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[Call to Order]
GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR THE
TODAY IS MAY 8TH, AND I'LL CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
THE TIME IS 1:04 PM ON MAY 8TH, 2023, AND WE ARE AT 2 0 3 COLORADO STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
AS A REMINDER, THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP PROVIDES BOTH AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AND OTHER INTERPRETER SERVICES, AND WE REQUEST 24 HOURS NOTICE FOR ASL AND OTHER INTERPRETER SERVICES.
IF YOU NEED THIS, PLEASE CONTACT OUR BOARD LIAISON, CHLOE MAXWELL.
UM, THE CONTACT INFORMATION IS IN EACH AGENDA POSTING.
SO SINCE THIS IS A WORK SESSION AND NO ITEMS ARE POSTED FOR ACTION, THERE WILL BE NO COMMON PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD TODAY.
[1.1 Presentation and discussion on the development of Austin Light Rail Implementation Plan. No action will be taken.]
ONE AGENDA ITEM TO DISCUSS TODAY, WHICH IS THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.I WANT TO REALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THIS MILESTONE BECAUSE WE'VE THIS BEEN A VERY HEAVY LIFT FROM THE ENTIRE TEAM TO GET US TO THIS POINT.
AND AS WE SAY, IN JULY OF, UH, 2022, WE WERE GONNA HIT A RESET BUTTON TO ADVANCE, AND I REQUESTED TO HAVE THIS WORK SESSION TODAY AS WE BROUGHT CLOSURE TO THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD THAT ENDED ON MAY 2ND TO THEN FOR STAFF TO BRING FORWARD TO THE BOARD WHAT WERE THE SALIENT COMMENTS, WHAT WAS, UH, WHAT SURFACED AS A PRIORITY.
AND ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS BOARD WANTED TO WAIT TO, TO, FIRST WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY BEFORE WE WERE ABLE TO THEN DISCUSS IN MORE DEPTH THESE OPTIONS AND WHAT YOU GUYS LEARNED FROM WHAT THE COMMUNITY HAS ADVISED US AS WELL DURING THIS PROCESS.
SO, UM, SO WITH THAT, I'D REALLY LIKE TO RECOGNIZE YOUR LEADERSHIP, GREG, IN BRINGING US FROM JULY TO THIS POINT.
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MILESTONE, AND I THINK IT'S IN THE WORDS OF LINDSAY.
I LOVE WHAT YOU SAID LAST TIME WHEN YOU GAVE US A BRIEFING, IS THAT THE TEAM IS, UH, BLISSFULLY EXHAUSTED AFTER A HUNDRED MEETINGS.
SO BLISSFULLY EXHAUSTED, PROBABLY.
IT'S A, IT SOUNDS A LITTLE BIT LIKE AN OXYMORON, BUT IT'S, I THINK IT'S, IT JUST SHOWS THE DEVOTION TO HAVE ALL THIS INDEPENDENT MEETINGS OF HOW YOU GUYS WENT TO THE FIELD AND RECEIVED THE INPUT DIRECTLY FROM THE COMMUNITY.
SO, WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR THIS
WELCOME TO, UM, MONDAY AFTERNOON AT ATP FOR A WORK SESSION ON, UH, AUSTIN AND PROJECT CONNECT, AND HOW WE'RE ADVANCING AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL AS PART OF OUR OVERALL INVESTMENT IN TRANSIT AND OUR INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE OF AUSTIN.
SO, I THINK ON THE FIRST SLIDE, JUST TO ROOT US WHERE WE ARE, UH, WHERE WE'VE BEEN, UM, CHLOE, THE NEXT SLIDE.
I THINK THE BOARD CHAIR REFERENCED WHERE WE WERE LAST JULY, AND IN THE FALL, UM, SITTING IN THIS ROOM, UH, OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU AS A BOARD AND TO THIS COMMUNITY WAS TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT THE EFFORT THAT SAT IN FRONT OF US AT THAT POINT IN TIME, UH, ABOUT WORKING THROUGH ADVANCING ALL OF PROJECT CONNECT, ADVANCING THE VISION OF AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL, AND DOING IT IN A WAY THAT WAS REALLY VALUED BY COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY AND COMMUNITY DIALOGUE.
UM, AND IN ADDITION WAS ROOTED IN EXPERTISE.
I, I RECALL SITTING IN HERE WITH THAT ROOM OF EXPERTS TALKING US THROUGH THAT PLACE WE WERE IN AND HOW WE WERE GONNA GET THROUGH IT, AND HOW WE WERE GONNA DO THAT BY COLLABORATING WITH EACH OTHER, LISTENING, UM, AND ENGAGING WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND WE, AT THAT MOMENT IN, UH, IN JULY AND THEN IN, AND IN SEPTEMBER, WE COMMITTED TO THIS COMMUNITY TO COME BACK, UM, IN THE SPRING WITH AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
WE STARTED THAT EFFORT IN MARCH, UM, ALLOWING TIME NOT ONLY TO RECEIVE, UH, THE WORK OF OUR EXPERTS AND ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, BUT TO ALLOW TIME FOR A DIALOGUE IN THIS COMMUNITY, UM, IN AUSTIN.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING OVER THESE LAST, UH, WEEKS AND REALLY BUILDING ON A CONVERSATION THAT'S HAPPENED OVER THE YEARS ABOUT OUR INVESTMENT IN PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, SO, UH, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TODAY, AS YOU SAID, BOARD CHAIR,
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THAT NOW THAT WE HAVE CLOSED OUR, THIS PART OF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UH, WE DID A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE'VE HEARD AND TO ALLOW THE BOARD TO LISTEN TO SOME OF THE EARLY FINDINGS OF THAT, UM, AND REALLY HAVE A DIALOGUE WITH YOU, THE BOARD ABOUT, UH, THE THEMES WE'RE HEARING AS WE LOOK AT, UM, UH, ADOPTING A LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND LOOK ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AHEAD.I'M, I AM SO PROUD OF NOT ONLY THE GREAT, UH, TEAM, UH, THAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU, THAT IS ATP AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, CAPITAL METRO, THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
I THINK IT SHOWS THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE OVER THESE MONTHS COLLABORATIVELY TO GET TO THIS POINT IN TIME.
SO, UH, AS YOU SAID, THE WORK, UH, OF BEING OUT THERE BLISSFULLY, UM, BLY, UH, TIRED, EXHAUSTED, UM, WE HAVE A FEW MORE WEEKS OF EXHAUSTION, BUT WE THINK IT'S WELL WORTH IT.
AND, UM, SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF, OF THE WORK THAT HAS HAS GONE ON AND REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE, UH, DIALOGUE AND CONVERSATION WE WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU TODAY.
SO WITH THAT, I THINK I'M TURNING IT STRAIGHT OVER TO, UH, CHARMILLA, WHO'S GONNA KICK US OFF.
CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? UH, OKAY, THANKS GREG.
UH, FIRST OFF, I WANTED TO, UH, COMPLIMENT, UH, OUR COLLECTIVE TEAM, SPECIFICALLY ATP, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, TEAM FOR THE EXCEPTIONAL, UM, OUTREACH THAT, UH, YOU ALL HAVE DONE TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS.
AND IT'S MY HONOR TO BE PART OF THE TEAM TODAY, UM, TO BE AT THE TABLE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, WHERE THIS LIGHT TRAIL.
AS SOON AS I AM ABLE TO FIGURE THIS OUT, I WOULD BE, UH, MOVE THE SLIDE ALONG.
SO HERE, UH, JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE LIGHT TRAIL FITS INTO CAT METRO, UM, AND AUSTIN'S LARGER TRANSIT NETWORK.
UM, WE STATE OF TRANSIT IN AUSTIN.
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, UM, TO JUST PARALLEL WHAT LINDSAY SAID TO BLISSFULLY EXHAUSTED, UM, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S FAIRLY SIMILAR.
UH, THE FUTURE OF TRANSIT IN AUSTIN IS BRIGHT.
OUR RIDERSHIP IS CONTINUALLY INCREASING.
UM, JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE NOW IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS, OUR, UH, UP RIDERSHIP IS 22.8 MILLION ACROSS ALL MODES, AND WE ARE OUTPACING OUR, UM, OTHER TRANSIT AGENCIES OUR SIZE AND OUR, OUR TRUE PEERS IN SIMILAR GEOGRAPHY AND SIZE, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE NATIONAL LARGER, UH, TRANSIT AGENCIES IN SHEER PERCENTAGE.
SO FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, THIS COULDN'T COME AT A BETTER TIME.
IT'S A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING IN HIGH CAPACITY MODE IN OUR SYSTEM.
AND SO WHAT THE LIGHT TRAIL NEEDS TO BE, WE ALL KNOW THAT, BUT I THINK IT'S PROBABLY GOOD TO SORT OF MENTION THAT.
UM, LIGHT TRAIL IS A PIECE OF A PUZZLE.
IT'S A VERY LARGE PIECE OF HIGH CAPACITY TRANSIT THAT FITS INTO, UH, THE, THE LARGER NETWORK, UM, OF TRANSIT IN AUSTIN.
AND IT'S THE TRANSIT WORKHORSE THAT SORT OF FEEDS, COLLECTS AND DISTRIBUTES TO THE REST OF THE NETWORK.
UNEQUAL, UH, SPEAK AND OFTEN SPEAKS TO HOW IT'S GOING TO FIT IN IN AUSTIN'S STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLANS MODE SHIFT GOALS.
AND I THINK THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO STATE THAT BECAUSE PROJECT CONNECT WOULDN'T BE HERE WITHOUT AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLANET, IT'S MODE SHIFT, UM, OBJECTIVES.
AND THEN WHAT IT DOES NOW, UH, OUR TRANS, I MEAN, THIS LIGHT TRAIL WOULD PERFORM CRITICAL ACCESS TO AND FROM, UM, FROM LINE TO THE LARGER NETWORK FIRST AND LAST MILE, HOW IT NEEDS TO BE INTEGRATED WITH PEDESTRIAN AND BY AND ABOVE ALL SERVE AS A CORE, UH, LIGHT TRAIL LINE FOR THE LARGER SYSTEM FOR FUTURE EXPANSION.
UM, SO IT IS NOT THE ONLY PIECE.
THERE ARE OTHER PROJECT CONNECT COMPONENTS THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD, AND THE NEXT SLIDE I WILL TOUCH UPON THEM, BUT THERE ARE RED LINE COMMUTER RAIL IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE THROUGH PROJECT CONNECT, UM, FUNDING GREEN LINE IS PART OF THE PROJECT EXPO, PLEASANT VALLEY METRO RAPID BUS, RAPID TRANSIT PROJECTS ARE MOVING FORWARD.
AND I HAVE A QUICK UPDATE ON THAT THAT I WILL SHARE ON THE NEXT SLIDE AS WELL.
PARK AND RIDES AND CITIES, ABSOLUTELY UNPRECEDENTED AND REMARKABLE.
300 MILLION ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDS TO SUPPORT SUCH A GENERATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR LIT TRAIL TO
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COME TO AUSTIN.SO WITH THAT, UM, HERE'S, UM, A GOOD NEWS IMAGE.
UH, A LOT OF, LOT OF PROGRESS HAVE BEEN MADE ON PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, HERE'S FTA, UM, ADMINISTRATOR, NUIA FERNANDEZ WAS IN TOWN WITH HER TEAM, WITH OUR REPRESENTATIVES IN REPRESENTATIVE OF PROJECT CONNECT FOR, UH, EXPO AND PV SMALL STARTS, UH, FTA GRANTS THAT THIS IS THE CEREMONIAL, UM, CHECK THAT WE ARE ALL HOLDING HERE.
AND THE OTHER TWO, YOU ARE, UH, PLEASANT VALLEY AND RED LINE CONSTRUCTION AT MCCULLOUGH STATION AT Q2 STADIUM.
UM, ALL OF THOSE COMPONENTS ARE IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER BECAUSE THIS LIGHT TRAIL WOULD BE PART OF THAT LARGER NETWORK AND WILL TAKE AUSTIN TRANSIT FORWARD TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF HIGH CAPACITY TRANSIT.
FAIR TO, UM, INVITE FOLKS TO STEP IN AND HAVE A CONVERSATION.
I REALLY WOULD LIKE FOR THIS WORK SESSION TO BE A DIALOGUE.
DO YOU KNOW, FEEL FREE TO STEP IN AND BE RECOGNIZED TO IF ANYBODY HAS ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS AT ANY POINT IN TIME, SO IT CAN BE MORE OF A DIALOGUE.
AND LINDSEY WOOD, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION, UM, GOING TO WALK THROUGH THE FIVE LIGHT RAIL OPTIONS, AND I WANNA BUILD OFF OF WHAT CHARMELLA NOTED THAT, UH, THE LIGHT RAIL EARLY IS ONE PIECE OF THE OVERALL TRANSIT SYSTEM.
AND YOU'LL SEE IN THE, IN EACH OF THESE MAPS AS WE WALK THROUGH THE OPTIONS, HOW IT MAY CONNECT TO THE OTHER MODES, BOTH EXISTING AND PLANNED.
SO YOU'LL SEE IN THESE MAPS, THE RED LINE CONNECTIONS, UM, THE FUTURE GREEN LINE COMMUTER RAIL.
IT WILL ALSO SHOW THE METRO RAPID, UM, INCLUDING THE, THE LINES UNDER CONSTRUCTION THAT YOU JUST SAW ON THE LAST SLIDE, CONNECTING AT PLEASANT VALLEY AND THE EXPO LINE AND OTHERS, AS WELL AS HIGH FREQUENCY BUS ROUTES.
SO, OF THESE FIVE OPTIONS, I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THEY DIFFER.
THEY VARY IN THEIR EXTENDS TO THE NORTH, SOUTH, AND EAST.
UH, THEY ALSO VARY IN TERMS OF WHERE A MAINTENANCE FACILITY MAY BE LOCATED.
SO IN EACH OF THESE MAPS, YOU'LL SEE A GREEN CIRCLE, UH, WITH THE ONE OF THE OPTIONS HAVING THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY LOCATED ALONG NORTH LAMAR, JUST NORTH OF 180 3 AT THE NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER.
THEY'RE IN THE FIRST OPTION TO THE LEFT, AND IN THE OTHER FOUR ALONG EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE NEAR 71.
AND THEY ALSO VARY IN TERMS OF HOW THEY GET THROUGH DOWNTOWN, UH, BOTH WHERE THEY CROSS LADYBIRD LAKE, EITHER AT GUADALUPE TO SOUTH FIRST STREET ON A NEW BRIDGE NEXT TO THE SOUTH FIRST STREET BRIDGE, OR ALONG TRINITY, AND TO THE WATERFRONT CROSSING THERE TO THE SOUTH.
SOME OF THEM, THE FIRST THREE ON THE LEFT BEING ON STREET, HOW THEY GET THROUGH DOWNTOWN.
SO WITH LIGHT RAIL AT, AT THE, UM, STREET LEVEL AND, AND THE PEDESTRIAN LEVEL.
AND THERE ARE OPTIONS, THE FOURTH AND FIFTH THERE FOR PARTIAL ELEVATED AND FOR PARTIAL UNDERGROUND.
SO I'M GOING TO FLIP QUICKLY THROUGH THESE AND MAYBE JUST HIGHLIGHT ANY MAJOR ELEMENTS.
THIS FIRST ONE BEING THE ONE EXTENDING FURTHEST TO THE NORTH, NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER TO PLEASANT VALLEY, AND AGAIN, ON STREET THROUGH DOWNTOWN.
UM, THIS ONE BEING THE OPTION TO THE AIRPORT AND TO 29TH STREET ON THE NORTH THE NEXT, INCLUDING NORTH, SOUTH, AND EAST AREAS OF COVERAGE, AND AGAIN, ON STREET THROUGH DOWNTOWN.
AND THE NEXT, WITH A PORTION OF DOWNTOWN WITH LIGHT RAILS SEPARATED FROM THE STREET LEVEL ON AN ELEVATED BRIDGE FROM EIGHTH STREET TO SOUTH OF THE RIVER, JUST PAST AUDITORIUM SHORES AND RESULTING IN COVERAGE FROM 29TH STREET, UH, RATHER THAN 38TH IN THE ON STREET OPTION BECAUSE OF THE ELEVATED ELEMENTS HAVING A HIGHER COST.
AND LASTLY, BUILDING UPON THAT PARTIAL ELEVATED SEGMENT DOWNTOWN TO ALSO INCLUDE AN UNDERGROUND SEGMENT, UH, THAT WOULD START FROM MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BOULEVARD AND CONTINUE TO EIGHTH STREET CONNECTING TO THAT ELEVATED LIGHT RAIL BRIDGE.
UH, THIS ONE BEING FULLY SEPARATED WITH LIGHT RAIL, NOT AT THE STREET LEVEL, ANYWHERE THROUGH DOWNTOWN, AND HAVING AN EVEN HIGHER COST RESULTING IN THE LIMITS OF UT TO YELLOW JACKET, WHICH IS AT EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE
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AND 71.AND PETER, YOU WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THOSE ALTERNATIVES DOWNTOWN? THANKS, LINDSEY.
PETER MULLEN, UH, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN AT ETP.
UM, YEAH, SO THESE OPTIONS OF GETTING THROUGH DOWNTOWN, YOU KNOW, WE ARE NEW, RIGHT? SO THESE ARE, THESE ARE NEW EXPLORATIONS FOR US.
UM, AND SO WE WANTED TO SHARE WITH THE PUBLIC A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK AND FEEL LIKE DOWNTOWN, UM, AND HOW IT WOULD WORK.
SO THIS IS AN IMAGE OF, UM, THE ON STREET ALIGNMENT, UM, FROM ABOUT FOURTH STREET, UH, FROM FOURTH STREET LOOKING NORTHWEST TOWARDS REPUBLIC SQUARE.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE HOW THE, THE LIGHT RAIL WOULD LOOK RUN IN THE, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, UM, IN ITS OWN DEDICATED GUIDEWAY WITH SPACE ON EITHER SIDE FOR OTHER MODES.
UM, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT LATER IS, UM, COORDINATING WITH THE, THE CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
THE, THE ACT THAT, THAT, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS UNDERWAY, UH, AS LEADING, UH, LOOKING AT ALL STREETS DOWNTOWN.
SO WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO REALLY FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE ALL MODES DOWNTOWN, INCLUDING, UM, LIGHT RAIL ON THE STREET.
UM, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT IS HOW DO WE, IF IN THE ON STREET OPTIONS, HOW DO WE USE THAT, UH, THE, THE TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE TO REALLY ACTIVATE THOSE STREETS, RIGHT? SO HOW DO YOU CREATE COMPLETE STREETS, UM, IN THIS CONDITION AND A PLACE WHERE WE'VE INVESTED SO MUCH IN OUR DOWNTOWN PUBLIC REALM? SO THAT'S CERTAINLY PART OF, PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE PRECEDENTS ON THE RIGHT.
I MEAN, THERE ARE LOTS OF OBVIOUSLY, UH, CITIES AROUND THE WORLD THAT HAVE ON STREET ALIGNMENTS, UM, DOWNTOWN, UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ALL ON A NUMBER OF CONTINENTS.
SO LOTS OF LESSONS FOR US TO LEARN FROM.
UM, SO WE'VE ALSO LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, UH, FOR THE TWO OPTIONS THAT DO HAVE GREAT SEPARATION, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT AN ELEVATED STRUCTURE WOULD LOOK LIKE DOWNTOWN.
UM, SO HERE YOU SEE THE SAME VIEW LOOKING TOWARDS REPUBLIC SQUARE.
UH, THE ALIGNMENT IS GENERALLY IN THE CENTER OF THE STREET.
UM, YOU DO WITH THE, WITH THE ELEVATOR STRUCTURE, YOU PROBABLY GET AN ADDITIONAL LANE, UM, FOR OTHER MODES ON, ON THE STREET LEVEL.
UM, BUT YOU CAN SEE ALSO THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WITH THE STATION BEING ELEVATED, YOU HAVE TO HAVE VERTICAL CIRCULATION ELEMENTS, ELEVATORS, STAIRS, ESCALATORS, UM, AND YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY IN NEW ELEVATED SYSTEMS, UM, THOSE ELEMENTS WANT TO BE ENCLOSED AND PROTECTED FROM THE WEATHER JUST BECAUSE IT INCREASES THE LITTLE RELIABILITY OF THOSE MECHANICAL ELEMENTS.
SO, UM, YOU SEE HERE AN ESCALATOR WITH A KIND OF A GLASS ENCLOSURE AROUND THAT TO PROTECT IT.
UM, UH, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, UH, DIFFERENT IMPACTS ON THE PUBLIC REALM WITH THE ELEVATED STRUCTURE.
SO I THINK SOMETHING THAT WE'VE, UH, HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT WITH THE PUBLIC, WHICH HAS BEEN REALLY POSITIVE, UM, POSITIVE DIALOGUE.
AND I'M GONNA PASS IT ON TO ME.
BEFORE WE MOVE ON, HOPE I'M NOT THE ONE TO HURT.
HERE'S THAT RINGING IN HIS EAR.
SO,
SO THAT, THAT'S MY FIRST QUESTION, IS WHAT, WHAT ARE WE TELLING THE PUBLIC ABOUT HOW WE PUT THOSE TOGETHER? AND THE SECOND IS THAT, YOU KNOW, I LOOK AT THE PREVIOUS ONE AND IT'S IN THE ROAD AS YOU POINT OUT.
