Feb 21, 2024 Downtown Commission

UM, COMMISSIONER MOCK PRESENT.

I'M HAVING, HAVING A HARD TIME SEEING THE MONITOR.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU, TOO.

UH, COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER PRESENT.

COMMISSIONER FRANKLIN PRESENT.

COMMISSIONER LAROCHE.

UH, COMMISSIONER PATTERSON.

I THINK I SAW YOU JUST JOIN PRESENT.

WELCOME.

WE HAVE A QUORUM.

UH, THE, UH, NEXT ITEM, UH, IS PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.

YOU WOULDN'T HAPPEN TO KNOW IF WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.

WE DO NOT HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS.

NEXT ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF

[1. Approve the minutes of the Downtown Commission January 17, 2024 meeting.]

THE MINUTES.

HAS EVERYBODY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE MINUTES? ARE THERE ANY CHANGES, CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS THAT NEED TO BE MADE? ANYBODY ON ONLINE? SEEING NONE.

DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS POSTED? SO MOVED.

I HAVE A MOTION.

DO I HAVE A SECOND? I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.

ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.

AYE.

OPPOSED? HEARING NONE.

THE MOTION CARRIES.

IS TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNSEL TO PRIORITIZE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH REGARDS TO THE CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION.

ALRIGHT.

I DID WANT TO, UH, MAKE NOTE TO THE COMMISSION THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER WEAVER HAS STEPPED DOWN, UH, FROM THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.

SHE WILL BE MISSED.

SHE WAS A GREAT VOICE TO HAVE HERE, UM, BUT SHE HAS OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO PURSUE AND WE WISH HER WELL.

UM, THE NEXT ITEM

[2. Approve a recommendation to Council to prioritize community engagement with regards to the Convention Center expansion.]

YOU SHOULD SEE THAT IN YOUR PACKET.

UH, IT WAS POSTED ONLINE AS WELL.

UH, WE DISCUSSED IT LAST AT THE LAST MEETING.

UM, I, I BELIEVE YOU'RE BRINGING THE MOTION FORWARD.

I'M BRINGING THE MOTION FORWARD.

UM, SO SINCE IT WAS DISCUSSED LAST MEETING, GO AHEAD AND I'LL, ARE YOU GONNA MAKE A MOVE TO MOTION TO APPROVE? I, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE TO APPROVE THIS AND, UH, THEY UNDERSTAND THAT.

EXCUSE ME, I, I'M SORRY.

SORRY, I'M SORRY.

YEAH, IF YOU COULD JUST REPEAT EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID.

I WILL, I WILL MOVE TO APPROVE THIS, UH, TO MAKE THIS MOTION SO THAT THE, UH, COUNCIL UNDERSTANDS THE IMPORTANCE TO US OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

DO I HAVE A SECOND? I SECOND I HAVE A MOTION.

AND A SECOND.

I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE FLOOR FOR DISCUSSION.

COMMISSIONERS.

WE HAD A VERY ROBUST DISCUSSION AT OUR LAST MEETING.

THIS WAS BROUGHT TO US BY THE MUSIC COMMISSION.

UM, COMMISSIONER PATTERSON, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING? YEAH, I'M, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, UH, BRINGING THIS FORWARD.

UM, WE FEEL LIKE THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, AS STATED, INCREDIBLY SIGNIFICANT TO HAVE, UH, A COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD OR OTHER TYPE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT'S, UM, WELL-DEFINED FOR THIS VERY LARGE CAPITAL PROJECT THAT CAN HAVE A TREMENDOUS IMPACT ON TOURISM AS WELL AS OUR MUSIC AND ARTS ECOSYSTEM.

SO, YEAH, I, I WOULD ENCOURAGE, UH, THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSIONERS TO SUPPORT THIS RESOLUTION.

ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD? SEEING NONE, CALL QUESTION.

CALL THE QUESTION.

UM, ALL IN, IN FAVOR? ALL IN, SAY AYE.

AYE.

ANY OPPOSED? ARE THERE ANY

[00:05:01]

OPPOSED? HEARING NONE.

THE MOTION CARRIES.

IS TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION ON THE RENEWAL OF THE SIXTH STREET PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT.

ALRIGHT.

THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS

[3. Approve a recommendation on the renewal of the Sixth Street Public Improvement District. Presentation by Donald E Jackson of the Economic Development Department.]

WE HAVE DONALD JACKSON OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT HERE TO PRESENT ON THIS MATTER.

MR. JACKSON, WELCOME.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

UH, I WAS COMING HERE TONIGHT TO PRESENT ON THE REAUTHORIZATION, THE FIVE YEAR REAUTHORIZATION FOR THE E SIXTH STREET PIT.

UM, I BELIEVE WE'LL PROBABLY WANT TO, UM, I DON'T BELIEVE, UH, ANYONE FROM THE PIT WAS ABLE TO ATTEND TONIGHT, SO I THINK WE MIGHT BE JUST LOOKING FOR A POSTPONEMENT ON THAT ITEM.

DO I NEED TO TAKE ACTION ON A POSTPONEMENT OTHER THAN TO POSTPONE IT? UH, YOU CAN MOVE TO POSTPONE IF, OKAY.

THERE'S NO OBJECTIONS.

IS PRESENT IN THE PRESENTATION BY, UH, COMMANDER JEFF OLSON OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT ON DOWNTOWN COMMAND PUBLIC SAFETY TRENDS.

UH, IF EVERYBODY IS ALL RIGHT.

UH, DOES SOMEBODY HAVE A MOTION TO POSTPONE? I MOVE TO POSTPONE THE SECOND.

I HAVE A MOTION.

DO I HAVE A SECOND? I HAVE A MOTION TO SECOND.

IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.

ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.

AYE.

OPPOSED? HEARING NONE.

MOTION CARRIES.

WE WILL POSTPONE AND YOU'LL BE BACK FOR MARCH.

UH, NOW WE'LL MOVE INTO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. UH, THE FIRST ITEM

[4. Presentation by Commander Jeff Olson of the Austin Police Department on Downtown Command public safety trends.]

WELCOME.

WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING YOU.

I APPRECIATE YOU ALL HAVING ME THIS EVENING.

UM, SO WHAT I HAD IS, UH, AND HE'S ACTUALLY HERE, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, ONE OF OUR, OUR CRIME ANALYSTS, UH, MR. ED ANDERSON, HE PREPARED THIS FOR ME.

SO IF YOU DO HAVE ANY MORE DETAILED FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS, HE CAN DEFINITELY HELP OUT WITH THAT.

THIS IS JUST KIND OF A, I'D ASK FOR JUST A SNAPSHOT TO GIVE YOU GUYS OF, UH, CRIME IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COVERING MAINLY THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, JUST TO KINDA LOOK AT COMPARISONS AND SEE WHERE WE'RE AT.

AND ONE OF THE BIG CHANGES, UM, WE HAVE HERE IS COMPARING IT TO NUMBER OF DAILY INCIDENTS.

SO WE JUST KIND OF GET AN IDEA OF HOW MANY TIMES PER DAY DO THESE TYPE INCIDENTS HAPPEN.

AND A VERY IMPORTANT COMPARISON WE DO LOOK AT IS PRE PANDEMIC.

UM, SO GOING BACK TO 2019, WHAT WAS IT LIKE THEN? AND COMPARING IT TO WHERE WE'RE AT NOW PROVIDES US, I THINK, A, A GOOD IDEA TO SEE TRULY WHERE WE'RE AT SINCE, UM, 20 20, 20 21, AND EVEN PARTS OF 2022.

UM, ESPECIALLY FOR DOWNTOWN, AS YOU'LL SEE, UH, THE NUMBERS ARE GONNA BE VERY SKEWED BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF STUFF GOING ON DOWN HERE, WHEREAS NOW WE'RE KIND OF BACK INTO IN THE BUSINESS AS USUAL.

UH, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

DO I DO THAT? AH, THERE WE GO.

THERE WE GO.

OVERALL CRIME TRENDS FOR DTAC.

UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, OVERALL CRIME INCIDENTS IN DTAC DROPPED DRAMATICALLY BETWEEN FEBRUARY AND APRIL, 2020.

OF COURSE, THAT WAS THE TIME OF COVID LOCKDOWNS.

TWO DISTINCT PATTERNS ARE EVIDENT IN THE CRIME TREND DATA CORRESPONDING TO PRE AND POST PANDEMIC PERIODS.

WHILE OVERALL CRIME INCIDENTS IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN HAVE INCREASED OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, THEY DO REMAIN BELOW PRE PANDEMIC LEVELS, MONTH TO MONTH FLUCTUATIONS AND CRIME INCIDENTS ARE NORMAL AND TO BE EXPECTED, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE NOTABLE SPIKES EVERY MARCH, AS YOU SEE ON HERE, UH, OF CORRESPONDING WITH SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST AND THE BIG SPRING FESTIVALS, WHICH OF COURSE BRING, UM, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF EXTRA PEOPLE TO OUR CITY.

UM, ABOUT 15 CRIME INCIDENTS OCCURRED ON ANY GIVEN DAY IN THE DOWNTOWN SECTOR DURING 2023.

AND THEN YOU CAN SEE A FURTHER BREAKDOWN BELOW THAT, COMPARING IT TO OTHER YEARS.

SO IN 2019, THAT WAS 19.6 CRIME INCIDENTS PER DAY.

AND LAST YEAR WE WERE AT 15.4, SLIGHTLY ABOVE 2022.

BUT, YOU KNOW, STATISTICALLY, UM, KIND OF WITHIN THE MARGINS.

SO AGAIN, WE'RE, WE ARE BELOW WHAT WE SAW, UH, POST PANDEMIC OR PRE PANDEMIC, SORRY.

NEXT SLIDE HAS SOME COMPARISONS OF CRIME TREND TYPES.

THE DAILY RATE OF CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS IN 2023 WAS 3.8 PER DAY, SIMILAR TO 2022, WHICH WAS 3.9 PER DAY.

CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS INCREASED, UH, SLIGHTLY, UH, FROM 2022 TO 2023, BUT THAT WAS AGAIN FROM 6.7 TO 7.0.

SO STATISTICALLY PRETTY SIMILAR.

[00:10:01]

SIMPLE ASSAULT AND THEFT REMAIN THE MOST COMMON CRIMES IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.

AND PIT POCK PICKPOCKETING HAS BEEN INCREASING IN RECENT YEARS AND IS NOW THE THIRD MOST COMMON CRIME IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.

AND THAT'S WHERE WE'LL SEE ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH KINDA SHOWS THERE ARE TWO CRIMES, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN TRENDING UPWARD.

UH, PICKPOCKETING AND AUTO THEFT.

THE MONTHLY RATE OF PICKPOCKETING HAS INCREASED OVER THE PAST YEAR TO RATES HIGHER THAN EVEN PRE PANDEMIC LEVELS.

THE 52 PICKPOCKETING INCIDENTS IN MARCH OF 2022 WAS HIGHER THAN ANY OBSERVED IN THE PREVIOUS 38 MONTHS.

AND AGAIN, THAT WAS, UH, DURING FESTIVAL SEASON, ALTHOUGH THERE WERE FEWER PICK POCKING INCIDENTS IN MARCH OF 23 LAST YEAR.

HIGHER MONTHLY INCIDENTS OCCURRED THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE YEAR.

SO OVERALL IT DID STILL TREND UP.

AUTO THEFT HAS BEEN INCREASING STEADILY.

UM, THAT'S A PROBLEM, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND NATIONWIDE.

HONESTLY, RIGHT NOW, OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, THE RISE IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA WHILE, WHILE SIGNIFICANT HAS BEEN SOMEWHAT SMALLER COMPARED TO OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY, AND THE MONTHLY RATE FOR 2023 WAS ACTUALLY SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN 2022.

UM, SO AGAIN, YOU SEE 2019, UH, 6.1 AUTO THEFT PER MONTH, AND WE TICKED UP AND CAME SLIGHTLY BACK DOWN LAST YEAR TO 13.6.

AND THAT'S JUST KIND OF THE, THE QUICK LITTLE SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW.

