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[CALL TO ORDER]
CITY HALL, EVERYONE.THIS IS THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE.
I AM JOINED BY VICE CHAIR ZOE CADRE.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON HERE ON THE DAIS WITH ME AND COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, UM, IS NOT ABLE TO JOIN US FOR TODAY'S MEETING.
DO WE HAVE ANY? IT IS ONE O'CLOCK.
UM, SO I WILL GO AHEAD AND BRING THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
DO WE HAVE ANYONE THAT SIGNED UP LAST MINUTE FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? ALL RIGHT, THEN WE WILL GET MOVING RIGHT ALONG.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Mobility Committee meeting of May 11, 2023.]
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE MEETING OF MAY 11TH, 2023.DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THOSE VICE CHAIR CADRE? SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY AND HARPER MADISON.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THAT ITEM.
WE'VE GOT UNANIMOUS ON THE DAAS WITH ONE ABSENT.
[2. Update from the chair of the Urban Transportation Commission (UTC) regarding recent UTC]
INTO ITEM NUMBER TWO, AN UPDATE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.DO WE HAVE OUR CHAIR WITH US YET? WE'RE ADDING HER IN NOW.
HELLO, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN.
SO, UM, SINCE I WAS LAST, I THINK I JOINED YOU IN MAY, UM, AT YOUR MAIL 11TH MEETING.
UM, WE HAD ALREADY MET IN MAY, AND SO THEN WE HAD JUNE AND JULY MEETINGS.
OUR AUGUST MEETING WAS CANCELED.
SO I, I'M HERE TO UPDATE, UH, PRIMARILY ON THE JUNE AND JULY MEETINGS.
UM, SO OUR JUNE MEETING, UM, THERE WERE SOME ACTIONS TAKEN.
WE HAD, UM, THREE, UH, UH, RIGHT OF WAY VACATIONS THAT WERE APPROVED TO FORWARD IT, UM, TO COUNCIL FROM THAT.
SO THOSE WERE, UM, FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
AND THEN, UM, WE ALSO HAD PRESENTATIONS FROM THE RIGHT OF WAY DIVISION AND THE SPECIAL EVENTS DIVISION OF, I'M GONNA GET THIS WRONG, THE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
SO THOSE FOLKS CAME OUT AND SPOKE TO US, BUT THE MAIN ACTIONS WERE JUST THE RIGHT OF WAY VACATIONS.
IF WE LOOK AT OUR JULY MEETING, UM, WE DID HAVE A LITTLE BIT, UM, MORE, UH, GOING ON THERE.
WE DID HEAR, UH, UH, ANOTHER, I THINK THE, THE RIGHT OF WAY VACATION ACTUALLY GOT PUSHED, DIDN'T IT? CHRISTOPHER, CAN YOU REMIND ME? WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY DO THAT ITEM, UM, OR DID WE? NO, WE DID.
THAT WAS I CAN YOU WE, WE WE DID, YES.
SO WE DID APPROVE ANOTHER RIDE OF WAY VACATION,
AND THEN, UM, WE HAD A, A PRESENTATION FROM THE TRANSPORTATION AND MANAGEMENT CENTER, BUT THEN OUR TWO ACTION ITEMS, WHICH ARE THE FROM JULY, WHICH ARE THE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I REALLY WANNA HIGHLIGHT AND SHARE WITH YOU TODAY.
THE FIRST ONE WAS ACTUALLY IN RESPONSE TO A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS OF CITY EMPLOYEES HAD COME TO US IN OUR CITIZEN COMMUNICATION ON OUR JUNE MEETING TO SPEAK TO US ABOUT THE CITY TELEWORK POLICIES.
AND IN PARTICULAR, UM, WITH THE MISSION OF OUR, UM, BOARD TO, UM, TO OUR COMMISSION TO SPEAK ABOUT HOW, UM, TELEWORK IS A CRUCIAL PART OF THE AUSTIN CITY OF AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
UM, MOVING TOWARDS A 50 50 MODE SHARE WHERE PEOPLE ARE NOT ALL DRIVING IN SE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES TO WORK AND THEIR COMMUTES.
AND SO THAT TELEWORK IS A CRUCIAL PART OF THAT AND EXPRESSING MANY OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CHANGES IN POLICIES WITH TELEWORK.
SO WE ACTUALLY WROTE A RECOMMENDATION, UM, WITH A MIND, ESPECIALLY TO TRANSPORTATION COMING FROM OUR COMMISSION.
UM, AND, UM, I'LL, UM, UH, LET ME JUST READ THE, BE IT RESOLVE TO YOU, AND Y Y'ALL CAN REVIEW THIS ON PAPER, BUT IT SAYS, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL IMPLEMENT A PERMANENT OPTION FOR ALL EMPLOYEES WHOSE JOB DUTIES PERMIT TELEWORKING TO TELEWORK SOME OR ALL OF THE TIME, AND SHOULD MOVE TOWARD IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT OPTION BY REQUESTING THAT THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER FINALLY DELIVER THE REPORT ON THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF TELEWORKING, WHICH WAS REQUESTED BY COUNSEL IN JUNE, 2022.
THE REPORT SHOULD CONTAIN AT LEAST THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION, A PROPOSED LIST OF WHICH JOB CLASSIFICATIONS AND POSITIONS ARE SUITABLE FOR TELEWORKING, THE ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACTS OF OFFERING TELEWORKING AS AN OPTION FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES WHOSE JOBS CLASS CLASSIFICATIONS ARE SUITABLE.
SIMILAR TO THE REPORT PREPARED BY DELOITTE CONSULTING FOR TRAVIS COUNTY.
THE REPORT SHOULD IDENTIFY WHICH PROPERTIES WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES, SUCH AS AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR LEASE TERMINATION IF A SUBSTANTIAL FRACTION OF EMPLOYEES WERE ELIGIBLE FOR TECH TELEWORKING AT THOSE LOCATIONS, CHOSE TO DO SO.
AND THE REPORT SHOULD ALSO IDENTIFY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPANDING TELEWORKING, SUCH AS ADDITIONAL IT COSTS COST TO UPDATE PERSONNEL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, TRAINING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH LEARNING TO
[00:05:01]
WORK AND MANAGING IN A DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENT AND A SKILL SOME MANY MANAGERS DON'T CURRENTLY POSSESS.UM, UM, YOU KNOW, THE INDIVIDUALS, THE EMPLOYEES WHO SPOKE TO US AT JUNE, MANY OF THEM RETURNED IN JULY AS WELL.
I FELT LIKE THAT WAS A GREAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE REALLY THOUGHT THAT THIS IS PART OF OUR OVERALL MOBILITY PICTURE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND IT WAS GREAT BECAUSE, UM, IT WAS ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS WHERE OUR CITIZENS COME THE NEXT MEETING, WE'RE ABLE TO GET IN OUR AGENDA AND PASS SOMETHING.
SO THAT WAS, UM, ONE OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
OUR SECOND RECOMMENDATION, I WANNA TAKE SOME CARE WITH THAT.
UM, SO Y'ALL MAY REMEMBER WE HAD A PROPOSAL FOR, UM, UH, WE, WE, WE'VE BEEN TALKING QUITE A LOT.
U T C AND TRANSPORTATION ADVOCATES HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT BIKE LANE PARKING AND THE FACT THAT, UM, WE HAVE SORT OF A EPIDEMIC OF
A A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST DO IT EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BECAUSE IT'S, UM, ENFORCEMENT IS VERY DIFFICULT BECAUSE THEY KNOW IF THEY JUST DO IT FOR 15 OR 20 MINUTES, IT, THEY MAY NOT GET CAUGHT.
SOMEBODY MAY NOT COME OUT AND TICKET THEM IN TIME, UM, EVEN IF THEY'RE CALLED IN.
BUT, UM, IT DOES CREATE IN THAT TIME, UM, A LOT OF POTENTIAL DANGER TO BIKERS AND PEDESTRIANS WHEN THAT DOES HAPPEN.
AND SO WE HAD, UM, HAD A PROPOSAL, UM, BACK LAST YEAR, UM, WHICH WAS SORT OF LIKE A CITIZENS', UM, BIKE LANE, UH, REPORTING THING SO THAT PEOPLE COULD ACTUALLY, A PROPOSAL THAT PEOPLE WOULD BE ABLE TO CALL IT IN AND THEY WOULD ACTUALLY BE INCENTIVIZED TO GET A LITTLE BIT OF LIKE, MONEY BACK IF THEY CALL IN BIKE LANE VIOLATIONS.
WE DIDN'T SEE A LOT OF ACTION FROM THAT.
SO THE COMMISSION WAS TRYING TO SORT OF SUGGEST MAYBE A MENU OF OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH BIKE LANE VIOLATIONS AND SORT OF TO IMPROVE THIS SITUATION IN THE CITY.
SO, UM, LET ME, I'LL TRY TO GO THROUGH THIS QUICKLY, BUT WE HAVE A COUPLE WHERE AS IS, IT SAYS, UM, YOU KNOW, BACK LAST YEAR OUR URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, WE ISSUED A RECOMMENDATION, UM, THAT SAID WE WOULD, UM, TO AUSTIN, THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE AND CITY COUNCIL TO DEVELOP, IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM WHICH PROVIDES TO ANY INDIVIDUAL USING 3 1 1, UM, TO PROVIDE CURRENT PHOTO EVIDENCE OF A VEHICLE BL BLOCKING A BIKE LANE TO RECEIVE 20% OF THE REVENUE COLLECTED BY THE CITY.
SO I KNOW THERE'S SOME ISSUES MAYBE WITH LEGALITIES, BUT THEN, UM, SO, UM, THAT WAS DISCUSSED BY COUNCIL, UM, AND THE BI BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL ALSO SUPPORTED THIS.
UM, AND, UM, ONLY, UM, AND WE ALSO WANTED TO NOTE IN THE WHEREAS HERE THAT ONLY 21% OF BIKE LANE BLOCKAGE COMPLAINTS REPORTED IN THREE 11, UH, 3 1 1 WERE CLOSED, UM, WITH A CITATION.
AND 67% OF THEM ARE CLOSED WITH THE VEHICLE HAVING BEEN MOVED BEFORE PARKING ENFORCEMENT ARRIVES.
SO, UM, WE CAN SEE THAT EVEN FOR THINGS THAT ARE GETTING REPORTED, THEY'RE NOT REALLY RESULTING IN, UM, UH, CITATIONS.
SO, UM, UH, ANYWAY, I'LL KIND OF MOVE INTO SOME OF OUR, BE IT RESOLVED HERE.
SO WE HAVE A FEW POSSIBILITIES AND WE WOULD JUST ASK THAT SOME OF THESE BE EXPLORED.
WE KNOW THAT THERE MAY BE OBSTACLES TO SOME OF THEM EITHER POLITICALLY, FINANCIALLY, LEGALLY, BUT WE THOUGHT MAYBE IF WE GIVE A RANGE OF OPTIONS FOR CITY COUNCIL TO EXPLORE, WE CAN GET SOME MOVEMENT IN THIS REGARD.
SO, UM, I'LL READ THE BE IT RESOLVES AND THEN I'M, I'LL BE HOPEFULLY DONE WITH THIS, MY PORTION HERE FOR YOU TODAY.
BUT IT DOES SAY, UM, BE IT RESOLVED.
THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE AND CITY COUNCIL ADOPT AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING MEASURES TO IMPROVE THE SAFETY OF BICYCLISTS BY ENSURING BIKE LANE PARKING VIOLATIONS ARE ENFORCED.
UM, FIRST EITHER DEVELOP A AND IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS BIKE LANE PARKING VIOLATIONS TO BE ENFORCED USING A PHOTO AND INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY AUSTIN 3 1 1 APP OR ONLINE SERVICE USER REQUEST.
AND DO NOT REQUIRE A PHYSICAL CONFIRMATION FROM CODE OR PEACE OFFICERS REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE PERSON SUBMITTING THE PHOTO AND INFORMATION RECEIVES 25% OF THE REVENUE COLLECTED BY THE CITY FOR THAT CITATION.
OR TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A BIKE LANE ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM EITHER MODELED OFF OF OR AS AN EXPANSION OF THE EXISTING ACCESSIBLE PARKING ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM WHERE THE CITY, AUSTIN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND PUB OF DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, CAN TRAIN VOLUNTEERS TO ISSUE CITATIONS AND WARNINGS FOR ILLEGALLY PARKED VEHICLES AND BIKE LANES.
AND THREE, DESIGNATE MULTIPLE, UH, TRANSPORTATION MOBILITY SERVICE OFFICERS ON EACH SHIFT WHO WILL TRAVEL BY BICYCLE AND PRIMARILY FOCUS ON ISSUING CITATIONS AND WARNINGS FOR ILLEGALLY PARKED VEHICLES AND BIKE LANES.
SO THOSE ARE OUR THREE SORT OF OPTIONS.
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PHOTOS, TWO VOLUNTEER, UH, ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM, OR THREE, DESIGNATE MORE EMPLOYEES FOR THIS TASK.AND WE ALSO, AND THEN BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, UM, FOLLOWING SUPPLEMENTARY POLICIES TO FURTHER ENHANCE THE SAFETY OF BICYCLISTS, UM, ALTER ANY RELEVANT ORDINANCE REQUIRING A POST-IT SIGN EXPLICITLY MARKING PARKING IN THE BIKE LANE ASSIGNABLE OFFENSE.
AND INSTEAD TO CREATE AS A DEFAULT THE REVERSE POSITION OF SANCTIONED PARKING IN A BIKE LANE ONLY WHERE IT IS EXPLICITLY POSTED AS ALLOWED.
SO THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE WITH CITATIONS IS THAT, UM, SOMETIMES PEOPLE AREN'T CITED BECAUSE IT DOESN'T SAY YOU CAN'T PARK IN THE BIKE LANE.
WE USED TO SORT OF SUGGEST REVERSING THAT ASSUMPTION THERE.
UM, UH, OR TWO, A DIRECT AUSTIN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS TO UPDATE CITY BICYCLE MAPS TO INDICATE WHERE PARKING IN THE BIKE LANE IS ALLOWED, EITHER BY A LACK OF SIGNAGE OR BY SPECIFIC SIGNAGE ALLOWING VEHICLES TO PARK IN THE BIKE.
LANE THREE, EXPAND THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE LOADING PERMIT PROGRAM CITYWIDE AND CLEARLY INDICATE THAT IT IS THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S PREFERENCE THAT THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLES BLOCK GENERAL TRAVEL LANES, NOT BIKE LANES OR SIDEWALKS WHEN TWO OR MORE GENERAL TRAVEL LANES IN ONE DIRECTION ARE AVAILABLE.
AND FOR ENGAGE IN A CITYWIDE AWARENESS PEN CAMPAIGN TO CREATE A GENERAL COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT BLOCKING A BIKE LANE WILL RESULT IN A CITATION EXCEPT WE'RE EXPLICITLY ALLOWED BY POST-IT SIGNAGE.
SO, UM, UH, THAT, AND THEN OUR FINAL BE IT RESOLVED, U T C RECOMMENDS THAT IF MOBILITY COMMITTEE AND CITY COUNCIL DO NOT ADOPT ANY OF THE RECOMMENDED MEASURES TO IMPROVE THE SAFETY OF BICYCLISTS BY ENSURING BIKE LANE PARKING VIOLATIONS ARE ENFORCED, THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECT, THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE CITY ATTORNEY TO RESEARCH OPTIONS TO REDUCE ILLEGAL PARKING AND BIKE LANES AND REPORT BACK TO THE CITY COUNCIL BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
SO YOU CAN SAY WE HAVE A LOT OF IDEAS FOR WORKING ON THIS MATTER.
UM, WE KNOW THAT SOME OF THEM MAY STICK AND OTHERS MAY NOT, BUT WE WANT IT TO SORT OF GIVE YOU A MENU OF OPTIONS TO WORK WITH, UM, ON THIS ISSUE, WHICH IS DEFINITELY ONE WE'RE HEARING ABOUT FROM A LOT OF FOLKS ACROSS THE CITY.
I KNOW THAT WAS A LOT, BUT I THINK IT WAS A PRODUCTIVE COUPLE, A PRODUCTIVE SUMMER FOR U T C, SO THAT'S GREAT.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE UPDATE.
DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS ON THE DS OR COMMENTS? NATASHA HARPER MADISON, UH, THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR THE RECOGNITION.
UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I RECOGNIZE WITH A GREAT DEGREE OF FREQUENCY IS THAT PEOPLE USE THE BIKE LANE TO PASS.
SO IF SOMEBODY'S TURNING LEFT, THEY GO THROUGH THE BIKE LANE TO PASS.
AND I JUST DUNNO THAT I'VE EVER SEEN ANY SIGNAGE OR HEARD ANY ADVISORY AROUND PEOPLE RECOGNIZING YOU DON'T USE THE BIKE LANE TO PASS, YOU WAIT UNTIL THAT PERSON TURNS LEFT.
UM, I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS AROUND THAT.
YEAH, I WOULD, I WOULD DEFINITELY, UH, CATEGORIZE THAT AS, UM, I DON'T KNOW, I'D HAVE TO GO POUR INTO CODE, BUT I WOULD LIKE, I WOULD SAY THAT THAT'S REALLY PART AND PARCEL OF THESE SAME ISSUES THAT WE'RE NOTICING IS THAT PEOPLE SORT OF USE IT AS THEIR RELIEF LANE, WHETHER THAT'S FOR PASSING, WHETHER THAT'S FOR, UH, PARKING DELIVERIES.
