Sep 05, 2023 Urban Transportation

DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.

THANKS DANIEL.

ANY DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT.

I'LL CALL FOR A VOTE ON THE MINUTES.

ALL THOSE WHO, UH, VOTE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM JULY 11TH.

ANY OPPOSED? OKAY, GREAT.

UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO TAKE A BRIEF SECOND AND WELCOME, UM, NEW COMMISSIONERS ON OUR, UM, BODY.

SO, UM, IF YOU WANNA JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELVES, UH, MAYBE YOUR DISTRICT AND JUST YOUR NAME AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA SHARE WITH US.

REAL BRIEFLY.

EVERYONE'S LOOKING AT ME, SO I'M GUESSING I'M THE ONLY ONE.

UM, HI EVERYONE.

MY NAME IS ARLENE ALVAREZ.

I REPRESENT DISTRICT THREE WITH JOSE VASQUEZ.

UM, AND WHAT ELSE DID YOU NEED TO KNOW? ANYTHING YOU WANNA TELL US? ANYTHING YOU WANNA TELL? UM, SO MY DAY JOB IS I WORK FOR TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.

I OVERSEE THE EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAM.

UM, SO LOOKING AT THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF ALL EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS.

THERE'S A REPORTS ISSUE THERE, AND YOU CAN FIND BOTH THAT ONE AND ANOTHER ONE WE DID ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTIONS AND WHY WE NEED TRANSIT FOR THAT AS WELL ON OUR WEBSITE.

HI EVERYONE.

MY NAME IS MELISSA ORTIZ.

I AM WITH, UM, DISTRICT TWO, WITH COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES AND I, MY DAY JOB IS, I WORK FOR CAP METRO AS THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND I WAS BORN IN AUSTIN, SO NATIVE AUSTIN.

I, AND JUST HAPPY TO BE HERE.

UM, WITH THAT, WE HAVE, UM, A BUNCH OF, UH, DISCUSSION ITEM, PRESENTATION AND BRIEFINGS, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL THEM ON OUR AGENDA TODAY.

SO WE'LL TAKE THOSE UP, UH, WITH ALL DO HASTE.

AND OUR FIRST ONE IS

[2. Discussion on the Transit Forward presentation]

BILL MCKINLEY.

UH, AND, UH, HIS PRES CO-PRESENTER, WHO I'VE ALREADY FORGOTTEN, HE JUST INTRODUCED HIMSELF, I'M SO SORRY.

AND ON THE TRANSIT FORWARD PRESENTATION.

THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, UH, AS WAS INTRODUCED.

MY NAME IS BILL MCKINLEY.

I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TRANSIT FORWARD.

UH, THIS IS JUSTIN LEVY.

HE IS A GRADUATE STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IN THE SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING.

UH, JUSTIN ACTUALLY WROTE A PAPER FOR US LAST SEMESTER TALKING ABOUT THE NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION.

AND ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE WANT TO DO THIS WAS WE ALL KNOW THAT TRAFFIC IS TERRIBLE.

NO ONE LIKES SITTING IN IT.

IT SUCKS, IT'S BAD, BUT I DON'T THINK THERE'S A REAL UNDERSTANDING OF ALL OF THE ABSOLUTELY NEGATIVE THINGS THAT COME OUT OF INCREASED CONGESTION AND THE EFFECT IT HAS ON US AS INDIVIDUALS, ON OUR FAMILIES, AND AS A COMMUNITY.

SO JUSTIN DID A REALLY, REALLY GOOD JOB OF FINDING A LOT OF THE SPECIFIC NEGATIVE THINGS THAT COME OUT WITH TRAFFIC FROM STUDIES THAT ARE GONNA BE OUT THERE, AND WE WANT TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT THOSE TODAY.

UH, TRANSIT FORWARD IS AN AUSTIN 5 0 1 C THREE.

OUR MISSION IS TO DO EDUCATION ENGAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR TRANSIT AS A WHOLE, BUT WITH A REAL FOCUS ON PROJECT CONNECT.

WE BELIEVE THAT A WORLD CLASS CITY LIKE AUSTIN DESERVES A WORLD CLASS TRANSIT NETWORK, AND THAT'S WHAT TRANSIT FORWARD IS.

ONE OF OUR MISSIONS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO LET PEOPLE KNOW WHY THIS IS SO NEEDED, WHICH IS WHY THIS TOPIC TODAY IS SO GERMANE TO WHAT WE DO.

SO, JUSTIN, YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT? WE'RE GONNA GO BACK AND FORTH ON SLIDES, IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT.

SO, TRAFFIC IS BAD AND GETTING WORSE.

UH, A RECENT STUDY HAS SHOWN THAT TRAFFIC IN AUSTIN, UH, IS STEADILY WORSENING.

AUSTIN IS THE 14TH MOST CONGESTED CITY IN THE NATION, AND IT'S STARTING TO, UM, OVERTAKE PLACES LIKE DALLAS AND SAN DIEGO AND PORTLAND AND COMMUTERS ARE SPENDING AN AVERAGE OF 66 HOURS A YEAR STUCK IN TRAFFIC.

AND THAT WILL AND DOES, UH, TAKE A HUGE TOLL ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR CITIZENS OF AUSTIN.

THIS STUDY THAT JUSTIN WROTE, FIRST OF ALL, YOU CAN FIND IT AT OUR WEBSITE, TRANSIT FORWARD.ORG.

[00:05:01]

THIS REPORT SPECIFICALLY LOOKS AT ALL OF THE NEGATIVE THINGS THAT COME DOWN, SPECIFICALLY A LOT OF MENTAL ISSUES, STRESS AND DEPRESSION, PHYSICAL ISSUES LIKE WEIGHT GAIN, THE FACT THAT FACT THAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND OTHER BAD HABITS GO UP WITH TRAFFIC.

UM, AND THEN A LOT OF THE DEATH AND TRAUMA THAT COMES FROM CRASHES, THEN YOU HAVE LESS TIME FOR YOUR FAMILIES.

AND ONE THING THAT IS ACTUALLY NOT ON HERE THAT WE ALSO TALK ABOUT IS SOME OF THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL COST TO THE COMMUNITY FROM INCREASED, UH, CRASHES THAT HAPPEN WITH TRAFFIC.

SO, AS MENTIONED, UH, STRESS AND DEPRESSION ARE, UH, HUGE FACTORS, UM, THAT ARE CAUSED BY TRAFFIC CONGESTION.

UH, MULTIPLE STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT THERE IS A LINK BETWEEN TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND, UH, STRESS AND DEPRESSION.

UM, A STUDY IN CHINA FOUND THAT, UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE STUCK IN DEPRESSION HAVE A 0.8% HIGHER CHANCE OF SUFFERING FROM DEPRESSION.

UM, AND THEN A STUDY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST ENGLAND, UH, ALSO FOUND THAT TRAFFIC CONGESTION CAN REDUCE LIFE, UH, SATISFACTION, JOB SATISFACTION, AND JUST THE UNPREDIC UNPREDICTABILITY OF IT, UM, CAUSES GREAT MENTAL ANGUISH TO THOSE SUBJECT TO IT.

AND IF YOU GET A WILD HAIR AND WANNA ACTUALLY LOOK THIS UP, THAT WEST ENGLAND STUDY ACTUALLY SHOWN THAT, WHAT IS IT, $30,000? IS THAT THE ONE? YEAH.

IT, IT ACTUALLY SHOWED THAT PEOPLE EQUATED THE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO PAY TO NOT HAVE TO DO TWO CONGESTION AND TRAFFIC EVERY YEAR, LIKE $30,000 A YEAR.

THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO TAKE 30,000 LESS PER YEAR IF THEY COULD ACTUALLY LIVE WITH A JOB WHERE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH TRAFFIC EVERY DAY.

THIS IS THE ONE THAT FLOORED ME.

AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT MAKES SENSE, BUT I NEVER PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER.

THE AMOUNT OF ANGER THAT PEOPLE FEEL WHEN THEY ARE IN TRAFFIC, THE AMOUNT OF FRUSTRATION THAT THEY FEEL DOES NOT END WHEN THEY GET OUT OF THE CAR.

AND A STUDY THAT JUSTIN FOUND IN LA FROM 2018, SO FAIRLY RECENTLY SHOWED THERE'S ACTUALLY A 9% INCREASE IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES WHEN THERE IS INCREASES IN CONGESTION.

LET'S PUT THAT REAL, PUT THAT IN REAL TERMS FOR AUSTIN, THERE ARE 9,613 CASES, OVER 9,600 CASES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EVERY YEAR.

IF BY SOME MIRACLE WE COULD GET RID OF CONGESTION AS A WHOLE, THAT MEANS THERE WOULD BE 865 LESS FAMILIES THAT WOULD BE GOING THROUGH THESE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ISSUES.

THAT'S HOW MUCH TRAUMA IS CAUSED BY TRAFFIC CONGESTION WHEN WE LOOK AT IT FROM A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PERSPECTIVE.

SO ALSO, UM, THE OTHER SIDE EFFECT OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION IS WEIGHT GAIN.

UH, WE CITE HERE A STUDY, UH, THAT THEY DID IN CHINA.

UH, BUT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S NOT TOO ATTENUATED TO SEE THAT SITTING IN TRAFFIC FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME, YOU KNOW, MAKES YOU TIRED, IT MAKES YOU EXHAUSTED.

IT ALSO, YOU'RE NOT WALKING, YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.

AND THEN WHEN YOU GET HOME FROM SITTING IN TRAFFIC FOR SO LONG, YOU'RE STRESSED, THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO IS GO TO THE GYM.

IT'S, IT, IT REALLY JUST DRAINS EVERYTHING OUTTA YOU.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? YOU GO HOME, SIT ON THE COUCH AND TRY AND FORGET ABOUT IT, AND YOU GAIN WEIGHT, WHICH ISN'T GOOD FOR ANYBODY.

RIGHT? THE CRASHES AND TRAUMA ISSUE, LOOK, ONCE AGAIN, NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.

IF THERE'S MORE TRAFFIC ON THE ROAD, THERE'S GONNA BE MORE TRAFFIC CRASHES.

AND I WAS ACTUALLY TOLD BY SOMEONE FOR THE CENTER OF NEW URBANISM, DO NOT REFER TO 'EM AS ACCIDENTS.

UH, AN ACCIDENT IS SOMETHING THAT'S ACCIDENTAL CRASHES HAPPEN BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE ON THE STREET.

AND I KNOW THE CITY'S REALLY TRYING TO MOVE TO THAT 50 50 MODE SHIFT, UH, GOAL BY THE END OF THE 2030S.

BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS, RIGHT? EVERY SINGLE YEAR, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE RECORDS FOR TRAFFIC DEATHS.

AND I THINK WE HAD ONE IN 2022 THAT WAS ONLY SURPASSED THE RECORD WE HAD IN 2021, BECAUSE AS WE KEEP GROWING MORE CARS ON THE ROAD, MORE INJURIES, MORE CRASHES, THAT MEANS MORE PEOPLE ARE DYING, MORE PEOPLE ARE GETTING INJURED, RIGHT? AND SO THE MORE TRAFFIC WE HAVE, LITERALLY THE MORE DEATH THAT WE HAVE, THE MORE TRAUMA AND PAIN THAT WE HAVE AND THE COSTS.

I'LL LET JUSTIN TALK ABOUT THAT, THAT TRANSLATES INTO REAL DOLLARS.

SO, SO THERE WAS A, UM, 2023 STUDY, NATIONWIDE STUDY CON CONDUCT CONDUCTED BY THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY, UH, TRA TRAFFIC ASSOCI YEAH.

SAFETY ASSOCIATION.

AND THEY FOUND THERE WERE SEVERAL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, TRAFFIC.

AND THE, THE VARIOUS ACCIDENTS IT CAUSES, UH, THE, THEY DID ANOTHER STUDY IN 2019 THAT FOUND THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF CAR ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY TRAFFIC TRAFFIC CONGESTION CAUSED $339 BILLION, OR 1000, ABOUT A THOUSAND DOLLARS PER PERSON LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES.

AND THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT 1.6% OF THE US G D P.

SO THE COSTS ARE TREMENDOUS AND THEY'RE ONLY GONNA KEEP GROWING.

[00:10:01]

UM, AND LET'S SEE.

YEAH, I THINK, YEAH, AND ONE THING I WOULD ADD TO YOU ALL, AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CITY, 9% OF ALL MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH COSTS ARE PAID FOR WITH PUBLIC REVENUES.

SO WHEN SOMEONE HAS TO CALL THE E E M T FOLKS WHEN THEY HAVE TO CALL THE COPS, THAT'S DOLLARS THAT COME OUT OF TAXPAYER FUNDS.

AND SO IF WE DON'T DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO REDUCE TRAFFIC, THEN WE ARE BASICALLY WASTING MONEY.

IT'S NOT ONLY BAD FOR PEOPLE'S PERSONAL PAIN AND AGONY, BUT IT ALSO COMES OUTTA THE PUBLIC COFFERS.

ECONOMIC EFFECTS.

LOOK, IF YOU'RE SITTING AROUND IN TRAFFIC, UH, FROM AN EMPLOYER PERSPECTIVE, IF I'M A WORKER, I'M NOT WORKING AND I'M WASTING FUEL.

AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT IS BEING WASTING TRAFFIC, AND THIS IS 2015, SO THIS IS WHAT, SEVEN, EIGHT YEARS AGO, $160 BILLION ACROSS THE UNITED STATES IS WASTED IN TRAFFIC WHEN PEOPLE ARE JUST SITTING THERE.

AND AGAIN, AS JUSTIN POINTED OUT, THAT NUMBER IS ALSO CONTINUING TO GROW EVERY SINGLE YEAR EXPECTED TO BE ALMOST 190 BILLION BY 2030.

AND SO IN, IN DOING THIS STUDY OF THE NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION, WE FOUND THAT OF COURSE, TRANSIT, ESPECIALLY HIGH QUALITY PUBLIC TRANSIT, CAN HELP.

UH, IN DENVER IN 2019, THEIR, UH, PUBLIC TRANSIT AGENCY DID A STUDY AND THEY FOUND THAT BUILDING NEW RAIL LINES INCREASES RIDERSHIP AND REDUCES OVERALL VEHICLE MILES, TRAVEL THEIR OR V MTS AS THEY ALSO CALL THEM, UH, AND HELP MITIGATE OVERALL TRAFFIC GROWTH IN A GROWING URBAN REGION.

AND THEN ANOTHER STUDY, UH, DONE IN MINNEAPOLIS ST.

PAUL, WHERE THEY'RE ALSO WORKING TO EXPAND THEIR RAIL NETWORK, UM, THEY FOUND THAT IN THE FIRST TWO, UH, YEARS OF THE GREEN LINES OPERATION, WHICH IS THE LINE THERE, UH, THEY FOUND THAT TRAFFIC ON NEARBY ROADS WAS INDUCED BY 22% COMPARED WITH ROADS OUTSIDE OF, OR, YOU KNOW, FAR WITHOUT.

I THINK IT WAS A MILE FROM THE RAIL LINE.

SO BUILDING LOTS OF RAIL, I FIRMLY BELIEVE IS THE ANSWER TO MITIGATING THESE, ALL THESE HORRIBLE THINGS THAT COME WITH TRAFFIC CONGESTION.

AND IT'S ONE OF THE ANSWERS IN A MORE HOLISTIC THING.

BUT WE ALSO FOUND ANOTHER STORY ACTUALLY BETWEEN WHEN WE PUT THIS TOGETHER AND NOW SALT LAKE CITY ACTUALLY FOUND THERE WAS A, A 10 YEAR POINT WHEN THEY OPENED TRACKS, WHICH IS THEIR LIGHT RAIL LINE TO ABOUT FIVE OR SIX YEARS AGO WHERE THEY FOUND REAL SERIOUS TRAFFIC MITIGATION.

EVEN AS THAT AREA CONTINUED TO GROW, LIKE WE SEE HERE IN AUSTIN, WHAT THEY FOUND WAS THAT MITIGATION STOPPED WHEN THEY DIDN'T GET AFFORDABLE HOUSING AROUND A LOT OF THE TRANSIT LINES.

'CAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WERE LIVING NEAR TRANSIT THEN WEREN'T TAKING IT ALL THE TIME.

SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING TO CONSIDER AS WELL.

LOOK, UH, LIKE WE SAID, OUR CONCLUSION HERE IS VERY SIMPLE.

TRAFFIC DOES SUCK.

WE KNOW IT.

WE THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO PUT ACTUAL REAL PHYSICAL COSTS TO AUSTINITES.

'CAUSE WE DON'T THINK ABOUT IT.

WE LIVE IN OUR CARS A LOT OF TIMES.

WE TAKE 'EM ALL THE TIME.

WE DON'T THINK ABOUT WHAT THOSE NEGATIVE COSTS ARE.

AND WE THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT WHEN WE SEE THREATS TO PROJECT CONNECT THAT COME FROM NATIONAL GROUPS, OR WE SEE EFFORTS AT THE LEGISLATURE TO TRY TO DEFUND PROJECT CONNECT.

I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT ALL OF US KNOW EXACTLY WHY THESE NEW BUS AND TRAIN LINES ARE SO REALLY IMPORTANT TO US IN VERY TANGIBLE WAYS IN OUR COMMUNITY TO IMPROVE OURSELVES AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

UH, MADAM CHAIR, WE APPRECIATE THE TIME YOU GUYS HAVE FOR US, AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO STAND FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.

DO ANY COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS FOR OUR PRESENTERS? YEAH, SPENCER.

SO I'LL THROW IN JUST KIND OF A, A THOUGHT QUESTION THERE.

UM, SO I THINK YOU'VE BEEN A, A REALLY GREAT TIRELESS ADVOCATE FOR PROJECT CONNECT, YOU KNOW, AT THE LEGISLATURE, UH, TO A T P, TO CAP METRO TO THE CITY.

UH, BUT WE'RE GETTING TO A POINT NOW WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE LEGISLATURE CAN'T MESS WITH PROJECT CONNECT FOR ANOTHER YEAR AND A HALF, ALTHOUGH THEY MAY TRY, RIGHT? UH, ATP'S ABOUT TO GO TO THE BOND MARKET CAP METRO'S GETTING CLOSE TO FINALLY ROLLING OUT SOME, UH, OF THE, UH, RAPID PROGRAMS THEY HAVE.

SO WHERE DO YOU THINK OUR ADVOCACY SHOULD BE FOCUSED AS PROJECT CONNECT KIND OF GETS GOING ON AS WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS WE TAKE TO INCREASE TRANSIT RIDERSHIP AND MAKE TRANSIT MORE ACCESSIBLE, RAPID, FASTER FOR EVERYONE IN AUSTIN? WELL, I WOULD SAY THAT WE STILL NEED TO BE VERY, UM, WE STILL NEED TO PAY A LOT OF ATTENTION TO THE STATE LEGISLATURE.

ON THINGS LIKE MULTIMODAL, UH, INTER INTERSECTIONS.

I DON'T THINK THAT THE EFFORTS BY FOLKS WHO ARE OPPOSED TO TRANSIT ON PHILOSOPHICAL REASONS ARE GONNA STOP.

AND I THINK THEY'RE GONNA TRY AGAIN.

AND SO I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE OUR LEGISLATORS ARE ON BOARD, THAT WE CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR THIS.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE GAVE OUR BIG, UH, YEARLY UPDATE WITH PROJECT CONNECT AND WE ASKED THE MAYOR THIS QUESTION ABOUT THE LEGISLATURE.

HE SAID, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE STILL CONTINUE TO PAY ATTENTION AND STILL CALL IN WHEN THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN, CALL LEGISLATORS, REMIND THEM THAT THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO EVERYBODY.

SO I THINK I DO THINK THAT THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT.

UM, I THINK IT'S ALSO GONNA BE IMPORTANT THAT WE STAY IN TOUCH ON THINGS LIKE, UH, THE, THE FEDERAL GRANT THAT A T P IS GONNA BE APPLYING FOR HERE IN THE NEXT YEAR.

BUT I WOULD ALSO SAY THERE'S TWO OTHER THINGS WE SHOULD REALLY WORK ON.

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO SUPPORT CAT METRO AS THEY WORK

[00:15:01]

SO HOW DO WE GET MORE BIKES, UH, WHEELCHAIRS, SCOOTERS? THAT ACCESS HAS TO BE REALLY CONNECTED FOR FOLKS, ESPECIALLY WITH LAST MILE.

AND THEN THE BIG ISSUE'S GONNA BE HOUSING.

AS WE, WE CONTINUE TO POINT OUT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, TRANSIT SYSTEMS ONLY WORK WHEN THERE'S DENSE HOUSING SURROUNDING TRANSIT STATIONS.

SO MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE CHANGES LIKE FRANKLY THE CITY COUNCIL'S BEEN MAKING THIS YEAR, GETTING RID OF MINIMUM PARKING RESTRICTIONS ARE REALLY GOOD.

REDUCING COMPATIBILITY MEASURES, REALLY, REALLY GOOD MINIMUM LOT SIZES MOVING THEM DOWN REALLY GOOD.

BUT I WOULD SAY THAT IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR US TO CONTINUE TO SAY, HOW DO WE DO MORE MINNEAPOLIS ST.

PAUL EVENTUALLY, AND I'M NOT SAYING WE'RE THERE YET, BUT THEY MOVE TO A SPACE WHERE THERE'S NO SINGLE FAMILY ZONING ALONG TRANSIT CORRIDORS.

THE MORE DENSITY YOU HAVE, AND FRANKLY, THE MORE AFFORDABILITY YOU HAVE WITH HOUSING NEAR TRANSIT LINES MEANS MORE PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO RIDE IT.

AND THAT'S GOOD IN A WHOLE LOT OF AREAS.

IT'S THE BEST THING WE CAN DO FOR AFFORDABILITY IN AUSTIN.

WE'RE NOT GONNA HIT OUR GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION GOALS UNLESS WE HAVE MORE TRANSIT CORRIDORS AND MORE HOUSING AROUND THOSE.

SO I THINK RIGHT NOW, REALLY, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO PAY ATTENTION FOR THE LEGISLATURE AND THEN REALLY SUPPORTING CAP METRO AS THEY AND THE CITY, AS THEY WORK FOR THINGS LIKE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AROUND STATIONS TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR THESE LAST MILE THINGS AND HOUSING.

THOSE ARE THE KEY CRITICAL THINGS I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK FORWARD WITH.

DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YEAH, NO, I THINK THAT'S GREAT.

THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

OF JANUARY, 2025.

WELL, I THINK WE'VE GOT WORK TO DO.

UM, SO THE QUESTION WAS, ALL RIGHT, HOW DO WE FEEL ABOUT JANUARY, 2025 WHEN THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION COMES IN? NO, NO, NOREEN, I'M SORRY, SIR.