WHAT ARE WE, HOW ARE WE LOOKING AT 'EM? HOW ARE WE JUDGING WHAT IT DOES? UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE ASSESSOR CHAVEZ BLACKED UP, BACKED UP AS ASSESSOR CHAVEZ IS, IS, YOU KNOW, ALL, HOW DOES IT PLAY INTO THOSE MULTIPLE ROADS AND NOT JUST THE ROAD THAT IT'S ON.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? A HUNDRED PERCENT, MAYBE.
MONIQUE, IF YOU WANNA TAKE THAT.
ANIQUE BO DAVE MOBILITY OFFICER, CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, AGAIN, HAPPY TO BE HERE AND HONORED TO BE PART OF, OF THE PARTNERSHIP AND PART OF THIS DISCUSSION TODAY.
TO ANSWER YOUR FIRST QUESTION, UH, ABSOLUTELY WE ARE COORDINATED FROM A TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND, UM, OPERATIONS PERSPECTIVE WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING AND WHAT'S GOING TO BE THIS, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH I 35, WHICH OFFERS ACTUALLY A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR REDISTRIBUTING TRAFFIC THROUGHOUT DOWNTOWN.
UM, AND ALSO, UH, COORDINATED WITH CONVENTION CENTER, ALSO COORDINATED WITH THE AIRPORT EXPANSION.
AND SO THERE ARE MULTIPLE ME MEETINGS WEEK AFTER WEEK
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TO MAKE SURE WE ALL UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING, WE MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER AND WE'RE NOT IN EACH OTHER'S WAY.WE'RE ACTUALLY ENHANCING, UM, WHAT THE, THE, THE MISSION AND THE GOALS OF, OF ALL THOSE PROJECTS.
UM, ALSO DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT ON A DAILY BASIS AS SITE PLANS COME IN THROUGH, UM, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, THEY HAVE A REALLY, UM, TRIED AND TRUE SYSTEM FOR SENDING US PLANS HERE AT, UM, THE PROGRAM OFFICE TO REVIEW AND MAKE SURE WE'RE GETTING A RIGHT OF WAY IF WE CAN GET IT DEDICATED THROUGH THE PROCESS SO WE'RE NOT PAYING FOR IT DOWN THE ROAD, UM, OR IF THERE'S A PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY.
SO I HOPE THAT ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION.
THAT, UM, AND, AND MOST, MOST OF THE TIME I DON'T WANNA HAVE ROSIE COLORED GLASSES ON.
UM, BUT ALL OF THESE ARE COMPLIMENTARY TO EACH OTHER, WHICH GETS ME TO ANSWERING MY SECOND, YOUR SECOND QUESTION, WHICH IS, UM, I'LL GET TO, WE'LL GET TO A SLIDE HERE IN A SECOND, WHICH WE'LL GET INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL.
BUT THE AUSTIN CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, WHICH IS BEING LED BY THE, UM, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, IS TAKING THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN TO A LOWER ALTITUDE, AND ACTUALLY LOOKING AT WHAT IS GONNA HAPPEN ONCE THE I 35 DESIGN IS IMPLEMENTED, WHAT IS GONNA HAPPEN ONCE WE HAVE SOME VERSION OF LIGHT RAIL, AND HOW DO THE STREET SCAPES NEED TO CHANGE TO KEEP TRAFFIC MOVING? AND WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT IT CAN WORK, IT'S GONNA BE DIFFERENT, BUT IT CAN WORK.
TRAFFIC WILL BE REDISTRIBUTED, BUT THERE'S TOOLS LIKE, UH, IN SIGNAL TECHNOLOGY AND TWO-WAY CONVERSIONS AND OTHER TYPES OF TOOLS.
NOT SAYING WE, WE WOULD, WE'LL DEFINITELY DO, UM, SIGNAL TECHNOLOGY, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF TOOLS THAT WE CAN THEN DEVELOP PROJECTS THAT WILL MITIGATE WHAT WE KNOW TO BE PINCH POINTS IN THE SYSTEM ONCE WE HAVE OUR DESIGN AND WE HAVE OUR OPTION CHOSEN.
I HOPE THAT ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION.
COURTNEY CHAVEZ, SVP OF EQUITY AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP.
SO I'M HERE TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT HAPPENED, WHY WE'RE ALL SO BLISSFULLY EXHAUSTED,
UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE CREATED THIS SIX WEEK DIALOGUE PERIOD THAT KICKED OFF ON MARCH 21ST WITH OUR MEETING AT THE AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY AND EXTENDED THROUGH MAY 2ND, AND I ISAIAH THROUGH MAY 2ND BECAUSE WE WERE RECEIVING COMMENTS UP TO 11:59 PM WE WANTED THAT DIALOGUE PERIOD TO BE SIX WEEKS LONG TO ALLOW US FOR REALLY MEANINGFUL DISCUSSIONS AND TO GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO BACK TO COMMUNITIES WHERE IF WE WERE NOT ABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THE FIRST TIME, WE MADE SURE WE WOULD DO FOLLOW UPS.
OVER THAT SIX WEEK PERIOD, INCLUDING MARCH 21ST, WE HAD OVER 80 ACTIVE OUTREACH EVENTS.
AND SO I'M DEFINITELY UNDERCOUNTING, I'M GONNA TELL YOU THAT I'M DOING FINAL COUNTS NOW, BUT AS WE'RE DEFINING ACTIVE OUTREACH, THIS MEANS, UM, US IN COMMUNITY.
SO IN THREE BUCKETS, COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS.
SO EVERY PRESENTATION WE WERE INVITED TO ATTEND EVERY AGENDA THAT WE WERE ON.
UM, THAT INCLUDES NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, ORGANIZATIONS, OTHER EVENTS, COMMUNITY EVENTS THEMSELVES WHERE WE WERE TABLING.
SO THE KITE FESTIVAL, TOTOS HEALTH FAIR, UM, AUSTIN JUSTICE COALITION'S BLOCK PARTY.
AND FINALLY, THEIR THIRD BUCKET OF WHAT WE'RE REFERRING TO IS BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES.
SO THAT'S CITY COUNCIL, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, AND EVERY ATP OR CAP METRO COMMITTEE THAT WE ATTENDED, IT WAS A LOT OF WORK.
IT WAS VERY WELL ATTENDED, AND, UM, I'D SAY A LOT OF FUN.
UM, WE, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO DID AT STOP OUTREACH.
SO ONE OF THE BIG ASKS WAS TO ENSURE THAT WE WERE REACHING OUR CORE RIDER OF THE TRANSIT SYSTEM.
AND SO WE IDENTIFIED 40 DIFFERENT, I BELIEVE THE TOTAL NUMBER IS 45 LOCATIONS, UNIQUE SPOTS AROUND THE ALIGNMENT AND BEYOND THE, THE, UM, FIVE OPTIONS.
SO YOU'LL SEE WE GO AS FAR AS TECH RIDGE, NORTH AND SOUTH TO, UH, SOUTH PARK MEADOWS.
UH, THE WAY THAT WE CHOSE THOSE LOCATIONS WITH, THERE ARE HIGH RIDERSHIP STATIONS, BUT ALSO A FEW THAT WERE JU JUST IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF LOCATION.
IF THEY WERE NEAR A MAINTENANCE FACILITY, FOR EXAMPLE, IN ALL WE'RE SAYING THAT, UH, OUR ACCOUNT IS AROUND 7,000 PEOPLE, OVER 7,000 PEOPLE THAT WE'VE HAD SOME FORM OF COMMUNITY INTERACTION WITH.
SO THAT INCLUDES AT EVERY MEETING, AT EVERY AT STOP OUTREACH, UM, AND BEYOND, BECAUSE WHAT I'M NOT COUNTING ARE THE EMAIL DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE HAD WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS AT THE, AS THEY'VE EMAILED US IN WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS GETTING READY FOR OUR ENGAGEMENT REPORT.
SO AT THE END OF THIS WORK, WE HAD CLOSE TO 6,000 COMMENTS RECEIVED.
AND SO THAT INCLUDES COMMENTS THROUGH OUR VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE EMAILS, UH, VOICEMAILS AND HANDWRITTEN COMMENTS RECEIVED AT MEETINGS.
IN ADDITION, WE'RE ANALYZING THE COMMENT OR THE MEETING NOTES.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE ATTEND AN EVENT AT, UM, BASA, AND WE HEAR THE COMMENTS BEING SAID, BUT THEY'RE NOT WRITING THEM DOWN,
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WE TOOK OUR OWN NOTES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAPTURED CONCERNS, QUESTIONS, AND CONVERSA CONVERSATIONS, UH, EVERY WEEK, BECAUSE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A LARGE NUMBER OF COMMENTS EVERY WEEK.ALONG THE WAY, WE WERE LOOKING AT THOSE COMMENTS AND ANALYZING THEM TO PUT US IN A POSITION TO MEET OUR MAY 16TH DEADLINE.
I KEEP GOING TO APRIL, CAUSE MY BRAIN WILL NOT LET ME LEAVE APRIL, SAY, BUT, UH, TO MEET OUR MAY 16TH DEADLINE FOR THAT ENGAGEMENT REPORT.
SO, ALONG THE WAY, WE'VE BEEN SHARING INFORMATION BACK WITH OUR PLANNING AND TECHNICAL TEAMS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTOOD THE COMMENTS WE WERE RECEIVING OBSERVATIONALLY, AND KNOW HOW TO BUILD THAT INTO THEIR PLANS AS WE WERE MOVING FORWARD.
WHERE WE ARE NOW, UH, FOR A LEVEL SET.
UH, THE LAST DAY OF ENGAGEMENT, WE DID RECEIVE CLOSE TO A THOUSAND COMMENTS IN THAT DAY ALONE.
SO WE NEEDED TO FINISH REVIEWING COMMENTS LAST WEEK.
WE WERE ABLE TO FINISH ON FRIDAY, MOVING INTO FULL DATA ANALYSIS TODAY SO THAT WE CAN GET THE REPORT DONE BY MAY 16TH.
SO AS WE CONTINUE FORWARD, WHAT YOU'LL SEE TODAY ARE THE OBSERVATIONS OF WHAT WE'VE SEEN THROUGHOUT THAT COMMENT PERIOD.
SO AS AN EXAMPLE OF HEARING FROM COMMUNITY AND EVOLVING HOW WE'RE DOING DATA TRANSPARENCY IS THE, THE DATA PORTAL THAT WAS, UM, LAUNCHED.
MY DATA'S DAYS ARE OFF MAYBE TWO WEEKS AGO.
IF YOU GO TO OUR WEBSITE, WWW.ATPTX.ORG, YOU'LL SEE AT THE VERY TOP OF THE NAVIGATION BAR AND ABOUT LIGHT RAIL FAQS, SO THAT IF COMMUNITY HAS QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, HOT TOPICS THAT WE'RE HEARING ALL THE WAY THROUGH THIS ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, THEY CAN GO READ SOME, SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, BUT ALSO ACCESS TO THE DATA PORTAL THAT THE PLANNING TEAM HAS USED FOR ALL THEIR MAPPING PURPOSES AND RIDERSHIP DATA.
IN ADDITION, RECENTLY WE RELEASED THE FINANCE F FAQ, SO THERE'S A FINANCE REPORT THERE AS WELL.
MS. COURTNEY, YOU'RE ON THAT OTHER SLIDE.
UM, WITH THE DATA PORTAL, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT AS, AS YOU GUYS WERE RECEIVING REQUESTS FOR VERY SPECIFIC DATA, YOU RESPONDED TO THAT REQUEST AND THEN MADE IT AVAILABLE FOR THE ENTIRE PUBLIC.
IS THAT CORRECT? IS THAT WHAT LAUNCHED THAT PORTAL? GOOD AFTERNOON, JENNIFER.
I CAN RESPOND TO THAT QUESTION.
SO WE WANTED TO PLACE ALL THE SOCIOECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHIC DATA, EVERYTHING THAT FED THE RIDERSHIP MODEL, OKAY.
UM, TO HAVE IT BE AVAILABLE TO ANYBODY WHO WANTED TO VIEW IT, LOOK AT IT OR DOWNLOAD IT.
UM, AND SO THE PORTAL WILL BE KEPT UPDATED AS WE, CUZ WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE ANALYZING, YOU KNOW, AS WE GO.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, PEOPLE ALWAYS GET WHAT WE'RE USING NOW, UM, WHEN THEY GO TO THAT PORTAL.
YEAH, I POKED AROUND IN IT AND I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY HELPFUL TO SEE THAT HOW YOU GUYS ARE POPULATING THE RGIS WEBS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE INTERFACE, NOT ONLY YOU'RE PUTTING THE MEETINGS, HOW MANY PEOPLE ATTENDED, IT'S ALL LIVE AND LIVING IN THIS DOCUMENT, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATED HOW YOU WERE ABLE TO THEN I WAS ABLE TO NOW DISCERN MORE SPECIFICALLY THE RIDERSHIP ALONG THESE ROUTES AND THE DEMOGRAPHICS THAT THEY WERE SERVED.
BECAUSE I COULD ZOOM IN INTO THESE MAPS.
SO THEY'RE VERY USER FRIENDLY AS WELL.
SO THIS IS FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE TUNING IN, GO TO THIS WEBSITE, GO TO THIS DATA PORTAL.
THERE'S REALLY GOOD INFORMATION THERE THAT I THINK IT'S, IT'S VERY INFORMATIVE.
SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR SHARING THAT.
SHERIFF, IF I MAY, MIGHT BE JUMPING IN AND GREG'S GONNA SAY SOMETHING, BUT WE HAVE HEARD SOME CONCERN ABOUT THE MAY 2ND WE'RE DONE, RIGHT? WELL, LET'S BE SERIOUS.
AUSTIN INPUT'S NEVER DONE
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO HEAR, WE'RE STILL LISTENING MM-HMM.
BUT HOW WILL WE CONTINUE THROUGH WITH INPUT AS WE GO FORWARD? I THINK IT'S A GOOD POINT, UH, ROBERT, THAT THAT IS A CAPTURE DATE.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE AFTER THIS SIX WEEKS OF, UH, OF 7,000 PEOPLE ENGAGING THAT THEY KNEW WHAT EACH OF 'EM WERE SAYING TO EACH OTHER.
UM, AND WE GET TO CONVENE THAT CONVERSATION AND REPORT BACK OUT.
AND AT THE END OF THIS, WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR NEXT STEPS, HOW WE'RE GONNA PROCEED FORWARD.
AND THEN I THINK ALSO TO REALLY REMIND FOLKS BACK ON OUR, ON OUR RAILROAD TRACKS, WE'RE STILL GONNA BE GOING THROUGH THE NEPA PROCESS, UM, AFTER OUR DECISION.
AND THAT IN ITSELF IS A, IS A PUBLIC PROCESS.
SO THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS FOR US AND IS A, IS A, IS A CONTINUUM.
UM, AND JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THE DATA PORTAL, UM, AND REALLY COMMEND JEN AND THE TEAM FOR, WE WERE ASKED A LOT ABOUT GETTING SOME SPECIFIC DATA OUT.
AND THE IDEA WAS NOT TO JUST GIVE IT TO ONE, BUT PUT IT OUT AND THEN PUT ACT EVEN ADDITIONAL DATA THAT WASN'T EVEN ASKED FOR.
[00:30:01]
ON THIS GOING FORWARD YEARS AND YEARS, THIS, THIS DATA PORTAL WILL BE REALLY A NEAT PART OF OUR, UH, OF OUR COMMUNITY CREATION AS WE'RE TALKING TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT, ABOUT, UH, CUZ EVERYONE WANTS TO DIGEST THE INFORMATION DIFFERENT WAYS.SOME PEOPLE LIKE HAVING A, A ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATION.
SOME PEOPLE LIKE DOWNLOADING THE DATA AND MESSING WITH IT IN THEIR SPREADSHEET.
THAT USED TO BE ME AT ONE POINT, BUT THEY DON'T LET ME DO THAT ANYMORE.
UM, SO IT WAS AGAIN, THE, ONE OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS TALKS ABOUT THE, THE A IN AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.
YES, IT'S FOR AUSTIN, BUT SOMETIMES IT'S FOR AGILITY.
UH, AND TAKING A QUESTION AND, AND AND SEEING A NEED AND, AND MAKING IT, UH, RESPONDING TO JUST MORE THAN ONE, BUT RESPONDING TO THE ALL SO GOOD ON, GOOD ON THEM FOR THINKING ABOUT THIS.
AND SO, AND SO FROM A A PROCESS STANDPOINT, UM, WE'RE STILL COLLECTING COMMENTS, WE'RE STILL RECEIVING EMAILS.
UM, IT WILL NOT BE A PART OF THE REPORT REGIN, CUZ THAT WAS A MOMENT IN TIME.
BUT YES, WE'RE COLLECTING AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE OUR PROCESS OF SHARING BACK WITH OUR TEAMS WHEN WE SEE THEM.
AND I CAN SAY THAT I DON'T SEE ANYTHING DIFFERENT OR SURPRISING BY THE EMAIL.
SO IT, IT'S CONTINUED CONVERSATION.
SO WHAT ARE WE HEARING? UM, AND IT'S IMPORTANT.
I LIKE TO ASTERISK, CAVEAT, DO ALL THE THINGS, MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL ARE AWARE, THESE ARE OBSERVATIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN STUDYING THE COMMENTS AS A WHOLE TO UNDERSTAND THE DIRECTION THAT WE'RE HEADING.
WE'RE DOING DATA ANALYSIS RIGHT NOW TO BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU A CLEAR CONNECTION POINT.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, QUESTIONS CAME UP AT THE CAC ABOUT CONNECTING TO CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION.
WE WON'T BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT HERE AT THIS POINT.
IT'LL BE PART OF THE REPORT THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING.
BUT WE CAN GIVE YOU A, A HIGHLIGHT OF THE THEMES COMING OUT, THE QUESTIONS COMING OUT, AND REALLY THE VARIED RESPONSES THAT WE'VE HAD, WHICH IS THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF, OF, UH, EMAILS AND MESSAGES SAYING, YOU KNOW, START NOW, GET GOING.
UM, IN FACT, I RECALLED, AND MAYBE IT WAS LIKELY BECAUSE I RECEIVED IT THAT DAY, UM, A TRANSLATE, A TRANSLATION FROM A VIETNAMESE COMMENT CARD THAT SAID, JUST GET GOING.
BASICALLY, UM, REALLY HIGH INTEREST IN HOW THE ALIGNMENT WILL, UM, CONNECT WITH OTHER LINES.
SO RED LINE, FUTURE GREEN LINE, OTHER EXPANSIONS, UM, LOTS OF CONVERSATION AROUND THE UNDERGROUND PORTION, BUT REALLY SUGGESTING THAT, UH, COVERAGE IS MORE IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A LIMIT ON RIDERSHIP.
DEFINITELY QUESTIONS AROUND BUDGETS AND COST AND FINANCE.
LOTS OF DISCUSSION ABOUT CAN'T YOU GO A LITTLE BIT FARTHER NORTH, A LITTLE BIT FARTHER EAST, OR A LITTLE BIT FARTHER SOUTH.
UM, AIRPORT WAS A HIGH, UH, FREQUENT TOPIC ON ALL SIDES.
SO IT WAS FASCINATING TO HEAR PEOPLE WHO WERE HOPING AND PUSHING FOR A FIRST PHASE AIRPORT CONNECTION FROM AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOURIST STANDPOINT, OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS SAYING NOT FIRST PHASE IMPORTANT, BUT POTENTIALLY NOT FIRST PHASE AND FOCUS ON LOCAL COMMUNITY.
AND ALSO A THIRD GROUP THAT STARTED TO COME OUT SAYING AIRPORT MAY NOT BE THE END POINT.
YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FARTHER TO DEL VALLEY.
UM, CONVERSATIONS AROUND ON STREETE OPTIONS DEFINITELY SUPPORT FOR ON STREET QUESTIONS AROUND IT.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IMPACTS TRAFFIC.
BUT THE COVERAGE ISSUE BECAME REALLY HIGH PRIORITY FOR A LOT OF FOLKS.
AND THE IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTIVITY, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE CONNECTING TO KEY DESTINATION POINTS.
I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT SOMETHING ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE THAT, THAT FIRST I HEAR THAT MORE THAN MAYBE ANYTHING ELSE IS WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG.
UM, AND PEOPLE POINTING OUT THAT YOU, YOU, YOU'RE HEARING FROM EVERYBODY AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO HEAR, I DON'T WANNA SAY THAT THAT'S CUT OFF, BUT YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU'VE BEEN LISTENING, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT LONG ENOUGH NOW GO DO IT.
SO I JUST, IT'S NOT REALLY A QUESTION, BUT, UH, BUT IT'S TIME TO DO IT.
SO, AND IF I COULD PIGGYBACK ON THAT A LITTLE BIT, I WOULD SAY, UH, PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW HOW WHATEVER IS NEW WILL CONNECT TO WHATEVER IS THERE.
SO HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE IMPROVE, UH, THE EAST WEST CONNECTIVITY? HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE TAKE WHAT IS NEW AND PARTNER IT WITH, UH, SOMETHING, UH, TO, TO, UH, TO ULTIMATELY HOPEFULLY MULTIPLY THE VALUE OF IT? SO, UM, WE, WE HEAR THAT FREQUENTLY WHEN WE'RE OUT.