UM, SO I, I AGREE THAT THAT'S DEFINITELY A THING, UM, THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE MOMENTS OF PASSING IN THE BIKE LANES, THOSE ARE PROBABLY REALLY HARD TO CATCH EVEN MORE THAN PARKING IN THE BIKE LANES 'CAUSE THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, PRETTY FAST AND EPHEMERAL.
IT HAPPENS QUICKLY AND YOU MAY NOT GET SOMEBODY'S LICENSE PLATE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT I AGREE, ABSOLUTELY THAT IS PROBLEMATIC AND, YOU KNOW, IF THIS IS A MATTER THAT WE WANNA INCREASE AWARENESS IN, IN THE CITY, THAT I WOULD SAY THAT THAT WOULD BE ALIGNED WITH, WITH THIS AS WELL.
SO THAT WOULD BE MY THOUGHTS ON THAT.
SO, SO I WONDER IF THERE'S A WAY FOR THERE TO WORK IN YOUR, BE IT RESOLVES AND YOUR, WHEREAS IS, WHEREAS THE CITIZENS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN DON'T RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO USE THE BIKE LANE TO PASS THE PERSON TURNING LEFT.
I THINK FOLKS JUST DON'T KNOW.
YEAH, I THINK, AND YOU KNOW, I WILL SAY I THINK THERE'S SOME LACK OF KNOWLEDGE.
I DO THINK SPECIFICALLY IN SOME OF OUR REALLY IMPACTED AREAS, DOWNTOWN AND WEST CAMPUS AND PLACES LIKE THAT, I THINK THAT PEOPLE DO KNOW, BUT THEY ALSO JUST KNOW THAT THEY'RE NOT GONNA GET CAUGHT.
SO I THINK THAT'S A LITTLE OF BOTH ENDS, YOU KNOW? UM, AND RIGHT NOW IT'S KIND OF ASSUMED LIKE WE'RE NOT ASSUMING THAT PEOPLE KNOW THIS, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UM, WE'RE NOT CITING PEOPLE, I THINK, EXCEPT IN PLACES WHERE IT SAYS DON'T PARK IN THE BIKE LANE.
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REVERSE THAT ASSUMPTION CULTURALLY AS A CITY SO THAT LIKE WE ALL ASSUME DON'T PARK IN THE BIKE LANE UNLESS THERE'S A SIGN THAT SAYS YOU CAN.SO I THINK THAT IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH.
I THINK THERE IS SOME, THERE ARE SOME BAD ACTORS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO, WHO KNOW THAT THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT AND KNOW THAT THEY SHOULDN'T BE.
BUT THERE'S ALSO PEOPLE THAT JUST DON'T KNOW OR MAYBE USE THE FACT THAT THERE'S NO SIGNAGE AS A EXCUSE NOT TO KNOW SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I THINK ULTIMATELY AT THE END OF THE DAY, MOST PEOPLE JUST DON'T KNOW.
THEY THINK IF YOU CAN GET AROUND THE PERSON TURNING LEFT, YOU JUST TAKE THE SPACE THAT YOU CAN.
BUT NOT RECOGNIZING THAT THE BIKE LANE IS INACCESSIBLE TO MOTORIZED VEHICLES, I, I THINK THEY JUST DON'T KNOW.
SO I WONDER IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN WORK COLLABORATIVELY ON WITH THE CHAIR OF THIS DEPARTMENT OR THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, AND JUST MOVING FORWARD, IF WE CAN JUST REALLY TEACH PEOPLE THE BIKE LANE IS INACCESSIBLE TO CARS.
YEAH, I, I THINK WHAT'S FRUSTRATING, I THINK CHAIR SUMMERS SAID IT VERY WELL AND THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, MAY KNOW AND JUST THINK, OH, I'M ONLY GONNA DO IT THIS ONE TIME.
UM, BUT IF YOU HAVE EVER NAVIGATED THESE AREAS ON A BICYCLE, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT SPLIT SECONDS AND JUST THE INABILITY TO SEE PEOPLE CAN CREATE VERY DANGEROUS CIRCUMSTANCES.
AND UNLESS THERE'S AN ACTUAL PHYSICAL BARRIER, LIKE A CURB OR SOMETHING CONCRETE OR A METAL RAILING, THERE'S A LOT OF FOLKS THAT JUST TAKE THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE AND, YOU KNOW, SAY, I DON'T NECESSARILY WANT TO WAIT, SO I'M JUST GONNA, I'M GONNA GO.
AND THE MORE PEOPLE ARE DOING THAT, ESPECIALLY IN PLACES WHERE WE HAVE THE UNPROTECTED BIKE LANES, THE MORE DANGEROUS IT IS FOR PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES OF THAT.
YEAH, WE CERTAINLY SEE SOME PEOPLE GET THEMSELVES IN INTERESTING SITUATIONS, EVEN WHEN THERE ARE SOME, SOME SORTS OF BARRIERS AS WELL.
WE'VE SEEN SOME INTERESTING PHOTOS OUT THERE.
SO YEAH, I'VE SEEN PEOPLE SOMETIMES GET PRETTY DETERMINED
AND I THINK THAT WAS INADVERTENT, BUT, UM, ALWAYS A GOOD REMINDER FOR PEOPLE TO, YOU KNOW, SLOW DOWN A LITTLE BIT, TAKE A MOMENT, LOOK EVERY DIRECTION YOU POSSIBLY CAN TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE DRIVING SAFELY.
SO I THINK, I THINK IT'S THE WILL OF THE COMMISSION.
LIKE WE, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD, EVEN IF IT'S JUST AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS OR IMPROVED SIGNAGE OR THINGS LIKE THAT, WE WOULD LOVE THAT.
BUT I THINK IF THERE'S WAYS THAT WE CAN UP SOME OF THE ACTUAL ENFORCEMENT PARTICULARLY, YOU KNOW, LIKE I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, IN AREAS WHERE THERE MAY BE A PERSISTENT PROBLEM WITH THIS, I THINK THAT'S KIND OF JUST EXPLORE ALL SOLUTIONS AND WE TRIED TO CAPTURE THAT IN OUR RECOMMENDATION AS BEST WE COULD.
UM, YEAH, I MEAN, I JUST WANT TO KIND OF, I, I DON'T, I DUNNO IF FLAG'S THE RIGHT WORD, BUT, YOU KNOW, REPRESENTING THE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT, UH, A LOT OF TIMES, ESPECIALLY DURING FESTIVALS SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST COMES TO MIND, UH, WE HAD A LOT OF CONSTITUENTS REACH OUT TO US, UH, AND A LOT OF FOLKS, UH, WHO WERE IN TOWN VISITING, AND I GUESS THEY FOUND OUT THAT DISTRICT NINE IS A DISTRICT THAT, THAT THE, UH, THE FESTIVAL IS OCCURRING IN, UH, WHO TALKED ABOUT THEIR DANGERS AS THEIR DANGERS AS A CYCLIST, UH, DURING THAT TIME.
UH, AND I, I, I LIVE IN THE AREA AND THE AMOUNT OF TRUCKS THAT I SEE AT BUSINESSES THAT ARE UNLOADING, THAT JUST PARK IN THE, IN THE BIKE LANES, CARS THAT ARE PARKED THERE, UM, I THINK I'VE SOMETIMES SEEN CITY, UM, CARS ALSO PARKED IN THE BIKE LANES.
UM, AND I THINK IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT WHEN, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE SAFETY OF, OF, OF RIDERS AND JUST TO, YOU KNOW, BETTER, UH, TO BE BETTER ABOUT IT.
AND, AND MAYBE IT IS AN AWARENESS CAMPAIGN, RIGHT? BECAUSE MAYBE IT'S PEOPLE JUST THINKING, OH, THIS, THIS WON'T CAUSE TOO MUCH DAMAGE, OR TAKE UP TOO MUCH TIME, I'LL BE IN AND OUT.
OR, YOU KNOW, I'M ONLY HERE FOR A BIT WHILE WE'RE UNLOADING, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, CRATES FROM THE, FROM THE TRUCK.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IT, IT TAKES A SPLIT SECOND FOR, FOR SOMETHING REALLY BAD TO HAPPEN.
AND, YOU KNOW, I, I ALSO JUST WANNA KIND OF FLAG, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING ON, ON A DRAFT I I F C, UH, AS AN OFFICE ON CURBSIDE MANAGEMENT.
UH, AND I KNOW THAT THE STAFF IS WORKING ON IT, UH, ON A LOT OF THIS STUFF AS WELL.
AND, AND I JUST HOPE THE PROCESS WILL INCLUDE A HARD LOOK ON HOW DO WE KEEP BIKE LANES SAFER FOR BICYCLISTS AND CLEAR FROM CARS.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR OUR CHAIR OF THE U T C? I THINK THAT DOES IT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY.
WE APPRECIATE THE WORK Y'ALL ARE DOING IN THE COMMISSION.
[3. Austin Strategic Mobility Plan 2039 Mode Shift Goal Progress Update.]
BE AN UPDATE ON THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN 2039 MODE SHIFT GOAL.I KNOW IT IS STILL RELATIVELY NEW, BUT I WAS HERE WHEN WE ADOPTED THE VERY FIRST VERSION.
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DIVISION MANAGER FOR THE, UH, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.UM, I OVERSEE OUR SMART MOBILITY OFFICE, AND PART OF OUR PORTFOLIO IS THE TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AS WELL.
AND I'M JOINED BY JACOB BARRETT WHO MANAGES THAT PROGRAM.
SO, UM, HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE 2039 GOAL, UM, THAT WAS, UH, ADOPTED IN THE A S M P BACK IN 2019.
AND I GUESS WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS JUST GIVE YOU KIND OF AN OVERVIEW OF HOW I'D LIKE TO APPROACH THIS.
IT'S A FAIRLY BIG TOPIC, UM, IS FIRST TALK ABOUT THE GOAL AND JUST REFRESH EVERYBODY'S MEMORY ABOUT WHAT WAS ESSENTIALLY ADOPTED BACK IN 2019.
AND I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE DATA, ANY GOOD GOAL HAS DATA ASSOCIATED WITH IT, SO WE CAN TRACK OUR PROGRESS TOWARDS, UM, TOWARDS WHAT OUR EVENTUAL OUTCOMES ARE GONNA BE.
AND THEN I'D LIKE TO DIVE INTO EACH MODE THAT WAS IDENTIFIED AT THAT TIME, AND TO TALK ABOUT KIND OF AT A HIGH LEVEL, YOU KNOW, WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE, WHAT CHALLENGES WE'RE SEEING, AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT CHANGES WE'VE BEEN SEEING OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
SO IT IS, WE'VE NOW ABOUT FIVE YEARS INTO THIS GOAL.
IT'S A 20 YEAR GOAL, LONG RANGE GOAL.
AND THE GOAL WAS TO TAKE A, TO EVENTUALLY HIT IN 20 YEARS FROM 2019, A 50 50 MODE SPLIT.
AND THAT WOULD BE TAKING THE SIX DIFFERENT MODES THAT WE HAVE AND ESSENTIALLY HAVE, DRIVE ALONE, ONLY ACCOUNT FOR 50% OF THOSE.
AND THAT IN THE 20 YEARS THAT IT WOULD TAKE ALL THE OTHER MODES, BIKING, WALKING, TRANSIT, CARPOOLING, TELEWORK, ALL OF THOSE MODES WOULD SHIFT AND INCREASE TO EVENTUALLY EQUAL 50%.
SO THE IDEA WOULD BE THAT THE NUMBER OF CARS THAT WERE ON THE ROAD TAKING COMMUTES IN 2019 WOULD STAY THE SAME FOR 20 YEARS.
AND ALL THE ADDITIONAL DRIVING THAT OCCURRED WOULD BE ABSORBED IN THESE OTHER MODES.
AND THIS IS WITH THE IDEA THAT BA BASICALLY WITHIN THAT 20 YEARS, THE POPULATION WOULD DOUBLE.
SO OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, WE'VE SEEN ABOUT 70,000 ADDITIONAL PEOPLE COME TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THE IDEA IS ALL THOSE ADDITIONAL COMMUTE TRIPS WOULD BE NOW, UM, TAKEN IN BY THE OTHER, THE ALTERNATIVE MODES.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT.
SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS GO AHEAD AND JUST TALK ABOUT THE DATA REAL QUICK, AND THEN WE CAN KIND OF JUMP INTO THE DIFFERENT MODES.
SO THIS IS A GRAPH THAT IS IN THE A S M P AND IT, UM, COMES FROM THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY.
AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY IS PUBLISHED ONCE A YEAR, UH, WITH ESSENTIALLY SAMPLE DATA.
AND THEN EVERY FIVE YEARS THAT DATA IS AGGREGATED, UH, TO A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL OF, UM, OR LOWER LEVEL OF STATISTICAL RELEVANCE.
SO, UM, BACK IN 2019, ALMOST THREE QUARTERS OF OUR TRIPS BY COMMUTING WERE DONE BY DRIVE ALONE CARS.
WE HAD 11% WERE CARPOOLING OR RIDE SHARING TRANSIT, ACCOUNTED FOR, UM, UM, EXCUSE ME, TRANSIT ACCOUNTED FOR 4% AND TELEWORK WAS EIGHT.
AND ROUNDING IT OUT WAS A 1% AND 2% FOR BICYCLING AND WALKING RESPECTIVELY.
AND THE IDEA WOULD BE WITHIN 20 YEARS, WHILE THAT NUMBER OF TRIPS STATE REMAINED THE SAME, DRIVING ALONE WOULD ONLY ACCOUNT FOR 50%.
WE WOULD SEE INCREASES IN ALL THE OTHER MODES, PARTICULARLY IN TRANSIT.
AND A LOT OF THE PROJECTIONS WERE BASED UPON THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAD IN 2019, POTENTIAL INVESTMENT INTO TRANSIT, POTENTIAL INVESTMENT INTO ALL AGES AND ABILITIES NETWORK AND SUCH.
SO THERE WAS SOME ART TO COMING UP WITH THOSE DIFFERENT PERCENTAGES.
AND THOSE AREN'T HARD AND FAST.
I MEAN, THE IDEA IS MOSTLY THE 50 50 MODE SPLIT, BUT THIS IS HOW IT WAS ENVISIONED AT THAT TIME.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO JUST SAY THAT THE DATA FROM THE A C S IS FOR COMMUTE PATTERNS, BUT IT'S KIND OF A PROXY FOR ALL TRIPS.
SO THE LATEST DATA WE HAVE FROM THE A C S IS FOR 2021.
AND THIS REALLY NEEDS TO BE SET.
UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS, IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE PUT IN CONTEXT.
'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY IN 2021, WE WERE AT THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC, AND THE PANDEMIC HAD A MAJOR EFFECT ON HOW PEOPLE CHOSE TO TRAVEL, HOW PEOPLE CHOSE TO WORK, GET TO THEIR SERVICES, ET CETERA.
SO WE DID WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS DATA, BUT WE REALLY WANT TO PUT A BIG ASTERISK BESIDE IT TO SAY, UM, WHILE IT'S NOT BAD DATA, IT'S THE SAME METHODOLOGY AS ALL A C S DATA.
[00:25:01]
IT, IT'S IN THE BACKGROUND AND IT'S, IT'S A FALSE EQUIVALENCY COMPARED TO THE DATA THAT WE HAD BEFORE.UM, SO IF WE LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT MODES, BICYCLING AND TELEWORK DEFINITELY INCREASED WHILE CARPOOLING AND DRIVING ALONE IN TRANSIT ALL DIMINISHED BECAUSE AGAIN, WAS IT DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC? UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO I'D LIKE TO NOW, UH, MOVE INTO THE DIFFERENT MODES AND TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT EACH GOAL AND THEN SOME OF THE BIG, AGAIN, HIGH LEVEL INVESTMENTS THAT ARE BEING MADE INTO EXPANDING THE MODE SHARE.
FOR EACH ONE OF THESE, UH, BICYCLE, WE HOPE TO EXPAND THAT BY 4% AND WITHIN THE 20 YEAR WINDOW.
AND PROBABLY THE BIGGEST IN INVESTMENT IN THIS IS INTO INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE ALL AGES AND ABILITY, UM, NETWORK IS NOW MORE THAN 50% COMPLETE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY PROVIDING SAFE FACILITIES, AS Y'ALL WERE JUST DISCUSSING, IS PARAMOUNT TO INCREASING PEOPLE'S USAGE OF THOSE FACILITIES AND USE OF THAT MODE.
WE HAVE EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGNS, UM, THROUGH OUR NONPROFIT PARTNERS, UH, THROUGH OUR T D M PROGRAM SUCH AS GIALLO, WHICH IS WORKING, UM, DOING ALL KINDS OF OUTREACH TO GET PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT, UM, COHORTS TO GET OUT THERE AND USE BIKES.
WE HAVE A PROGRAM CALLED GOLDEN ROLLERS WHERE THEY'LL WORK WITH FOLKS WHO ARE ELDERLY TO GET THEM ON BIKES AND GIVE THEM ONE-ON-ONE INSTRUCTION.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT TRYING TO CREATE DIFFERENT DATA SETS, IDENTIFY DATA, AND THE DATA IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE DATA TELLS US CAN HELP US TELL US WHERE TO PUT INFRASTRUCTURE, WHERE TO DO PROGRAMMING AND SUCH, AGAIN, TO HELP IMPROVE THE OUTCOMES FOR THE DIFFERENT MODES.
UH, THE 15 TO 18% OF ALL BIKE TRIPS LOGGED, UM, IS ACTUALLY COMING FROM STRAVA, WHICH, UH, I USE KIND OF ON THE WEEKENDS TO TRACK MY TRIPS.