AGAIN, UM, OVERALL GIVEN, UH, GIVEN STAFFING ISSUES THAT WE HAVE, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE PROUD TO SAY THAT FOR THE MOST PART WE'RE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP CRIME RELATIVELY IN CHECK.

UM, WE'RE DOING WHAT WE CAN, ESPECIALLY FOR THE, UH, THE QUALITY LIFE TYPE STUFF.

WE HAVE OUR DOWNTOWN, UH, INITIATIVE SHIFT, WHICH IS ACTIVE, UH, AS MANY DAYS AS POSSIBLE.

THESE ARE EXTRA OFFICERS WORKING OVER TIME TRYING TO FOCUS ON, UH, HOTSPOT AREAS.

UH, THE CONGRESS CORRIDOR, EAST SIXTH STREET, RAINY WAREHOUSE DISTRICT.

WHAT WE DO IS WE USE THIS CRIME DATA, AND AS WE SEE AREAS THAT NEED A LITTLE MORE, UH, ATTENTION, WE DIRECT THOSE SHIFTS TO SPEND THEIR TIME THERE, WHETHER IT'S ADDRESSING, UH, PROPERTY CRIMES, PERSONS CRIMES, UM, WE HAVE ONE OF OUR METRO ATTACK UNITS THAT FREQUENTLY WORKS, UM, THIS INITIATIVE.

AND PRETTY MUCH ON A WEEKLY BASIS, THEY GO DOWN TO SIXTH STREET AND THEY'RE ABLE TO, UM, SEIZE GUNS, UM, SEIZE NARCOTICS AND MAKE SOME REALLY GOOD FELONY ARRESTS TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT, HEY, WE WANT YOU TO HAVE A GOOD TIME DOWN THERE, BUT YOU DON'T NEED TO BE BRINGING WEAPONS, UH, INTO THE ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT.

CLIMBING ON TOP OF BUILDINGS, THEY'RE PUTTING THEMSELVES AND OTHERS IN HARM'S WAY.

QUESTIONS, A QUESTION THAT I, I JUST NOTICED IN THIS DATA WHEN I WAS LOOKING OVER IT EARLIER TODAY, THAT YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ON HERE ABOUT THE MURDER RATE.

NOW, I WAS WONDERING IF THAT WAS BECAUSE IT WASN'T COMPILED YET FOR LAST YEAR, OR DID YOU JUST NOT DO THAT? IT, THE MURDER RATE, AT LEAST FOR DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, WAS NOT, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM 2022 TO 2023.

UM, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE BEEN TAKING UPWARDS IN RECENT YEARS.

UM, BUT THERE WASN'T ANYTHING STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IN TERMS OF VIOLENT CRIME, COMPARING IT YEAR TO YEAR TO KIND OF SEE WHERE WE'RE AT.

OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? I'VE GOT A QUESTION.

UM, IS GRAFFITI CALCULATED IN VANDALISM OR PROPERTY CRIME? IT WOULD BE A PROPERTY CRIME, YES.

DO YOU FREQUENTLY GET REPORTS? WE DO GET THE REPORTS FOR THAT.

NOW.

IT, IT ISN'T AS, UH, BIG A THING IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.

WE DO SEE SOME, UM, NOW OBVIOUSLY THAT'S MORE A CRIME WE SEE IN OTHER PARTS OF AUSTIN JUST BECAUSE THE SIZE OF, UH, THOSE SECTORS.

MM-HMM.

, UH, WHEN WE DO GET THOSE, UH, IF WE GET REPORTS TO THEM, THE BIGGEST THING WE TELL PEOPLE IS PLEASE CONTINUE TO REPORT THOSE.

I KNOW UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE THEY, THEY FEEL THEY DON'T, IT DOESN'T PAY TO REPORT THE CRIME, BUT WE STILL DO NEED THAT DATA.

AND IF WE FIND AREAS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY BEING, YOU KNOW, TARGETED A LOT MORE THAN OTHERS, THEN WE, AGAIN, WE CAN DIRECT RESOURCES TO TRY AND ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES.

NOW, TYPICALLY IT'S SENDING OUT CREWS TO HELP, UH, CLEAN UP THE GRAFFITI, UM, OBTAIN ANY EVIDENCE IF WE CAN GIVE CAMERAS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

'CAUSE IT'S PRETTY RARE WE ACTUALLY CATCH THEM IN THE ACT.

BUT IF WE DO, UM, OFFICERS WILL MAKE THAT ARREST.

IT'S JUST, UH, IT'S WHEN IT'S HARD TO KIND OF SURE.

MAKE, UH, WELL, TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, AND THIS FALLS A LITTLE BIT INTO THE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST DEAL, BUT, UH, LAST MARCH THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION PASSED A RESOLUTION TO CREATE A GRAFFITI TASK FORCE AT THE CITY AND FUND IT.

AND IT'S BEEN STALLED AT COUNCIL FOR THE BETTER PART OF A YEAR.

I THINK WE, WE MIGHT SEE SOME ACTION BECAUSE IT, IT'S GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE.

UH, BUT, UM, IN SOME OF THE MEETINGS, UH, AT LAST YEAR, I WAS TOLD THAT, UM, I GUESS IT WAS WITH SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, THERE WERE A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT CAME IN TOWN AND WENT AROUND TAGGING THAT AT THE TIME OF THE FESTIVAL.

AND I KNOW THEY CLIMB UP ON TOP OF BUILDINGS AND SPRAY FACADES AND DO ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.

DAA HAS DONE A REMARKABLE JOB IN, IN DEALING WITH THAT.

BUT, UM, I, I WOULD, UM, ENCOURAGE Y'ALL, AND YOU HAVE SO MUCH ELSE TO DO, BUT YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE

[00:15:01]

NOT TO MENTION COSTING PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS AND THE PUBLIC PROPERTY OWNERS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE.

SO JUST SOMETHING TO BEAR IN MIND IS THEY'LL, THEY'LL PROBABLY COME BACK.

THEY HAD SUCH A GRAND TIME DOING IT LAST TIME.

UH, SO WE APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR WORK AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UM, ALRIGHT.

UM, NOW WE, WE'VE GOT,

[5. Presentations by Commander Jeff Olson of the Austin Police Department (APD), William Manno of the Austin Center for Events, Brian Block of the Development Services Department, and Division Chief Stephen Truesdell of the Austin Fire Department (AFD) on South by Southwest Festival 2024 preparedness. (Part 1 of 2)]

UH, COMMANDER OLSON, UH, AND, UH, WILLIAM MANO WITH THE AUSTIN CENTER FOR EVENTS.

BRIAN BLOCK.

IS BRIAN OUT? I DIDN'T THINK I SAW.

UH, BRIAN'S NOT HERE TONIGHT.

UH, AND, UH, UH, CHIEF STEVEN TRUSDALE OF THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT TO TALK ABOUT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST.

AS WE SEGUE, I WILL, UH, I'LL GO THROUGH, WE, WE'VE GOT, UH, JUST A FEW SLIDES HERE.

I CAN GO THROUGH FIRST AND THEN WE CAN MOVE ON.

AND IT YIELDED 131 ARRESTS, 61 SEIZED FIREARMS, UH, SEIZED NARCOTICS, UH, 3.5 KILOGRAMS OF COCAINE, 26 KILOGRAMS OF METHAMPHETAMINE, 41 GRAMS OF FENTANYL, HEROIN, AND 90 POUNDS OF MARIJUANA.

THAT WAY WE CAN.

UM, SO THIS IS OUR, AT LEAST THE APDS PORTION OF THIS PRESENTATION.

UM, THIS IS OUR, UH, KIND OF OVERVIEW AND AND BRIEFING REGARDING THE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE AND SPRING FESTIVALS AND SOME OF THE STUFF THAT WE'RE, UH, DOING AND WE'VE ALREADY DONE TO PREPARE, UH, FOR SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST TO BEGIN.

UH, SO BY SOUTHWEST OVERVIEW, UH, AS Y'ALL MAY KNOW, IT BEGINS ON MARCH 8TH AND IT RUNS THROUGH MARCH 16TH, 2024.

AND LAST YEAR'S CONFERENCE SAW AN ESTIMATED 345,000 PEOPLE, UM, ATTEND THE FESTIVAL.

THE CONFERENCE AND THE EDUCATION AROUND 60 VENUES ARE AUTHORIZED TO BE SO BY SOUTHWEST ACTIVATIONS.

AND, UH, WE ASSUME JUST LIKE OTHER YEARS, WE WILL SEE A NUMBER OF UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVATIONS POP UP AS WELL, UH, STAFFING WHAT WE HAVE DONE.

AND, UH, I'M PROUD TO SAY, UH, AS FAR AS THE DOWNTOWN AREA COMMAND IS CONCERNED AND THE EXTRA STAFFING WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, WE HAVE COMPLETE COVERAGE AND A FULL SIGNUP FOR OUR EXTRA STAFFING, UH, SPECIAL EVENTS.

I KNOW IF THEY'RE NOT ALREADY, THEY'RE VERY CLOSE TO HAVING, UM, ALL OF THEIRS COVERED AS WELL.

UM, OUR DAY SHIFTS WILL BE STAFFED AT A HUNDRED PERCENT PLUS FOR THE DURATION OF SOUTH BY THAT KIND OF FLUCTUATES, DEPENDING ON THE DAY, WHETHER THEY'RE ADDING TWO OR FOUR OFFICERS, UH, EVENING AND NIGHT SHIFTS.

AGAIN, WE WILL ALSO BE STAFFED AT A HUNDRED PERCENT PLUS DURING THE DURATION INSIDE SIXTH STREET, UH, WE HAVE THE CLOSURE THERE, WHICH IS THE HARD CLOSURE, UH, DESIGNATED PATROL AREA FROM SIXTH STREET, UH, IN THE RED RIVER ENCLOSURE.

AND THEN OUTSIDE OF SIXTH STREET, WE HAVE DESIGNATED CALL TAKERS TO HANDLE, UH, THOSE CALLS THAT COME IN OUTSIDE OF THERE.

ADDITIONAL PATROLS ARE ALSO SCHEDULED FOR OTHER, UH, AREAS OF ACTIVATION, SUCH AS CONGRESS, THE WAREHOUSE, DISTRICT, WEST SIXTH STREET AND RAINING.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A SHIFT TO DOWNTOWN CALL TAKERS.

AND THESE ARE OVERTIME OFFICERS HIRED TO SUPPORT CALL TAKING DUTIES.

AGAIN, THIS IS OUTSIDE OF THE CLOSURE, SO THEY'LL BE THE ONES THAT'LL BE, UH, ON BIKES AND IN CARS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

STANDARD POLICE OPERATIONS WILL BE GOING ON DURING THIS TIME.

UM, IN ADDITION TO THE OTHER THINGS WE HAVE, UH, BELOW, UH, WE'LL HAVE OUR STREET CLOSURES, BARRICADE OFFICERS.

THIS WILL BE, UM, A PD OFFICERS, A PD RESERVE OFFICERS, AND THEN OTHER CENTRAL TEXAS LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO HELP FILL THESE GAPS THAT WE HAVE.

WE HIRE TOWING ENFORCEMENT SHIFTS.

WE HIRE ADDITIONAL CALL TAKING SHIFTS.

THE PACE TEAM WILL BE OUT THERE.

THIS IS THE CODE ENFORCEMENT ARM, UH, THAT WILL BE HANDLING COMPLAINTS AND DOING COMPLIANCE CHECKS.

AND THEN TRAFFIC CONGESTION SHIFT AGAIN, THESE ARE, UH, ONES THAT HAVE FLEXIBILITY TO MOVE TO AREAS WHEN WE SEE PROBLEMS, UH, ARISE TO HELP TRAFFIC FLOW.

AND THEN WE HIRE TWO OFFICERS PER DAY TO CONDUCT SOUND ENFORCEMENT CHECKS FOR US.

THIS IS A TEAM EFFORT.

IN ADDITION TO THE OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO THE DOWNTOWN AREA COMMAND OFFICERS FROM ALL OVER THE DEPARTMENT WILL ASSIST DURING THE SPRING FESTIVAL SEASON TO ENSURE PUBLIC SAFETY.