HOW DOES IT CONNECT ME TOWARDS HERE? SO THAT'S IT.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT RIDERSHIP AND TRANSIT CONNECTIONS, LIKE FROM A REVIEW OF COMMENTS OVERALL ARE TWO OF THE HIGHEST, UM, RANKING TOPICS SO FAR.
AND WE THINK ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF EXISTING CAPACITY AND, AND, UH, THE DEMAND THAT WE OBSERVE AND HOW IS THIS ADDRESSING THE NEW DEMAND THAT'S BEING, BEING CREATED, BUT ALSO, UH, CONNECTING THE EXISTING PARTICULARLY, UH, TRANSIT
[00:35:01]
DEPENDENT COMMUNITY.UH, WE JUST WANNA SPEND A FEW MINUTES ON, UH, A FEW OF THESE KEY THEMES THAT ARE EMERGING FROM PUBLIC INPUT.
THAT LIST THAT WE JUST HAD, UM, IT'S INTERESTING TO ME BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MENTION RIDERSHIP AND IF I'VE HEARD ANYTHING, I MEET REGULARLY WITH THREE DIFFERENT GROUPS.
I INTERACT WITH DIFFERENT GROUPS EVERY WEEK.
AND RIDERSHIP ALWAYS COMES UP.
UH, PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO SEE EMPTY, UH, CRANES, BUS, WHATEVER, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TRAINS RIGHT NOW THAT THAT'S COME A LOT.
THE AIRPORT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME.
IT, I'M, I AM AMAZED AND AMONGST SUPPORT I KEEP HEARING FOR THE AIRPORT.
SO ANYHOW, RIDERSHIP, HOW, HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THAT? WELL, AND I THINK WE AGREE WITH YOU.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT RIDERSHIP, UM, AND THAT'S, UH, BEEN A DRIVER FOR A LOT OF THE FAQS UP ON OUR WEBSITE AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT IT HERE TOO.
I THINK THE RIDERSHIP'S COVERED A LITTLE BIT.
WE'RE NOT GONNA LET YOU GET PAST THE SLIDE.
PART OF WHAT YOU SAID, COURTNEY, IS BECAUSE THE ON STREETE OPTIONS ALLOWS YOU TO GET FURTHER IT'S COVERAGE.
THE MORE PEOPLE, THE FARTHER LINES ARE, THE MORE YOU DO GET RIDERSHIP.
SO I THINK IT'S HIDDEN IN THAT A LITTLE BIT, BUT THAT IS A RIDERSHIP.
I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY BUILT INTO MOST OF THESE.
WE, WE HEAR IT AS PART OF THE CONVERSATION ON ALMOST EVERY TOPIC IN HERE.
UM, NOT NECESSARILY AS ITS OWN STANDALONE THING, BUT HOW IT RELATES TO HOW PEOPLE CONNECT TO OTHER TRANSIT MODES, HOW IT RELATES TO, UM, STREET OR, OR ELEVATED, UM, HOW IT RELATES TO CONNECTING TO THE AIRPORT OR NOT.
IT, IT REALLY IS AN OVERALL PIECE TO MOST OF THESE TOPICS SHOULD TRY TO
SO, YOU KNOW, AND YOU KNOW, AS PER THE CONVERSATION WE JUST HAD, I MEAN, UH, ONE OF OUR BIG THEMES WE'RE WE'RE GROUPING TOGETHER, UH, MULTIMODAL CONNECTIVITY RIDERSHIP AND ACCESS ALTOGETHER AS REALLY A HUGE TOPIC WHERE WE'VE HEARD LOTS OF DIFFERENT QUESTIONS AND INPUT ON THAT.
UM, AND THIS REALLY MAPS BACK TO A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY VALUES CRITERIA THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT OVER THE MONTHS, UM, AND, AND IS REALLY SPEAKING TO HOW AND WHERE A LIGHT RAIL WOULD IMPROVE MOBILITY.
SO THE, THE SECOND BIG THEME IS EXPANDABILITY, UM, AND HOW THIS FIRST PROJECT WILL GROW INTO OUR OVERALL SYSTEM PLAN.
UH, AND FINALLY, UH, ON STREET LIGHT RAIL, UH, LOTS OF QUESTIONS THERE AND REALLY HOW IS THIS GOING TO WORK EFFECTIVELY? SO WE'RE GONNA TOUCH ON EACH OF THESE.
SO FOR THE CONNECTIVITY PIECE, UH, AND IT'S BEEN SAID VERY WELL HERE ALREADY, IT'S IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE THAT, UH, THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM CONNECTS WELL WITH THE EXISTING AND THELAN TRANSIT SYSTEM.
UM, AND WE CERTAINLY KNOW THAT THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE CAN MAKE SEAMLESS CONNECTIONS POSSIBLE IS GONNA BE GOOD FOR RIDERSHIP, IS GONNA BE, IT'S GONNA MAKE TRANSIT, UH, JUST A MORE ROBUST MODE THAT PEOPLE CAN REALLY MAKE THAT CHOICE TO LEAVE THEIR CAR AND, AND TAKE LIGHT RAIL OR BUS TO WHEREVER THEY'RE GOING.
UH, SO THE MAP WE HAVE UP HERE ON THE LEFT, IT'S A, ACTUALLY, IT'S JUST A PRETTY SIMPLE TALLY OF, UH, CONNECTION POINTS AND WHERE YOU HAVE THE MOST OF THEM.
UM, AND A A LOT HAPPENS A LOT IS CONCENTRATED REALLY IN THE DOWNTOWN CORE AND JUST TO THE NORTH OF IT AREAS THAT ARE COMMON TO ALL OF OUR OPTIONS.
UH, BUT THIS IS JUST A SORT OF A NUMBER, BUT ANOTHER FACTOR IS HOW ROBUST THOSE TRANSIT CONNECTIONS ARE, UM, TO WHAT EXTENT THERE ARE HIGH FREQUENCY ROUTES, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, AND ONE THING ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, SERVICE PLANNING IS THAT IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME.
AND SO I KNOW CAT METRO IS NOW AND WILL CONTINUE, UM, TO DO SERVICE PLANNING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WHOLE NETWORK IS, IS OPTIMIZED AND RESPONDING TO CONDITIONS AT THE TIME.
CAN I, WELL, WE'RE STILL ON THAT ONE.
UM, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU GUYS PUT THE CAT METRO SERVICE AREA, THE ENTIRE SERVICE MAP, OUR SYSTEM MAP ON THE SAME SLIDE AS THE OPTIONS, BECAUSE FOR THE SAKE OF ACTUALLY CREATING MAPS THAT ANYONE COULD UNDERSTAND, WE HAVE NOT PUT EVERY SINGLE BUS ROUTE OR EVERY SINGLE CAPITAL METRO SERVICE ON THE OPTIONS MAPS BECAUSE THAT WOULD MAKE THEM IMPOSSIBLE TO LOOK AT.
AND SO A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL BE LIKE, OH, BUT IF YOU DON'T BUILD THIS, WE WON'T HAVE ANY TRANSIT SERVICES.
YOU HAVE GREAT TRANSIT SERVICE TODAY.
NOBODY'S TAKING AWAY YOUR GREAT TRANSIT SERVICE.
AND SO I THINK IT'S WORTH CALLING OUT BECAUSE IT'S, I, LIKE I SAY, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO SHOW THEM TO SHOW EVERYTHING ON ONE MAP UNLESS YOUR MAP IS ENORMOUS.
UM, AND IT, IT, IT REMOVING THEM HAS BEEN FOR THE SAKE OF LEGIBILITY NOT TO TRY AND SHOW THAT THERE'S NOT THIS VAST NETWORK.
UM, YOU KNOW, MOST OF WHAT SHOWS UP ON THE LINE MAPS ARE OUR OTHER RAIL SERVICES OR PLANNED RAIL SERVICES, OUR METRO RAPID HIGH FREQUENCY
[00:40:01]
SERVICES AND OUR HIGH FREQUENCY BUS NETWORK.AND THAT'S JUST THE CORE TIP OF THE ICEBERG TO ALL OF THE OTHER LOCAL BUS SERVICES, UM, AND COMMUTER BUS SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.
AND SO JUST SORT OF REMEMBERING THAT THAT'S ALL STILL THERE TOO.
IT'S EASY TO OUTTA SIGHT OUT OF MIND.
UM, BUT JUST WHILE WE HAVE THE PICTURE UP THERE WANTING TO CALL OUT WHY THAT WAS A USEFUL DEMONSTRATION.
YEAH, IT'S ACTUALLY, I'D LIKE TO ALSO PIGGYBACK ON YOUR COMMENT DOT BECAUSE I THINK THAT THE, WHEN I READ THIS MAP ESPECIALLY, I WISH WE COULD JUST ZOOM IN A LITTLE BIT, BUT I WANT TO BRING UP ATTENTION TO, AND IF, HELP ME UNDERSTAND THIS.
SO WHEN I SEE THAT OID OF 11 PLUS, THAT MEANS THERE'S 11 CONNECTIONS TO OTHER TRANSIT LINES AT THAT POINT.
IS THAT WHAT I'M SEEING THERE? LET ME, UH, SO ON THIS MAP, WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT WITH APPROXIMATE TO THE LIGHT RAIL STATION, UHHUH
THERE'S, UH, WITHIN ABOUT 1100 FEET.
SO WE WANTED TO BE WITHIN A COUPLE OF BLOCKS.
SO THE 11 PLUS IS 1100 FEET, THAT'S A DISTANCE.
THAT'S NOT THE NUMBER OF, IS THAT WHAT YOU, OR IT'S THE NUMBER OF LIKE BUS STOPS OR UH, A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN CATCH ANOTHER MODE WITHIN THAT GOT IT.
FAIRLY SHORT DISTANCE FROM WHERE THE LIGHT RAIL STATIONS PROPOSED.
AND, AND FOR THE SAKE OF SIMPLICITY, I THINK THAT THAT WAS LIKE A CRITICISM WE HEARD EARLY ON THAT, I DON'T WANNA CALL IT LIKE DAMAGE CONTROL, BUT IN, IN THE SAKE OF SIMPLICITY, THE, THE LIGHT RAIL WAS HIGHLIGHTED JUST TO FOCUS ON WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR THIS LARGE INVESTMENT FIRST AND EVERYTHING ELSE WAS FADED, RIGHT? BUT THAT WASN'T BECAUSE IT WASN'T, IT WAS FORGOTTEN OR NOT GONNA BE BUILT UPON TO DELIVER THE VISION.
SO JUST FOR THE SAKE OF CLARITY, ALL THE OTHER PIECES OF THE ECOSYSTEM WILL STILL BE THERE.
AND WE'RE JUST AUGMENTING BECAUSE I, WHAT I LIKE ALSO ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE WITH THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, THAT FIRST AND LAST MILE CONNECTIVITY IS NO LONGER SO ESOTERIC.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT WITH ALL THE MICRO MOBILITY OPTIONS THAT WE'RE SEEING, HOW WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THIS OR AUGMENTING HOW ROBUST THIS TRANSIT SYSTEM IS, IS BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE THAT OPTION OF THAT FIRST AND LAST MILE BEAUTY WITH ALL THE MICRO MOBILITY OPTIONS.
SO IT'S, IT'S REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE THIS MATURING AND AND EVOLVING.
UH, AND CHAIR, I'LL JUST ADD THAT, YES, IF, UH, YOU KNOW, AS CHARMILLA TALKED ABOUT MANY OF THE OTHER PROJECTS IN THE OVERALL PROGRAM AT, AT THE BEGINNING, THESE LIGHT RAIL OPTIONS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE TODAY, THEY DO NOT IMPACT THOSE OTHER PROJECTS AT ALL.
UM, ALL OF THOSE OTHER PROJECTS ARE MOVING FORWARD AS PLANNED, MANY OF WHICH, YOU KNOW, HAVE EARLY WINS TO CELEBRATE ALREADY.
SO NOW WE CAN, LET'S TALK ABOUT RIDERSHIP.
UH, SO OUR RIDERSHIP ESTIMATES, YOU KNOW, JUST A NOTE ON WHERE THEY ARE FROM, UH, WE USED, UH, THETA'S MODEL AND WE CONDUCTED THEM, UH, IN ACCORDANCE WITH FTA GUIDANCE THAT WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO FOLLOW.
UM, SO, UH, THIS IS USING THE CURRENT, UH, IT'S THE CAMPO 2040 FORECAST.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO BE CONTINUING TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AS NEW DATA COMES ONLINE.
UM, SO, SO THAT WILL BE HAPPENING.
UH, ONE THING THAT WE'VE HEARD, UM, WHEN TALKING ABOUT RIDERSHIP OUT IN THE COMMUNITY'S CONCERN ABOUT KIND OF WHAT THE INPUTS WERE AND OUR, FROM A LAND USE PERSPECTIVE, HOW ARE WE KEEPING UP BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN SO MUCH CHANGE, UH, IN AUSTIN.
AND SO WE CERTAINLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT CONCERN.
AND, AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING ABOUT IT IS, UH, ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE COLLECTING ADDITIONAL LAND USE DATA, UM, THAT WE ARE IN TUNE WITH WHERE THE MARKET CONDITIONS ARE LEADING.
UM, AND SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UH, HAVE THAT TO AUGMENT OUR RIDERSHIP INFORMATION, UH, OVER TIME.
SO ARE THERE ANY KIND OF SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON, UH, I THINK THERE MIGHT BE, SO
UM, AND THIS ALSO GIVES ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE MYSELF.
[00:45:01]
OVER THAT AND THEN I SAW EVERYONE ELSE DO THAT.SO I'M SHILLA SHILLA MUJI AT CAP METRO'S, E V P, CHIEF STRATEGIC PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER.
UM, YEAH, THIS IS, UH, THE DATA THAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU, THAT IS OUR BEST AVAILABLE INFORMATION.
SO ATP IS USING FT STOPS MODEL, WHICH JEN, UH, UH, HA REFERENCED, UM, AS A RULE OF THUMB STOPS MODEL GENERALLY UNDER COUNTS BECAUSE IT TAKES ADOPTED FORECAST FROM A PREVIOUS YEAR IN PLANNED AND PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT.
DON'T QUITE CATCH UP TO, UH, THE NUMBERS.
IT'S NOTHING UNIQUE, UH, IN THIS, UH, SITUATION.
UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S LIKELY TO UNDER COUNT, UH, THE NUMBER OF WRITERS THAT YOU SEE PARLINE.
SO AC THIS IS ALL TO SAY, AS I SAID, THE TRANSIT FUTURE IN AUSTIN IS REALLY BRIGHT.
WE PROBABLY WILL LIKELY EXCEED OUR OPENING DAY RIDERSHIP ON, ON THE LINE WE CHOOSE.
I I JUST TO REALLY SUPPORT THAT, I GUESS.
AND THEN ADD TO IT IS THAT WE THINK OUR RIDERSHIP NUMBERS ARE GONNA GET BETTER BECAUSE WE DON'T SEE THAT WHAT SOME OF THE LAND USE CHANGE THAT'S ALREADY HAPPENED IS REFLECTED IN SOME OF THE FORECASTS.
UM, AND THAT IS JUST KIND OF AN ISSUE.
IT JUST TAKES TIME FOR THE DATA TO CATCH UP.
BUT WE CAN ON THE SIDE, IF YOU WILL, YOU KNOW, COLLECT THAT INFORMATION AND HAVE IT TO AUGMENT.
I'D LIKE TO JUMP IN JUST TO, IF YOU CAN HELP BRING EVERYONE ON BOARD.
UM, STOPS IS AN ACRONYM AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT F FDA USES TO CALCULATE IT IS THE FORMULA THEY USE.
SO WE'RE USING THAT IN ORDER FOR FTA TO BE ABLE TO VALIDATE OUR ASSUMPTIONS.
IS THAT CORRECT? AND THAT'S ALSO, IF WE MEET THOSE THRESHOLDS OF RIDERSHIP, THEN IT MAKES US ATTRACTIVE FOR FUNDING.
SO CAN YOU HELP US, UM, AND THIS IS A QUESTION I HAD SENT TO, TO LINDSAY AND, AND THE WAY I HAD WORDED MY QUESTION WAS THAT IF WE MEET THAT CRITERIA, THE FDA CRITERIA, UH, THE THRESHOLD CRITERIA, WHAT SURFACES TO THE TOP IN ANY OF THESE ALIGNMENTS THAT MAKES US THE MOST DESIRABLE FROM A MATCHING FUNDS PERSPECTIVE? AND, AND MAYBE TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT VALIDATING THE DATA, I JUST, UH, MY CONCERN IS JUST TO BE SURE SO WE CAN SAFELY SAY THAT THIS IS NOT AN ALGORITHM WE DESIGNED.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT VALIDATED IT HAS HISTORY, UM, AND WE'RE CONFIDENT IN IT.
AND I ESPECIALLY LIKE TO HEAR THAT YOUR, THAT'S UNDER COUNTING THAT, AND THAT'S REALLY GOOD TO HEAR.
SO I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS IN THERE AND I, I'LL SAY FIRST PERHAPS THAT, UM, I CAN, YOU KNOW, ATTEST TO, YOU KNOW, I, I CAME FROM PHOENIX A COUPLE YEARS AGO AND, UM, SAME THING.
WE, YOU KNOW, HAD NO LIGHT RAIL.
WE MODELED IT AND THEN WE BUILT IT.
AND WHEN LIGHT RAIL STARTED TO OPERATE, IT BLEW THOSE RIDERSHIP NUMBERS JUST OUT OF THE WATER.
IT WAS WAY BETTER BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THOUGHT, WELL, PHOENIX, EVERYBODY DRIVES AND NOBODY'S GOING, YOU KNOW, IT'S CAR CULTURE.
UM, BUT WE FAR EXCEEDED, UH, THE RIDERSHIP THAT WE HAD ESTIMATED AND, AND STILL ARE.
UM, SO JUST AN ANECDOTE, UH, BUT THE STOPS MODEL, IT DOES STAND FOR SOMETHING, IT'S LIKE SIMPLIFIED TRIPS ON PROJECT AND IT WAS DEVELOPED BY FTA BECAUSE BEFORE THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERY REGION HAD THEIR OWN MODEL.
AND SO IT WAS A LOT OF WORK FOR FTA AND EVERYBODY REALLY, BECAUSE THEY HAD TO VALIDATE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, HOW THE MODEL WORKED.
NOW WITH EVERYBODY USING STOPS, IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE EFFICIENT BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW THE MODEL WORKS ALREADY.
UM, AND THEY KNOW WHAT THE INPUTS ARE.
UM, SO IT, IT'S, IT'S A KIND OF A BENEFIT TO US, YOU KNOW, AND GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS.
AND IT'S A BENEFIT TO FTA CUZ IT HELPS THEM COMPARE PROJECTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UM, WITH A SIMILAR TOOL.
UM, SO I THINK ANOTHER ITEM YOU BROUGHT UP WAS KIND OF THE FTA CRITERIA AND HOW DOES THIS FACTOR INTO THE FEDERAL FUNDING PIECE AND, UM, IT, IT, IT IS AN INPUT INTO THAT.
YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU THINK, WHEN YOU LOOK AT HOW FTAS GOING TO EVALUATE THIS PROJECT, ABOUT HALF OF IT HAS TO DO WITH THE, THE LOCAL FUNDING COMMITMENT AND, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY PART.
AND SO THEN THE OTHER 50% IS, UM, HOW THE PROJECT IS EVALUATED BASED ON LIKE SIX DIFFERENT FACTORS.
AND RIDERSHIP IS A COMPONENT OR AN INPUT IN PROBABLY FOUR, THE SIX.
UM, SO IT'S NOT RIDERSHIP ITSELF SO MUCH AS IT'S PART OF THE CALCULATION OF HOW THE ASSESS MOBILITY BENEFITS SAY OR, UM, YOU KNOW, MODE SHIFT THAT THEN FEEDS ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS.
SO IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, AS ROBUST RIDERSHIP AS YOU CAN MUSTER BECAUSE THAT MEANS IT'S AN ATTRACTIVE PROJECT.
[00:50:01]
THE, THE RULE OF THUMB THAT I HAD AS A TRANSIT PLANNER WAS THAT YOU WANNA HAVE ABOUT MAYBE 2000 RIDERS, UM, PER MILE.AND, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE OPTIONS ARE PRETTY GOOD THAT WAY.
UM, AND, UM, SO TO THE EXTENT TO WHICH YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR RIDERSHIP, THERE'S NOT THIS, YOU KNOW, ONE-TO-ONE CORRELATION WITH YOUR RATING NECESSARILY.
UM, BUT IT JUST KIND OF FEEDS THAT, THAT OVERALL CALCULATION THAT THEY DO.
DO YOU MIND IF I TURN IN A LITTLE BIT ON THIS, THIS IS MY FAVORITE TOPIC AND THIS IS WHERE TRANSIT PLANNERS GET, UM, REALLY DEEP INTO IT.
I THINK WHERE IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IS COST PER RIDER.
UM, IT'S, UH, COST PER RIDER REALLY ALLOWS FTA AND STOPS IS A GOOD STANDARDIZED TOOL TO VALUE THAT.
COST PER RIDER IS REALLY ONE OF THE WAYS FTA LOOKS AT WHETHER THIS PROJECT IS WORTH INVESTING FROM FEDERAL DOLLARS IN.
AND AS, AS I SAID, WE HAVE A STRONG REGION AND A STRONG CITY THAT'S REALLY GROWING.
SO RIDERSHIP IS NOT A CONCERN FOR US.