AND SO I GUESS IT'S ALL GETTING AGGREGATED, SCRUB TO P I I AND BEING PROVIDED TO DIFFERENT CITIES.
SO WE'RE GETTING, WE'RE, WE'RE ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR NEW DATA SETS, BETTER DATA SETS, AGAIN, TO HELP US WITH OUR PLANNING.
UM, THERE ARE DIFFERENT, UH, FRICTION ELEMENTS LIKE HEAT, UM, AND PERHAPS LACKS OF FACILITIES LIKE SHOWERS AND FACILITIES THAT AGAIN, THE CITY COULD LOOK AT FOR THEIR OWN STAFFING TO IMPROVE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE TAKING, UM, BIKES AS A OPTION.
AND THE TWO MAIN THINGS I REALLY WANNA TALK ABOUT AS FAR AS KIND OF NEAR TERM IS, UM, OUR METRO BIKE SYSTEM.
UM, THE METRO BIKE IS OUR BIKE SHARE SYSTEM THAT IS MANAGED ESSENTIALLY BY CAPITAL METRO AND PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY.
UM, WE'VE ADOPTED A LOT OR HAVE BROUGHT IN A LOT OF E-BIKES INTO THAT SYSTEM AND THEY HAVE BEEN A GAME CHANGER.
UM, THE CHANGE OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS IN MONTHLY RIDERSHIP HAS GONE UP ABOUT 20,000.
UM, SO BIKE SHARE I THINK IS GOING TO BE A REALLY IMPORTANT ELEMENT MOVING FORWARD IN GETTING MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ONTO BIKES AND USING BIKES TO GET AROUND.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, KIND OF SEGUEING IN WITH E-BIKES IS AUSTIN ENERGY HAS A REBATE SYSTEM WHERE THEY'VE SEEN ALMOST A DOUBLING OF APPLICATIONS AND THEY'VE ALSO INCREASED THE AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR EACH E-BIKE.
SO I THINK THAT, UH, AS WE LOOK IN THIS NEXT FIVE TO 10 YEARS, WE'RE GONNA SEE E-BIKES AGAIN, MORE AND MORE AFFECT HOW PEOPLE CHOOSE BICYCLING AS A MODE.
CARPOOLING RIDE SHARE AND OTHER, UM, AUSTIN'S CARPOOLING RATE IS, UH, LOWER THAN SOME OTHER CITIES.
AND ONE REASON WOULD BE IS AN INVESTMENT INTO THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT, UH, INCENTIVIZES PEOPLE TO USE IT.
UM, THAT WOULD BE SUCH AS LIKE O H O V LANES.
UM, IT SEEMS, LOOKING AT WHAT TXDOT RELEASED YESTERDAY, THE H O V LANES WILL BE A PART OF THE I 35 PLAN.
SO PERHAPS WE'RE GONNA SEE AN INCREASE IN THAT.
UM, THAT TYPE OF INFRASTRUCTURE ALSO HELPS TRANSIT RIDERS 'CAUSE THEY'LL BE ABLE TO RIDE IN THE H O V LINES FOR FREE.
UH, WE DO HAVE SOME CURB MANAGEMENT PRACTICES PROVIDING DROP OFF AND PICKUP ZONES SUCH AS A, UM, A D I A AND WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR NONPROFIT PARTNERS TO, UM, HELP WORK WITH EMPLOYERS TO GIVE THEIR EMPLOYEES AND THEIR STAFF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND OPTIONS FOR CARPOOLING.
AND THAT'S DONE THROUGH OUR TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
SO THE TOTAL TRAFFIC VOLUMES, UM, HAVE NOW REACHED PRE COVID LEVEL, AND THAT'S BASED UPON OUR OWN DATA.
UM, THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FRICTIONAL ELEMENTS THAT WE DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW THEY'RE GONNA PLAY OUT, IN EFFECT DRIVE ALONE, SUCH AS GAS PRICES.
UM, THERE ARE SOME INCENTIVE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WHERE WE'RE GOING TO, UH, WORK WITH DIFFERENT EMPLOYERS TO SAY, HEY,
[00:30:01]
INSTEAD OF PROVIDING FREE PARKING FOR ALL YOUR STAFF, YOU COULD DO A PARKING CASH UP IN WHICH YOU'RE PROVIDING AN INCENTIVE, A DOLLAR VALUE TO THAT PARKING SPACE TO INCENTIVIZE THEM TO FIND ANOTHER WAY TO GET INTO WORK.AGAIN, WE'RE WORKING WITH MOVABILITY AND OUR NON-PROFIT PARTNERS TO HELP THEM WORK WITH THESE EMPLOYERS TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENT TYPES OF MODES AND OPTIONS FOR THEIR STAFF.
TELEWORK, I'D LIKE TO START WITH THE, THE IMAGE HERE, AND I HOPE YOU GUYS CAN SEE IT.
UM, 'CAUSE TELEWORK HAS, HAS REALLY PROVED, UM, TO BE A WAY FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE TO GET TO AND FROM WORK.
OBVIOUSLY IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT DURING THE PANDEMIC, UM, BUT THERE SEEMED TO BE SOME PRO AND CONS TO THIS THAT NEED TO BE KIND OF, UM, IDENTIFIED AND KIND OF WORKED THROUGH.
UH, THE ONE THAT REALLY STRUCK ME AS, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UM, MAP THERE, THE DARKER BLUE AREA TO THE WEST OF I 35 IS, UH, THE DARKER IT IS, THE MORE PEOPLE TELEWORK AND THE LIGHTER IT IS, THE LESS PEOPLE TELEWORK.
SO I DON'T KNOW THE FULL REASONS FOR THE DATA DIFFERENT, THE DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN THE DATA, BUT ONE CAN MAKE SOME ASSUMPTIONS THAT CERTAIN FOLKS CAN TELEWORK AND CERTAIN PEOPLE CANNOT BASED UPON THEIR JOB DUTIES.
UM, WE HAVE SEEN CHANGES IN TRAFFIC PATTERNS IN WHICH MIDDAY TRIPS HAVE RISEN, EVEN THOUGH THE PEAK TRIPS, THE PEAK PEAK TIME DURING COMMUTES HAVE LOWERED.
UM, WE'VE ALSO SEEN DIFFERENTIATIONS BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT DAYS OF WEEK WHERE MONDAYS AND FRIDAYS HAVE LOWER TRAFFIC VOLUMES, UH, THAN THE MIDWEEK.
AND THERE ARE POLICIES OUT THERE AT LEAST ON THE CITY LEVEL IN WHICH, UH, TELEWORK IS ALLOWED.
AND FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING AND HOTEL POLICIES ARE ALSO IN PLACE.
SO TELEWORK, UH, WE DO SEE IT INCREASING BY 2039, BUT, UH, BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC AND SUCH, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO TELL, YOU KNOW, HOW THIS DATA IS GONNA LOOK OVER THE LONG TERM, PARTICULARLY OVER THE 15 YEARS REMAINING IN THIS GOAL.
SO I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT THIS IS NOT, UH, 100% INCLUSIVE OF EVERYTHING CAPITAL METRO IS DOING BY ANY MEANS, BUT SOME OF THE BIGGER THINGS IS THAT WE ARE STARTING TO SEE AN INCREASE IN TRANSIT RIDERSHIP.
UM, EVEN THOUGH IT IS STILL BELOW PRE PANDEMIC LEVELS, UM, EXCUSE ME.
UM, METRO BIKE PASSES ARE NOW AVAILABLE, UH, TO BE INTEGRATED INTO CAPITAL METRO'S PASS.
SO IT IS TRYING TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO SHIFT MODES, UH, USING ONLY ONE APP.
SO THE CUSTOMER SERVING COMPONENT IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY MAJOR INVESTMENTS IN PROJECT CONNECT, WHETHER IT'S THE METRO RAPID LINES OR THE LIGHT RAIL, WHICH IT'S ESTIMATED COULD BE UP TO 28,000 OR SO, UH, RIDERS PER DAY.
UM, AND THEN THERE ARE POLICIES AND, UM, IN PLAY TO ESSENTIALLY CREATE TODS OR TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOP, LOOKING AT LAND USE AND HOW THAT WORKS WITH TRANSIT, UM, AND TRYING TO CREATE POLICIES THAT CAN AND CREATE DENSITY AND CREATE THAT RIDERSHIP THAT WILL SUPPORT, UM, OUR TRANSIT, UM, PLANS NEXT.
UM, WALKING, UM, ONE OF THE BIG, UH, INVESTMENTS IN WALKING IS, IS OUR SIDEWALK INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, THERE'S SOME INTERESTING ANALYSIS GOING ON TOO, AGAIN ABOUT, UH, SHADE AND HOW SHADE PROVIDES A WELCOMING PLACE FOR, UH, PEDESTRIANS, BUT HOW IT IS NOT EQUITABLE BETWEEN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND I SUSPECT THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE COMING FORWARD IS SOME POLICIES TO INCREASE SHADE IN AREAS WHERE WE HAVE A DEFICIT OF THAT.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO JUST POINT OUT FOR WALKING THAT WE WILL BE LAUNCHING OUR, UM, LIVING STREETS PROGRAM, UH, HERE THIS FALL.
AND WE HOPE TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL BUILDUP OF THAT PROGRAM, AGAIN, CREATING A COMFORTABLE SPACE WITHIN THE RIGHT OF WAY FOR PEOPLE TO WALK AND TO SOCIALIZE.
SO JUST AGAIN, LOOKING AT SOME OF OUR HIGH LEVEL OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE COMING KIND OF IN THE NEAR TERM.
UH, ONE IS, UM, WE DID APPLY FOR A TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVE SETASIDE GRANT TASA, UH, WITH TXDOT.
UH, WE ARE HOPING TO HEAR BACK FROM THEM IN OCTOBER.
AND UM, WE APPLIED FOR ESSENTIALLY A $15 MILLION, UH, PROJECT.
12 MILLION OF THAT WOULD BE FEDERAL FUNDS, UM, TO EXPAND THE SYSTEM EFFECTIVELY A THREEFOLD, UM, THAT WOULD TAKE US INTO, UH, NEW NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNSERVED.
UM, IT WOULD IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THE ASSETS
[00:35:01]
THEMSELVES.UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT NEW WAYS, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, GETTING BETTER DATA.
AND ONE OF THOSE IS PER PUTTING OUT MORE ECO COUNTERS.
WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 13 OUT THERE RIGHT NOW.
THESE COUNTERS CAN COLLECT DATA ON PEDESTRIANS AND BICYCLES AND, AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, PUT IT RIGHT NOW PRETTY MUCH AT THE ENTRANCES TO URBAN TRAILS.
BUT WE CAN SEE, PUT THEM IN CONJUNCTION WITH TRANSIT OR OTHER AREAS CAN COLLECT DATA.
WHERE ARE PEOPLE BIKING? WHERE ARE PEOPLE WALKING? UM, AND BEHAVIOR CHANGE.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR NONPROFIT PARTNERS AT MOVABILITY, GILO AND OTHERS TO, TO HELP EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY, TO HELP, UM, HAVE THEM LEARN SAFE PRACTICES, UM, REGARDING ANY OF THE MODES, UM, TO TAKE, TO LOOK AT HAVING EMPLOYERS IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS TO AND SUPPORT THEIR EMPLOYEES AND STAFF TO TAKE ALTERNATIVE MODES AND WHAT THOSE BENEFITS WOULD BE.
THAT'S IT FOR MY PRESENTATION AND WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW WITH THE 2039.
AND HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
I LOVE THE IDEA OF THE ECO COUNTER.
I'M NOT SURE THAT WAS ON MY RADAR.
IS THERE, UH, ARE, ARE THERE TOOLS CURRENTLY ON THE TRANSPORTATION WEBSITE WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO IN AND SAY, HEY, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO BIKE MORE IN THIS AREA, AND CAN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS GO LOOK AT THOSE AREAS TO FILL IN THE GAPS? 'CAUSE I'M IMAGINING WE'RE GONNA BE COUNTING WHERE THE, THE GOOD LANES ALREADY EXIST, RIGHT? AND I'M TRYING TO SEE IF THERE'S A WAY TO BE PROACTIVE ABOUT THE REQUEST FOR MORE LANES.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE'RE COLLECTING INPUT LIKE THAT FOR WHERE WE WOULD PUT THE FACILITIES.
UM, THE ECO COUNTER WOULD SIMPLY KIND OF GIVE YOU THE RAW DATA OF LIKE WHERE PEOPLE ARE BIKING AND HOW MUCH AND WHAT THE QUANTITY IS.
SO, UM, WHY DON'T I GET WITH LAURA DEERFIELD AND ASK HER THAT AND GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
I KNOW THERE'S ONE THAT EXISTS FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, SIDEWALKS, CROSSWALKS, STOP SIGNS, THAT SORT OF INFORMATION FOR STAFF TO REVIEW.
I JUST WASN'T SURE IF IT INCLUDED BIKE LANES AS WELL.
DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS? LET'S GO VICE CHAIR CADRE AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, YOU CHAIR.
UH, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
WELL, I GUESS IT'S ONE QUESTION WITH TWO PARTS.
UM, THE FIRST QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THINGS WE'VE DONE ON THE, ON THE DIOCESE AS IT PERTAINS TO LAND USE AND, AND ZONING RULES.
HOW, HOW DO YOU THINK THAT'S GONNA AFFECT MODE CHOICE? UM, YOU IN THE CITY AND THEN WITH I 35 EXPANSION, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ON THE HORIZON, HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD ALSO AFFECT MO MODE CHOICE, UM, IN THE CITY AS WE MOVE FORWARD? WELL LAND, I'LL TAKE THE FIRST ONE.
UM, I THINK LAND USE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO MODE CHOICE.
IF YOU CAN LIVE CLOSE TO WHERE YOU WORK, IF YOU CAN HAVE A SAFE ROUTE TO WORK, UM, TO BIKE, TO WALK, THEN I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FRICTIONAL ELEMENTS OF THE COST OF OWNING A CAR AND SUCH MAY DRIVE PEOPLE TO TAKING THAT, MAKING THAT OPTION.
UM, I THINK ONE POLICY THAT IT'S GONNA IS INTERESTING TO ME IS THE ELIMINATION OF THE PARKING REQUIREMENT, WHERE ALL OF A SUDDEN, AGAIN, YOU'RE CREATING A FRICTION TO OWN THAT CAR.
IT'S NO LONGER YOU HAVE YOUR SPACE.
UM, SO TO ME, OFTEN FRICTION, WHETHER IT'S IN THE FORM OF TIME OR COST OR SUCH, LIKE THAT IS A DRIVER TO MAKE PEOPLE CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIORS.
SO, UM, SO I, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND I ALSO THINK THAT IN THE OPPOSITE NEURO BRAIN, IF YOU CONTINUE TO CREATE LESS DENSE AREAS, UH, AREAS WITH CUL-DE-SACS AND NO BICYCLE FACILITIES, IF YOU MAKE IT HARDER FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE AN ALTERNATIVE MODE CHOICE, THEN PEOPLE WON'T.
UM, AND THE SECOND QUESTION WAS I 35? YEAH.
I I 35 EXPANSION AND HOW THAT WOULD AFFECT, YEAH, I THINK THE, UM, THE, THE CONSTRUCTION OF IT IS DEFINITELY ON OUR RADAR AND HOW CAN WE IMPLEMENT, UM, T D M PROGRAMS OR POLICIES TO HELP GET PEOPLE AROUND WHEN WE ESSENTIALLY CLOSE DOWN THE MAJOR CORRIDOR THROUGH OUR CITY.
SO THAT, I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT EVERY ALTERNATIVE THAT WE CAN.
AND I THINK BIKING IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THEM.
AND PEDESTRIANS, I MEAN SOME OF THE, I DON'T KNOW ALL THE PLANNING THAT THEY HAVE IN PLACE, BUT TO BE ABLE TO GET PEOPLE ACROSS THAT CORRIDOR, IT, IT'S GONNA TAKE OUT AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF PLANNING.
BUT I, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO INCLUDE MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE CAN BIKE.
UM, I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT WITH METRO BIKE MM-HMM.
UM, BUT IT IS, IT'S DEFINITELY ON OUR RADAR AND WE ARE AT THE TABLE TO TALK ABOUT T D M POLICIES AND HOW WE CAN GET, GET THROUGH THE NEXT 10 YEARS OF I 35 AND PROJECT CONNECT AND SUCH.
AND THEN, I'M SORRY, I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION.
UM, ARE WE COLLECTING DEMOGRAPHIC DATA ON, ON THE DIFFERENT MODE CATEGORIES? UM, I'M GONNA USE MY CALL ON, DO YOU KNOW IF THE A C S UH,
[00:40:01]
SO THE A C S DATA DOES CONTAIN, UM, DEMOGRAPHIC CROSS TABS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE BROUGHT TO THIS PRESENTATION 'CAUSE IT WAS SUCH A HIGH LEVEL, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT A C S DATA DOES HAVE.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE WE CAN, IT SEEMS LIKE WE CAN SLICE AND DICE IT BY GI AND GIVE YOU DIFFERENT TYPES OF DEMOGRAPHIC COHORTS.
AND THEN HAVE WE, BASED OFF THE DATA THAT YOU, YOU, YOU GUYS HAVE GOTTEN FROM THAT, HAVE WE, HAVE WE LEARNED ANYTHING? IS THERE ANYTHING THAT MIGHT STICK OUT? ANYTHING? HAVE WE TAKEN A LOOK AT IT ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'VE SEEN WITH THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MODES BY AGE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? UM, FROM AN AGE PERSPECTIVE.