THIS WILL INVOLVE AMONG OTHER UNITS.

OUR COUNTER ASSAULT STRIKE TEAM, OUR MOUNTED PATROL UNIT, OUR EOD OR BOMB SQUAD.

THE SPECIAL RESPONSE TEAM WILL BE DOWN THERE FOR CROWD CONTROL.

ORGANIZED CRIME DIVISION WILL BE, UH, DEVOTING ASSETS TO HELP DO, UH, UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS AS WELL AS, UH, VIOLENT CRIME INITIATIVES.

AND THEN OUR METRO TACTICAL UNITS WILL BE ASSISTING WITH THOSE OPERATIONS AS WELL.

THIS KIND OF A SNAPSHOT OF, UH, HOW SUCCESSFUL WE WERE LAST YEAR IN 2023.

UM, THE SPRING FESTIVAL SEASON VIOLENT CRIME INITIATIVE WAS A JOINT EFFORT EFFORT BETWEEN APDS VIOLENT CRIMES UNIT, THE ORGANIZED CRIME DIVISION, TACTICAL INTEL METRO ATTACK, AND DOWNTOWN AREA COMMAND, AND THE SPECIAL RESPONSE TEAM.

THIS INITIATIVE RAN BETWEEN MARCH 8TH AND MARCH 18TH, 2023.

[00:20:02]

AND THEN JUST A SNAPSHOT OF THE LAST WEEKEND OF SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, WHEN SRT, THE SPECIAL RESPONSE TEAM WAS ALSO DOWNTOWN, THEY HAD 77 ARRESTS SEIZED, 26 FIREARMS, AND A NUMBER OF NARCOTICS AS WELL, WHICH ARE LISTED.

AND AGAIN, THIS, UH, VIOLENT CRIME INITIATIVE WILL BE, UH, GOING ON AGAIN THIS YEAR.

THE BIGGEST THING THAT HELPS US IS WE DO HAVE A UNIFIED COMMAND.

UM, THIS INVOLVES, UH, AMONG OTHER AGENCIES, OBVIOUSLY REPRESENTATIVES FROM SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST ARE IN THIS COMMAND POST, UH, AUSTIN POLICE, AUSTIN FIRE AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY A MS, UH, THE HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT, TRANSPORTATION CODE ENFORCEMENT WILL HAVE A PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS WELL AS A PD.

AND THEN OF COURSE, THEY'RE SUPPORTED BY ASSETS FROM THE REGIONAL INTELLIGENCE CENTER WHO PROVIDE, UH, AS MUCH UPTODATE INFORMATION AS THEY CAN REGARDING, UH, ANY THREATS THAT MIGHT BE MADE TO THE EVENT.

AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, UH, WE WILL BE UTILIZING THE PUBLIC SAFETY AREA IN THE 600 BLOCK OF DUCHESS.

UM, THIS IS PROVED VERY EFFECTIVE.

IT GIVES US, UH, A WHOLE BLOCK THAT WE CAN DEDICATE TO HAVING OUR, OUR ARREST PROCESSING VAN, AS WELL AS TRANSPORT VANS.

AND IT PROVIDES TWO LANES FOR EMS AND A FD TO HAVE ASSETS ON SITE.

SO IF WE DO HAVE, UH, ANY SORT OF INCIDENT, THE OFFICERS THAT ARE INSIDE THE CLOSURE, WHETHER ON FOOT OR USING UH, POLARIS VEHICLES, CAN QUICKLY GET ANY POTENTIAL VICTIMS TO MEDICAL PERSONNEL.

UM, THEN HAS A STRAIGHT SHOT, UH, TO BRACKENRIDGE HOSPITAL IF NEEDED.

ONCE AGAIN, WE WILL BE UTILIZING THE MERIDIAN HEAVY BARRICADES, UH, THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE.

UM, WE HAVE, UH, ONCE AGAIN SECURED A CONTRACT TO RENT THOSE.

AND THESE ARE USED TO PREDICT PEDESTRIANS INSIDE OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY CLOSURE FROM VEHICULAR TRAFFIC.

AND THEN JUST BRIEFLY JUST REMINDERS OF WHEN TO CALL NINE, WHEN TO USE NINE ONE ONE VERSUS 3 1 1.

UM, 9 1 1 SHOULD ALWAYS BE USED IF THERE'S AN IMMINENT THREAT TO LIFE OR PROPERTY.

IF THERE'S AN INJURY THAT REQUIRES IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION, IF THERE'S AN INJURY STEMMING FROM AN ASSAULT, REGARDLESS OF THE TIMEFRAME, AND ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SUSPECT'S INVOLVED IN THE CRIME IS CURRENTLY STILL ON SCENE OR WITHIN SIGHT, IF YOU ARE UNSURE WHETHER TO CALL THE NINE ONE ONE OR THREE ONE ONE, YOU SHOULD CALL 9 1 1 AND LET A TRAINED OPERATOR ROUTE THE CALL APPROPRIATELY.

AND THEN TO FINISH UP THE THING, WE ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO TELL PEOPLE IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.

UM, AGAIN, WE WILL HAVE, UH, A VERY ROBUST PUBLIC SAFETY PRESENCE DOWN THERE.

AND IF PEOPLE HAVE A CONCERN, IF THEY HAVE A NEED, IF SOMETHING JUST DOESN'T LOOK RIGHT, WE ENCOURAGE THEM, FLAG AN OFFICER DOWN, CALL THREE ONE ONE, CALL NINE ONE ONE.

JUST LET US KNOW AND THEN WE CAN DETERMINE IF IT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION ON.

BUT IF WE DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION, THEN WE JUST HAVE TO WAIT.

UM, SO PLEASE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO UTILIZE, UH, THESE RESOURCES FOR THEIR OWN PUBLIC SAFETY AND FOR EVERYBODY.

GOOD EVENING.

MY NAME'S BRIAN PATERSON WITH AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.

SPECIAL EVENTS.

I'M OBVIOUSLY NOT STEVEN TRUSDALE.

I'M A LAST MINUTE FILL IN.

I DO NOT HAVE A PRESENTATION.

UM, AND I CAN'T COMPETE WITH WHAT THAT ONE IS ANYWAY, THEY, THEY DO IT TO ME EVERY TIME.

UM, SO MY LITTLE GIST THAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT FOR EVERY ACE APPLICATION WILL COME THROUGH THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S GONNA DO THE SITE INSPECTIONS AND THE PLANS AND MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE FIRE SAFETY CODES AND LIFE SAFETY CODES, CITY ORDINANCES ARE FOLLOWED.

WE GO AROUND AT NIGHT WITH OUR OWN NIGHT INSPECTION TEAMS TO MAKE SURE THAT LIKE OVERCROWDING AND ALL THE EXITS AREN'T BLOCKED AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

WE ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE PACE TEAMS WITH, WITH, UH, THE JOINT AGENCIES.

WE WILL ALSO PARTICIPATE IN RTFS.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE YOUR .

UM, BUT SAME THING WITH WITH A PD AND EMS, UH, DRONE TEAMS. WE ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE DRONE TEAMS. AND AS FAR AS OPERATIONS CITYWIDE, IT'LL BE NORMAL STAFFING FOR ALL OF OUR FIRE STATIONS, BUT THEY ARE CURRENTLY LOOKING AT PROBABLY UPSTAFFING IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.

BUT I DON'T HAVE CONFIRMATION OF THAT AT THE MOMENT.

BUT BESIDES THAT, I'M JUST REALLY HERE FOR QUESTIONS.

SEE IF I KNOW ANY OF IT.

, THANK YOU.

WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU.

THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT GOES INTO THOSE APPLICATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ACTIVITY THEY WANT TO DO FOR THE PROPERTY THEY WANT TO DO IT ON IS APPROPRIATE FOR ZONING AND QUALITY OF LIFE AND, AND ISSUES.

HELLO, GOOD EVENING.

BILL MANO SPECIAL EVENTS PROGRAM MANAGER OF OFFICER CENTER FOR EVENTS.

AGAIN, I ALSO, I DO NOT HAVE A PRESENTATION, UH, HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE THAT YOU MAY HAVE, BUT A COUPLE OF TIDBITS OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

WE'RE TRACKING AT ABOUT 128 APPLICATIONS FOR JUST THE SPRING FESTIVAL SEASON.

A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR, BUT IT'S WELL BELOW PRE COVID NUMBERS.

UM,

[00:25:01]

A LOT OF REVIEWS GO INTO THAT.

UM, IN ADDITION TO WHAT COMMANDER OLSON WAS SAYING ABOUT THE COMMAND CENTER THAT WILL BE STAFFED MARCH 8TH THROUGH THE 16TH, UM, PRETTY MUCH ALL DAY LONG.

UM, IT'S A PRETTY NEAT LITTLE SETUP THAT'S A TEMPORARY SETUP, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF MONITORS THAT ARE BROUGHT IN AND THEY'RE HOOKED UP TO ALL THE DIFFERENT TRAFFIC CAMERAS.

AND THAT REALLY ALLOWS US TO IDENTIFY SITUATIONS AS THEY START TO BECOME A PROBLEM.

AND IT, FOR MANY YEARS, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY THAT AND GO AND ADDRESS THE ISSUE BEFORE IT COMES TOO BAD.

SO, AND THEN, UH, WE ALSO DO REPORTS WITH SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, WHAT WE CALL RED, YELLOW, GREEN.

SO EVERY DAY THEY GIVE US A REPORT ON, UH, VENUES THAT MIGHT HAVE A REALLY POPULAR ARTIST OR MAYBE SOME ISSUES WITH THAT, OR, UM, JUST A VENUE THAT COULD GET OVERCROWDED REALLY QUICK.

SO THERE'S AGAIN, A LOT OF WORK DAILY THAT GOES INTO THAT AND EVEN LEADING UP TO IT, UM, TO LOOK AT ALL THOSE DIFFERENT ASPECTS.

BUT AGAIN, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BE HAPPY TO ANSWER.

I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE COMMISSION FOR QUESTIONS.

COMMISSIONER KOFA, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PRESENTING TO US AND FOR TAKING THE TIME TO, TO COME TO OUR COMMISSION.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME A WHOLE LOT.

MY QUESTION, UM, IS PROBABLY MORE APPROPRIATE FOR A PD.

ARE THERE ANY NEW TRENDS AND THREATS THAT YOU'RE TRACKING FOR THIS UPCOMING FESTIVAL SEASON THAT YOU HAVEN'T TRACK OR YOU HAVEN'T SEEN BEFORE THAT WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF? JUST IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS FROM DOWNTOWN, THE ONLY TRENDS THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON THIS, UH, FROM OUR REALTIME CRIME CENTER, UH, THERE, UH, SO WE CAN LOOK FOR SUSPICIOUS PEOPLE, UM, OFTENTIMES THAT PEOPLE OPERATING THE CAMERAS UP IN THE REALTIME CRIME CENTER, WE'LL NOTICE, UH, IMPRINTS IN PEOPLE'S WAISTLINES OR ACTUALLY SEE FIREARMS. THEY'LL CALL THAT OUT TO OUR ATTENTION.

UM, WE ALSO WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR BAR, UH, OWNERS AND MANAGERS.

UH, SO, UH, THEY'RE MAKING SURE THAT THEY CONDUCT FRISK, UH, FOR, UM, THIS BUSY TIME OF YEAR TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE AREN'T ENTERING WITH FIREARMS. AND THEY BRING THAT TO OUR ATTENTION QUITE A BIT DOWNTOWN.

THAT'S WHERE A NUMBER OF OUR FIREARMS ARE SEIZED ALL THE TIME.

BUT, UM, MAKING SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO SEIZE AS MANY ILLEGAL FIREARMS AS OUR FOCUS AGAIN THIS YEAR TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY OF THOSE PAST INCIDENTS WE SAW, UH, BEFORE, UM, WITH, UH, SHOOTINGS IN LARGE CROWDS OF PEOPLE.

'CAUSE THAT'S DEFINITELY NOT SOMETHING THAT WE LIKE TO BE INVOLVED IN AND HAVING TO DO.