UM, WE AS WELL AS FTA WOULD REALLY LOOK AT THE BASE RIDERSHIP AND THEN OFF OF THAT, HOW LANDING USE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND OTHER CONDITIONS COULD FEED IN AND HELP SUPPORT THE MODE SHIFT, BUT ALSO KIND OF TAKE IT TO HAVE LOWER COST PAR RIDE, WHICH IS REALLY HOW THIS FORMULA IS BASED OFF OF.
YOU KNOW WHAT, ACTUALLY, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND OUT AND I JUST WANNA MAKE ANOTHER COMMENT ON RY SHIP BECAUSE IT DIDN'T COME UP IN THE DISCUSSION, BUT I THINK IT'S WORTHY OF NOTE.
YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THE AIRPORT, UM, AND IF WE CAN GO BACK A SLIDE, THE, THE AIRPORT RIDERSHIP, YOU KNOW, UM, DOESN'T LOOK THAT ROBUST AND WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT.
AND SO JUST I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THAT IS A, A SPECIAL TRAVEL MARKET.
THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT DRIVE THE MODELING, IT'S POPULATION DENSITY, IT'S EMPLOYMENT DENSITY, IT'S, IT'S INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE TRANSIT SYSTEM WOULD OPERATE, ET CETERA.
AND SO AT THE AIRPORT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT SEEING ANY RESIDENTS BECAUSE NOBODY TECHNICALLY LIVES THERE.
YOU'RE SEEING SOME JOBS, BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE'S MORE POTENTIAL THERE THAN THAT SUGGESTS.
UM, UH, I, I, UNFORTUNATELY, I CAN'T CALCULATE IT FOR YOU, BUT WE KNOW THAT THAT TRAVEL MARKET IS GOING TO INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, UH, RESIDENTS WHO ARE GOING TO THE AIRPORT FOR A TRIP, TOURISTS, TRAVELERS.
IT'S GOING TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT AS THE AIRPORT EXPANDS.
UM, AND SO THAT'S JUST BEEN A, A, I THINK A, I THINK A RECURRING POINT OF DISCUSSION WITH THE COMMUNITY.
I'LL ADD TO THAT, UH, THAT WAS A REALLY GOOD POINT.
UM, BUT I ALSO WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT WHEN WE MOVED THE AIRPORT YEARS AGO, WE PUT INTO PLACE, UM, AN OVERLAY ZONE FOR THE AIRPORT'S GROWTH THAT PROHIBITS RESIDENTIAL.
SO THAT'S WHY IT IS A SPECIALIZED MARKET, IT IS A DESTINATION, BUT YOU'RE NEVER GONNA HIT THOSE, UM, DIFFERENT ASPECTS THAT YOU LOOK AT ALONG A TRADITIONAL LINE WHERE YOU'RE COUNTING PEOPLE AND RESIDENTS AND OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, ZONING OVERLAYS AND EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT AND THINGS ALONG, UM, THE WAY THAT THE FTA WOULD LOOK AT AS FUTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND FUTURE RIDERSHIP.
YOU'RE NEVER GONNA SEE THAT ALONG AN AIRPORT LINE, UM, BECAUSE OF THOSE OVERLAY ZONES.
SO HELP ME UNDERSTAND THAT REAL QUICK, ANIQUE, UM, BECAUSE I WAS ASKED THIS QUESTION SPECIFIC YESTERDAY ABOUT THE AIRPORT OVERLAY ZONE, AND WE KNOW THAT WE'RE TRYING TO PUT THE MOST PEOPLE TO LIVE AS CLOSE TO TRANSIT AS POSSIBLE MM-HMM.
THAT OVERLAY ZONE IS AT F THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION DRIVEN OR LOCALLY DRIVEN? IT'S BOTH.
IT'S, IT'S LOCALLY DRIVEN, UM, BUT IT'S ALSO REQUIRED.
IT'S ALSO REQUIRED, BUT, BUT THE LOCAL JURISDICTIONS CAN DEFINITELY MAKE IT MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN WHAT IS REQUIRED.
THEY CAN MAKE IT BIGGER, THEY CAN PROHIBIT MORE USES THAN WHAT THE FAA WOULD REQUIRE.
SO I HAPPEN TO KNOW SOMEBODY WAS AROUND WHEN THAT HAPPENED,
I WAS ONE OF THE, YEAH, OKAY, THERE YOU GO.
AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED, OF COURSE IS WE OPENED A NEW AIRPORT AND WHAT WE WANTED TO AVOID WAS THAT PEOPLE WOULD,
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BECAUSE LAND WOULD BE CHEAP, THAT PEOPLE WOULD MOVE NEAR THAT AIRPORT AND WITHIN ABOUT THIS PERIOD OF TIME WOULD START SAYING, YOU NEED TO MOVE THIS AIRPORT.AND SO IT WAS A PLANNING TOOL TO SAY, WE'RE GOING TO KEEP THIS AS AN AIRPORT AND NOT AS A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT HAS AN AIRPORT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
AND SO WITH THAT POINT, I THINK, DID THIS INFLUENCE ALSO THE, THE LOCATION OF OUR MAINTENANCE FACILITY, I MEAN, AND IT, A MAINTENANCE FACILITY WILL THEN BE PRUDENT TO PUT WITHIN THIS AREA? ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
IT'S WITHIN, IT'S WITHIN THE ZONE WHERE RESIDENTIAL IS PROHIBITED.
SO THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY THAT YOU SEE THAT'S, UM, SERVING, UM, OFF OF EAST RIVERSIDE FOR I BELIEVE FOUR OF THE OPTIONS MM-HMM.
SO WITH THIS NEXT SLIDE, UM, JUST ANOTHER THEME WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, IS, UH, JUST THIS IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, TOTAL RIDERSHIP IS IMPORTANT, BUT IT'S NOT THE ONLY THING.
UH, WE SHOULD ALSO BE LOOKING AT, UM, ARE WE SERVING PRIORITY POPULATIONS? ARE WE SERVING PLACES THAT HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY UNDERINVESTED? UM, ARE WE SERVING, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE TRANSIT USERS CURRENTLY, PEOPLE WHO NEED TRANSIT AND WOULD BENEFIT FROM IT, YOU KNOW, HAVING, YOU KNOW, MORE BETTER SERVICE.
UM, SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT AND, AND LOOKING AT THE PUBLIC INPUT TO SEE IF THERE ARE CERTAIN, UH, CONSIDERATIONS THAT WE SHOULD AMPLIFY IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS THAT MIGHT INCLUDE, UM, LIKE ARE WE SERVING, UH, IPOC NEIGHBORHOODS? ARE WE SERVING WHERE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS LOCATED NOW? ARE WE SERVING, UM, LOWER INCOME COMMUNITIES? UM, BECAUSE THAT WILL GIVE US A, A HINT AS TO THE DEGREE TO WHICH THIS PROJECT WILL REALLY IMPROVE SERVICE TO THOSE TRANSIT USER COMMUNITIES.
SO I'VE GOT A REAL QUICK COMMENT.
THIS BILL ELABORATE, UM, US AND STRATEGIC MOBILITY S AND P HAD A LOT OF THOSE GOALS IN THERE MM-HMM.
AND SO I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE BEEN LOOKING TOGETHER AT THE ALTERNATIVES AND HOW THEY DIFFERENTIATE PROGRESS TOWARDS THOSE GOALS.
SO I'D LIKE TO ASK FROM THE CITY STANDPOINT, TELL ME HOW THIS WORK HAS SHOWN YOU THAT THE A SMP GOALS ARE, ARE, UH, WE WE'RE MOVING THE NEEDLE ON WITH THESE ALTERNATIVES.
UM, THANKS FOR THAT QUESTION, ROBERT.
UH, WE DID, YOU KNOW, STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING COLLABORATIVELY, CAP METRO, ATTP, UM, AND CITY PLANNING STAFF PARTICULARLY, UM, LOOKING AT, UM, ALL THE DATA SETS THAT JEN HAS EXPLAINED HERE, BUT ALSO CONSIDERING FROM A LITTLE DIFFERENT LENS, UM, AN ADDITIVE MEASURE OF WHAT POLICIES IN OUR STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN ARE THE MOST APPROPRIATE TO LOOK AT AND HOW ARE THESE OPTIONS PERFORMING IN RELATION? AND SO PARTICULARLY WE LOOKED AT RIDERSHIP, BUT WHO ARE WE SERVING AS YOU'RE, AS YOU'RE SHOWING HERE, BIPO SHARE AND TOTAL NUMBERS, UM, OF SPECIFICALLY HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
AND ALSO LOOKING AT, UM, BECAUSE OUR HOUSING DEPARTMENT MANAGES THE 300 MILLION IN ANTI-DISPLACEMENT LOOKING, UM, OUR PLANNERS IN, UM, IN THE DISPLACEMENT PROGRAM LOOKED AT, UH, HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH OF THE OPTIONS ARE ADJACENT TO COMMUNITIES THAT ARE IN SPECIFIC CATEGORIES AT RISK OR VULNERABLE TO DISPLACEMENT, WHICH IS THE PLACE WE WOULD WANT TO SEE MOST, UM, OF THE COVERAGE BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE THE 300 MILLION CAN DO THE MOST GOOD, WHERE REAL ESTATE PRICES HAVEN'T ESCALATED TO THE POINT WHERE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF MEDICATION WE COULD DO WHERE THERE'S STILL FOLKS IN THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD BE HELPED THROUGH COMMUNITY PROGRAMS, UM, THAT THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT IS DEPLOYING WITH THE 300 MILLION.
SO WE LOOKED AT IT THROUGH A LOT OF DIFFERENT LENSES AND ARE SHARING THAT INFORMATION AS, UM, AS THE STAFF MOVE TOWARDS MOVES TOWARDS A RECOMMENDATION.
WE ALSO ARE LOOKING AT VISION ZERO OF A HIGHER LEVEL SAFETY PERSPECTIVE WITH THE IDEA THAT TRANSIT IS AN INHERENTLY SAFER MODE THAN DRIVING A SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLE.
SO THE MORE RIDERSHIP WE CAN HAVE, BACK TO THAT SLIDE 15, IF WE COULD GO BACK THERE, AND I'M JUST JOKING, UM,
AND WE'VE LOOKED AT OUR VISION ZERO OFFICER LOOKED AT WHAT WE CALL OUR HIGH INJURY NETWORKS AND HOW THEY CORRESPOND, THEY DO CORRESPOND WITH,
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UM, THE ARTERIALS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT PUTTING TRANSIT ON.SO THAT'S A POSITIVE CORRELATION THERE WITH VISION ZERO.
AND THEN MODE SHIFT, ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE THINGS TO TALK ABOUT, WHICH IS THE OVERALL GOAL OF THE A SM P.
UM, JUST SOME, SOME FUN FACTS FOR THIS DISCUSSION.
WHEN THE A SMP WAS, WAS, UH, ADOPTED IN 2019, OUR MOHA WAS 74% DRIVE ALONE, 26%, UM, OTHER, OTHER MODES.
UM, DURING THE PANDEMIC WE GOT, UM, AS LOW AS 66% DRIVE ALONE AND 34%, I THINK THAT'S RIGHT.
DID THAT MATH COME OUT? UM, OTHER MODES AND MOST OF THAT WAS TELEWORK.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE CREEPING BACK UP TO ABOUT 70 30.
AND SO THIS PROJECT REALLY STANDS TO INTERCEPT THAT TREND GOING BACK UP.
AND SO IT'S AN, AN IMPORTANT PART, ESPECIALLY AS WE THINK ABOUT WHAT, WHAT, UM, CEO WATSON POINTED OUT EARLIER THAT THE BUS NETWORK IS STILL GOING STRONG AND IT'S GOING TO BE IN CONCERT WITH THE LIGHT RAIL, WHICH IS THE, THE WORKHORSE AS CHARMILLA POINTED OUT.
UM, AND THEN LAST, LAST LASTLY IS REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY.
THAT'S ANOTHER LENS THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT POLICY OF HOW DO WE CONNECT THE REGION.
UM, AUSTIN BEING A BIG JOB CENTER.
AND SO WE ALSO LOOKED AT ALL OF THOSE CONNECTIONS, UM, THAT JEN PINE PUT OUT THERE AS FAR AS WITH EACH OF THE STOPS, UM, HOW MANY CONNECTIONS TO, UH, PARK AND RIDES METRO RAPID HIGH F SPEED NETWORK.
UM, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT BIKE ROUTES AND LOOKING AT THE SIDEWALK CONNECTIVITY AND LOOKING AT THAT LOCAL MOBILITY AND MICRO MOBILITY, UM, THAT CHAIR CASTRO WAS TALKING ABOUT.
SO ALL OF THIS IS BEING DISCUSSED COLLABORATIVELY.
UH, BUT, BUT ALL IN ALL, WE FEEL THAT, UM, MANY OF THE OPTIONS DO TOUCH AND IN IMPLEMENT OUR OVERALL CITY TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
THANKS FOR THE QUESTION CHAIR, IF I COULD.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN SEEING A DELTA REPORT, AND THIS WAS HERE, THIS INVESTMENT WAS MADE, AND BECAUSE THAT INVESTMENT WAS MADE, X HAPPENED.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE LAID OUT, UH, CAP METRO HAS LAID OUT, UM, 18 DIFFERENT PROJECTS THAT HAPPENED IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT.
HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF HIM? UH, IF, IF THERE, UH, IF THERE IS A DELTA IN USAGE, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE AWARE OF THAT? AND THEN WHAT DID WE CONNECT PEOPLE TO? BECAUSE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, WHEN WE, WHEN WE LOOKED AT CAP MAP, IT DID SOME SYSTEM ORIENTED THINGS.
AND WHAT WE HAVE SEEN SINCE CAP, UH, CAPRI MAP IS ADDRESSING SOME OF THOSE 12 ROUTES THAT WERE TAKEN.
DO THEY CONNECT US TO GROCERY STORES? DO THEY CONNECT US, UH, TO DOCTORS' OFFICES? DO THEY CONNECT US TO PHARMACIES? HOW HAS, UH, THE, THE CURRENT INVESTMENT IMPROVED ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY SO THAT WHEN PEOPLE LOOK AT CHANGES THAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING, WE CAN ALSO IDENTIFY THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE CONNECTED THEM TO AND, UM, AND LOOK TO SEE WHETHER THERE'S BEEN A DELTA IN USAGE OVER TIME.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A GOOD COMMENT, AND WE'LL DEFINITELY DELIBERATE ON THAT AS WE LOOK AT THE DATA.
I, I'LL ALSO COMMENT ON, UH, I, I HEARD A COMMENT IN THERE OF MAKING SURE PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF THE PROJECTS, SO I'M GONNA PAUSE ON THAT AND COME BACK TO IT BECAUSE I THINK IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT PART AS WE TALK ABOUT SOME OF, OF THE ASPECTS OF THESE PROJECTS IN A BIT.
ALL RIGHT, WELL, I THINK THAT IS, UH, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS,
WE JUST WANTED TO PAUSE AND MAKE SURE WE'VE, WE'VE ANSWERED ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS RELATED TO CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS, BUT IF THERE ARE, ARE NO OTHERS? ALL RIGHT, BRIAN.
THANKS LINDSEY, AND THANKS FOR PAUSING THERE BEFORE MY THREE HOUR PRESENTATION ON EXPANDABILITY
UM, ALSO, UH, LEAD OUR PROGRAM MANAGEMENT TEAM AND WORK WITH THIS GREAT TEAM HERE AND WORK WITH ALL OF YOU ON, ON BRINGING US TO FRUITION HERE, HERE IN AUSTIN.
BUT, UM, AS WE LOOK FORWARD AND LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AND IMPLEMENT AS PART OF THE, THE FIRST, UH, LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM HERE, UM, THERE'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT EXPANDABILITY, NOT ONLY EXPANDABILITY, AROUND OTHER PROJECTS AND WHERE YOU MIGHT GO IN THE FUTURE AND, AND, AND AS THIS CITY CONTINUES TO GROW AND, AND BE THE GREAT, UM, PLACE THAT IT IS.
AND, UM, THAT PREVIOUS CONVERSATION ABOUT GRANT AGREEMENTS AND THINGS LIKE THIS, I I ACTUALLY THINK IN, IN WRITING THE F F G A AND NEGOTIATING WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY GONNA RUN OUT ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS EXPLAINING HOW GREAT THIS PLACE IS
[01:05:01]
AND HOW VIBRANT THIS, UM, PLACE IS, AND HOW MUCH OF AN INVESTMENT SHOULD BE.SO YOU GUYS SHOULD, UH, FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE IN THIS PROCESS OF WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT WHAT YOU'RE PUTTING FORWARD INTO THE QUOTE UNQUOTE COMPETITION, UH, OF THE FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM, BUT LEVER LEVERAGING OTHER PROGRAMS, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
YOU HEARD A LITTLE BIT FROM COURTNEY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, GOING TO THE AIRPORT, BUT MAYBE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THE EAST NOW AS THINGS CONTINUE TO GROW.
UM, SO JUST CONTINUING TO WORK IN, IN THOSE DIFFERENT AREAS AND LOOK FOR OTHER WAYS TO BRING OTHER FUNDING, OTHER THOUGHTS, OTHER WAYS TO CONSTRUCT INFRASTRUCTURE INTO THE PROGRAM TO ACHIEVE YOUR RESULTS MOVING FORWARD.
SO AN EXAMPLE OF THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE MASTER PLAN OUT THE AIRPORT.
IS THERE A WAY TO LEVERAGE SOME FUNDS THAT ARE MAYBE SOME NON-TRADITIONAL TRANSIT FUNDS STILL INSIDE THE DOT'S HOUSE, BUT MAYBE FAA FUNDS AND STUFF TO, TO WORK ON BUILDING THAT AND BRINGING THAT INTO, INTO THE AIRPORT AREA.
IS THERE A WAY TO LEVERAGE, UM, CAT METRO'S DONE A GREAT JOB TO GET SOME PLANNING MONEY ASSOCIATED WITH THE RED LINE, UM, THROUGH, THROUGH SOME OF THE RECENT GRANT PROGRAMS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
IS THERE A WAY TO LEVERAGE THAT AS A, AS A GRADE SEPARATION PROJECT, WHICH IS A, WHICH IS A EFFORT OF THE, OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RIGHT NOW TO ONCE AGAIN, BRING VALUE TO NOT ONLY THE RED LINE AND THE IMPROVEMENTS OUT THERE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, BUT ALSO BRING IMPROVEMENTS AND, AND BRING VALUE TO EXTENDING THE PROGRAM FURTHER WITH, UH, ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES.
SO JUST A, A QUICK, UM, CONVERSATION.
UM, THERE'S OBVIOUS CITY, THIS CON CITY CONTINUES TO GROW, UM, AND, UH, CONTINUES TO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES LEFT AND RIGHT, BUT THOSE WERE TWO THAT ARE KIND OF RIGHT THERE TODAY.
UM, ALONG WITH I 35, YOU KNOW, I 35, WE'VE BEEN COORDINATING WITH THEM ON, UH, ON THE PROJECT THERE WITH THE RIVERSIDE BRIDGE CROSSING AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, BUILDING THAT INFRASTRUCTURE, YOU KNOW, WANTS FOR ALL OF US.
AND, AND THAT'S A, A GREAT WAY, UM, TO DO BUSINESS AND THEN MOVE FORWARD AND LEVERAGE THOSE DOLLARS.
PAUSE REAL QUICK ON THAT, BRIAN, I JUST WANNA EMPHASIZE OR HAVE YOU EMPHASIZE, CUZ YOU HAVE THE PICTURE OF THE 2040 MASTER PLAN FROM THE AIRPORT, 4 BILLION EXPANSION.
I KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS, BUT I'D LIKE YOU TO SHARE WITH THE GROUP HOW YOU'VE COORDINATED WITH THE AIRPORT STAFF ON HOW THE LIGHT RAIL COULD FUNCTION WITHIN THAT EXPANSION PLAN.
YEAH, SO AS PART OF THE, THE PREVIOUS, UM, WORK AND THE WORK THAT CONTINUES ON, UM, WE HAVE MET WITH AIRPORT STAFF, UM, WE'VE, THE ALIGNMENT THAT WE'RE SHOWING HAS BEEN COORDINATED WITH THEM AND, AND COORDINATED WITH THE MASTER PLAN AND THEIR IMPROVEMENTS MOVING, MOVING FORWARD.
UM, SO I WOULD FEEL THAT THERE'S NO SURPRISES THERE.
THEY UNDERSTAND WHERE OUR LINE IS.
WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR, WHAT THEIR IMPROVEMENTS ARE, UM, MOVING FORWARD.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S BEEN A, A GREAT EXERCISE IN COORDINATING THESE TWO MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJOR PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE MOBILITY, UM, TO AUSTIN.
SO LINDSAY, YEAH, THE, THE ENGINEER IN ME, UM, CAN'T RESIST
SO
SO IT IS DESIGNED IN SUCH A WAY THAT A PASSENGER WOULD GET OFF OF THE TRAIN AND WOULD WALK STRAIGHT INTO THE TERMINAL.
SO THERE WOULD BE A, A PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE THAT EXTENDS FROM THE STATION AND, AND REALLY, UM, JUST COORDINATES SEAMLESSLY WITH THE EXPANSION PROGRAMS. UH, THE AIRPORT IS, IS IN AN EARLY STAGE OF PLANNING.