SO WE DO, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR GET THEIR A T X FOR EXAMPLE, WE FOCUS A LOT ON THE 18 TO 35 YEAR OLD DEMOGRAPHIC.
BUT WE DO WORK ACROSS PUBLIC WORKS OR TRANSPORTATION.
PUBLIC WORKS WITH OUR SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM, UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH GIALLO ON THEIR GOLDEN ROLLERS PROGRAM FOR SENIORS TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR AGE RANGES AND DEMOGRAPHICS ARE CHOSEN OR, UM, ARE UH, ADDRESSED BY ALL OF OUR PROGRAMMING.
SO, UM, I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.
AND THAT A C S DATA, DOES THAT GET, DOES THAT INFORMATION GET RECEIVED ANNUALLY OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS EVERY TWO TO FIVE YEARS? I THINK IT'S AN ANNUAL, UM, PUBLISHING AND WE WILL SEE THE NEXT ONE I THINK IN DECEMBER.
'CAUSE I KNOW THERE WAS, THERE WAS OTHER FORMS OF DATA COLLECTION THAT JUST WERE ON PAUSE BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC.
'CAUSE EVERYBODY THAT DOES DATA ANALYSIS AND NUMBER CRUNCHING HAD BEEN, YOU KNOW, RECRUITED ON TO DIFFERENT PROJECTS THAT WERE OBVIOUSLY MORE PRESSING, UM, AT THE TIME.
SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF THAT WAS STILL HAPPENING AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL.
UM, THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH GOING BEHIND A, A BRILLIANT COUNCIL COLLEAGUE WHO'S GONNA ASK THE QUESTIONS YOU ALREADY WANTED TO ASK.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAD JOTTED DOWN WAS YOU SAID THE I I 35 PLAN.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE A SOLIDIFIED PLAN, IN WHICH CASE, I'M JUST CURIOUS.
UM, AND THIS IS NOT A QUESTION YOU HAVE TO ANSWER TODAY.
I'M JUST CURIOUS HOW Y'ALL ARE TRACKING HOW THAT PLAN GOES.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I PUT ADJACENT TO THAT WAS THE 180 3 PLAN.
SO SOME OF THE DEVELOPMENT ABOUT 180 3 HAS LIKE A LARGE PEDESTRIAN CONSIDERATION MM-HMM.
UM, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE SEEN THAT IN ANY OF THE ITERATIONS OF I 35 YET IN A WAY THAT'S SUBSTANTIAL.
UM, SO I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO, FOR OUR CHAIR TO BE ABLE TO MOVING FORWARD, BE ABLE TO KEEP US, YOU KNOW, ALIGNED WITH WHEN YOU SAY THE I 35 PLAN, WHICH ONE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? BECAUSE
IT'S A MOVING TARGET
I MEAN, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT, IT'S A MOVING TARGET.
UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO KNOW MOVING FORWARD, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO OUR CONSTITUENTS? UM, THERE ARE SOME CAP AND STITCH CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE ACTIVELY HAPPENING IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND IN MY DISTRICT WHERE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S COMING NEXT AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC.
IS THAT CLYDE WARREN? IS THAT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? UM, SO I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO FOLLOW ALONG ACTIVELY WITH YOU ALL.
UM, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS I WROTE, AGRA, I WROTE ABOUT WAS THIS DEMOGRAPHIC DATA.
SO THE CHAIR AND I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BOTH EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC OF MULTIMODAL TRANSIT AND THE TERROR OF TWITTER
AND JUST GETTING TO SEE ALL AGES, ALL ABILITIES.
PEOPLE IN WHEELCHAIRS, PEOPLE WITH STROLLERS, PEOPLE ON BUSES, TRAINS ON BIKES.
I MEAN GETTING TO SEE THAT COMPREHENSIVE BIKE TRANSIT AND STORAGE AND I MEAN I THINK IT'S A DREAM THAT WE PROBABLY WON'T SEE FOR A LONG TIME.
THAT SAID THOUGH, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT CYCLING AND MOBILITY, I JUST HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AROUND, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO WHILE WE WERE THERE IS HAVE THEM REALLY TALK US THROUGH HOW THEY
[00:45:01]
GOT THERE.THEY, IN ALL HONESTY, HAD BUILT LIKE ALL THIS INFRASTRUCTURE AND DECIDED IT WAS NOT MOBILITY FRIENDLY, IT WAS NOT PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY.
THEY BUSTED IT UP, THEY BLEW IT UP AND THEN STARTED OVER.
I JUST DON'T THINK WE'RE THERE YET.
UM, SO MOVING FORWARD, I'M REALLY CURIOUS HOW WE AS A COMMUNITY GET PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR DUALLYS AND GET 'EM ON BIKES.
I MEAN, I THINK FROM A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE, I'M CONCERNED THAT WE MAY NEVER GET THERE.
UM, IN WHICH CASE I WOULD LOVE TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY, UM, AND FIGURE OUT WHAT Y'ALL'S IDEAS ARE AROUND GETTING PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR CARS.
THESE SINGLE, THAT GRAPH THAT Y'ALL SHOWED ABOUT SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES, IT'S KIND OF TERRIFYING.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW HOW HOT IT IS OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW MY AC SET AT 73 BUT MY HOUSE IS AT 79 'CAUSE MY UNIT CAN'T KEEP UP.
AND SO GETTING PEOPLE OUT OF THESE SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES, I THINK IT'S JUST GONNA REQUIRE MORE IN THE WAY OF OUR LIKE OUTREACH.
AND SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT I'D LOVE TO BE TALKING ABOUT MOVING FORWARD.
UM, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS I WROTE DOWN WAS, OOH, AND I'M SO SORRY JG, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE MY FAVORITE INTERIM CITY MANAGER, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S A WHOLE SITUATION AROUND TELEWORK RIGHT NOW.
SO AS YOU HAVE THAT CONVERSATION, MY HOPE IS THEY HAVING DIRECT COMMUNICATIONS WITH THEIR INTERIM CITY MANAGER WHO IS ENCOURAGING THAT WE DISCOURAGE TELEWORK.
I HAVE SPOKEN DIRECTLY WITH CONSTITUENTS FOR WHOM THE ONLY WAY THEY'RE MAKING IT RIGHT NOW IS BEING ABLE TO TELEWORK NOT HAVING TO FIGURE OUT MOBILITY OPTIONS AND CHILDCARE OPTIONS.
AND THEM BEING ABLE TO TELEWORK IS EXACTLY HOW THEY CAN MAKE IT WORK RIGHT NOW.
SO I THINK THERE'S SOME INCONGRUENCE BETWEEN WHERE WE'RE AT AT A CITY MANAGEMENT LEVEL AND WHAT'S PRACTICAL FOR FOLKS.
SO MY HOPE IS THAT THAT'S A CONVERSATION Y'ALL ARE HAVING AND IF NOT, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
UM, THE ADVOCATES FEEL A WAY ABOUT IT.
MY CONSTITUENTS FEEL A WAY ABOUT IT OR INTERIM CITY MANAGER FEELS A WAY ABOUT IT AND I THINK IT'S A CONVERSATION THAT WE REALLY NEED TO HAVE A DEEPER DIVE ON.
UM, THEN, UM, THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THIS ONE SLIDE ABOUT SHOWER FACILITIES AND HEAT AVERSION.
I'M REALLY CURIOUS TO KNOW, AGAIN, NOT A QUESTION YOU HAVE TO ANSWER TODAY, BUT MAYBE A FOLLOW UP.
UM, I'M VERY CURIOUS ABOUT THAT.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, HERE AT CITY HALL WE HAVE SHOWER FACILITIES, BUT THERE'S TWO STALLS FOR HOW MANY PEOPLE WORK AT CITY HALL.
WE, WE GOT TWO STALLS AND A TEENY TINY BIKE STORAGE FACILITY.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE ARE ENCOURAGING IT.
UM, AND IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT E-BIKES, I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH CHARGING FACILITIES EVEN HERE AT CITY HALL.
UM, SO I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO HAVE SOME FOLLOW UP ABOUT HOW WE CAN HAVE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE CONVERSATION THERE.
UM, AND THEN THE SLIDE ABOUT WALKING.
I THINK ABOUT IT FROM AN A D A COMPLIANCE PERSPECTIVE.
UM, I'M A PERSON WHO WILL VERY SOON HAVE A VERY PUBLIC CONVERSATION ABOUT BEING A DIFFERENTLY ABLE PERSON.
THE WAY MY LUPUS IS SET UP, ESPECIALLY WITH THIS HEAT, I COULDN'T WALK AROUND THE BLOCK EVEN IF I TRIED.
SO I THINK ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO WALK IS THOUGHTFUL, BUT I THINK THERE DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE SOME ADDITIONAL LAYER OF CONVERSATION AROUND WALKING.
NOT EVERYBODY CAN DO THAT AND I THINK THAT'S A LONG CONVERSATION WE SHOULD HAVE AROUND BEING REALLY CONSIDERATE AROUND DIFFERENTLY ABLED PEOPLE.
UM, THEN LASTLY, UM, A D A PARKING FOR EXAMPLE, I, AGAIN, AS A DIFFERENTLY ABLED PERSON, I DON'T EVEN DRIVE ANYMORE.
UM, I RECOGNIZE THAT THE WAY MY LUPUS IS SET UP MY HIPS AND
[00:50:01]
MY KNEES AND MY ANKLES, I COULDN'T STOP ABRUPTLY IF I TRIED.I'M NOT A SAFE DRIVER SO I DON'T DRIVE ANYMORE.
THAT SAID THOUGH, WHEN I WAS A DRIVER, I COULD HANG MY HANDICAP PLACARD ON MY REAR VIEW MIRROR AND PARK ANYWHERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR FREE.
I DON'T THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY CAN DO THAT.
I THINK THEY'RE PAYING FOR PARKING FOR NO REASON.
UM, I'M NOT ENCOURAGING DRIVING AND OR PARKING, BUT IF YOU NEED TO DRIVE AND YOU NEED TO PARK, I JUST WONDER HOW MUCH INFORMATION PEOPLE ARE GETTING ABOUT YOU COULD HANG YOUR HANDICAP PLACARD AND PARK RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE METER AND NOT PAY A DIME.
AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING I THINK A LOT OF FOLKS KNOW ABOUT.
SO THAT WAS SOMETHING I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE PUT ON OUR RADAR.
I THINK WE REALLY JUST AREN'T DOING A GOOD JOB OF INFORMING PEOPLE WHAT THEIR MOBILITY OPTIONS ARE.
WELL THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER WHEN WE ADOPTED THIS A S M P IN 2019 AND WHEN TELEWORK WAS ONE OF THE OPTIONS EVERYBODY SAID, IS THAT REALLY PART OF OUR PLAN? WE'RE WE'RE GONNA REACH THESE GOALS BY TELLING PEOPLE TO, YOU KNOW, USE THEIR COMPUTER AT HOME.
AND WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT 2020 WAS GOING TO BRING.
AND THE FACT THAT WE WERE ALL GONNA HAVE TO VERY QUICKLY LEARN HOW TO WORK FROM HOME, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR SIGNIFICANT OTHERS IN THE OTHER ROOM TRYING TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS LIKE IN TANDEM AT THE SAME TIME TALKING TO EACH OTHER AND AND SAYING, WHAT, ARE YOU TALKING TO ME? NO, I'M ON, I'M ON A PHONE CALL.
AND I JUST THINK SO MANY FAMILIES HAVE GONE THROUGH THAT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS AND ACTUALLY FOUND THAT WE CAN BE JUST AS PRODUCTIVE WHETHER WE GET IN, YOU KNOW, COMMUTE AND HAVE TO GO TO A BUILDING AND ALL WORK TOGETHER OR WHETHER WE CAN DO THAT FROM HOME.
AND SO I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS.
COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, JUST ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE PAST FEW YEARS HAS TAUGHT A LOT OF US HOW PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO GET OFF THE ROAD AND SPEND LESS TIME IN THEIR CARS.
AND I THINK THAT IN AND OF ITSELF GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE INTO THE IDEA THAT THEY COULD ACTUALLY CHANGE THEIR COMMUTE PATTERN AND THERE MIGHT BE ANOTHER WAY TO DO THIS.
AND SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF US ON THE DAUS THAT ARE WORRIED THAT FORCING EVERYONE TO COME BACK AND WORK IN THE OFFICE X NUMBER OF DAYS A WEEK IS SOMETHING THAT'S JUST COMMUTING TO MORE CONGESTION.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CLIMATE CHANGE REALITIES THAT WE ARE ALL FACING RIGHT NOW, IT'S NOT, THIS IS AN IMMEDIATE FUTURE.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE CURRENTLY LIVING IN.
UM, I KNOW THROUGH MY WORK WITH THE CLEAN AIR COALITION THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT CHANGING AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS AND THEY WANT TO LOWER THEM.
AND AS THE LAST BIG CITY IN TEXAS THAT'S BEEN ABLE TO STAY IN ATTAINMENT OF E P A AIR QUALITY STANDARDS, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE CLOSE TO THAT LINE DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY PUT IT.
UM, AND SO I THINK THIS IS JUST SOMETHING WE NEED TO BE REALLY MINDFUL OF.
UM, BUT THE PRESENTATION WAS VERY INSPIRING.
'CAUSE EVEN THOUGH A LOT OF US HAVE BEEN LUCKY TO WORK ON THINGS LIKE BIKE LANES AND PROJECT CONNECT AND, YOU KNOW, SHADE STRUCTURES AND, AND MORE TREE COVERAGE, THERE'S STILL MORE WORK TO BE DONE.
AND SO I THINK IT'S INSPIRING TO SAY, OKAY, WE'VE, WE'VE CHECKED A LOT OF BOXES BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN WE GET TO PAT OURSELVES ON THE BACK JUST YET.
UM, 'CAUSE THERE IS STILL SO MUCH TO BE DONE.
SO I'M GONNA ASK A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS OR MAKE A COUPLE OF STATEMENTS AND I KNOW, UM, VICE CHAIR CADRE HAD ANOTHER QUESTION AT LEAST THAT HE WANTED TO ASK.
UM, WE RECENTLY LEARNED AT A CAP METRO BOARD MEETING THAT THE FOURTH STREET CROSSING AT I 35 IS GONNA HAVE AN ACTUAL SIGNALED INTERSECTION.
SO PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THEIR BIKES OR PETTY CABS AND WALKING THROUGH THAT INTERSECTION NOW HAVE THE ABILITY TO, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'LL PUSH A BUTTON OR IF IT'LL BE A HEAT SENSOR, UM, BUT THEY ARE WORKING WITH TXDOT TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS CAN SIGNAL THAT THEY WANT THOSE ACCESS ROAD LANES TO STOP.
AND IT'S NOT JUST GONNA BE LIKE PLAYING QUICK LIKE A BUNNY ACROSS A HIGHWAY ACCESS ROAD LIKE IT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST.
AND SO I'M EXCITED THAT THAT IMPROVEMENT IS COMING.
UM, I EITHER DIDN'T KNOW OR HAD FORGOTTEN ALONG THE WAY ABOUT THIS IDEA TO EXPAND THE METRO BIKE SYSTEM FROM 85 TO 300 AND THAT THAT IS BEING COORDINATED WITH TXDOT.
CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHAT THAT APPLICATION IS? WHAT'S TDOT'S INVOLVEMENT? HOW IS METRO BIKE? UM, WHAT ARE THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY ABOUT THOSE LOCATIONS OF METRO BIKES? CERTAINLY.
UM, SO AGAIN, THIS IS A TASA GRANT, A TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVE SETASIDE GRANT.
SO THEY'RE INVOLVED IN THE REVIEW OF THE APPLICATIONS AND THEY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE ANNOUNCING THE AWARD IN OCTOBER.
SO A COMPETITIVE GRANT, UM, WE WERE LOOKING AT, IN THE STRATEGIC PLANNING THAT CAPITAL METRO AND THE CITY HAVE DONE, WE'VE IDENTIFIED ESSENTIALLY A THREEFOLD INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF BIKES, WHICH ALSO THEN WOULD INCLUDE ADDITIONAL STATIONS.
[00:55:01]
WOULD BE ABOUT $15 MILLION TO BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THAT THREEFOLD.UH, WE HAVE A PRELIMINARY, UM, EXPANSION PLAN WHERE WE WOULD LOOK AT, WE'VE ESTABLISHED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES AND METRICS FOR WHERE WE WANT TO EXPAND BASED UPON FACILITIES, BASED UPON EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE WOULD CERTAINLY WANT TO TRY TO DENSIFY THE SYSTEM 'CAUSE WE FEEL LIKE IF WE CAN PUT STATIONS WITHIN ABOUT A QUARTER MILE OF EACH OTHER, THAT'S GOING TO GIVE PEOPLE KIND OF THE VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT.
UM, WE ALSO WANT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A STATION, THERE'S A STATION KIND OF THING WHICH IS GOING TO IMPROVE RIDERSHIP.
WE ALSO WANT TO INCORPORATE, UM, STATIONS INTO, UH, CURRENT AND FUTURE CAPITAL METRO STOPS.
SO WE'D LOVE TO HAVE 'EM WHERE THE LIGHT RAIL IS WHERE DIFFERENT, UH, METRO RAPID ARE AND SUCH.
SO THE IDEA IS YOU HAVE A FIRST LAST MILE SOLUTION.
THE BIKE SHARE IS KIND OF FILLING THAT ROLE.
SO YOU GET OFF THE BIKE, YOU CAN USE THE ONE APP, GET ON THE BIKE SHARE AND GET TO WHERE YOU NEED TO GO.