YOU HAVE TO TURN ON YOUR MIC.

OOPS.

THAT'S GONNA BE THE NEXT BIG SERVICE CHANGE AH, FOR KEVIN.

AND I REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE LAST ONE.

LET'S GET PREPARED.

WELL, AND I WOULD ALWAYS ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO STAY ENGAGED.

ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS REALLY PROUD OF THAT EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY LED BY US IN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AT CAT METRO HELPED, WE HELPED CITY COUNCILORS WERE GREAT, WAS THAT DISCUSSION THAT WAS HAD ABOUT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT FIRST PHASE OF LIGHT RAIL WAS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, KNOWING THAT INFLATION HAPPENED.

AND THERE ARE A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AROUND THE UNITED STATES THAT GOT COMPLETELY CANCELED, AND OUR COMMUNITY SAID, NO, WE'RE GONNA FIGURE OUT HOW TO HAVE AN ADULT RESPONSIBLE, TRANSPARENT CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS AND GET A GOOD PLAN THAT EVERYONE CAN GET BEHIND WITH THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE.

I THINK WE'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE WE KEEP FOLLOWING THAT MODEL AND REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE GOING WHERE THEY'RE AT, HAVING ONLINE MEETINGS, GOING TO BUS STOPS, GOING TO LUNCH, CHATTERS GOING WITH EVERY GROUP THAT'LL TALK TO YOU.

I THINK THAT'S A REALLY, REALLY GREAT MODEL FOR HOW WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

AND I KNOW TRANSIT FORWARD'S GONNA CONTINUE TO MAKE THAT A PRIORITY, AND WE ENCOURAGE ALL OF OUR PUBLIC SECTOR ENTITIES TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT AS WELL.

IT'S A GOOD THING AND IT WORKED.

MAY I ADD TO THAT? YEAH.

I ALSO LIKE TO JUST ADD THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET THESE PROJECTS BUILT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE THE LONGER YOU WAIT, THE MORE INFLATION IS GONNA ALWAYS GO UP.

IT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE A FACTOR NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS.

SO, YOU KNOW, JUST SPEED IS IMPORTANT AND, YOU KNOW, THE FASTER YOU CAN GET THEM DONE AND THE HIGHER QUALITY YOU CAN GET THEM BUILT, THE, THE LESS YOU'LL SPEND FURTHER ON DOWN THE LINE, ESSENTIALLY.

AND FOR ANYBODY THAT THAT WANTS TO READ A GOOD ONCE AGAIN NERD PIECE, BUT THE ENO CENTER FOR TRANSIT POLICY, AND FROM 2021, THEY'RE OUT IN NEW YORK, THEY DID A REALLY, REALLY GREAT PRESENTATION ON WHAT THEY DO IN EUROPE TO BE ABLE TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ON TIME AND ON BUDGET WITH TRANSPORTATION, THINGS THAT UNITED STATES REALLY HASN'T DONE.

HOW DO WE TAKE SOME OF THOSE BEST PRACTICES AND, AND DO THEM HERE, I THINK IS GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION, BUT I, I JUST WANTED TO SAY I APPRECIATED THE DIFFERENT, UM, STATS AND THE DIFFERENT APPROACH, LIKE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER THAT IMPACT ALL OF US AS WE'RE IN TRAFFIC.

SO THAT'S IT.

THANKS.

I, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS STUFF FOR A WHILE AND I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE THE DEPTH OF SOME OF THESE ISSUES.

LIKE THE, THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE THING JUST BLEW ME OUTTA THE WATER, BUT IT MAKES SENSE, RIGHT? BUT IT'S JUST NOT SOMETHING WE THINK ABOUT IT, SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT PEOPLE KNOW THAT STUFF.

OUR SECOND DISCUSSION ITEM OF TODAY, WHICH IS, UM, A DISCUSSION, UH, GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION FOR OUR NEW COMMISSIONERS.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS COME? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH, GENTLEMEN.

THANKS MADAM CHAIR, APPRECIATE YOU.

YEAH, THANKS.

THANKS FOR COMING UP.

[3. Discussion on the General Overview of Arterial Management Division]

WE HAVE KIND OF BEEN GOING ON REALLY FOR A YEAR OR MORE, KIND OF GOING ON A TOUR OF, I KEEP WANTING TO SAY A T D, IT'S AUSTIN, HELP ME WORKS.

TRANSPORTATION OF PUBLIC DEPARTMENT WORKS.

SO, UM, SO OUR, BUT WE'VE BEEN KIND OF GOING ON A TOUR OF THESE UNITS AND THE DIFFERENT DIVISIONS WITHIN, WITHIN THEM.

SO, UM, WE'RE KIND OF CONTINUING THAT TODAY, I THINK,

[00:20:01]

REALLY.

UM, YEAH.

ANYWAY, AND WE WILL BE, I THINK SO, UM, WITH THAT, I'LL CALL Y'ALL UP.

UH, BRIAN CRAIG, I THINK, YEAH, HE'S ONLINE.

YES.

GOOD EVENING.

UH, THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME.

AND, UM, I, I HOPE I CAN GIVE A GOOD OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE DO AT ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION FOR THE NEW COMMISSIONERS.

UM, AND ALSO, UM, TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT THEY HAVE.

UM, I DO NOT SEE A SLIDESHOW.

UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT A M D.

UM, REALLY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS IS TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO HELP IMPROVE MOBILITY AND SAFETY FOR ALL MODES OF TRAFFIC, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND FOR ALL ROAD ROADWAY USERS.

UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE TYPICALLY THINK OF WHEN THEY THINK OF ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT IS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DO.

WHAT DO YOU DO? UM, AND FOR THOSE THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH FOR A LONG TIME, THEY THINK OF US AS THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL GROUP, BUT WE DO A LOT MORE THAN THAT.

UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO WITHIN A M D, WE REALLY HAVE SIX GENERAL AREAS, UM, THAT'LL GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF NEXT SLIDE, UM, OUR SIGNAL TIMING FOLKS.

UM, THEY, THEY FOLLOW INDUS INDUSTRY PRACTICE, WHICH REALLY IS TO EVALUATE SIGNAL TIMING AT AN INTERSECTION ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS.

UM, SO WE HAVE OUR ANNUAL SIGNAL RETIMING PROGRAM IN WHICH WE IDENTIFY THE, UM, SIGNALS THAT WE'RE GOING TO, UM, EVALUATE OVER, YOU KNOW, THE COURSE OF, OF THREE YEARS.

AND WE GO AHEAD AND TRACK THAT.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

UM, NOW, HISTORICALLY, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE INDUSTRY, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MOST PART WAS ONLY, UM, INTERESTED IN TRAVEL TIME ALONG THE CORRIDOR.

UM, BASICALLY THE, THE GOAL OF THE PROGRAM WAS TO MINIMIZE TRAVEL TIME AND STOPS, AND TO GET, UM, FROM POINT A TO POINT B, UM, AS, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

AND GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE USE THE FLOATING CAR METHOD.

WE HAD SOMEBODY DRIVE THE CORRIDOR AND BASICALLY, UH, DETERMINE HOW LONG IT TOOK.

UM, NOW THAT WAS THE WAY WE TYPICALLY DID IT, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF LIMITATIONS TO THAT INCLUDING, UM, YOU KNOW, SAFETY ALONG THE CORRIDOR THAT WASN'T BEING MEASURED.

UM, SO A FEW YEARS BACK, WE WENT AHEAD AND WE KIND OF REVAMPED HOW WE WERE LOOKING AT, AT OUR SYSTEM, AND A LOT OF THAT HAD TO DO WITH THE, THE TOOLS THAT BECAME AVAILABLE TO US.

UM, WE STARTED USING THIRD PARTY TRAVEL TIME TOOLS.

UM, ONE OF THE MAJOR, UM, UH, PLAYERS IN THAT MARKET IS, IS .

AND THAT GAVE US THE ABILITY TO LOOK AT DELAYS AT INTERSECTIONS, UM, ARRIVAL ON GREENS SPLIT FAILURES, WHICH IS BASICALLY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT NEEDS TO, UM, WAIT, YOU KNOW, IN A QUEUE, MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE CYCLES.

UM, SO THAT, THAT CERTAINLY ALLOWED US TO GET A BETTER SENSE OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CHANGES THAT WE WERE MAKING TO THE SYSTEM.

UM, A LOT OF THIS BECAME APPARENT WHEN WE STARTED MAKING TIMING ADJUSTMENTS, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR PEDESTRIANS CROSSING THE STREET, UM, WHICH MEANS THAT THE SIGNAL TIMING FOR THE MAIN STREET, THEY RECEIVED LESS SCREEN TIME, WHICH IMPACTED TRAVEL TIME ALONG THE, THE MAJOR CORRIDOR.

BUT THE OLD WAY THAT WE'RE DOING IT NEVER, UM, NEVER CAPTURED THE IMPROVEMENT THAT WE WERE GIVING TO PEDESTRIANS.

UM, WE'RE, WE'RE STILL CURRENTLY, UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH HENRICKS AND, AND OTHER MEANS TO GET A BETTER SENSE OF IDENTIFYING PEDESTRIAN DELAY AT INTERSECTIONS.

UM, BUT RIGHT NOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE USING SOME OF THESE OTHER, YOU KNOW, METRICS, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE MEANTIME.

SO ANOTHER DASHBOARD THAT WE HAVE IS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL INTERSECTIONS ALONG THE CORRIDORS THAT WE READ TIME, UM, YOU KNOW, ONCE AGAIN, CONTROL TIME ARRIVAL ON GREEN, GREEN SPLIT FAILURES.

BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ABLE TO LOOK AT TIME PERIODS BEFORE AND AFTER WE MAKE CHANGES TO SEE WHAT IMPACTS, UM, IT HAD ON THE CORRIDOR AND INDIVIDUAL INTERSECTIONS.

NEXT SLIDE FOR THE, UM, CONSTRUCTION INSPECTION MODIFICATION OF ON TRAFFIC SIGNALS.

UM, WE HAVE A CONSTRUCTION GROUP, UM, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE.

[00:25:01]

WE LIKE TO SAY THAT IF IT'S A TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICE AND IT HAS POWER, THEN WE PROBABLY ARE INVOLVED IN ONE FORM OR, OR FASHION.

UM, BUT THIS GROUP, UM, AS I SAID, THEY, THEY WILL, UM, WORK ACROSS OUR DIVISION REALLY AS, UM, AS THEY WORK WITH TIMING ENGINEERS TO DETERMINE, UM, WHAT MODIFICATIONS NEED TO BE MADE.

THEY ALSO WORK WITH OTHER GROUPS WITHIN THE DIVISION, WHETHER IT IS SAFE, SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL OR WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, WHETHER IT'S SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL OR VISION ZERO TO IMPLEMENT, UM, IMPROVEMENTS SUCH AS RETROFLECTIVE BACK PLATES, FLUSHING, YELLOW ARROWS, A P SS PUSH BUTTON.

UM, SO TH THIS GROUP ALSO OVERSEES THE SIGNAL REQUEST PROCESS.

UM, WE RECEIVE REQUESTS TYPICALLY THROUGH 3 1 1 FOR, UM, CITIZEN REQUESTING TRAFFIC SIGNALS.

UM, WE WORK ON A ANNUAL BASIS TO SCORE ALL OF THOSE, UM, REQUESTS BASED ON A NUMBER OF FACTORS.

AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, AT THE, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE SCORING PERIOD, WE WILL GO AHEAD AND, AND RANK THEM AND THEN, UM, STUDY THEM FOR, UM, TRAFFIC SIGNAL WARRANTS TO DETERMINE WHETHER A SIGNAL IS WARRANTED AT THOSE LOCATIONS.

UM, JUST ANOTHER VIEW OF THE DASHBOARD ONCE IT GETS, UM, PAST THE REQUEST, UM, STAGE NEXT SLIDE.

UM, ONCE WE, ONCE WE CONSTRUCT THINGS, WE NEED TO MAINTAIN THEM NEXT SLIDE.

UM, SO AS PART OF THE, THE MAINTENANCE GROUP, THEY, THEY, UM, CONDUCT ROUTINE MAINTENANCE, PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE, AND EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE ON ALL OF OUR, UM, DEVICES INSTALLED IN THE FIELD.

UM, ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE DEVICES THAT, UM, GETS, THAT GETS ROUTINE MAINTENANCE, UM, THROUGHOUT THE CITY IS VEHICLE DETECTION, PEDESTRIAN DETECTION, UM, NEXT SLIDE.

AND THEN OF COURSE, THERE'S THE EMERGENCY REPAIRS.

UM, FOR WHATEVER REASON, PEOPLE LIKE TO HIT OUR EQUIPMENT.

UM, AND WE HAVE TECHNICIANS THAT RESPOND 24 7 IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, UM, RAIN OR SHINE, AS THEY SAY.

NEXT SLIDE, ONE MORE.

SO WE HAVE A I T S AND COMMUNICATION GROUP THAT, UM, REALLY MAINTAINS THE, THE TECHNOLOGY FOR THE DIVISION.

UM, WE HAVE OUR OWN COMMUNICATION NETWORK THAT'S INDEPENDENT FROM THE REST OF THE CITIES.

UM, YOU KNOW, AS YOU SEE HERE, WE HAVE 250, I THINK WE'RE UP TO ALMOST 300 MILES OF FIBER OPTIC, THE CABLE THAT HELPS US COMMUNICATE TO ALL OF OUR TRAFFIC SIGNALS, UH, IN THE FIELD.

WE MAINTAIN BATTERY BACKUP SYSTEM THAT, YOU KNOW, 500 PLUS APPROACHING, UM, 50% OF OUR TRAFFIC SIGNALS POWER GOES OUT.

WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAINTAIN, UM, RED, YELLOW, GREEN FOR, YOU KNOW, SIX TO EIGHT HOURS.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE 680, UM, C C T V CAMERAS THAT, THAT HELPS US, UM, MONITOR TRAFFIC ON THE ROADWAY AND MAKE, UH, TIMING ADJUSTMENTS FROM OUR M M C.

UM, SO AS WE, UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE CONTINUE TO BUILD OUT OUR SYSTEM, COMMUNICATION BECOMES, UH, EVEN MORE CRITICAL PIECE TO, TO OUR NETWORK AND ALLOW SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL SAY NEXT GEN TYPE, UH, PROJECTS, ONE OF WHICH IS A CENTRALIZED TRANSIT SIGNAL PRIORITY AND EMERGENCY VEHICLE PREEMPTION SYSTEM.

UM, AND THAT SYSTEM UTILIZES THE VEHICLE'S, UM, G P SS DATA AND A B L SYSTEM, UM, TO HELP, UH, CHANGE THE, CHANGE THE, UH, THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL OPERATIONS.

UM, ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF THIS IS THERE'S NO ADDITIONAL, UH, COMMUNICATION OR NO ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT THAT'S NEEDED ON THE VEHICLES OR IN THE FIELD, UM, RELATIVE TO HOW THEY NORMALLY OPERATE.

UM, SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO B R T ROUTES, THE 8 0 1, 8 0 3, UM, AND WE'VE STARTED TO, TO BUILD OUT THE SYSTEM FOR SOME OF THE NEW, UM, METRO LINES THAT, THAT CAP METRO'S BUILDING OUT.

TO BUILD OUT THE E V P SYSTEM, UM, FOR THEM ALSO.

AND LIKE LIKEWISE, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING WITH A F D AND E M SS TO,

[00:30:01]

NEXT SLIDE, UH, WE'LL SKIP THIS ONE NEXT SLIDE.

OUR MOBILITY MANAGEMENT CENTER.

UM, I WON'T SAY TOO MUCH ABOUT THIS.

I KNOW THAT THEY HAD RECENTLY GIVEN, UM, Y'ALL A PRESENTATION, UH, NEXT SLIDE, BUT, BUT REALLY THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'D CALL THE BACKBONES TO OUR DAY-TO-DAY OPERATION.

UM, FROM THE M M C, THEY HAVE ACCESS TO ALL OF OUR C C T V CAMERAS.

THEY MAKE REMOTE, UM, ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TRAFFIC SIGNALS BASED ON, YOU KNOW, ROUTINE OR ROUTINE CONGESTION OR, OR INCIDENTS OR, OR SPECIAL EVENTS.

UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE IN THE, IN THE M M C SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, UM, READY TO, TO MAKE CHANGES TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC.

UM, SO A FEW THINGS ON THE, ON THE HORIZON.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE DO CONTINUE TO BUILD OUT OUR COMMUNICATION NETWORK.

AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, IT BECOMES MORE CRITICAL AS WE INVEST IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AS A RESULT, WE ARE, UM, WE ARE BUILDING IN ADDITIONAL REDUNDANCY INTO THE SYSTEM.

SO THERE ARE NO SINGLE POINTS OF FAILURE.

AND IF THAT BACKHOE DECIDES TO SNAG SOME FIBER OPTIC CABLE, OR IF SOMEBODY RUNS INTO A POLE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO COMMUNICATE WITH, UM, ADJACENT SIGNALS.

UM, ONE PROJECT THAT WE'RE WORKING IN, WORKING ON WITH SOME OF OUR, UM, PARTNER DIVISIONS PARTICULARLY RIGHT OF WAY IS A LANE CLOSURE REPORTING SYSTEM.

UM, JUST TO GIVE ADDITIONAL, UM, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TO OUR M M C ON, YOU KNOW, WHO SHOULD BE WORKING IN THE ROAD AND WHEN AND WHERE SO THAT THEY, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN MONITOR THOSE SITUATIONS.

UM, WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH A NUMBER OF OUR REGIONAL, UM, PARTNERS TO ON DTEC 2.0.

UM, YOU KNOW, HELPING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, DEVELOP A, A ONE SYSTEM REGIONAL T M C SO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF WHERE SOMEBODY'S DRIVING IN THE, IN THE METRO AREA, UM, YOU KNOW, EITHER US OR OUR PARTNERS WILL BE ABLE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THEIR, TO THEIR OPERATIONS.

UH, NEXT SLIDE, UM, CHALLENGES.

UM, YOU KNOW, THE MORE, THE MORE STUFF YOU HAVE IN THE FIELD, THE MORE YOU NEED TO MAINTAIN.

UM, SO THAT, THAT ALWAYS, UM, IS A, IS A CHALLENGE, ESPECIALLY IN THIS MARKET WHERE WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, STAFF TURNOVER AND THAT LEADS TO STAFF AND EXPERIENCE, UM, BOTH INTERNALLY AT THE CITY, BUT ALSO FOR THE, THE CONTRACTORS THAT WE HAVE.

UM, YOU KNOW, AND THEN WITH THE MULTIPLE HIGH PROFILE, UM, PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE, THE PROJECT CONNECT, THE I 35, UM, YOU KNOW, 180 3 TOLL ROAD, MOPAC TOLL ROAD.

UM, IT DOES, UM, IT DOES SPREAD THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE OUT OVER A LARGER, LARGER AREA.

UM, TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THESE PROJECTS ARE, ARE SUCCESSFUL AND, UM, YOU KNOW, GET COMPLETED ON TIME.

AND THEN THERE'S ALWAYS THE, THE CITY GROWTH.

UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF THESE OTHER PROJECTS DIDN'T EXIST, UM, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THE PROVERBIAL A HUNDRED PEOPLE MOVING TO AUSTIN, UM, AND THAT'S JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, A, A LARGER DEMAND FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR WHAT WE DO.

EVENTS WHEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN THOSE EVENTS LET OUT AND THERE A LARGE NUMBER OF PEDESTRIANS, UM, THOSE WALKS WILL COME ON AUTOMATICALLY.

SO THAT WAS A, A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION.

I KNOW, UM, WENT THROUGH IT PRETTY QUICKLY, BUT IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.

YEAH, I HAVE A QUESTION.

UM, SO, AND YOU, YOU DISCUSSED THIS PRETTY WELL.

UM, I THINK THAT, AND IT KIND OF ACTUALLY FEEDS ON OUR PRIOR PRESENTATION AS WELL, IN MY MIND.

UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES WHEN PEOPLE ARE STUCK IN A LIGHT, RIGHT? THEY GET MAD, YOU KNOW, THAT PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE KIND OF LIKE A RIGHT NOT TO SIT THROUGH A LIGHT.

IT CREATES A LOT OF FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, EVEN AS WE WERE JUST GETTING THE LAST PRESENTATION, TRAUMAS, THINGS LIKE THAT.

BUT PEOPLE WILL CALL AND COMPLAIN, AND THOSE COMPLAINTS TEND TO BE, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL ARE TRACKING THEM, YOU'RE TRIAGING THEM, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THEM, YOU'RE PUTTING 'EM IN YOUR DATA SYSTEMS, AND PEOPLE KIND OF FEEL LIKE, OKAY, IF I'M STUCK IN TRAFFIC, I KIND OF HAVE A RIGHT TO FEEL MAD ABOUT THAT, OR THAT MAKES ME FEEL MAD WHERE I, I HAVE NOTICED THAT SOMETHING, AND MAYBE THIS IS JUST OUR SORT OF NATIONAL AMERICAN CULTURE, THAT A LOT OF TIMES WHEN PEOPLE ARE STUCK, THEY'RE PEDESTRIANS AND THEY'RE STUCK IN A PLACE THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANY SAFE PLACE FOR THEM TO STAND ON A CORNER, OR THEY HAVE TO WAIT THROUGH THE SIGNAL BECAUSE THE PEDESTRIAN, IT'S A BAG BUTTON AND THEY'RE NOT GETTING A WALK SIGNAL AND THEY'RE NERVOUS TO WALK, OTHERWISE THEY DON'T FEEL MAD.

THEY FEEL LIKE THEY'RE STUPID.

LIKE, LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE, OH, KIND OF, IT'S LIKE MY FAULT FOR TRYING TO WALK

[00:35:01]

ANYWAY.

YOU KNOW, LIKE, AND SO SORT OF THE CULTURE THAT WE HAVE.

SO I THINK SOMETIMES PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE PEDESTRIAN DELAYS ARE LESS LIKELY TO PICK UP THE PHONE AND REPORT THAT OR CALL 3 1 1, OR EVEN REALIZE THAT THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO DO IN THEIR CIRCUMSTANCE.

SO I GUESS I'M CURIOUS HOW, HOW YOU'RE, UM, WORKING TO GET, UM, TO BE AS RESPONSIVE TO PEDESTRIAN.

I MEAN, I KNOW YOU SAID YOU ARE, BUT LIKE, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DATA POINTS COLLECTING THAT YOU'RE DOING? HOW ARE YOU ADDRESSING THAT IN YOUR MODELS? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I, UM, LIKE YOU OR, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M VERY CONCERNED THAT WE'VE REALLY FOCUSED A LOT ON LEVEL SERVICE, LEVEL OF SERVICE, CAR DELAYS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND WE'RE SHIFTING OUR CULTURE, RIGHT? WE KNOW THAT LIKE THERE'S MORE PEOPLE, FOR EXAMPLE, RIDING, UM, TRANSIT ON GUADALUPE LAMAR DURING PEAK HOURS THAN THERE ARE PEOPLE IN SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES.