SO I THINK THERE'S EVEN MORE THAT CAN BE DONE TO THINK ABOUT OPTIMIZING THAT CONNECTION AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE ARE WAYS WE CAN IMPROVE IT TO MAKE IT ULTIMATELY EVEN BETTER FOR THINKING THROUGH THE ENTIRE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE OF SOMEONE GETTING OFF A PLANE AND, AND GETTING TO THEIR FINAL DESTINATION.
THERE'S ALSO, WE SHOULD ADD, THERE MAY BE PROJECT DELIVERY OPPORTUNITIES BECAUSE THESE PROJECTS ARE MOVING TOGETHER IN, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR PACE.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT AS WELL.
ALL RIGHT, SO THEN I'LL GEEK OUT FOR A MINUTE ON, ON THIS ONE.
UM, SO ONE OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT BUILDING THESE SYSTEMS AND THEY WANNA OPERATE AS A SYSTEM, UM, IS CONNECTING THEM ALL TOGETHER.
SO THEY ALL WORK TOGETHER AND ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE, UH, MOST CHALLENGING THINGS TO DO WHILE YOU'RE UNDER AN OPERATING RAILROAD OR OPERATING LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT SYSTEM IS ACTUALLY JOIN INTO IT, UH, AS OPPOSED TO JUST EXTENDING THE ENDS OR, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO ANY OPPORTUNITY THERE MIGHT BE TO BUILD THAT CONNECTION INTO THE EXISTING LINE OR WITH THE LINE IN THE FIRST, UM, PHASE, UH, WILL MINIMIZE DISRUPTIONS FOR THE OPERATIONS IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND THAT, THAT WE, WE SEE ALL ACROSS THE NATION RAIL SHUTDOWNS AND ALL THIS TYPE OF STUFF, BUS BRIDGES THAT, THAT GO INTO PLACE FOR MULTITUDE OF MONTHS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND ANYTHING WE CAN DO TODAY AS PART OF THE PROGRAM
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TO HELP MINIMIZE THOSE OPERATIONAL, UM, DISRUPTIONS IN THE FUTURE, I THINK IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD CONSIDER AS, AS WE MOVE THE PROGRAM FORWARD.SO FOR, FOR INSTANCE, HERE ON THE SOUTH SIDE, THERE'S, THERE'S A CONNECTION THERE THAT'S NOT JUST AN EXTEND THE LINE CONVERSATION THAT'S ACTUALLY QUOTE UNQUOTE TNN TO THE EXISTING INTO THE EXISTING NETWORK.
SO, UM, ANY OPPORTUNITY THERE WOULD BE, UH, I THINK A, AN OPPORTUNITY WELL TAKEN AT THIS PHASE AS THE TRANSIT OPERATOR IN THE ROOM.
I CAN'T NOT TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO DOUBLE DOWN ON THAT A LITTLE BIT.
YOU KNOW, THE HARDEST PART OF MANEUVERING A RAIL SYSTEM WHERE YOU HAVE MULTIPLE LINES THAT MEET IS WHERE THEY MEET AND HOW THAT ALL WORKS, ALL THE INTERLOCKS AND ALL SORTS OF SWITCHES AND FANCY STUFF THAT YOU PUT, I'M NOT A TRAIN EXPERT, I'M JUST A TRANSIT OPERATIONS EXPERT.
BUT YOU PUT IN, IF YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT, YOU NEED TO DO IT AS MUCH OF IT AS POSSIBLE AT THE BEGINNING.
BUT THEN REASONABLY, HOW MUCH DO YOU ASK THE PROGRAM TO PAY FOR TODAY OR IN THE FIRST PHASE FOR SOMETHING THAT WON'T ACTUALLY DERIVE CUSTOMER BENEFIT UNTIL A SECOND PHASE? LIKE THERE'S A REAL JUGGLING ACT THAT HAS TO BE DONE, AND THERE'S A MILLION PLACES ALONG THIS LINE WHERE WE WILL HAVE THIS EXACT DEBATE DURING DESIGN TO TALK ABOUT, WELL, THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TODAY, BUT WHAT CAN WE GO AHEAD AND DESIGN FOR NOW, GET ENVIRONMENTALLY CLEARED NOW SO THAT WE ARE READY FOR THE FUTURE.
BUT THESE, YOU KNOW, IT, I'VE, I'VE COME INTO TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.
I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN MY WHOLE LIFE AND, YOU KNOW, 23, 24 YEARS AGO WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO GET LIGHT RAIL PASSED FOR THE FIRST TIME, GETTING IT ACROSS THE RIVER WAS PROBABLY OUR BIGGEST FAILING.
WE COULDN'T, WE HADN'T FIGURED THAT PART OUT YET.
UM, AND IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT BUILDING A BRIDGE, IT'S ABOUT BUILDING A BRIDGE AND THEN DO, AND THEN WHAT, RIGHT? THE GETTING ACROSS THE RIVER AND, AND THESE LITTLE PIECES THAT ARE HIGHLIGHTED HERE ARE THE HARD PART
IT'S, THE CITY HASN'T CHANGED DRAMATICALLY.
THERE'S STILL A RIVER, ALTHOUGH WE MOSTLY CALL IT THE LAKE, NO, NOT THE RIVER.
UM, BUT LIKE, IT'S ALL STILL THERE.
AND SO SOLVING FOR ALL OF THAT AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE, I THINK HELPS THE PROGRAM BE MORE EXPANDABLE.
SO IT'S A LOT EASIER TO EXPAND A PROGRAM IN A RELATIVELY STRAIGHT LINE FROM ONE POINT TO ANOTHER THAN IT IS TO KIND OF RECONFIGURE HOW A WHOLE LIGHT RAIL NETWORK WORKS WITH ITSELF.
AND THEN, UM, JEN MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE ANTICIPATE THE RIDERSHIP WILL CONTINUE TO GROW THROUGH THE YEARS AS, AS THE PROJECT BECOMES MORE AND MORE BUILT INTO THE COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT AND, UH, JUST THE GREAT SYSTEM YOU'RE ABOUT TO, TO BUILD HERE.
SO THERE ARE THINGS WE CAN DO TODAY AS PART OF THE INITIAL SYSTEM TO ALLOW THAT TO MORE EASILY HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE.
SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT THE LENGTH OF STATION PLATFORMS, THE LENGTH OF TRAINS, AND, AND ALL THAT'S RELATED TO RIDERSHIP.
YOU KNOW, YOU WANT TO HAVE ENOUGH TRAIN LENGTH AND PLATFORM LENGTH OUT THERE TO HANDLE THE, THE RIDERSHIP THAT YOU'RE ANTICIPATING.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE CAN DO AS PART OF, AS PART OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE GONNA DO ON THE INITIAL SYSTEM IS TO LOOK AT WAYS THAT WE CAN BUILD THE TRACK IN, IN THE GEOMETRY OR THE TRACK IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE CAN INFILL THE STATIONS IN, IN THAT AREA AND NOT HAVE TO ONCE AGAIN DISRUPT THE EXISTING SERVICE TO A GREAT EXTENT TO BUILD THAT.
BUT THEN ALSO PLACING STATIONS IN AREAS WHERE EXPANSION OF STATIONS, UM, IN THE FUTURE MAY ALLOW US TO CLOSE STREETS AND, AND, AND OPERATE IN SUCH A WAY THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO GET THOSE 400 FOOT PLATFORMS IN THERE.
SO YOU CAN SEE SOME DIFFERENT STATION LOCATIONS, UM, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THERE.
SO WE DO BELIEVE THAT THE SYSTEM THAT WE COULD BUILD TODAY WILL BE EXPANDABLE IN THE FUTURE.
AND, AND THAT'S OUR GOAL IS TO HELP AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, SEE THAT VISION OF NOT ONLY TODAY, BUT TOMORROW TOO, AS THIS AREA CONTINUES TO GROW.
SO THAT'S, UH, MY THREE HOUR CONVERSATION ON EXPANDABILITY, AND I HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
IF THERE'S NO FURTHER QUESTIONS ON EXPANDABILITY, WE WANNA DIVE INTO OUR LAST TOPIC, UH, WHICH IS, AS MENTIONED IN THE, WHAT WE ARE HEARING, WE HAD LOTS OF QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, SUPPORT FOR STREET LEVEL, BUT ALSO QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW IT WORKS.
HOW WOULD IT FUNCTION PARTICULARLY DOWNTOWN.
AND THIS IS WHERE I WANNA COME BACK TO THAT TOPIC, UM, THAT BOARD MEMBER TRILLIAN MENTIONED EARLIER AS WELL, AND, AND HIGHLIGHT THE VALUE OF PROJECTS THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE.
SO A, A PROJECT THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE AND EASILY ACCESS AND USE AND REALLY UNDERSTAND BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S RIGHT AT THEIR LEVEL, IS ONE WAY TO MAKE IT SUCCESSFUL.
UH, THERE'S LOTS OF OTHERS TOO, BUT WANTED TO COME BACK TO THAT.
AND, AND HOW THIS WORKS IS THAT THE TRAIN IS IN ITS OWN DEDICATED LANE, SO IT DOES NOT MIX WITH VEHICULAR TRAFFIC AT THE STREET LEVEL, AND THAT IT IS
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COORDINATED WITH THE SIGNAL, THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEM, UH, TO ADVANCE THE TRAINS FROM STATION TO STATION WITHOUT STOPPING AT RED LIGHTS.SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THE TRAIN STOPS AT ITS STATION, AND THEN IT SINKS UP TO THE TRAFFIC LIGHT SO THAT WHEN THE, WHEN IT COMES OUT OF THAT STATION ON ITS NEXT GREEN LIGHT, IT GETS ALL GREENS TO THE NEXT STATION.
UH, ALL OF THE TRACK CROSSINGS, BOTH VEHICULAR AND PEDESTRIAN ARE SIGNALIZE AND THE NON CONFLICTING VEHICLE MOVEMENTS, WHICH MEANS THE ONES THAT ARE GOING IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS THE TRAIN.
UM, SO THEY'RE, LET'S SAY THE TRAIN IS MOVING NORTH, SOUTH ON GUADALUPE, THE OTHER CARS THAT ARE GOING NORTH SOUTH OF NORTH SOUTH ON GUADALUPE MOVE AT THE SAME TIME AS THE TRAIN.
AND SO IT KEEPS TRAFFIC FLOWING AND MOVING.
AND ANIQUE IS GOING TO DIVE A LITTLE BIT DEEPER INTO THE AL AND IF YOU'RE FAST ENOUGH ON A BIKE, YOU CAN ALSO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE GREEN LIGHTS, UM,
SO, UM, WHEN WE START, WHEN WE STARTED TO LOOK AT THE AT GRADE OPTIONS, UH, WE DID A LOT OF COORDINATION WITH THE ACTIVE, UM, AUSTIN CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, WHICH I SPOKE TO EARLIER WHEN MAYOR WATSON ASKED THE QUESTION.
UM, AND THIS PLAN IS TAKING, YOU KNOW, UH, LIKE I SAID, A LOWER ALT ALTITUDE LOOK AT STREET OPERATIONS.
OUR TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT IS LEADING THAT.
UM, THEY'RE LOOKING TO BE COMPLETE WITH THAT THIS SUMMER.
UM, IT'S MULTIMODAL IN NATURE.
IT'S LOOKING AT THE SPECI SPECIFICS OF DOWNTOWN CIRCULATION, UM, WITHIN DOWNTOWN TO AND FROM DOWNTOWN FROM ALL DIRECTIONS.
UM, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE KNOW A LOT MORE NOW.
IN FACT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TRIED TO DO THIS ACT PLAN SEVERAL YEARS AGO WHEN, WHEN I WAS OVER AT TRANSPORTATION, AND WE JUST REALIZED WE WEREN'T READY YET.
WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION.
WE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF DESIGN INFORMATION.
WE HAVE A LOT MORE INFORMATION NOW.
WE KNEW PROJECT CONNECT WAS GONNA RESTART.
WE DIDN'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHEN OR HOW OR WHAT THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE VISIONING WAS.
NOW WE KNOW, UM, WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONVENTION CENTER AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
NOW WE HAVE ALL THIS INFORMATION, WE HAVE A LOT OF DATA.
UM, AND SO WE'RE ABLE TO, UH, USE THIS PLAN, AS PETER POINTED OUT, AS A MITIGATION TOOL AS WE LOOK AT THE ON STREET OPTIONS THAT WERE PRESENTED TO YOU TODAY.
SO IN LOOKING AT THE DATA, UM, AND WORKING THROUGH THE AUSTIN CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, WE'VE, WE'VE COME UP WITH THREE TAKEAWAYS.
ONE THAT THE VEHICULAR IMPACTS TO DOWNTOWN, WHICH WAS MAYOR WATSON'S QUESTION EARLIER, ARE MANAGEABLE.
WE'RE NOT SEEING SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED TRIPS COMING IN AND OUT OF DOWNTOWN OR WITHIN DOWNTOWN.
AND SOME THINGS ARE MADE EASIER WITH SOME OF THE DESIGNS.
UM, AT I 35, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU START LOOKING AT CESAR CHAVEZ AS THAT BEING AN ENTRY AND EXIT POINT, UM, OF DOWNTOWN, UM, ACCESS ALONG GUADALUPE STREET, WE'VE HEARD A LOT FROM PROPERTY OWNERS FROM THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS DOWNTOWN.
OF COURSE, ACCESS WILL REMAIN, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT DOES VERY WELL AS WE IMPLEMENT OUR CORRIDOR PROJECTS ACROSS THE CITY.
WE'RE, WE, UM, WE'RE SENSITIVE AND, AND TO, TO THE ACCESS NEEDS OF ALL THE BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS ALONG, ALONG THE STREET.
SO THAT NO QUESTION WILL REMAIN.
AND THEN ONE OF THE BIGGER TAKEAWAYS WAS THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE RAIL ALIGNMENT, UM, ON GUADALUPE DOWNTOWN THAT WE'RE NOT SEEING, THE DATA SHOWS US, WE'RE NOT SEEING A LOT OF CROSSOVER OF GUADALUPE, MEANING THAT IF YOU, UM, ARE ENTERING DOWNTOWN FROM I 35, YOU'RE MOSTLY STAYING ON THE EAST SIDE OF DOWNTOWN.
YOU'RE NOT NEEDING TO CROSS OVER.
SIMILARLY, IF YOU'RE COMING INTO DOWNTOWN FROM THE WEST COMING OFF MOPAC OR LAMAR, YOU'RE STAYING IN THE WESTERN QUADRANT IN, IN THE WESTERN QUADRANT.
AND SO THAT WAS ALSO PROMISING TO US IN, IN HOW WE'RE, HOW WE WOULD BE ABLE TO MANAGE, UM, TRAFFIC DOWNTOWN.
BUT ULTIMATELY, UM, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S PINCH POINTS FOR IN AND OUT OF DOWNTOWN, RIGHT? AND SO AGAIN, BACK TO THAT MODE SHIFT IS GONNA BE THE MOST IMPORTANT WAY TO ALLOW US TO ACCOMMODATE THE GROWTH THAT WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE IN AND OUT OF DOWNTOWN IS GONNA BE THROUGH MULTIMODAL AND THROUGH OTHER MODES.
UM, BUT MANAGING THE TRAFFIC THAT WE HAVE TODAY, AND THEN SQUEEZING THAT BLOOD FROM A TERM AND MANAGING AS WELL, AS WELL AS WE CAN AS WE GO INTO, GO INTO THE FUTURE.
SO IT'S REALLY EXCITING THAT THE CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN IS HAPPENING NOW.
WE HAVE THE DATA TRULY LOOK AT WHAT THOSE, UM, STREET CHANGES SHOULD BE AS THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
[01:20:01]
COME ALONG OVER THE NEXT, UH, FIVE YEARS AND THE NEXT DECADE.CAN I, I JUST WANNA YEAH, QUESTIONS? YEAH.
NO, I JUST WANNA ADD, I THINK FIRST OF ALL, THE, THE ACT PLAN IS AWESOME.
SO, AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE DOING THESE THINGS TOGETHER IS, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S AMAZING THAT TO HAVE THAT BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT HOLISTIC VISION.
ONE OF THE, THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ACT PLAN IS THAT WE WANT, WE HAVE ALL THESE DIFFERENT MODES THAT WE HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE, RIGHT? VEHICLES, TRANSIT BIKES, PS EVERYWHERE, RIGHT? MICRO MOBILITY.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE REALIZATIONS IS WE HAVE A FIXED AMOUNT OF REAL ESTATE ON EVERY STREET, RIGHT? EVERY STREET CANNOT OPTIMIZE EVERY MODE, RIGHT? THERE JUST ISN'T ENOUGH ROOM.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THERE ARE GONNA BE CERTAIN STREETS THAT ARE GONNA BE OPTIMAL FOR SOME MODES AND NOT OTHERS.
THERE ARE GONNA BE CERTAIN STREETS THAT ARE GONNA BE OPTIMAL FOR TRANSIT.
THERE ARE GONNA BE CERTAIN STREETS THAT ARE GONNA BE OPTIMAL FOR ALL AGES AND ABILITIES, BIKE ROUTES, RIGHT? AND THAT WE CAN DESIGN THE STREETS TO BE OPTIMIZED FOR ALL MODES, BUT NOT EVERY STREET OPTIMIZED FOR ALL MODES, RIGHT? AND IT'S, IT'S, I THINK IT'LL MAKE THE TRANSIT WORK, IT'LL MAKE THE VEHICLE MOVEMENTS WORK.
IT'LL CREATE SAFE PATHS FOR BIKES, UM, AND THE PETS BENEFIT EVERYWHERE.
WHEN YOU WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GUADALUPE AND YOU MADE THE COMMENT ABOUT I 35 AND THEY COME IN AND THEY STAY EAST OF GUADALUPE, THAT MADE SENSE TO ME.
AND THEN WHEN YOU SAID, COMING IN FROM OPAC, THEY STAY WEST, UH, I WAS IT, I'M JUST SAYING TO DOTTY THAT, THAT, THAT DOESN'T CLICK IN MY HEAD BECAUSE I WOULD THINK YOU, THE PEOPLE WOULD GO TO CONGRESS, YOU KNOW, AND, AND BEYOND DOTTY POINTS OUT THAT MANY FOLKS WOULD BE COMING IN ON SOUTH FIRST STREET.
IS THAT, WHERE, IS THAT A BIG REASON THEY'RE NOT CROSSING GUAD RIVER? AND I JUST, I THINK DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE AND OTHERS ARE GOING TO ASK THAT QUESTION.
AND I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT MY ANSWER TO THAT IS.
I CAN HELP A ADDRESS THAT QUESTION.
SO THE TRAFFIC MOVING FROM SAY, MOPAC OR POINTS WEST ARE NOT GOING ALL THE WAY ACROSS DOWNTOWN.
UM, IT, IT DOESN'T HOWEVER, MEAN THAT THEY'RE NOT CROSSING GUADALUPE.
AND, AND ONE OF THE POINTS AND ONE OF THOSE SLIDES IS ACTUALLY THAT IF, IF THE TRAIN IS CROSSING LADYBIRD LAKE AT GUADALUPE TO SOUTH FIRST, IT HAS GREATER IMPACTS AT CAESAR CHAVEZ, THEN IT DOES, IF IT'S CROSSING THAT TRINITY, BECAUSE MANY OF THOSE CARS ARE GOING ABOUT AS FAR AS CONGRESS AND KIND OF THOSE MIDDLE POINTS THAT ARE JUST PAST WHERE THE RAIL LINE IS.
I THINK THAT PART OF THE ISSUE IS THAT PEOPLE DON'T, FIRST OF ALL, A LOT OF STREETS DON'T GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH, RIGHT? RIGHT.
THIRD AND FOURTH, THEY DON'T GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
SEVENTH DOESN'T GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
EIGHTH MAYBE DOES, BUT NOT, NO, NOT ALL THE WAY TO LAMAR, RIGHT? SO THERE ARE VERY FEW STREETS THAT ACTUALLY CROSS DOWNTOWN EAST WEST, AND THEY TEND TO, YOU KNOW, 15TH CAESAR CHAVEZ, FIFTH AND SIXTH.
THAT'S IT, RIGHT? SO WHAT IT MEANS THAT MOST PEOPLE, IF THEY'RE TRYING TO GET TO THE EAST SIDE OF DOWNTOWN FROM THE WEST, THEY'RE, THEY'RE TRYING NOT TO GO THROUGH DOWNTOWN.
THEY GO TO 15TH AND CAESAR CHAVEZ, RIGHT? AND ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE GOING NORTH OR SOUTH.
SO THEY DON'T, SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THOSE, THOSE PATTERNS OF PEOPLE JUST STAYING ON THE SIDE WHERE THEY CAME FROM.
AND AS ANIQUE NOTED, THE, UM, PROPOSED I 35 PLANS HELPED TO MITIGATE SOME OF THOSE PINCH POINTS BECAUSE IT HELPS TO RELIEVE, UM, CAESAR CHAVEZ AS THE PRIMARY EAST WEST AND HELPS REDISTRIBUTE TO FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH AS WELL.
THERE ARE NOW NEW WAYS TO GET ONTO 35 AND THERE MAY BE MORE EFFICIENT WAYS, UM, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW ALL, ALL CARS THAT WANT TO GO SOUTHBOUND ON I 35 FROM DOWNTOWN HAVE TO CROSS CAESAR CHAVEZ SIGNAL IN THE PLAN THAT'S MOVING FORWARD.