UM, WHAT COMMANDER OLSON WAS TALKING ABOUT IN PREPARING, UM, A MASS CASUALTY INCIDENT WHERE WE HAVE TO TRANSPORT A LOT OF PEOPLE TO THE HOSPITAL.

ANYBODY ELSE? UH, THANK YOU GUYS FOR COMING.

SO, UM, ONE CONFUSION POINT I RAN INTO LAST YEAR.

UM, AND I KNOW, SO ON THE HEAVY BARRICADES, I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT ONES THIS YEAR THAN LAST TIME, I BELIEVE.

MAYBE I'M WRONG ON THAT, BUT ANYWAYS, UH, WITH SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST RIGHT, WE HAVE OUR NORMAL BICYCLE MICRO MOBILITY TRAFFIC THAT'S GOING AROUND DOWNTOWN, BUT WE ALSO SEE THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF SCOOTER USAGE FAR AND AWAY.

UM, I RUN INTO SOME CONFUSION AS TO WHETHER THOSE AREAS THAT ARE BLOCKED BY THOSE BARRICADES ARE ACCESSIBLE TO SCOOTER'S, MICRO MOBILITY AND BICYCLES, OR IF THEY ARE NOT.

THOSE AREAS, UH, THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE WITHIN OUR, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY CLOSURE, UM, ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE USED FOR SCOOTERS.

UH, WE HAVE PUT SIGNS UP IN THE PAST, BUT, UM, IN PAST YEARS, UM, I ONLY HAVEN'T GOT CONFIRMATION THIS YEAR, UM, OUR MICRO MOBILITY TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT HAS SUPPOSED TO BEEN ASKING IF WE CAN GET THE GEOFENCE PUT AROUND THAT AREA TO PREVENT SCOOTERS FROM COMING INTO THE AREA.

UM, BUT YEAR AFTER YEAR WE CONSTANTLY SEE SCOOTERS COMING DOWN INTO THE PUBLIC SAFETY AREA.

UM, WHEN IT COMES TO RIDE SHARES AND SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES, UM, WE'VE COMMUNICATED WITH THEM, UM, WHAT THE PUBLIC SAFETY CLOSURES ARE.

SO THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO KNOW WHERE THOSE ARE AND REROUTE, UH, THEIR GPS OTHER WAYS AROUND THERE 'CAUSE THEY CAN'T DRIVE THROUGH THERE.

AND, UH, THESE ARE THE SAME TYPE OF BARRICADES WE USED LAST YEAR, UM, IN REFERENCE TO THAT FIRST POINT YOU HAD.

AND, UM, SO WHAT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I I RIDE MY BICYCLE HOME FROM DOWNTOWN EVERY DAY, RIGHT? CAN I GO THROUGH THAT AS A BICYCLIST OR AM I NOT SUPPOSED TO ENTER THAT AREA? UH, TECHNICALLY YOU CAN ENTER THE AREA, BUT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO WALK YOUR BIKE, UH, WHEN YOU'RE IN TRAFFIC SAFETY CLOSURE.

AND THEN I'LL, I'LL DEFINITELY TURN TO, YOU

[00:30:01]

KNOW, ACE ON THIS ONE.

I, I THINK IF YOU COULD HELP THEM OUT WITH, OH, HELLO.

UM, I THINK IF YOU COULD HELP THEM OUT WITH, UM, SOME ADDITIONAL SIGNAGE THERE, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.

'CAUSE YOU HAVE A, A LOT OF FOLKS FROM OUT TOWN AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S A LOT TO PUT ON THE POLICE OFFICERS THERE TO, YOU KNOW, DIRECT EACH PERSON WHO'S APPROACHING.

UM, I DID HAVE, UM, ANOTHER QUESTION, UM, MOSTLY ABOUT HOW YOU GUYS ARE WORKING WITH, UH, TRANSPORTATION MOBILITY OFFICERS.

UM, 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, AN ACUTE PROBLEM WE HAVE DOWNTOWN IS, YOU KNOW, WE DO NOT HAVE THAT MANY LOADING SPACES, SO FOLKS WILL USE THE BIKE LANES OR SIDEWALKS AND A DA PATHWAYS AS LOADING SPACES, AND THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE.

I DO NOT EXPECT THE POLICE TO BE MAKING THAT, YOU KNOW, A MAIN PRIORITY DURING SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST.

BUT ARE YOU COMMUNICATING WITH TRANSPORTATION MOBILITY OFFICERS THAT THEY MAYBE NEED TO FOCUS MORE ON THAT RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, PARKING METERS DURING THIS TIME? I'M GONNA KEEP DOING THAT.

UM, YEAH, SO THERE'S WEEKLY MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE WITH SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, UH, ABOUT WHERE LOADING ZONES ARE TAKING PLACE AND EVERY WEEK WE'RE GIVING FEEDBACK ON THE BEST PLACES TO PUT THOSE LOADING AREAS SO THAT WAY THEY WON'T BE A PROBLEM HOPEFULLY.

UM, BUT I DO KNOW THAT IF WE DO HAVE PROBLEMS, WE DO CALL TRANSPORTATION, UM, AND THEY RESPOND PRETTY QUICKLY.

UM, I DON'T KNOW, UH, I CAN'T SPEAK TO WHAT THEIR NORMAL OPERATIONS ARE IF THEY'RE ACTUALLY CHECKING METERS DURING THIS BUSY TIME.

BUT I KNOW THAT WHEN WE DO CALL THEM FOR SOMETHING, THEY'RE THERE.

UM, ALL THE, UH, DESIGNATED, UH, LOADING, UNLOADING, NO PARKING AREAS, THEY'RE SIGNED, THEY'RE, UM, CLEARLY MARKED BEFORE THE WHOLE EVENT TAKES PLACE.

SO I KNOW THEY'RE DOING THEIR SHARE.

UM, BUT WE DON'T HAVE DIRECT COMMUNICATION PER SE.

BUT I DO KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE THAT WHEN WE HAVE PROBLEMS, UH, IN THE PAST WITH SOME OF THOSE ISSUES AND TRANSPORTATION THAT WE CALL THEM AND THEY TAKE CARE OF IT.

COMMISSIONER SMO, UM, EARLIER YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE DO NOT BRING GUNS DOWN TO, UM, THE SIXTH STREET AREA DURING THESE FESTIVALS.

BUT IS THERE ACTUALLY A WAY TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM BRINGING A FIREARM? I MEAN, I MAY NOT BE UNDERSTANDING ALL OF THE RULES THAT HAVE PASSED IN THE LAST 20 YEARS IN TEXAS, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE, UM, IT'S VERY EASY TO ACQUIRE AND CARRY A FIREARM NOW.

UM, I KNOW THAT THEY AREN'T ALLOWED TO CARRY FIREARMS INTO AN ESTABLISHMENT THAT SELLS ALCOHOL, BUT WHAT ABOUT JUST WALKING DOWN THE STREET? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU ALSO, BECAUSE YOU MENTIONED A CAMERA THAT CAN, CAN FOCUS ON OR DETECT OR POSSIBLY SEE AN OUTLINE OF SOMEONE CARRYING A GUN, BUT THEN WHAT HAPPENS? RIGHT.

SO IT IS LEGAL TO CARRY A FIREARM, UH, IN A PUBLIC PLACE.

UM, HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME RESTRICTIONS TO IT.

SO, UH, ONE OF THOSE RESTRICTIONS IS THAT IT HAS TO BE HOLSTERED.

UM, IF ONE OF OUR CAMERA OPERATORS SEE THAT IT'S JUST TUCKED IN SOMEONE'S WAISTBAND, THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE CARRYING IT LIKE THAT.

SO THAT WOULD BE AN ILLEGAL CARRYING OF THAT FIREARM.

UM, IN INSTANCES WHERE WE'RE NOT SURE WE'LL FOLLOW THE PERSON AROUND.

UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT IT'S ILLEGAL TO ENTER BARS.

UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH OUR ONLY TYPE OF BUSINESS ON SIXTH STREET.

SO, UM, I DUNNO WHERE ELSE YOU'RE GONNA GO DOWN THERE, BUT IF YOU'RE GOING DOWN THERE, YOU CAN'T GO IN ANY BUILDING.

UM, PRETTY MUCH EVERY ONE OF THOSE PLACES IS A PROHIBITED AREA FOR THAT FIREARM.

SO, UM, I THINK THAT ALSO OUR VISIBLE PRESENCE OF POLICE OFFICERS COMMANDER COVERED, UM, JUST HOW MUCH ARE GONNA BE DOWN.

THERE CAN BE HUNDREDS OF OFFICERS ON SIXTH STREET AND PEOPLE THAT ENTER THE SIXTH STREET AREA WILL SEE THESE OFFICERS.

THEY KNOW THAT WE'RE SERIOUS ABOUT ENFORCING LAWS, KEEPING THE PUBLIC SAFE, AND JUST HAVING THAT, UH, VISIBLE DETERRENCE SHOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE, UH, TRYING TO GET INTO BAD, UH, BEHAVIOR, UH, CRIMES NOT TO COME DOWN TO SIXTH STREET BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY'LL BE ARRESTED.

UM, OUR TOLERANCE FOR CRIMINAL ACTS DOWN THERE IS, UH, PRETTY, UH, PRETTY LOW.

UM, SO ANY TYPE OF CRIMINAL INCIDENT THAT'S SEEN BY THE SPECIAL RESPONSE TEAM, DOWNTOWN OFFICERS, THEY HAVE ORDERS TO MAKE ARRESTS GO WRITE CITATIONS SO THAT WAY PEOPLE CAN SEE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY TAKING ENFORCEMENT ACTION AND THEY KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE, UM, TOLERATING ANY KIND OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR, ESPECIALLY WITH FIREARMS. THANK YOU.

AND WE'RE TRYING TO EXPAND THOSE TO OTHER BUSINESSES THAT ALSO WANT SIMILAR TRAINING.

I HAVE A FOLLOW UP QUESTION FOR THAT.

UM, I THINK Y'ALL PRESENTED TO US A COUPLE MONTHS AGO ABOUT THE SAFER SIXTH STREET INITIATIVE AND YOUR PROGRAMS IN TRAINING AND EQUIPPING BAR STAFF, UM, ON HOW TO HANDLE THESE SITUATIONS.

I JUST WANTED TO ASK, HOW HAS THAT BEEN GOING? IS THERE FEEDBACK? IS THAT A PROGRAM THAT NEEDS MORE SUPPORT? IS THERE DATA BEING COLLECTED ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THAT PROGRAM? UH, THERE'S NO DATA BEING COLLECTED, BUT SINCE WE HAD THAT LAST MEETING AND WE TOLD YOU ABOUT SOME OF THOSE PROGRAMS, THE STOP THE BLEED TRAINING MM-HMM.

, UH, THE ACTIVE SHOOTER FOR CIVILIAN, UH, TRAINING.

WE'VE, UH, HAD A COUPLE MORE OF THOSE, UH, SINCE OUR LAST MEETING.

UM, BARTENDERS, UH, BAR MANAGERS, BAR STAFF ALL ATTEND THOSE REGULARLY

[00:35:01]

UM, YOU KNOW, LARGE BUILDINGS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA ACTUALLY ASK FOR IT QUITE FREQUENTLY.

UM, WITH OUR STAFFING, IT'S ALWAYS A CHALLENGE TO TRY TO PUT THESE TRAININGS ON AND PULL PEOPLE AWAY FROM PATROL TO DO 'EM.

UM, BUT THAT'S KIND OF OUR ONLY DOWNFALL ON THIS, IS HAVING THE PERSONNEL AVAILABLE TO ACTUALLY TEACH THESE COURSES AT THE CURRENT TIME.

AND THERE'S SOME SORT OF WORK THAT GOES INTO COORDINATING WITH FIRE AND EMS AS WELL.

SURE.

SO I'LL SAY ANECDOTALLY, UM, I ASKED SOME BAR STAFF AT A PLACE I USED TO FREQUENT BEFORE I WAS PREGNANT, AND THEY SAID THEY HAD A GREAT EXPERIENCE AND THAT THEY REALLY APPRECIATED IT.

SO YEAH.