SO LIKE WE KNOW THAT TO REALLY MOVE MORE PEOPLE, WE NEED TO MOVE MORE TRANSIT VEHICLES.

SO, UM, VERSUS JUST SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES.

AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE WALKING IN WEST CAMPUS AND GUAD, UM, TOO, JUST TO USE ONE EXAMPLE.

SO I MEAN, I'M CURIOUS HOW YOU'RE, HOW YOU'RE SHIFTING YOUR DATA COLLECTION REALLY SPECIFICALLY AROUND PEDESTRIANS EXPERIENCE.

AND I KNOW YOU HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION ABOUT PEDESTRIAN BEACONS COMING UP, SO WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THAT NEXT IN JUST A FEW MINUTES, BUT YEAH.

UM, SO A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, UM, I MEAN, PROBABLY STARTING TO MAYBE THREE YEARS AGO, UM, I MEAN OUR, OUR CYCLE LENGTHS, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE CITY WERE GETTING LONGER AND LONGER TO, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS THE, THE CONGESTION.

UM, YOU KNOW, I GUESS USING, USING COVID AS A, AS A REFERENCE POINT, I GUESS WE STARTED, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY THE YEAR PRIOR TO COVID, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE LOOKING AT A, AT OUR CYCLE LENGTHS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE THINKING A COUPLE OF THINGS.

ONE, THIS ISN'T SUSTAINABLE.

UM, YOU KNOW, JUST INCREASING CYCLE LENGTHS TO, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, MINIMIZE THE, THE STOP TIMES FOR, FOR VEHICLES.

YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A WHOLE, A WHOLE OTHER GROUPS OF, OF USERS HERE ON THE, ON THE SIDE STREETS, UM, YOU KNOW, PEDESTRIANS TRYING TO CROSS THE, UM, THE STREET AND, AND VICE SPLIT, UM, YOU KNOW, DOING THE SAME.

AND SO FOR REFERENCE, UM, IN THE PM PEAK, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CYCLE LENGTHS WERE 150 SECOND LONG AT THAT POINT.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, SINCE, AS WE'VE BEEN RETIMING ANNUALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SINCE BEEN DROPPING THAT DOWN TO, YOU KNOW, 120 SECOND CYCLES.

UM, AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF THAT TIME IS COMING, IS COMING FROM THE MAIN STREET.

UM, SO THAT THERE IS, YOU KNOW, THEORETICALLY REDUCTION OF 30 SECONDS, UM, FOR ANYBODY WISHING TO TO CROSS THE STREET.

UM, YOU KNOW, A FEW OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE, WE'VE DONE IS ALL OF OUR NEW, UM, YOU KNOW, INSTALLATIONS FOR, YOU KNOW, THE BETTER PART OF, OF 10 YEARS, THEY ALL HAVE ACCESSIBLE PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS, UM, YOU KNOW, TO, YOU KNOW, GIVE THE VERBAL CUE WHEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE WALK LIGHT COMES ON.

AND WE ALSO HAVE, AS PART OF OUR BOND FUNDING, UM, YOU KNOW, FUNDING TO GO THROUGH AND, AND RETROFIT, UM, ALMOST ALL OF OUR, UM, ADDITIONAL SIGNALS WITH THOSE.

UM, THE OTHER THING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IS ALL OF DOWNTOWN, UM, YOU KNOW, I USE ALL IN QUOTES 'CAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS EXCEPTIONS, BUT ALL OF DOWNTOWN'S HAVE LEADING PEDESTRIAN INTERVALS.

UM, SO BASICALLY THE, THE WALK SIGN COMES ON BEFORE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PARALLEL, UM, VEHICLE MOVEMENT COMES ON TO ALLOW THE PEDESTRIAN TO START CROSSING THE STREET FIRST.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE ARE DOING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE AND MORE OUTSIDE OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA.

UM, YOU KNOW, RETROFITTING SOME, SOME OF THE TRAFFIC SIGNALS WITH FLASHING YELLOW ARROWS TO MAKE, UM, THAT LEADING, UH, PEDESTRIAN INTERVAL, UM, EASIER TO, TO IMPLEMENT.

UM, SO THOSE ARE THE A FEW THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING.

I DO HAVE ONE QUICK FOLLOW-UP QUESTION.

I THINK PROBABLY SOME OTHER PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS AS WELL.

SO IN REGARDS TO BEG BUTTONS WHERE PEDESTRIANS DON'T GET A WALK SIGNAL UNLESS THEY'RE THERE, SOMEONE'S THERE TO PRESS THE BUTTON.

IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE PHASING OUT AS A CITY? I, I MEAN, I HAVE SEEN SOME INSTANCES WHERE BEG BUTTON LOCATIONS WERE REPLACED WITH BUTTONS WHERE YOU AUTOMATICALLY GET A WALK SIGNAL, BUT, UM, WHAT'S THE, HOW IS THAT, WHAT'S SORT OF THE CURRENT POLICY, UM, AND PROGRAMMING WITH THAT? SO GENERALLY SPEAKING, UM, WHETHER, AND, YOU KNOW, WHETHER A WALK IS ON RECALL OR NOT IS HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON THE, THE NUMBER OF, UM, PEDESTRIANS THAT ARE, ARE USING THAT.

UM, YOU KNOW, USING THAT MOMENT, THAT MOVEMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, AROUND THE UT AREA DOWNTOWN, UM, WHERE THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, A LARGE NUMBER OF PEDESTRIANS, THE WALK SIGNALS WILL, WILL COME ON AUTOMATICALLY, UM, AROUND SPECIAL

[00:40:01]

OTHERWISE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE REPLACING THE OLD STYLE PUSH BUTTON WITH THE, WITH THE AUDIBLE PUSH BUTTON, BUT TYPICALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR DEMAND RESPONSES.

SO ARE YOU ABLE TO TRACK THAT? LIKE IF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IF A LOCATION SUDDENLY HAS, YOU KNOW, 30 MORE PEOPLE PER WEEK OR SOMETHING, OR PER, I DON'T KNOW, I'M MAKING NUMBERS UP, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S SIGNIFICANT IN YOUR INDUSTRY, BUT LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF A A, A LOCATION HAS AN INCREASE, CAN YOU TRACK THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT BEG BUTTON IS PUSHED THAT PEOPLE TO PEOPLE TO GET THE SIGNAL AND THEN REALIZE, HEY, YOU KNOW, DURING RUSH HOUR EVERY CYCLE, SOMEBODY NEEDS TO CROSS.

WHY ARE WE MAKING SOMEBODY PUSH THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, TO GET THE SIGNAL? IS THAT SOMETHING Y'ALL ARE ABLE TO TRACK? UM, YES.

SO A RECENT UPDATE TO OUR, UM, SIGNAL SOFTWARE, UM, DOES GO, DOES LOG ALL OF THE PEDESTRIAN EVERY TIME A WALK SIGNAL COMES UP.

UM, SO WE HAVE, UM, I MEAN WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING PROGRAMMATICALLY YET, BUT WE DO, WE HAVE REVIEWED A NUMBER OF LOCATIONS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, DETERMINE THE MAGNITUDE OF, OF PEOPLE CROSSING AND WHETHER IT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT MAKES SENSE TO PUT, PUT THAT ON RECALL.

SO I'D I I'D SAY THAT, THAT OVER TIME THAT WILL DEFINITELY BECOME MORE SYSTEMATIC.

YEAH, FOR SURE.

'CAUSE SOMETIMES IT'S ONE PERSON PRESSES IT, BUT THERE'S 15 OF US ABOUT TO CROSS THE STREET.

I SEE A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS.

I'M GONNA GO TO DI DIANA WHEELER FIRST, I THINK ONLINE.

OUT BECAUSE THOSE SIGNALS DON'T RECALL.

SO IS THERE A MONETARY REASON THAT YOU HAVE A, I MEAN, IF YOU HAVE A BIG BUTTON, THEN THERE'S THE MAINTENANCE TO KEEP THAT BIG BUTTON UP.

IS THERE A MONETARY REASON THAT THE LIGHT JUST DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY TURN WHITE EVEN IF THERE'S NOT A PERSON THERE? I MEAN, THE CARS WOULDN'T STOP.

THERE WAS NO PERSON THERE.

I JUST ALWAYS FIGURED THERE MUST BE A MONETARY REASON WHY JUST EVERY SINGLE LIGHT JUST DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY TURN WHITE WHEN SOMEONE COULD, YOU KNOW, WHEN A WALKER COULD WALK, EVEN IF THERE'S NOT A WALKER THERE.

SO GENERALLY, GENERALLY SPEAKING, UM, FOR, FOR PEDESTRIANS WALKING ALONG THE, THE MAJOR STREET, UM, THE WALK SIGN DOES COME, DOES COME UP AUTOMATICALLY.

UM, AND I, IF I HAD TO PUT A PERCENTAGE TO IT, I'D SAY, YOU KNOW, OVER 75% OF OF THE TIME WALKING ALONG THE, THE MAJOR CORRIDOR, UM, FOR THE, FOR THE SIDE STREETS, IF THE, UM, IF THERE ARE NO VEHICLES THERE, UM, AND THERE ARE NO PEDESTRIANS THERE, THEN THE LIGHT WOULD STAY ON THE, ON THE MAJOR STREET.

UM, IF THERE IS NO PEDESTRIAN PUSH BUTTON TO CROSS THE MAJOR STREET, THEN UM, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD NEED TO BRING UP THE WALKS, THE WALK SIGN, WHETHER THERE'S A PEDESTRIAN THERE OR NOT, OR A VEHICLE OR NOT, I GUESS.

BUT MY QUESTION IS, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY EVERY SINGLE TIME IF THE, IF THE CARS HAVE A GREEN LIGHT, LIKE SOMETIMES CARS HAVE A GREEN LIGHT, THERE'S NO CAR THERE, RIGHT? SO WHY DO YOU REQUIRE, WHY ARE SOME PLACES I DON'T HAVE TO PUSH ANYTHING AND I GET A WALK SIGNAL AND OTHER PLACES I DO HAVE TO PUSH A BUTTON? I'M JUST CURIOUS, WHY ISN'T EVERYTHING JUST WHEN THE, WHEN THE CAR LIGHT TURNS GREEN, THERE'S A, THERE'S A WALK SIGNAL FOR A PERSON IF A PERSON IS THERE, IS THERE A MONETARY REASON THAT EVERY SINGLE INTERSECTION ISN'T LIKE THAT? SO I'D SAY THAT THERE'S AN OPERATIONAL REASON WHERE IF, IF A, A VEHICLE COMES UP, UM, AND ALL THE EQUIPMENT IS WORKING, THEN IT WOULD GET A GREEN LIGHT FOR SIX SECONDS, AND THEN IT WOULD GO YELLOW AND RED.

WHEREIN I SEE THE, IF THE WALK MAKES SENSE COMES UP, THEN WE'RE GOING TO THE SIDE STREET FOR 40 SECONDS, DEPENDING ON, I UNDERSTAND IT WOULD BE UNSAFE IF THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND THEN 20 SECONDS LATER THE LIGHT TURNED RED AND SOMEBODY WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WALK BECAUSE THE, THE SYSTEM WASN'T EXPECTING IT.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTION.

UH, WE'LL GO TO SPENCER NEXT.

SO YEAH, UM, FOLLOW UP ON, WE HAD A REALLY GREAT DISCUSSION WITH THE, UH, MOBILITY MANAGEMENT CENTER FOLKS OVER HERE AND THEN OVER AT THE BACKPACK.

AND I THINK YOU AND I ARE ACTUALLY ON A, UM, EMAIL CHAIN RIGHT NOW ABOUT THAT VERY QUESTION.

WHY DON'T WE, UH, ALLOW RECALL ANYTIME IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE MAJOR SIGNAL.

UM, WHAT I'M GONNA SAY IS I THINK YOU GUYS NEED TO WORK ON YOUR STATISTICS HERE, BECAUSE I THINK JUDGING IT BY PEDESTRIAN DEMAND ISN'T A GOOD WAY TO DO IT.

A, A GOOD EXAMPLE IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ROADS THAT DON'T AUTOMATICALLY RECALL, EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE MAJOR SIGNAL, I LIVE RIGHT BY ONE BARBARA JORDAN.

UM, I LIVE IN MUELLER AND WE'RE ABOUT HALFWAY IN BETWEEN LIKE THE SHOPS DOWN ON ALDRICH HALFWAY TO THE ONES ON BARBARA JORDAN.

UH, AND MY FIANCE AND I, YOU KNOW, WE NEVER WANNA WALK TO THE ONES ON BARBARA JORDAN, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE THE SAME DISTANCE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TIMED IT

[00:45:01]

UH, IT'S ABOUT TWICE AS LONG, RIGHT? SO I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO KNOW THAT BECAUSE THEY DON'T RECALL, UH, IT'S GONNA TAKE THEM A WHILE 'CAUSE OF HOW LONG THE SIGNALS ARE.

SO THEN WE ALREADY HAVE THIS ARTIFICIALLY LOW PEDESTRIAN DEMAND, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A VERY WALKABLE PLACE.

THE OTHER THING I, I THINK IS WE NEED TO CONTEXTUALIZE WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS BETWEEN PEDESTRIAN LAG AND CAR LAG.

I MEAN, IF YOU'RE STUCK IN A CAR FOR 10 MORE SECONDS IN JULY, YOU'RE GONNA BE ALL RIGHT.

AND I GET THAT A LOT OF YOUR CHARGE IS TO FOCUS ON TRAFFIC REDUCTION, BUT IF YOU HAVE PEDESTRIAN LAG, THOSE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE STUCK OUT IN THE SUN WHO ARE SWEATING BULLETS AND ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO WALK AGAIN.

SO IT'S WORKING AGAINST OUR OWN MOBILITY GOALS.

SO I, I THINK WHAT, WHAT WE SUGGESTED AT THE BACKPACK, AND I THINK YOU GUYS SHOULD TAKE THIS TO HEART, IS, YOU KNOW, LET'S JUST, ONE, LET'S DEVELOP SOME RULES OF, ALRIGHT, IF WE'RE WITHIN 50 FEET OF A CAT METRO STOP, LET'S AUTOMATICALLY RECALL, RIGHT? STUFF LIKE THAT.

UH, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A SHARED USE PATHWAY AND THEY'RE A BIKE'S PRESENT, LET'S AUTOMATICALLY RECALL.

UM, BUT ALSO LET'S JUST TRY OUT A SIX MONTH PERIOD OF, LET'S AUTOMATICALLY RECALL EVERY TIME IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE MAJOR SIGNAL.

AND I BET YOU'RE GONNA SEE THERE'S A LARGE INCREASE IN PEDESTRIAN DEMAND BECAUSE ALL OF A SUDDEN WE'VE SHORTENED HOW LONG IT IS TO WALK SOMEWHERE IN PEOPLE'S NEIGHBORHOODS.

THAT'S MY THOUGHTS THERE.

YEAH, I'VE CERTAINLY SEEN PEOPLE IN MY AREA.

THEY KNOW THAT WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO CROSS, UM, SOME OF THE STREETS, UM, ON CROSS BURN IT AND FAR NORTH BURN IT RIGHT BEFORE IT BURN, IT LIKE GOES AWAY AND BECOMES A MOPAC SERVICE ROAD, BASICALLY.

SOME, THERE'S SOME PEOPLE WHO LIKE, IF THEY KNOW THAT THEY JUST MISSED THE SIGNAL OR SOMETHING, THEY JUST TRY, THEY GO OUT IN THE MIDDLE AND TRY TO JUST WALK ACROSS BURNETT ROAD, WHICH LIKE, I'M A PRETTY BIG URBAN WARRIOR AND I WOULD NOT DO THAT.

BUT YOU KNOW, LIKE I THINK SOMETIMES PEOPLE MAKE UNSAFE DECISIONS WHEN THEY ARE FACED WITH MISSING, MISSING THE SIGNAL LIKE THAT, AND THEY KNOW THEY MISSED THE BUTTON IF THEY'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA AND THEY'RE WALKING ANYWAY.

UM, DANIEL? YEAH.

UH, JUST A, JUST A QUESTION ON THE SIGNAL RETIS YOU SAY LIKE FOR, TO CALCULATE EXACTLY LIKE THE SPEED AT WHICH YOU GO ALONG THE ROAD AND, UM, HOW YOU WANT TO MAKE THOSE, THE TIME, THE SIGNALS.

ARE YOU MEASURING THE SPEED OF THE VEHICLE IN TERMS OF LIKE WHAT THE SPEED LIMIT IS OR LIKE THE 80TH PERCENTILE OR LIKE THE MEAN, UH, TRAVEL, LIKE SPEED OF ALL THESE VEHICLES AND LIKE, I'M NOT SURE IF I'M ASKING THIS CORRECTLY, BUT LIKE, HOW ARE, ARE YOU PUTTING A CAR IN REAL LIFE AT PEAK TIMES AND OFF PEAK TIMES TO SEE WHAT THE REAL TIME IS BETWEEN SIGNALS? UM, SO WE DO, WE DO A, A FEW OF THE ABOVE.

UM, WE DO HAVE, UM, SOFTWARE THAT WE UTILIZE TO ESTABLISH A, A BASELINE, UH, SIGNAL TIMING.

UM, AND AS PART OF THAT WE DO USE THE, UM, WE TYPICALLY USE THE SPEED LIMIT UNLESS WE KNOW THAT, UM, VEHICLES ARE TRAVELING SLOWER THAN THAT ON THE ROADWAY, WE WON'T TIME FOR A, A SPEED ABOVE THE SPEED LIMIT.

UM, AND ONCE THOSE, UM, ONCE THOSE SIGNAL TIMINGS ARE, ARE IMPLEMENTED, WE DO HAVE TRAFFIC SIGNAL TIMING ENGINEERS THAT WILL DRIVE THE, THE CORRIDOR AND MAKE TWEAKS BASED ON, ON THEIR OBSERVATION.

I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE NOT USING ANY SPEEDS ABOVE THE SPEED LIMIT.

'CAUSE I KNOW SOMETIMES THE MEAN SPEED IS ABOVE THAT.

ALL RIGHT.

ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS QUESTIONS? RUBEN? I THINK EVERYBODY'S DONE WITH SIGNALS.

THIS IS A, JUST A GENERAL QUESTION THAT I THINK, UH, THERE ARE MULTIPLE PEOPLE TO ANSWER WHICH DIVISION DOES TRAFFIC MODELING? BRIAN, I CAN GO AHEAD AND TAKE IT.

COOL.

IN TERMS OF THE TRANSPORTATION, UM, PLANNING AT THE PLANNING LEVEL, I MEAN, WE DO IN ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT, WE DO THE SIGNAL TIMING MODELING AND TRAFFIC FLOW AND SO FORTH FOR THE SIGNAL TIMING PLANS AS PART OF THE PROCESS.

BUT THEN ALSO I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS PREVIOUSLY.

UM, CAMPO IS DOING THE MODELING FOR THE REGION, AND THEN WE HAVE STAFF IN OUR, UM, SYSTEMS PLANNING DIVISION THAT WILL ALSO, UM, PROVIDE INPUT ON THE MODELING PARAMETERS AND FEEDBACK ON, ON THE OUTPUT AS WELL.

BUT THEY'RE IN THE SYSTEMS MODELING DIVISION? WE DO, WE DO NOT HAVE A SYSTEMS MODELING DIVISION AT THE CITY.

WE HAVE A, A SYSTEMS PLANNING GROUP, AND THEY'RE NOT DOING MODELING WORK, UM, LIKE IT'S DONE AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL WITH A TRAVEL DEMAND MODEL.

BUT THAT, THAT WORK, I WAS THINKING YOU MAKE CHANGES TO INTERSECTIONS ALL THE TIME.

GOING TO SPEED THINGS UP AND NOT SLOW THINGS DOWN OR NOT ADD THE DANGER TO PEDESTRIANS AND SO ON.

, AND PRESUMABLY YOU HAVE SOME IDEA THAT THE, THOSE CHANGES ARE HOPEFULLY

[00:50:01]

OH, OKAY.

SO MORE AT THE OPERATIONAL LEVEL THAN THAT IS, UM, BRIAN'S GROUP, OH, AND SORRY, I'M, UM, JIM DALE, INTERIM DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.

UM, BUT BRIAN'S GROUP DOES DO THAT TYPE OF MODELING FOR SOME OF THE SIGNAL TIMING PARAMETERS AND SAFETY IS A, I MEAN, BRIAN STARTED OFF HIS PRESENTATION WITH THE MOBILITY AND SAFETY ASPECTS AND SAFETY IS A BIG ASPECT OF WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE DOING WHEN THEY'RE RETIMING SIGNALS AND LOOKING AT CRASHES AND SO FORTH.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT, BRIAN? UM, THE ONLY THING I WAS GONNA ADD WAS, UM, YES, WE DO, UM, PROBABLY THE BULK OF THE MODELING, BUT, UM, TWO OTHER GROUPS THAT WILL DO TRAFFIC SIGNAL TIMING MODELING, UM, WILL BE THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION GROUP WHEN, UM, THEY HAVE A PROJECT THAT THEY WOULD LIKE US TO LOOK AT.

AND THEN ALSO SOME FOLKS IN THE DIVISION ZERO GROUP, BECAUSE WE'LL DO, WE'LL DO THAT TO GET AN IDEA OF, OKAY, WHAT ARE GONNA BE THE BENEFITS OF OUR PROJECT? WE'RE ALWAYS ASKED THOSE TYPES OF QUESTIONS.

DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, COMMISSIONER? NO.

I HAVE A GENERAL QUESTION.

UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING HOW MANY TRAFFIC SIGNALS DOES THE DIVISION MAINTAIN? I KNOW BRIAN, IT'S ABOUT 1,150 AND THAT 1150, THAT'S JUST THE TRAFFIC NOT PED OR IS THAT INCLUDED? THAT INCLUDES THE PEDESTRIAN HYBRID BEACONS TOO.

I THINK THERE ARE 111 P H P 111.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? OKAY.

WITH THAT, I THINK WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR

[4. Discussion on the Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons.]

NEXT DISCUSSION ITEM, ALSO WITH BRIAN, THANK YOU FOR WEARING MULTIPLE HATS FOR US TODAY, WHICH IS ON PEDESTRIAN HYBRID BEACONS.

UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

UM, SO I'LL, I'LL GO AHEAD AND GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF THE HISTORY OF PHDS IN, IN AUSTIN.

UM, WHAT WE'VE DONE, WHERE WE'RE GOING, UM, THAT SORT OF, THAT SORT OF THING.