UM, THE TECH, THE OTHER TECH STOCK COMPONENT'S, KIND OF BACK TO THE QUESTION EARLIER ABOUT HOW CAN WE USE BIKE SHARE TO HELP US NAVIGATE THE, THE BIG, THE BIG CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS OR PROJECTS WE'RE LOOKING AT, WHETHER IT'S I 35 PROJECT CONNECT OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
SO WE WOULD CERTAINLY KIND OF, BECAUSE THE BIKE SHARE SYSTEM IS ESSENTIALLY MODULAR AND MOBILE, WE CAN MOVE STATIONS AROUND.
WE WOULD USE THAT COMPONENT OF THE, THE SYSTEM TO BE ABLE TO TRY TO GET PEOPLE AROUND WITH ALL THAT CONSTRUCTION HAPPENING.
SO THAT'S THE OTHER, THAT'S KIND OF THE DISCUSSION AROUND INTEGRATING IT WITH TX DOTS PLANS.
SO WHEN WE HAVE THESE BIG EVENTS AND WE KNOW EVERYBODY'S, YOU KNOW, TAKING METRO BIKES FROM OUTSIDE THE DOWNTOWN CORE TO INSIDE THE DOWNTOWN CORE, WE CAN ACTUALLY HAVE STATIONS THERE MM-HMM.
UM, AND THERE WE ALSO GET GOOD DATA.
WE GET GOOD DATA FROM THE BIKE SHARE SYSTEM SO WE KNOW HOW MANY RIDES, WE KNOW ORIGIN, DESTINATION DATA, WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHICH STATIONS ESSENTIALLY HAVE THE MOST RIDERSHIP.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF DATA THAT CAN HELP IN THE PLANNING THAT CAPITAL METROS DO.
YEAH, I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
AND I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A CONVERSATION FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS ABOUT INTEGRATING THE APPS MM-HMM.
AND SO I KNOW THE CONVERSATION'S HAPPENING AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE STREAMLINED OVER THE NEXT YEAR OR SO.
I THINK IT'S GONNA BE A, A BIG BENEFIT TOWARDS CUSTOMER SERVICE.
UM, THAT MIGHT DO IT FOR MINE.
UH, I THINK A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WERE BROUGHT UP, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON HAD BROUGHT UP, UM, I THINK THE, THE ONLY QUESTION I KIND OF HAD REALLY DID I 35 AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THE WIDENING OF A HIGHWAY, WHICH GIVES MORE CAR CAPACITY TO FOLKS IN THE CITY, HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD, MIGHT AFFECT PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR WITH, WITH, UH, WITH, UH, WITH EVERYTHING DISCUSSED IN THE PRESENTATION? UM, I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD AND BIG QUESTION.
I THINK THERE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT COME TO MY MIND IS I 35, WHILE IT IS USED FOR LOCAL TRAFFIC, IS AN AWFUL LOT OF TRAFFIC IS COMING, IS, IS THROUGH TRAFFIC.
IT'S FREIGHT, IT'S, IT'S COMING FROM SAN ANTONIO, IT'S COMING FROM OTHER AREAS WHERE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE BENEFITS THAT WE ARE IMPLEMENTING AND A LOT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE WE'RE DOING IS TRYING TO KIND OF HELP PEOPLE WITH THEIR LOCAL COMMUTES.
NOW, I'M NOT SAYING I 35 DOESN'T PLAY A ROLE IN THAT.
UM, SO I THINK A LOT OF THAT'S GOING TO BE IN THE DESIGN AND KIND OF TO YOUR POINT, I DUNNO WHAT THE PLAN SAYS AS FAR AS HOW ARE WE CREATING THOSE EAST WEST ROUTES, HOW ARE WE GOING TO MOVE THE LOCAL TRAFFIC? WHAT ARE THOSE PATTERNS GONNA BE? AND I THINK THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO EXAMINE TO BE ABLE TO ENSURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT LOCAL TRAFFIC HAS THE ABILITY TO SERVE MULT, MULTIPLE MOS.
WHETHER IT'S PUTTING THE CAP IN STITCHES ON, WHICH ARE AMAZING.
IF ANYBODY HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO DALLAS OR PITTSBURGH, THEY'VE GOT SOME GREAT CAPS, WHICH ARE PROGRAMMED LIKE PARKS AND, BUT AT THE SAME TIME PROVIDE AMAZING PEDESTRIAN ACCESS ACROSS AREAS THAT NEVER HAD PEDESTRIAN ACCESS BEFORE.
SO THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT.
AGAIN, IT'S A SUPER LONG TERM AND HAS ITS OWN CHALLENGES, BUT, UM, I THINK IN THE LONG TERM, IF WE CAN LOOK
[01:00:01]
AT THE CAP AND STITCH AS A SOLUTION AND PART OF THIS, THAT SOLUTION IS FOR ALLOWING DIFFERENT MODES, SAFE CROSSING, YOU KNOW, ACROSS THAT INTERSTATE.UM, OTHERWISE I THINK WE'D HAVE TO LOOK AGAIN, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR THE CROSS STREETS? WHAT TYPE OF BIKE FACILITIES ARE THEY PUTTING IN THERE? WHAT TYPE OF PLACEMAKING ARE THEY DOING? UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS, BUT WE'VE GOT OUR, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CERTAINLY LOOKING AT THAT AS, AS A LEGACY PROJECT FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS OR SO.
UH, AL BARUA, INTERIM ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
I THINK THE BRIGHTER SIDE IS WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON PROJECT CONNECT, WHICH IS A GENERATIONAL INVESTMENT.
AND OUR HOPE IS THAT WITH THE PROJECT CONNECT IMPLEMENTATION, WE'RE GONNA SEE A BIG MORAL SHIFT TOWARDS TRANSIT.
AND THE COMPLEMENTARY WOULD BE OUR, UH, WORK ON THE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN SIDE THAT IS GONNA FILL IN THE FIRST AND LAST MILE IN THE, IN THE TRIP.
SO, UM, A LOT OF WORK ON HAND, BUT WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT WITH, UH, 35 PROJECT CONNECT AND OUR CONTINUOUS WORK ON THE BICYCLE, PEDESTRIAN AND URBAN TRAIL SAID WE'RE GONNA GET TO THAT, UH, 50 50 50 MORE SHARE BY 2039, WHICH IS ABOUT 200TH YEAR, UH, OF OUR CITY ANNIVERSARY.
AND I KNOW WITH, UM, THE I 35 CONVERSATION IN THE RECORD OF DECISION THAT WAS RECENTLY RELEASED, UM, WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE ANOTHER CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT AT THE NEXT MOBILITY COMMITTEE MEETING.
SO I KNOW THIS CONVERSATION OBVIOUSLY WON'T, WON'T END HERE ON JUST SOME OF THE IMPACTS, NOT ONLY OF THE ULTIMATE PLAN OF I 35, BUT YOU KNOW, HOW TO MANAGE DURING CONSTRUCTION WHEN WE'VE GOT SO MANY HUGE TRANSFORMATIONAL PROJECTS HAPPENING.
UM, AND ONE IS VERY MUCH CAR-CENTRIC AND ONE'S VERY MUCH ABOUT LIGHT RAIL AND BIKE LANES AND METRO RAPIDS.
SO THERE, IT'S GONNA BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THAT PLAYS OUT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.
UM, I HAD MADE ONE FINAL NOTE ON ONE OF THE SLIDES WITH THE AUSTIN ENERGY E-BIKE REBATES.
UM, THERE WAS A POST THAT WENT OUT ON REDDIT, I BELIEVE, UH, MAYBE A WEEK OR TWO AGO.
AND THEY SAID, HEY, UH, THERE'S A LOCAL SOURCE IN TOWN THAT SELLS BIKES AND UH, YOU CAN USE YOUR E-BIKE REBATE TO GET ONE OF THESE.
AND THEY WERE ON SALE FOR LIKE HALF OFF.
AND SO IT TURNS OUT THERE'S HUNDREDS OF THESE BIKES THAT HAVE BEEN ORDERED IN TOWN.
AND SO AS WE DOCUMENT HOW MANY OF THE AUSTIN ENERGY E-BIKE REBATES HAVE BEEN TABULATED FOR 2023, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS OVER AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER.
UM, BECAUSE I WENT TO GO LOOK AT THAT STORE THE OTHER DAY 'CAUSE I HEARD THERE WERE BOXES EVERYWHERE FROM MY CHIEF OF STAFF AND THERE WERE BIKES EVERYWHERE AND THEY WERE TELLING ME THEY WERE GETTING 'EM IN BY CERTAIN COLORS.
SO THEY GOT LIKE A BUNCH OF GREEN ONES ONE DAY AND A BUNCH OF ORANGE ONES ANOTHER DAY.
AND SO THERE ARE TONS OF FOLKS IN TOWN THAT ARE UTILIZING THIS REBATE AND ACTUALLY SAYING, I WANNA TRY E-BIKE BEING A BIGGER PART OF MY COMMUTE AND MY ENTERTAINMENT AND HOW I GET AROUND TOWN AND RUN MY ERRANDS.
AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT IN AND OF ITSELF, YOU KNOW, DOING THE REBATES, HAVING DISCOUNTS FROM PEOPLE WHO SELL BIKES IS SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY, REALLY HUGE.
SO KEEP KEEP, KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR THAT.
'CAUSE I THINK THOSE NUMBERS ARE GONNA GO UP.
BUT YEAH, THEY'VE GOT A COUPLE OF BIKES THAT, UM, THAT WERE ABOUT HALF OFF.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING THEIR PART.
WE WANNA DO OUR PART AND I THINK TOGETHER WE CAN ACTUALLY MAKE SOME OF THIS MODE SHIFT HAPPEN.
AND JUST ONE LAST POINT, THE, UH, CHANGE IN THE BIKE SHARE SYSTEM FOR METRO BIKE, IT'S GOING TO ALSO BE TRANSFERRED TO A TOTAL ELECTRIC PLATFORM.
SO THOSE, THOSE, I MEAN, THERE MIGHT BE SOME MANUAL BIKES, BUT IT'S, THE IDEA IS TO MAKE IT TOTALLY ELECTRIC.
AND I KNOW WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS AROUND, YOU KNOW, FLEET ELECTRIFICATION, NOT JUST WITH CITY FLEET, BUT UM, WITH A I S D BUSES, CAB, METRO BUSES, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF FOLKS THAT ARE TRYING TO AT LEAST TACKLE THE, UM, THE SMOG PART OF IT.
EVEN IF, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A BICYCLE, THERE'S STILL BETTER WAYS TO GET AROUND TOWN THAT ARE HEALTHIER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT THAN THAN REGULAR CARS.
DO WE HAVE ANY COUNCIL MEMBER? HARPER MADISON.
UM, I HAVEN'T HAD Y'ALL ASK YOUR QUESTIONS.
I WAS INSPIRED TO ASK A FEW ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT, AGAIN, DON'T NEED TO BE ANSWERED TODAY, BUT MOVING FORWARD, MAYBE THIS IS EVEN A, SOMETHING WE CAN TAKE UP AT A FUTURE DATE PERSPECTIVE.
UM, ONE OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES BROUGHT UP THE REGIONAL COMPONENT, GIVEN THE AFFORDABILITY PROBLEM IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND HOW MANY OF MY FOLKS ARE COMING IN FROM ALD AND HARKER HEIGHTS AND GEORGETOWN AND TAYLOR, TYLER BEDA,
[01:05:01]
HAYES COUNTY.UM, I AM CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT THAT SORT OF LONG-TERM STRATEGY LOOKS LIKE, UM, FROM A A MULTIMODAL PERSPECTIVE.
UM, AND THEN ALSO GIVEN THE EXPANSION OUT AT SAMSUNG, A LOT OF FOLKS DON'T RECOGNIZE THAT PARMER AND DESSA, THAT'S DISTRICT ONE.
UM, AND THERE'S A MASSIVE EXPANSION GOING ON DOWN THERE.
AND I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, THERE IS NO INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WOULD FACILITATE THIS KIND OF MULTIMODAL, UM, COMPREHENSIVE, UH, EXPERTISE AND, UM, CONSIDERATION.
SO I'M CURIOUS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE MOVING FORWARD.
UM, THEN ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS I WROTE DOWN WAS ABOUT, SO I RECOGNIZED I HAVE WHAT THEN A 1.7 MILE RADIUS.
I HAVE FOUR INCOME RESTRICTED HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS.
I DON'T THINK, YOU KNOW, FIRST LAST MILE FOLKS EVER RECOGNIZED HOW MANY PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE PROJECTS WE'RE GONNA BE USING THESE SCOOTERS, BUT THEY BANK ON 'EM, THEY NEED 'EM.
AND SO IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE ALL THESE NEW E-BIKES AND POSSIBLY NEW SCOOTERS, THEY DON'T HAVE BANK ACCOUNTS.
UM, SO I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT MAKE IT SO YOU, IT'S NOT REQUIRED THAT YOU'RE A BANKED PERSON IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS THOSE THINGS.
UM, SO FROM AN EQUITY PERSPECTIVE, I DO HAVE SOME CURIOSITY AND WOULD LOVE TO GET SOME FOLLOW UP ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR FOLKS WHO NEED TO ACCESS THESE MULTIMODAL DEVICES BUT DON'T HAVE BANK ACCOUNTS, SO THEY CAN'T CHARGE A CARD.
UM, AND THEN ACTUALLY I'LL, I'LL SPEAK TO THAT REALLY QUICKLY JUST TO SAY THAT I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON THAT.
MY HOPE IS THAT YOU'LL START WITH THE CHAIR AND EVERYTHING AND THEN WE'LL ALL GET THE INFORMATION.
BUT THE, THE METRO BIKE SYSTEM DOES HAVE SOME PROGRAMS, UH, TO HELP FOLKS WHO UNBANKED BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE SYSTEM.
HOW DO THOSE FOLKS KNOW ABOUT IT? I'D, I'D LIKE TO GET BACK WITH YOU.
SO I, I DON'T MISSPEAK, BUT I DO KNOW WE HAVE PROGRAMS, I THINK THROUGH THE LIBRARY AND SUCH WHERE THEY CAN THEN ACCESS PASSES THAT'LL HELP THEM USE THAT SYSTEM.
AND I KNOW I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE KNOWING ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I GOTTA TELL YOU, THERE'S A LOT OF FOLKS OUT HERE WALKING IN A HUNDRED AND WE'RE WALKING ON THE SURFACE OF THE SUN RIGHT NOW AND THEY'RE OUT HERE WALKING AROUND.
IF THEY COULD BE RIDING A BIKE BUT RECOGNIZE THEY DON'T NEED A BANK CARD IN ORDER TO DO IT, YOU COULD HAVE MADE SOMEBODY'S DAY TO DAY.
YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? UM, AND THEN THE LAST THING WE WERE TALKING ABOUT FROM AN A D A COMPLIANCE, UM, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT BIKE SHARE, BUT THERE'S AN ORGANIZATION, UM, THAT HELPS OUR OLDER COMMUNITY MEMBERS GET AROUND WITHOUT BEING ON TWO WHEELS.
THEY GET TO BE ON THREE WHEELS.
UM, BUT WE'VE BEEN HAVING DISCUSSIONS WITH CAPTAIN METRO WHO WOULD LOVE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITH THREE WHEELS WHERE FOLKS DON'T HAVE TO BE ABLE TO YEAH.
HOLD THEMSELVES UPRIGHT EXACTLY.
FOR BASED ON MOBILITY REQUIREMENTS.
AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'RE AT IN THAT, IN MAKING THAT PROGRESS.
I MEAN, WE'VE GOT A LOT ON OUR PLATE WITH THE METRO BIKE, BUT THAT IS
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THAT IS SO, BUT IF YOU COULD ADD THAT TO YOUR LIST.
AND THEN THE ONE LAST THING I'D ADD TO THAT LIST IS WHEN PEOPLE NEED TO GET A BABY AROUND, IF WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO HAVE LIKE CARRIERS FOR BABIES IN THE BACK, UM, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
I DON'T KNOW, UM, WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE ABOUT HELMETING AND ALL THAT.
I DON'T KNOW, BUT JUST SOMETHING TO ADD TO THE LIST IN TERMS OF ACCESSIBILITY.
AND IT REMINDS YOU OF HOW MANY TIMES I SEE FOLKS ON THE TRAIL AND THEY'VE GOT A CARRIER WITH AN OLD DOG IN THE BACK
SO WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT THAT IS ON YOUR RADAR.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S A GREAT TOPIC.
AND I WISH I HAD A PICTURE OF JACOB IN HIS BIKE 'CAUSE HE'S GOT A CARGO BIKE WITH A SEAT ON THE BACK.
AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S YOUR STATION WAGON, RIGHT? TWO SEATS, YEAH, TWO SEATS.
YOU'LL, YOU'LL HAVE TO BRING 'EM ON THE NEXT GROUP RIDE THAT WE PUT TOGETHER FOR, FOR BIKE MUD.
THAT WOULD BE QUITE ENTERTAINING.
ANY LAST QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT PRESENTATION? I THINK THAT DOES IT.
[4. Bi-annual Vision Zero update.]
NEXT UP WE HAVE OUR BIANNUAL VISION ZERO UPDATE.[01:10:01]
ALL RIGHT, GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS.I'M THE ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS.
I'M GONNA PROVIDE THE UPDATE OUR BIANNUAL UPDATE ON VISION ZERO EFFORTS IN AUSTIN.
UH, AS YOU'LL RECALL, WE FIRST ADOPTED AS A COMMUNITY VISION ZERO BACK IN 2015.
AND WE HAVE REAFFIRMED THAT COMMITMENT TO ZERO TRAFFIC RELATED FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES MULTIPLE TIMES SINCE THEN.