THERE'S A BYPASS ROAD, SO IF YOU GET ON NORTH, YOU CAN ACTUALLY BYPASS THE CAESAR CHAVEZ INTERSECTION, WHICH THEN REDUCES THE PRESSURE ON CAESAR CHAVEZ.
SO THERE ARE SOME, THERE ARE SOME BENEFITS.
I DO HAVE ANOTHER FOLLOW UP QUESTION ON, ON THAT POINT, BECAUSE IF, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT LIGHT RAIL IN, IN THE CORRIDORS OR RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU WILL BRING FORWARD, WILL THIS BE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSIONS DOWNTOWN? IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT, BECAUSE WHAT I UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, TWO SECOND STREET BECAME TWO WAY THIRD STREET, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN SEQUENCE GOING TO THIS CONVERSION.
UM, WE HAD A VERY LENGTHY DISCUSSION WHEN WE WERE SHUTTING DOWN A PORTION OF FOURTH STREET FOR THE DOWNTOWN STATION ABOUT THE IMPACTS IT WAS GONNA HAVE TO THE HILTON, FOR INSTANCE.
AND THE EASY ANSWER THERE WAS TURNING A PORTION OF FIFTH STREET TO BE TWO WAYS
[01:25:01]
FROM I 35 TO, THAT WAS TRINITY.I GUESS THAT WAS TO THREE TO THREE THAT WE MADE IT, YOU KNOW, TO HELP THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EGRESS MAKE IT TWO WAYS.
BUT THE IMPACTS OF THIS, OF THIS ALIGNMENT TO THE TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSION, I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND BETTER.
AND I CAN START, AND YOU, IF YOU WANNA ADD ON, THAT'S SORT OF THE BEAUTY OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO COORDINATE THIS PROJECT AT A TIME THAT THE ENTIRE DOWNTOWN STREET NETWORK IS BEING REIMAGINED WITH ALL OF THESE PROJECTS IN MIND, IS THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT SOME OF THOSE CHANGES IN ISOLATION WITH JUST THE LIGHT RAIL, BUT BEING ABLE TO THINK ABOUT IT, UM, IN COORDINATION WITH I 35 AND CONVENTION CENTER AND IN ALL OF THESE OTHER PROJECTS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ALL WORK TOGETHER IN THE, UM, AS, AS PETER SAID, SORT OF THEY ARE OPTIMIZED FOR BOTH THE MODE AND ONE WAY OR TWO WAY TO ALL WORK TOGETHER, BUT SPECIFICALLY TO THE LIGHT RAIL.
UH, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE WAYS TO MANAGE THE TRAFFIC IS TO CONVERT, UM, GUADALUPE AND LAVACA TO TWO-WAY SO THAT WE ARE NOT, YOU KNOW, REDUCING THE CAPACITY NOR THE, THE THROUGHPUT OVERALL, BUT REDISTRIBUTING, WHICH USES ARE ON E EACH STREET AND ALLOWING FOR THE MOST FLEXIBILITY TO STILL GET THE SAME NUMBER OF, UM, VEHICLES IN AND OUT AND ACTUALLY MANY MORE PEOPLE IN AND OUT.
THAT WAS THE CURIOSITY I'VE HAD WITH, WITH GULU IN PARTICULAR IN, IN LAVACA.
BECAUSE ONE THING THAT I DON'T HAVE CLEAR IN MY UNDERSTANDING, I SEE IT AT THE, WHEN WE'RE AT THE DRUG AND SOME OF THE PRELIMINARY RENDERINGS OF LI RAIL OF THE DRUG, BUT ON LA ON GUADALUPE, I SEE THE, THE LI RAIL JUST HEADING SOUTH, BUT I'M ASSUMING, IS THAT AGAIN NORTH, GOING NORTH AND SOUTH? CORRECT.
AND IF THAT'S THE CASE AND IN THE BEAUTY OF THE TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSIONS IN TERMS OF AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, IS THAT NOW THE, THE BUSINESSES ADJACENT TO IT AND THE USER EXPERIENCE OF THAT ROAD IS MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE AND MORE PRODUCTIVE.
AND IF I, IF I UNDERSTAND THIS CORRECTLY, WHEN YOU GUYS ARE DOING YOUR CALCULATIONS FOR THE PEOPLE THROUGHPUT, IT MAY SEEM THAT WE'RE SQUEEZING BY TURNING THINGS TWO WAYS, BUT IN A WAY IT'S ACTUALLY INCREASING THE MOBILITY AND THE THROUGHPUT.
IT SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASES SUBSTANTIAL THE THROUGHPUT THROUGH THE CORRIDORS.
OH, I DO WANNA CAUTION YOU THOUGH WE'RE NOT THERE YET, RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT THE COURT, COURT PATIENT PLAN LOOK AT.
SO I DON'T THINK AS WE GO FORWARD, WE WANT TO SAY, IF THIS HAPPENS, THIS WE DON'T KNOW YET THAT THAT'S THE BEAUTY.
WHAT I ASK THE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORK STAFF TO LOOK AT IS IF WE GO WITH A NON AT GRADE OPTION, WHAT HAPPENS? AND THAT TITLE IS WHAT THEY'VE COME UP WITH.
OKAY, WE, WE CAN MAKE IT WORK.
CAUSE WE WERE HEARING IT'S GONNA BE GRIDLOCK IF YOU GO.
AND SO I WANTED AN, AN ANALYSIS TO SAY, WILL IT, NO, IT WON'T, BUT THERE'S SOME THINGS WE WILL NEED TO DO AS, AS PART OF 35 AND EVERYTHING.
IT IT'S A CHANCE TO CHANGE THE WAY PEOPLE MOVE DOWNTOWN, BUT WE HAVEN'T LANDED ON TWO-WAY CONVERSION.
WE JUST HAVEN'T GOTTEN THERE YET.
IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE.
THAT'S GONNA BE A TOOL WE'LL LOOK AT.
DO WE HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? YOU'RE GOOD.
UM, LET ME, UM, I DID SEND YOU SOME QUESTIONS, LINDSEY, OVER, OVER EMAILS, WHICH FOR THE MOST PART, YOU'VE, YOU'VE RESPONDED.
UM, SO ONE, I LIKE ALSO WHAT YOU SAID, PETER, THAT NOT ALL STREETS ARE GONNA FIT ALL MODES, FOR INSTANCE.
BUT IF, IF WE CAN, LIKE RIGHT NOW, I THINK WE HAVE A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE WITH SECOND STREET.
IT'S A PEDESTRIAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S ELEVATING THE PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE.
THIRD STREET IS THE TWO-WAY BIKE LANES.
SO EVERY STREET HAS ITS ESSENCE OF HOW WE WANNA CONNECT TO THIS.
BUT ONE PART THAT I WANNA UNDERSTAND BETTER FROM A COST PERSPECTIVE AND THE ANALYSIS OF, OF HOW YOU HAVE PUT THE OPINION OF COST.
HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THE WHINING OF SIDEWALKS, THE TREES AS INFRASTRUCTURE, JUST AS MUCH AS WE'RE DOING WATERLINE RELOCATIONS? IS THAT PART OF THE COST? YES, THEY ARE.
SO IN ALL OF THE CORRIDORS, THE, UM, WE ARE STUDYING THE LIGHT RAIL, THE COSTS SHOWN FOR THE, THE CAPITAL COST OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE
[01:30:01]
THE BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN, UM, THE STREET TREES, THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO MEET THE LOCAL CODES AND CRITERIA, INCLUDING THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL.SO SHARED USE PATHS, UM, WIDEN SIDEWALKS, DEDICATED BIKE LANES, THEY'RE DIFFERENT IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
BE THEY, THEY MEET THE CRITERIA APPLICABLE TO THAT PARTICULAR STREET.
SO WOULD THOSE BE CONSIDERED BETTER EVENTS OR BEYOND, ABOVE AND BEYOND THE TRANSIT OR NO, THOSE ARE NO, THOSE ARE PART OF THE PROJECT.
UH, PART OF THE PROJECT COSTS, NOT, NOT BELOW THE LINE.
UM, SEPARATE COSTS BECAUSE THEY ARE WHAT ARE NEEDED TO MAKE THE PROJECT COMPLIANT WITH OUR LOCAL CODES CRITERIA AND, AND PRIORITIES SET BY THIS REGION.
AND THEY'RE ALSO, THEY'RE PART OF THE BUSINESS CASE OF THE TRANSIT SYSTEM, RIGHT? RIGHT.
PEOPLE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO GET TO THE TRANSIT SYSTEM IN A COMFORTABLE, YOU KNOW, EASY WAY.
RIGHT? AND SO BUILDING IN THOSE BACKUP OF CURB IMPROVEMENTS IS PART OF HOW WE DO THAT.
BECAUSE WHAT I KNOW FROM HAVING WORKED ON THIS BEFORE IS THAT NOBODY QUESTIONS THE RELOCATION OF A WATERLINE.
YOU KNOW, WATERLINE IS LIKE OUR BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT IF A, IF A STREET DOESN'T HAVE TREES RIGHT NOW AND WE WANT TO ADD TREES, CAN WE CONSIDER THOSE BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE? IT'S THE BARE BONES OF THAT INFRASTRUCTURE.
I DON'T, I DON'T WANT IT TO THINK IT AS A, JUST A BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT.
IT'S, THIS IS WHAT MAKES THE CASE FOR THAT EXPERIENCE OF WRITERS TO BE ABLE TO NAVIGATE TO TRANSIT.
THE ONLY, THE THE WHERE WE HAVE CHALLENGES IS WHEN THE RIGHT OF WAY IS NOT BIG ENOUGH, RIGHT? SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE, THE CONSTANT, UM, THING WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO NAVIGATE WHEN WE ADVANCE THE DESIGN, RIGHT? IS THERE ARE TRADE OFFS BETWEEN ACQUIRING MORE, MORE RIGHT OF WAY TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT ALL OF THOSE IMPROVEMENTS VERSUS DOING THOSE OVER TIME.
FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THOSE IMPROVEMENTS ARE REQUIRED, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF NEW DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, IN THE ASMP, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO CAN WE, WHERE WE KNOW THAT NEW DEVELOPMENT IS COMING, CAN WE RELY ON NEW DEVELOPMENT TO BASICALLY PARTICIPATE IN THAT INFRAS BUILDING OF THAT PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE OVER TIME? AND I THINK WE ARE GONNA LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THAT WHERE IT'S, WHERE IT'S APPROPRIATE AND VIABLE.
THAT'S REALLY, TO ME, REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE, IT'S NOT AN AFTERTHOUGHT OR IT'S NOT PRIZED, NO.
THAT IT'S REALLY INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OR I DON'T WANT THE SURPRISE FACTOR TO SAY, OH, WOULDN'T INCLUDE IT.
IT, IT IS INCLUDED IN THE COST.
IT'S INCLUDED IN OUR DESIGNS, IT'S INCLUDED IN OUR ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS FOR THE PROJECT AS PART OF THE DEFINITION OF THE PROJECT.
BECAUSE YOU ALSO MENTIONED THE, UH, THERE'S A COST PER RIDER THAT FDA IS GONNA LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE COST ANALYSIS OR THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF WHAT, HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE MOVING AND WHAT'S THE COST PER RIDER? WHAT, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CODES THAT ARE LOCAL TO AUSTIN AUSTIN'S SPECIFIC CODES THAT SETS, UH, SETS, SETS UP, SET SETS US UP.
AND THE THING THAT COMES TO MIND RIGHT NOW IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA THAT WE HAVE FOR WATER.
YOU KNOW, HOW WE HAVE TO DO THE WATER MITIGATION, THE CLEANING OUR WATER, NOT WATER MITIGATION, BUT STORM WATER TREATMENT, FOR INSTANCE.
ARE THERE ANY COATS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO AUSTIN THAT ARE A CHALLENGE OR THAT ARE RAISING OUR OWN THRESHOLD OF COST PER RIDER
WE CAN, YOU CAN COME BACK TO ME LATER.
THIS IS A WORK SESSION AND DISCUSSION.
SO YES, THERE ARE, THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY, THERE'S, THERE'S A WHOLE CODE OF ORDINANCES AND A WHOLE, UM, SET OF CRITERIA MANUALS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, A BIG PART OF THE TASK OF THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE AT THE CITY IS TO COMB THROUGH THAT INFORMATION AND PROVIDE INFORMATION, UM, BACK TO ATP AND THEIR CONSULTANTS ON, TO BE BEING PROACTIVE ABOUT WHERE THINGS MIGHT GET IN OUR WAY AND OR NOT, NOT, NOT THAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO THEM, WE WANNA MEET THE SPIRIT OF WHY THEY'RE THERE.
IT'S PERHAPS DOING THEM IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAT'S MORE EFFICIENT, THAT'S LESS COSTLY.
UH, AND SO THAT IS ACTIVELY WHAT WE'RE ALL DOING AS A TEAM.
UM, SO YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
THERE ARE, THERE ARE, THERE ARE ORDINANCES AND TECHNICAL REGULATIONS THAT ARE IN PLACE THAT DO MAKE THINGS HARD, NOT ONLY FOR PUBLIC PROJECTS, BUT FOR PRIVATE SECTOR PROJECTS.
AND SO WE'RE ACTIVELY LOOKING AT HOW WE MIGHT
[01:35:01]
DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY FOR DIFFERENT RESULTS.PETER, I THINK, I THINK PART OF THE, THE, THE STRATEGY ABOUT HOW TO, HOW TO SOLVE FOR THIS IS AN INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESS, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO MEASURE OUR WATER QUALITY IMPACTS DIFFERENTLY JUST BECAUSE OF THE LINEAR NATURE OF THE PROGRAM.
CAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE DO, WE HAVE TO MEET THE, THE, I MEAN, IT'S REFLECTIVE OF OUR COMMUNITY'S VALUES.
WE HAVE TO ACHIEVE THOSE OUTCOMES MM-HMM.
AND I THINK, AGAIN, LOOKING AT THIS IN A, IN A HOLISTIC, INTEGRATED WAY, AND, AND THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE AND THERE ARE A HUNDRED OF THEM.
UM, AND I THINK THAT WE ARE, WE'RE SORT OF BUILDING THAT THO THOSE MUSCLES TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES IN THAT WAY.
I MEAN, THE FIRST ONE'S ALWAYS THE MOST EXPENSIVE TOO.
SO THERE'S SOME SUNK COSTS IN YOUR FIRST PROGRAM THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY DISTRIBUTED ON FUTURE EXPANSIONS, LIKE THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY, YOU KNOW, IF YOUR MAINTENANCE FACILITY IS BUILT IN A WAY IN THE FIRST PHASE, IT COULD SUPPORT EXPANSION IN THE FUTURE AND YOU WON'T HAVE THAT COST WHEN YOU'RE CALCULATING COST PER RIDER.
UM, SAME THING GOES WITH, WITH JUST STANDING UP AN ORGANIZATION AND WORKING THROUGH ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE GOTTA WORK THROUGH OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS IN ORDER TO OPERATE LIGHT RAIL HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS IS GOING TO EXPENSE SOME FUNDS, SOFT COSTS, YOU KNOW, JUST GETTING AGREEMENTS AND ALL THAT TYPE OF STUFF.
ONCE YOU GET INTO THE RHYTHM WHERE EVERYBODY KIND OF KNOWS WHAT IT IS AND WE WORK THROUGH ALL THESE THINGS, IT GETS EASIER AS YOU MOVE FORWARD.
AND PROBABLY THE LAST ONE THAT I WOULD SAY IT'S, THAT'S A LITTLE AUSTIN, UM, DRIVER IS ONE THAT WE IDENTIFIED SEVEN OR EIGHT MONTHS AGO.
UM, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A SUBSTANTIAL, UM, REAL ESTATE HIKE HERE IN, IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND AS MUCH AS SOME OF US WANTED TO SEE IT GO THE OTHER WAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S LEVELING OFF MAYBE AT BEST.
AND, UM, SO THAT IS A, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS PRETTY UNIQUE TO, TO AUSTIN IS JUST THE MAGNITUDE OF THE, OF THE REAL ESTATE COST HERE.
SO, SO, UM, IF I COULD ADD TO THAT A LITTLE BIT, I MEAN, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT AUSTIN SPECIFIC AND UNIQUE COMPONENTS, BUT ALSO AUSTIN IS NOT THE ONLY PLACE THAT HAS SORT OF TIERED ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS.
AND I THINK WE, UM, REALISTIC COSTS IS IT'S GOING UP, BUT I THINK THERE ARE COST PROVIDER IS NOT SO LINEAR AS THAT IT WOULD NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, UM, SORT OF SOME OF THE, WHAT I WOULDN'T CALL THEM ENHANCEMENT, BUT SOME OF THE LOCAL, UM, SUSTAINABILITY BASED, EXPANDABILITY BASED REQUIREMENTS.
SO THERE, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO SORT OF ADDRESS THEM.
AND THE WAY, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN AND ATP ARE ALREADY WORKING TOGETHER ON THAT, I THINK WE WILL HAVE A GOOD APPROACH FOR THAT.
AND I, I JUST HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION IN TERMS OF ANALYSIS BECAUSE I KNOW I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT WE HAVE, OH, TURNED OFF MY MIC.
I APPRECIATE THAT WE HAVE A 40% CONTINGENCY PUT INTO THE, THE CURRENT ALIGNMENT AND WHAT WE CAN AFFORD AND WHAT WE CAN INVEST AS A NATION INVESTMENT.
BUT HOW LONG ARE WE GONNA CARRY THAT CONTINGENCY SO WE WILL CARRY A CONTINGENCY THROUGH THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT, RIGHT? IT DOESN'T GET RELEASED REALLY UNTIL YOU'RE NEARING COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION BECAUSE EVEN AFTER WE'RE, YOU KNOW, AT A POST A HUNDRED PERCENT DESIGN, THERE CAN BE UNFORESEEN CONDITIONS IN THE FIELDS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE, UM, FUNDS TO ACCOUNT FOR, BUT THE CONTINGENCY PERCENTAGE LEVEL WILL GO DOWN OVER TIME.
AND AS WE KNOW MORE OF THE UNKNOWNS AND THOSE UNKNOWNS BECOME KNOWNS, WE WILL ASSIGN ACTUAL PROJECT COST
AND THAT HAPPENS TYPICALLY AT EVERY MAJOR DESIGN MILESTONES.
SO IF, IF WE'RE AT, YOU KNOW, 40% APPROACHING A 15% DESIGN, A, A GOOD RULE OF THUMB IS, UH, GETTING DOWN TO A 30% CONTINGENCY AT A 30% DESIGN AND IT, IT CONTINUES TO DECREASE AND THEN, UM, IT TENDS TO LEVEL OUT DURING CONSTRUCTION AND YOU KIND OF HOLD A, A CERTAIN AMOUNT TO THE END TO ACCOUNT FOR, YOU KNOW, A UTILITY THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN.
WAS THERE, UM, OR OTHER UNFORESEEN SITE CONDITIONS IN THE FIELD? OH, AND I SHOULD HIGHLIGHT THAT WE MENTIONED EARLIER THE DATA PORTAL AND UH, THE
[01:40:02]
F FAQ REPORTS ON OUR WEBSITE.THERE IS ALSO ONE ON COSTS AND FINANCE THAT DIVES DEEPER INTO THE TOPIC OF, OF THE COST ESTIMATES.
THE CONTINGENCY LEVELS ARE FUNDING AND REVENUE SOURCES AND FINANCING PLAN AND VARIOUS OTHER, UM, PEOPLE THAT LIKE MATH, UM, FUN ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT.
THE OTHER THING WE'VE, CUZ WE'VE GOTTEN QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONTINGENCY, SO IT'S, UM, THE OTHER THING TO POINT OUT IS THAT IF WE DO OUR JOBS REALLY WELL AND WE HAVE MONEY LEFT OVER AT THE END, THIS IS NOT GONNA BE THE LAST, THE PROJECT WE DO, RIGHT? THIS IS THE FIRST PROJECT WE'RE GONNA DO, RIGHT? NOT THE LAST.
SO WE JUST MEANS WE CAN ACCELERATE POTENTIALLY WHAT, WHEN THE NEXT PROJECT HAPPENS.
I HAVE A QUESTION ON THAT, ON THAT LIST UP THERE.
UM, I DON'T SEE A, A WORK SESSION FOR A CAB METRO.
YEAH, WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN TALKING ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, GREG AND ROBERT AND I TALKED ABOUT IT THIS MORNING.
SO THE WAY WE ARE CURRENTLY SCHEDULED, CAPITAL METRO'S BOARD MEETS ON MAY 22ND FOR, UH, WE ACTUALLY MEET A WEEK EARLY THIS YEAR, THIS MONTH BECAUSE OF MEMORIAL DAY.
UM, NORMALLY WE WOULD MEET ON THE MONDAY, THAT IS MEMORIAL DAY.
UM, AND SO THAT ACTUALLY PUTS OUR BOARD MEETING BEFORE THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS PRESENTED PUBLICLY.
UM, OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT WEEK OR SO, I'M ACTUALLY MEETING ONE-ON-ONE WITH ALL OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS JUST AS PART OF MY NORMAL CHECK-IN.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS I'LL BE ASKING THEM IS IF THEY WOULD LIKE A SPECIFIC WORK SESSION BETWEEN THE ATP BOARD MEETING AND JUNE 6TH, OR IF THEY FEEL THAT THEY'LL BE ABLE TO GET ALL OF THEIR QUESTIONS ANSWERED THROUGH THE OTHER, UM, THINGS THAT ARE CURRENTLY SCHEDULED.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS.