UM, SO BACK IN THE 2000, 2009, 2008, 2009 TIMEFRAME, UM, I MEAN, LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT RECOGNIZED THE FACT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE ADEQUATE TOOLS TO, UM, ASSIST PEOPLE CROSSING, CROSSING THE STREET AT BUSY ROADWAYS.

UM, SO AS A RESULT OF THAT, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK DONE WITH THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE TO GO AHEAD AND MODIFY THE, THE VEHICLE CODE TO PERMIT PBS.

UM, PRIOR TO WORKING WITH THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE, UM, ANY DARK, UH, TRAFFIC SIGNAL VEHICLES WERE REQUIRED TO STOP, WHICH KIND OF, UM, MADE A P H B SOMETHING THAT THAT WASN'T, THAT WASN'T ALLOWED.

UM, SO AF AFTER WE WERE ABLE TO WORK WITH THE, WITH THE LEDGE, UM, IN 2009, WE INSTALLED OUR FIRST P H B AT MAR IN 47TH.

UM, WE HAD RECENTLY INSTALLED AN OVERHEAD BEACON AT THAT LOCATION, UM, IN WHICH WE WERE NOT GETTING VERY GOOD COMPLIANCE AT ALL.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DECIDED THAT THIS WOULD BE A GOOD LOCATION TO, UM, TO TEST THE P H B.

UM, GIVEN THE SUCCESS AT, AT THAT LOCATION, UM, WE STARTED TO REPLACE OTHER BEACONS, UM, THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UM, PARTICULARLY THOSE THAT HAD THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IN OUR MIND WAS THE WORST COMPLIANCE FROM, FROM DRIVERS NOT STOPPING FOR, UM, FOR PEDESTRIANS.

UM, AND AS WE WENT AHEAD AND INSTALLED, UM, MORE OF THESE, WE NEEDED TO, UM, REALLY DEVELOP A, UM, YOU KNOW, A PROCESS TO INTAKE, UM, 3 1 1 CALLS, UM, SINCE WE'RE STARTING TO GET, UM, REQUESTS FOR THE, FOR THESE DEVICES.

UM, SO FROM 2009 TO 2015, UM, WE'RE REALLY BASED ON, ON A REQUEST PROCESS, UM, GENERATED BY 3 1 1, UM, 2015, WE ADDED, UM, REALLY SOME PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA THAT I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A LITTLE BIT.

UM, AND THEN IN 2021, UM, WE STARTED TO REVAMP THE PROCESS, UM, TO BE MORE WHAT WE CALL A SYSTEM DRIVEN, UM, PRIORITIZATION PROCESS THAT I'LL TOUCH UPON A LITTLE BIT.

IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY THIS IS THE, THE FIRST FULL YEAR THAT WE'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENTING THIS NEW, UM, VERSION OF, UM, OF RANKING, UM, DIFFERENT ROADWAY SEGMENTS, UH, TO, TO HELP US SELECT WHAT WILL BE STUDIED.

SO PHBS ARE RELATIVELY NEW, UM, TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES THEY WERE IN, UH, INVENTED IN THE, IN THE CITY OF TUCSON IN THE LATE NINETIES, UM,

[00:55:01]

EARLY TWO THOUSANDS.

UM, SO REALLY FOR, FOR US IN THE INDUSTRY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE INSTALLATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE HAS REALLY BEEN A, A LEARNING PROCESS.

UM, ONE OF THE, UM, FIRST LESSONS THAT WE LEARNED WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING THROUGH THE 2009 FEDERAL MANUAL, M E T C D AND UM, SUBSEQUENTLY THE TEXAS VERSION, UM, WE REALIZED THAT THERE WAS A 20 VEHICLE OR 20 PEDESTRIAN THRESHOLD, UM, YOU KNOW, TO MEET THE GUIDELINES TO, TO INSTALL THESE, UM, AND THAT THAT'S ON BUSY STREETS.

UM, YOU KNOW, VEHICLE OR ROADWAYS THAT HAD FEWER CARS ON THEM REQUIRED A MUCH LARGER NUMBER OF, UM, OF PEDESTRIANS TO MEET THESE GUIDELINES.

UM, AND IN LOOKING AT THE LOCATIONS THAT WE WERE, UM, EVALUATING FOR, FOR PHDS, MANY OF THESE LOCATIONS DIDN'T COME ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THESE, UM, HOURLY VOLUMES.

SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF, UM, CREATED OUR OWN GUIDELINES, UM, TO SUPPLEMENT WHAT WAS IN THE M U T C D, AND THAT REALLY WAS, UM, LOOKING AT THE GAPS ON THE ROADWAY.

UM, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE AREN'T GAPS IN THE, IN THE ROADWAY TRAFFIC, I MEAN, WE SHOULDN'T EXPECT A PEDESTRIAN TO BE TRYING TO CROSS THE STREET.

UM, AND WE KNEW THAT, UM, WE KNEW IF YOU REMOVE THOSE GAPS, INCREASE THOSE GAPS, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS DEFINITELY LATENT DEMAND.

UM, SO NEXT SLIDE.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE PUT TOGETHER SOME, SOME CRITERIA, UM, FOR THE INSTALLATION OF PHBS.

UM, SOME OF WHICH WERE, UM, YOU KNOW, NEEDED TO BE 300 FEET FROM AN EXISTING, UM, TRAFFIC SIGNAL, UM, NEEDED TO HAVE AT LEAST THREE LANES, AND THAT WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD BE ONE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION PLUS A, A CENTER LEFT TURN LANE.

UM, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING ABOVE THAT REALLY OPENED UP, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE NUMBER OF, UM, LOCATIONS WHERE IT, IN WHICH THE REQUEST JUST FAR EXCEEDED OUR ABILITY TO, AND TO INSTALL P H B.

UM, SO WE DEVELOPED THE CRITERIA.

UM, A LOT OF IT WAS BASED ON THE ROADWAY CHARACTERISTICS, SPEED LIMIT OF THE ROADWAY WITH THE ROADWAY, WITH THE THINKING.

THE FASTER VEHICLES ARE TRAVELING ON THE ROADWAY, THE LONGER PEDESTRIANS NEED TO CROSS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE MORE DIFFICULT IT WOULD BE.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE P H B WOULD BE MORE OF A NECESSITY.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO LOOKED AT CRASH HISTORY AND LAND USES AND ADJACENT, UH, TRANSIT STOPS.

AND WE REALLY CAME, UM, REALLY PUT TOGETHER JUST A MATRIX WITH SOME SCORING CRITERIA SO THAT WE COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, WEIGH THE RELATIVE MERIT OF EACH LOCATION AGAINST EACH OTHER.

AND THEN GENERALLY SPEAKING, AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE WOULD RANK THEM AND, UM, YOU KNOW, STUDY THE, THE TOP LOCATION, UH, NEXT SLIDE.

UM, SO THAT WAS THE APPROACH THAT WE TOOK UP UNTIL 2021.

UM, IT WAS A VERY MANUAL, UM, YOU KNOW, LABOR INTENSIVE APPROACH IN WHICH, UM, YOU KNOW, EACH LOCATION WAS, WAS LOOKED AT.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE'D GO THROUGH GOOGLE MAPS TO IDENTIFY WHAT THE ADJACENT LAND USES WERE.

UM, AND IN CONVERSATIONS WE WERE HAVING WITH, UM, WITH OUR G I S GROUP AND WITH OUR, UM, WITH OUR PLANNING GROUP, WE REALIZED THAT A LOT OF THIS DATA, UM, YOU KNOW, EXISTED IN CITY G I S DATA OR IN CENSUS DATA.

UM, SO WE SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME WITH THEM, UM, REALLY DEVELOPING A SYSTEM IN WHICH, UM, THAT CRITERIA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH ROADWAY LINKS ON THE NETWORK.

UM, SO EACH, YOU KNOW, EACH LINK THAT MET THE MINIMUM, YOU KNOW, ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, UM, YOU KNOW, RECEIVED A, A SCORE.

UM, AND REALLY IT WAS MEASURED, UM, YOU KNOW, ON THREE, THREE DIFFERENT CRITERIA, BASICALLY, DEMAND, RISK AND, AND SAFETY.

UM, YOU KNOW, SO, YOU KNOW, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, IF THE LAND USES WERE, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S A SCHOOL ADJACENT TO THAT SECTION OF ROADWAY AND A AND A CHURCH, IT WOULD GET SIX POINTS.

IF THERE WAS ALSO A PARK, IT WOULD GET ANOTHER THREE, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH A MAXIMUM OF 12 POINTS.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE DID THIS FOR, LIKE I SAID, THE, THE THREE MAJOR COMPONENTS.

UM, AND THIS

[01:00:01]

UM, SO I SAID BEFORE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS AN INDUSTRY AND AS US, YOU KNOW, THE INSTALLATION OF PHPS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS.

AND, AND SOMETIMES PHPS ARE A WORK IN PROGRESS TOO.

UM, WE LEARNED EARLY ON THAT WE SHOULD, UH, DESIGN THE P H B SO THAT THEY CAN BE CONVERTED TO A, A FULL TRAFFIC SIGNAL WITH, YOU KNOW, MINIMAL ADDITIONAL COSTS.

UM, YOU KNOW, OFTENTIMES THAT'S AS SIMPLE AS MAKING SURE YOU PLACE, YOU KNOW, A POLE IN A MASK ARM IN A LOCATION THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE IF IT'S CONVERTED TO A, TO A TRAFFIC SIGNAL.

SOMETIMES, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE'VE BEEN MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN, THAN NOT.

UM, BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, THAT'S, THAT'S AN APPROACH THAT WE'VE TAKEN.

AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'VE CONVERTED ABOUT HALF A DOZEN PHDS TO, UM, TO FULL TRAFFIC SIGNALS, YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST, YOU KNOW, 10 YEARS OR SO.

UM, SO THIS IS KIND OF A, A SUMMARY OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND WHERE WE'RE GOING.

UM, YOU KNOW, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE, UM, WE'VE ADDED QUITE A FEW PHBS SINCE, UM, SINCE THE ORIGINAL IN 2009.

UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY AT, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, 111.

UM, THIS, THIS GRAPH IS ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER, UM, LAST YEAR AT SOME POINT.

UM, SO SOME OF THE, UM, 20 23, 24, 25 ARE PROJECTIONS BASED ON PROJECTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE UNDERWAY.

UM, BUT TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, WE, WE HAVE THE SECOND MOST, UH, NUMBER OF PHBS IN THE COUNTRY BEHIND TUCSON.

UM, AND IT'S DEFINITELY, UM, A, A TOOL THAT IS VERY, UM, UM, VERY BENEFICIAL ON ON BUSY ROADWAYS.

UM, SO THE FUTURE OF PHPS IN AUSTIN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY THAT WE CAN WHERE IT MAKES SENSE TO, TO INSTALL THEM.

UM, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF, UM, FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, UM, RIGHT NOW TO, TO INSTALL THEM.

WE HAVE A CAMPO PROJECT TO INSTALL SIX.

WE HAVE A SAFE STREETS FOR ALL GRANT, UM, IN WHICH WE'LL BE USING TO INSTALL SOME MORE.

UM, THE 2016 BOND, UH, CORRIDORS, WE'VE INSTALLED A, A LARGE NUMBER, UM, USING THAT, UH, OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.

AND, UH, WE HAVE MORE, MORE TO COME.

UM, AND THEN ALSO AS PART OF, UM, SOME NEW PRIVATE DEVELOPMENTS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN INSTALLING PHBS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT MAKES WHERE IT MAKES SENSE.

UM, AND ONE OF THE, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE, ARE LOOKING FORWARD OR LOOKING TO IS WORKING WITH THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING PROGRAM TO SEE HOW BETTER P H B FITS IN WITH THAT, WITH THAT PROGRAM.

UM, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE IN THE POSITION WHERE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THIS IS ONE OF, UM, MANY TOOLS IN THE TOOLBOX.

I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK PHBS CAME ABOUT BECAUSE IT WAS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO MEET THE, UM, PEDESTRIAN WARRANT FOR TRAFFIC SIGNALS.

UM, SO THIS WAS A WAY TO, UM, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE A, A SAFE CROSSING, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN A, A SIGNAL WASN'T SOMETHING THAT WAS APPLICABLE.

AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK, SO THAT'S KIND OF THE, THE TOP DOWN AND THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING PROGRAM.

UM, YOU KNOW, THE P H B I THINK FITS IN FROM A, A BOTTOM UP.

UM, BUT THERE ARE DEFINITELY MANY MORE CONVERSATIONS NEEDED TO, LIKE I SAID, SEE HOW, SEE HOW THIS TOOL FITS INTO THEIR TOOLBOX AS WELL AS OURS.

SO I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

UM, ANYONE WITH QUESTIONS TODAY? YEAH, DANIEL, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.

UM, I'M HAPPY TO SEE THIS GETTING, UH, SORT OF FOLDED INTO, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING PROGRAM AND IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, UH, THAT WOULD BE, I THINK, IS THAT GONNA BE LIKE PART OF JOHN EASTMAN'S TEAM OVER THERE, I THINK, OR, OH,

[01:05:01]

I SEE.

I SEE PEOPLE RUNNING FOR THE MIC.

UH, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.

UM, THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING PROGRAM STARTED WITH THE 2018 BOND AND IS IN THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND STREET DESIGN DIVISION.

UM, EXCUSE ME, I'M LAURA DEERFIELD, DIVISION MANAGER FOR THAT GROUP.

AND WE'RE WORKING WITH BRIAN AND HIS COLLEAGUES, AS HE SAID, TO FOLD IN THE P H B PROGRAM, WHICH HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL CITYWIDE, UM, INTO A COMPREHENSIVE, UM, APPROACH TO ADDRESSING PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS.

UM, BOTH SYSTEMICALLY, UH, WE NOW HAVE A GAP MAP THAT HAS, SHOWS ALL THE GAPS AROUND THE WHOLE, THE WHOLE CITY WHERE IT'S ABOUT A $500 MILLION, UH, PROGRAM.

UH, WELL PROBLEM REALLY, UH, TO ADDRESS AT LEAST HALF OF OUR VERY HIGH AND HIGH PRIORITY GAPS.

AND THEN PHBS ARE IMPORTANT TOOL TO THAT END ON CERTAIN STREETS IN CERTAIN CONTEXTS.

BECAUSE I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY EXCITING TO, UM, NOT ONLY HAVE THESE PHBS, BUT ALSO PAIR THEM WITH SOME STREET TREATMENTS AND MAYBE GET SOME OF THOSE.

'CAUSE A LOT OF TIMES YOU'LL SEE THEM ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER.

AND I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL 'CAUSE, UM, LIKE ON, I THINK ON MAINOR ROAD A LOT, THERE'S A LOT OF THOSE PINCH POINTS THAT ARE GREAT FOR CROSSING, BUT THEN I THINK OF SOMEWHERE LIKE ON SOUTH FIRST AND ELIZABETH, THERE'S THAT P H B, BUT IT'S STILL THIS BIG KIND OF SCARY, UH, ROAD WITH A HUGE AMOUNT OF RIGHT OF WAY THAT COULD, I THINK IT WOULD BE COOL TO SEE THEM PAIRED TOGETHER, BUT, SO I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

AND THANK YOU.

AS ARE WE, FRANKLY, UM, I THINK THERE'S HUGE OPPORTUNITIES TO LOOK AT THINGS, UH, NOT ONLY SYSTEMICALLY, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT, UM, BUT TO PRIORITIZE LIMITED RESOURCES AT THE CORRIDOR OR STREET SEGMENT LEVEL, WE'RE FINDING A LOT OF SUCCESS, UH, IN, YOU KNOW, A VARIETY OF TREATMENTS PUT TOGETHER KIND OF A STRING OF PEARLS, IF YOU WILL, SORT OF ALLOWS FOR THE, THE CROSSING GAPS TO BE MET WITH THE, UM, VARIOUS TREATMENT TYPES, WHETHER IT'S P H B OR PEDESTRIAN, UM, CROSSING ISLAND OR AN R R F B, WHICH IS YET ANOTHER TYPE DEPENDING ON THE INTENSITY OF THE STREET.

SO YEAH, THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE'RE LOOKING AT AND TRYING TO GET KINDA THE MOST BANG FOR THE BUCK, IF YOU WILL, WITH TAKING AT MORE OF A CORRIDOR APPROACH TO WHAT CAN BE DONE ON A STREET LIKE SOUTH FIRST OR MAINOR TO PROVIDE THE DENSITY AND THE TREATMENT TYPES NECESSARY.

THAT IS TO PROVIDE THE LEVEL OF COMFORT OR REDUCE THE TRAFFIC STRESS, BASICALLY, OF SOMEONE TRYING TO CROSS THE STREET.

GO AHEAD.

GUYS CAN GET ONLINE.

OH, OH, DIANA, I THINK ONLINE, OH, SORRY, I WASN'T SURE IF YOU CALLED ME.

UM, I'M JUST CURIOUS, ROUGHLY HOW MUCH DOES A P H B COST? ARE WE TALKING 10,000, WE TALKING 50,000? LIKE WHAT ARE WE, WHAT ARE WE TALKING? UM, SO, SO GENERALLY SPEAKING, UM, YOU KNOW, P H B COSTS MORE OR LESS HALF OF A TRAFFIC SIGNAL.

SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT 200,000 FOR A P H B AND 400, 450,000 OR MORE FOR A TRAFFIC SIGNAL.

AND DO YOU EVER, OR NEW DEVELOPMENTS EVER REQUIRED TO PAY ANY PORTION OF THE COST? LIKE, I LIVE CLOSE TO A PLACE CALLED THE GROVE, WHICH IS A NEW DEVELOPMENT AT BULL CREEK.

SHOAL CREEK, UM, 45TH.

IS A DEVELOPMENT REQUIRED TO PAY SOMETHING OR IS THE CITY BARE THE FULL COST? SO, I, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR EVERY DEVELOPMENT.

I KNOW THE GROVE WAS A, WAS A PUD AND THEY DID, THEY DID CONSTRUCT ALL OF THE, UM, PHBS AND THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS ADJACENT TO THEIR SITE.

UM, SO I KNOW THAT THERE'S SOME, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME RULES AND REGULATIONS REGARDING WHAT DEVELOPMENTS ARE AND AREN'T ALLOWED TO PAY FOR, UM, THAT WE'D HAVE.

I'D HAVE TO GET MORE INFORMATION.

UM, THAT'S FINE.

SO IT BASICALLY, THE CITY DOESN'T ALWAYS, 100% HAVE TO BEAR THE FULL COST OF EVERY P H P.

RIGHT.

I, I'M MAYBE CAN HELP WITH THAT TOO, DIANA.

SO, UM, OBVIOUSLY THINGS THAT ARE PUDS LIKE THE GROVE OFTEN TO MEET THE SUPERIOR STANDARDS THAT THEY HAVE FOR THOSE, UM, HAVE TO AGREE TO DO THOSE THINGS.

BUT THERE ARE, UM, THE STREET IMPACT FEES AS WELL.

WE HAVE WENT THROUGH A WHOLE CYCLE OVER THE COURSE OF, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE A YEAR AND A HALF, TWO YEARS ON THIS COMMISSION, SORT OF HEARING ABOUT THE STAFF STUDY AND THEN, UH, UH, MAKING A RECOMMENDATION ABOUT THE STREET IMPACT FEES.

SO NEW DEVELOPMENTS GENERALLY, UM, CERTAIN TYPES OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS.

I'LL BE CAREFUL IN SAYING THAT CERTAIN TYPES OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS HAVE TO PAY A STREET IMPACT FEE THAT WOULD SORT OF, UH, THROUGH ROUGH PROPORTIONALITY HELP ASSESS, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE IMPACT TO THE STREETS OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT MIGHT BE.

AND THEN THEY CAN TAKE THOSE FEES AND USE THEM FOR PEDESTRIAN TREATMENTS, A VARIETY OF OTHER THINGS, UH, TRANSPORTATION, DEMAND MANAGEMENT, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, INTERESTING OLD U T C MEETINGS IF YOU WANNA GO BACK AND LOOK THROUGH OUR ARCHIVES WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT THAT SOME.

BUT THERE IS THAT, UM, THAT AFFECTS, UH, PARTICULARLY

[01:10:01]

MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT.

UM, SO I TURNED IT OFF.

THERE WE GO.

UM, I JUST WANNA COMPLIMENT YOU ON, UH, THE CRITERIA EVALUATIONS YOU HAVE FOR PEDESTRIAN HYBRID BEACONS.

UM, I DUNNO IF YOU KNOW, BUT THERE'S ACTUALLY BEEN A PRETTY BIG BACKLASH ONLINE ABOUT HOW MOST CITY GOVERNMENTS GO ABOUT FUNDING THAT 'CAUSE, RIGHT? IT MAKES NO SENSE TO EVALUATE IT BY A DEMAND THAT WOULD BE ILLEGAL IF THEY WERE CROSSING THERE IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES.

SO IT'S WONDERFUL THAT YOU GUYS ARE KIND OF LEADING THE WAY IN THAT.

UM, I DID WANNA, UH, GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY.

SO WE'RE COMING UP ON THE, UH, ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATHS OF, I BELIEVE THE ONLY TWO PEOPLE HAVE DIED AT A PEDESTRIAN HYBRID BEACON HERE IN AUSTIN, UH, JACKIE GAS SHOT AND IS STILL UNIDENTIFIED PEDESTRIAN.

UM, AT THE TIME OF THAT LAST YEAR, THE JOINT, UH, BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL SEND UP SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOU ALL AS TO HOW WE COULD AVOID THAT IN THE FUTURE.

I THINK A LOT OF IT WILL BE HELPED WHEN WE HAVE THE, UH, PEDESTRIAN PROGRAM COMING ON.

'CAUSE A LOT OF THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, IF THERE WAS A, UH, SOME MID-BLOCK PROTECTION THERE, I THINK THEY'D BOTH BE WITH US TODAY.

UM, BUT I'D LOVE TO HEAR, UM, ONE, HAVE YOU GUYS MADE ANY CHANGES TO THE WAY YOU LOOK AT WHERE PEDESTRIAN HYBRID BEACONS HAVE, UH, SHOULD BE AS A RESULT OF THOSE DEATHS? UH, AND TWO, UM, HAVE YOU TAKEN ANY LOOK AT REDESIGNING THAT, UH, INTERSECTION AT THE TIME? UH, BOTH COUNCILS POINTED OUT THERE ARE A LOT OF, UH, DESIGN ISSUES.

IT WAS A VERY EARLY P H B, UH, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF DESIGN ISSUES WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THEIR DEATHS AS WELL.

UM, THAT COULD BE FIXED, I THINK.

AND JUST TO REMIND ME, THIS WAS AT ALAMEDA AND RIVERSIDE, I BELIEVE, RIGHT? YES.

I SHOULD HAVE SAID THAT ALAMEDA AND RIVERSIDE IS THE, UH, INTERSECTION.