THE REASON WE DO HAVE A VISION ZERO GOAL IS BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE ON THIS SCREEN AND, AND THOSE THAT WE'VE LOST IN THE PAST.
YOU KNOW, IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE GOT SOME OF THE BEST DATA, WE'LL TALK A LOT ABOUT STATISTICS TODAY AND PERCENTAGES AND, AND ABSOLUTE NUMBERS.
ALL OF THOSE REPRESENT SOMEBODY THAT'S SOMEBODY IS USUALLY A PARENT OR DEFINITELY IS A CHILD.
IT'S SOMEBODY'S FRIEND OR NEIGHBOR.
IT'S SOMEBODY THAT IS A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY IN SOME WAY.
AND THAT LOSS IS FELT BY MANY MORE PEOPLE THAN JUST THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS OR THEIR FRIENDS.
WE ALSO HAVE 500 PLUS SERIOUS INJURIES THAT HAPPEN EACH YEAR.
SO WHAT WE USE IS THIS YEARS OF LIFE LOST TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACTS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE HAVING PEOPLE NOT BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE A FULL LIFE HERE IN AUSTIN.
AND THAT 1,371 YEARS, JUST THROUGH AUGUST, IS THE NUMBER OF YEARS OF LIFE THAT SOMEONE DOESN'T GET TO EXPERIENCE BECAUSE THEY PREMATURELY WERE KILLED IN A MOSTLY PREVENTABLE CAR CRASH IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, JUMPING INTO THE DATA AND TRENDS, UH, I'LL START WITH THE, THE HIGH LEVEL STATISTIC, UM, COMBINED, WHICH IS OUR VISION ZERO GOAL.
FATALITIES OF SERIOUS INJURIES ARE DOWN 16% IN 2023 JUST COMPARED TO, UH, THIS POINT LAST YEAR THROUGH AUGUST 1ST.
FATALITIES ARE DOWN BY THREE PEOPLE DURING THAT TIMEFRAME.
5% SERIOUS INJURIES ARE DOWN BY QUITE A BIT MORE 18% IN THAT TIMEFRAME.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE GREAT DATA.
I I KEEP SAYING WE HAVE SOME OF THE BEST DATA IN THE NATION, IN THE WORLD AROUND VISION ZERO EFFORTS.
UM, BUT THE REALITY IS, YOU KNOW, EACH DAY TO DAY, WEEK TO WEEK, MONTH TO MONTH ISN'T AS IMPORTANT AS THE LONG-TERM TRENDS.
AND ALL OF THOSE NUMBERS ARE GREAT, WE'RE POINTED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
UH, BUT THOSE ARE COMING OFF OF RECORD HIGHS HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO WE'RE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
WE WANT TO KEEP SEEING THAT PROGRESS.
WE THINK WE'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE WITH THE INVESTMENT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE THROUGH MULTIPLE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED BONDS, BUT WE'VE STILL GOT A LONG WAY TO GO TO GET TO ZERO.
SO LET'S BREAK IT DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE BY MODES.
UH, WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS, UH, A RELATIVELY FLAT LEVEL OF FATALITIES FOR PEOPLE IN MOTOR VEHICLES.
THAT'S DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS AS FAR AS FATALITIES GO.
BUT WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS AN INCREASE IN SOME OF OUR VUL VULNERABLE USER STATISTICS.
SO BICYCLIST, WE'VE HAD FOUR FATALITIES IN 2023 ALREADY, AND THAT WAS A NUMBER, THAT WAS ONE FOR THE FULL YEAR OF 2022, UH, IN PRIOR YEARS.
FOUR WAS THE MAXIMUM NUMBER WE'VE SEEN IN RECENT YEARS.
SO HAVING FOUR EARLY IN THIS YEAR WAS A LITTLE BIT ALARMING.
UH, WHILE SERIOUS INJURIES FOR BICYCLISTS ARE DOWN QUITE A BIT, PEDESTRIANS, WE'LL TALK ABOUT MORE IN THE NEXT SLIDE OR TWO, BUT FATALITIES CONTINUE TO RISE IN THE PEDESTRIAN MODE, UH, SEEING THAT INCREASE ABOUT 5% WHILE WE ARE SEEING SERIOUS INJURIES DOWN QUITE A BIT FOR PEDESTRIANS, MOTORCYCLISTS HAD A HAD A, A LARGE JUMP LAST YEAR, AND SO WE'VE SEEN A MAJOR DECREASE THIS YEAR GETTING BACK TO MORE MAYBE NORMAL LEVELS, IF YOU WILL, AND SERIOUS INJURIES ARE DOWN THERE AS WELL.
SO SERIOUS INJURY IS DOWN ACROSS THE BOARD, BUT WE ARE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION IN, IN TRYING TO MAKE A LOT MORE, UH, INTENTIONAL PROGRESS ON THE PEDESTRIAN AND CYCLISTS ASPECTS OF OUR VISION ZERO PROGRAMS. SO AS I MENTIONED, UH, NATIONALLY, STATEWIDE, UH, A LOT OF CITIES LEADING CITIES THAT WE ARE, UH, PURE CITY WITH, WE'VE SEEN THOSE PEDESTRIAN NUMBERS AND BICYCLIST NUMBERS RISE OVER THE YEARS.
UH, IT'S BECOME, UH, A TREND THAT WE'VE SEEN THAT'S REFLECTING A FEW DIFFERENT FACTORS.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE THEORIES OUT THERE THAT THE LARGER THE VEHICLES THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE ROADWAYS WITH SUVS BEING OVER 50% OF ALL CAR SALES, NOW WE'RE SEEING THAT IMPACT THINGS WE'RE SEEING, YOU KNOW, AGGRESSIVE DRIVING THAT'S HAPPENED IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, PARTICULARLY WITH THE START OF THE PANDEMIC WIDE OPEN ROADWAYS.
WE'VE SEEN SOME IMPACTS THERE AND, UH, PEOPLE ARE STILL WALKING AND, AND BIKING TO GET TO PLACES.
SO WE'RE SEEING THAT IMPACT PLAY OUT AND YOU CAN SEE THAT AUSTIN DATA ON THE RIGHT.
LOOKING AT FATALITIES NOW, PEDESTRIANS AND MOTOR VEHICLES AS OF LAST YEAR, WE'RE AT AN EQUAL LEVEL.
UM, YOU KNOW, FIRST TIME IN A FEW YEARS THAT'S BEEN THE CASE.
AND EVEN WITH RISING NUMBERS, WE'RE SEEING THE PEDESTRIAN NUMBERS INCREASE MORE THAN OTHERS.
AS I MENTIONED, MOTORCYCLISTS HAD A A LARGE INCREASE LAST YEAR.
THANKFULLY, WE'RE NOT SEEING THAT THIS YEAR.
BICYCLISTS HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY FLAT FOR YEARS AND, AND THAT INCREASE I MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, WE'VE ALREADY SEEN FOUR THIS YEAR.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO PAY ATTENTION TO AS WELL.
ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT THE DATA IS JUST ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF THE ROADWAYS.
UM, ON SYSTEM ROADWAYS ARE STATE OWNED ROADS OFF SYSTEM, OUR CITY OWNED ROADS.
WE'VE SEEN A CONCERNING TREND HERE.
UH, AND THIS ISN'T ABOUT WHO OWNS THE ROAD ON PAPER, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THAT, UH, OWNERSHIP IS ON PAPER.
THE REALITY IS CERTAIN ROADS ARE DESIGNED IN DIFFERENT WAYS DEPENDING ON THE PURPOSE OF THAT ROADWAY.
AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS THE INCREASE IN RECENT YEARS ON, ON SYSTEM ROADWAYS REFLECTS THOSE HIGHER SPEED, LESS ENFORCEMENT,
[01:15:01]
MORE AGGRESSIVE DRIVING ON THOSE FASTER WIDER ROADWAYS.WE'RE SEEING THE FATALITY NUMBERS INCREASE AS WELL OVER TIME.
AND SO LAST YEAR WE SAW, UH, A 75% OF FATAL CRASHES HAPPENED ON SYSTEM.
AND THIS YEAR WE'RE RIGHT AROUND THE SAME NUMBER 40 OF THE 54 FATAL CRASHES SO FAR THIS YEAR HAVE BEEN ON SYSTEM.
WHAT YOU'VE SEEN ON THE OFF SYSTEM ROADWAYS IS SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY BUCKING THE TREND HERE IN, IN TEXAS AT LEAST.
WE HAVE A PURE CITY CALL IN TEXAS AND, UH, ALMOST EVERYBODY'S SEEN OFF SYSTEM AND ON SYSTEM ROAD FATALITIES INCREASE, WHEREAS WE'VE BEEN RELATIVELY FLAT OVER A FIVE, SEVEN YEAR PERIOD.
COULD YOU, I HATE TO INTERRUPT, COULD YOU, UH, EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ON SYSTEM VERSUS OFF SYSTEM FOR FOLKS WHO DON'T KNOW THOSE WORDS? SURE.
ON SYSTEM REFLECTS, UH, A STATE OWNED ROADWAY.
SO IF YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT, UH, ONE OF OUR F UH, INTERSTATE FREEWAYS, UH, HIGHWAYS, YOU KNOW, ROADWAYS LIKE FARM TO MARKET ROAD, UH, RANCH TO MARKET ROADWAYS 22 22, 360 6 20, UH, 180 3 I 35, VIN WHITE, ALL OF THOSE ARE STATE OWNED ROADWAYS AND INCLUDING THE FRONTAGE ROADS THERE AS WELL.
TYPICALLY THOSE ARE DESIGNED FOR MAXIMUM THROUGH FOOT OF VEHICLES.
AND WHEN YOU DESIGN FOR THAT, THAT SORT OF OUTCOME, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE HIGHER SPEEDS, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE MORE LIKELY CONFLICTS AT HIGHER SPEEDS, PARTICULARLY WITH PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF VEHICLES.
AND SO THAT TREND THAT WE'RE SEEING REFLECTS KIND OF HOW THOSE ROADWAYS ARE DESIGNED AND HOW THEY'RE OPERATED, WHAT THOSE THOSE ARE FOR.
UM, AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE OFF SYSTEM HOPEFULLY REFLECTS SOME OF THE INVESTMENTS WE'VE MADE LOCALLY IN THE 10 YEAR PERIOD SINCE, YOU KNOW, ADOPTING IMAGINE AUSTIN COMPLETE STREETS POLICIES, LOOKING AT THE INVESTMENTS WE'VE MADE THROUGH MULTIPLE BOND PROGRAMS AND BICYCLISTS AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO KEEPING THOSE, UH, ROADWAYS AS LOW AS WE CAN, TRYING OBVIOUSLY TO, TO KEEP ALL OF THE DEATHS AT A LOWER RATE BY WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS@TECH.IS AN ULTIMATE GOAL THAT WE'VE GOT.
SO, KEY TAKEAWAYS, AS I MENTIONED, 16% REDUCTION IN 2023, WHICH IS GREAT, POINTING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION THAT IS COMING OFF OF RECORD HIGHS FROM LAST YEAR AND THE YEAR BEFORE.
PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES CONTINUE TO RISE AND BICYCLIST FATALITIES ALREADY HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR AND ALREADY MEETING KINDA THE TOTALS FROM RECENT YEARS.
SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE THAT STAY FLAT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS YEAR.
AS I MENTIONED, NEARLY THREE OUTTA FOUR ON A REGULAR BASIS THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, THAT'S, UH, SOME OF THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGES WE'VE SEEN ARE HAPPENING ON THOSE STATE OWNED ROADWAYS.
AND ANOTHER PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT WE LOOK AT TOO IS JUST WHEN AND WHERE THESE ARE HAPPENING.
SO NOT ONLY WHERE, BUT WHEN THESE ARE HAPPENING, MAJORITY OF THESE CRASHES ARE HAPPENING IN JUST A 30 OF THESE OF OF THE DAY.
SO 8:00 PM TO 4:00 AM THERE'S A NUMBER OF OTHER FACTORS AT PLAY DURING THAT TIME.
CRITERIA LIKE, UH, DROWSY DRIVING, UH, IMPAIRED DRIVING, LOOKING AT, UM, THE, THE LIGHTING AROUND THOSE PARTICULAR HOURS AND WHETHER PEOPLE CAN BE SEEN WHEN THEY'RE, UH, OUT OF VEHICLES IN PARTICULAR.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER TURN THAT WE'VE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO FOR YEARS AND STARTING TO WORK TOWARDS INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS THAT WILL HELP SOLVE FOR THAT IN SOME WAY.
SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, THE SAFE STREET DESIGNS.
AND I WANNA MENTION PARTICULARLY BOND FUNDED INTERSECTION PROJECTS.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD GREAT COMMUNITY SUPPORT INCLUDING FUNDING, SPECIFIC FUNDING FOR VISION ZERO IN MULTIPLE BOND PACKAGES SINCE 2016.
WE HAVE, AS OF AUGUST 20, 23, OVER 20 INTERSECTION PROJECTS COMPLETED, AND OVER 40 PROJECTS IN VARIOUS STAGES OF DESIGNER SCOPING.
WHEN YOU'RE ABLE TO HAVE MULTIPLE BOND PROGRAMS, PARTICULARLY ONES THAT THAT INCREASE IN DOLLAR SIZE, THAT GIVES US THE ABILITY TO RAMP UP OUR EFFORTS EARLIER ON AND TRY TO GET MORE OF THESE LOCATIONS DONE IN A SHORTER PERIOD OF TIME.
WE'VE GOT THREE PROJECTS IN ACTIVE CONSTRUCTION, WHICH IS USUALLY WHAT WE'RE AIMING FOR.
SO CONTINUING TO HAVE THAT FLOW OF PROJECTS IN CONSTRUCTION, IN DESIGN, IN SCOPING.
AND ONE HIGHLIGHT THAT I WANNA MENTION TOO IS JUST THAT, UH, HOPE HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT MONTH OR SO WE WILL BE COMPLETE ON THE VISION ZERO RELATED MAJOR INTERSECTION SAFETY PROJECTS FROM THE 2016 BOND.
WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF FUNDING LEFT TO DO SOME LIGHTING PROJECTS AT THOSE LOCATIONS THAT WERE MENTIONED IN THAT BOND PACKAGE, BUT AN EXCITING ACHIEVEMENT NONETHELESS.
TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
THIS IS ONE OF, THIS IS THE LAST MAJOR INTERSECTION SAFETY PROJECT.
THIS IS BARTON SPRINGS AND SOUTH FIRST, JUST ACROSS THE BRIDGE HERE YOU CAN SEE THE TYPES OF INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE DOING.
THIS IS FOLLOWING INTERNATIONAL, NATIONAL BEST PRACTICES.
THIS IS BECOMING OUR STANDARD OF PRACTICE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THINGS THAT ARE GONNA BENEFIT ALL ROADWAY USERS, UH, SIGNAL UPGRADES TO BE ABLE TO HAVE MORE EFFICIENT MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE IN VEHICLES, PROTECTING THOSE LEFT TURNS WHERE WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE CONFLICTS ARE, ARE REDUCED AND MINIMIZED WHEREVER POSSIBLE.
UH, PROTECTED DESIGN REALLY LOOKS LIKE THOSE, THOSE KIND OF LIGHT PINK COLORED, ORANGE COLORED, UM, UH, FACILITIES FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE ON BICYCLES IN PARTICULAR, IT'S GOT EXTRA BARRIERS AROUND THE CORNERS TO MAKE SURE THAT VEHICLE DRIVERS ARE ABLE TO SEE PEOPLE THAT ARE ACTUALLY IN THOSE BICYCLE FACILITIES AND TAKE THOSE TURNS AT A LITTLE BIT SLOWER SPEEDS.
WE'VE GOT RAISED MEDIANS THAT ARE PART OF THIS PROJECT, WHICH IS HELPFUL FOR DRIVEWAYS THAT ARE NEARBY THESE INTERSECTIONS.
SO WE DON'T HAVE THOSE CONFLICTS.
AND JUST WANNA MENTION THE BENEFIT TO DRIVERS OF HAVING SOME OF THESE TREATMENTS.
BEING ABLE TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF CRASHES MEANS REDUCING THE NUMBER OF DELAYS
[01:20:01]
THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO EXPERIENCE BECAUSE OF THOSE CRASHES.A LOT OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO VEHICLE CRASHES, AND WITH OVER 13,000 REPORTED CRASHES EACH YEAR, BEING ABLE TO DO SOME OF THESE IMPROVEMENTS REDUCE THE NUMBER OF CRASHES, NOT ONLY REDUCES TRAVEL TIME DELAYS BECAUSE OF THOSE CRASHES, BUT IT REDUCES THE NUMBER OF EMERGENCY SERVICE VEHICLES PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE TO BE, UH, OUT THERE ON THE SCENE.
AND IT GIVES EVERYONE A CHANCE TO, AGAIN, GET TO THEIR DESTINATION SAFELY.
SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE PROGRESS WE'VE MADE ON THOSE SAFETY INTERSECTION PROJECTS.
WANNA MENTION A, A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT, UH, AREAS OF OUR PROGRAM.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
THIS IS OUR FEDERAL FUNDS THAT FLOW THROUGH OUR STATE OF TEXAS AND, AND GET DISTRIBUTED BASED ON THE, THE NEED AND AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.
WE'VE GOT MULTIPLE SAFETY LIGHTING PROJECTS AND MULTIPLE SIGNAL PROJECTS THAT ARE USING, UH, A COUPLE OF ROUNDS OF HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FUNDS.
UH, ONE OF THE IMAGES YOU'RE SEEING THERE THAT'S SOUTH CONGRESS AND RAMBLE, THAT WAS A NEW TRAFFIC SIGNAL.
