVED.
AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S GREAT TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE.
AND, AND, UH, HOPEFULLY THEY'LL GET SOME MORE SUPPORT
[01:30:01]
FROM THE CITY TO HELP WITH, UH, PLACEMENT ON MOVING PEOPLE IN MORE PERMANENT HOUSING.CAUSE I DON'T THINK THEY'RE GETTING, GETTING MUCH OF THAT RIGHT NOW.
BUT, UH, IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY IMPROVED.
I, I THINK THE, THE ONGOING ISSUE IS THAT THERE'S NEVER BEEN A LOT OF AVAILABILITY OF VOUCHERS FOR PEOPLE TO GRADUATE FROM SHELTERS INTO HOUSING.
AND THAT CAUSE, YOU KNOW, CAUSES THE CAUSES INTERFERENCE,
UH, AND THEN HOPE IT DOESN'T GET BACK TO BEING LIKE THE ARCH USED TO BE BECAUSE PEOPLE GET STAGNATED THERE.
UM, UM, AM I RIGHT IN THINKING THAT THE LAST DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN, UM, WAS PRESENTED IN 2011? IS THERE GONNA BE AN UPDATE AND WHO'S WORKING ON IT AND WHEN WILL WE SEE IT? AND THAT ISSUE HAS COME UP AND WE HAD A, UH, BRIEFLY HAD A WORKING GROUP TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF ADDRESSING THAT.
UM, WE HAD GOTTEN UPDATES AND I THINK WHEN YOU CAME ON THE COMMISSION, WE SENT A RECORD OF THE UPDATES THAT STAFF HAD PROVIDED US, AND I THINK WE'D GOTTEN A, UH, I THINK WE'D GOTTEN THAT SEVERAL MONTHS BEFORE YOU CAME ON BOARD.
WELL, I MAY WANNA SEE IF THAT, SEE WHAT WE HAVE.
IF WE HAD SOMEBODY COME TO SPEAK TO US ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, UH, ABOUT THAT, UM, WHO WOULD BE THE ONE? JORGE LIN.
WE, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CHANGES IN STAFFING OF LATE, UH, BUT YOU THINK IT IS JORGE RUSSLYNN? YES.
PERHAPS WE LOOK AT HAVING HIM COME AND VISIT WITH US ABOUT THAT IN, AT OUR APRIL MEETING.
UH, IF THERE IS NO OTHER BUSINESS, UH, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? I HAVE A SO MOVED.
WHATEVER I HAVE TO SAY TO YOU.
IT IS 7:13 PM UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TONIGHT AND FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.