UM, INFORMATION TO APPROACHING MOTOR SET, THEY'RE GONNA NEED TO STOP IF, UM, THE PHBS ACTIVATED.

WELL, I, UM, JUST THANK YOU FOR ACKNOWLEDGING THAT.

AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE, UM, REMEMBER THAT THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT, UM, YEAH, WE ARE COMMITTED TO ELIMINATING, UH, DEATHS AND SERIOUS INJURIES ON OUR ROADWAYS WITH RESPECT TO THAT PARTICULAR, UM, LOCATION.

IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE HAS BEEN SOME, SOME, UM, WORK TO, UH, HARDEN THAT CENTER LINE AND, UM, AMONG OTHER, OTHER TREATMENTS THAT WERE DONE IN AN ANALYSIS, UH, AFTER THE, UM, THE CRASH.

SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN MORE ABOUT THAT, I THINK WE COULD FOLLOW UP WITH MORE ABOUT THE SPECIFIC, UM, REMEDIATION THAT WAS DONE MAINLY BY OUR STREET AND BRIDGE, UM, FOLKS THAT HANDLE A LOT OF THOSE, UH, LARGER DEVICES IN THE ROADWAY.

UM, SO THAT'S, YEAH, THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD LOOK INTO FURTHER.

I WILL SAY TOO, I THINK THERE'S BEEN, UM, PRETTY ROBUST ANALYSIS IN AUSTIN BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN SO MANY PHBS AS TO YIELDING COMPLIANCE, WHICH GENERALLY OVERALL IS, IS ACTUALLY EXCELLENT AND IN TERMS OF, OF HOW THEY WORK OVERALL.

BUT CERTAINLY WITH NOT, NOT WITHOUT, UM, YEAH.

OPPORTUNITIES TO REVISIT AND REVISE.

SO I'LL TURN IT BACK TO BRIAN IF HE HAS MORE THERE, BUT ALSO TO JIM, THAT WE'RE HAPPY TO, UM, PROVIDE A LITTLE UPDATE ON THE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE AT ALAMEDA AND RIVERSIDE.

YEAH, THE ONES I KNOW ABOUT AT THE STREAM BRIDGE GROUP, LIKE YOU WERE SAYING, LAURA DID PUT IN THE GUARDRAIL THERE TO PREVENT LIKE VEHICLES IN, IN THE FUTURE, UM, FROM GOING, LIKE YOU SAID, HARDENING THAT CENTER LINE FOR THEM.

UM, CASS, WHEN WAS THAT PUT IN? 'CAUSE I, I WAS THERE A LITTLE WHILE AGO, BUT I, I, MAYBE I JUST MISSED IT.

YEAH, IT'S, IT WAS FAIRLY SWIFTLY DONE AS THESE THINGS GO.

UM, SO YES, GETTING A LITTLE MORE TIMING ON THAT, IT, UM, WOULD BE HELPFUL.

SO, UH, WE'LL GET THAT INTO, INTO THE REPORT AS WELL.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL, ALL RIGHT.

OH, SORRY.

IF WE COULD GO BACK TO LIKE THE BACK END OF MY QUESTION.

I MEAN, SO LIKE, OH YEAH.

PART OF THE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS THERE WERE, UM, RIGHT, IT WAS COMING DOWN A HILL, UM, VERY HIGH SPEEDS.

UH, AND IT WAS DIFFICULT FOR, UH, MOTORISTS, UM, UH, TO, YOU KNOW, I WAS IN AN UBER THE OTHER DAY AND, UH, THE MOTORIST, THE UBER DRIVER JUST WENT STRAIGHT THROUGH IT, RIGHT? UM, BECAUSE IT'S, YOU'RE COMING AROUND A CORNER, PEOPLE ARE GOING FASTER AND THE SPEED LIMIT COMING OFF I 35, UM, AND THEY CAN'T SEE IT AROUND THE CURVE.

SO WERE, WERE THERE ANY CHANGES MADE TO, UM, HOW WE DETERMINE WHERE THESE ARE GOING IN, UH, YOU KNOW, STUFF LIKE THAT.

RYAN, I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU HAD ANYTHING, UM, TO, ON THAT, TO ADDRESS THAT.

I KNOW WHEN WE DO DESIGN OUR PHBS, WE'RE LOOKING AT EACH OF THE LOCATIONS INDEPENDENTLY TO SEE WHAT IS NEEDED THERE.

UM, IN TERMS OF ADVANCED SIGNING OR TO GIVE MORE,

[01:15:01]

I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S ANY, IF, IF THERE'S BEEN ANY OTHER CHANGES TO OUR PROCESS SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE OF THAT.

UM, THE FATALITIES THAT OCCURRED THERE, I, I DON'T THINK WE'VE CHANGED ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY.

LIKE YOU SAID, WE DO EVALUATE SITE DISTANCE, WHERE WHEN WE INSTALL THESE, I KNOW THAT THERE'S, UM, YOU KNOW, AND THESE WERE IN PLACE BEFORE THE FATALITY, BUT THERE'S ADVANCED WARNING FLASHERS THERE, THERE'S SOME NEAR SIDE HEADS THERE TO IMPROVE VISIBILITY.

UM, TYPICALLY WE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DO TRY TO INSTALL THESE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE DESIRE LINE FOR PEDESTRIANS TO, TO CROSS, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE ALL RIGHT.

THANKS BRIAN.

WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU SENT UP AND SEE.

ALRIGHT.

DID ANY OF THOSE GET IMPLEMENTED? WHAT DID WE, WHAT DID WE THINK OF THOSE WHEN THEY CAME THROUGH AND GET BACK TO YOU AS PART OF LAURA'S FEEDBACK TOO.

ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS? ALL RIGHT.

I WANNA GIVE A SPECIAL THANKS TO BRIAN TODAY FOR DOING NOT JUST ONE, BUT TWO PRESENTATIONS FOR OUR BODY.

SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU, UH, SPENDING SOME TIME WITH US THIS EVENING.

ALL RIGHT.

THAT WILL TAKE US TO OUR NEXT PRESENTATION,

[5. Discussion on the Congress Avenue Urban Design Project]

WHICH IS THE CONGRESS AVENUE URBAN DESIGN PROJECT.

I DO WANNA CONTEXTUALIZE THIS 'CAUSE WE HAVE SOME NEW COMMISSIONERS WE HAVE SEEN, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE SAW THIS, BUT WE HAVE SEEN A COUPLE PRESENTATIONS ON THIS OVER THE YEARS, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE WE ARE, UM, GETTING THERE.

SO WE'RE EXCITED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT.

SO, YES.

YEAH, THANK YOU CHAIR.

UH, LAURA DEERFIELD WITH THE, UH, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, AND YEAH, VERY PLEASED TO BE HERE, ESPECIALLY WITH NEW, UM, COMMISSIONERS.

UH, TO UPDATE YOU ALL ON THIS, UH, HUGE PROJECT, REALLY AMBITIOUS PROJECT TO, UH, BRING ABOUT A, A NEW URBAN DESIGN FOR OUR MAIN STREET OF TEXAS.

UM, I AM JOINED, UH, BY JANA MCCANN WITH, UH, AS PART OF OUR CONSULTANT GROUP.

UM, I'M GONNA START OFF WITH A FEW REMARKS AND THEN HAND IT OFF TO HER, BUT, UM, I'M ALSO PLEASED TO BE JOINED BY, UM, BENEDICT PATRICK WITH OUR CONSULTANT TEAM, UH, H D R AS WELL AS LEE FREEBERG, OUR STRUCTURAL BRIDGE STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT AMONG OTHER TALENTS, AND ALSO AMALIA CARMONA WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE.

AND REALLY, UH, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE DESERVES THE HUGE CREDIT FOR, UM, REALLY CATALYZING THIS EFFORT, UM, BACK WITH OUR, UM, COLLEAGUES IN, UM, THE THEN URBAN DESIGN GROUP.

AND WE'VE, UM, BEEN FORTUNATE TO INHERIT THIS PROJECT TO BRING IT FORWARD TO ACTUAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.

UM, DO YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING MORE BEFORE WE JUMP IN OR DO YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF LATER? UM, GO AHEAD.

I'LL JUST INTRODUCE MYSELF QUICKLY.

I'M JANA MCCANN WITH MCCANN ADAMS STUDIO, SO I'M ARCHITECT BY TRAINING, BUT URBAN DESIGN PRACTITIONER FOR A LONG TIME.

ACTUALLY USED TO WORK FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN WAY BACK, AND I'M JUST EXCITED TO BE HERE.

I'M WORKING UNDER H D R AS THE URBAN DESIGN CONSULTANT FOR THE CONGRESS AVENUE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE.

SO THANKS FOR HAVING US.

ALL RIGHT.

UM, WITH THAT, WE'LL JUST OFFER A LITTLE BIT OF WAY FINDING FOR THE PRESENTATION TODAY, AND THEN WE JUST WELCOME YOUR QUESTIONS.

THERE'S A LOT MORE IN STORE.

THIS IS A BIT OF A BRIEFING JUST TO, UM, GET EVERYBODY UP TO DATE WITH WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THE PROJECT, AND THEN, UH, FORECAST WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT MOVING FORWARD.

UM, BECAUSE THIS MIGHT BE NEW TO SOME OF YOU, WE'D LIKE TO GET, UH, A LITTLE BIT BACK INTO THE VISION PLAN THAT WAS PRE PANDEMIC.

IT WAS A MASSIVE EFFORT, LOTS OF AMAZING FUN THINGS ON THE STREET ITSELF, THANKS TO THE D A A.

THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, UH, DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS AND ALL KINDS OF WAYS TO INTERACT WITH HOW THE AVENUE COULD WORK.

UM, SO WE WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT VISION PLAN AS IT REALLY FORMS THE CORE, UM, FOR THE PROJECT TODAY, AND GO THROUGH THOSE KEY CONCEPTS.

AND THEN, UM, WE WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CURRENT SCOPE, UM, AND THEN THE NEXT STEPS AS I, I JUST, UH, MENTIONED AND THEN, UH, OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION.

UH, WITH THAT, WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

UM, SO ONE OF THE EXCITING THINGS IS, UH, THE, THE PROJECT IS ONE OF FOUR NAMED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AS PART OF THE 2020, UH, ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOND.

SO, UH, LOOKING AT CONGRESS AVENUE, WE HAVE, UH, AN INITIAL, UM, BOUT OF FUNDING TO GO FOR AT LEAST ONE PHASE OF WORK ON THE PROJECT.

SO OUR GOAL IS TO GET TO, UH, A SO-CALLED 30% DESIGN, WHICH REALLY HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND A LOT OF THE CONSTRAINTS AND THEN BE ABLE TO SPIN OFF A, A CONSTRUCTION PIECE TO THAT GOING FORWARD.

UM, WE'RE PLEASED TO BE LEADING THIS, UH, ALONG WITH OUR PARTNERS IN THE URBAN DESIGN DIVISION,

[01:20:01]

JORGE RUSIN AND JILL, ME, AS WELL AS, UM, OUR, OUR PROJECT MANAGER JUST, UM, GOT RECRUITED OVER TO AUSTIN ENERGY, BUT WE, UM, WE DO APPRECIATE JAVI AND BEFORE HIM, CRAIG, UH, AND I'VE, I'VE INTRODUCED THE OTHERS, SO WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

SO JUST TO GIVE YOU THE KIND OF THE BASICS OF THIS PROJECT, WE, UM, THIS IS A, A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE.

UH, AND IT ENCOMPASSES FROM 11TH STREET THERE AT THE, KIND OF THE, THE FOOT OF THE CAPITOL TO RIVERSIDE DRIVE.

UM, SO ACROSS, ACROSS THE RIVER.

UM, IT, IT IS VERY MUCH GUIDED BY THE VISION PLAN.

SO IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO REALLY SEE THAT VISION PLAN AND DIG INTO IT, I REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO.

IT'S REALLY REMARKABLE DOCUMENT THAT, UH, REALLY CASTS QUITE, UM, A WAY FORWARD FOR THE, FOR THE PROJECT.

UH, AND OUR GOAL REALLY IS TO BRING THAT VISION PLAN TO LIFE.

UM, AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE AN INITIAL, UM, BOUT OF FUNDING, AND SO WE REALLY WANT TO GET TO A CONSTRUCTION PHASE.

UM, AND WE'RE, WE ARE VERY, UM, WE'RE ACTUALLY PAST 10 MONTHS OF AN 18 MONTH PROCESS.

WE'RE CLOSER TO 15 MONTHS, SO WE'RE GETTING VERY CLOSE TO THAT 30% DESIGN.

AND IN, IN DOING SO, WANNA BRING, UM, THE CONCEPTS TO THE COMMUNITY TO KIND OF WRESTLE WITH WHAT CAN WE DO WITH WHAT WE HAVE AND HELP US TO SHAPE, UH, AT THAT INITIAL, UH, CONSTRUCTION PHASE.

GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

UM, I'LL JUST, UH, STOP HERE TO HAND IT OFF TO JANA, WHO SO ELOQUENTLY.

WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, THE, OVER THE OVERALL VISION PLAN, BUT I'LL JUST DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE VISION AND VALUES LISTED ON THE SLIDE.

IT REALLY, UM, THE PLAN ITSELF, VISION PLAN IS ROOTED IN THESE VALUES AND IS WHAT WE'RE TASKED WITH TRYING TO BRING TO REAL LIFE ON, ON THE STREET.

SO WITH THAT, TURN IT OVER TO JANA.

THANKS SO MUCH, LAURA.

I THINK ONE OF THE, THE WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT A PROJECT LIKE THIS IS IT REALLY IS TRYING TO BRING TOGETHER ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT VALUES INTO A SPACE.

AND THAT'S A HARD, THAT'S A TALL ORDER, AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE POWERS OF, OF URBAN DESIGN AND THIS INITIATIVE IS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND TRANSPORTATION.

WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS THAT WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT.

WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE ECONOMICS OF THE PLACE, THE ENVIRONMENT, THE SUSTAINABILITY.

UM, WE REALLY HAVE TO BRING THAT ALL TOGETHER.

AND THAT'S, UH, THAT'S KIND OF A TOUGH BUT WONDERFUL THING WHEN THEY CAN BE INTEGRATED FAIRLY IN AN IMBALANCED WAY.

AND THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE HOPE FOR IN THIS PROJECT RIGHT NEXT.

AND SO THIS, UH, A LOT OF THESE IMAGES THAT YOU'LL SEE TODAY ARE FROM THE VISION PLAN.

AND SO IT'S KIND OF OUR TEAM'S JOB TO TAKE THAT VISION PLAN, AND LIKE LAURA SAID, BRING IT TO LIFE, BUT ALSO TO CHECK IT AND BE REALLY CAREFUL AND THOROUGH ABOUT WHAT DID IT PROPOSE, IS THAT REALLY GONNA WORK FROM ALL KINDS OF TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVES.

ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I THINK WE DID WAS LOOK AT THE TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC ANALYSIS AND UNDERSTANDING HOW, HOW WILL THESE INTERSECTIONS WORK? AND SO THIS IS JUST AN IMAGE OF, UM, TITLE BALANCE, THE AVENUE, BECAUSE PREVIOUSLY IT WAS, IT WAS ANALYZED AS BEING VERY CAR HEAVY, CAR CENTRIC, AND THERE WEREN'T REALLY SUPER SAFE PLACES FOR BIKES, AND THERE WASN'T A LOT OF PEDESTRIAN SPACE.

AND THERE'S NOT, AS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THIS ANGLE IN PARKING THAT TAKES A BIG BITE INTO THE PUBLIC SIDEWALK.

THE LIGHTING, THE LIGHTING'S NOT THAT GREAT.

THERE'S ALL KINDS OF ISSUES.

THERE'S A, A D A ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE FIXED.

SO, BUT ALL OF THIS, WE'RE TRYING TO DO, AGAIN, THIS NOTION OF BALANCE IS GIVING ALL THE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION AND THE USERS THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACE ON IN THE AVENUE.

SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND SO, UM, THIS, THE SLIDE ON THE TOP IS THE TYPICAL, OR WHAT WAS THE EXISTING STREET SECTION WHEN WE STARTED THE PROJECT, WHICH WAS THREE LINE LANES IN EITHER DIRECTION, INCLUDING LEFT TURN LANES.

UM, AND SO NOW ACTUALLY THE, AS A PART OF INTERIM IMPROVEMENTS TO MAKE IT A LOT SAFER FOR BIKES, IS THERE TWO NOW THERE'S ONLY FOUR LANES TOTAL AND TWO PROTECTED, OR SOME SOMEWHAT PROTECTED, NOT AS PROTECTED AS WE LIKE BICYCLE LANES THAT HAVE THE, UM, THE LITTLE, WHAT ARE WE CALLING THEM NOW? FLEXIBLE DELINEATORS IS WHAT I CALL 'EM OR FLEX POSTS, DEFINING THAT.

SO DOWN BELOW WHAT WE WORK, WHAT THE VISION PLAN REALLY WORKED THROUGH AND WHAT OUR TEAM CAN VERIFY THE POTENTIAL OF IS WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE FIVE LANE CROSS SECTION.

SO TYPICALLY ON THE STREET, WE WILL HAVE TWO LANES IN EITHER DIRECTION WITH THE CENTER TURN LANE, AND IN SOME CASES WHERE THE TRAFFIC ISN'T DICTATING KIND OF THIS, UM, A LOT OF THE SORT OF THE VEHICULAR NEED OR WHATEVER, NORTH OF SIXTH STREET, WE'RE ABLE POTENTIALLY TO REDUCE THE

[01:25:01]

NUMBER OF TRAVEL LANES TO ONLY ONE EITHER SIDE, WHICH WOULD FREE UP THAT EXTERNAL LANE ON EACH SIDE OF THE STREET THAT COULD BE USED FOR PARKING, DROP OFF FOOD TRUCKS, YOU KNOW, FESTIVALS.

THIS IS A MAJOR FESTIVAL STREET.

AND SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT THAT NORTHERN PORTION OF CONGRESS AVENUE THAT WE CALL THE SIT, SORT OF CIVIC SPACE OF THE CORRIDOR AS REALLY THE KIND OF, THAT'S AN AREA THAT WE OFTEN CLOSE DOWN AS A CITY TO, TO HAVE SPECIAL EVENTS.

SO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO THIS IS JUST A PERSPECTIVE, SORT OF CROSS-SECTION VIEW OF HOW THOSE FIVE LANES LAY OUT.

AND SO WORKING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE, UH, PEDESTRIAN ZONE MUCH BIGGER THAN IT EVER HAS BEEN, AND IT'S UNINTERRUPTED.

THERE'S NO, UH, ANGLE PARKING BITING INTO, IN FACT, THE PARKING HAS BEEN COMPLETELY REMOVED FROM THIS PART OF THE AVENUE NORTH OF THE RIVER.

THEN THERE'S AN AMENITY ZONE, WHICH IS ABOUT A SEVEN FOOT WIDE ZONE WHERE WE'RE PLANTING STREET TREES AND YES, PROBABLY NEW STREET TREES AND PLANTING THEM IN A MUCH BETTER SORT OF CONDITION WHERE THEY CAN REALLY THRIVE.

UM, THEN THE NEXT ZONE OVER IS THE UP, UM, THE PROTECTED BICYCLE AND SCOOTER ZONE.

SO THEN THERE'S A SMALL BUFFER OF ABOUT TWO FEET BEFORE WE THEN GO DOWN TO THE ROADWAY LEVEL AND HAVE OUR FIVE LANES OF TRAFFIC.

SO THIS IS, THIS IS THE BASIC FRAMEWORK FOR THE DESIGN OF, OF CONGRESS AVENUE ON THE, THE NORTH SIDE.

WHEN WE GET TO SOUTH OF THE RIVER, THINGS VARY A LITTLE BIT, A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.

OKAY, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND SO THIS IS A PERSPECTIVE VIEW THAT, UM, WE, WE DID AS OUR TEAM TO REALLY START TO SAY, WHAT IS THIS GONNA LOOK LIKE ON VERY SPECIFIC CONDITIONS? AND THIS IS A CONDITION ON THE FIRST BLOCK OF CONGRESS AVENUE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE STREET, LOOKING NORTH TOWARDS SECOND STREET INTERSECTION.

THIS IS KIND OF THE, AN UNUSUAL CONDITION WHERE WE HAD TO ACCOMMODATE A RIGHT TURN ONLY LANE, UM, TURNING RIGHT FROM SOUTHBOUND ONTO CAESAR CHAVEZ.

SO WE HAVE, UM, SORT OF FROM, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT ON THIS SLIDE, PRIVATE PROPERTY WHERE THERE'S THAT RETAINING WALL, AND YOU'LL RECOGNIZE THIS EXISTING DEVELOPMENT AND THEN THE WALKING SPACE, THE PEDESTRIAN THROUGH ZONE.

THEN YOU SEE A, A SORT OF RAISED SORT OF COBBLE TEXTURED AREA, BUFFER SPACE, THEN THE BICYCLE, AND THEN A RAIN GARDEN.

AND THIS SPECIFIC PART OF THE CONGRESS AVENUE AREA IS WE, WE CALL THE GREEN, UM, GATEWAY.

AND SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO EMPHASIZE, SORT IT'S CONNECTION TO THE LAKE AND TO NATURE IN THIS.

SO, UH, RAIN GARDENS MAY BE A WAY TO EXPRESS THAT THEY'RE ALSO A WAY OF REALLY GETTING SOME STORM WATER TO, YOU KNOW, COME INTO THE GARDENS AND, UH, WATER THE TREES AND ALSO HELP US TO SOME DEGREE, MAYBE A SMALL DEGREE, IMPROVE THE SORT OF STORM STORM WATER RUNOFF SITUATION.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AND SO THIS IS ANOTHER IMAGE FROM THE VISION PLAN ABOUT DESIGN CONCEPTS AND PLACEMAKING, WHICH THIS IS LARGELY WHAT THE PROJECT IS, IS ABOUT.

FOCUS TO CREATING HIGH QUALITY TREE LINE, WHICH ACTUALLY WILL BE ROUGHLY IN THE SAME, ALMOST TO THE FOOT, TO THE SAME LOCATION WHERE THE TREES, UH, EXIST TODAY.

SO THESE ARE, THIS IS FROM THE, THE VISION PLAN, WHICH KIND OF, UH, CREATED CHARACTER ZONES UP AND DOWN THE AVENUE AND KIND OF GAVE THEM NAMES LIKE WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO EARLIER, THE CIVIC STAGE FROM NINTH STREET TO THE CAPITOL TO 11TH STREET, THEN WHAT'S CALLED THE HEART OF AUSTIN, WHICH IS REALLY WHERE THERE'S THE MOST CONCENTRATION OF THE SMALLER HISTORIC PROPERTIES.

THERE'S A LOT OF RETAIL AND RESTAURANT ACTIVITY THERE.