UM, RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO GET A, A DISPARATE GROUP OF LOCAL AND COMMUNITY LEADERS ALL TO GET TOGETHER AND, YOU KNOW, WE GOT JUNE 6TH SCHEDULED AND I FELT REALLY GOOD ABOUT THAT.
I'M NOT SURE I'LL GET ANOTHER ONE SCHEDULED.
AND A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, DONNA, WE CAME TO BEFORE YOUR OPERATIONS COMMITTEE AND YES, OUR OPERATIONS AND PLANNING COMMITTEE HAS RECEIVED THE FIVE OPTIONS AND DISCUSSED AND DELIBERATED ON THEM, AS HAS THE CITY'S MOBILITY COMMITTEE.
WELL, THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO, TO WHERE WE ARE.
UM, AND, AND ACTUALLY WHAT PREDATES THESE, GOING BACK TO OUR FIRST SLIDE, WHICH WE WON, OR TO SLIDE 15, WHICH SEEMS TO BE THE SLIDE OF THE DAY, UM, IS THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MET LAST WEEK ON THURSDAY.
OBVIOUSLY ALL OF THE PUBLIC MEETINGS WE'VE HAD, UM, THE WORK WE'VE DONE IN THIS ROOM, UH, AS, AS BRIAN MENTIONED, THE CITY COUNCIL HAS HAD A MEETING, THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE HAS MET CAPITAL METRO PLANNING AND OPS COMMITTEE, ALL PART OF THIS PROCESS OVER THE LAST SIX WEEKS.
BUT LOOKING AHEAD, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS GONNA MEET AGAIN NEXT, UH, ON, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S THURSDAY, THIS THURSDAY.
SO THEY'VE HAD A SERIES OF MEETINGS.
WE REALLY WANT TO COMMEND THE WORK THAT OUR CITIZENS OF AUSTIN HAVE PUT IN.
UM, THESE ARE NOT JUST MONTHLY MEETINGS.
THESE HAVE, THEY HAVE MET MULTIPLE TIMES.
THEY HAVE SUBCOMMITTEES THAT MEET, UM, WHAT IS JUST A WONDERFUL GROUP OF FOLKS THAT HAVE COME TOGETHER TO DIVE AND HELP US AND HELP GUIDE US MOVING FORWARD ON THIS.
WE WILL BE BACK, UH, ON MAY 24TH, AND AT THAT MAY 24TH, THAT WILL BE WHERE WE WILL BE, UH, DISCUSSING, UM, THE, UH, RECOMMENDATION ON THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AT THE 24TH BOARD MEETING.
AND AS, AS DODI MENTIONED, UH, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM AT A WORK SESSION TO HAVE ADDITIONAL CONVERSATION AS NEEDED.
AND THEN WE'LL CONTINUE TO PARTNER WITH DOTTY AND HER TEAM AS IF THERE'S A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL CAP METRO.
UM, I THINK YOU CAN SEE THAT LOUD AND CLEAR, WHATEVER.
THERE'S A MEETING, WE TEND TO BE THERE.
AND THIS WOULD BE ANOTHER SERIES OF MEETINGS LEADING UP TO OUR JOINT SIX, UH, OUR JOINT SIX, UH, DISCUSSION, UH, WITH ALL THE BODIES.
SO, UM, WE ARE, WE JUST WANNA FIRST ALL THANK YOU FOR THE DIALOGUE TODAY.
I THINK IT WAS GREAT AND I THINK THE TIMING WAS WELL DONE AFTER, UH, THE COMMUNITY SO WE COULD START SEEING THE THEMES THAT ARE EMERGING.
AS COURTNEY MENTIONED ON THE 16TH, WE'VE BEEN RELEASING OUR COMMUNITY, UM, ENGAGEMENT REPORT.
WE KNOW THAT'S REALLY AN IMPORTANT, UH, A LITTLE MILESTONE.
WE HAVE LOTS OF MILESTONES HERE, BUT ANOTHER MILESTONE IN THIS, IN THIS STEP FORWARD.
UM, AND THAT WE'LL HAVE THAT ALL OUT.
UM, IN ADDITION TO OUR FAQ REPORTS THAT WE'RE GONNA GET A FEW MORE OF THOSE OUT THIS WEEK AROUND SOME OF THESE TOPICS THAT YOU'VE SEEN SPECIFICALLY AROUND EXPANDABILITY AND, UH, THE DOWNTOWN BEING, WORKING ON STREET, TAKING THOSE INTO A SERIES OF DISTILLED FAQ REPORTS THAT THE PUBLIC CAN HAVE AND, UM, YOUR COLLEAGUES CAN HAVE AS WELL, ALL IN ADVANCE OF THE 24TH TO CONTINUE THAT, UM,
[01:45:01]
INFORMATION SHARING WITH OUR COMMUNITY, UM, IN ADVANCE.SO, UM, THIS WAS A GREAT DIALOGUE.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE TIME AND THOUGHTFULNESS ON IT.
WE DO HAVE ANOTHER PIECE AS WELL IF WE CAN PIVOT TO THAT.
AND I JUST WANNA THANK THE STAFF AGAIN FOR ALL THEIR WORK SITTING HERE.
THEY LOOK, UM, THEY DON'T LOOK, THEY LOOK SOMEWHAT BLISSFUL, NOT ENTIRELY
SO GIVE US THE THURSDAY THAT BLISS, THAT BLISS FACTOR WILL GO UP AS THE WEEK, AS THE WEEK PROCEEDS.
UM, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE AND THE WONDERFUL QUESTION, AND I I LIKE TO JUST END A LITTLE BIT, NOT, WE'RE NOT ADJOURNING THE MEETING YET, BUT I THINK THAT THE LETTERS THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE COMMUNITY, TWO THINGS REALLY STOOD OUT TO ME.
ONE, THAT THE, THE WAY THEY WERE WORDED AND THE KUDOS THAT THEY GAVE ALL OF YOU FOR THE THOUGHTFULNESS IN ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC WAS RESOUNDING IN THE LETTERS THAT WE RECEIVED.
ALSO, THE OTHER THING THAT I I LIKE TO POINT OUT IS THAT WE HAD THE, THE CARE AND I, AND I SENT THIS TO YOU I THINK IN AN EMAIL AND A PHONE CALL TO, TO GREG, IS THAT WHEN I READ THROUGH THE LETTERS THAT CAME FROM THE COMMUNITY AND DIFFERENT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, THE AMOUNT OF TIME EACH OF THESE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS PUT IT'S, IT IS IN, THEY HAD MULTIPLE MEETINGS WITHIN THEIR ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR BOARD OF DIRECTORS THAT THEY HAD THEIR OWN WORK GROUPS THAT THEN SENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD.
AND WHEN I DOVE INTO WHAT THEY ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER, IT WAS BREATHTAKING JUST TO SHOW THE LEVEL OF LOVE THAT THIS COMMUNITY HAS FOR TRANSIT.
I DON'T THINK ANYONE'S DEBATING THE MERITS OF TRANSIT, WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE GET IT RIGHT AND AS RIGHT AS WE CAN GET IT.
SO I JUST REALLY WANT TO EXTEND THANK YOU FOR REALLY THE, THE HEAVY LIFT FROM THE COMMUNITY AND SHOWING UP AND FROM ALL OF YOU FROM ANSWERING ALL THE QUESTIONS.
AND THAT'S A PERFECT SEGUE INTO, UM, INTO WHAT'S, WHAT'S NEXT HERE TO KIND OF JUST END OUR MEETING, OUR DIALOGUE TODAY WITH, UH, WHERE WE ARE ON THAT PEOPLE-CENTERED APPROACH TO BUILDING TRANSIT HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO WITH THAT, I THINK WE HAVE A FEW FOLKS THAT ARE, ARE WILLING TO COME UP, PAULO AND ANNA TO COME TALK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE.
I I WANNA JUST FRAME THIS VERY QUICKLY.
UM, WE'VE SAT IN THIS ROOM AND ELSEWHERE OBVIOUSLY SPENDING A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY, UH, AT THE TASK AT HAND ON PROVIDING AN UPDATED, UM, AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
BUT THE OTHER WORD OF THE YEAR HAS BEEN READINESS.
UM, ONCE THIS PLAN IS ADOPTED HERE IN A FEW WEEKS, OUR OBJECTIVE HAS BEEN READY TO BE READY TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD, TO KEEP PROGRESSING, TO GET DONE AT WHAT BULLET ONE SAID WITH, UH, THAT COURTNEY LAID OUT THE IDEA OF, UM, OF LET'S GET MOVING.
WELL, TO GET MOVING, YOU GOTTA BE READY TO GET MOVING.
WE'VE SPENT, UH, A FEW HOURS WITH YOU AND WE'RE GONNA SPEND A LOT OF TIME THIS MONTH ON OUR DELIVERY APPROACH, UM, HOW WE'RE GONNA BUILD WHAT WE, UH, WILL DECIDE ON HERE, UH, PARTNERING WITH INDUSTRY, PARTNERING WITH TODAY.
WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THAT READINESS.
WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT OUR FINANCIAL READINESS.
SO WE THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT MOMENT TODAY TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA BE READY FROM A, UM, AS WE ADVANCED DESIGN ABOUT THAT, ABOUT, ABOUT THE PEOPLE, ABOUT HOW WE ARE BUILDING A SYSTEM THAT IS FOR AUSTIN, NOT ONLY IN THE MACRO, BUT IN THE INDIVIDUAL.
AND SO I THINK BRINGING US BACK TO THAT MOMENT ABOUT THE WHY, I THOUGHT WE THOUGHT IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR PETER AND, AND PAULO AND ANNA TO JUST WALK US THROUGH THEIR EARLY WORK AND WHAT'S LAYS AHEAD, UM, FOR US, UH, AS A COMMUNITY AND FOR YOU AS A BOARD, AS YOU CONTINUE TO GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY AROUND THIS, THIS WONDERFUL TOPIC OF, OF, OF JOY.
AND UH, AND I THINK AS OUR BOARD MEMBER GARZA SAYS, OF, OF, UH, MAKING IT BEAUTIFUL.
SO, SO WITH THAT, UH, APOLLO, PETER, IF YOU WANT TO JUST, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON.
I'M, UH, THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT TO ARCHITECTURE AND NEURO DESIGN.
AND I'M BLISSFUL, VERY BLISSFUL,
I THINK THAT, UH, WHAT WE HAVE AHEAD OF US IS REALLY HOW WE DESIGN THE SYSTEM.
WE ARE THINKING ABOUT, UH, THE IMPACTS OF THE FOOTPRINT AND WHERE THE SYSTEM GOES AND HOW IT GOES.
AND THAT'S A DRIVER OF RIDERSHIP.
BUT UH, A SYSTEM THAT'S WELCOMING AND BELONGS TO AUSTIN AND IS WELL DESIGNED, IT'S THOUGHTFUL, IT IS MAINTAINABLE, UH, IT IS REALLY WHAT WILL MAKE PEOPLE USE IT.
SO PROJECTIONS ON THE RIDERSHIP ARE GREAT, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE A, UH, UM, SOMETHING THAT SUBSTANTIATE OUR BUSINESS CASE FOR MAKING PEOPLE WANTING
[01:50:01]
TO USE IT.UH, AND I THINK THAT TO, TO ACHIEVE THAT, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT DESIGN.
UH, AND UH, UH, I'LL, UH, I'LL GET ANNA TALK ABOUT ANNA MUSIC FROM, UH, THE HUG TEAM THAT WILL TALK A BIT ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IN PARALLEL.
WE ALL HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND THE REVISIONS, BUT IN PARALLEL TO THIS EFFORT, WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT WE DO THE GROUNDWORK TO, UH, SUBSTANTIATE OUR DESIGN PHASES WITH RESEARCH AND UNDERSTANDING THE USER AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT PEOPLE NEED TO USE THE SYSTEM.
SO ANNA, THANKS PAULO, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INVITATION TO COME HERE AND GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE FROM THE HUG TEAM.
UM, I'M ANNA MUSIG, DIRECTOR AT GALE, THE G IN HUG, UM, HERE TO REPRESENT ALSO HKS AND UN STUDIO, OUR PARTNERS.
AND WE ARE HAVE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PICKING US.
UM, IT'S BEEN REALLY A DELIGHT TO REALLY UNDERSTAND AUSTIN AND UNDERSTAND THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN AND HOW THEY MOVE TODAY.
SO WE CAN DESIGN A SYSTEM THAT'S REALLY ABOUT ATTRACTING PEOPLE, UM, TO TRANSIT AND ACTIVE MOBILITY, UM, IN THE CITY.
SO I'LL TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US.
WHAT DOES A PEOPLE-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACH ACTUALLY MEAN FOR US? IT MEANS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN MAKE LOTS OF MODELS.
WE LOOK AT THEM, WE READ THEM, THEY GUIDE US, BUT PEOPLE DON'T ALWAYS BEHAVE THE WAY THAT MODELS DO, THE WAY THAT YOU WANT THEM TO.
SADLY, WE ALL GO TO DESIGN SCHOOL AND ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL AND THEN YOU PUT A BEAUTIFUL BENCH RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SHOP AND THE PERSON ACTUALLY CHOOSES TO SIT IN SOMETHING THAT THEY FIND COZIER MORE PROTECTED.
IT'S THEIR CHOICE AS A PERSON.
WE DON'T THINK OF THIS AS A DESIGN FLAW.
WE THINK OF THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE A SYSTEM THAT IS BETTER SUITED TO HOW PEOPLE WANNA LIVE.
AND THAT'S REALLY CRITICAL WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO DRIVE BEHAVIOR CHANGE, WHICH IS REALLY, REALLY CHALLENGING.
SO THIS IS A NICE SLIDE THAT WE USE ALL THE TIME IN OUR SLIDE DECKS.
UM, THIS IS, UH, NORTH LAMAR, AND I DON'T THINK I HAVE A POINTER HERE, BUT, UM, WE ARE LEARNING THE SAME THING AGAIN IN AUSTIN.
SO ON THE LEFT YOU SEE NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER.
IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, YOU CAN SEE WHAT WE'RE CALLING, WHAT WE CALL DESIRE LINES LIKE CROSSING THE HIGHWAY.
SO THE PLAN IS THAT NO ONE WOULD EVER CROSS THE HIGHWAY, BUT ACTUALLY AS WE'RE OBSERVING HUMAN BEHAVIOR, HOW PEOPLE ARE USING THE TRANSIT SYSTEM TODAY, WE SEE LOTS OF PEOPLE RUNNING FOR THEIR LIVES TO MAKE THEIR BUS.
AND WE WANNA PAY ATTENTION TO THAT BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE TRANSFERS SEAMLESS.
WE WANNA MAKE A SYSTEM THAT IS AMPLIFYING ALL THE GREAT, UM, MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE ALREADY HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO FOR US, WE'RE FOCUSED ON THIS CRITICAL MOMENT, THE STATION EXPERIENCE, GETTING TO THE STATION, WAITING AT THE STATION, GOING ON YOUR WAY, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT IS GOING TO CHANGE BEHAVIOR, CHANGE THE CULTURE OF AUSTIN, UM, THROUGH A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE.
BUT TO GET THERE, TO GET TO OUR MANDATE, WE HAVE TO TAKE A, A BROADER LOOK.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE WHOLE JOURNEY, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE LAST MILE, AND WE'VE HAD THE GREAT, UM, GIFT OF WORKING WITH THIS SUPER TALENTED AND AMAZING, UM, CITY FAMILY TO DO THAT.
UM, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THE WHOLE JOURNEY IN AUSTIN.
WE'RE DOING THAT THROUGH A NUMBER OF RESEARCH METHODS.
MAYBE NEXT TIME I COME WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT A LITTLE MORE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE FINDING AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR DESIGN.
BUT FOR NOW, UM, WE HAVE BEEN LEARNING A LOT FROM YOU.
UM, WE'VE BEEN LEADING THESE VISION WORKSHOPS, UM, WHICH HAVE BEEN REALLY WONDERFUL JUST TO UNDERSTAND WHAT JOY MEANS TO YOU, WHAT BEAUTY MEANS TO YOU, UM, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE LOCAL CULTURE OF AUSTIN MEANS.
RAUL ALVAREZ ON OUR TEAM, I THINK IS LISTENING IN THE OTHER ROOM, UM, HAS BEEN HELPING US WITH THAT.
UM, WE'RE TRANSLATING THAT INTO SORT OF USER PERSONA'S TYPICAL JOURNEY.
SO SIR, YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST THE MANY'S TRANSIT SYSTEMS ARE BUILT OVER THE, AROUND THE TRIP TO WORK, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TRIP TO THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE OR TO THE GROCERY STORE OR TO THE KID DROP OFF? SO WE'RE SORT OF LEARNING ABOUT, UM, SORT OF TYPICAL PERSONAS, TYPICAL TRIPS, UM, USING THAT AT TO TEST FIT THE DESIGNS THAT WILL BE COMING DOWN THE PIKE.
ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE'RE LOOKING INTO LOCAL CONSTRUCTION TRADES.
HOW CAN WE SOURCE MATERIALS LOCALLY AS WELL AS CRAFT SUPPORT, LO LOCAL TRADES, UM, OBVIOUSLY SUSTAINABILITY, CLIMATE, LANDSCAPE, URBAN FORM, ALL OF THAT.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A SPECIAL TEAM IN THAT WE'RE LOOKING SUPER DEEPLY INTO THE USER EXPERIENCE.
SO YOU SEE A COUPLE OF ANIMATIONS HERE.
ONE OF THEM IS AN APP THAT WE DEVELOPED TO ACTUALLY, UM, DOCUMENT PUBLIC LIFE, WHICH MEANS UNDERSTANDING JOURNEY MAPPING AND ROUTE TRACING THE URBAN QUALITY ON A BLOCK BY BLOCK.
SO WHAT DOES THE LAST MILE ACTUALLY FEEL LIKE FROM A HUMAN PERCEPTION? AND THEN NOT JUST FROM THE SORT OF URBAN QUALITY PERSPECTIVE, BUT THE COGNITIVE EXPERIENCE.
AND THAT SOUNDS REALLY JARGONY, BUT ACTUALLY WHAT IT MEANS IS ARE YOU STRESSED? ARE YOU LOST? ARE YOU CONFUSED? ARE YOU EMBARRASSED THAT YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE
[01:55:01]
YOUR BUS IS? ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE REAL HUMAN EMOTIONS THAT BREAK THE TRIP.YOU KNOW, IF IT'S YOUR FIRST TRIP AND THAT HAPPENS TO YOU, YOU'RE EMBARRASSED, YOU'RE LEADING YOUR FAMILY ON AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GO, YOU MIGHT NOT TAKE THAT TRIP AGAIN.
SO WE REALLY CARE ABOUT LOWERING THE SORT OF COGNITIVE OVERHEAD THROUGH DESIGN AND GOOD PLACEMAKING.
WE'RE LEARNING ALL SORTS OF STUFF ABOUT WHERE PEOPLE ACTUALLY WAIT FOR THE BUS.
IT'S NOT WHERE YOU THINK IT IS.
UM, AND HOW MUCH THE SORT OF PUBLIC LIFE, UM, OSCILLATES ON THE WEEKEND.
THERE'S, UM, LOTS MORE PEOPLE THAN ON THE WEEKEND.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR DIFFERENT, UM, TRANSIT STATIONS AND HOW IT NEEDS TO FEEL SAFE, COMFORTABLE INVITING, UM, AT ALL SEASONS, AT ALL SEASONS, UM, IN ALL PARTS OF THE DAY AND WEEK.
WE'RE ALSO COMPLIMENTING THIS DEEP RESEARCH INTO AUSTIN WITH BENCHMARKS.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING ALL OVER THE WORLD AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR TECHNICAL INSPIRATION, BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR STORIES OF CITY TRANSFORMATION.
UM, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE IMPACT OF LIGHT RAIL IN AUSTIN IS, WILL BE THAT IT'S ABOUT TRANSFORMING THE CITY.
SO WE'RE INSPIRED BY WHAT IT MEANS TO CREATE ACTIVE STREETS IN DENVER.
GREAT AT GREAT OPTIONS IN MINNEAPOLIS.
ALSO SUPER INTEGRATED WITH PUBLIC ART.
WHAT IT MEANS IN LIGHT RAIL MEANS IN COPENHAGEN TO CONNECT NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN CONNECTED BEFORE BY TRANSIT.
SYDNEY HAS REALLY INTERESTING STUDIES, UM, AROUND ACCESS AND FUTURE FIT STREET DESIGN THAT ACCOMMODATES VEHICLES, BUT COULD CHANGE QUICKLY, UM, BY CREATING A CURBLESS STREET.
SO LOTS OF THINGS TO BE INSPIRED BY.
UM, WE KNOW THAT TO BE SUCCESSFUL, LIGHT RAIL NEEDS TO BE SEAMLESS FOR CORE RIDERS.
IT NEEDS TO INVITE NEW RIDERS TO THE SYSTEM, IT NEEDS TO HAVE EFFORTLESS TRANSITIONS, BE CULTURALLY AND CLIMATICALLY ROOTED IN AUSTIN.
WE'RE LEARNING A LOT ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND IT ALSO NEEDS TO WORK FOR PEOPLE WHO WILL NEVER RIDE TRANSIT.
AND THIS IS MY LAST SLIDE, JUST TO MAKE THE POINT THAT SUPPORTING TRANSIT MEANS SUPPORTING PUBLIC LIFE.
AND FOR US, THINKING ABOUT WHAT THE TRANSIT EXPERIENCE MEANS IN TERMS OF TRANSFORMING STREETS IN AUSTIN, WHICH MEANS EVEN FOR THE PERSON WHO WILL NEVER RIDE TRANSIT, THAT GREAT SEAT, A NICE WALK A SHADED STREET, UM, INVITES THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN THEIR CITY IN A WAY THAT THEY NEVER HAVE BEFORE.
AND THAT'S SORT OF OUR NORTH STAR.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE.
IF WE COULD POINT OUT ONE THING, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO, UM, TO VISIT MINNEAPOLIS TO SEE THE CHANGES BETWEEN MINNEAPOLIS AND ST.
AND IT WENT THROUGH A TRADITIONALLY AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND, UH, THEY MADE EXCEPTIONAL EFFORTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT PEOPLE COULD MAINTAIN HOME OWNERSHIP.
THAT THEY, UH, THAT THEY BUILT IN WAYS IN AND OUT, THAT THEY CONNECTED THEM TO THE STORES THAT THEY NORMALLY WENT TO ON THE ROUTE.
UH, IT IS PROBABLY THE MOST DETAILED PROCESS I'VE SEEN.
IT'D BE INTERESTING, UH, TO, UH, TO UH, EITHER HAVE SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY PLANNED IT COME HERE OR TO GO THERE AND, AND LOOK TO SEE WHAT THEY DID WITH COMMUNITIES SPECIFICALLY SO THAT YOU WOULD, SO THAT THE AREAS, UM, COULD MAINTAIN ORIGINAL HOME OWNERSHIP AND NOT BE GENTRIFIED.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE COMMENT.
UM, MINNEAPOLIS IS A GREAT CITY.
MY PARENTS WILL BE REALLY HAPPY WHEN I COME HOME TO VISIT THEM THERE.
UM, THERE'S SO MUCH INTERESTING WORK RELATED TO THIS TOPIC.
RECONNECT RONDO IS ANOTHER REALLY SIMILAR HIGHWAY CAT PROJECT.
UM, AND, UM, THERE'S A LOT TO LEARN FROM THE SYSTEM.
ACTUALLY, KIMLEY HORN, WHICH IS THE CITY'S PROJECT MANAGER THAT DELIVERED THAT SYSTEM AND CONTINUES TO DELIVER ITS EXPANSION IS ON OUR TEAM.
UM, AND SO WE'VE HAD A NUMBER TWO ALREADY SORT OF DEEP DIVES WITH THEM ABOUT HOW THEY LED THEIR DESIGN PROCESS AND SOME OF THE THINGS THEY LEARNED ALONG THE WAY.
UM, THAT IS A TOPIC THAT WILL MAKE SURE TO BRING UP, UM, IN DETAIL WITH THEM NEXT TIME.
UH, YEAH, IT'S REALLY, UH, UM, THAT POINT IS INTERESTING BECAUSE WE ARE CREATING A SYSTEM THAT'S TEACHING THE SY THE CITY TOGETHER, BUT HOW YOU MAINTAIN THE ELEMENTS OF VARIABILITY THAT CREATE DIFFERENT PLACES AND THAT HAPPEN IN COPENHAGEN AS WELL.
AREAS THAT NEVER HAD THEIR OWN CULTURE FELT ENABLED TO HAVE THEIR OWN CULTURE BECAUSE OF THIS CONNECTIVITY.
AND YOU COULD FEEL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ONE PLA STATION AND THE OTHER.
AND FOR MAINTAINABILITY, YOU HAVE TO CREATE STATIONS THERE AS THE SAME AS POSSIBLE.
SO HOW YOU BALANCE THIS NEED OF CONTINUITY WITH THE DIVERSITY OF THE DIFFERENT PLACE CULTURALLY AND IN TERMS OF MICRO CLIMATES AND DIFFERENT AND DIFFERENT NEEDS.
SO I THINK THAT THAT'S EXACTLY THE BALANCE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO STRIKE.
HOW CREATE A SYSTEM THAT'S UNIFIED, BUT AT THE SAME DIVERSE ENOUGH TO ALLOW THE, THOSE DIFFERENT PLACES TO HAVE THEIR OWN IDENTITY.
[02:00:01]
THIS IS REALLY EXCITING WORK AND AS ONE PERSON WHO'S, UM, PARTICIPATED IN TWO VISIONING SESSIONS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I REALLY APPRECIATE AND HOW YOU'RE APPROACHING THE PROGRAMMATIC ELEMENTS OF WHAT'S GONNA DEFINE THIS SYSTEM FROM A HUMAN PERSPECTIVE, I REALLY APPRECIATE HOW, HOW YOU'RE ASKING THE QUESTIONS OF WHAT IF TRANSIT IS DOING MORE THAN TAKE IT FROM POINT A TO POINT B.WHAT IF THIS IS THE, UM, THE GENESIS OF CULTURE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PERFORMANCES AND HOW YOU CREATE THAT PLACE MAKING AND ALL OF THOSE PIECES THAT YOU'RE REALLY DIVING IN, IN A VERY UNIQUE WAY OF ASKING THE QUESTIONS.
AND I ALSO LOVE HOW YOU'RE ENDING WITH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE AN EXISTING TRAIL SYSTEM THAT IS SO WELL USED AND LOVED THAT IS GROWING, THAT IS MATURING ALSO, AND HOW WE'RE CONNECTING THOSE PIECES TO ANOTHER LAYER OF MOBILITY.
THEY JUST GET BETTER OR DIFFERENT USES.
SO CAN YOU, UM, WALK US THROUGH IN THE PIECES THAT ARE GONNA CREATE THE PROGRAM, YOU'RE RIGHT NOW IN, IN STUDY MODE, YOU'RE ASKING QUESTIONS, YOU'RE IN LISTENING MODE.
BUT I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT AT, AT THIS STAGE OF THE PROGRAM, WE'RE SELECTING AN ALIGNMENT, THE NEXT LAYERS OF DESIGN THAT ARE GONNA GO DEEPER INTO DESIGN.
IN THE READINESS, YOU'RE SAYING, WELL, THE, WE CAN'T WAIT FOR ONE.
YOU'RE WORKING IN CONJUNCTION, BUT YOU'RE SETTING UP THE SYSTEMS AND THE PROGRAM ELEMENTS.
WHAT'S GOING TO BE THE ARCHITECT OR THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE OF THE TRANSIT.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A QUESTION OR A STATEMENT, BUT REALLY WHAT I WANNA KNOW IS HOW, WHAT ARE YOUR NEXT STEPS FOR BRINGING PEOPLE ALONG IN THIS JOURNEY OF DESIGN? YEAH, SO THE TEAM RIGHT NOW IS, IS, IS PAO AND I MENTIONED IS THEY'RE INVOLVED IN RESEARCH, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AND THEN I THINK WHEN WE WILL USE THOSE TO HELP TO INFORM THE DESIGN OF THE PUBLIC FACING ASPECTS OF THE, OF THE SYSTEM.
AND WHEN WE GET INTO THAT SPECIFIC DESIGN PROCESS, WE'LL GO BACK OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, TESTS HOW, HOW WE'RE DOING RIGHT.
AND HOW, HOW THIS IS ACTUALLY ARE WE FULFILLING THE PROMISE AND, YOU KNOW, AND GET MORE FEEDBACK.
SO IT'S A KIND OF A CONTINUOUS ITERATIVE PROCESS.
AND AS YOU SAID, CORRECTLY IS GETTING, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE'RE UP HERE AT THE, AT THE SKILL OF THE ALIGNMENT AND THEN WE'LL GET DOWN TO THE STATION AREA MM-HMM.
UM, AND SO WE'RE STARTING BIG AND THEN SUCCESSIVELY WE'LL GET SMALLER AND MORE DETAILED.
AND THIS IS, THIS IS ANOTHER QUESTION THAT I HAVE CURIOSITY ON THAT YOU'RE OBSERVING THE WAY CUR PEOPLE ARE CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH OUR CURRENT TRANSIT SYSTEM.
YOU'RE HOPPING ON THE TRAINS, HOPPING ON THE BUSES.
I'M, I'M ASSUMING THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON.
THE LEVEL OF CARE THAT YOU'RE DOING IN THIS ANALYSIS.
ARE YOU, HOW ARE WE ALSO WEAVING THAT WITH THE METRO RAPID LINES? I MEAN IT'S, I I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT JUST DIFFERENTIATING ALL THE, THE EFFORTS INTO LIGHT RAIL, BUT THAT WE'RE LOOKING HOLISTICALLY TO THAT ECOSYSTEM.
I IS, IS SOME OF YOUR RESEARCH INFORMING HOW WE'RE DELIVERING THOSE LINES? OR I'LL, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL LET THAT, UH, ANSWER MORE DETAIL, BUT I THINK THAT WHAT SOME OF THE WORK WE ARE DOING WILL, UH, HELP US TO DISTILL WHAT IS THE, UH, TRANSPORTATION BRAND FOR US.
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE LIGHT RAIL, BUT WHAT ARE THE PIECES OF THE EXISTING THAT CAN BE FILTERED AND INFORM WHAT WILL BE, WE ARE NOT STARTING FROM SCRATCH.
WE ARE NEVER STARTING FROM SCRATCH.
WE'RE STARTING FROM A CONTEXT AND WE ARE TRYING TO WORK WITH HAVE MATTER.
AND THAT'S WHY WE ARE BENCHMARKING AND TESTING THE, THE, THE, THE BUS EXPERIENCE THROUGH BIOMETRIC RESEARCH AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT ARE THE FRICTION POINTS ON THE BUS SO WE CAN DESIGN THE LIGHT RAIL TO TACKLE THE FRICTION POINTS THAT EXIST ON THE BUS EXPERIENCE.
SO WE ARE NEVER KIND OF STARTING AGAIN.
WE ARE USING WHAT'S EXISTING AND TRYING TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT'S AN EVOLUTION OF THE, OF, OF WHAT EXISTS AND NOT NECESSARILY SOMETHING THAT DISRUPTS AND BREAKS WITH WHAT EXISTS.
AND THIS INVOLVES BRANDING AND INVOLVES PLACE MAKING
[02:05:01]
AND PLACE BRANDING AND ALL THOSE THINGS ASSOCIATED WITH THE EXISTING, IF YOU YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT SORT OF BRANDING LAYER AND LEGIBILITY LAYER.
I THINK FROM A USER RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE SUPER FOCUSED ON TRANSFERS TODAY.
OBVIOUSLY WE CAN'T STUDY WHAT IT'S LIKE TO TRANSFER FROM A BUS TO THE LIGHT RAIL TOMORROW, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CLOSEST COMP WE HAVE AND WE'RE FINDING SOME INTERESTING STUFF AT A PRINCIPLE LEVEL.
I THINK WHEN WE GET DEEPER INTO THE PROCESS, WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE STOPS ARE, WE'RE GONNA BE HAVING MUCH DEEPER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW MANY MINUTES, WHAT'S THE SIGNAL TIMING, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CROSS THIS INTERSECTION? DO WE NEED TO ADAPT WHAT THE STATION LOOKS LIKE SO THAT TO BRING THOSE TWO POINTS CLOSER TOGETHER, UM, AND OBVIOUSLY BUSES ARE THE WORKHORSE OF THE SYSTEM, BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT YOUR BURGEONING FLOURISHING AND MESSY, BEAUTIFULLY MESSY MICRO MOBILITY SPACE.
YOU KNOW, WHAT IS, WHERE DO PEOPLE DROP THEIR BIKES? WHAT, WHERE SHOULD IT BE TIDY? WHERE CAN IT BE MESSY? UM, WE KNOW THERE'S ACTIVE CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING AROUND THAT AND THERE'S, WE'VE SORT OF SET UP A WORKING GROUP JUST TO TACKLE, JUST TO HAVE A FORUM TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS BECAUSE A LOT OF THOSE TOPICS ARE OPEN AT THE MOMENT, BUT, UM, IT'S A CONVERSATION THAT WE ALL HAVE TO HAVE TOGETHER.
YEAH, BECAUSE I THINK THAT, AND YOU REALLY TOUCHED ON THE, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF YOU CAN HAVE A PERFECT PLAN, BUT THEN PEOPLE USE IT DIFFERENTLY.
AND I THINK THAT WE CAN, WE CAN PREDICT SOME BEHAVIORS, BUT WHAT I'M REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT IS HOW DOES THIS RESEARCH WE'RE THE EARLY IMPLEMENTATION OF B R T OR AUGMENTING THE PICKUP SERVICE OR, YOU KNOW, OTHER THINGS THAT ARE IN THE INVESTMENT OF PROJECT CONNECT IS BROADER THAN LIGHT RAIL AND IT'S TOUCHING PARTS OF THE CITY THAT ARE, ARE LARGER.
SOMEBODY SHOULD BENEFIT ALL AROUND OUR COMMUNITY.
I WANNA BE ABLE TO SAY THE RESEARCH THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING TRANSFERS OVER TO THE WORK THAT CAP METRO'S IMPLEMENTING.
HOW IS THAT IMPLEMENTATION AND, AND COHESIVENESS OF LEARNING AS WE DO, DO BY LEARNING, YOU KNOW, THE LEARN BY DOING, I'M SORRY, ABILITY TO SAY WE ARE LEARNING THIS RIGHT NOW FROM AUSTIN, AND BY THE WAY, THIS COULD BE BETTER AND THIS IS THE TIME TO DO IT.
HOW CAN WE DO THIS AND INFORM EACH OTHER? SO I, I THINK JUST IN THE NATURE OF THE WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ENTITIES, THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
TO BE REALLY CLEAR THOUGH, THE METRO RAPID PROJECTS THAT ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION, RIGHT? AND SO WE ARE NOT, WE'RE NOT DISRUPTING THOSE PRO PROJECTS WITH THIS WORK.
WHICH IS GOOD CUZ WE'RE MOVING THOSE ALONG.
SO I JUST, I WANNA BE REALLY CLEAR THAT WE'RE NOT ACTIVELY ENGAGED.
THIS TEAM IS NOT ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE ONES THAT ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION NOW.
FUTURE PROJECTS, WE COULD, WE, WE WILL EXPLORE HOW, HOW THIS WORK CAN BE BENEFIT THOSE FUTURE PROJECTS.
I THINK, UH, A, A GOOD, UH, EXAMPLE OF THAT IS THE, IS THE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY ASPECT OF THAT.
UH, PEOPLE WILL, YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE EVERY SYSTEM WITH THEIR OWN KIND OF INFORMATION SYSTEM.
SO THOSE THINGS ARE NOT IN OUR KIND OF REVIEW, BUT WE ARE PROVIDING THROUGH OUR GUIDELINES HOW WE SHOULD KIND OF CREATE A STIMULUS INTERFACE FOR THE PASSENGER INFORMATION SYSTEMS. MM-HMM.
SO THOSE THINGS HAVE TO HAVE TOGETHER, RIGHT? AND EVEN THOUGH WE ARE NOT DESIGNING GRAPHIC INTERFACES FOR THE APP AT THIS MOMENT, WE HAVE TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED ON THE DIGITAL, UH, UH, SPHERE ON INTERFACES TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE WHAT HAPPENS PHYSICALLY ON THE STATIONS.
SO, AS AN EXAMPLE, THIS HAS TO HAPPEN, THE DIAGRAM OF US FOCUS ON THE STATION, BUT ACTUALLY HAVING THAT, WE GET THE LINE THROUGH THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE.
WE ARE TRYING TO, UH, REALLY ORCHESTRATE THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE FROM POINT TO POINT AND NOT JUST THE RAIL EXPERIENCE, RIGHT? AND, UH, CERTAIN, UH, CERTAIN PIECES OF THIS WILL BE IN OUR AREA OF INFLUENCE AND WE'LL TRY TO KIND OF WORK TOGETHER TO ESTABLISH THE NEW SOLUTIONS, UM, AND MAINTAIN OURSELVES WITHIN OUR TRASH CODE AS WELL.
BECAUSE WE HAVE A BUDGET AND WE HAVE A, YOU KNOW, A SCHEDULE TO FULFILL.
AND, AND I'LL JUST ADD THAT WE ARE HAPPY TO, TO KNOW THAT THIS WORK IS HAPPENING AND CAN HELP INFORM AS WE CONTINUE TO EVOLVE OUR SYSTEM, RIGHT? SO THE, THE EXISTING BUS NETWORK AND HOW WE OPERATE THE SYSTEM IS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING THAT WE INVEST IN YEAR AFTER YEAR, AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR.
AND IF WE FIGURE OUT THAT IT'S BETTER TO WIGGLE OUR LEFT HANDS THAN WIGGLE OUR RIGHT HANDS, THEN BY ALL MEANS WE'LL START TEACHING EVERYBODY TO WIGGLE OUR LEFT HANDS.
AND SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S JUST USEFUL
[02:10:01]
TO HAVE THIS LARGE INVESTMENT TO BE WORTHY OF THIS IN-DEPTH RESEARCH TEAM AND THIS INTERNATIONAL EXPERTISE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO BRING ON BOARD TO HELP INFORM WHAT WE DO IN THE WHOLE SYSTEM.SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE OF THOSE SORT OF, UH, TRICKLE DOWN, UM, BENEFITS OF INVESTMENT IN THE PROGRAM.
I THINK THE CROSS POLLINATION OF IDEAS AND, AND BENEFIT AUGMENTS THE, THE WRITER EXPERIENCE, ULTIMATELY THE, THE WHY, THE WHY WE'RE DOING THIS IS TO MOVE PEOPLE, TO REMOVE THE FRICTIONS, TO ELEVATE THE, THE, THE DELIGHT.
I'LL USE THE WORD DELIGHT AND JOY IN MOVING THE JOY AND THE LIGHT OF MOVING.
UM, AND THE ABILITY TO SAY, WELL, HOW DO WE PRAGMATICALLY MAKE THE MOST OF THESE, OF THIS RESEARCH, OF THIS LEARNING AS WE IMPLEMENT? I DON'T, THE MORE WE DO EARLY, THE LESS WE HAVE TO EITHER TWEAK OR FIX LATER, RIGHT? BUT I DON'T WANT US TO LOSE SIGHT OF THAT, THAT THERE'S SOME SYSTEMS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN DEPLOYED.
I LOVE THAT YOUR, YOUR EXAMPLE OF PAYMENT SYSTEMS, FOR INSTANCE.
IT'S, IT'S A GRANULAR, RIGHT? WE'RE NOT THERE BY ANY MEANS, BUT I KNOW THAT CAMERA'S BEEN STUDYING A, A SEAMLESS PAYMENT SYSTEM THAT GOES TO ALL THE MODES THAT, THAT IT'S, IT, IT CAN TRANSFER.
AND REMOVING THAT FRICTION, REMOVING THAT ANXIETY BECAUSE I'M RUNNING LATE.
I NEED TO CATCH THE TRAIN, I NEED TO, YOU ARE ON THE MOVE, YOU'RE ON THE GO.
AND SO ONE THING THAT REALLY STOOD OUT TO ME IN MELBOURNE IS THAT AT THE CORE OF THE CITY WHERE IT WAS THE HEAVIEST RIDERSHIP, THERE'S NO PAYMENT AT ALL.
YOU HOP ON AND OFF LIKE IT'S THAT SEAMLESS.
IT'S BECAUSE THEY REMOVED THAT PIECE, RIGHT? AND SO IT'S JUST FASCINATING TO SEE THE, THE PARTS THAT MAKE PEOPLE CONTINUE ON THAT JOURNEY SEAMLESSLY.
AND I, I, I WANNA APPLAUD THE WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S FASCINATING AND IT'S REALLY INTERESTING.
WELL, I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN HEARING ABOUT THE JOYFUL AND DELIGHTFUL MOVING
SO, UH, SO THAT'S A, LET'S TALK MORE ABOUT THAT SOON.
YEAH, THAT'S VERY INTERESTING.
IT WAS JOYFUL AND DELIGHTFUL TO HEAR ABOUT
AND I REALLY ENJOY THE VISIONING SESSIONS.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, NEXT STEPS? THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.
AGAIN, JUST THANK YOU BOARD FOR THEIR TIME TODAY.
IT WAS A REALLY INSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATION AND, UH, WE, UH, LOTS OF WEEKS AHEAD OF US AS WE CONTINUE TO, TO FINALIZE THESE.
BUT THEN I THINK YOU CAN SEE TOO, THERE'S OVERLAP.
THE WORK THAT PAUL AND ANNA AND PETER TALKED ABOUT CONTINUES ONWARD.
UM, AND, UH, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT EFFORT, THAT CONTINUAL ENGAGEMENT, I THINK PETER MENTIONED, UM, TH THIS ASPECT OF OUR WORK IS INTEGRATED WITH THE OTHER ASPECTS AND IN ITSELF HAS ITS OWN COMMUNITY, UM, EFFORT.
UM, SO THAT WHAT I, I THINK IS LOOKING AHEAD FOR THE MONTHS AHEAD AND YEARS AHEAD, UM, AS WE DO THAT.
AND THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE THIS READINESS CHECK RIGHT NOW.
AND SO, UM, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE WEEKS AHEAD AND, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO COMING BACK HERE WITH YOU IN JUST SEVERAL WEEKS.
SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, UM, THIS CONCLUDES THE MAY 8TH ATP BOARD OF DIRECTORS WORK SESSION.
THE MEETING STANDS ADJOURNED AT 3:17 PM THANK YOU.