WANTED TO SHARE THAT.

AND I HAVE ONE, ONE MORE QUESTION, COMMISSIONER.

UM, IT'S PROB IT MAY NOT BE A QUESTION THAT YOU CAN ANSWER HERE, BUT DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH THESE EVENTS ADD TO YOUR BUDGETS EVERY YEAR? AND DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST CONTRIBUTES TO DEFERRING THOSE COSTS? I DON'T HAVE, I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS WITH ME, ALTHOUGH I WAS LOOKING AT 'EM EARLIER.

BUT, UM, TO INCLUDE ALL THE CITY DEPARTMENTS, THE AMOUNT OF FEES WAIVED, UM, AND THIS INCLUDES POLICE OVERTIME, THE BUDGET THAT THEY WERE, UM, THE MONIES THAT WERE INCREASED INTO THEIR BUDGET, IT'S, UM, JUST, IT'S OVER A MILLION, PROBABLY A MILLION AND A HALF.

MOST OF THAT'S POLICE OVERTIME, BUT FOR NINE, 10 DAYS, 24 HOURS A DAY, IT ADDS UP.

UM, BUT FOR THE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS, THE COST, IT, IT'S HARD TO GET A TOTAL 'CAUSE WITH 128 SPECIAL EVENT APPLICATIONS, UH, EACH DEPARTMENT WILL HAVE FEES FOR EACH ONE OF THOSE.

MM-HMM.

SO IT'D BE HARD TO GO THROUGH THOSE.

THE ONLY ONES WE TRACK, UH, ARE THE CITY CO-SPONSORED EVENTS, WHICH WE TRACK THE SOUTH BY WAIVERS.

NOT EVERY EVENT HAPPENING DURING SPRING FESTIVAL SEASON WILL HAVE FEE WAIVERS.

MOST WILL NOT SO AND SO SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, THE, THE ENTITY, THE ORGANIZATION, THE GROUP.

MM-HMM.

DOESN'T ACTUALLY PAY THE CITY OR DEFER ANY OF THE COST OF SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST.

IT'S ALL .

THEY HAVE MADE A PAYMENT IN YEARS PAST, AND I, I HATE TO SAY AN AMOUNT, BUT I THINK IF IT WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND 75,000 AND THEN THE BUDGET OFFICE WOULD SPLIT IT UP BETWEEN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.

UM, BUT AGAIN, PLEASE DON'T QUOTE ME 'CAUSE THAT, UH, I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT NUMBER FOR THIS YEAR.

UH, AND I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS FOR LAST YEAR, BUT THEY HAVE, UM, GIVEN BACK SOME.

UM, THAT'S FINE.

I, I APPRECIATE YOUR ANSWER.

YEAH, THANK YOU.

OTHER COMMISSIONERS, ANY ANYBODY ON LINE THAT I'M MISSING? I HAVE A QUESTION.

UM, HAS SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST GIVEN ANY GUIDANCE ON WHAT ATTENDANCE IS LOOKING LIKE THIS YEAR COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS? AND IF SO, WILL THAT AFFECT, UM, ANY OF THE PATROLS OR, OR HOW BOTH A-P-D-A-F-D AND EM AS ARE PREPARING? WE DON'T HAVE ANY ANTICIPATED OR PROJECTED NUMBERS, BUT EVERY YEAR HAS SEEN AN INCREASE.

SO, UH, THE NUMBERS THAT COMMANDER OLSON MENTIONED, UH, EARLIER, I WOULD FULLY EXPECT THAT TO GO UP AT MAYBE FIVE, 10%.

SO WE'RE EDGING EVERY CLOSER TO ABOUT 400,000 PEOPLE.

RIGHT.

AND I, I THINK THAT THE TRUE THING THAT WE SEE EVERY YEAR IS THE NUMBER OF ACTIVATIONS.

COMMANDER OLSON COVERED IT.

THE NUMBER OF ACTIVATIONS OFFICIALLY WITH SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST IS 60, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN LAST YEAR.

SO BASED ON THAT, WE CAN ANTICIPATE A SLIGHT INCREASE.

UM, WE DO KNOW THAT THERE'S SOME DIFFERENT FOOTPRINTS ON CONGRESS AVENUE WITH SOME DIFFERENT FILM FESTIVAL STUFF GOING ON TOO.

SO I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THAT WOULD DRAW IN, UH, A FEW MORE PEOPLE AS WELL.

SO I WOULD, I WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT NUMBER GOING UP.

WHEN YOU SAY ACTIVATION, I'M SORRY, WHEN YOU SAY ACTIVATION, WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I'M SORRY, I DON'T UNDERSTAND.

SO WHEN, SO BY SOUTHWEST BRINGS IN, UH, THEIR OFFICIAL, UH, SHOWS, UH, THAT COULD BE, UH, MUSIC PERFORMANCES.

THEY COULD BE A, UH, YOU KNOW, A MOVIE SCREENING LIKE ON CONGRESS AVENUE.

EACH ONE OF THOSE, UH, EVENTS IS CONSIDERED AN ACTIVATION.

SO THERE'LL BE SEVERAL SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST SPONSORED ACTIVATIONS AROUND, UH, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.

MOST OF 'EM WILL BE ON RED RIVER.

UM, THERE ARE ACTUALLY NONE ON SIXTH STREET.

AND COMMANDER OLSON ALSO TOUCHED ON THIS EARLIER.

THERE'S ALSO UNOFFICIAL SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, UH, EVENTS THAT COME

[00:40:01]

IN.

AND, UH, THESE ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, MUSIC, UH, GROUPS THAT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST DOESN'T RECOGNIZE, BUT THEY'LL RENT OUT A BAR AND THEY'LL DO THEIR OWN THING ON THEIR OWN AS WELL.

SO WE, WE SEE THAT ALL UP AND DOWN SIXTH STREET AS WELL.

SO ARE THE 128 APPLICATIONS THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, WOULD THOSE BE FOR THE UNOFFICIAL ACTS AS OPPOSED TO THE OFFICIAL ONES? THE 120 APPLICATIONS ARE FOR BOTH, UH, SOUTH BY OFFICIAL CLIENTS, OFFICIAL EVENTS AND NON-SOUTH BY EVENTS.

BUT THOSE 128 ARE FOR, UM, PRIMARILY FOR LOCATIONS THAT REQUIRE A TEMPORARY PERMIT THAT IT'S NOT PART OF THEIR PERMANENT USE.

THERE ARE HUNDREDS MORE OF VENUES AROUND TOWN THAT IT'S PART OF THEIR PERMANENT USE TO HAVE OCCUPANCY OR ASSEMBLY.

SO THEY WILL BE A LOT OF ACTIVITIES THERE, THERE AS WELL.

I WANTED TO ASK, UM, HOW, OR IF YOU KEEP TRACK OF ALL OF THE UNOFFICIAL EVENTS AT ALL, JUST IN TERMS OF HEAT MAPPING, FOOT TRAFFIC AND WHAT'S HAPPENING WHERE OR FOR SAFETY RESPONSES.

WE DON'T HAVE A TRACKING SYSTEM FOR THOSE, BUT I DO HAVE AN EMPLOYEE THAT, UM, WHEN THERE'S TIME WE'LL GO THROUGH THE INTERNET AND LOOK FOR EVENTS AND WE COMPARE THAT TO, TO WHAT VENUES WOULD REQUIRE TEMPORARY PERMIT AND WHICH ONES HAVE APPLIED FOR ONES.

AND THEN WE TURN THAT INFORMATION OVER TO THE PACE TEAM.

UM, AND THEN THERE'S ALSO SOME LOCATIONS, APPLICATIONS THAT, UH, WOULD BE REJECTED BECAUSE IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THAT LOCATION.

AND THEN WE'LL GIVE THAT INFORMATION TO THE PACE TEAM AS WELL.

SPECTACULAR DRONE SHOWS WITH MULTIPLE DRONES.

I WANT TO THANK Y'ALL FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.

I KNOW THAT YOU'VE BEEN WORKING TIRELESSLY.

THE AMOUNT OF LOGISTICS THAT GOES INTO GETTING READY FOR SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST IS FRANKLY OVERWHELMING, AND WE APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU DO AND, UH, UH, IT, IT REALLY IS STAGGERING.

IT'S A SHAME THAT WE HAVE TO GO TO THESE LINKS TO PREPARE FOR FESTIVALS, BUT THANK GOODNESS THAT YOU ALL ARE OUT THERE DOING THE JOB THAT YOU'RE DOING TO MAKE IT AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE FOR EVERYBODY.

I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS AND IT GOES BACK TO, UH, COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER'S, UH, REMARK ABOUT, UM, SCOOTERS, WHICH HAVE BEEN BEFORE OUR COMMISSION MANY TIMES OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.

UH, WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT, UM, GEOFENCING IN DENSER PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENTS, THIS BEING ONE OF THEM.

UH, IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO, TO GET SIXTH STREET AND SOME OF THESE OTHER AREAS GEOFENCED, IT DOESN'T PREVENT PEOPLE FROM USING SCOOTERS TO INGRESS OR EGRESS DOWNTOWN, UH, EVEN TO GET AROUND.

BUT IN SOME OF THE DENSER, MORE ACTIVE AREAS, IT'S, IT IS A SAFETY HAZARD TO HAVE THESE PEOPLE ON SCOOTERS.

AND SO IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE DONE IN MORE ACTIVE GEOFENCING DOWNTOWN TO PROTECT PEDESTRIANS.

UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT CAME UP, AND THIS GOES TO COMMISSIONER KOVAL, UH, QUESTION ABOUT EMERGING ISSUES ARE DRONES AND EMERGING ISSUE.

OBVIOUSLY DRONES HAVE BECOME VERY TOPICAL IN THE LAST TWO YEARS.

UH, AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS IF THAT'S BEEN AN ISSUE THAT Y'ALL HAVE HAD TO DEAL WITH DOWNTOWN, IF THERE ARE ANY SAFETY ISSUES.

I KNOW IT'S AN ISSUE AROUND, UH, DKR FOR UT FOOTBALL GAMES, UH, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IF THAT ALSO, UH, FED INTO THE EVENTS THAT WE HAVE DOWNTOWN.

ALL RIGHT, SO, SO I'LL HAVE TO ADMIT, I, I TEXTED MY DRONE GUY BEFORE THIS MEETING STARTED AND SEE WHAT THEY HAD PLANNED FOR, UH, SOUTH BY, WHICH I HADN'T HEARD A RESPONSE YET BACK FROM, BUT I KNOW JUST LIKE AT THE FOOTBALL GAMES, THEY HAVE THIS TRACKING DEVICE THAT THEY TRACK AND THEY CAN ZONE IN ON THE DRONES SO MUCH SO THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY FIND THE PILOT AND THEN WE'LL SEND POLICE OFFICERS TO, WE DID A LOT DURING ACL WE FIND THEY, THEY FLY DRONES IN THAT AREN'T ALLOWED AND THEN THEY TRACK IT, THEY ACTUALLY GO FIND THE PILOT, TELL 'EM TO REMOVE IT AND OR GIVE 'EM A CITATION OR WHATEVER THE, THE A PD DOES.

BUT OUR DRONE TEAMS HAVE A VERY GOOD RESPONSE TIME AND THEY HAVE A VERY GOOD SYSTEM.

AND I DON'T KNOW THE NAME OF THE TRACKING SYSTEM THAT THEY USE, BUT IT WORKS VERY WELL.

SO MUCH SO THAT I, THAT WITHIN A FEW MINUTES THEY HAVE A DRONE OVER THE PERSON THAT'S ACTUALLY FLYING A DRONE TO THEN LEAD A PD IN TO GO HANDLE THAT SITUATION.

COUNTER DRONE DRONE COUNTER DRONE .

WELL, I, I JUST, IT'S A VERY TOPICAL IT ISSUE.

OBVIOUSLY IT'S AN EMERGING, SADLY AN EMERGING THREAT.