IT'S JUST A, A LITTLE BIT FINER GRAINED, AND IT'S A PLACE WHERE WE EXPECT TO HAVE LOTS OF CAFES AND IN LOTS OF STREET LIFE.

AND THEN IN THE SOUTHERN MOST PART IS THE GREEN GATEWAY, WHERE WE START TO TRANSITION INTO, HERE WE ARE ON LADY BIRD LAKE, AND THEN THE BRIDGE COMES INTO VIEW.

AND THEN ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE, ON THE SOUTH SIDE, WE HAVE MORE GREEN GATEWAY, WHICH IS REALLY TAKING US ALL THE WAY TO, UH, BARTON TO RIVERSIDE, AND THEN BARTON SPRINGS AND THE END OF THE PROJECT AT RIVERSIDE.

SO THOSE ARE THE, THE MAIN AREAS.

NEXT, PLEASE.

AND SO ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT WE DO AS URBAN DESIGNERS IS TRY TO FIGURE OUT, WELL, WHICH OF THE ELEMENTS, THE MAJOR ELEMENTS IN THE PROJECT SHOULD BE CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT, LIKE STREET LIGHTING, LIKE STREET TREES, LIKE THE WIDTHS OF THE DIFFERENT, UM, TRANSPORTATION MODES.

SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE KIND OF, UM, WENT THROUGH AND MADE SOME, SOME STRATEGIES ABOUT.

AND SO WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT PLEASE.

SO WE'RE KEEPING THINGS, UM, QUITE CONSISTENT IN TERMS OF THE MAJOR ELEMENTS AND PARTICULAR

[01:30:01]

AND WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT WE GRADUALLY, 'CAUSE THIS PROJECT WILL PROBABLY HAPPEN IN PHASES, REPLACE THE EXISTING STREET TREES.

MANY OF THEM ARE, ARE UNHEALTHY OR STRUCTURALLY DAMAGED, OR ARE OF A SPECIES THAT'S NOT REALLY IDEAL FOR THE JOB THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO.

SO WE, WE WANNA HAVE, EXCUSE ME, DECIDUOUS TREES THAT PROVIDE LARGE SHADE CANOPY.

SO SHADE, SHADE, SHADE IS, UM, AS WE'RE ALL EXPERIENCING, IS BEEN CRITICAL TO MAKING THE AVENUE WORK.

AND IT'S ALSO CRITICAL FOR THE IMAGE AND IDENTITY AT THIS SPACE.

UM, IT'S KIND OF A LOT LIKE CONGRESS AVENUE, I MEAN, NOT CONGRESS AVENUE, LIKE OUR NA NATION'S, UH, CONGRESS BUILDING WHERE WE HAVE THAT SAME SETUP WHERE THESE BEAUTIFUL, UH, STREET TREES ARE REALLY CREATE THAT SORT OF GATEWAY AND, AND, UM, THRESHOLD TO THAT CIVIC SPACE CAN GO NEXT.

SO THIS IS A NEW IMAGE, UH, THAT YOU'LL RECOGNIZE PROBABLY FROM THE VIEW OF THE OLD BAKERY, WHICH IS ACTUALLY A CITY OWNED BUILDING AND PARK AT BETWEEN 10TH AND 11TH STREET.

AND JUST THE VIEW HERE IS JUST LOOKING AT WHAT, WHAT, UH, THIS COULD FEEL LIKE WITH NO ANGLE IN PARKING, WITH HAVING THAT DEDICATED BICYCLE SCOOTER LANE AND WITH INTRODUCING NEW LIGHT POLES AND FIXTURES AT BOTH A ROADWAY LEVEL AND A PEDESTRIAN LEVEL.

SO THIS IS GONNA BE, I THINK, AN ENORMOUS IMPROVEMENT IN TERMS OF THE LIGHT QUALITY.

AND WE'RE, WE'RE CONSCIOUSLY SELECTING A VERY CONTEMPORARY, BUT VERY SORT OF MINIMALIST FIXTURE BECAUSE WE ARE IN A NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICT, YET WE DON'T HAVE A FIXTURE THAT WAS EVER IDENTIFIED AND USED IN THAT HISTORIC PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANCE.

SO THE, THE BEST OPTION WE REALLY HAVE IS TO, UM, CREATE, DO A NEW POLL THAT CAN REALLY FUNCTION IN, IN SORT OF HIGHER SUSTAINABILITY WAYS THAN SOME OF THE, THE SORT OF OLD QUASI HISTORIC POLES.

NEXT, PLEASE.

AND SO LIGHTING IS ONE OF THOSE KEY ELEMENTS THAT WOULD BE CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT THE CORRIDOR.

WE'RE LOCATING THE LIGHT POLES SO THAT THEY'RE ON THE AXIS WITH THE STREET TREES, WHICH IS NOT THE WAY THEY'RE, THEY ARE TODAY.

SO THAT YOU HAVE ALL THOSE VERTICAL ELEMENTS KIND OF LINING UP RATHER THAN SEEING A FOREST OF HERE'S THE TREE, HERE'S THE LIGHT POLE, AND THEM DANCING AROUND.

SO NEXT, PLEASE.

AND SEATING AND FURNISHINGS AGAIN THAT SINCE THIS ISN'T A NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICT, WE HAVE BEEN KIND OF CHECKING IN WITH THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE AT THE CITY AS WELL AS THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION ABOUT THEIR PREFERENCES.

AND THERE IS A STRONG PREFERENCE TO CONTINUE TO USE KIND OF A, A GROUPING OR FAMILY OF FURNISHINGS THAT INCORPORATES THE SORT OF DARK GREEN COLOR OF, UM, TRASH BINS, BIKE RACKS, PRIMARILY.

THE BENCHES ARE KIND OF ONE THING IN PARTICULAR THAT THEY'RE VERY, UH, INTERESTED IN, IN CREATING A CONTINUITY WITH.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'LL BE, UH, WORKING WITH.

THAT'S SORT OF VOCABULARY NEXT.

AND THIS IS ANOTHER, JUST A PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF HOW THIS NEW FIVE LANE CROSS SECTION AND THE WIDER SIDEWALKS AND AMENITIES ZONE COULD BE LAID OUT.

SO IT'S ACTUALLY, I THINK RIGHT NORTH OF THE SIXTH STREET INTERSECTION, UM, RIGHT AT ROYAL BLUE NEXT.

SO THIS IS, UM, THIS IS AN IMAGE OF THE BRIDGE FROM THE VISION PLAN.

AND SO AS I SAID BEFORE, I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF, ONE OF OUR THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO DO TO, YOU KNOW, IS TEST WHAT DID THE VISION PLAN SAY? AND WE FELT LIKE THIS WAS A LITTLE CONGESTED LOOKING, UM, IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF THINGS GOING ON IN, UH, QUITE A NARROW SPACE.

AND SO WE WANTED TO KEEP PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO GO FROM, SAY, THE CYCLING AREA TO THE EDGE OF THE BRIDGE FOR BAT WATCHING AND NOT JUST HAVE, HAVE THAT CONTINUOUS BARRIER THERE.

SO WE'RE, WE ARE NOT PROMOTING OR PROPOSING DOING ANY PLANTERS BECAUSE OF THE WIDTH THAT THEY TAKE UP AND THE MAINTENANCE.

AND WE ARE VERY, UH, WEIGHT SENSITIVE ON THIS BRIDGE.

IT CANNOT TAKE A LOT OF NEW LOAD TO IT.

SO WE'RE BEING VERY CAREFUL ABOUT NOT ADDING A LOT OF WEIGHT, WHICH, UM, THAT MUCH VOLUME OF SOIL WOULD BE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.

WE ARE WANTING TO PROPOSE SHADE ON THE BRIDGE SHADE STRUCTURES THAT COULD BE

[01:35:01]

HOPEFULLY OF A MUCH MORE SORT OF LIGHTWEIGHT FEEL TO THEM, BUT THEY WILL HAVE TO COME DOWN WITH SOME SORT OF STRUCTURAL POSTS AND, UM, BE SUPPORTED ON THE BRIDGE DECK.

SO NEXT, SO THIS IS, THIS IS JUST SORT OF SOME OF THE PARAMETERS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FROM THE DESIGN FOR THE DESIGN OF THE BRIDGE THAT CAME FROM THE, THE, UM, VISION PLAN.

AND SO THEY TALKED ABOUT CREATING A GATEWAY OPPORTUNITY.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE LONG ELEVATION FROM LEFT TO RIGHT ON THE LEFT SIDE, WHICH IS THE SOUTH AUSTIN SIDE, UM, THEY'RE SUGGESTING SOME SORT OF A GATEWAY THERE AND THEN SOME KINDS OF SO-CALLED INTERVENTION OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH IS ARCHITECTURAL LINGO FOR SOME CANOPIES PERHAPS.

AND SO THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE DEPICTING HERE.

BUT THIS IS STILL SOMETHING THAT WE'RE REALLY INVESTIGATING RIGHT NOW.

NEXT, UH, THESE ARE JUST SOME YOU SEE AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN, THE OLD BRIDGE DRAWINGS FROM 1910.

AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED IS ACTUALLY THE REVERSE IN THE MIDDLE IS THE 1910, AND THEN BELOW IS THE, UM, THE CHANGED BRIDGE FROM 1980 WHEN, UM, THE BRIDGE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY WIDENED FROM ABOUT 50 FEET TO ABOUT 80 FEET.

AND THAT ENDED UP LIKE CUTTING THE LITTLE SECONDARY ARCHES, CUTTING THEIR TOPS OFF AND DOING SOME BASICALLY DAMAGE TO THE ARCHITECTURAL, UM, INTEGRITY OF THE BRIDGE.

SO THE BRIDGE HAS BEEN VERY MUCH CHANGED SINCE IT WAS 1910, AND IT CARRIED ACTUALLY TROLLEYS ACROSS IT.

SO, BUT WE ARE TRYING TO REALLY MAINTAIN THE INTEGRITY OF THIS, THE BEAUTIFUL ARCHES THAT STILL STAY THERE AND SORT OF CALIBRATE THE CANOPIES AND THE LIGHTING TO BE SYNCHRONIZED WITH THOSE PURE LOCATIONS AND WITH THE ARCH LOCATIONS NEXT.

AND SO THIS IS A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE LOOKING BACK TOWARD, UM, THE CAPITOL.

AND YOU CAN SEE THE, ON THE LEFT SIDE WE'RE PROPOSING A LIGHTWEIGHT EVEN, UH, NATURAL WOOD DECKING, UH, TO REALLY TRANSMIT THAT FEELING THAT THIS IS A SPACE FOR PEDESTRIANS.

AND IT, THERE'S A CERTAIN, UH, CONNECTION TO THE WATER THAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO EVOKE BY USING THAT MATERIAL, WHICH IS SOMETHING YOU MIGHT SEE ON THE FLOOR OF A SHIP OR ON A DECK COMING OUT INTO, INTO THE, INTO A WATER AREA AND HAVE VERY MINIMALIST KINDS OF, UH, GUARDRAILS.

AND THEN IN THE, THE BICYCLE AREA BETWEEN THE BIKE AREA AND THE PEDESTRIAN AREA, WE'D HAVE A SORT OF TRANSITION ZONE WHERE THERE MIGHT, THAT MIGHT BE OUR POINT OF WHERE WE NEED TO HAVE DRAINAGE.

SO WE PROBABLY GONNA HAVE A TRENCH DRAIN THAT ALSO DOUBLES AS KIND OF A BUFFER.

LIKE YOU GO OVER IT, YOU FEEL THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT NO LONGER IN THE BICYCLE AREA AND WATCH OUT FOR THE PEDESTRIAN.

SO THAT'S, WE WILL AT SOME PLACES ALSO PROBABLY HAVE A SEAT WALL IN THAT LOCATION.

AND THAT COULD ALSO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE CANOPIES CAN SPRING UP AND WHERE THE LIGHTS ARE MOUNTED.

AND SO YOU'LL NOTICE TOO, A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT VEHICULAR BARRIER ON TO, TO THE RIGHT SIDE TO REALLY PROTECT CYCLISTS IN A SIGNIFICANT WAY THAT MIGHT EVEN COME UP AS TALL AS 42 INCHES.

AND THIS IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT, UM, WAS DONE BY THE CITY ON A PLEASANT VALLEY ROAD IN THE, TO, YOU KNOW, IMPROVE THAT CROSSING OF THE RIVER THERE THAT WAS SO DANGEROUS BEFORE NEXT.

SO THIS IS CAPTURED, THIS IS FROM THE, UH, VISION PLAN AND THE NOTION HERE IS TO REALLY SORT OF CELEBRATE THE RIVER AND CREATE THIS MAGNIFICENT VIEWS TO THE LAKE FROM THE NO, WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE BRIDGE WHERE IT LANDS, UM, RIGHT AT CESAR CHAVEZ.

AND SO THERE'S THIS NOTION IS DOING A CASCADING KIND OF A WATER GARDEN OR RAIN GARDEN TERRACE, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE, WE WOULD BE VERY EXPENSIVE, COULD BE VERY BEAUTIFUL, AND SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE EXPLORED VERY CONCEPTUALLY.

AND IT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING THAT IF THE CITY AND THE PUBLIC IS INTERESTED, WE'LL LOOK AT IT MORE IN THE NEXT PHASE.

REMEMBER WE'RE RIGHT AT SORT OF THIS MORE LIKE SCHEMATIC DESIGN LEVEL AT THIS POINT.

SO, BUT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS AT THE GREEN GATEWAY, AND I THINK MAYBE WE'LL SEE ON THE NEXT IS WE'RE REALLY WORKING HARD TO TRY TO CONNECT THE SURFACE TO THE TRAIL LEVEL AND DO SO IN A REALLY VISIBLE, UM, EXPLICIT WAY.

RIGHT NOW, YOU CAN BE UP AT THE STREET LEVEL AND REALLY NOT KNOW THERE'S

[01:40:01]

A TRAIL DOWN THERE.

AND SO IT'S VERY HARD.

THERE'S TO CONNECT TO, ESPECIALLY ON THE CORNER ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN ON THE NORTHEAST EDGE AS WELL AS ON THE SOUTHWEST.

BUT WE HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY ON THE SOUTHEAST SIDE WHERE THE NEW STATESMAN PUD WILL BE COMING IN.

SO WE'RE TRYING TO WORK WITH THEM TO GET THE BEST KIND OF CONNECTION, UH, DOWN TO THE RIVER AT THAT POINT.

NEXT.

YEAH, SO THIS IS JUST HIGHLIGHTING THOSE FOUR OPPORTUNITIES TO CONNECT THE BIG RED CIRCLES AT EACH CORNER OF THE, THE BRIDGE AND REPRESENTING THOSE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.

NEXT.

UH, THEN, YOU KNOW, A BIG PART OF THE SORT OF THE WHOLE SORT OF SOCIAL EQUITY, CULTURAL IDENTITY OF THIS REALLY IMPORTANT STREET IN OUR STATE IS PAYING ATTENTION TO, YOU KNOW, THE HISTORY OF WHO'S BEEN THERE AND WHO SHOULD BE THERE AND CELEBRATING.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ALL THE DIFFERENT CULTURES THAT HAVE MINGLED TO CREATE AUSTIN.

AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK WORKING WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE WILL BE A REALLY FUN AND INTERESTING THING TO PURSUE.

WE HAVEN'T REALLY STARTED THAT ASPECT OF IT YET, BUT I THINK HOPE TO DURING 69% LEVEL.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WILL BE REQUIRED FOR THE PUBLIC ART ELEMENTS NEXT.

AND THERE ARE ALREADY QUITE A FEW, UM, ELEMENTS THAT WE'D CALL PUBLIC ART ALONG THE AVENUE, AND THIS IS JUST A MAPPING OF SOME OF THOSE.

SO THERE'S A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND, UM, THE EXPRESSION OF WHO WE ARE AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS AVENUE THAT REALLY DOES BRING US ALL TOGETHER IN THIS ONE SPACE.

NEXT, UH, ONE OF THE IDEAS FROM THE VISION PLAN WAS TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT THEY CALLED VIBRANT CROSSINGS AND TO REALLY ACCENTUATE THESE DIFFERENT CROSS STREETS ALONG THE AVENUE THAT HAVE VERY IMPORTANT TIE-INS TO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY.

FOR EXAMPLE, FIFTH STREET IS CALLED THE MEXICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE STREET.

AND IT'S CONNECTING, CONNECTING WHAT WAS LIKE A, YOU KNOW, REPUBLIC SQUARE, WHICH WAS VERY MUCH THE CENTER OF THE, UH, MEXICAN AND MEXICAN-AMERICAN LIFE IN THE, LIKE THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY, EARLY 20TH CENTURY, ALL THE WAY OVER TO ME CARTE AND TO THE MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER.

THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF HOW COULD WE THEN MAKE THAT SORT OF COMMUNICATE THAT WITH GRAPHICS AND THE PAVEMENT OR PUBLIC ART ALONG, ALONG THAT CROSSING.

SO THAT'S JUST MORE TO COME ON THAT NEXT.

AND SO I THINK WE'RE AT NEXT STEPS.

OKAY, LAURA, THANKS.

THANK YOU, JANA.

THANK YOU JANA.

AND LOOKING FORWARD TO MAYBE MORE DISCUSSION.

I THINK, UM, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO BRIEF MANY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION, DESIGN, ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, CONCERNS OF THE CITY.

SO APPRECIATE BEING ABLE TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION WITH Y'ALL TONIGHT IN YOUR CAPACITY IN THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.

UM, AND THEN ALSO, YEAH, PREVIEW WHAT'S TO COME.

SO, UH, WE'VE MADE A CREDIBLE PROGRESS, UM, HUGE, HUGE, UM, GRATITUDE TO H D R FOR ALL OF THE WORK THEY'VE BROUGHT TO BEAR ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS, TRAFFIC ANALYSIS.

UH, IT'S THE STREET AND BRIDGE DESIGN, UM, THE LIGHTING HARDSCAPE, UH, UTILITY ANALYSIS, WHICH TO TO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS REALLY, UH, IS PROBABLY SOME OF YOU MAYBE KNOW BETTER THAN OTHERS.

THERE'S THE, THERE'S THE STUFF ON TOP OF THE STREET AND THEN THERE'S STUFF UNDERNEATH AND SORT OF RECONCILING THAT IS, IS PROBABLY THE LARGEST CHALLENGE WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA HAVE AS A CITY, TO BE QUITE FRANK AND HONEST WITH YOU, YOU KNOW, JUST, UH, TO UNDERSTAND HOW, UM, HOW TO MANAGE THIS, UH, GOING FORWARD.

WITH THAT SAID, UM, WE, WE, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE, THE VISION PLAN REALLY LOOKED, ARTICULATED, SORT OF A PHASED APPROACH.

SO WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT IS WE PULLED TOGETHER, UH, THE PIECES THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THROUGH THIS INITIAL DESIGN IS WHAT COULD THOSE PIECES LOOK LIKE? WHAT COULD WE, UM, WHAT CAN WE AFFORD TO DO AND WHAT, UH, WHAT, WHAT SHOULD WE DO, UH, AS A CITY, UM, IN AN ENGAGEMENT THIS FALL, UH, WITH THE COMMUNITY? AND WITH THAT, WE CAN THEN FINALIZE THAT SORT OF 30% DESIGN, UNDERSTANDING OUR BIG CONSTRAINTS, UNDERSTANDING, UM, THE OTHER, UH, UTILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, UH, AS PART OF THE PROJECT, AND THEN BE ABLE TO ADVANCE A, A PHASE OF WORK GOING FORWARD TO ACTUALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKE A TRANSFORMATIONAL STEP ON THE AVENUE.

UM, AND USING, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH PARTNERSHIPS ALL ALONG THE WAY.

THIS IS CERTAINLY, NO, NOT A STATIC ENVIRONMENT.

THERE'S CHANGE EVERY BLOCK, EVERY MOMENT.

SO WE WANT TO ALSO PROVIDE JUST A PALETTE THAT PEOPLE CAN, UM, PARTICIPATE IN IN THE REALIZATION OF THIS VISION.

WITH THAT, I THINK THAT'S THE LAST SLIDE BEFORE WE, UH, JUST, YEAH, AGAIN, ACKNOWLEDGING THE BIG

[01:45:01]

CONSULTANT TEAM BEHIND THIS WORK, UM, AGAIN, WITH APPRECIATION TO THEM.

AND BEYOND THAT, I THINK WE WANNA OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS AND WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

YES.

ALL.

ALRIGHT.

UM, SO ACTUALLY MY FIRST QUESTION IS ABOUT THAT, I GUESS THE SLIDE WITH THE, UM, NEXT STEPS MM-HMM.

, UM, SO IT SAYS PHASE ONE A ONE B TWO THREE.

IS THAT FROM THE VISION PLAN? MM-HMM.

, IS THAT WHAT Y'ALL ARE PLANNING IS LIKE IN TERMS OF THE FUNDING THAT YOU HAVE? YES, WE'RE DEFINITELY DOING ONE A FIRST OR IS THAT JUST THOSE PHASES COULD COME IN ANY ORDER? WHAT A GOOD QUESTION.

UH, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY HARD AND FAST.

UH, IT JUST SORT OF HELPS YOU TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A, AN ENORMOUS UNDERTAKING THAT WILL HAVE TO BE DONE IN PHASES AS TO WHAT PHASE WE TAKE ON AND, AND HOW MUCH IS SOME SOMETHING WE'D LIKE TO BRING BACK IN A COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS THAT WE CAN ALL KIND OF BE THE MOST INFORMED AS WE CAN BE AND, AND THE MOST, UM, AMBITIOUS WE CAN BE AS A CITY WITH WHAT WE CAN TAKE ON.

AND HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU HAVE FROM THE 2020 BOND FOR THIS? OR IS IT THERE IN TOTAL? THERE WERE FOUR NAMED PROJECTS.

SO IN ADDITION TO THIS PROJECT, THERE'S THE, UM, THE BARTON CREEK BRIDGE, THE EXTENSION OF SOUTH PLEASANT VALLEY ROAD, AND THE, UM, THE SO-CALLED WISHBONE BRIDGE, WHICH IS THE, UM, THE LONGHORN DAM.

LONGHORN DAM, YEAH.

NEAR LONGHORN DAM.

UM, SO THOSE NUMBERS AREN'T FIXED, BUT THAT POT WAS ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, NATURALLY THERE'S WAY MORE NEED THAN THAT CAN OFFER, BUT THE IDEA WOULD BE TO COME UP WITH A, THE STRONGEST AND BEST STRATEGY FOR, FOR ALL FOUR OF THOSE PROJECTS AND THEN MOVE THEM FORWARD IN SOME FASHION.

H ONE.

YEAH, I HAD SOME COMMENTS ON THE SHADE STRUCTURE ON THE BRIDGE.

