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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.