UH, SO I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE DOING SOMETHING TO ADDRESS, ADDRESS THAT IN YEARS PAST THERE HAVE BEEN SOME REALLY

[00:45:01]

UH, WE HAVE NOT SEEN A SINGLE APPLICATION FOR THAT FOR THIS YEAR AND IT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY REQUIRE SPECIAL EVENT PERMIT, BUT IT MIGHT REQUIRE A TEMPORARY USE PERMIT.

IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE PRESENT AT ANY ONE TIME.

OUT OF CURIOSITY, BECAUSE OF THE DRONE SHOWS THAT THEY'VE HAD FOR THE FOOTBALL GAMES HAVE BEEN FRANKLY SPECTACULAR.

UM, DO THEY HAVE TO PULL ANY PERMITS FOR THOSE OR IT ALL DEPENDS.

THERE IS, THERE IS ONE THAT WAS DONE FROM THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND IT WAS ON THEIR FOOTBALL FIELD.

WELL THAT'S AN ASSEMBLY AREA.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE MORE THAN 49 PEOPLE PRESENT, SO A PERMIT WAS NOT REQUIRED.

BUT THEY DID SUBMIT AN APPLICATION JUST SO WE COULD SHARE THE INFORMATION, UH, WHICH IS REALLY NICE TO HAVE.

MM-HMM .

'CAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS A BUNCH OF CALLS TO 3 1 1 OR 9 1 1, LIKE WHAT'S GOING ON.

UM, BUT DEPENDING ON THE CHANGE OF USE FOR THAT PROPERTY, THAT FACTORS INTO WHETHER OR NOT A PERMIT'S REQUIRED AT ALL.

NOW THEY STILL HAVE TO DO A NOTIFICATION WITH, WITH A PD FOR THE DRONE USE AS WELL.

YES, COMMISSIONER FRANKLIN.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. CHUMA.

YEAH, I JUST WANNA ADD SOMETHING ON THE MICRO MOBILITY CONVERSATION.

UM, 'CAUSE ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IS SIMPLY A CAPACITY ISSUE, RIGHT? WE HAVE SO MUCH MORE PEOPLE USING MICRO MOBILITY AND FRANKLY BIKING AROUND SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST THAN WE DO GENERALLY.

AND WE HAVE TWO PROTECTED BIKE LANES DOWNTOWN, RIGHT? THERE'S THE THIRD STREET BIKE LANE, WHICH RIGHT NOW IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

UH, AND WE HAVE THE CONGRESS BIKE LANE THAT ON A GOOD DAY WE'LL HAVE THREE CARS ILLEGALLY PARKING ON IT AT ANY TIME.

I MEAN, I TOOK IT DOWN AND SAW FOUR, I TOOK IT DOWN HERE TODAY.

UM, BUT DURING SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST IT IS JUST FLOODED WITH VEHICLES ILLEGALLY PARKING THE BIKE LANE, YOU CAN'T USE IT.

WHICH, YOU KNOW, ALTERNATIVELY MEANS A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM OUT OF TOWN USING SKEWERS FOR THE FIRST TIME, THEY DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE USING 'EM ON THE ROAD.

SO THEY'RE USING THE SIDEWALK AND GOING AT VERY HIGH SPEEDS AND THAT'S WHAT CREATES THESE SAFETY ISSUES.

I KNOW WE HAD A CONVERSATION ON THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION WITH ACE A WHILE AGO, AND I DEFINITELY DON'T WANNA SPEAK ON AFTER THE COMMISSION, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE SAID IS ACE NEEDS TO TAKE A STEP FORWARD AND START THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE ADDRESS THIS CAPACITY DURING THE SPRING FESTIVAL SEASON.

I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE A LOT ON YOUR PLATE AND IT DIDN'T GET DONE THIS TIME.

UH, BUT WE DO NEED TO THINK IF WE HAVE ALL THESE EXTRA PEOPLE SCOOTING WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH OUR ROADS, WE NEED TO HAVE SAFE PLACES FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO SCOOTER THAT ISN'T ON THE SIDEWALK AND DURING THIS FESTIVAL SEASON, THERE WON'T BE RIGHT.

SO I THINK WE'LL SEE A LOT MORE INJURIES THAN HOPEFULLY COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? I DO.

I HAVE A QUESTION, PLEASE.

UM, NOTE , IT'LL BE QUICK.

UM, ONE QUICK QUESTION.

GOING BACK TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING, I WAS WONDERING IF THERE WERE OPPORTUNITIES TO POTENTIALLY DO RECORDINGS AND SOMEWHERE, A WEBSITE TO HOST ONLINE VIDEOS.

YOU KNOW, IF STAFFING IS AN ISSUE IN TERMS OF GETTING PEOPLE TO PHYSICAL LOCATIONS FOR TRAINING, YOU KNOW, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN LOOKED INTO WHERE, YOU KNOW, IF THERE ARE MORE REQUESTS FOR TRAININGS AND THERE ARE DAYS OR CAPACITY WHERE IT CAN JUST BE VIEWED ONLINE AND OF COURSE THERE'S NO INTERACTIVE PORTION OF THE TRAINING.

I THINK THAT'S, UH, DEFINITELY WORTH LOOKING INTO.

UH, WHAT WE DO FIND THOUGH IS THAT WE DO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH, UH, WHERE OUR LOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINING TAKE PLACE.

WE MIGHT DO IT AT A BAR, WE MIGHT DO IT AT A HOTEL CONFERENCE ROOM.

WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THE, THE TECHNOLOGY LOOKS LIKE FOR THOSE AREAS OR FOR WOULD ACCOMMODATE IT.

UM, WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE DEMAND FOR IT, BUT I THINK GOING FORWARD IF THERE IS INCREASED DEMAND, THAT'S THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD ASK, UH, SOMEBODY WITH OUR POLICE TECHNOLOGY UNIT TO HELP US, UH, GET ROLLING SO THAT WAY WE COULD, UH, POST IT FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO VIEW.

YEAH, THAT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL, YOU KNOW, IN A CONFERENCE ROOM, HAVE SOMEONE KIND OF CHAT THROUGH SOME OF THE BASICS, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE RESPONSE.

COMMISSIONER LEVINE.

YEAH, NOT A QUESTION.

JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS, UH, TO THE POLICE AND EMS AND FIRE FOR ALL YOUR WORK THAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO DO AND WISH YOU LUCK AND I APPRECIATE Y'ALL KEEPING US SAFE OUT THERE DURING THIS CRAZY, CRAZY TIME.

ALRIGHT FOLKS, THANK YOU.

IT'S GONNA BE A BUSY COUPLE OF WEEKS FOR YOU.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE.

WE HAVE A PRESENTATION ON THE STATUS OF THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL BY PETER MULLEN AND LINDSEY WOOD.

ALRIGHTY.

UM, NEXT STEP.

[6. Presentation on the status of Austin Light Rail by Peter Mullan, EVP Architecture and Urban Design, Lindsay Wood, EVP - Engineering and Construction, and Courtney Chavez, SVP - Equity and Community Partnership.]

UH, COURTNEY CHAVEZ.

THE FLOOR IS YOURS.

ALL RIGHT,

[00:50:01]

GOOD EVENING AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING US.

WE ARE EXCITED TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE AT WITH ADVANCING AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL AND, AND QUICK INTRODUCTIONS.

I'M LINDSAY WOOD, UM, GIANNIS, UH, GIANNIS BANKS COMMUNITY, UH, ENGAGEMENT MANAGER FOR AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AND PETER MULLIN, ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN FOR AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.

SO SINCE THIS LAST JUNE WHEN WE ADOPTED THE LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, THAT REALLY GAVE US CLARITY ON WHAT AND WHERE WE ARE BUILDING THE FIRST PHASE OF LIGHT RAIL IN AUSTIN.

WE HAVE BEEN STEADILY ADVANCING THE PROJECT.

WANNA HIGHLIGHT A FEW KEY EFFORTS HERE.

UH, ONE BEING THE DESIGN.

SO CONTINUING TO DEFINE WHAT THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT REQUIREMENTS ARE AND WHAT THE ASSOCIATED FOOTPRINT IS.

AND THAT EFFORT HELPS TO SUPPORT THESE OTHER TWO WORK STREAMS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE REQUIRED FEDERAL PROCESSES THAT ARE NEEDED BECAUSE WE ARE PURSUING FEDERAL DOLLARS TO HELP FUND ROUGHLY HALF OF THE COST TO BUILD THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM.

THE FIRST FEDERAL PROCESS SHOWN HERE IN THE MIDDLE, IN GREEN, UH, NEPA, THAT STANDS FOR NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT.

THAT IS THE EFFORT OF STUDYING THE BENEFITS AND IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT AS COMPARED TO IF, UH, DOING NOTHING AT ALL AND NOT BUILDING THE PROJECT.

WE ARE, WE'VE JUST KICKED THAT OFF AND ARE OUT IN COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW, UH, REALLY GETTING INPUT INTO WHAT WE WILL BE STUDYING FOR THE PROJECT.

AND WE'LL BE BACK OUT LATER THIS YEAR, PUBLISHING WHAT IS CALLED A DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PUBLIC REVIEW AND FEEDBACK.

AND THE LAST PROCESS THERE IS, UH, THE VARIOUS STEPS THAT WE NEED TO GO THROUGH TO PURSUE THOSE FEDERAL DOLLARS.

SO I MENTIONED WE ARE OUT IN COMMUNITY.

WE'RE ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH A SERIES OF PUBLIC OPEN HOUSES, FIVE THAT ARE IN PERSON AS WELL AS ONE THAT IS VIRTUAL, WHICH WE ARE HOSTING TOMORROW NIGHT ACTUALLY.

AND IN ADDITION TO THESE, WHICH ARE ALL AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE, WE HAVE A, UH, AN OPEN, UM, ONGOING VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE WHERE ALL OF THE MATERIALS THAT WE ARE PRESENTING ARE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE.

SO I MENTIONED LAST JUNE ADOPTING THE FIRST PHASE OF AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL THAT IS A NEARLY 10 MILE LONG SYSTEM FROM 38TH AND GUADALUPE DOWN TO SOUTH CONGRESS AND ULT WHARF AND EAST TO YELLOW JACKET, WHICH IS NEAR BEN WHITE ALONG EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE.

IT IS A MOSTLY STREET RUNNING LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM, MEANING THAT IT IS ELECTRICALLY POWERED WITH THE TRAINS GENERALLY RUNNING IN THE CENTER OF THE STREET IN THEIR OWN DEDICATED SPACE.

AND ALSO HAS A PROPOSED OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY, UM, TOWARD THE, THE EAST END OF THE SYSTEM.

BEYOND THE YELLOW JACKET STATION, WE HAVE ALSO IDENTIFIED PRIORITY EXTENSIONS BEYOND THAT FIRST PHASE THAT EXTEND NORTH TO CRESTVIEW AND THE RED LINE CONNECTION AS WELL AS EAST FROM BEN WHITE CONTINUING OUT TO CONNECT WITH THE AIRPORT.

THOSE PRIORITY EXTENSIONS ARE NOT PART OF THE NEPA OR THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY THAT I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT WILL BE FOCUSING ON THE FUNDED PORTION OF THE FIRST PHASE PROJECT, UH, BUT COULD BE INCORPORATED INTO THE STUDY IF ADDITIONAL FUNDS BECOME AVAILABLE TO ACCELERATE THOSE EXTENSIONS.

SO AS PART OF ADVANCING THE WORK, UM, NOT ONLY FROM A A TECHNICAL DESIGN STANDPOINT OF, OF DRILLING FURTHER INTO OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES AND DEFINING THE NEEDS OF THE PROJECT, WE ALSO ARE ARE LISTENING TO COMMUNITY THROUGH ALL OF THE PRIOR PLANNING DONE TO DATE.

AND BOTH OF THOSE EFFORTS COMBINED HAVE LED US TO STUDY A SERIES OF DESIGN OPTIONS IN ADDITION TO THAT BASE DESIGN THAT I I JUST DESCRIBED.

AND THOSE OPTIONS CONSIST OF STATION OPPORTUNITIES THAT COULD BE, UH, CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF STATIONS AND HOW CLOSELY THEY ARE SPACED AS WELL AS WHERE THEY ARE LOCATED ALONG THE SYSTEM AND MULTIMODAL INTEGRATION OR HOW DO TRAINS AND BUSES AND BIKES AND PEDESTRIANS AND CARS ALL INTERACT TOGETHER WITHIN THE STREETSCAPE.