I MEAN, I, THE IMAGE IS PRETTY, BUT LIKE, ONE OF MY THINGS, ANYBODY WHO'S BEEN ON A BODY WITH ME AT ANY POINT WILL BE LIKE, OKAY, HERE GOES SUSAN ABOUT SHADE STRUCTURES AGAIN, IS LIKE, SOMETIMES THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A TRADE OFF BETWEEN FUNCTIONALITY AND ARTISTIC APPEAL AND LIKE, I KNOW YOU'RE NOT REALLY BUILDING WHAT'S IN THE PICTURE, RIGHT? LIKE, YOU ALREADY SAID THAT, AND I KNOW YOU WOULDN'T DO THAT ANYWAY, BUT LIKE, WHAT'S IN THE PICTURE LOOKS PRETTY, BUT IT DOES, LIKE HOW MUCH SHADE DOES THAT ACTUALLY PROVIDE? AND YOU KNOW, LIKE IF WE CAN'T BUILD ROBUST SHADE STRUCTURES, OKAY, MAYBE I SHOULDN'T SAY THIS.

WHAT'S THE POINT? LIKE IF WE'RE GONNA BUILD SOMETHING THAT JUST LIKE, DOESN'T REALLY SHADE YOU ANYWAY, WHY DID WE EVEN DO THAT? LIKE WHAT MAYBE THERE'S A BETTER STRATEGY TO LIKE HELP PEOPLE ESCAPE THIS HARD HEAT OR SOMETHING.

I DON'T KNOW.

SO LIKE, JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.

THOSE ARE LIKE LATTICE, THEY'RE NOT REALLY SHADE.

IF YOU, IF YOU'RE ON TWITTER, YOU SEE WHAT LA DID, UM, , YOU KNOW? YEAH, OKAY.

SUE WOULD NEVER DO THE, SO, UM, LET'S NOT DO THOSE THINGS.

UM, SO YEAH, SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY MY MAJOR, MAJOR COMMENT.

THE OTHER, THE OTHER THING I THINK IS THAT'S JUST A COMMENT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO REALLY RESPOND.

THE LAST THING IS A QUESTION.

SO AT SOME POINT, UM, THERE WERE SOME PUBLIC ACTIVISM WHEN THIS VISION, THE VISION PLAN WAS BEING WORKED ON FOR LIKE, WHAT WAS CALLED LIKE FESTIVAL STREETS, LIKE THAT COULD EASILY SORT OF BE SHUT DOWN AND CONVERTED TO PEDESTRIAN USE FOR FESTIVALS SITUATIONALLY REALLY, REALLY QUICKLY, LIKE MAYBE EVEN HAVING BALLARDS OR SOMETHING.

I WONDERED IF ANY OF LIKE, I'D ACTUALLY HAVE TO GO BACK AND READ THE VISION PLAN, BUT I WONDERED IF ANY OF THOSE CONCEPTS, PARTICULARLY IN THE CIVIC AREA OR LIKE PERSISTING THROUGH YOUR CURRENT PLANNING.

YES, ABSOLUTELY.

UM, THE, THE FIVE LANE SECTION KIND OF DOES PROVIDE THE MOST ELASTICITY FOR THAT IF YOU STRETCH THAT ELASTICITY IN TIME AND SPACE.

SO THINKING ABOUT A FESTIVAL STREET CAN BE A NIGHT, IT COULD BE MULTI-DAY, AND HOW DO YOU SORT OF, UH, COEXIST AS A MAJOR, YOU KNOW, A STREET IN, WITHIN A NETWORK AS WELL AS A GATHERING PLACE.

SO THAT'S KIND OF THE, THE THINKING BEHIND THAT FIVE LANE SECTION IS THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA GIVE US THAT ROBUSTNESS AND ELASTICITY WITH HOW WE USE, ESPECIALLY AS YOU SAID, THOSE BLOCKS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, ABOVE SEVENTH, THAT KIND OF START TO PETER OUT IN TERMS OF DEMAND.

UH, NOT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE DAY EVERYTHING HAS A FUNCTION.

BUT, UM, THINKING ABOUT THAT AS, AS SORT OF A MOST, THE MOST AGILE WAY WE CAN SPATIALLY.

UM, OTHER COMMISSIONERS.

UM, FIRST OF ALL, I LOVE SEEING, UM, YOU KNOW, CAR STORAGE TURN INTO REALLY EXCITING HUMAN SCALE, THE ACTIVITY, PLACES FOR PEOPLE TO GO.

I APPRECIATE THE PERMEABLE, UM, PAVING THAT YOU'RE GONNA DO IN THAT AMENITY AREA.

I THINK THOSE ARE GREAT IDEAS.

UH, THERE'S ALSO THE, UM, URBAN, THE CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW MM-HMM.

AND THERE'S SOME LIKE DIFFERENT SORT OF ONE WAY TO TWO WAY CONVERSION IDEAS THAT ARE OUT THERE.

AND SO HOW IS THIS LIKE PLAYING ALONG WITH THAT? ARE YOU LIKE, I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S DIFFERENT TEAMS OR DIFFERENT GROUPS OF CONSULTANTS WORKING ON THOSE, BUT LIKE, ARE YOU GUYS CONSIDERING LIKE THE CHANGES THAT MIGHT COME FROM THAT AND DOING IT IN TANDEM TO MAKE SURE THAT IT ALL WORKS? ANOTHER JUST GREAT

[01:50:01]

QUESTION.

I LOVE YOU GUYS ARE, YOU GUYS ARE SO SMART , UM, TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT IT'S DIFFERENT TEAMS, BUT IT'S SORT OF A GREAT MOMENT AND A PLANNING RENAISSANCE, IF YOU WILL, FOR THE, FOR THE DOWNTOWN.

I MEAN, I THINK MAYBE THAT'S OVERSTATED, BUT IT AT LEAST ALLOWS US TO THINK STRATEGICALLY ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN AS A GRID AND THE FUNCTIONS OF EACH OF THOSE STREETS AND WHAT ARE THE STRENGTHS OF CONGRESS AND WHAT ARE ITS WEAKNESSES WITH RESPECT TO THE FULL KIND OF, AND WHAT CAN WE LOOK TO OTHER STREETS TO PROVIDE IN TERMS OF THE, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, TRANSIT SERVICE OR PARKING OR WHAT HAVE YOU, TO, UM, UH, CERTAINLY BIKE IMPEDED, YOU KNOW, AND THINKING ABOUT PARKING NOT JUST ON STREET, BUT JUST IN THE WHOLE DOWNTOWN WITH GARAGES AND SO ON.

UM, WITH THAT SAID, YEAH, WE'RE, UM, WORKING SEPARATELY BUT AWARE OF, OF THESE CONCURRENT EFFORTS AND WOULD BE, UM, LOOKING TO THE ACT PLAN, THE AUSTIN COURT TRANSPORTATION PLAN TO REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW ALL OF THESE STREETS RELATE TO EACH OTHER AND SERVE THE OVERALL MOBILITY NEEDS OF THE DOWNTOWN.

WE'RE LUCKY TO HAVE THE ACT , IT'S A HARD ACT TO FOLLOW, BUT IT'S REALLY GREAT THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WE HAVE THIS GOING ON RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT'S ALSO LOOKING AT I 35 IMPROVEMENTS AND HOW DOES THAT AFFECT, 'CAUSE IT HAS A DIRECT EFFECT ON CONGRESS AVENUE AND THE WAY IT'S GONNA BEHAVE AND THEN ALSO PROJECT CONNECT.

SO THOSE ARE TWO OTHER HUGE PROJECTS GOING ON THAT I FEEL LIKE THIS, THE ACT IS REALLY HELPING US KEEP OUR ACT TOGETHER.

ENOUGH PUNTS ON THAT.

OTHERS.

SO I SEE THAT, UM, THIS FALL IT'S MORE ABOUT ON THE 30% DESIGN AND DOING THE ENGAGEMENT AROUND THAT.

WHAT IS THE OVERALL TIMELINE FOR THE PROJECT? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

SO WE WANT TO GET TO THIS FIRST MAJOR MILESTONE JUST TO KNOW KIND OF WHAT WE, WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST AND WHAT CAN WE DO.

AND THEN FROM THERE WE WOULD, UM, AS I SAID, KIND OF PEEL OFF A CONSTRUCTION, UM, PHASE.

I THINK THAT WOULD TAKE PROBABLY THE BETTER PART OF 18 MONTHS TO TWO YEARS TO REALLY GET RIGHT.

AND THAT AFTER WHICH WE WOULD HOPE TO BE IN CONSTRUCTION.

UM, SPENCER.

SURE.

GEL A SCHEMATIC DESIGN THAT YEAH.

SO, UM, I HAVE A QUESTION THEN A COMMENT.

SO, UM, I THINK THIS IS NOW THE THIRD TIME I'VE SEEN THE PRESENTATION AND IT GETS BETTER EVERY TIME.

OH, OKAY.

GOOD.

, UH, MAN, THIS, UM, SO I, I I GUESS I'D JUST BE CURIOUS, UM, I THINK WE'RE THE LAST COMMISSION, RIGHT? MM-HMM.

THAT YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO MM-HMM.

SO, YOU KNOW, HAVE THERE BEEN ANY COMMON THEMES AND DO YOU EXPECT TO CHANGE ANYTHING BEFORE YOU GO OUT TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT? UM, AND THEN THE COMMENT I WAS GONNA MAKE, I THINK WE TOUCHED ON THIS BRIEFLY YEAH.

AT THE BACKPACK, BUT, UM, ONE PLACE WHERE I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF GROWTH WHEN WE GO INTO 30% DESIGN IS THE VIBRANT CROSSINGS AND PERHAPS KIND OF MERGING THAT WITH THE PUBLIC ART ELEMENTS.

UM, ONE THING THAT'S ALWAYS FRUSTRATED ME ABOUT CONGRESS IS, YOU KNOW, THE VIEW IS AMAZING WHEN YOU HAVE THE TERMINATING VISTA WITH UH, UH, THE CAPITAL, BUT WE GIVE THAT VIEW TO CARS AND WE DON'T JUST GIVE IT TO CARS, WE GIVE IT TO TURNING CARS, YOU KNOW, WHO GET TO SEE IT FOR A SECOND AND PROBABLY SHOULDN'T EVEN BE LOOKING AT IT.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S A WAY WE CAN TAKE A CUE FROM UT WHO AT, UH, YOU KNOW, UNIVERSITY AND M L K HAVE THAT GREAT LITTLE PLACE WHERE YOU CAN TAKE A PICTURE WITH, UH, UH, THE TOWER IN THE BACKGROUND OR JUST ADMIRE THE VIEW, YOU KNOW, ASIDE FROM IT INSTANTLY PROBABLY BECOMING ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, BEST PHOTO OPS IN AUSTIN, I THINK IT WOULD SEND A GREAT SIGNAL, UH, ABOUT WHAT AUSTIN'S ABOUT TO EVERYONE ELSE THAT WE ARE TAKING THE MAIN STREET OF TEXAS AND WE'RE GIVING IT BACK TO PEOPLE.

AND I THINK THAT WOULD REALLY CHANGE THE TONE OF HOW WE CAN CONSTRUCT FUTURE PROJECTS AND CHANGE THE TONE OF WHAT AUSTIN IS ABOUT.

UM, SO THERE'S THAT.

AND THEN I'D YEAH, I'D LOVE TO KNOW THAT, ANSWER THAT QUESTION.

WELL, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

THAT IS THE VISION AND KIND OF THE UM, UH, STRATEGY WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.

AND I THINK THAT'S BACK TO THAT FIVE LANE SECTION, BACK TO THAT ELASTICITY AND THE ABILITY TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT BECOMES POSSIBLE WITH A SECTION LIKE THAT.

UM, AND SO TO NOT FORECLOSE ON ANY OF THOSE IDEAS, BUT TO KIND OF HOLD, OPEN THOSE, UM, THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AS WE GO AND, AND EVEN UNDERSTAND IT KIND OF BLOCK BY BLOCK WHERE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT SPACE IS USED FOR DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT THINGS IN DIFFERENT TIME AND SPACE EVEN TOO.

SO YEAH, DEFINITELY.

UM, WE HAVEN'T SORT OF, UM, ACTUATED THAT EXACT IDEA, BUT THAT AMONG OTHERS, INCLUDING I THINK SOME GREAT FEEDBACK FROM THE BICYCLE SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL ABOUT A DEGREE OF SEPARATION AND REALLY FEELING THE COMFORT AND LOWERING, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED LAST PRESENTATION ABOUT LOWERING TRAFFIC STRESS.

UM, THIS IS, THERE'S, THERE'S AN ELEMENT OF THAT HERE IN THIS STREET, BUT THERE'S ALSO LIKE A VERY HEAVY DOSE AND SO GRATEFUL FOR PEOPLE LIKE JANET.

'CAUSE I DON'T COME FROM THIS BACKGROUND OF LIKE THE DESIGN AND LIKE THE LEVEL OF STRESS AND COMFORT COMES OUT OF THE ENJOYMENT OF THE PLACE TO DWELL, NOT NECESSARILY TO PASS THROUGH OR YOU HAVE TO DO KIND OF BOTH.

WELL.

AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE IDEAS I THINK WE'RE TAKING FROM THE COMMISSION BRIEFINGS, UM, AMONG MANY, MANY OTHERS TO KIND OF, UM,

[01:55:01]

Y'ALL CAN REACT TO WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, SPECIFICITY.

UH, JUST TO FOLLOW UP, DO YOU ANTICIPATE, UH, BEFORE, RIGHT, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS THE NEXT STEP.

DO YOU ANTICIPATE MAKING ANY CHANGES BEFORE THEN, OR THE CHANGES WILL COME IN THE 30% DESIGN? THE, UM, I THINK THERE WOULD BE CERTAINLY TWEAKS TO THAT.

SO-CALLED 30% FOLLOWING THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT JUST TO SORT OF REACT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, ADJUST TO ANY FEEDBACK THAT CAN BE, YEAH, THAT, THAT COMES OUTTA THAT PROCESS.

OTHERWISE WHY WOULD WE DO IT ? AND THEN FROM THERE WE'D, WE'D WANT TO THEN QUICKLY KIND OF, UM, SET UP THAT NEXT TRANCHE OF WORK AT, YOU KNOW, SO-CALLED SIXTIES, 90% JUST ADVANCE IT TO A BUT THAT WOULD BE A PIECE OF IT.

YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT PIECE IS, IS SOMETHING WE, WE WANNA BRING TO Y'ALL IN TERMS OF WHAT WE CAN DO REALISTICALLY WITH THE MONEY WE HAVE.

BASICALLY, I, I WOULD JUST ADVISE YOU WITH THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

I, I MEAN, KNOWING HOW THINGS, I THINK THE, THE PLAN FOR THE TREES IS INTERESTING, YOU KNOW, TO LIKE REMOVE THE CURRENT TREES AND PUT IN NEW TREES AND I'M ALL FOR NEW TREES.

'CAUSE NEW TREES ARE ACTUALLY REALLY SUPER GREAT FOR CLIMATE.

BUT I THINK THAT YOU WANNA MESSAGE THAT CAREFULLY IN YOUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

SO, 'CAUSE TREES SOMETIMES HAVE BECOME A REAL, UH, LIGHTNING, LIGHTNING TREES ARE A NATURAL LIGHTNING ROD, BUT THEY'RE ALSO A FIGURATIVE LIGHTNING ROD SOMETIMES.

AND SO I THINK, UM, THAT MIGHT TAKE SOME PEOPLE BY SURPRISE, WELL, YOU'RE GONNA REMOVE TREES AND THEN PUT TREES BACK WHERE THE TREES ALREADY WERE LIKE, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THAT MIGHT BE DIFFICULT FOR SOME FOLKS TO GET TO GET THERE.

SO, UM, I'M, I'M FINE WITH IT, BUT I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT IN YOUR ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES.

I THINK THAT REALLY, WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT THAT WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.

A LOT OF CONCERN AND, AND I THINK ONCE YOU DIVE INTO LIKE THE TREE SURVEYS AND THE TREE HEALTH REPORTS, YOU START TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHY WE'RE RECOMMENDING WHAT WE ARE.

BUT IT IS A VERY HARD THING TO SWALLOW WHAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S SORT OF LIKE SHOCKING, BUT I THINK WITH THE PHASING OF IT, IT'LL, IT WON'T BE.

AND I THINK THAT ULTIMATELY WE'RE GONNA HAVE MUCH HEALTHIER, UH, TREES THAT WILL SURVIVE IN A LOT BETTER.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE LOOKED AT THE TREES ON CONGRESS AVENUE, BUT THEY'VE REALLY TAKEN A BIG HIT AFTER THE FREEZE, WHICH WAS THEN FOLLOWED BY A LOT OF SUNSHINE, WHICH IS KIND OF A, A VERY DIFFICULT THING FOR A LOT OF TREES TO HANDLE.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I MEAN, THAT'S REALLY OUR JOB IS TO DO, AS GUN JANICE SAID, IS KIND OF HELP EXPLAIN, YOU KNOW, THESE BIG, UM, BIG GESTURES WILL RESULT IN, UH, BIG RETURNS.

JUST UNDERSTANDING IT, NOT TO MENTION ALL OF THE REST OF IT, THE SLOPES.

AND ONCE YOU START SORT OF LOOKING AT IT MORE CLOSELY, YOU'RE LIKE, OH BOY, WE GOT A LOT TO ADDRESS.

SO, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS? ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT, JOINING YOU GUYS.

THE PRESENTATION TODAY, GUYS, FOR THE QUESTIONS.

AND WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN WHEN YOU, UH, PASS SOME OF THESE MILESTONES AND COME BACK TO GET READY TO CONSTRUCT THIS HOPEFULLY.

SO THAT MOVES US ONTO OUR BRIEFING SECTION.

I'M GONNA PREFACE THIS KIND OF FOR ALL OF OUR, ALL REALLY OUR ENTIRE BODY, BUT ALSO FOR OUR TWO NEW PEOPLE A BIT.

SO ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW IS THAT I GUESS STATUTORILY, UM, SOME OF OUR COMMISSIONERS SERVE ON OTHER COMMISSIONERS BY APPOINTMENT.

SO THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION IS OB, IT'S OBVIOUSLY A SUPER IMPORTANT COMMISSION.

AND SO THERE'S CERTAIN OTHER COMMISSIONS THAT BY DEFINITION HAVE AN APPOINTED MEMBER OF U T C ON THEM.

AND WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF, UM, WITH RECENT ELECTIONS AND TURNOVER, UH, TERM LIMITS, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF, UM, TURNOVER ON OUR COMMISSION.

AND SO WE'RE LOOKING TO FILL SOME OF THESE POSITIONS.

I WANT TO KIND OF LET THIS STEW AT LEAST THIS MONTH, MAYBE ONE MORE MONTH WHILE PEOPLE SORT OF CONSIDER, GET USED TO U T C, SORT OF SEE WHAT THE COMMITMENT IS.

I THINK WE STILL HAVE ONE VACANCY, UM, FROM THE MAYOR.

INTERESTING.

UM, SO, UM, SO I WANNA LIKE LET THESE PERCOLATE A LITTLE BIT AND PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY.

AND SO LET ME JUST SEE IF I CAN, UM, UH, JUST RECAP THE, THE APPOINTMENTS QUICKLY.

SO THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION HAS BEEN FILLED BY SPENCER.

I THINK, I THINK WE ACTUALLY DO STILL NEED TO DO THAT.

, UM, THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION IS FULFILLED BY DIANA.

AND WE HAVE DID, WE DID APPOINT A BACKUP.

DID WE, AM I MAKING THAT UP? NO, I I'M PRETTY SURE WE DID.

I THINK, WAS IT SPENCER? I MIGHT BE.

[02:00:01]

LET'S GO TO OUR MINUTES.

WE, WE DO NEED TO DO THAT.

I'M SORRY.

WE STILL, WE STILL NEED TO, OKAY.

WILL BE, I THINK, PRETTY FAST.

SO WE, UH, THE COMMISSION HAS ASKED THAT THEY'VE HAD A QUORUM PROBLEM.

SO THEY ASK THAT THERE'D BE A BACKUP FROM OUR A BACKUP APPOINTEE IN CASE OF DIANA'S UNABLE TO ATTEND.

SO WE NEED TO WORK ON THAT.

UM, THE BICYCLE ADVISORY AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY, RIGHT NOW, SPENCER AND DANIEL ARE REPORTING BACK ON THOSE TO US RESPECTIVELY, BUT BOTH OF THEM SAT ON THOSE BODIES BEFORE BEING APPOINTED, SO THEY'RE NOT UTCS A APPOINTEE TO THOSE BODIES.

AND SO I WANT, I WANT TO PRESERVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SOMEONE TO U T C TO BE APPOINTED TO THOSE IF THEY WANT AND GET MORE PEOPLE PARTICIPATING IF WE WANT, OR IF NOT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA GO WITH THAT.

CITY COUNCIL MOBILITY COMMITTEE IS JUST SOMETHING THAT I, AS CHAIR, IT'S SORT OF PART OF MY, MY DUTIES IS THAT I REPORT, UM, TO CITY COUNCIL MOBILITY COMMITTEE AT THEIR REGULAR MEETINGS ON OUR ACTIONS.

AND THEN THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD, WE HAVE AN APPOINTEE TO THAT.

I'M CURRENTLY IN THAT ROLE.

I ACTUALLY, UM, UH, WELL I'LL GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE CHANGES TO OUR BYLAWS.

SO YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT THAT.

BUT WE WILL BE NEEDING TO TAKE SOME KIND OF ACTION ON THAT THIS FALL AS WELL, I THINK LATER THIS FALL, MAYBE TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR.

SO, UM, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA START THROUGH OUR BRIEFINGS.

AND SO I JUST WANT THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NEW OR NOT SERVING AS AN APPOINTEE TO CONSIDER.

WE HAVE, WE HAVE QUITE A BIT OF THINGS TO FILL.

SO, I MEAN, I, IT'S A LOT FOR ME TO SAY, HEY, YOU JUST JOINED OUR COMMISSION.

WANNA JOIN MORE COMMISSIONS? LIKE I, THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT THEY SIGNED UP FOR.

SO IT'S JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT AND GET THE SENSE OF HOW, HOW WE OPERATE HERE.

BUT WE'LL JUST GO THROUGH OUR BRIEFINGS, WHICH

[BRIEFINGS]

SO DOWNTOWN COMMISSION IS SPENCER.

THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION WAS ANOTHER VICTIM OF THE BUDGET BRIEFINGS AND DID NOT MEET.

THERE WE GO.

THAT'S EASY.

DIANA? UH, JOINT SUSTAINABILITY? YES.

SO THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY FOR THOSE WHO I'M MAKING THE, I'M MAKING THE PLOY FOR THOSE WHO WANT, WHO WANTS TO BE THE BACKUP.

SO WE BASICALLY, WERE TRYING TO HELP THE CITY, UM, PUT IN PLACE THE ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY PLAN.