WE SAW A PATTERN OF CONSISTENT CRASHES.
WE KNEW THAT A SIGNAL WOULD BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THOSE AND THAT PROJECT WAS JUST COMPLETED A FEW MONTHS AGO.
GOTTEN GREAT FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY SOUTH AUSTIN AREA RESIDENTS BEING ABLE TO CROSS THAT FACILITY SAFELY WITH THOSE CROSSWALKS THAT WERE NOT THERE BEFORE, BEING ABLE TO DRIVE THROUGH THAT LOCATION SAFELY AND, AND MAKE THOSE SAFE RETURNS A BENEFIT FOR ALL THE ROADWAY USERS THERE.
I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SAFE STREET DESIGN FROM A SYSTEMIC SAFETY PERSPECTIVE.
YOU KNOW, WE FOLLOW WHAT'S CALLED A SAFE SYSTEMS APPROACH.
THAT'S REALLY BASED ON INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICE OF WHAT VISION ZERO IS ALL ABOUT.
OVER THE LAST FEW DECADES, IT'S BEEN DONE IN OTHER PLACES MORE RECENTLY IN THE UNITED STATES.
WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT YOU'RE NOT JUST REACTING TO A HISTORY OF CRASHES AT A LOCATION.
YOU'RE LOOKING AT THOSE CONDITIONS THAT CAN LEAD TO THOSE SEVERE CRASHES.
YOU WANNA BE ABLE TO BE PROACTIVE AND HAVE THIS, UH, PHRASE THAT WE'RE BECOMING MORE ACCUSTOMED TO A BIAS FOR ACTION TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ACTION AT THESE LOCATIONS BEFORE THEY BECOME A PROBLEM.
LOCATION BEFORE SOMEONE HAS TO DIE, SOMEONE'S FAMILY MEMBER HAS TO LOSE THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE BEFORE THAT SERIOUS CRASH HAPPENS.
BEING ABLE TO TAKE ACTION AND ADDRESS THOSE LOCATIONS.
SO WE HAD A CURVE WARNING PROJECT WHERE WE ADDRESSED 40 LOCATIONS.
SOME HAD A HISTORY OF CRASHES, SOME DID NOT.
BUT BEING ABLE TO PUT IN THINGS LIKE, UH, THOSE BUMPS ON THE GROUND, THOSE ARE REFLECTIVE PAVEMENT MARKERS, OUR PMS, SO THAT IT'S MORE VISIBLE TO PEOPLE MAKING THOSE TURNS.
WE HAD CURVE WARNING SIGNS, WE HAD FLASHING BEACONS.
THIS IS ALL PART OF A, A SECTION OF NORTH LAMAR.
AND WE DID THAT AT 40 LOCATIONS OVER, UH, THE LAST PERIOD OF MAYBE SIX OR EIGHT MONTHS, BEING ABLE TO DO THINGS LIKE LEFT TURN CALMING PILOTS.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT SOME OTHER SUCCESSFUL VISION ZERO CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.
UH, WHAT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO TO BE ABLE TO SLOW THOSE TURNS AROUND, THOSE DRIVING, UH, THOSE DRIVERS, MAKING LEFT TURNS SO THAT PEOPLE WALKING, PEOPLE PUSHING STROLLERS, PEOPLE IN WHEELCHAIRS CAN GET THROUGH THAT CROSSWALK SAFELY.
AND THAT DRIVER'S BEING ABLE TO SEE THEM AT THE RIGHT ANGLE AS THEY'RE MAKING THAT TURN.
SO WE'VE GOT A LEFT TURN CALMING PILOT THAT WE'RE HOPING TO DO AT, UH, A DOZEN LOCATIONS OR SO, AND WE'LL GET THAT STARTED HOPEFULLY BY THE END OF THIS YEAR AS WELL.
I MENTIONED SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'VE SEEN WITH, UH, SOMETHING LIKE 50% OF OUR FATALITIES HAPPENING IN JUST A THIRD OF THE DAY.
THAT OVERNIGHT PERIOD FROM 8:00 PM TO 4:00 AM BEING ABLE TO HAVE A WELL LIT, UH, ROADWAY INFRASTRUCTURE IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND SO WE'VE NOTED IN SOME OF THOSE GRANT FUNDS THAT WE'VE APPLIED FOR AND SOME OF THE ANALYSIS WE'VE DONE, WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF LOCATIONS WHERE WE SEE A CONSISTENT PATTERN OF CRASHES THAT ARE HAPPENING AT NIGHT.
AND SO WE ARE USING SOME OF THOSE BOND FUNDS, SOME OF THOSE GRANT FUNDS TO TRY TO DO SOME IMPROVEMENTS ALONG SOME OF THESE STRETCHES.
UH, AT THE MAJOR INTERSECTIONS THAT WERE PART OF THE 2016 BOND, WE'RE GONNA TRY TO DO SOME, UH, UPGRADES THERE AND THEN FOLLOWING UP ON THREE CORRIDORS IN PARTICULAR THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED ALREADY, BEING ABLE TO IMPLEMENT SOME LIGHTING IMPROVEMENTS, ADD SOME LIGHTING, UH, TRANSFORM SOME OF THOSE HIGH PRESSURE SODIUM BULBS INTO L E D BULBS AND BE ABLE TO HAVE A LOT MORE VISIBILITY FOR PEOPLE BOTH DRIVING AND OUTSIDE OF VEHICLES AS WELL.
SO WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT'S JUST THE START.
UM, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS YOU'LL SEE ON YOUR COUNCIL AGENDA, UH, AND A, A CONTRACT FOR SOME OF THE EARLY LIGHTING PROJECTS THROUGH THE H STEP PROGRAM, AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT WHERE THAT'S HEADED AS WELL.
CHAIR, I ALWAYS HATE TO INTERRUPT YES MA'AM, THE PRESENTATIONS, BUT I DO HAVE A QUESTION HERE.
UM, BASED ON SOME OF THE INFORMATION I'VE RECEIVED FROM MY FRIENDS WHO WORK IN PUBLIC SAFETY, THERE ARE SOME HOTSPOTS IS WHAT THEY CALL 'EM, BARS THAT LET OUT LATE AND PEOPLE WHO ARE SMASHING THEMSELVES AND OTHER PEOPLE UP.
I JUST WONDER IF THERE'S SOME DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN THE SAFE STREET DESIGN AND WORKING ACTIVELY WITH PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS TO GET SOME OF THOSE HOTSPOTS UNDER CONTROL.
COMMITTEE MEMBER, OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T CONTROL ENFORCEMENT.
BUT THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, YES MA'AM.
SOME OF THESE BARS THAT ARE LETTING OUT, YOU KNOW, AT FOUR AND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DRINKING ALL NIGHT, RIGHT? AND THEY'RE SMASHING THEIR CARS UP ALL NIGHT LONG.
AND SO WE'VE GOT A VISION ZERO LEADERSHIP COUNCIL THAT INCLUDES OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES, INCLUDES OUR TRANSIT AGENCY, INCLUDES
[01:25:01]
TXDOT, A I S D.WE TRY TO BRING THOSE FOLKS TOGETHER BECAUSE VISION ZERO IS NOT JUST A TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAM OR INITIATIVE.
THIS IS A COMMUNITY WIDE INITIATIVE.
IT'S GONNA TAKE EVERYBODY FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT, PROSECUTION COURTS, UM, PUBLIC HEALTH SIDE OF THINGS IS REALLY CRITICAL.
AND SO AS WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, POLICIES AND CODES AND AND THINGS LIKE THAT, OUR PUBLIC HEALTH PARTNERS HAVE BEEN FANTASTIC.
OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS HAVE REALLY INFORMED US IN A LOT OF THE WORK THAT WE DO.
SO IT'S DEFINITELY PART OF THE OVERALL CONVERSATION IS CONTINUING TO WORK ACROSS THE BOARD WITH THOSE AGENCIES.
SO I'LL MENTION, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE MAJOR GRANT THAT WE APPLIED FOR AND WERE AWARDED, UH, EARLIER THIS YEAR, SAFE STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL A, A HISTORIC INVESTMENT BY OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO TRY TO MAKE STREETS, STREETS SAFER ACROSS OUR NATION.
AND THAT WAS A $22.9 MILLION GRANT.
UH, WE'RE USING ABOUT $5.7 MILLION OF COMMUNITY BONDS TO AS A MATCH THERE.
AND THAT'S GONNA INCLUDE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF INITIATIVES AND, AND, AND CATEGORIES OF TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT WE WANNA DO.
WE'VE COMMITTED THAT AT LEAST 50% OF THOSE FUNDS ARE GONNA GO TO HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES AS DEFINED BY THE US D O T, BUT WE THINK THAT NUMBER'S PROBABLY GONNA BE MUCH HIGHER AT THE END OF THE DAY ONCE WE, UH, GET THROUGH PROJECT SELECTION AND, AND START TO MOVE THAT FORWARD.
WE ARE LITERALLY WAITING, UH, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT WEEK TO GET THAT GRANT AGREEMENT ACTUALLY COMPLETED.
UH, APPARENTLY IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO WORK WITH OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO GET SOME GRANT AGREEMENTS, BUT WE ARE GETTING THERE AND, UH, WE EXPECT TO BE COMING TO COUNCIL, HOPEFULLY, UH, NEXT MONTH OR TWO TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THAT GRANT AGREEMENT FORWARD AND THEN APPROPRIATE THOSE FUNDS AND START GETTING PROJECTS, UH, IDENTIFIED AND OUT THE DOOR.
ALSO WANNA MENTION THAT 2023 WAS ANOTHER ROUND OF SAFE STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL FUNDING.
AND WE DID SUBMIT ANOTHER APPLICATION, HOPE TO HEAR ABOUT THAT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS AS WELL.
AND THAT WAS REALLY A, A MAJOR PEDESTRIAN FOCUSED, UH, GRANT APPLICATION, A LOT OF PEDESTRIAN HYBRID BEACONS, NEW CROSSINGS, AND BEING ABLE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE MAJOR GAPS THAT WE'VE GOT ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY.
SO ONE OF THE PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS I JUST WANNA MENTION, I MENTIONED THAT OVERNIGHT PERIOD, YOU KNOW, WORKING CLOSELY WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, WE WANT TO DEVELOP A CITYWIDE LIGHTING PLAN.
IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT, UH, THE IDENTIFI IDENTIFICATION OF HISTORICAL CRASHES AT AT NIGHTTIME LOCATIONS.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN SUCCESS WITH WEST CAMPUS LIGHTING STUDY AND IMPLEMENTATION THERE, AND WE WANT TO HAVE A PROACTIVE WAY TO REALLY ADDRESS THE LIGHTING SYSTEM ACROSS THE BOARD AND UNDERSTAND WHERE THE PRIORITIES ARE.
TRY TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, FROM THE COMMUNITY SIDE, WHAT KIND OF LOCATIONS THEY'RE SEEING ARE THAT ARE PROBLEMATIC.
HAVE GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS THAT ARE CO CONSISTENTLY APPLIED ACROSS OUR CITY GOVERNMENT THROUGH DIFFERENT PROJECTS DONE BY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
AND THEN TALK ABOUT KINDA THAT ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND REVIEW OF WHO IS BEST TO DELIVER THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS.
UH, THESE ARE USUALLY FILLING GAPS GOES BEYOND WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS TYPICALLY DONE.
ALSO GOES BEYOND WHAT TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS HAS DONE.
SO WHERE DOES IT BEST FIT, WHAT DOES THE FUNDING GONNA LOOK LIKE? AND THEN TRY TO GET TOWARDS AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TO PRIORITIZE AND, AND IMPLEMENT OVER TIME THAT LIGHTING STUDY.
I ALSO WANNA MENTION THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE AN EYE TOWARDS EQUITY IN THE WORK THAT WE DO.
UH, WE UPDATED OUR VISION ZERO EQUITY ANALYSIS.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT CERTAIN PARTS OF OUR COMMUNITY ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY TRAFFIC CRASHES, AND THAT USUALLY FALLS TO SOCIOECONOMIC AND RACE AND ETHNICITY TYPES OF LENSES.
SO, UH, BLACK EN KNIGHTS MAKE UP 16% OF THE PEOPLE KILLED OR SERIOUSLY INJURED IN CRASHES WHERE THEY'RE ONLY 7% OF THE POPULATION.
AND SO THAT OVERREPRESENTATION IS POINTING US TO AN ISSUE THAT WE'VE GOT TO TRY TO ADDRESS.
WE'VE STARTED TO USE THAT INFORMATION IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
WE'RE TRYING TO REFORM OUR PROJECT AND, AND PROGRAM PRIORITIZATION FRAMEWORKS TO BETTER INVEST IN THOSE AREAS WHERE THOSE DISPARITIES EXIST.
WE WANNA BE ABLE TO, UH, EVALUATE THE IMPACTS OF THOSE INVESTMENTS AND SEE HOW THAT'S BETTER, UM, UH, INFLUENCING THE DECISIONS THAT ARE, THAT ARE MADE OUT IN THE ROADWAYS AND MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE CAN CROSS THE STREET SAFELY WHEREVER THEY ARE.
AND THEN CONTINUING TO PURSUE THESE EQUITY FOCUSED GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.
AGAIN, SAFE STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL.
MAJOR COMPONENT OF THE GRANT GRANT AWARD SYSTEM WAS ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU'RE GONNA BE INVESTING IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO PURSUE ALL OF THOSE AVENUES WHERE WE CAN.
I'LL MENTION, UH, JUST REALLY HIGH LEVEL, WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DOUBLE DOWN ON THE STRATEGIES THAT WORK.
UM, WE KNOW THAT WE WE'RE GONNA DO MOVING FORWARD IS CONTINUE TO EXPAND AND, AND GROW THE SCOPE OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE.
WE'VE SEEN AT INTERSECTIONS A 30% REDUCTION IN SERIOUS INJURIES AND FATALITIES IN THE PLACES THAT WE'VE INVESTED.
OVER TIME, WE'LL CONTINUE TO EVALUATE THAT.
WE KNOW THAT THE GRANTS THAT WE'VE BEEN AWARDED ARE GONNA HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT.
BEING ABLE TO BASICALLY ADD ANOTHER THIRD OF OUR BOND CAPACITY JUST THROUGH THAT FEDERAL GRANT, WE'LL BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE A LOT MORE.
UH, WE WANT TO EXPAND THE USE OF THESE HIGH IMPACT STRATEGIES THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL FOR YEARS AND DECADES IN OTHER PLACES.
WE'VE GOTTA DO MORE OF THEM HERE.
UH, YOU'RE GONNA START HEARING A LOT MORE ABOUT ROUNDABOUTS.
I KNOW THERE'S SOME CONCERN THAT PEOPLE MIGHT NOT BE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THEM, BUT THE WAY TO GET MORE FAMILIARS TO DO SOME EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS, IMPLEMENT MORE OF THESE ROUNDABOUTS MOVING FORWARD.
AND PEOPLE WILL START TO REALIZE THAT
[01:30:01]
THE BENEFIT IS THERE NOT ONLY FOR THE SAFETY, YOU KNOW, 90, 80, 90% REDUCTION IN SEVERE CRASHES, BUT YOU CAN ACTUALLY, UH, GET SOME CLIMATE BENEFITS BY HAVING MORE CLEAR AND CONSISTENT THROUGHPUT THROUGH INTERSECTIONS.YOU'VE GOT SOME RESILIENCE BUILT INTO THAT BY NOT HAVING SIGNALS THAT YOU HAVE TO MAINTAIN.
YOU CAN STILL GET PEOPLE THROUGH THOSE INTERSECTIONS IN INCLEMENT WEATHER AND EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS, A LOT OF BENEFITS TO ROUNDABOUTS LANE CONVERSIONS IS PART OF THE, THE MIX AS WELL.
WHAT YOU'RE SEEING ON THE SCREEN IS SOUTH PLEASANT VALLEY ROAD, RIGHT NEAR LONGHORN DAM BRIDGE.
WHAT WE DID THERE WAS BE ABLE TO BETTER UTILIZE THAT RIGHT AWAY SPACE TO WHAT WE SAW THROUGH THE DATA AND ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION.
AND WHAT WE'VE HEARD BACK FROM THE COMMUNITY IS JUST OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR THAT PROJECT IN PARTICULAR.
AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE IMPACT IS.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE GOING FROM 10 PEOPLE, UH, UH, SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED ANNUALLY TO TWO AFTER THE FIRST YEAR OF THAT TREATMENT BEING IN PLACE.
AND THAT'S EIGHT REAL LIVES THAT WILL NOT BE IMPACTED BY TRAFFIC VIOLENCE IN THAT LOCATION.
AND WE WANNA CONTINUE TO SEE THAT SORT OF SUCCESS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
STREET LIGHTING I'VE MENTIONED AND SYSTEMIC PROJECTS ARE GONNA BE PART OF THE MIX.
SO WE'VE GOTTEN ALL OF THE ABOVE KIND OF APPROACH.
WE WANNA KNOW WHAT WORKS AND WHAT'S EFFECTIVE AND CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARDS THOSE PARTICULAR STRATEGIES WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
SO I'M GONNA PAUSE THERE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT A CHANCE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION, ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS, HAVE DISCUSSION, JUST WANNA SHOW THIS IMAGE.
WE DID HIRE A COUPLE OF LOCAL ARTISTS TO DO SOMETHING ON THE ODOM PAVILION RIGHT NEAR CAESAR CHAVEZ.
THEY USED ACTUAL QUOTES FROM PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY SEVERE TRAFFIC CRASHES AND, AND THIS ONE REALLY STICKS OUT.