ALONG THE ALIGNMENT.

UH, ALSO LOOKING AT HOW WE TREAT THE ENDS OF LINE AND BRINGING PEOPLE TO

[00:55:01]

THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM THAT MAY NOT LIVE OR, OR WORK DIRECTLY ALONG THE ALIGNMENT WITH OPPORTUNITIES FOR END OF LINE FACILITIES SUCH AS PARK AND RIDES.

AND PETER'S GONNA WALK THROUGH THOSE DESIGN OPTIONS THAT WE ARE CONSIDERING.

AND I WANT TO, UM, HIGHLIGHT THAT WE ARE MAKING NO RECOMMENDATIONS AT THIS TIME, ONLY NOTING WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE STUDYING.

AND WE'LL CONTINUE EAST PAST 35.

UM, SO WE'RE GONNA START AT THE NORTH AND GO THROUGH THE ALIGNMENT IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL.

UM, AND I'LL, I'LL GO QUICKLY THROUGH A LOT OF IT, BUT THEN TRY TO SPEND A LITTLE MORE TIME ON THE DOWNTOWN SECTION.

UM, SO STARTING FROM THE NORTH, THE, THE NORTHERN TERMINUS OF PHASE ONE WILL BE AT 38TH STREET.

UM, THE ALIGNMENT COMES DOWN, YOU KNOW, GUADALUPE, UM, INTO THE AREA OF THE UNIVERSITY.

UM, THERE'LL BE A STATION, UH, THE 29TH STREET STATION, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY BETWEEN 27TH STREET AND 29TH STREET, UM, AND THEN CONTINUES DOWN AND THERE'S ANOTHER STATION, UH, ADJACENT TO THE WEST MALL AT UT.

UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT, UH, WE WILL BE STUDYING AS PART OF THIS PROCESS IS, UH, IN A, OF BASICALLY A, A CONFIGURATION OF GUADALUPE, UM, BETWEEN 29TH AND BASICALLY 22ND, UM, THAT ELIMINATES ALL SINGLE OCCUPANCY PASSENGER VEHICLES.

SO IT WOULD BE REALLY JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, LIGHT RAIL BUSES, SPIKES, PETS, UM, GIVEN THE, THE HIGH VOLUME OF PEDESTRIANS IN THIS AREA AS WELL AS, UM, THE EX THE HIGH RIDERSHIP ASSOCIATED WITH TRANSIT AND ACCESS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

UM, SO WE DID A LOT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON THAT IN THE PAST, AND SO WE'LL BE STUDYING THAT FURTHER IN TERMS OF ALL OF THE, THE BENEFITS AND IMPACTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.

UM, SO MOVING TO THE SOUTH THROUGH DOWNTOWN, WE HA ARE, UM, WE'LL BE STUDYING, UH, THREE TO THE, WE'RE THREE TO FOUR, UH, STATION LOCATIONS, UM, UH, WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, UM, 15TH STREET, CONGRESS AVENUE, CESAR CHAVEZ, AS WELL AS, UM, AN OPTION FOR A STATION LOCATED NEXT TO WOOLDRIDGE SQUARE.

UM, THIS IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT CAME OUT OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, LAST SPRING, UM, FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED ABOUT THE DESIRE TO HAVE, UM, STATIONS THAT WERE MAYBE SPACED A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TOGETHER.

SO WE ARE, WE HAVE ADDED THIS AS AN OPTION AND WE'LL BE STUDYING, UM, HOW TO DO THAT AND WHAT, UM, THE, THE PROS AND CONS OF THAT WILL BE, UM, FOR ALL ASPECTS OF, OF THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM.

UM, THE, THE CONGRESS AVENUE STATION WILL BE LO IS WILL BE LOCATED, UM, ON THIRD STREET, UH, BETWEEN CONGRESS AND COLORADO.

UM, IT'S A BIT OF A LONGER BLOCK WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN BLOCK SYSTEM, SO, UM, GOOD LOCATION FOR A STATION THERE AND ACTUALLY APPROXIMATE TO CONGRESS AVENUE.

UM, AND THEN WE WILL BE STUDYING TWO OPTIONS FOR THE CAESAR CHAVEZ STATION.

UM, THESE ARE BOTH LOCATED OBVIOUSLY IN PROXIMITY TO THE REIMAGINED CONVENTION CENTER.

UM, ONE OPTION FOR THE STATION WILL HAVE THE STATION LOCATED ON TRINITY STREET IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, SIMILAR TO WHERE MOST OF OUR STATIONS ARE LOCATED.

UM, WE ARE ALSO EXPLORING AN OPTION WHERE A STATION COULD BE LOCATED, UM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH, UH, A NEW DEVELOPMENT ON THE BLOCK BETWEEN, UH, SECOND AND THIRD BETWEEN TRINITY AND SAN JACINTO.

SO THE IDEA OF A JOINT DEVELOPMENT THERE THAT WOULD INCORPORATE THE STATION INTO THE GROUND FLOOR.

UM, THE STATION IN THAT CASE WOULD BE LOCATED KIND OF ON THE 45.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, HELPING TO MAKE THAT TURN, UM, ON THE 90 DEGREE TURN FROM TRINITY TO THE THIRD STREET.

SO OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME COMPLEXITY TO ALL THAT.

SO WE'RE STUDYING ALL THE, ALL THE, THE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT AS PART OF THIS PROCESS.

UM, OTHER THINGS TO NOTE ABOUT DOWNTOWN IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT LA VACA BEING, UM, CONVERTED TO TWO-WAY TRAFFIC, UM, GIVEN THE, THE IMPACTS THAT, UH, THE LIGHT RAIL WILL HAVE ON GUADALUPE.

AND SO HELPING TO, UM, AUGMENT AND INCREASE THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC THROUGH DOWNTOWN, UM, IN THAT WAY.

UM, WE'RE OBVIOUSLY COORDINATING WITH THE CITY AND, AND THE TRANSPORTATION OF PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, UM, ON ALL TRAFFIC ISSUES AS WE ANALYZE, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT WILL WORK DOWNTOWN IN PARTICULAR.

AND WITH THE, THE CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN THAT IS UNDER CONSIDERATION RIGHT NOW.

UM, SO THE, THE LIGHT RAIL COMES DOWN, GUADALUPE TURNS ON THIRD AND THEN WILL TURN ON TRINITY.

UM, AND THEN HOOD OVER THE RIVER AND LADY BIRD LAKE, UH, ON A NEW BRIDGE.

UM, ALONG THAT WILL ACCOMMODATE BOTH, UH, LIGHT RAIL AND, UH, PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS WHEN WE GET SOUTH OF THE RIVER.

UH, THE ALIGNMENT SPLITS, SO THERE'S A LEG THAT GOES SOUTH, UM, DOWN SOUTH CONGRESS, UH, TO UL TORF STREET, THAT WILL BE THE, THE SOUTHERN TERMINUS AS PART OF PHASE ONE.

UM, AND UH, AND THEN EAST THERE'S A LEG OBVIOUSLY THAT GOES DOWN EAST RIVERSIDE

[01:00:01]

UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT A COUPLE OF OPTIONS IN THIS SECTION OF THE ALIGNMENT.

ONE IS LOOKING AT THE TRA SITE STATION AND, AND, UH, WHAT THE ALIGNMENT LOOKS LIKE WITH AND WITHOUT THE STATION AND THAT LOCATION.

UM, SORRY ABOUT THAT.

UH, SO, UH, WE'LL BE, WE'LL BE HAVING ROBUST CONVERSATION ABOUT THE, THE BENEFITS AND, UM, OPPORTUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT OPTION.

WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, UH, TWO OPTIONS FOR THE WATERFRONT STATION AND THE ALIGNMENT BASICALLY JUST ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE RIVER.

UM, AND LOOKING AT TWO VERTICAL OPTIONS FOR THE ALIGNMENT.

SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT, THIS IS KIND OF A UNIQUE CONDITION, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A LOT MORE ABOUT THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT LATER TONIGHT.

BUT, UM, THE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE BASICALLY ON, ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE RIVER, WHICH IS TO THE RIGHT OF YOUR SCREEN AND THE SOUTH CONGRESS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN.

YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THESE HILLS AND, UM, AND SO THERE ARE TWO WAYS FOR THE TRAIN TO BASICALLY NAVIGATE BETWEEN THOSE HILLS.

ONE IS TO COME DOWN, YOU KNOW, ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE LAKE, UM, AND HAVE A STATION AT GRADE.

UM, AND THE OTHER IS TO ACTUALLY CONTINUE, KEEP THE ALIGNMENT UP, UP HIGH AND HAVE THE STATION BASICALLY ELEVATED, ALMOST LIKE AN EXTENSION OF THE BRIDGE OVER THE LAKE, UM, YOU KNOW, AS IT MOVES TO THE SOUTH.

SO OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME COMPLEXITY THERE IN TERMS OF TOPOGRAPHY AND HOW THE ALIGNMENT WORKS WITH THAT, AS WELL AS ACCESS AND INTERACTION WITH ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING ON THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT.

SO WE'LL BE LOOKING AT ALL OF THAT IN, IN SOME DETAIL AND DOCUMENTING THAT AS PART OF THIS PROCESS.

UM, SO MOVING TO THE EAST PAST I 35 ON RIVERSIDE, UM, THE ALIGNMENT CONTINUES DOWN RIVERSIDE, UM, ALL THE WAY TO YELLOW JACKET, WHICH IS BASICALLY AT, AT, UH, HIGH 71.

UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT SOME DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR STATION LOCATIONS IN THIS AREA.

UM, ONE THING WE'LL BE LOOKING AT IS, YOU KNOW, UH, TWO OPTIONS FOR THE STATIONS JUST EAST OF PLEASANT VALLEY.

SO ONE WHICH HAS A STATION AT PHARAOH AND A STATION AT MONTOPOLIS.

UM, THE OTHER OPTION WOULD BE TO COMBINE THOSE STATIONS INTO A SINGLE STATION LOCATED AT GROVE.

UH, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY PROS AND CONS TO BOTH OPTIONS AND WE'LL BE STUDYING ALL THE, ALL OF THOSE ASSOCIATED ISSUES.

UM, THE OTHER THING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, ON THIS SECTION OF THE ALIGNMENT IS, YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENT WAY TO PROVIDE, UH, PEDESTRIAN CYCLING FACILITIES IN ADJACENT IN ADDITION TO THE LIGHT RAIL.

UM, AND SO LOOKING AT TWO DIFFERENT CROSS SECTIONS FOR THIS SECTION OF THE ALIGNMENT, UM, THE ONE AT THE TOP, WHICH IS I THINK MORE OF A TYPICAL CROSS SECTION THAT WE LOOK AT WHERE WE'VE GOT THE LIGHT RAIL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, UH, VEHICULAR TRAFFIC ON EITHER SIDE OF THE LIGHT RAIL, AND THEN PEDESTRIAN AND CYCLING FACILITIES ON THE OUTSIDE, UM, ADJACENT TO THE SIDEWALK.

AND OBVIOUSLY IN STREET TREES WHERE WE CAN FIT THEM, UM, IN THIS LOCATION.

AND PARTLY BECAUSE OF THE UNIQUE, UH, CONFIGURATION OF THE RIGHT OF WAY, WE'RE LOOKING AT AN, A VERSION OF THIS WHERE WE ACTUALLY COMBINE THE BICYCLING AND PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES INTO THE CENTER OF THE ROADWAY TO CREATE, UM, KIND OF A, A SORT OF A CONSISTENT CONTINUOUS KIND OF TRAIL CONDITION INTO THE CENTER ADJACENT TO THE LIGHT RAIL AND FEEDING THE LIGHT RAIL STATIONS.

UM, OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD HAVE SIDEWALKS ON, ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET IN ANY CASE, BUT, UM, SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION AND SOME, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, PROS AND CONS TO BOTH OPTIONS AND WON'T BE STUDYING ALL THOSE AS PART OF THIS PROCESS AND PRESENTING THEM BACK TO THE PUBLIC, UM, IN THE FALL.

UM, AND HERE ARE SOME PRECEDENTS OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT ARE INFORMING, UM, THOSE OPTIONS AND THE, AND THE SORT OF THE CENTER OPTION IN PARTICULAR WHERE YOU'VE GOT THESE MULTIMODAL, UH, FACILITIES, LINEAR FACILITIES IN, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE LIGHT RAIL, UM, AND WHERE IT'S WORKED WELL.

AND OBVIOUSLY, UH, TREES AND SHADE ARE, ARE IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE OPTIONS BECAUSE, UM, WE ALL HAVE THE BENEFIT OF EXPERIENCING LAST SUMMER.

UM, AND KNOW THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED, WE NEED SHADE FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO GET TO THIS LIGHT RAIL FACILITY.

UM, THANK YOU.

SO I MENTIONED THAT WE WOULD BE OUT LATER THIS YEAR PUBLISHING A DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.

THE, THE FOCUS OF THAT WORK IS STUDYING NOT ONLY THE DESIGN OPTIONS JUST DESCRIBED, BUT THE ENTIRE LIMITS OF THE PROJECT IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR BOTH NATURAL AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENTS.

AND WE'LL BE PUBLISHING THAT DRAFT EIS FOR FEEDBACK ON NOT ONLY THE ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, CONTEXT AND, AND EFFECTS OF THE PROJECT, BUT ALSO THE DESIGN ITSELF.

SO WE WILL, UH, CONTINUE THIS WHAT IS CALLED THE, THE SCOPING PROCESS THAT WE ARE IN CURRENTLY, THAT IS GATHERING INPUT, UH, THROUGH THIS SERIES OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS TO INFORM OUR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY.

WE'LL BE COMPLETING THAT THIS SPRING AND

[01:05:01]

THEN, UH, TOWARD THE, THE FALL OF THIS YEAR PUBLISHING THE DRAFT EIS AND THEN EXPECT THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT NEXT YEAR IN 2025.

AND THAT IS ALL WE HAVE AND ARE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

COULDN'T AGREE MORE OTHER COMMISSIONERS.

COMMISSIONERS QUESTIONS.

COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER, I JUST WANNA ENCOURAGE YOU TO REALLY THINK ABOUT PLACEMAKING AT THE STATIONS, ESPECIALLY THE DOWNTOWN ONES, LANDSCAPING OUR USER EXPERIENCE.

AND I'M SURE YOU ARE, BUT I HAD TO SAY IT.

THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING IT.

REAL QUICK, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS FOR COMING OUT AND THANKS FOR, UM, SAVING DIRTIES.

WE REALLY MUCH APPRECIATE THAT.

IT IS, IT IS MUCH APPRECIATED.

UH, ANYBODY ONLINE? NO.

UM, GOOD TO SEE YOU GUYS.

I, I SAY THIS EVERY TIME, BUT I FEEL LIKE IT HAS TO BE SAID.

YOU GUYS ARE THE HARDEST WORKING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE.

WE KEPT YOU LATE AT NIGHT AT THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL LAST NIGHT.

YOU'VE GOT THE ONLINE THING TOMORROW, AND I SEE YOU EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, SO KUDOS.

'CAUSE YOU ALL DESERVE IT.

I HOPE YOU CAN TAKE A DAY OFF IN MARCH.

UM, I, I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.

I'VE ALREADY HIT YOU WITH A BUNCH HERE AND THERE, BUT, UM, SO THE FIRST ONE, UM, I KNOW RENDERINGS ARE NOT PLANS, UH, BUT THE RENDERING, LIKE ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THIS IS A CONGRESS AVENUE STATION ON THIRD STREET WHERE THERE IS NO CAR TRAFFIC.

ARE YOU PLANNING ON NOT HAVING MOTOR VEHICLES ON THIRD STREET? IS THAT STILL A PLANNING ONLY IN THE BLOCK OF THE STATION ITSELF? SO BECAUSE WHERE WE HAVE THE STATIONS, THE, THE PLATFORMS CREATE A WIDER FOOTPRINT OF THE PROJECT, UH, NEED TO FIND A LITTLE MORE SPACE FOR THOSE AREAS.

SO IN THAT PARTICULAR BLOCK WOULD HAVE A, A PEDESTRIAN AND TRANSIT PLAZA, BUT ALONG THIRD STREET, I GUESS THAT WOULD BE EAST OF CONGRESS AND WEST OF COLORADO HAVING VEHICULAR MOVEMENTS IN THOSE OTHER BLOCKS ALONG THE STREET.

ALL RIGHT.

THAT, THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.

UM, YOU ALSO MENTIONED, UM, WHICH I DIDN'T KNOW THIS BEFORE, UM, WE'RE CONSIDERING LAVACCA TWO-WAY.

UM, IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN, WOULD GUADALUPE ALSO BE CONVERTED TO TWO-WAY OR, YEAH.

UM, YEAH, , THERE YOU GO.

UM, OTHER QUESTION I HAD, AND THIS WILL FEED INTO OUR NEXT PRESENTATION, IS, UM, THIS ISN'T SO MUCH OF A PROBLEM IF YOU GUYS CHOOSE THE ELEVATED ONE, BUT IF, IF WE GO TOWARDS A, UM, ON STREET ALIGNMENT FOR THE WATERFRONT STATION, I, I'M CURIOUS HOW IT WILL INTERACT WITH THE EXTENSION OF BARTON SPRINGS ROAD, UM, RIGHT.

'CAUSE THE A SMP HAS THAT AS, UH, A FOUR-LANE ROAD WITH, UH, WITH A SEPARATED MEDIAN AND, UM, TWO BICYCLE LANES ON THE SIDE.

UM, AND THEN I, I WOULD ALSO IMAGINE IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO TURN ONTO RIVERSIDE AND ALSO POSSIBLY FOR CARS TO TURN LEFT ON RIVERSIDE.

SO HAVE YOU GUYS CONSIDERED WHAT THAT INTERACTION WOULD LOOK LIKE? SO THOSE ARE ALL GREAT QUESTIONS AND ARE INCLUDED IN, IN OUR ANALYSIS, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE RESULTS OF THAT ANALYSIS.

SURE.

WE ARE, UM, GATHERING INPUT JUST AS, AS QUESTIONS, UM, THAT YOU'VE MENTIONED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STUDY ALL THE NECESSARY FACTORS AND WE'LL BE INCORPORATING THOSE INTO THE DESIGN DEVELOPMENT OF BOTH OPTIONS.

UM, IF YOU'RE GOING WITH THE ELEVATED OPTION, CAN I ASSUME THAT YOU'VE THOUGHT ABOUT HANDICAPPED ACCESS AND THE AMOUNT OF ELEVATORS AND SUCH THAT YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO GET PEOPLE UP AND DOWN? ABSOLUTELY.

UH, SO VERTICAL CIRCULATION TO, UM, TRANSITION FROM THE GROUND LEVEL TO THE, THE STATION PLATFORM LEVEL IS ALSO PART OF THE CONSIDERATION.

AND THEN LAST QUESTION I HAVE IS, UH, RIGHT, WE HAVE SO MANY CAPITAL INVESTMENTS GOING ON IN DOWNTOWN, RIGHT? YOU MENTIONED THE CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, WHICH IS GOING TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE TO ADAPT BASED OFF OF WHAT PROJECT CONNECT DOES.

UH, YOU KNOW, THE SEA HOME IMPROVEMENTS WILL CHANGE, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHAT BASED OFF OF, UH, WHAT HAPPENS ON THIRD STREET.

YOU KNOW, SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT WILL CHANGE.

THE CONVENTION CENTER MAY HAVE TO CHANGE HOW THE EXPANSION WORKS DEPENDING ON WHAT'S CHOSEN AT CESAR CHAVEZ.

SO ONE THING I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN.

I'M SURE YOU GUYS ARE WORKING TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T, BUT I, I HOPE THINGS AREN'T IN A HOLDING PATTERN WAITING FOR PROJECT CONNECT TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS.

SO DO YOU GUYS HAVE, YOU KNOW, AN ADVANCED CONTACT TEAM THAT'S WORKING WITH THEM? CAN YOU WALK THROUGH HOW YOU TALK WITH THEM? YEAH, A HUNDRED PERCENT.

SO, UM, ONE OF THE, AS YOU POINT OUT, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.

THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER PROJECTS THAT ARE HAPPENING SIMULTANEOUSLY AND BEING DEVELOPED CONCURRENTLY WITH PROJECT CONNECT AND AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL.

UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT ADDS SOME COMPLEXITY TO THE PROCESS, BUT I THINK WE ALL SEE IT AS A HUGE OPPORTUNITY AS WELL BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT WE CAN MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS BASED ON WHAT COLLECTIVELY EVERYBODY IS DOING, RIGHT.

AND BE AS COORDINATED AS WE COULD IMAGINE EVER BEING.

[01:10:01]

UM, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE ACTIVELY ENGAGED WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER TEAM NOW, UM, CERTAINLY WITH THE CITY AND THEIR, THE CORE TRANSPORTATION TEAM, THE I 35 TEAM AT TXDOT, ET CETERA.

SO, UM, THAT'S AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR PROCESS AND, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO DO IT AND IT'S GONNA BE, IT'S GONNA MAKE ALL THESE PROJECTS BETTER.

AWESOME.

WELL, THANK YOU GUYS.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, AND THANK YOU FOR BEING EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE CITY.

ANYBODY ELSE? I HAVE A GOOD QUESTION, COMMISSIONER.

UM, HOW DOES ACCESS TO THE LIGHT RAIL WORK? SO THE, FOR MOST OF THE ALIGNMENT, IT WOULD BE RUNNING AT THE STREET LEVEL, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, UH, SIMILAR TO WHERE YOU MIGHT SEE A MEDIAN TODAY, AND WOULD ACCESS THE STATIONS BY THE CROSSWALKS AT THE NEAREST INTERSECTION ON EITHER SIDE OF THE STATION.

SO WOULD HAVE A, A SIGNALED SAFE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING TO GET TO THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.

I MEAN, IF IT'S A SUBWAY, I UNDERSTAND, LIKE IN NEW YORK, WHEN I'M INTO THE SUBWAY, UM, USE A CAR TO GET THROUGH SO EVERYBODY THEORETICALLY HAS TO PAY.

YEAH, SO I WOULD SAY, SO FAIR CONTROL, THE FAIR CONTROL SYSTEM AND STRATEGY HAS NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED.

UM, AND CERTAINLY WE'LL BE WORKING WITH CAB METRO ON HOW THAT GETS IMPLEMENTED.

UM, AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S, THAT'S AN EVOLVING THING TECHNOLOGICALLY, GLOBALLY ANYWAY, SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE USING THE LATEST AND GREATEST TECHNOLOGY TO MANAGE THAT.

UM, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT ONE OF THE REAL BENEFITS OF LIGHT RAIL AND IS THAT IT, IT'S REALLY CLOSE TO THE GROUND, RIGHT? IT'S DIFFERENT, I THINK FROM THE RED LINE, FOR EXAMPLE, WHICH IS A MUCH BIGGER VEHICLE, A TALLER VEHICLE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PLATFORM WILL HAVE, WILL HAVE LEVEL BOARDING FROM THE PLATFORM INTO THE TRAIN.

UM, BUT EVEN THAT PLATFORM IS ONLY BASICALLY EIGHT INCHES ABOVE A TYPICAL SIDEWALK LEVEL, RIGHT? SO REALLY ONE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES ABOUT BEING AT GREAT IS THAT WE CAN REALLY HAVE SEAMLESS AND EASY ACCESS FOR PEOPLE OF ALL ABILITIES TO GET TO THE TRAIN.

AND, AND, UM, I THINK CONSISTENT WITH WHAT COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER WAS ASKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A HUGE DRIVER IN TERMS OF HOW WE'RE GOING TO DESIGN, UM, THE STATIONS, IS TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE THIS ACCESS AS FRICTIONLESS AND EASY AS POSSIBLE.