AND CERTAIN OF THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS HAVE A PLACE ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, DESIGN, URBAN TRANSPORTATION, UM, PLANNING ZONING, UM, THOSE ARE THE, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERY SINGLE COMMISSION HAS A, HAS A PLACE ON THE J S C, BUT WE DO THE U T C DOES.

UM, WE GOT A, UM, A PRESENTATION BY THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.

THEIR BUDGET, ACTUALLY THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY IS THE CITY STAFF THAT HELPS US WITH THE J S C.

UM, THEY CURRENTLY HAVE 14 STAFF.

THEY GOT, UM, A BUDGET.

THEY HAVE A BUDGET OF ABOUT 2 MILLION, BUT YOU KNOW, WITH 14 STAFF, SOME OF THAT IS FIXED COST.

HOWEVER, THE EXCITING THING FOR THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY BUDGET IS THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO FUND, UH, A FEW NEW ITEMS. THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO FUND A UT CLIMATE COLAB.

SO IT'S RESEARCH DONE IN CONJUNCTION WITH UT ON THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE, UM, AND HELPING, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN WATER, YOU KNOW, PLANNING TO BE READY FOR THE FUTURE.

AND THEY ALSO GOT FUNDING FOR A CLIMATE POLLUTION.

UM, THEY, THEY'RE BE DOING A CLIMATE PDU POLLUTION REDUCTION, UM, PLANS.

THEY, THEY GOT A, ANOTHER SMALL GRANT IN ADDITION TO THEIR CITY FUNDING.

AND SO THEY'RE GONNA CREATE AS A DELIVERABLE SOME, UH, PLANS ON HOW TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS IN AUSTIN AND HOW TO REDUCE IT FOR CLIMATE POLLUTION.

AND THAT WAS THE BULK OF OUR MEETING.

THE MOCHA TRAIL PROJECT, AND THEN THE MOST EXCITING THING EVER, WHICH IS THE SHOAL CREEK TRAIL CONNECTIVITY GAPS PROJECT, WHICH HAS AN OPEN HOUSE RIGHT NOW THAT YOU GUYS SHOULD ALL COMMENT ON.

UM, BICYCLE ADVISORY.

YEAH, SO, UM, WE HAD ANOTHER JOINT MEETING WITH THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL.

UH, THIS TIME WE JOINED FOR THE PEDESTRIAN COUNCIL'S MEETING.

SO I'LL LET DANIEL DO THE BRIEFING.

UM, I DID FIND OUT ONE THING THAT IS OF INTEREST TO THIS COMMISSION.

SO, UH, WHEN WE KEPT SAYING THAT WE WERE APPOINTING SOMEONE FROM THE U T C TO THE B A C AND P A C I WAS LIKE, I NEVER RECALL.

IS THAT NOT IN THE BYLAWS TO BE THAT PERSON? NO.

SO IT'S, THE WAY IT WORKS IS LIKE, TECHNICALLY THEY'RE JUST OBSERVERS.

THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING.

GOT IT.

UM, BUT I ACTUALLY THINK, I THINK THAT'S A NET BAD THING.

'CAUSE I THINK THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE COUNCILS, IT'S AN ALL TIME HIGH RIGHT NOW.

'CAUSE DANIEL AND I ARE BOTH ON THERE.

BUT, UM, I THINK LONG TERM IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE THE U T C UM, UH, APPOINT SOMEONE WHO'S INVOLVED, UH, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST AS AN ALTERNATE MEMBER.

UM, SO I THINK WE ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE REVISING THE BYLAWS IN THE COMING MONTHS TO ADD THAT PERSON.

UM, SO THE, IT IS AN ACTUAL APPOINTMENT, SO IT'S JUST BEEN, IT'S BEEN BASICALLY EX OFFICIO, I GUESS.

AND NOT EVEN LIKE EX OFFICIO.

LIKE IT DOESN'T EVEN JUST INFORMAL.

YEAH, INFORMAL.

IT'S INFORMAL.

OBSERVER KEEPING TABS ON YOU IS THE TITLE I WAS GIVEN.

UM, ALL RIGHT, SO AT THAT MEETING, UH, IF YOU WANNA ADD ANY DETAILS, UH, IT WAS ABOUT THE MOBILITY MANAGEMENT CENTER FROM, OF COURSE, TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS, UM, AN UPDATE ON

[02:05:01]

UM, AND THOSE WERE, THOSE WERE THE THREE AGENDA ITEMS, ITEMS. CAN YOU SEND THAT? CAN YOU GET THAT TO CHRIS AND HAVE HIM SEND THAT TO US? YES, THANK YOU.

IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO ME.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

AWESOME.

UM, OKAY.

SO CITY COUNCIL MOBILITY COMMITTEE I WENT AND REPORTED ON, THEY HAD NOT MET SINCE MAY, AND I SAW THEM LIKE AUGUST 27TH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AUGUST 24TH.

UM, AND SO I REPORTED ON EVERYTHING WE HAD DONE BASICALLY IN OUR, UM, I THINK OUR JUNE AND JULY MEETINGS.

I THINK I HAD GONE IN MAY AFTER OUR MAY MEETING.

AND SO I JUST REPORTED ON THE ACTIONS THAT WE TOOK, UM, PARTICULARLY THE FLEX WORK AND THE, UM, PARKING, UH, AND BIKE LANES PROPOSALS.

SO I'VE TRIED TO MESSAGE THOSE REALLY WELL.

HOPEFULLY I DID.

SEPTEMBER 20TH CITY COUNCIL, SEPTEMBER 21ST, UM, CAP METRO BOARD SEPTEMBER 25TH.

AND SO, UM, AND THEN I'LL JUST SHARE THEIR AGENDA.

SO I KIND OF HALF LISTED TO THE REST OF THE AGENDA, UM, THAT THEY HAD, BUT THEY HEARD AN UPDATE ON THE MODE SHIFT GOAL PROGRESS UPDATE, WHICH WAS VERY GERMANE TO WHAT I HAD JUST PRESENTED ON, UM, IN TERMS OF THE FLEX WORK, WHICH WAS GOOD.

UM, SO THEY HEARD A SORT OF COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE ON THAT, ON THE MODE SHIFT GOAL PROGRESS.

IF THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW, PROBABLY MOST OF YOU DO, WE DO HAVE A GOAL FOR 50% OF FOLKS COMMUTING TO BE NOT IN A SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLE.

AND THEN THEY ALSO HEARD THE BIANNUAL VISION ZERO UPDATE.

SO THOSE WERE THEIR MAIN ITEMS THAT THEY HEARD.

UM, AND THEN THE OTHER ONE IS THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, FOR PROJECT CONNECT.

AND SO I'VE BEEN SERVING IN THAT ROLE.

UM, LET ME GIVE YOU OUR AGENDA AND THEN I'LL DELVE INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT, THE NATURE OF THAT ROLE.

SO, UM, WE HEARD A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE.

WE FINISHED OUR AGENDA ITEM FOR THE PRE PRIOR MONTH ABOUT SOME OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING WITH PROJECT CONNECT HOUSING FUNDS.

WE HEARD, UM, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IS DOING A PILOT PROGRAM ON CONGRESS AVENUE, UM, TO TALK ABOUT.

UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF CONCERN AMONG BUSINESSES REALLY THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT CONNECT CORRIDORS, UM, ABOUT BUSINESS DISPLACEMENT AND TROUBLE PARKING CHANGES TO THE WAY BUSINESSES OPERATE IF PARKING IS GOING AWAY OR THERE'S GOING TO BE A MASSIVE CONSTRUCTION SITE OUTSIDE THEIR DOOR FOR TWO YEARS, AND WE'RE ALREADY LOSING SORT OF HISTORIC LOCAL BUSINESSES IN SOME AREAS.

SO, UM, THEY'RE DOING SORT OF A PILOT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM TO SEE WHAT EFFECTS THIS MIGHT HAVE, THIS STUDY IT, AND THIS COULD BE SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE GONNA COME BACK TO DO MORE OF IN PROJECT CONNECT.

UM, INITIALLY THEY'RE GONNA FOCUS ON SOUTH CONGRESS, 'CAUSE THAT'S BEEN AN AREA UNDER A LOT OF DISCUSSION IN RELATION TO PROJECT, PROJECT CONNECT, BUT IT'S NOT GONNA NECESSARILY LONG TERM BE LIMITED TO THAT ZONE.

UM, AND WE DID OUR BYLAWS AND WE ALSO, UM, I'LL COME BACK TO THAT IN JUST A SECOND.

WE TALKED ABOUT OUR BYLAW UPDATE AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE, UM, COMMUNITY INITIATED SOLUTIONS.

THIS IS THE POT OF MONEY IN THE PROJECT CONNECT HOUSING FUNDS THAT GOES TO BASICALLY LOCAL NONPROFITS THAT DEAL WITH HOUSING.

SO IT COULD BE DIRECT RENT PAYMENT ASSISTANCE, IT COULD BE EDUCATION ABOUT, UM, HOUSING ISSUES.

AND WE GOT UPDATE ON THEIR FUNDING, UH, GRANT FUNDING PROCESSES AND CONTRACTS AND WHERE THEY STAND WITH THAT.

SO, UM, ANYWAY, I'LL GET TO THE BYLAWS ISSUE.

SO, UM, ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT HAS DEFINITELY ARISEN IS THAT THE ORIGINAL, UM, BYLAWS OR EVEN UM, INFORMATION ON HOW COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS FORMED WAS NOT .

I NEEDED A LOT OF IMPROVEMENT, LET'S JUST PUT IT THAT WAY.

SO, UM, THERE WAS A, UM, A SOMETHING PASSED BY THE JOINT POWERS.

THIS IS THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, CAP METRO, AND, UM, ALSO, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN A FEW MONTHS AGO THAT ALLOWED THE CURRENT COMMUNITY, BASICALLY, IT'S CLEAR HOW I'M APPOINTED, RIGHT? LIKE THAT'S ACTUALLY PRETTY CLEAR.

THIS BODY APPOINTS SOMEBODY FROM U T C TO THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

IT'S ACTUALLY TOTALLY UNCLEAR FROM THE BYLAWS OR ANY OF THE PROCESSES HOW ANYBODY ELSE WOULD RENEW OR APPLY AFTER THE INITIAL PHASE.

THERE'S LIKE, WHO, WHO EVALUATES THE APPLICANTS? NONE OF THAT WAS ACTUALLY CLEAR AT ALL.

AND SO THEY'RE TRYING TO SETTLE THAT.

SO WE'RE WORKING ON OUR BYLAWS.

AND SO THE GOAL IS THAT, UM, AT OUR MEETING NEXT UPCOMING COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL HEAR ABOUT, UM, THE PROPOSALS.

WE'VE ALREADY GIVEN SOME INPUT AND IDEAS ABOUT WHAT'S PROPOSED.

THE A T P BOARD WILL TAKE THAT UP.

AND THEN THERE'LL BE AN OPEN PROCESS IN OCTOBER, UM, FOR, UM, INDIVIDUALS TO APPLY TO THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE IF THEY WANT TO JOIN.

UM, THEY'RE ALSO GONNA ASK IN THE BYLAWS THAT ON CYCLE WITH THIS, WHENEVER THIS HAPPENS, THAT THE, THOSE BODIES WHO APPOINT SOMEBODY DIRECTLY TO C A C, SO THAT U T C IS INCLUDED IN THAT, UH, REAFFIRM OR VOTE OR APPOINT SOMEONE NEW IN THAT SAME CYCLE.

SO WE'LL BE ASKED TO, UM,

[02:10:01]

DO THAT AS WELL, PROBABLY IN THE RANGE OF OCTOBER OR NOVEMBER.

WE'LL NEED TO DO THAT WHEN THAT CYCLE IS COMING THROUGH.

UM, AND SO THIS BODY IS, IS JUST ONE THAT, UM, UH, ADVISES THE JOINT POWERS, UM, ON, ON AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP ON COMMUNITY ISSUES WITHIN PROJECT CONNECT.

SO THAT'LL ALL BE COMING THROUGH.

AND WE'LL ALSO HAVE MUCH BETTER INFORMATION ON THE BYLAWS OF LIKE, WHO IS THE COMMITTEE THAT INTERVIEWS THE APPLICANTS OR REVIEWS THE APPLICANT.

YOU KNOW, LIKE THE PROCESS FOR GETTING APPOINTED TO A CITY COMMISSION IS PRETTY CLEAR IN, IN LAW, BUT LIKE THE, ACTUALLY THIS PROCESS WASN'T VERY CLEAR.

SO THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO FIRM THAT UP QUITE A BIT.

SO WHENEVER THAT'S COMING THROUGH, WE'LL ALSO REAFFIRM EITHER WE'LL TAKE IT UP, YOU KNOW, WHO, WHO WE'RE, WHO WE'RE APPOINTING TO THAT BODY.

SO, UM, PRETTY SOON HERE IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.

SO, UM, I THINK THAT TAKES US THROUGH OUR BRIEFINGS.

UM, SO THIS IS NOW THE TIME WHERE WE WOULD DISCUSS AND, UM, GIVE TO OUR STAFF LIAISONS, UM, THE, UH, FUTURE AGENDA

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

ITEMS THAT WE WANNA TAKE UP.

UM, I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WAS ANYTHING RISING UP, SPENCER.

SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO CUT YOU OFF.

NO, YOU DIDN'T CUT ME OFF AT ALL.

UM, SO YEAH, I, I HAVE 2 1 1 IS A, A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM THAT I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST.

ANOTHER ONE IS ONE, I BELIEVE IT'S ALREADY COMING.

UM, SO, UH, THERE WAS THE, UH, CURB MANAGEMENT RESOLUTION THAT WAS ON THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA.

MY UNDERSTANDING WAS TAKEN OFF BECAUSE THE SMART MOBILITY OFFICE IS ALREADY, UM, ENGAGED IN THAT.

UM, IF WE COULD ENGAGE ON THAT, I THINK THAT'D BE REALLY IMPORTANT.

I THINK THAT'S THE MOST LIKELY AVENUE THAT ANYTHING FROM BIKE LANE ENFORCEMENT IS GONNA COME OUT OF MM-HMM.

SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE SOME OVERSIGHT AND A, A HAND IN THAT.

UM, MAYBE SOMETHING THAT IS A COUPLE MONTHS AWAY, BUT IF WE COULD PUT A BUG IN THE AREA FOR THAT, THAT'D GREAT.

UH, SECOND THING IS, UM, I WAS WATCHING THE PLANNING COMMISSIONING BECAUSE I WAS REALLY BORED AND THE, UM, UH, PARKING RESOLUTION OR PARKING ORDINANCE, UH, MINIMUM ORDINANCE IS SUPPOSED TO COME HERE NEXT MEETING.

SO I GUESS I JUST HAD A QUESTION.

IS THAT SOMETHING LIKE IT'S JUST GONNA BE A PRESENTATION OR IS THAT SOMETHING LIKE RIGHT AWAY VACATION THAT WE HAVE TO APPROVE? I CAN LOOK INTO THAT.

UH, WE WILL LOOK INTO THAT AND, AND GET BACK WITH YOU ALL.

UH, SPECIFICALLY I'LL EMAIL YOU ALL SPECIFICALLY WHETHER OR NOT IT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL NEED TO PREPARE TO APPROVE OR WHETHER OR NOT IT'LL JUST BE A BRIEFING.

I MEAN, EVEN IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO APPROVE OR MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON, IN MY MIND, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE OUGHT TO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THIS COMMISSION HAS STRUGGLED WITH RECENTLY IS A BIT, WE HEAR A PRESENTATION AND THEN A LOT OF TIMES WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE LANGUAGE READY UNLESS IT'S LIKE, YES, WE AGREE, DO THIS.

WE'VE PASSED A FEW THAT ARE LIKE THAT, BUT LIKE, WE ENDORSE THIS THING.

BUT, UM, LIKE IF WE WANNA MAKE A RESOLUTION WITH ALL THE WAREHOUSES AND THINGS, UM, IT CAN BE HARD TO GET THAT.

SOMETIMES WE'VE NEED IT TO LIKE, TAKE A STEP BACK AND DO IT THE NEXT MEETING, WHICH WHEN WE'RE UNDER A TIME CRUNCH WITH SOMETHING IS NOT PRODUCTIVE.

SO I THINK THAT, UM, WE SHOULD TAKE THAT UP AND IN MY MIND, WE SHOULD ABSOLUTELY TAKE ACTION ON IT.

LIKE WE, WE SHOULDN'T LET THAT OPPORTUNITY GO.

KNOW, ONCE WE HAVE SOMETHING WE CAN WORDSMITH IT A BIT IN, IN, IN THE MEETING.

BUT WE'LL NEED TO COME READY TO, ESPECIALLY IF WE DON'T WANNA JUST SAY, YES, GOOD.

WE LIKE, WE NEED TO COME READY WITH A PROPOSAL, UM, FOR THAT, THAT SOMEONE WOULD WRITE.

YES.

AND SO I, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE THAT UP SINCE IT WAS MY COUNCILMAN WHO SPONSORED IT.

UM, I WAS ALSO GONNA SUGGEST TOO, 'CAUSE THE TIMELINE IN TERMS OF LIKE WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO COUNCIL IS PRETTY TIGHT.

UM, SO IF LIKE WE HAVE QUESTIONS AND THEN WANT ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS BEFORE WE DO ANYTHING, OR FOR SOMETHING TO BE CHANGED IN THE FINAL DRAFT, THERE ISN'T MUCH TIME.

IS THERE A WAY WE COULD DO KIND OF LIKE WHAT COUNCIL DOES WITH STAFF WHERE THERE'S, WE, WE SEND QUESTIONS IN ADVANCE AND GET ANSWERS FROM THEM SO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THEY HAVE TO GO BACK AND FIGURE OUT AFTERWARDS.

SHOULD BE ABLE TO, WE CAN'T SEND THEM AS A GROUP OBVIOUSLY, 'CAUSE THAT WOULD VIOLATE QUORUM.

BUT AS LONG AS THEY CAN, YOU ALL CAN GET YOUR QUESTIONS TO SPENCER.

SPENCER CAN SEND 'EM TO ME AND I CAN MAKE SURE THE STAFF ANSWERS THOSE BEFORE, UM, ANYTHING IS DONE.

THAT'S SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO YES.

THAT SOUNDS GOOD.

AND, AND WE CAN ALSO SHARE, I MEAN, ONE THING THAT'S GOOD TO SHARE IS LIKE, IF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING WAS PRETTY INFORMATIVE OF THAT, JUST SHARE THAT LINK AND THEN PEOPLE CAN WATCH THAT AND GET CAUGHT UP.

IT CAN BE REALLY HELPFUL.

UM, I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE I DON'T THINK THEY DO IT.

THEY'RE LIKE, I WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT BLAH, BLAH BLAH, AND I'M LIKE, WATCH OUR U T C MEETING FROM MAY.

AND THEY'RE LIKE, MM, OKAY, SUSAN.

LIKE, BUT IT CAN BE A GOOD WAY TO LIKE, GET CAUGHT UP IS TO WATCH OTHER BODIES FOR SURE AS WELL.

SO IF YOU, AND THEY HAVE THEIR LITTLE, UH, THEIR POWERPOINT FROM STAFF IS IN THE, UH, THE BACKUP FROM THAT PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, UH, IT'S A PRETTY SIMPLE RESOLUTION.

IT DOES, BASICALLY, I, I'M SURE THERE'S SOME COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE GONNA HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, BUT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, I WAS ALSO LIKE, PLAYED AN EFFORT IN THAT ADVOCACY, UH, EARLIER IN THE SPRING.

SO, UH, I CAN HELP PREPARE SOME LANGUAGE AS WELL.

UM, AND SO I CAN, I'LL BE IN CONTACT WITH YOU, SPENCER, AND OF COURSE SUSAN ON GETTING THAT PREPARED YEAH.

FOR NEXT MEETING, IF Y'ALL COULD JUST, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF YOU COLLABORATE AND GET THAT READY AND, YOU

[02:15:01]

WE JUST, WHEN WE HAVE NOTHING, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S A COMPLEX ISSUE, WE, WE STRUGGLE TO GET SOMETHING DONE.

SO THAT WOULD BE AWESOME IF Y'ALL CAN DO IT.

WOULD, WOULD IT BE HELPFUL TO JUST CREATE A WORK GROUP HERE SO WE MAKE SURE WE DON'T YEAH, SO LET, WE CAN, LET'S, LET'S DO THAT.

UM, I, I WILL, WHO IS INTERESTED IN HELPING WITH THIS? LET ME JUST ASK, I'LL PUT MYSELF UP TOO.

I CAN AT LEAST HELP A LITTLE BIT.

JUST AS LONG AS IT'S LESS THAN A QUORUM.

I'LL MOVE THAT.

WE HAVE A WORKING GROUP, UH, OF, UH, SPENCER, DANIEL AND MYSELF TO WRITE, UM, TO REVIEW, UM, INFORMATION FROM STAFF AND OTHER COMMISSIONS TO PREPARE A POSSIBLE RESOLUTION FOR, UM, RELATING TO PARKING MINIMUMS FOR OUR NEXT MEETING.

UM, DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.

ALL IN FAVOR? ALL RIGHT.

I THINK THAT IS UNANIMOUS OF THOSE HERE.

SO, UM, WE WILL GET THAT READY.

AWESOME.

ARE THERE OTHER, WHAT ELSE DO WE HAVE UP FOR, UM, OCTOBER, CHRIS? A FEW ITEMS ARE THE SAFE, UH, SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM.

UM, WE DO AN ANNUAL BRIEFING ON THAT.

UM, THE OTHER ONES WILL BE, GIMME JUST A MOMENT.

UM, WE'LL NEED TO SELECT OUR 2024 DATES FOR THE UPCOMING, UH, UH, 2024 YEAR.

SORRY.

UM, IN ADDITION TO, UH, YOU ALL REQUESTING AN UPDATE ON THE EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT, UM, WE'LL RECEIVE A PRESENTATION ON THAT IN OCTOBER AS WELL.

THAT SOUNDS LIKE A IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL RE MIKE REEN, MIKE, MIKE, MIKE , THE, THE E TODD, UH, RESOLUTION OR ISSUE IS PRETTY IMPORTANT BECAUSE COUNCIL PASSED RESOLUTION IN MARCH THAT GAVE STAFF SIX MONTHS TO ACTUALLY COME UP WITH SOME ORDINANCES AND THE SIX MONTHS WILL BE UP AT THE END OF THIS MONTH, SO THERE MAY BE MAYBE SOMETHING AVAILABLE.

UNDERSTOOD.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE PARKING MINIMUM, SO IT SOUNDS LIKE A BUSY OCTOBER MEETING.

HONESTLY.

ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE OCTOBER, JUST UPCOMING THINGS ON PEOPLE'S MIND.