SO, UH, HOPEFULLY YOU'VE SEEN THAT.
AND IF YOU HAVEN'T, PLEASE GO TAKE A LOOK.
UH, BUT I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR HAVE ANY DISCUSSION YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE.
DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.
UM, BY WAY OF MY ANECDOTAL EXPERIENCE, MY SISTERS WERE INVOLVED IN A SEVERE TRAFFIC ACCIDENT, UM, WHEN THEY WERE 15 YEARS OLD.
AND ONE OF MY SISTERS ENDED UP IN A COMA FOR FOUR MONTHS.
AND JUST THINKING THROUGH IT FELT LIKE THERE WAS A DISTINCT LACK OF SUPPORT.
UM, I THINK MAYBE THE HOSPITAL SYSTEM WAS MAYBE MORE RESPONSIBLE THAN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT I JUST WONDER IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE HAVE ALONG THOSE LINES.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, A P D HAS VICTIM SERVICES AND YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THESE SUPPORTS.
I WONDER IF WE HAVE ANY SERVICES THAT ARE ADJACENT TO FAMILIES THAT ARE GOING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, THAT SLIDE THAT YOU SHOWED WITH THOSE TRAFFIC FATALITIES.
AND YOU KNOW, I, I WATCHED MY FAMILY GO THROUGH THAT.
ME AND MY MOM SLEPT AT HEALTH SOUTH FOR FIVE AND A HALF MONTHS, YOU KNOW, WHILE MY SISTER WAS GOING THROUGH IT.
BUT THAT SAID, I JUST WONDER IF WE AS A COMMUNITY, AS A BODY, IF WE OFFER ANY OF THOSE SUPPORTS.
FIRST LET ME SAY I'M SORRY THAT YOU HAD TO DEAL WITH THAT.
AND, UH, THE REALITY IS THAT 600 OR SO FAMILIES ARE DEALING WITH THIS EVERY SINGLE YEAR IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO ALMOST EVERYBODY KNOWS SOMEBODY WHO'S BEEN INVOLVED WITH OR PART OF A SEVERE CRASH, WHICH IS A TERRIBLE THING TO THINK ABOUT.
UM, THERE IS A GROUP CALLED CENTRAL TEXAS FAMILIES FOR SAFE STREETS, THAT'S A NONPROFIT GROUP BASED ON A, AN ADVOCACY GROUP AND SUPPORT GROUP IN NEW YORK CITY.
UH, THEY'RE PART OF, YOU KNOW, OTHER GROUPS LIKE, UM, SAFE STREETS AUSTIN AS WELL, THAT ARE OUT THERE TO, TO ADVOCATE FOR SAFER STREETS, BUT ALSO TO BE THAT SUPPORT SYSTEM.
UM, I KNOW OUR CITY OF AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, WE, YOU MENTIONED THE A P D VICTIM SERVICES GROUP.
THEY'VE GOT SOME FANTASTIC STAFF, UH, I THINK WITH, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC HEALTH AND, UM, AND PSYCHOLOGY BACKGROUNDS TO BE ABLE TO HELP THROUGH VICTIMS THROUGH THOSE PARTICULAR SITUATIONS.
AND SO, YEAH, I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT THERE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT SUPPORT.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE MENTAL HEALTH IMPACTS OF THIS CAN BE LONG LASTING, FOREVER LASTING FOR A LOT OF FAMILIES.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S A REAL ISSUE AND I THINK WE'VE GOT SOME MORE OF THAT KIND OF BUBBLING UP IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK THERE'S A, A REAL ROLE TO PLAY FOR THOSE NONPROFIT GROUPS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THAT ROLE.
I WONDER IF THERE'S A WAY FOR US TO, AS A BODY OFFER THOSE ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS AND OPPORTUNITY TO HELP US REALLY GET SOME COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES IN PLACE.
UM, IT REALLY IS A TRAUMATIC EVENT FOR A FAMILY.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE A, A GREAT NEED AND A GOOD IDEA.
UM, I'M WONDERING IF OTHER COMMITTEES MIGHT ALSO HAVE AN INTEREST, LIKE EITHER PUBLIC SAFETY OR PUBLIC HEALTH AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, FOR FAMILIES THAT NEED SUPPORT LIKE THAT, WHAT IS, WHAT IS IT THAT THE CITY CAN DO AND WHERE CAN WE STEP UP IN PLACES WHERE PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED? LIKE THAT? THANK YOU CHAIR, VICE CHAIR CADRY.
TO WHAT EXTENT ARE, ARE WE WORKING WITH TXDOT TO ENSURE THAT THE, UH, THE NEED DESIGN PRIORITIZES SAFETY? I'M SORRY, THE WHICH DESIGN? THAT THE, THAT THE NEED DESIGN PRIORITIZES SAFETY, THE NEW DESIGN, THE
[01:35:01]
I 35, THE LATEST RENDERING, I GUESS.I, I KNOW THAT OUR DEPARTMENT'S BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH THEM FOR, UH, A LONG TIME AT THIS POINT.
LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT OPTIONS, PARTICULARLY ABOUT SAFE CROSSINGS.
AND SO I THINK THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE CROSSINGS IN THAT CENTRAL SECTION THAT I'M AWARE OF THAT I REMEMBER TALKING ABOUT, UM, THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT FUNDING.
AND THEY'LL BE ABLE TO DESIGN IN THOSE ELEMENTS SO THAT WE CAN PUT THOSE, THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE.
A LOT OF IT IS ABOUT, AGAIN, CROSSING THOSE, THOSE BARRIERS THAT, THAT I 35 AND, AND THAT NUMBER OF LANES ACTUALLY PRESENTS THERE.
UM, AS FAR AS THE, THE OTHER DESIGN ELEMENTS, OBVIOUSLY BEING ABLE TO DESIGN FOR A SLOWER SPEED, GENERALLY, I THINK, I THINK WHAT I'VE READ, AND PLEASE DON'T QUOTE ME ON THIS, HERE WE ARE, UM, I, I THINK WHAT I'VE READ IS THAT THEY'VE COMMITTED TO FRONTAGE ROADS BEING AT A LOWER DESIGN SPEED AND, AND SPEED LIMIT THAN, THAN THEY TYPICALLY ARE.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S PROGRESS THERE.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS THAT COME INTO PLAY, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A, A NON-CONTROLLED, LIKE A FREEWAY TYPE OF LANE THAT DOESN'T HAVE TRAFFIC SIGNALS OR STOPS.
IF YOU'VE GOT CONSISTENT WIDE OPEN LANES OF TRAFFIC, YOU'RE GONNA SEE HIGHER SPEEDS.
SO WHATEVER WE CAN DO ALONG THOSE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS, FRONTAGE, ROAD AND, AND CROSSINGS, I THINK THAT'LL HELP OVER TIME.
YEAH, I MEAN, YEAH, I, I GUESS MY ONLY FEAR WOULD BE, UM, THAT THESE LIKE WIDER HIGHWAYS, UM, WOULD, WOULD ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO JUST DRIVE REALLY FAST AT NIGHT, RIGHT? LIKE REGARDLESS OF WHAT A, YOU KNOW, THE SPEED ACTUALLY MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, I LIVED IN HOUSTON FOR A BIT, GONNA GRAD SCHOOL THERE.
AND I REMEMBER GOING, YOU KNOW, FROM, FROM CAMPUS TO UH, VISIT A FAMILY MEMBER AND IT WAS JUST, I DON'T KNOW, FAST AND FURIOUS RIGHT THERE, RIGHT? IT WAS JUST PEOPLE WERE NOT GOING 70, 75, I THINK THEY WERE GOING MORE LIKE A HUNDRED PLUS.
THERE'S ALWAYS THE CONVERSATION AROUND WHY DO PEOPLE SPEED OR WHAT IS THE SAFEST SPEED TO GO? AND THERE'S ALWAYS THIS CONVERSATION AROUND IS IT BECAUSE YOU SEE A COP CAR OR YOU DON'T SEE A COP CAR? OR IS IT BECAUSE THE ROAD IS ACTUALLY DESIGNED IN A WAY THAT TELLS YOU HOW FAST YOU SHOULD BE GOING? AND I THINK MOST PEOPLE INTUITIVELY KNOW, HEY, IF IT'S BIG AND WIDE AND STRAIGHT, PEOPLE ARE JUST GONNA GO AS FAST AS THEY CAN AND THEY MIGHT BE MATCHING THE SPEED NEXT TO 'EM MIGHT BE COMPLETELY, YOU KNOW, JUST THEY'RE SUBCONSCIOUS, THEY'RE LISTENING TO MUSIC OR THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED DURING THEIR DAY AND THEY'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO, OH, I'M ACTUALLY GOING A LOT FASTER THAN I THOUGHT THAT I WAS.
UM, AND SO THERE HAS TO BE THAT CONVERSATION AROUND, YOU KNOW, THE ROAD CAN DO SO MUCH TO SLOW YOU DOWN IF IT'S NARROWER AND IT'S GOT TURNS AND JUST ALL THESE NATURAL THINGS THAT MAKE PEOPLE KIND OF SLOW DOWN AND TAKE A LITTLE MORE CAUTION, UM, WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, DID YOU HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS? NO, I GUESS MY ONLY OTHER QUESTION, AND IF YOU CAN, IF YOU CAN ANSWER IT, GREAT, AND IF YOU CAN'T TOTALLY GET IT, BUT I MEAN, UH, YOU KNOW, DOES IT, DOES THE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORK WORKS DEPARTMENT FEEL LIKE THEY'RE AT THE TABLE WITH TXDOT AND THAT THESE CONCERNS ARE, ARE BEING HEARD AND WORKED ON? YEAH, I THINK OUR DEPARTMENT'S BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN THE DESIGN PROCESS.
I THINK THERE'S BEEN REGULAR COORDINATION MEETINGS.
I HAVEN'T BEEN DIRECTLY INVOLVED, BUT I KNOW OUR ENGINEERING TEAM IN PARTICULAR HAS BEEN VERY INVOLVED CONSISTENTLY PROVIDING INPUT AND FEEDBACK ON THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF SCOPING AND DESIGN.
AND SO I THINK THERE'S BEEN CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION THROUGHOUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE DAY, TEXAS DOTS GOT THEIR DESIGN STANDARDS, THEY'VE GOT THEIR PROJECT GOALS.
WE MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT POLICY GOALS OR DESIGN STANDARDS THAT WE WOULD APPLY, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S COMING BACK TO WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, THAT ON SYSTEM VERSUS OFF SYSTEM DIFFERENCE, THE, THE PURPOSE AND GOALS OF THE PROJECT JUST MIGHT BE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE MIGHT DO ON A CITY STREET.
AND SO WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO MOVE A LOT OF VEHICLES THROUGH QUICKLY, IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT KIND OF GOAL AND OUTCOME THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE WITH THE DESIGN AND, AND WHERE YOU'RE HEADED WITH THAT.
YEAH, NO, I MEAN, I, I THINK IT'S BEEN SAID BY MANY FOLKS ON THE DAIS, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THE 35 EXPANSION, LIKE THIS IS A, A HUGE MOMENT FOR US AS A CITY AND AS A STATE AND, AND TAKING OUR TIME AND, AND DOING IT CAREFULLY AND AND WITH PEOPLE IN MIND IS, IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO I, I KNOW OUR OFFICE AND OTHER OFFICE ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS BECAUSE, UH, A LOT OF US AREN'T A FAN OF THE EXPANSION.
UM, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE IT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LEAST UGLY AND, AND, AND MOST SAFE, UH, VERSION OF IT AS POSSIBLE.
AND THERE WAS A POINT YOU REMINDED ME OF EARLIER AND IT WAS THE COUNCIL HAS PROVIDED DIRECTION ON AT LEAST TWO OCCASIONS I THINK, OF WHAT THOSE SPEED LIMITS SHOULD BE FOR FRONTAGE ROADS AND UNDERSTANDING THERE'S A LOT OF STREETS WHERE PEOPLE ARE MAKING A RIGHT HAND TURN THAT ARE RIGHT IN NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND THOSE SPEED LIMITS MIGHT BE 30 MILES AN HOUR AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THERE'S SOME SORT OF SLOWING DOWN ON THE ACCESS ROADS SO THAT PEOPLE AREN'T FLYING INTO THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS, STREETS NOT REALIZING IT'S NOT WIDE AND THERE'S HOMES VERY CLOSE TO THE ROAD AND OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, MY QUESTION IS ABOUT THE LIGHTING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND THE GUIDELINES FOR THE CITY CODE.
IS THIS SOMETHING THAT HAS FEDERAL STANDARDS LIKE A LOT OF OTHER BUILDING STANDARDS DO OR IS THIS SOMETHING WE'RE
[01:40:01]
CREATING FROM SCRATCH OUT OF IDEAS THAT YOU HAVE FOUND ALONG THE WAY? WELL, IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY AWESOME ENERGY.THEY'VE GOT, UH, ILLUMINATION DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT THEY'VE HAD IN PLACE AND THEY'VE UPDATED OVER TIME.
I THINK A LOT OF THAT IS BASED ON EITHER FEDERAL GUIDANCE OR FEDERAL STANDARDS, UM, BEST PRACTICES GENERALLY.
SO I THINK THEY'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT WHAT OTHER UTILITIES ARE UP TO AND, AND HOW TO MAKE, MAKE THAT LIGHTING THE BEST IT CAN BE.
AND, AND THINKING ABOUT THOSE ELEMENTS AS WE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HIGH PRESSURE SODIUM BULBS VERSUS L E D BULBS, A LOT DIFFERENT ENERGY USAGE THERE.
UH, VISIBILITY, UH, SPACING BETWEEN THE, THE LIGHTING FIXTURES.
AND SO I THINK WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DOING HERE IS, IS TAKING ANOTHER LOOK AT THOSE STANDARDS AND WHETHER OR NOT THAT'S MEETING OUR POLICY GOALS AS A CITY, YOU KNOW, AS S P GOALS MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN REFERENCED BY AUSTIN ENERGY 10 YEARS AGO THAT DIDN'T EXIST.
SO HOW DO WE START TO UPDATE OUR STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR THOSE TYPES OF PROJECTS USING THE LATEST POLICY DIRECTION THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FROM COUNCIL AND AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT.
MM-HMM
I KNOW WE TRUST ON THE EXPERTISE OVER AT AUSTIN ENERGY ON A LOT OF DIFFERENT LIGHTING ISSUES, UM, THAT ARE EITHER ROADS OR OTHER SORTS OF PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES THAT WE'VE HAD ALONG THE WAY.
UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I THINK THAT COVERS IT.
THANKS FOR THE WORK YOU'RE DOING.
[5. Identify items to discuss at future meetings.]
BRIEFINGS TODAY.WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF TOPICS THAT WE'RE HOPING TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY FOR FUTURE MEETINGS.
UM, SEPTEMBER WE HOPE TO COVER, UM, ONGOING CONVERSATIONS AROUND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE OPERATIONS IN AUSTIN.
UM, VICE CHAIR CADRE HAD REQUESTED AN UPDATE ON THE CYPRUS AND SHO PROJECT, SO WE HOPE TO BRING THAT TO THE SEPTEMBER MEETING AND THEN POTENTIALLY I 35 UPDATE, UH, GIVEN THAT THE F E I S AND THE R O D HAVE BEEN, UM, SENT OUT AND THEN TALKING ABOUT CAP AND STITCH OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH OBVIOUSLY WE UH, SPOKE ABOUT A LITTLE BIT TODAY, BUT WE'D LOVE TO GET INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT EXACTLY WHERE ARE THOSE PLANS CURRENTLY.
AND THEN FOR OCTOBER MOBILITY BOND UPDATES FOR THE 2016 CORRIDORS, THIS WAS AN ITEM THAT WE HAD ON OUR MAY MOBILITY COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA AND WE JUST RAN OUT OF TIME 'CAUSE WE WERE HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT OTHER IMPORTANT TOPICS THAT HAPPENED TO BE ON THAT DAY'S AGENDA AND THE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM UPDATES.
SO THOSE ARE SLATED FOR OCTOBER AND THEN NOVEMBER FLEET ELECTRIFICATION UPDATE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON HAS REQUESTED.
UM, AND WE WOULD HOPE AND WE NEED TO REACH OUT TO THE GOOD FOLKS AT CAP METRO AND A I S D TO SEE IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO AND HAVE THE CAPACITY TO BE INVOLVED IN THAT CONVERSATION AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
AND EVENTUALLY WE WILL HAVE TO UPDATE OUR NEXT CALENDAR FOR THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE FOR 2024.
SO WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF OTHER ITEMS THAT WE STILL HAVEN'T REALLY PLUGGED INTO THE NEXT MONTH, BUT IF YOU HAVE OTHER IDEAS, FEEL FREE TO DAYLIGHT THEM TODAY OR SHOOT US, UH, AN EMAIL AND LET US KNOW SOME OF THE OTHER TOPICS THAT YOU FOLKS MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN SEEING OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.
HOW'S MEMBER HARPER MADISON? I MENTIONED IT VERY BRIEFLY, BUT JUST TO REVISIT THE CONVERSATION AROUND UNBANKED, PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO GET ACCESS TO, UM, MOBILITY OPTIONS.
UM, AND IT'S PART OF THEIR CONSIDERATION WHEN THINKING ABOUT APPS OR, UM, KIOSKS OR HOW FOLKS ARE ABLE TO ACCESS THOSE SERVICES.
AND I, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT TOPIC FOR US TO COVER.
IF THERE'S NO OTHER TOPICS FOR TODAY, IT IS 2:44 PM AND I WILL ADJOURN THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE.