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[CALL TO ORDER]
OKAY.UH, THIS IS THE REGULAR CALLED MEETING FOR THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION FOR NOVEMBER 20TH, 2024.
IT IS 5:36 PM AND WE ARE IN SESSION.
UH, THE FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS IS TO CALL THE ROLL.
UH, I WILL NOTE THAT WE HAVE TWO NEW COMMISSIONERS JOINING US TONIGHT, PETER BRETON AND CHARLES VETO.
AND AFTER WE DO THE ROLE, I'LL LET THEM EACH BRIEFLY INTRODUCE THEMSELVES.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY WE HAVE LOST COMMISSIONER ORTEGA, SO WE NOW HAVE A, WE'RE BACK TO HAVE NEEDING TWO REPLACEMENTS.
UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE WILL HAVE A LIAISON FROM THE DESIGN COMMISSION COMING FORWARD, PERHAPS IN THE NEXT MONTH, AND THAT WE ARE STILL WAITING FROM AN APPOINTEE FROM THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.
UH, WITH THAT SAID, CHRISSY, WOULD YOU BE KIND ENOUGH TO CALL? ROLL YES.
AND CHARLOTTE PATTERSON MAY BE JOINING LATER.
SPENCER SCHUMACHER AND CARL LAROCHE.
PETER, WOULD YOU BEGIN? AH, THERE WE GO.
I AM THE APPOINTEE FOR COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.
UH, I WORK WITH CAPITAL METRO AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE, A BIKE COMMUTER, AND SO I PASS THROUGH AND WORK IN AND AM ALL AROUND DOWNTOWN VERY OFTEN.
UM, I'M VERY HONORED TO BE SERVING ON THE COMMISSION.
UM, JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BRIEF BACKGROUND, UM, I'VE BEEN A DOWNTOWN RESIDENT SINCE, UH, NOVEMBER OF
UM, DOWNTOWN RESIDENT, UH, MY BACKGROUND, HISTORIC PRESERVATION.
I'VE BEEN WITH THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION ALL THESE YEARS AND VERY INVOLVED WITH OTHER, UH, NONPROFITS, UH, THROUGH PRESERVATION AND HISTORY, AND AGAIN, HONORED TO BE SERVING ON THIS COMMISSION.
UH, WONDERFUL TO HAVE THESE SPACES FILLED BY OBVIOUSLY TWO VERY WELL QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS.
UH, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY HERE FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? NO, WE DO NOT.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Downtown Commission regular meeting on October 16,2024.]
THE NEXT ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.I TRUST EVERYBODY'S HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE MINUTES.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE.
[2. Presentation on benchmarking downtown plans in comparable cities by Melissa Barry,Chief Program Officer, Downtown Austin Alliance, and discussion of the update to theDowntown Austin Plan.]
UH, MOVING ON TO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. THE FIRST ITEM IS A PRESENTATION ON BENCHMARKING DOWNTOWN PLANS IN COMPARABLE CITIES BY MELISSA BERRY, CHIEF PROGRAM OFFERED OFFICER DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE AND DISCUSSION OF THE UPDATE TO THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN.MELISSA, WELCOME THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
I'M THE CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE.
UM, JUST AS A, A REAL QUICK OVERVIEW, I KNOW MANY OF YOU, I SEE MANY FAMILIAR FACES HERE.
MANY OF YOU KNOW WHO THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE ALLIANCES, BUT JUST AS A QUICK OVERVIEW, WE ARE THE DOWNTOWN PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT.
WE OPERATE UNDER A CONTRACT AND A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO DELIVER SERVICES TO THE DOWNTOWN PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT THROUGH A, UM, A, A BUDGET THAT IS FUNDED THROUGH THE, THE DOWNTOWN PROPERTY OWNER COMMERCIAL TAX BASE.
UM, AND, UM, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR OVER 30 YEARS.
SO WE ARE NOT NEW TO DOWNTOWN.
AND, UM, IN FACT, I WAS, I'VE BEEN WITH THE ORGANIZATION FOR 15 YEARS, SO I WAS HERE IN THE, THE THROES OF THE LAST DOWNTOWN PLAN.
I HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING IT AND IMPLEMENTING IT, AND, UM, WHAT I'M REALLY HERE TO DO TONIGHT IS JUST BEGIN
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A CONVERSATION.UM, SO ONE REALLY IMPORTANT ASPECT OF OUR WORK AT THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE IS THAT WE BRING THE PUBLIC IN THE PRIVATE SECTORS TOGETHER.
UM, AND WE REALLY FEEL LIKE THAT'S THE SWEET SPOT WHERE WE START TO SEE THE ABILITY TO LEVERAGE AND COLLABORATE AND, AND MAKE THINGS REALLY GREAT.
SO, UM, I'M BRINGING THAT LENS TO THIS DISCUSSION.
UM, JUST TO BE, TO BE REALLY TRANSPARENT.
UM, AND OUR ORGANIZATION, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE IS THE ONLY ORGANIZATION LIKE THIS IN AUSTIN.
UM, THERE ARE OTHER PIS, BUT NO OTHER DOWNTOWN PIS.
OBVIOUSLY, WE'RE THE ONLY DOWNTOWN, BUT WE HAVE A NETWORK OF OTHER DOWNTOWNS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND ACROSS THE WORLD.
SO, THROUGH OUR INTERNATIONAL DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION, WE GET CONNECTED TO OTHER DOWNTOWNS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
AND, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE LIKE TO DO IS, IS TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHAT'S WORKING AND NOT, NOT WORKING.
SO, UH, AS WE STARTED TO THINK ABOUT AN UPDATE TO THE DOWNTOWN PLAN AND WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE OUR ORGANIZATION REALLY WANTS TO SEE US LEAN IN ON THE DOWNTOWN PLAN THIS TIME AROUND IS IMPLEMENTATION AND SETTING THE PLAN UP FOR SUCCESS WHEN IT COMES TO IMPLEMENTATION.
SO, UM, WHAT I WANTED TO DO WAS TALK TO SOME OF OUR PE, SOME OF OUR PEERS IN OTHER DOWNTOWNS TO HEAR WHAT THEY WERE DOING AROUND IMPLEMENTATION, WHAT WAS WORKING AND WHAT WASN'T WORKING, AND WHAT ADVICE THEY'D HAVE FOR US.
SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW I SET THIS UP TODAY.
AND THIS IS REALLY MEANT TO BE THE START OF THE CONVERSATION.
I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO HEAR FROM Y'ALL OTHER PLACES OR QUESTIONS YOU WOULD HAVE THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO THIS DIALOGUE.
UM, BUT WHAT I, I, I WANNA SORT OF WALK YOU THROUGH RIGHT NOW REALLY QUICKLY IS THE DOWNTOWNS WE'VE, WE'VE SPOKEN WITH SO FAR.
UM, SO WE, WE'VE TALKED WITH DALLAS, WE'VE TALKED TO DOWNTOWN ATLANTA.
WE'VE TALKED TO DOWNTOWN CALGARY, DOWNTOWN DENVER, AND WE HAVEN'T SPOKEN WITH SEATTLE YET, BUT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF SETTING SOME TIME UP TO DO THAT.
UM, AGAIN, I AM TALKING WITH MY PEERS IN OTHER DOWNTOWN ORGANIZATIONS, NOT CITY STAFF.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SORT OF, WE'RE HEARING IT MORE FROM THE, THE PRIVATE, UH, PUBLIC SIDE OF THINGS AS, AND, AND I WILL SAY THAT, UH, MANY OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE HAD WERE VERY CANDID AND THEY ASKED ME NOT TO, UM, IDENTIFY
SO YOU WILL SEE THE TAKEAWAYS SORT OF IN A, A HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY RATHER THAN THIS PERSON SAID THAT.
UM, JUST TO RESPECT THEIR REQUEST.
UM, FOR, FOR FOR THE CANDID CONVERSATIONS.
UM, I'M GONNA START WITH THE TAKEAWAYS AND THEN I'LL KIND OF GO BACKWARD A LITTLE.
SO, UH, ONE OF THE, THE, THE, THE, THE REALLY INTERESTING THINGS IS THAT THE DRIVE, WHAT'S DRIVING THE CURRENT UPDATES IN THE CITIES THAT WE'VE SPOKEN WITH, IT'S REALLY ABOUT OFFICE VACANCIES.
AND, UM, IT'S AN ECONOMIC ISSUE FOR MANY OF THEM.
THEY'RE STARTING TO SEE THE DECLINE IN OFFICE VACANCIES.
IT'S STARTING TO REDUCE TAX REVENUES.
AND THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT SORT OF SPIRALS OFF INTO ALL THE OTHER IMPACTS THAT WE SEE WITH, WITH A, A LACK OF OFFICE, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE SAFETY ISSUES AND LACK OF VIBRANCY, UM, RETAIL VACANCIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO FOR SEVERAL OF THE DOWNTOWNS WE TALKED TO WHO WERE JUST ABOUT TO LAUNCH THEIR PLANS, IT WAS REALLY KIND OF A, A, A CALL TO ACTION AROUND OFFICE VACANCIES.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE LESSONS THAT I WOULD SAY WE HEARD FROM MANY OF THEM, ONE OF THE BIG ONES WAS, IF YOU WANT THIS TO LAST, IF YOU'RE A DOWNTOWN THAT HAS A LOT OF CHANGE AND GROWTH AND YOU WANT THIS TO LAST, KEEP IT HIGH LEVEL.
DON'T TRY TO GET, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR FIVE LAYERS DEEP IN THE PLAN.
YOU CAN ALWAYS DO THAT IN OTHER WAYS.
WAS WAS SORT OF THE, THE ADVICE WE HEARD THERE.
UM, WE ALSO, AND I'LL GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THIS, WE ALSO HEARD, UH, STRONG, UM, SUGGESTIONS AROUND PLANNING AHEAD FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND MAKING SURE THAT IMPLEMENTATION IS BUILT INTO THE PLAN ITSELF.
WE HEARD THE IMPORTANCE OF THINKING BEYOND DOWNTOWN.
A LOT OF OUR PEERS TALKED ABOUT HOW THE EDGES OF DOWNTOWN WERE GROWING.
WE, I THINK YOU ALL HAD A CONVERSATION LIKE THAT NOT TOO LONG AGO.
UM, HERE WE SEE THAT ALREADY WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AND, AND EAST AUSTIN AND THE I 35 CAP PROJECT, WE SEE THAT THE BOUNDARIES OF DOWNTOWN ARE, ARE, UM, DIFFERENT THAN THEY WERE, UH, FIVE YEARS AGO EVEN.
SO, UM, A LOT OF THE FOLKS TALKED ABOUT HOW IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALLY THINK ABOUT THOSE EDGES, UM, AND, AND ALSO IN INVOLVE PEOPLE
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ADJACENT TO YOUR PLANNING IN THE PROCESS.UM, WE HEARD THESE LAST TWO THINGS KIND OF GO TOGETHER, THE ECONOMIC CASE FOR DOWNTOWN AND THE NETWORK OF CHAMPIONS.
WE HEARD A REALLY STRONG CALL FOR, YOU KNOW, SUCCESS IS WHEN YOU CAN HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHY THEY CARE ABOUT DOWNTOWN, EVEN IF THEY DON'T LIVE HERE OR, YOU KNOW, HAVE ANY ACTUAL REASON TO COME DOWNTOWN.
IF YOU CAN HELP THEM UNDERSTAND HOW HOW DOWNTOWN HELPS THEM, YOU'LL BE SUCCESSFUL.
AND IF YOU CAN BRING PEOPLE IN THE REGION WHO ARE LEADERS WHO CARE ABOUT DOWNTOWN INTO THE PROCESS, YOU'LL BE MORE SUCCESSFUL.
UM, SO HIGH LEVEL, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE BIG TAKEAWAYS WE HEARD.
UM, I WILL SAY DOWNTOWN DALLAS, THEIR PLAN WAS DONE AROUND THE SAME TIME AS OUR PLAN.
THE ORIGINAL PLAN, IT WAS COMPLETED IN 2011.
THEY WENT THROUGH A PLAN UPDATE IN 2017.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS REALLY, THE MOST INTERESTING THING I THINK I LEARNED FROM THEM WAS THAT THEY INTENTIONALLY KEPT THE PLAN HIGH LEVEL.
AND THEY HAVE AN IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX.
SO I KNOW YOU CAN'T SEE THIS, BUT THIS IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX IS WHAT THEY WORK OFF OF ANNUALLY.
THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE SORT OF THE HIGH LEVEL GOALS OF THE PLAN, AND THEN EVERY YEAR THIS IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX CHANGES.
AND THEY USE THIS AS THE WAY TO SORT OF DEVELOP THEIR BUDGET AND IDENTIFY WHAT ARE THEIR PRIORITY PROJECTS MOVING FORWARD EACH YEAR, RATHER THAN HAVING THAT ALL LAID OUT IN A PLAN, WHICH BECOMES REALLY DIFFICULT TO DO IN YEAR ONE.
WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE A 10 YEAR PLAN, DOWNTOWN ATLANTA IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT AND PROBABLY, PROBABLY NOT THE MOST RELEVANT CASE STUDY FOR US.
THEIR, UM, THEIR CITY RESOURCES ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO THEIR, UM, THEIR CITY STAFF DIDN'T HAVE RESOURCES TO DO THE DOWNTOWN PLAN.
SO THEIR, THEIR, UM, ORGANIZATION LIKE OURS ACTUALLY DOES THE PLAN IN DOWNTOWN ATLANTA.
THE REASON THEY DO IT IS BECAUSE IT UNLOCKS IN ATLANTA, THEIR STATE LAW.
IT UNLOCKS A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER FUNDING TOOLS THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO.
UM, SO THEIR PLANNING PROCESS WAS REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF TWOFOLD TO, TO, TO IDENTIFY A PLAN THAT WOULD HELP THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY MOVE FORWARD AND TO UNLOCK SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES.
DOWNTOWN CALGARY, UM, I THINK IS, IS A REALLY INTERESTING TEST CASE.
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST RECENT PLANS THAT WAS COMPLETED.
THEY, UM, THIS IS A CITY LED EFFORT, WAS COMPLETED IN APRIL OF 2021, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE COMMUNITIES WHERE A DOWNTOWN VACANCY WAS DRIVING THE ISSUE FOR THE PLAN.
WHAT'S INTERESTING HERE THAT WE LEARNED FROM THEM IS THAT THEY ADOPTED THIS PLAN WITH A $488 MILLION BUDGET ATTACHED TO IT.
THEY BROUGHT THE PLAN FORWARD TO THEIR COUNCIL WITH A BUDGET LINE ITEM, UM, THAT WAS TO DELIVER ON THE ITEMS THAT THEY WERE PRIORITIZING IN THE PLAN.
IT, THE, UM, IMPLEMENTATION BUDGET HAD A NUMBER OF THINGS IN IT.
A LOT OF THEM WERE AROUND INCENTIVES TO, UM, TO CONVERT OFFICE TO RESIDENTIAL AND, UM, IMPROVE DOWNTOWN VIBRANCY.
THERE WERE SOME CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUNDINGS, BUT ONE OF THE OTHER INTERESTING THINGS IS THAT THEY, UH, PUT $10 MILLION IN THEIR, THEIR IMPLEMENTATION BUDGET TO CREATE A DEDICATED DOWNTOWN TEAM TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN.
SO THEY, THEY ENDED UP CREATING A WHOLE DOWNTOWN OFFICE.
THEY HAVE, UM, BEEN INCREDIBLY SUCCESSFUL AT IMPLEMENTING THIS PLAN BECAUSE THEY HAVE DEDICATED RESOURCES, THEY HAVE THE FUNDING AND THEY HAVE THE STAFF TO GET IT DONE.
UM, DOWNTOWN DENVER, UH, LAST ONE ON OUR LIST, THIS, UM, DOWNTOWN DENVER IS, IS CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF A PLAN UPDATE.
SO THEY DIDN'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT TO SHARE ABOUT THE PROCESS.
IT WAS A LITTLE TOO EARLY IN THE, IN THAT STAGE TO SHARE ANYTHING.
UM, BUT THEY ALSO DID TALK ABOUT HOW THEIR OFFICE VACANCIES WERE REALLY DRIVING THEIR DESIRE TO UPDATE THEIR DOWNTOWN PLAN.
THEY HAD FELT LIKE A LOT OF THE OTHER ASPECTS OF THE PLAN, UM, 2007 HAD, UM, SORT OF BEEN WORKED THROUGH, UM, AREA PLANS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT THE DOWNTOWN VACANCIES WERE SOMETHING THAT REALLY, UM, THEY FELT LIKE NEEDED ADDRESSING.
UM, SO, AND I'M SORRY, I'M STILL SUFFERING FROM ALLERGIES AND HAVING A HARD TIME TALKING.
UM, WHAT I REALLY WANTED TO OPEN IT UP TO Y'ALL FOR IS TO ASK, UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE WERE CONTINUING TO DO THESE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR DOWNTOWN PEERS, WHAT ASPECTS OF THIS WOULD BE HELPFUL TO YOU? UM, AND WHAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU
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HAVE OTHER DOWNTOWNS OR OTHER COMMUNITIES OR OTHER SPECIFIC TOPICS THAT YOU THINK WE SHOULD BE LOOKING INTO AS WE CONTINUE THE RESEARCH THAT WOULD HELP SHAPE THE DOWNTOWN PLAN AS YOU MOVE FORWARD.CAN WE TAKE, DO QUESTIONS? YES, IT'S POSTED.
SO YES, YOU CAN ASK QUESTIONS AND DISCUSS.
I DON'T WANNA GET IN TROUBLE WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
UH, QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR AND ONLINE? WELL, I HAVE SOME COMMENT.
YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN CERTAIN ASPECTS OF PLANNING, UM, THROUGH THE YEARS THAT I'VE LIVED DOWNTOWN.
AND I THINK, UH, DAA HAS DONE A REALLY GREAT JOB OF, UH, CERTAIN STUDIES, UM, UM, DATA THAT CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO GOOD PLANNING, LIKE A PARKING PLAN.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND HAVING, UM, A FULL ANALYSIS OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVING, UM, A PLAN IN PLACE, UH, FOR THAT ENHANCEMENT AS YOU BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER DOWNTOWN OF, UM, UM, ALLOWING THEM TO FLOW, YOU KNOW, EFFICIENTLY, YOU KNOW, WAY FINDING.
WE'VE DONE WAY FINDING, UH, ANALYSIS, IT WAS A FEW YEARS AGO, BUT, UH, A LOT OF THE DATA IS, UH, IS THERE IN PLACE AND IT'S A STARTING POINT.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT GOOD PLANNING, UM, BRINGS ALL OF THESE IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF A GOOD DOWNTOWN TOGETHER.
AND SO, UM, I THINK ALL OF THAT NEEDS TO BE INCORPORATED.
AND, UM, ALSO, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S COMING, UM, UH, INTERPRETATION, YOU KNOW, UH, OF OUR DOWNTOWN I THINK IS CRUCIAL.
HAVING A GOOD INTERPRETIVE STRATEGY, UM, DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO TOURISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS CRUCIAL AS PART OF A MEANINGFUL OVERALL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER, I THINK I'D LIKE TO KNOW TO DIVE INTO WHAT ARE BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPLEMENTATION? AND AS YOU CONTINUE THE RESEARCH, HOW CAN WE REALLY MAKE THAT HAPPEN SO IT'S NOT JUST ANOTHER PAPERWEIGHT SITTING ON A SHELF SOMEWHERE? GOOD QUESTION, SONYA.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE THE RESEARCH TO ANSWER THAT HOLISTICALLY.
I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEARD FROM THE PEOPLE THAT WE'VE ALREADY SPOKEN WITH, WHAT REALLY RESONATES WITH ME, UM, IS PLANNING FOR IMPLEMENTATION AT THE FRONT AND NOT GETTING THROUGH THE PLAN AND THEN SAYING, OH, WE NEED AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE, UM, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE INVOLVED IN THE IMPLEMENTATION AS PART OF THE PROCESS, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE MORE BUY-IN AND, AND, UM, YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE TO TWIST THEIR ARMS AT THE END TO GET THEM TO IMPLEMENT THESE THINGS, RIGHT? SO WHEN YOU KIND OF THINK FROM THE END IN MIND BACKWARD AND YOU BUILD A PROCESS THAT, UM, INVOLVES THOSE KEY DECISION MAKERS IN THE PROCESS, YOU'RE ABLE TO BUILD AN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE SUPPORT FOR.
SO IF I COULD SAY THERE'S ONE BIG PRACTICE OR ONE BIG, UH, LESSON THAT I, I WOULD SHARE WITH YOU ALL TODAY WOULD BE START WITH IMPLEMENTATION AND WORK BACKWARDS AND, AND JUST START WITH IMPLEMENTATION
UM, SO THAT SORT OF WAS A HIGH LEVEL VIEW, BUT I KNOW YOU WERE AROUND FOR THE FIRST GO ROUND MM-HMM.
WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN THAT YOU THINK WORKED AND WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN THAT YOU THINK DIDN'T WORK? GOOD QUESTION.
WHAT, WHAT I WOULD SAY HAS WORKED, UM, FAIRLY WELL ARE THE THINGS THAT ALREADY HAVE SYSTEMS ATTACHED TO THEM.
THERE'S A DEPARTMENT WHO KNOWS HOW TO GET IT DONE, A STREET RECONSTRUCT GREAT STREETS, FOR EXAMPLE, STREET RECONSTRUCTIONS.
UM, WHAT I THINK HAS NOT WORKED QUITE SO WELL ARE THE, THE AREAS WHERE THE PUBLIC AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE DOWNTOWN, THE, THE CURRENT DOWNTOWN PLAN THAT WE'RE WORKING FROM HAD A RECOMMENDATION TO CREATE A, A SORT OF LIKE A, AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION FOR THE CENTRAL CITY.
AND I, I UNDERSTAND THAT AND I'M VERY AWARE OF OUR, UM, RALLY AUSTIN'S, UM, ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT THERE IS STILL A, A, A CORPORATION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ROLE TO PLAY IN THAT PUBLIC PRIVATE INFRASTRUCTURE SPACE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT
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AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY LEVERAGE THE, YOU KNOW, THE STATIONS AND, AND BUILD THESE GREAT PLACES, OR THE I 35 CAPS.YOU KIND OF HAVE THIS SAME SITUATION WHERE, UM, WE, WE HAVE STRUCTURES FOR, UM, CITY DEPARTMENTS TO WORK AND GET THINGS DONE WELL, BUT WE DON'T ALWAYS HAVE THE PLACES FOR THEM TO COLLABORATE WITH ONE ANOTHER AND WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
UM, SO IF I WERE TO SAY WHERE WE COULD LEAN IN A LITTLE BIT MORE, IT WOULD BE IN THAT AREA.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M CUTTING ANYBODY OFF IN THE ROOM.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND FOR ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT, THAT, UM, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE DOES.
I RUN A SMALL BUSINESS DOWNTOWN.
AND SO SPEAKING OF LIKE A MORE PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP, THAT WAS MY QUESTION BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, HIGH, UM, ON OCCUPANCY RATES IN OUR, IN OUR BUILDINGS AND OUR TOWERS SPECIFICALLY ARE SUCH A HUGE PROBLEM.
I LEARNED RECENTLY THAT I THINK, UM, THE NEW GOOGLE TOWER IS STILL VACANT, WHICH IS CRAZY.
MY QUESTION TO YOU IS, UM, IS THERE, HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED WORKING WITH, UM, BUSINESS OWNERS, BUSINESS LEADERS DOWNTOWN TO SURVEY EMPLOYEES TO TRY TO SEE HOW WE COULD GET FOLKS BACK DOWNTOWN MAYBE WORKING WITH LIKE DIFFERENT LIKE AGENTS, UH, COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AGENTS TO SURVEY FOLKS TO SEE, LIKE, WHAT OTHER THINGS DOES DOWNTOWN NEED TO OFFER? BECAUSE I KNOW SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN BROUGHT UP BEFORE IS INCENTIVES FOR, UM, MORE DIVERSE SMALL BUSINESSES TOO.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S ANYTHING THAT THAT'S IN YOUR ROADMAP.
UH, NOT WANTING TO ADD TOO MUCH MORE TO YOUR PLATE OF THINGS TO LOOK AT.
I WOULD CERTAINLY BE INTERESTED TO SEE HOW OUR OTHER PEER CITIES ARE FOCUSING ON THEIR DOWNTOWN EDGES.
UH, LIKE THE WATERLOO RECORDS ON FIFTH AND LAMAR, THE I 35 STITCHES, IF THE WAY THAT THOSE ARE GOING FORWARD IS STILL GOING FORWARD WITH WHAT NEWS WE HAD YESTERDAY, I BELIEVE, WITH THE MONEY MM-HMM.
OTHER COMMISSIONERS? UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS COME TO MIND WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE, THE, THE EXISTING PLAN.
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IN ITS COMPLETION AND SUCCESS HAS BEEN, UM, THE PRIORITIES OF INDIVIDUAL CITY DEPARTMENTS.
SIMILARLY, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES HAS BEEN ON SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT, UH, THE FUNDING THAT IS NEEDED IS NOT AVAILABLE.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE TO DISTRIBUTE FUNDS EQUITABLY ACROSS THE CITY.
AND SO DOWNTOWN MIGHT NOT GET THE RESOURCES IT NEEDS TO SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVE A PLAN.
HOW WOULD YOU ADDRESS THAT IN A FUTURE PLAN? SO THAT'S NOT AN OBSTACLE.
OH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE GIVING US ALL THE TOUGH QUESTIONS TODAY.
UH, IT'S A QUESTION THAT, IT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION THAT I THINK WE SHOULD FRAME IN THIS DIALOGUE THAT WE'RE HAVING OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
I, I'D SAY, UM, AGAIN, GOING BACK TO IMPLEMENTATION, IF WE, IF WE ARE ABLE TO BRING THE RIGHT PEOPLE AND LEADERS INTO THE CONVERSATION EARLY ENOUGH, AND THEY'RE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR PROJECTS BUILD AND LEVERAGE WITH OTHER PROJECTS, THERE MIGHT BE OPPORTUNITIES IN ECONOMIES OF SCALE THAT COULD BE DEVELOPED FROM, UM, DIFFERENT GROUPS PARTNERING WITH ONE ANOTHER TO, UM, SORT OF ACHIEVE SIMILAR OR OVERLAPPING OUTCOMES.
SO THAT, THAT WOULD BE ONE THING I WOULD THINK ABOUT.
UM, I THINK THE OTHER IS THAT WE DON'T, SOMETIMES WE DON'T NECESSARILY, UM, AND, AND I THINK THE CITY'S DOING A GREAT JOB OF THIS LATELY.
SO THIS, THIS IS NOT A, A CURRENT CRITICISM, BUT, UM, I THINK THERE'S MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO LEVERAGE FEDERAL DOLLARS THAN WE HAVE.
WE ALWAYS, UM, YOU KNOW, DO, AND I THINK PART OF THAT IS, UM, SORT OF PAINTING THE BIG OPPORTUNITY, THE BIG, YOU KNOW, THE BIG PICTURE.
AND EVEN WITH PHILANTHROPIC TOO, I THINK WE STRUGGLE WITH THAT BECAUSE WE, WE SOMETIMES JUST DON'T HAVE A BIG ENOUGH VISION OR, OR GOAL.
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YOU, WELL, AND DO YOU THINK THAT SOME, SOME OF THEM UNDERSTANDING THE CONSTRAINTS, WE ARE NOW 10 SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICTS AND EACH DISTRICT GETS ITS OWN SHARE OF THE PIE.UM, DO YOU THINK PERHAPS, AND WE WILL HEAR ANOTHER PRESENTATION ON IT, BUT FOR INSTANCE, UH, THE CONGRESS AVENUE PROJECT IS GONNA BE, I, WE GOT SOME ESTIMATES AT OUR LAST MEETING THAT WERE PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL AND WE'LL BE PRETTY HARD TO COME BY TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST, EVEN IN A 10 YEAR, OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD.
DO YOU THINK THAT WE NEED TO BE MORE MINDFUL IN PUTTING THE PLAN TOGETHER OF THE ECONOMIC REALITIES THAT WE'RE LIVING IN? CERTAINLY THE LEGISLATURE HAS PUT A TAX OR CAP ON WHAT SORT OF TAX RATE WE CAN HAVE.
AND YOU CAN'T GO TO THE, THE VOTERS OF AUSTIN AND SAY, HEY, WE'D LIKE X MORE FORD JUST DOWNTOWN.
SO DO WE NEED TO BE A LITTLE MORE REALISTIC IN SOME OF THE PROJECTS WE ASPIRE TO BASED ON THE FINANCIAL REALITIES? MAYBE THAT'S FOR A LATER CONVERSATION.
I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN ANSWER THAT.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT MY ANSWER IS THE BE ALL END ALL ANSWER IN THAT QUESTION.
UM, I, I, I DON'T THINK THERE'S, HERE'S WHAT I'LL SAY.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY HARM IN IDENTIFYING EVERYTHING WE WANT AND GOING AFTER THE THINGS THAT PRESENT THE BEST OPPORTUNITIES WHEN WE HAVE THEM IN FRONT OF US.
SO, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT DOOR IS GONNA OPEN UP AND, UM, YOU KNOW, BUT, AND OTHER TIMES WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE REALLY HARD DECISIONS ABOUT WHICH THING WE'RE GONNA FUND, WHICH THINGS WE'RE GONNA PRIORITIZE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE HEARD OVER THE, THE YEARS IS A FRUSTRATION THAT THINGS HAVE NOT, THINGS WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN HAVE NOT BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.
AND IT'S NOT ANYBODY'S PARTICULAR FAULT.
IT'S THAT THE RESOURCES OF X DEPARTMENT HAVE TO BE ALLOCATED ACROSS THE CITY.
THAT TAX DOLLAR HAS TO BE ALLOCATED ACROSS THE CITY AND HAVE THOSE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO COMPLETE THAT PROJECT.
MAYBE IT'S COMMUNICATING TO CONSTITUENTS THAT ARE INVESTED IN, IN THE PLAN THAT NOT EVERYTHING IS ACHIEVABLE.
UH, OBVIOUSLY IDEALISTIC, BUT NOT NECESSARILY ACHIEVABLE BASED ON FISCAL REALITY.
MAYBE THAT'S A COMMUNI PART OF THE COMMUNICATION.
TO SHIFT, SHIFT AWAY FROM NASTY DOLLAR CONVERSATIONS.
I AM CURIOUS, UH, HOW Y'ALL SELECTED THE PIER CITIES, UM, AND WHO ELSE YOU CONSIDERED THAT YOU DID NOT REACH OUT TO OR HAVE NOT REACHED OUT TO YET? UM, WE, QUITE HONESTLY, WE, WE HAVE THESE MENTAL LISTS OF PEERS IN OUR HEADS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A LIST OF PROBABLY ABOUT 15.
WE CROSSED SOME OF THEM OUT JUST 'CAUSE THEY'RE, THEY HADN'T DONE ANY DOWNTOWN PLAN RECENTLY, YOU KNOW, SO THE, IT'S KIND OF THE, THE LIST THAT WE ENDED UP WITH WAS JUST BASED ON SORT OF COMPARABLE CITIES BASED ON EITHER SIZE OR, UH, MARKETS OR, UM, SIMILAR ISSUES THEY'RE FACING RIGHT NOW.
UM, WHO WE HAVEN'T TALKED TO YET THAT WE STILL WANT TO, OR DOWNTOWN SEATTLE.
DOWNTOWN DC UM, DOWNTOWN, THERES ONE OTHER, CHARLOTTE IS THE OTHER ONE.
WE HAVE NOT HAD A CHANCE TO TALK YET WITH.
DO ARE, ARE ANY HAVE ANY OF THOSE NOT DONE DOWNTOWN PLANS? I DON'T THINK ANY OF THEM HAVE NOT DONE THEM.
BUT I DON'T THINK I, I'M NOT AWARE OF A RECENT ONE.
I KNOW THAT FOLKS OFTEN LOOK AT CHARLOTTE AS A PURE CITY.
AND IT WOULD CERTAINLY BE INTERESTING TO SEE THEM IN THAT MATRIX.
HONOR, I FORGOT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE LAST TIME, BUT, UM, ALSO MY UNDERSTANDING FROM TALKING TO SEVERAL PEOPLE HAS BEEN THAT ONE OF THE CONCERNS CRITICISMS ABOUT THE BOSTON PLAN IMPLEMENTATION OVER THE LAST, THINK IT'S BEEN 12 YEARS, 13 YEARS, IS THAT THERE WASN'T A CENTRALIZED LEADERSHIP, A CENTRALIZED HUB WHERE DECISIONS WERE MADE AND, UH, DIRECTIONS WERE GIVEN.
AND, UM, VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS THAT DO HAVE THEIR OWN AGENDAS AND THEIR OWN BUDGETS, UM, WERE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
AND IN TALKING TO THESE OTHER CITIES, HOW IMPORTANT WAS THAT TO THEM? AND I KNOW YOU SAID THAT CALGARY EVEN, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, BUDGETED $10 MILLION FOR A DEPARTMENT LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK THAT IS GOING FORWARD? AND HOW WOULD YOU SUGGEST A CITY GO ABOUT CREATING SUCH A DEPARTMENT?
[00:30:02]
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.UM, WELL, YOU KNOW, WHEN, REALLY WHEN I LOOK AT THESE PLANS, I THINK DOWNTOWN CALGARY HAD THE MOST, HAS HAD THE MOST SUCCESS, THAT THEIR PLANS ONLY A COUPLE YEARS OLD.
AND THEY HAVE ALREADY, UM, I MEAN, IF YOU, YOU LOOK AT WHAT THEY'VE DONE SO FAR, IT'S REALLY IMPRESSIVE.
AND I THINK THAT'S BECAUSE THEY HAVE, THEY HAVE TWO THINGS.
THEY HAVE AN OFFICE DEDICATED TO IT, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE, UM, REGIONAL AND LOCAL LEADERSHIP THAT IS BEHIND IT BECAUSE THEY WERE PART OF IT AND THEY BELIEVED IN IT, AND THEY KNEW IT WAS GONNA CONTRIBUTE.
IT WAS GONNA, IT WAS GONNA BRING EVERYONE UP.
THEY KNEW THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, DOING THESE THINGS IN DOWNTOWN WAS GOING TO BRING THE WHOLE COMMUNITY UP.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
I DON'T, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I COULD ANSWER THE QUESTION OF HOW I WOULD SET IT UP.
IT'S, TO ME, THAT'S MORE OF A, A CITY, YOU KNOW, MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP, UM, DECISION.
I, I JUST THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE IT.
I WAS JUST GONNA ASK, UM, IF YOU THINK THAT IF, ASSUMING THAT THERE WAS FUNDING AND EVERYTHING FOR SUCH AN OFFICE, UM, WOULD DAA EXPECT TO BE PART OF THAT OFFICE OR RUN IT? OR WOULD YOU RATHER SEE A, LIKE AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT OR SOMETHING BROUGHT IN? OR WOULD YOU RATHER SEE A CITY PERSON? OH, I THINK IT WOULD BE A CITY OFFICE THAT, YOU KNOW, WOULD BE, I, I WOULD HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE OTHER ONES THAT WE HAVE SEEN SUCCESSFUL WITH DOWNTOWN OFFICES, OUR, OUR CITY, UM, STAFF.
AND, UM, WE HAVE SEEN INSTANCES WHERE, UM, 'CAUSE DOWNTOWN HOUSTON HAS A SORT OF A, A STAFF PERSON THAT THEY SHARE WITH THE CITY, THE, THE CITY MANAGEMENT OFFICE IN, IN A WAY TO SORT OF FACILITATE COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSIONS, WHICH I THINK COULD BE VALUABLE BECAUSE I KNEW THAT THEY, YEAH.
AMY'S TRYING TO RAISE HER HAND.
UM, UM, THANK YOU MS. MELISSA FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND I WAS LOOKING AT YOUR PEER CITY, AND I WAS INTRIGUED BY DENVERS, UM, THAT THEY HAVE PUT OUT, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT THEMES LIKE WORKABLE, DISTINCTIVE DIVERSITY, AND GREEN.
I THINK THIS IS SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY, I THINK, FOR US, UH, TO CREATE A VILLAGE, SORT OF LIKE A COMMUNITY THAT IS RELEVANT TO ALL THE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS OF OUR CITY THAT PEOPLE WANTED TO COME BECAUSE IT'S A, IT IS A GOOD EXPERIENCE AND A, A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT AI, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ALL THIS DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY THAT'S SEPARATE, YOU KNOW, US A LOT OF TIME.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO CONNECT AS A VILLAGE.
SO I WAS WONDERING, UH, I'M WONDERING IF YOU HAVE LOOKED OUTSIDE OF THE US OF A GO OVERSEAS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT, UH, OTHER CITIES, UM, D IN DIFFERENT COUNTRY AND HOW THEY SET IT UP, THOSE PLAZA AND HOW SORT OF LIKE A VILLAGE CENTER THAT EVERYBODY FEEL CONNECTED TO THAT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST A SUGGESTION.
AND ONE MORE THING THAT IS ALWAYS BEEN MY PET PIECE IS THE MOBILITY.
I HOPE YOU WILL HAVE THIS CIRCULAR TRANSPORTATION LIKE THE OWS, YOU KNOW, AROUND DOWNTOWN AREA BECAUSE, UH, THE HEAT WILL STOP PEOPLE FROM WALKING AROUND.
AND, UH, AND THEN I, I DON'T KNOW IF THE AREA OF DOWNTOWN WILL BE EXPANDED BECAUSE OF THE CAP, THE 35 CAP, YOU KNOW? SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THAT MOBILITY, YOU KNOW, UM, IS REALLY NECESSARY.
SO JUST A SUGGESTION AND THANK YOU, MS. MELISSA.
I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE.
AND WE WILL LOOK INTO, BESIDES, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ONE CITY WE LOOKED AT IN, IN CANADA, WE HAVE NOT LOOKED AT ANY, UH, OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE WORLD, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME PEERS IN AUSTRALIA AND THE UK.
SO WE, WE COULD SEE IF THERE ARE SOME OTHER VILLAGE EXAMPLES LIKE YOU SUGGEST.
I, I DON'T THINK THAT THE PUBLIC IS FULLY AWARE OF ALL OF THE HARD WORK DAA DOES AND HAS DONE AND MADE, FRANKLY MADE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN THE PLACE IT IS.
AND I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL, THE STAFF AND THE BOARD OF DAA FOR ALL OF YOUR TIRELESS WORK
[00:35:01]
IN MAKING DOWNTOWN AUSTIN THE WONDERFUL PLACE THAT IT IS.WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING Y'ALL DO AS WELL.
[3. Presentation on the Great Streets Plan by Jill Amezcua, Program Manager II, PlanningDepartment.]
OKAY.UM, WE'VE HAD GREAT STREETS MENTIONED AND, UH, UH, WE'RE DELIGHTED TO HAVE JILL AND MS. MSA HERE, UM, TO PROGRAM MANAGER WITH PLANNING DEPARTMENT TO SPEAK ON GREAT STREETS, AND I APOLOGIZE IF I AIRED CLOSE ENOUGH.
MY NAME IS JILL ESCO AND I AM THE PROGRAM MANAGER FOR GREAT STREETS IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT IN URBAN DESIGN.
AND THIS EVENING I'M GOING TO PRESENTING AN UPDATE ON THE GREAT STREETS PLAN TO YOU ALL.
SO THE AGENDA THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE GOING OVER THIS EVENING INCLUDES AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL.
THIS IS A VERY QUICK PRESENTATION.
I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR MORE FROM YOU ALL IN THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE GOING OVER DEMOGRAPHICS AS WELL AS EXISTING CONDITIONS ANALYSIS AND WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE LAST YEAR.
I'LL GO OVER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND I'LL FINISH WITH THE GREAT STREETS LIGHT POLE.
ALL RIGHT, SO DEMOGRAPHICS, WHAT WE HAVE LOOKED AT IN DOWNTOWN, UM, COMPARED TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WE HAVE SEEN REALLY IN THE LAST 14 YEARS OR SO, OBVIOUSLY THE POPULATION HAS INCREASED.
AND SO SPECIFICALLY IN DOWNTOWN, THE POPULATION HAS INCREASED BY 61% IN THAT TIMEFRAME.
SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY SURPRISING TO ME WAS THAT ONLY LESS THAN 2% OF THE POPULATION OF AUSTIN CURRENTLY LIVES IN DOWNTOWN.
SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THESE VACANT BUILDINGS THAT ARE IN DOWNTOWN, THAT DATA POINT JUST REALLY SPEAKS TO THAT.
ALSO, SOMETHING THAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT ON THIS SLIDE WAS THAT THERE ARE FOUR OVER 14,000 HOTEL ROOMS IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.
THAT IS, TO ME, THAT'S JUST A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER.
AND JUST UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND WHO WE'RE DOING THIS GREAT STREETS PLAY AN UPDATE FOR.
THERE'S ALSO 130,000 EMPLOYEES WHO ARE CURRENTLY WORKING IN DOWNTOWN, AND THAT IS IN ALL SECTORS.
AND SO THIS INFORMATION AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL WILL BE USED AS PART OF THE GREAT STREETS UPDATE TO IDENTIFY WHO'S IN DOWNTOWN AND WHO WE'RE DOING THIS PLAN FOR.
ALL RIGHT, SO LET'S GET INTO SOME MORE DETAILED INFORMATION.
SO THE EXISTING CONDITION ANALYSIS WAS COMPLETED OVER THE COURSE OF EIGHT MONTHS.
AND THIS ANALYSIS INCLUDED FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER WITH THE GREAT STREETS PROGRAM, WE NOW HAVE A CON COMPLETED INVENTORY OF GREAT STREETS ELEMENTS.
SO FOR ALL OF THE 225 BLOCK FACES IN DOWNTOWN, THERE BEEN DESIGN TEAM DID A DETAILED ON THE GROUND ANALYSIS OF LOOKING AT PER BLOCK FACE, WHAT THE CONDITION OF THAT THESE GREAT STREETS ELEMENTS ARE.
SO LIKE TREES, BIKE RACKS, BENCHES, AND ALSO INCLUDING INVENTORY IN THAT, THAT ANALYSIS AS WELL.
AND WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT THE TOP THREE STREETSCAPE ELEMENTS INCLUDED PLANTERS SIGNS AND SIDEWALK CAFES.
AND THE BOTTOM THREE GREAT STREETS ELEMENTS WERE TRASH RECEPTACLES.
SO THE TRASH CONDITION IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN AND WALKING AROUND DOWNTOWN FOR OVER THE COURSE OF EIGHT MONTHS IS VERY CLEAN, BUT THERE WERE SOME CORNERS WHERE TRASH RECEPTACLES WERE BROKEN INTO, THE LOCKS WERE BROKEN AND THERE WAS TRASH ON THE GROUND.
AND SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SAW WITH OUR CONDITIONS ASSESSMENT THAT HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE UPDATED AS PART OF THIS GRAY STREETS UPDATE, AS WELL AS THE BENCHES.
SO THIS PLAN IS 25 YEARS OLD, AND SOME OF THE BENCHES ARE NOT IN THE BEST CONDITION DUE TO THE HARSH CLIMATE THAT WE HAVE HERE IN CENTRAL TO CENTRAL TEXAS WITH THE SUN, AS WELL AS, UM, JUST THE HEAVY USE OF THESE BENCHES RECEIVE.
AND THE LAST THING I WANTED TO POINT OUT IN THIS SLIDE WAS A TREE AND PAVER GRATES.
SO SOME OF THESE TREES HAVE BEEN PLANTED A LONG TIME AGO, AND THE TREES HAVE GROWN IN SIZE AND NOT BEEN MAINTAINED, AND THE PAVER GRATES AND TREE GRATES ARE GIRDLING THE TREES.
SO WHAT I'VE SEEN AND ALSO DOING MAINTENANCE IN DOWNTOWN IS I HAVE TO CUT DOWN SOME OF THESE TREES BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT MAINTAINED.
THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL LOOK AT AS PART OF THE UPDATE AS WELL.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH.
SO WITH, UM, THE GREAT STREETS UPDATE, THIS IS A TYPICAL PLANNING PROCESS AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE ENTIRE PLANNING PROCESS.
SO WITH, UM, THE GREAT STREETS UPDATE THAT
[00:40:01]
WE'RE CURRENTLY, UM, UNDERGOING PART OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH COMPONENTS WILL BE ONE-ON-ONE PERSONAL CONVERSATIONS.SO WE WILL HAVE INTERNAL WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AS WELL AS EXTERNAL LIKE ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS WHO WORK ON GREAT STREETS EVERY SINGLE DAY, AND GET WITH THEM AND HEAR FROM THEM WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE AS PART OF THE UPDATE, AS WELL AS HEARING FROM THE PUBLIC.
SO WE'LL HAVE PUBLIC OPEN HOUSES, WE'LL HAVE AN ONLINE SURVEY, AND WE ALREADY HAVE A WEBSITE THAT HAS BEEN UPDATED AS PART OF GREAT STRAITS AS IT CURRENTLY STANDS TODAY.
AND THAT IS WHERE WE'LL HAVE A LINK TO ALL THIS INFORMATION IN THE FUTURE.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE GREAT STREETS LIGHT POLE.
SO THIS LIGHT POLE WAS DESIGNED, IT TOOK A VERY LONG TIME TO DESIGN, AND THAT LIGHT POLE WAS ACTUALLY NEVER INSTALLED IN DOWNTOWN.
AND SO AS PART OF OUR CONDITIONS ASSESSMENT, WE IDENTIFIED, LIKE IN THIS PHOTO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE LIGHT POLE ITSELF IS PLACED TOO CLOSE TO THE TREES.
WHAT WE SAW A LOT OF WAS A TREE CANOPY WAS CUT IN HALF TO ALLOW FOR THE LIGHT TO PROPERLY LIGHT THE ROADWAY, WHICH IS EXTREMELY PROBLEMATIC FROM A A TREE PERSPECTIVE.
AND SO THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY HERE TO NOT ONLY REDESIGN THE LIGHT POLE ITSELF, BUT THINK ABOUT SPACING TOO.
SO IT'LL BE PART OF THE UPDATE AS WELL.
SOMETHING ELSE ELSE THAT URBAN DESIGN HAS BEEN WORKING ON IS SOME CROSS SECTIONS AND REALLY LOOKING AT THE EXISTING CONDITIONS IN DOWNTOWN AND THE 80 FOOT RIGHT OF WAY.
SO THERE'S A LOT HAPPENING IN THAT SPACE.
UM, NOT ONLY GREAT STREETS, BUT ALSO LIKE THE TRAVEL LANES THEMSELVES, THE, UM, BIKE LANES, AS WELL AS, UM, THE BUILDING FACADE ITSELF AND LOOKING AT HOW ALL THOSE COMPONENTS CAN WORK TOGETHER.
UM, AS PART OF THIS UPDATE IS SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO LOOK AT.
ALL RIGHT, SO THE GREAT STREETS UPDATE PROCESS, THIS IS OUR TYPICAL PLANNING PROCESS.
AND WHAT I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED ON THE SCREEN IS THE VISION PHASE THAT WE'RE GONNA BE KICKING OFF HERE EARLY NEXT YEAR.
AND FROM THERE WE WILL MOVE INTO THE SCOPING PHASE AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO UPDATE THE PLAN ITSELF AND GET THIS PLAN ADOPTED THROUGH COUNCIL.
SO NEXT STEPS INCLUDE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, LIKE I SAID EARLIER, NEXT YEAR WE'LL KICK THAT PHASE OF THE PLAN OFF AS WELL AS WE WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE THE GRAY STREETS PLAN STANDARDS.
I WANTED TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME THIS EVENING, AND I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER? THANK YOU CHAIR.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOUR OWN SURVEY, IT TENDS TO SUGGEST THAT MANY OF THE TREES ARE IN POOR CONDITION.
UM, I SUSPECT THAT'S BECAUSE WE'RE TAKING NATIVE TREES AND PLANTING THEM IN NON-NATIVE CONDITIONS.
SO ARE YOU LOOKING AT REVISING THE TREES THAT ARE PART OF THE PROGRAM IN THIS UPDATE? YEAH, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD POINT.
SO WHAT WE SAW IN DOWNTOWN PER THAT MAP THAT WAS INCLUDED AS PART OF THIS PRESENTATION WAS THAT YEAH, THE TREES ARE NOT, NOT DOING WELL, LIKE I MENTIONED WITH THE SPACING AS WELL, LIKE IN LOOKING AT POTENTIALLY A DIFFERENT TYPE OF SHADE TREE THAT HAS MAYBE A DIFFERENT FORM THAT CAN SURVIVE IN THESE CONSTRAINED CONDITIONS.
SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY IS THE ANSWER IS YES, WE'RE LOOKING AT OTHER MORE NATIVE TREE SPECIES, AND I'M WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CITY ARBOR TO IDENTIFY WHAT THOSE TREE SPECIES WILL LOOK LIKE.
UM, AND MY SECOND QUESTION IS, THE, THE BOUNDARY OF GRAY STREETS IS VERY SMALL, IN MY OPINION, ESPECIALLY THE, THE BOUNDARY OF REIMBURSEMENT AREA.
IS THERE TALKS TO INCREASE THAT AREA? SO ONE REALLY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY, THE ANSWER IS YES.
ONE REALLY, UM, KIND OF LOW HANGING FRUIT AREA IS RAINY STREET, AS YOU SAW ON THE MAP THAT'S NOT CURRENTLY PART OF THE GREAT STREETS BOUNDARIES, BUT BECAUSE OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, THERE'S A LOT, YOU'VE SEEN ALL THE TOWERS, THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT STREETS HAPPENING IN THAT DISTRICT.
AND SO THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE ONE AREA AS PART OF THE UPDATE, BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT MAYBE OTHER AREAS AS WELL.
BUT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT GREAT STREETS HAS THAT 80 FOOT RIGHT OF WAY.
AND SO APPLYING THAT TO OTHER AREAS OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN CAN BE A LITTLE TRICKY, BUT IT IS BEING LOOKED AT AS PART OF THE UPDATE.
[00:45:01]
11TH STREET, YOU SEE LITTLE TO NO PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM UNLESS THEY'RE DOING DENSITY BONUS.AND I SUSPECT THAT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE OUTSIDE OF THAT BOUNDARY TO GET ANY REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE CITY.
SO IS THERE ANY PLAN TO PUSH THAT NORTHERN BOUNDARY TO MLK? I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S REALLY TWO BOUNDARIES HERE, RIGHT? SO ONE IS TO 11TH STREET, THAT IS THE GREAT STREETS DEVELOPER REIMBURSEMENT BOUNDARY, AND THEN THE GREAT STREETS PLAN GOES ALL THE WAY UP TO MLK.
AND SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY THERE TO MAYBE PUSH THAT BOUNDARY TO THE NORTH.
THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE STILL HAPPENING.
YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC.
IF THAT HAPPEN, I'LL TAKE THAT FEEDBACK BACK TO THE TEAM.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER LEVINSON, I THINK YOU WERE NEXT.
UM, YES, I WAS GONNA ASK IF VERY SIMILARLY TO PUSH THAT NORTHERN BOUNDARY UP BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO DO.
UM, BUT UH, IS THE CITY ALSO GOING TO FINALLY START DOING MORE ENFORCEMENT? BECAUSE IN MANY CASES WE HAVE SEEN THAT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN AND IT HAS NOT HAPPENED, AND THAT'S BEEN A DIFFICULTY.
AND BEYOND THAT, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
SO I JUST WANT TO PUT ON TWO OF MY OTHER HATS AND TELL YOU THAT I'M THE CHAIR OF THE PAC AND THAT I'M ALSO ON THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION BOARD, AND BOTH GROUPS WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.
YEAH, TO ANSWER, THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK.
TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY, UM, ACTUALLY COULD YOU REPEAT YOUR FIRST QUESTION BEFORE WE GO TO, IS THIS CITY GOING TO BE DOING MORE ENFORCEMENT BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN A LACK OF ENFORCEMENT WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING DEVELOPERS TO ACTUALLY DO WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO? CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT? WELL, AREAS IN WITHIN THE BOUNDS WHERE THEY'RE SU THEY SAY THEY'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING, THEY APPLY FOR REIMBURSEMENT, AND THEY ONLY DO LIKE HALF OF IT, AND THEY DON'T DO WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO.
AND THE CITY JUST LETS IT SLIDE.
SO AS PART OF THE GREAT STREETS PROGRAM, THERE'S A CLEAR LIST, UM, TO APPLY FOR THE DEVELOPER RE REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM, THEY HAVE TO FOLLOW EVERY SINGLE ITEM ON THAT LIST.
AGAIN, THAT'S ONLY ONE MECHANISM TO CURRENTLY INSTALL GREAT STREETS, AND THAT'S AN OPT-IN PROGRAM.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, BUT THERE'S ALSO CIP PROJECTS.
SO THERE'S MULTIPLE AVENUES TO INSTALL GREAT STREETS.
BUT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT ENFORCEMENT SPECIFICALLY, THERE'S NO OUTSIDE OF MYSELF LITERALLY GOING OUT TO THESE PROJECTS AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE MEETING GREAT STREETS AND THEY'VE DONE THE THINGS THAT THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO DO.
THAT'S THE ONLY REALLY ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? IT, IT DOES.
AND HAS THEY, HAS THE CITY THOUGHT ABOUT MAKING IT MANDATORY AS OPPOSED TO OPTIONAL? OH, TO OPT, TO NOT OPT IN TO ACTUALLY HAVE A MANDATORY GREAT STREETS? CORRECT.
THAT IS SOMETHING, UM, I'M WILLING TO TAKE FACTS TO MY TEAM AND CONTINUE TO DISCUSS THAT.
UM, AS THESE AREAS ARE IMPLEMENTED, UH, THIS, OF THIS PLAN, UM, IS THERE A DEVELOPING O AND M PLAN TO, UM, MAINTAIN, UM, THE GREAT WORK YOU'RE DOING LONG TERM? YEAH, SO THERE'S ALREADY THE SECOND STREET DISTRICT THAT MARGARET SHAW AND HER TEAM IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH GREAT STREETS TO THEY, THEY LITERALLY WALK THAT DISTRICT EVERY WEEK.
AND SO THEY'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR, THAT'S WHY SECOND STREET LOOKS THE WAY IT DOES.
IT'S BECAUSE IT HAS A HIGH LEVEL OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL AS FAR AS ALL OF THE GREAT STREETS FURNISHING.
SO ONE OF MY THOUGHTS IS TO MAYBE DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT OUTSIDE OF JUST THE SECOND STREET DISTRICT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE STAFF AND THE FUNDING TO DO A PROGRAM SUCH AS THAT.
BUT THAT'S AS FAR AS I CAN, AS MUCH AS I CAN EXPLAIN AT THIS TIME.
WELL, IT'D BE GREAT IF YOU HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE IMPLEMENTATION THAT YOU HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE, UH, OPERATION OF MAINTENANCE OF ALL OF THIS GREAT WORK.
COMMISSIONER BRITTON, THIS DANG BUTTON.
UM, I'LL THROW MY HAT IN THE RING AND ALSO SAY, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT, UH, BOUNDARY PUSHED NORTHERN.
UH, AND THEN I HAD A QUESTION OR TWO.
UH, UH, ARE Y'ALL LOOKING AT CROSS STREET ELEMENTS, UH, VERTICALLY? UH, MOSTLY FOR SHADE AND LIGHTING LIKE CANVAS COVERINGS OR, UH, STRUNG LIGHTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT THAT COULD HELP WITH SOME OF THOSE PROBLEMS WITH LIGHT POLES AND INTERACTING WITH THE, THE CANOPY FOR TREES.
SOME PLACES, TREES JUST AREN'T GONNA WORK.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY THEY'RE A LITTLE FICKLE.
UH, AND THEN SIMILARLY VERTICAL ELEMENTS IN LIKE THE PEDESTRIAN ZONE, LIKE AWNINGS OR OTHER
[00:50:01]
CANVAS COVERINGS? YEAH.YOU'RE SPECIFICALLY REFERRING TO SHADE AND LIGHTING, IS THAT CORRECT? I CAN IMAGINE THAT THERE ARE PROBABLY OTHER THINGS THAT PEOPLE WOULD WANT TO DO CROSS STREET, LIKE BANNERS AND STUFF LIKE THAT, BUT OKAY.
MY INTEREST IS IN SHADE AND, AND LIGHTING.
SO YOU'RE TALKING SPECIFICALLY THE OVERHEAD ELEMENTS.
SO THAT IS A GREAT POINT TO CONSIDER AS FAR AS, LIKE I SHOWED IN THE CROSS SECTION, LIKE ALL THESE COMPETING INTERESTS IN THIS LITTLE 18 FOOT, UM, BACK OF CURB SPACE WE HAVE ON EITHER SIDE OF THE STREET.
SO YEAH, THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE CAN CONTINUE TO LOOK INTO FOR BOTH LIGHTING, THE BANNERS LIKE YOU SEE IN, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY HAVE IT ON DOWNTOWN, UM, ON CONGRESS, BUT THEY HAVE ANOTHER SMALLER DOWNTOWNS WE, LIKE FREDERICKSBURG FOR EXAMPLE, HAS THAT GIANT BANNER.
JUST THINGS THAT COULD REALLY LET YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AND HAVE ADD TO MORE OF THE CHARACTER IS SOMETHING I'M DEFINITELY WILLING TO CONSIDER AS PART OF THE UPDATE.
I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, PLUS ONE IF I CAN.
YEAH, I, I'M ALSO REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, JUST THE TEMPERATURE OF OUR STREETS DOWNTOWN.
DOWNTOWN'S A VERY HOT PLACE JUST BY NATURE, YOU KNOW, FOR OBVIOUS REASONS WITH TRAFFIC AND CONGESTION AND ENERGY SPEND.
UM, SO IF THERE'S, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW LIKE YOU GUYS ARE OPERATING ON UNLIMITED BUDGET AND EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, HAS THEIR WISHLIST.
JUST ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO KEEP OUR STREETS OR SIDEWALKS OR, OR PEOPLE SLIGHTLY COOLER, I THINK WOULD BE, WOULD BE REALLY GREAT TO CONSIDER.
WE WILL DEFINITELY CONTINUE TO LOOK THAT.
COMMISSIONER BRIT
IS IT UNDER YOUR PURVIEW FOR THINGS LIKE DAYLIGHTING FOR TRAFFIC AND, AND BEING ABLE TO GO AROUND DOWNTOWN, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT SAFER AS A PEDESTRIAN, UH, OR LIKE TRAFFIC CALMING TO KIND OF MAKE IT FEEL A LITTLE BIT NICER TO WALK AROUND? OR IS THAT MORE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS? UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T WANNA SAY THIS, BUT IT'S NOT MY DEPARTMENT.
HOWEVER, WE WORK CLOSELY WITH TPW TO LOOK AT LIKE THE, UM, PLACEMENT OF THE CROSSWALKS, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND I KNOW THERE'S AN INITIATIVE AND TPW TO MOVE THOSE CROSSWALKS CLOSER TO THE CORNER SO THEY'RE NOT SO FAR BACK.
SO THE PEDESTRIANS ARE MORE EXPOSED ON THE CORNER, SO YOU CAN SEE LIKE THE VEHICLE DRIVER CAN SEE THEM AS THEY'RE TURNING THE CORNER.
SO YOU HAVE THAT PEDESTRIAN VEHICLE OR CONFLICT, SUCH AS ONE EXAMPLE OF HOW URBAN DESIGN AND TPW WORK TOGETHER TO IDENTIFY SAFER SOLUTIONS OF DOWNTOWN FOR PEDESTRIANS.
UH, I, SINCE MUCH OF THE NORTHERN PART OF DOWNTOWN IS OCCUPIED BY THE STATE, WHAT HAPPENS WITHIN THE BOUNDS IS LARGELY THEIR PURVIEW.
BUT CURIOUS IF Y'ALL HAVE WORKED OR TRIED TO WORK WITH, UH, THE FACILITIES COMMISSION ON GREAT STREETS FROM SAY THE CAPITOL LAVACCA NORTH TO MLK, SIMILARLY ON, UH, UH, NOT YEAH, BRAD TRINITY, UH, ON THE BOUNDS OF THE, THE STATE CAMPUS TO, TO EMBRACE GREAT STREETS NORTHBOUND ALL THE WAY UP TO MLK.
AND IF SO, WHAT SORT OF FEEDBACK HAVE YOU GOTTEN FROM THE STATE? SO YOU'RE ASKING SPECIFICALLY IN THE AREA AROUND THE CAPITOL? WELL, JUST THINKING MORE NORTHBOUND TO MLK AND THAT HAPPENS TO BE THE BOUNDARY OF THE STATE COMPLEX.
SO I KNOW THERE ARE A FEW PROJECTS AS PART OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM THAT ARE REALLY MORE IN THE AREA THAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING AROUND THE CAPITAL.
THE THING WITH THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM AND HOW GREAT STREETS IS, ONE OF THE MANY GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS OF THAT PROGRAM IS THAT THAT CAPITAL VIEW CORRIDOR REALLY LIMITS DEVELOPMENT FROM HAPPENING IN THAT AREA THROUGH THAT AVENUE.
MY SECOND POINT IS THAT AS PART OF THE GREAT STREETS PROGRAM IN THE PAST, WE, THEY HAVE STARTED REALLY ON CAESAR CHAVEZ AND SECOND STREET, AND THEY'RE MOVING UP.
AND SO THEY'RE THE WAY THAT, UM, THROUGH CIP PROJECTS IN THE PAST, AND THEY'RE STARTING LIKE CHRONOLOGICALLY FROM THE RIVER.
AND SO GETTING UP TO THAT POINT IS SOMETHING THAT WILL BE ADDRESSED IN THE FUTURE.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? UH, NOT QUITE.
BONUSES DON'T MATTER TO THE STATE.
THEY BUILD THEIR OWN BUILDINGS AND DO THEIR OWN THING.
SO NOT ON A, THERE'S A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO THAT AREA.
[00:55:01]
THERE ARE SOME INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS THAT URBAN DESIGN THROUGH THE PUBLIC PROJECT REVIEW PROCESS THAT URBAN DESIGN IS A PART OF.AND WE CANNOT SAY SPECIFICALLY, WE NEED TO SEE GREAT STREETS ON THOSE PROJECTS, BUT HOWEVER WE CAN WORK AS A, A COLLABORATOR ON THOSE PROJECTS TO PROVIDE DESIGN SOLUTIONS THAT IMPROVE THE PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE IN THOSE AREAS.
AND HAS THAT HAPPENED AND ARE THEY RECEPTIVE? SO WE ARE DOING OUR BEST TO WORK WITH THE STATE AND PROVIDING DETAILED COMMENTS.
UM, AS, AS FAR AS TO MAKE, LIKE I SAID, THE PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE IS CRITICAL TO MAKE SURE WHERE YOU HAVE LIKE THESE, UM, CONFLICTS WITH VEHICLES LIKE ON A MIDBLOCK CROSSING IN A PARKING GARAGE, FOR EXAMPLE, AND JUST IDENTIFYING DESIGN SOLUTIONS THAT CAN ENHANCE THAT EXPERIENCE.
BUT THAT, THAT IS AS FAR AS WE CAN GO IS JUST PROVIDE THE COMMENTS AND WORK WITH THEM.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? NONE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING THIS EVENING.
AND THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND MAKING OUR STREETS ESCAPE A MUCH MORE PLEASANT EXPERIENCE.
[4. Presentation on the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative by Laura Dierenfield,Division Manager, Austin Transportation and Public Works.]
ALRIGHT.UH, NOW WE MOVE ON TO, UH, ITEM NUMBER FOUR, PRESENTATION ON THE CONGRESS AVENUE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE.
WE HAVE LAURA DEERFIELD WITH DIVISION MANAGER AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.
THANK YOU, CHAIR HARRIS COMMISSIONERS.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE THIS EVENING.
I'M LAURA DEERFIELD WITH THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION STREET DESIGN DIVISION WITHIN TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS.
AND WE'RE PLEASED TONIGHT TO BE BACK IN FRONT OF YOU WITH A PROPOSED FIRST PHASE FUNDED FOR THE CONGRESS AVENUE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE.
AND TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE, UM, THE FULL BUILD, UH, VISION THAT, UM, IS AN EXPRESSION OF THAT INITIAL VISION PLAN.
UM, HOWEVER THAT IS NOT FULLY FUNDED.
SO WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, ABOUT BOTH OF THOSE WITH THAT.
UM, MAYBE I'LL ASK ME TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, WE'LL START THIS EVENING WITH A REVIEW OF, OF THAT VISION PLAN SINCE IT'S BEEN A LITTLE WHILE SINCE WE'VE CHATTED WITH Y'ALL.
UM, AND THEN GO THROUGH WHAT WE CALL THE FULL BUILD SCENARIO THAT'S ABOUT 130 MILLION OR SO, UM, TO ACHIEVE THAT FULL BUILD FROM RIVERSIDE DRIVE TO 11TH STREET.
AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO THAT PROPOSED FIRST PHASE, UM, FOR WHICH WE HAVE 22 MILLION, UH, OF THE 2020 MOBILITY BOND.
UM, THE, THERE WAS FOUR NAMED PROJECTS.
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE NAMED PROJECTS.
AND WE'LL GO INTO SOME DETAIL WITH EACH OF THE BLOCKS BETWEEN, UH, CESAR CHAVEZ STREET AND 11TH STREET, WHICH IS REALLY THE FOCUS, UM, IN THAT, UH, PROPOSED FIRST PHASE.
AND I'D LOVE TO OPEN IT UP FOR A DISCUSSION AND FEEDBACK, UM, AS WE ARE IN, IN THAT PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
AND VERY MUCH WANT TO HEAR FROM EVERYONE.
UM, WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND MAYBE IF I CAN DO IT MYSELF.
UM, TO GROUND US IN THAT VISION PLAN, YOU'LL RECALL, AND PERHAPS MANY OF YOU WERE VERY INVOLVED IN, IN THE, UM, PRODUCTION OF THAT VISION PLAN.
AND I'LL JUST TAKE A MINUTE HERE TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, THE DAA WITH MELISSA HERE TONIGHT.
THE DAA WAS VERY MUCH THE CATALYST FOR, UM, THE, THE VISION PLAN, UH, ALL ALONG WITH PLANNING.
UM, JILL, UM, JILL'S GROUP, UM, UH, WITH THE DAA REALLY INSTIGATED THIS AND, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE, UM, GRATEFUL TO BE ABLE TO BE IN A PLACE TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THAT VISION.
UM, THE VALUES ARE LISTED THERE ON THE SLIDE, AND REALLY THE PROJECTS THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT TONIGHT, UH, REALLY INTEND TO EMBODY, UH, THOSE, THE, THAT VISION AND VALUES.
SO, UM, AND I'M HOPING SOME OF YOU MIGHT HAVE, UM, BEEN ABLE TO SEE SOME OF THESE MATERIALS MORE UP CLOSE ON SOME OF OUR VIRTUAL OR IN, I, I RECOGNIZE SOME FOLKS FROM OUR IN-PERSON ENGAGEMENT AS WELL, UM, WHERE WE HAD, YOU KNOW, BIG ROLL PLOTS, UH, AVAILABLE TO DIVE INTO.
BUT, UM, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT HERE ON THIS SLIDE IS A ROLL PLOT, UM, FROM RIVERSIDE DRIVE TO 11TH STREET, AND IT EXPRESSES ABOUT 30% DESIGN OF THE VISION PLAN, UH, ON IF WE'LL START ON THE RIVERSIDE DRIVE SIDE OF THE AVENUE, WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT.
THERE ARE, UM, THE SAME NUMBER OF LANES, BUT, UH, ENHANCING THAT, UH, PEDESTRIAN SPACE, UH, PROTECTED BIKE LANE TREES, UH, AND HAVING THAT, UH, COME ALONG, UM, WITH, UH, LIKELY WITH SOME OF THAT PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT THAT IS, UM, ON DECK FOR MUCH OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT, UM, INCLUSIVE OF WHAT WE CALL THE GREEN GATEWAYS, WHICH ARE THE TRAIL CONNECTIONS TO FROM CONGRESS AVENUE TO OUR TRAIL SYSTEM.
AND IT'S SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE, OF
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OUR EXPERIENCES, OUR EXPERIENCE AS RESIDENTS OF THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY, BUT ALSO OUR VISITORS.UM, SO LOOKING AT WAYS THAT THOSE, UH, TRAIL SYSTEMS BETTER CONNECT, UM, TO AND FROM CONGRESS AVENUE ON THE BRIDGE ITSELF.
UM, WE'LL GET TO A RENDERING OF WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE, IN THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, AND, AND TALK A BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
UH, AND THEN AS YOU GO UP FURTHER, UH, INTO THE LATITUDES NORTH OF CESAR CHAVEZ, UH, LARGELY, UM, LOOKING AT, UH, VARIOUS LANE CONFIGURATIONS AT THE A HUNDRED BLOCK, THE 500 BLOCK TO BEST MANAGE, UH, STREET OPERATIONS, UH, WHILE CLAIMING AS MUCH SPACE TO REBALANCE THE AVENUE, WHICH WAS ONE OF LIKE THE CORE CONCEPTS OF THAT VISION PLAN, UM, BACK IN, UH, THE 20 17 18 19 TIMEFRAME.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE BIG IDEA THAT, UH, IT'S PROPOSED HERE TO REALLY WRESTLE WITH, GET FEEDBACK ON AND TALK ABOUT AS A COMMUNITY, WHICH I HOPE TONIGHT IS BE PART OF THAT CONVERSATION, IS THIS IDEA OF A PLAZA.
A PLAZA THAT WOULD, UH, CLOSE, UH, THE, THE STREET TO PRIVATE MOTOR VEHICLES, KEEP THEM, KEEP IT OPEN TO KEY DELIVERIES AND OTHER FUNCTIONS, UM, NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH IS THE PARAMOUNT STATE THEATER NECESSITIES AND OTHERS, BUT GENERALLY OPEN UP THAT SPACE TO, UM, A, A PARK-LIKE SPACE IN THE DOWNTOWN.
SOME OF YOU KNOW, THE BEST REAL ESTATE WE COULD REALLY ACTIVATE IN TERMS OF PEOPLE, UH, GATHERING AND ENJOYING, UH, ALL THAT AUSTIN HAS TO OFFER.
SO, UH, WE'LL GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE IN ITS FULL BUILD, UM, UNFUNDED SCENARIO.
AND THEN WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THE, WITH THE FUNDING WE HAVE, THE GOOD NEWS IS OVERALL FROM A SPATIAL PERSPECTIVE, IN TERMS OF REBALANCING THE AVENUE TOWARDS, UH, MORE SPACE FOR PEDESTRIANS, MORE SPACE TO EXPRESS OURSELVES AS A CITY, CREATIVELY, MORE SPACE FOR SHADE AND, UM, TREES, MORE SPACE FOR, UM, JUST BETTER MANAGEMENT OF ALL OF THE MOVEMENTS, VEHICULAR, BICYCLE, ET CETERA, THAT CAN BE ACHIEVED IN THE PROPOSED FIRST PHASE, JUST IN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WAY, UH, NORTH OF SCISSOR SHOP IS BEFORE WE DEPART THE FULL BUILD SCENARIO.
UH, AGAIN, NOT NOT FULLY FUNDED.
UH, I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE BRIDGE MIGHT LOOK LIKE AS, I THINK THIS WAS A TOPIC WHEN WE CAME TO YOU LAST TIME, UM, THAT, UH, MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO PEOPLE HERE.
SO WITH THE BRIDGE, UH, IT, THE BRIDGE CANNOT HANDLE ANY MORE WEIGHT ON IT THAN IT ALREADY HAS.
SO IN ORDER TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE BRIDGE, IT'S KIND OF A MATH PROBLEM ABOUT HOW MUCH WEIGHT CAN YOU REMOVE TO THEN REPLACE IT WITH, UM, BETTERMENTS LIKE LIGHTING, PERHAPS SHADE STRUCTURES, ALTHOUGH THOSE HAVE BEEN SOMEWHAT DEBATED AS TO THEIR EFFICACY WHEN YOU'VE GOT A SUN MOVING ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE SKY IN A, IN A HOT AUSTIN DAY.
BUT THE POINT WITH THE BRIDGE, IF YOU'LL RECALL BACK TO THE, UM, TO THE ROLL PLOT IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE THE TRIPS ACROSS THE RIVER FROM THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT TO THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AREA, REALLY ATTRACTIVE FOR WALKING, UM, BIKING AS WELL.
BECAUSE OF COURSE, THE, THE, THE MORE TRIPS WE CAN GENERATE THAT WAY, THE BETTER THE DOWNTOWN WILL FUNCTION.
OVERALL, WE REALLY SHOULD TRY TO D YOU KNOW, MAKE THAT MOST COMFORTABLE.
THE OTHER PIECES THAT YOU SEE HERE ARE OPENING UP SOME MORE SPACE ON THE BRIDGE FOR, UM, GATHERING, WATCHING BATS JUST HAVING A BIT MORE SPACE FOR PEDESTRIANS RIGHT NOW, IT'S ABOUT A NINE FOOT, UH, SIDEWALK, WHICH, YOU KNOW, ON BAT WATCHING EVENINGS IS PACKED, PACKED, UM, UH, ALL THE WAY UP TO THE CURB.
AND THEN THE, UH, OUTSIDE LANE CURRENTLY IS, UH, REPURPOSED FOR, UM, BIKES AND SCOOTERS, UH, THAT COULD BE UPGRADED IN TERMS OF QUALITY AND, UH, WITH THE BARRIER AND HAVING THAT AESTHETICS, UM, BE IMPROVED AND, AND, BUT FUNCTIONALLY STAY ABOUT HOW IT, HOW IT IS NOW, UH, MAINTAINING THOSE FOUR LANES ON THE BRIDGE.
SO, UH, THE WAY WE WOULD ACHIEVE THAT IS BY REMOVING THE, LARGELY THE CONCRETE THAT MAKE UP THE SIDEWALKS.
YOU CAN REALLY, UM, RELIEVE A LOT OF THAT WEIGHT AND THEN REPLACE IT WITH, SAY, A LIGHTER, UM, DECKING TYPE MATERIAL THAT YOU SEE HERE IN THIS RENDERING.
AND THAT HELPS TO, UM, ALLOW US TO PUT BACK OTHER ELEMENTS THAT KEEP THAT, THAT WEIGHT NEUTRAL FOR, UM, FOR THOSE REASONS.
WITH, WITH RESPECT TO WEIGHT, UM, IT'S NOT THE KIND OF ENDEAVOR YOU CAN MAKE, UM, WITH, UM, UH, LIKE NEAR TERM STRATEGIES, APART FROM THE, THE BOLT DOWN DEVICES THAT ARE THERE NOW FOR THE PROTECTED BIKE LANE, YOU REALLY HAVE TO DO IT ALL, UM, IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE OUTCOME.
SO IN THIS CASE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 17 MILLION, SO NOT THE FULL BUDGET, BUT ABOUT 17 MILLION TO ACHIEVE ALL OF THAT WORK ON THE BRIDGE.
AND SO WHEN YOU'RE WEIGHING KIND OF HOW CAN WE BEST FULFILL THE, THE FIRST PHASE OF THE VISION PLAN, THE IDEA WAS TO PERHAPS, UH, PUT THE, UM, MOST OF THAT RESOURCE INTO THE HEART OF AUSTIN, WHERE WE HAVE THE MOST AMOUNT OF RETAIL AND RESTAURANTS.
AND THEN WE'LL TALK A LOT ABOUT THAT NORTHERN SIDE OF THE AVENUE THAT HAS, UM,
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EXPERIENCED MORE, UM, MAYBE SLOWER RATES OF, UM, RETAIL AND REINVESTMENT AND SO ON.AND, AND HOW CAN WE HELP ENLIVEN THE ENTIRE, UM, CORRIDOR AS MUCH OF THE CORRIDOR AS POSSIBLE WITH THE BUDGET WE HAVE LEAVING THE BRIDGE PERHAPS FOR ANOTHER DAY, PERHAPS FOR A GRANT.
UM, A WAYS TO GET FEDERAL FUNDING INVOLVED OR OTHER, OTHER WAYS TO, UM, ACHIEVE THE, UM, THE GOALS OF MAKING THAT BRIDGE REALLY MORE COMFORTABLE TO WALK AND BIKE ACROSS AND MAINTAIN ITS HISTORIC INTEGRITY AND GATEWAY, UH, TO, TO THE DOWNTOWN.
WHAT YOU SEE HERE, JUST ANOTHER BY WAY OF EXAMPLE OF THE QUALITY WE COULD ACHIEVE WITH THE FULL BUILD, UH, SCENARIO, IS HAVING, UM, RAIN GARDENS AS YOU SEE PICTURED, UM, ON THE EDGE, UH, THE, THE BIKEWAY, UM, PEDESTRIAN WAY.
THIS, THIS IS A BIT OF A CONSTRAINED, UM, SECTION IN THAT WE, WE WOULD BE PUTTING IN A DEDICATED RIGHT TURN LANE HERE AT THE HUNDRED BLOCK.
THAT'S TO MAKE THOSE RIGHT TURNS THAT YOU CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM, UM, CONGRESS ONTO CESAR CHAVEZ WESTBOUND, KIND OF GET THAT DEDICATED SPACE.
WE'LL KEEP THE LEFT TURN LANE AND THEN HAVE THE FOUR GENERAL TRAVEL LANES THERE.
SO IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THAT SPATIALLY, WE'RE LOOKING AT A CROSS SECTION LIKE THIS IN, IN, IN THAT FULL BUILD SCENARIO.
LOOKING INTO THE HEART OF AUSTIN, THIS, UH, ESSENTIALLY THE CONCEPT HERE BETWEEN THE 200 600 BLOCKS, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE 500 BLOCK, UM, SEPARATELY, BUT BASICALLY THIS IS THE, THE CONCEPT IS TO OPEN UP THAT PEDESTRIAN REALM FROM WHAT IT IS NOW, WHICH IS ABOUT 12 AND A HALF FEET TO MORE LIKE 25 TO 30 FEET.
UM, AND WITH THAT, BE ABLE TO DO THINGS LIKE GREEN ELEMENTS, UM, RAIN GARDENS OR PLANTERS, UH, EXPAND THE SOIL VOLUMES OF THE TREES.
THEY'RE NOW SORT OF IN ENCASED IN THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, CONCRETE CYLINDERS.
IF WE CAN, UH, USE SOIL CELL TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER, UM, WAYS IN WHICH, YOU KNOW, CITIES ARE ABLE TO HAVE, UH, AN URBAN TREE CANOPY THAT'S HEALTHY, UH, WE WOULD BE USING ALL OF THE LATEST AND GREATEST TECHNOLOGY THERE.
UH, REPLACING TREES IN KIND WHERE NECESSARY, UM, THAT ARE INDEED IN KIND WITH THE SHADE CANOPY AND THE QUALITY THAT, THAT THESE, UM, TREES OFFER NOW.
THE HEALTHY, THE HEALTHY ONES, UH, HAVING A, A DIVERSE, UM, A BIODIVERSITY OF THOSE TREES AND, AND REALLY EXPLORING ALL OF THE WAYS THAT WE CAN YEAH, ACHIEVE THAT, UM, THAT TREE CANOPY THROUGHOUT, THROUGHOUT THE, THE CORRIDOR.
UM, WITH THAT WE, OH, WELL, MAYBE MOST IMPORTANTLY IN TERMS OF SPATIAL TRADE-OFFS TO ACHIEVE THIS TYPE OF, UM, EXCHANGE OF SPACE, THE ANGLED PARKING SPACES WOULD BE REPURPOSED, UM, AND ESSENTIALLY FILLED IN, IF YOU WILL.
AND THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO, UM, CREATE A MORE, UM, PROTECTIVE BIKE LANE AND HAVE LESS OF THE ENCROACHMENT OF, OF PARKED CARS INTO THE BIKE LANE.
THEN INVITING MORE USE OF THAT BIKE AND SCOOTER LANE, LESS USE ON THE SIDEWALKS, KEEPING THAT SIDEWALK, UM, ENVIRONMENT MUCH MORE PLEASANT TO DINE OR SHOP OR, OR WALK.
UM, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT THAT CROSS SECTION COULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, SO IF THE POINTER WOULD, OR STAY, STAY AT THE MICROPHONE
UM, CREATING THAT MUCH, UM, HIGHER QUALITY BIKEWAY AND MAINTAINING THOSE FOUR TRAVEL LANES.
UM, GETTING INTO THAT PLAZA CONCEPT, THIS IS A RENDERING OF WHAT THE 700 BLOCK HOME TO THE PARAMOUNT STATE MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
BEING HOME TO THE PARAMOUNT STATE AND THE CONTEMPORARY, UM, WE HAVE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS THIS BLOCK IN, UH, VERY MUCH OF AN ARTS PERFORMANCE AND CREATIVE FOCUS.
SO, UH, DOING THINGS LIKE IN IN CONCERT WITH THE PARAMOUNT STATE OR PERHAPS THE CONTEMPORARY, HAVING EXHIBITIONS THAT ARE MORE, YOU KNOW, IN THE PUBLIC REALM AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE.
HAVING ALL OF THE ARTISTIC COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN BE ABLE TO EXPRESS, UM, THEMSELVES IN DIFFERENT WAYS ON THE AVENUE IN THAT BLOCK.
UM, ONE OF THE INTERESTING SIDE NOTES HERE FOR THE 700 BLOCK IS THAT THE, THE WEST SIDE AND THE EAST SIDE ARE AT VERY DIFFERENT ELEVATIONS.
SO IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE, UH, A, UH, AN A DA ACCESSIBLE PLAZA IN A RECONSTRUCTION TYPE OF SCENARIO, THIS IS AGAIN, UNFUNDED, BUT IN THE FUTURE WE WOULD, WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE THE WEST SIDE ABOUT THREE AND A HALF FEET HIGHER THAN THE EAST SIDE.
AND SO, UM, YOU COULD CREATE SORT OF PLATFORMS WHERE PEOPLE COULD BE UP A LITTLE HIGHER, BUT YOU COULD ALSO CREATE SEATING.
AND SO A COMBINATION OF SEATING AND PLATFORMS SORT OF CREATES THIS NATURAL, UM, KIND OF THEATER ON THE THEATER, IF YOU WILL.
SO IMAGINE BEING ABLE TO SIT AND ENJOY AN ICE CREAM CONE OR
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DINNER WITH A SPOUSE AND WATCH PEOPLE IN THE PLAZA AS YOU'RE SEAT SEATED ON THAT WEST SIDE.SO THIS IS A CROSS SECTION OF WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE.
SO YOU CAN SORT OF SEE THOSE STEPS THERE ON, UM, ON THE WEST CURB OF THE STREET, UM, SORT OF LOOKING OUT ONTO, ONTO THE PLAZA, AND HERE'S GONNA BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE.
YOU CAN KIND OF DISCERN THAT GREAT ELEVATION THERE ON THE WEST SIDE IN THE, IN THE FOREGROUND OF THE BIRD'S EYE VIEW.
UH, NOTICE A DOUBLE ROW OF TREES HERE.
WE WOULD BE ABLE TO CREATE A MUCH BETTER SHADE CANOPY THAT COULD HELP TO, YOU KNOW, KEEP IT COMFORTABLE IN SOME OF OUR HOTTER MONTHS, UM, AND, UM, BE ABLE TO HAVE, UM, SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO ENJOY IN, IN SORT OF MORE ORGANIC AND, UM, SPONTANEOUS WAYS, BUT ALSO PLANNED AND PROGRAMMED WAYS.
AND WE'VE HAD SOME GREAT CONVERSATIONS WITH, WITH SOME OF OUR SPECIAL EVENT PROMOTERS WHO ARE, ARE GENERALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS, SOME MORE THAN OTHERS IN TERMS OF HOW IT CAN ENHANCE THEIR EVENTS AND WAYS THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN SOME OF OUR EVENTS IN FOOT RACES AND OTHER PARADES EVEN WITH A CONCEPT LIKE THIS.
UH, GOING FORWARD, I'LL NOTE PARTICULARLY, AND WE'LL GET INTO CIRCULATION IN A MINUTE, THE EAST WEST STREETS WOULD REMAIN OPEN, UM, AS THEY ARE NOW, AND WE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THOSE MIGHT CHANGE FROM ONE DIRECTION TO TWO DIRECTION TO SUPPORT A CONCEPT LIKE THIS DOWN THE LINE.
THE CROSS STREETS BECOME REALLY HELPFUL, SYNERGISTIC, UM, SPACE TO MAKE ALL OF THIS WORK.
WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL NOW PIVOT INTO THIS, UH, PROPOSED FIRST PHASE.
SO REMEMBER, UH, AS WE SAID BEFORE, WHEREAS WE DON'T HAVE 130 MILLION TO ACHIEVE THIS, WE DO HAVE A VERY HEALTHY 22 MILLION TO ACHIEVE IT.
AND THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO, UM, YOU KNOW, PUT SOME INVESTMENT ON THE CESAR CHAVEZ TWO 11TH STREET SECTION, UH, IN WAYS THAT ACHIEVE SPATIALLY THAT FULL BUILD VISION, BUT THROUGH CONTRACTING METHODS AND, UH, A TWO PHASE APPROACH THAT, UH, IS WITHIN OUR AVAILABLE RESOURCES.
SO BRIEFLY, UM, AT A HIGH LEVEL, WE WOULD KEEP THE OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS AT THE 105 HUNDRED BLOCK.
UM, I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE 500 BLOCK 'CAUSE WE DIDN'T IN THE FULL BUILD, BUT, UH, AT THE 100 BLOCK YOU'D HAVE YOUR, THE DEDICATED RIGHT TURN LANE, THE LEFT TURN LANE, AND THE FOUR TRAVEL LANES AT THE 500 BLOCK.
WE'D MAINTAIN THE LEFT TURN LANES, AND THEN THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE CORRIDOR SOUTH OF SEVENTH, WE'D MAINTAIN THOSE FOUR, FOUR GENERAL TRAVEL LANES AS IT IS NOW, AND THEN BE ABLE TO PUT, UM, HIGHER QUALITY BIKEWAY BY REPURPOSING THE THE PARKING.
ONE NOTABLE, UM, EXCEPTION TO THAT WOULD BE THE A DA PARKING STALLS WHERE WE WOULD LOOK TO KEEP THOSE WHERE POSSIBLE OR RELOCATE THEM PERHAPS AROUND THE CORNER WHEN, WHEN THAT SPACE CAN BE USED, UM, FOR, UH, THE PURPOSES OF THAT MAYBE RETAILER OR RESTAURANT OR, OR TENANT OR OWNER.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, ME CARTE IS GONNA GO THROUGH A BIG RENOVATION OF THEIR MUSEUM.
IT SURE WOULD BE NICE TO KEEP THAT ACCESSIBLE PARKING, BUT PUT IT AROUND THE CORNER FOR THEM AND THEN OPEN UP THAT SPACE IN FRONT OF THE MUSEUM SO THEY CAN REALLY EXPRESS ALL THAT THE MEXICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE CORRIDOR OFFERS TO THE CITY IN THAT, IN THE REALM IN FRONT OF, IN FRONT OF THE MUSEUM.
THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF SPATIAL TRADEOFFS WE CAN MAKE BY REALLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SIDE STREETS.
WE WILL GO INTO A BIT MORE DETAIL NOW, BLOCK BY BLOCK.
UH, SO HERE IN THE HUNDRED BLOCK YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, SIX LANE SECTION WITH THE ELEVATED, UM, PROTECTED BIKE LANES.
THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING WE COULD ACHIEVE IN THE FIRST, UH, PROPOSED PHASE HERE.
UM, THE CESAR CHAVE, UH, CONGRESS AVENUE INTERSECTION DOES WORK VERY, VERY HARD MOVING PEOPLE THROUGH IT IN ALL DIFFERENT MODES.
AND THIS IS, I THINK, THE WAY THAT WE THINK IT WOULD WORK BEST OPERATIONALLY, AS WELL AS GIVING ENOUGH, UM, SPACE FOR PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY WITH THAT RIGHT TURN LANE, UH, PEOPLE TO MAKE RIGHTS AND NOT BE IN CONFLICT WITH PEOPLE WALKING AND BIKING ACROSS THE STREET THROUGH SIGNALIZATION.
SO IF YOU CAN GIVE EVERYONE A LITTLE PIECE OF TIME, IT HELPS TO MINIMIZE THOSE CONFLICTS.
SO LOOKING AT THAT, UM, THE 200, 300, 400, 600 BLOCKS, THIS IS THAT SAME RENDERING THAT YOU SAW EARLIER, JUST ABSENT, SORT OF LIKE WHAT'S DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE TWO.
WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS A LITTLE BIT, MAYBE LESS OF THAT, UM, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE WHERE WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO AS MUCH OF THE RAIN GARDENS AND OTHER STORM WATER TREATMENTS HERE, BUT WE CAN, UM, FILL IN THE, THE PARKING, UM, SPOTS.
RIGHT NOW WHAT'S PROPOSED IS A COMBINATION OF, OF CONCRETE, UM, UH, WITH SOME TYPE OF PAVED SURFACE OR PERHAPS A STEEL, UM, STRUCTURE, UH, SUBSTRUCTURE WITH DECKING ON TOP TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN OR PROVIDE SOME OF THAT USABLE SPACE.
AND THEN, UH, PUTTING IN A CONCRETE BARRIER FOR THE BIKE WAY THAT WOULD BE AESTHETICALLY PERHAPS, UH, AN UPGRADE, UM, TO WHAT THERE IS TODAY AND FUNCTIONALLY A LOT MORE, UM, CONSISTENT FOR,
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FOR THE USERS.AND THEN WITH EACH OF THE, UM, BLOCK FACES WE'RE IN, UM, COMMUNICATIONS WITH MANY OF THE, THE PROPERTY OWNERS AND BUSINESS OWNERS TO BEST UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT SPATIAL TRADE OFF MIGHT WORK FOR THEM.
SO THERE ARE, UM, BUSINESSES FOR, UM, THAT HAVE TAKEN IT UPON THEMSELVES TO PUT IN THINGS LIKE STREET PATIOS, SO REPURPOSING THAT SPACE ON THEIR OWN.
AND WE WOULDN'T WANT TO TAKE THOSE OUT NECESSARILY, BUT WORK WITH THOSE BUSINESSES, MAYBE ENHANCE THOSE SPACES.
THERE'S OTHER BUSINESSES WHO REALLY FEEL STRONGLY THAT THAT PARKING OFFERS EVERYTHING FROM A HINT THAT THERE'S PARKING AVAILABLE FOR THE BUSINESS OR, UM, NECESSITY FOR OTHER REASONS, THE POST OFFICE, YOU KNOW, RUNNING IN AND OUT OF THAT.
SO THAT, UH, IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT WE COULDN'T FIND A WAY TO ACHIEVE PARKING IN SOME OF THOSE BLOCKS, UH, IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN, UH, SOME OF THE FUNCTIONS THAT ARE NECESSARY IN THOSE BLOCK FACES BASED ON BUSINESSES THAT, UM, THAT ARE THERE.
ANOTHER ONE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, KROGER'S JEWELERS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE, MORE IN THE PLAZA BLOCK SIDE, JUST REALLY APPRECIATING THAT, YOU KNOW, PARKING IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THAT BUSINESS AND HOW CAN WE HELP TO MAKE SURE WITH THE SIDE STREETS AND, AND OTHER CONCEPTS TO REALLY HONOR THAT AND MAKE, MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS MAINTAINED, UM, FOR THOSE BUSINESSES.
THIS IS KIND OF A SYNOPSIS OF WHAT THAT REBALANCING SORT OF LOOKS LIKE.
TAKING, UM, THE SPACE THAT CURRENTLY IS AVAILABLE FOR PARKING, REPURPOSING IT FOR TREES AND, AND UH, PEOPLE.
AND THEN BEING ABLE TO, UM, KINDA ENHANCE THE OVERALL FUNCTION OF THE STREET, UH, AND DOING SO WHILE ALSO RESPECTING THAT PARKING IS AN IMPORTANT FUNCTION OF THE STREET AND THROUGH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT STRATEGIES, WHETHER IT'S USE, USE OF THOSE SIDE STREETS A BETTER WAY, FINDING TO CURRENT GARAGES AND EVEN OTHER, UM, OTHER EXCEPTIONS IN CERTAIN BLOCKS.
I THINK WE CAN ACHIEVE A GOOD BALANCE, UH, OF, OF SPATIAL BALANCE GOING FORWARD.
HERE AT THE 500 BLOCK, AS I BRIEFLY MENTIONED, WE'D BE MAINTAINING THAT LEFT TURN LANE BOTH AT FIFTH AND SIXTH, AND THAT JUST REALLY HELPS WITH SOME OF THE EGRESS ON THE STREET AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE DAY.
AND BECAUSE WE WOULD LIKE TO KEEP THOSE LEFT TURN LANES, UH, IT NECESSITATES BUILDING THAT BIKE WAY KIND OF UP AND OUT OF THE STREET.
SO IN THESE SECTIONS, RATHER THAN A AND A A 30 FOOT PEDESTRIAN PROMENADE AREA, YOU'D HAVE MORE LIKE A 25 FOOT AREA.
UM, SO STILL A GENEROUS AREA FOR PEDESTRIANS, UH, BUT, BUT IN, UH, A WAY TO KEEP THAT BIKE LANE, UM, AT A HIGHER QUALITY AND, UM, EXPECT MORE CONSISTENT USE AND JUST BETTER OVERALL OPERATIONS OF THE STREET AS A WHOLE.
HERE'S THE, THE PLAZA CONCEPT NOW IN, UM, THE FRAMING OF THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES.
SO YOU CAN THINK OF IT LIKE TWO OUT OF THE FOUR BLOCKS COULD BE DONE IN FULL RECONSTRUCTION.
UM, RIGHT NOW THOSE ARE PROPOSED TO BE THE 900 AND THOUSAND BLOCKS CLOSEST TO THE STATE CAPITOL AND THE 800 AND 700 BLOCKS OFFERING THOSE, UM, TO, TO HAVE BETTERMENTS, UM, BACK OF CURBS.
SO OPENING UP THAT STREET SPACE JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER BLOCK SOUTH OF THERE.
BUT, BUT, UH, STOPPING SHORT OF FULL RECONSTRUCTION ON ACCOUNT OF, UM, WE DON'T QUITE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO DO THAT.
UM, IT WOULD BE THE KIND OF THING WHERE MAYBE YOU COULD DO THREE PLAZA BLOCKS AND NOTHING ON THE AVENUE.
IT'S SORT OF A WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHERE DO YOU WANT TO PUT THE FOCUS OF THE RESOURCES? AND, YOU KNOW, WHEREAS THIS IS A PROPOSAL HERE FOR YOU TO CONSIDER, WE WOULD WELCOME ANY AND ALL COMBINATIONS OF THESE OPTIONS IN YOUR, IN YOUR FEEDBACK TO US.
UM, BUT HERE WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS 700, 800 BLOCKS IN A MORE GRITTY, UM, EXPERIMENTAL, UH, MAYBE USING THINGS LIKE ASPHALT ART AND HAVING A WAY TO SORT OF PROGRAM THAT SPACE, UH, IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
UM, PERHAPS EVEN TESTING OUT DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THE STREET COULD FUNCTION, UM, UNTIL, UH, UNLESS WE HAVE THE FUNDING AVAILABLE TO, TO BUILD OUT THOSE, UH, ADDITIONAL TWO POSITIVE BLOCKS.
AS I PROMISED, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE CIRCULATION.
UH, SO WE'LL DRAW OUR ATTENTION NORTH OF THE CAPITOL COMPLEX WHERE THE, THE STATE HAS DONE A BEAUTIFUL JOB OF CREATING A SIMILAR CONCEPT, UH, BETWEEN, UM, 15TH AND MLK BOULEVARD.
YOU CAN SEE THAT I THINK TWO OF THOSE STREETS ARE STILL HAVE ACCESS AS THEY DO BEFORE THE, THE MIDDLE AND THE MIDDLE, UH, GOES UNDERNEATH TO THE GARAGE.
THAT WAS THE PARKING GARAGE THAT WAS BUILT UNDERNEATH.
UM, SO IF, IF IT'S SORT OF A, UM, ONE WAY TO THINK ABOUT THIS PROPOSAL IS SORT OF A POETIC, UM, SYMMETRY TO WHAT THE STATE HAS DONE.
UH, AGAIN, LEAVING THAT EAST WEST MOVEMENT THERE, UH, AS THEY ARE, OR PERHAPS CHANGING, UM, NINTH AND 10TH, FOR EXAMPLE, INTO TWO-WAY CONFIGURATIONS AND BE ABLE TO, UM, BEST MANAGE BOTH, UM, THE MOVEMENTS EAST AND WEST, UH, BUT ALSO SOME OF THE MICRO MOVEMENTS IN THE DOWNTOWN, UH, WHETHER THEY BE FROM ALLEYS OR SIDE STREETS AND, AND OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, VALETS AND THE LIKE.
SO WE ARE VERY ATTUNED TO SOME OF THOSE MICRO MOVEMENTS, HEARD A LOT ABOUT THEM THROUGH THIS PUBLIC PROCESS.
[01:20:01]
UH, GENERALLY A CONCEPT LIKE THIS, WHEREAS IT'S NOT WITHOUT ITS IMPACTS, IT CAN BE SYNERGISTIC, ESPECIALLY IF WE THINK ABOUT THOSE, UH, THOSE SIDE STREETS AND THE SPACE, THE RIGHT OF WAYS THAT EACH OF THOSE STREETS OFFER IN TERMS OF THINGS LIKE PARKING OR ONE OR TWO WAY ACCESS.AND, AND THINK ABOUT HOW, UM, HOW WE KIND OF ADAPT THE CIRCULATION TO, UH, TO CREATE THIS, THIS SPACE THAT WOULD BE SUPER UNIQUE, UM, FOR THE CITY.
UH, AND, AND A WAY TO YEAH, PROGRAM AND BE IN THE DOWNTOWN IN WAYS THAT SOME OF OUR IMAGINATIONS, YOU KNOW, CAN'T EVEN GET THERE.
UM, AT THIS STAGE, YOU CAN SEE ALSO THE, UM, PROJECT CONNECT.
THE BLUE LINE REPRESENTS WHAT THE PROJECT CONNECT ALIGNMENT, AND WE'RE CERTAINLY MINDFUL OF, UH, OTHER, UH, INTERVENING PROJECTS SUCH AS THE CONVENTION CENTER REDEVELOPMENT, THE, UM, I 35 EXPANSION.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS A PLAN THAT IS BOTH COMPLIMENTARY AND RESILIENT TO THOSE THINGS, UM, THROUGH, UH, A VERY LIGHT TOUCH OF CONSTRUCTION IN THE CASE OF THE, OF THE CONVENTION CENTER AND THROUGH THE ADAPTATION OF HOW THOSE CROSS STREETS WORK, UM, WITH RESPECT TO SOMETHING LIKE I 35 EXPANSION, HERE'S A RENDERING OF WHAT MAYBE A MORE GRITTY AND EXPERIMENTAL LOOK MIGHT, UM, EXPRESS AS IN THE 700 BLOCK WITH ASPHALT ART, UH, KIOSKS, VENDORS AND SO ON.
AND, UM, LOOKS A LOT LIKE THIS, UH, WITH THE BOOK FESTIVAL THAT WAS JUST, UM, JUST DOWNTOWN.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE DON'T DO THIS EVER, JUST THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE DO MUCH MORE OFTEN.
HERE'S A CROSS SECTION OF WHAT THAT 700 800 BLOCK COULD LOOK LIKE.
YOU CAN SEE THAT SORT OF DECKING CONCEPT IN THE, UM, WHERE THE, WHERE THE ANGLED PARKING SPOTS WERE, UM, THAT AGAIN, WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO RECONSTRUCT THESE BLOCKS FULLY, BUT STILL, UH, BE ABLE TO HAVE THEM FUNCTION, UM, AS PLAZAS, UH, IN AN, IN THIS PROPOSED FIRST PHASE.
AND THEN FINALLY, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL WRAP THIS UP WITH, UM, THE 900 AND THOUSAND BLOCKS.
THIS IS A, THIS IS A RENDERING OF THE THOUSAND BLOCK WHERE THE OLD BAKERY IS.
AND THIS IS MAYBE WHAT A PLAZA MIGHT BE EXPRESSED BY THE, THE GRASS IN THE, IN THE FOREGROUND BEING, UH, OR THE BACKGROUND BEING, UH, THE GREAT LAWN.
MAYBE A PLACE WHERE THE HOLIDAY TREE COULD BE PLACED, UM, MAINTAINING SPACE FOR THINGS LIKE PARADES TO STILL OCCUR.
BUT, UM, DAY TO DAY, HAVING THAT DOUBLE ROW OF TREES AND, UM, SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO ENJOY, UM, PASS THROUGH, UH, DWELL, UH, IN, IN A, IN, UH, A, A BIG PUBLIC PLAZA.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I'LL LAND ON FINALLY IN, IN OUR REMARKS AND THEN OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION IS JUST THE, UM, THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING SOME TYPE OF, OF MANAGING PARTNER FOR SOMETHING LIKE A PLAZA.
WE KNOW THE DA A DOES A, A REALLY WONDERFUL JOB IN THE DOWNTOWN, UM, BUT IN CONSULTATION WITH THEM AND IN JUST AN UNDERSTANDING OF, OF ELEVATING THE NEED FOR PROGRAMMING, ACTIVATION, WASTE MANAGEMENT, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY MANAGEMENT, YOU WOULD PROBABLY NEED AN ADDITIONAL ENTITY TO PERFORM THOSE SERVICES AT THE LEVEL OF QUALITY, RESPONSIVENESS AND, UM, ATTENTION THAT IT WOULD, IT WOULD DEMAND.
AND SO, UM, THE CONCEPT HERE WOULD BE TO, TO, UM, BROKER AND SOLICIT A THROUGH AN AGREEMENT, UH, A MANAGING PARTNER, UH, THROUGH A STRUCTURE THAT HAS MAYBE SOME, UM, INCENTIVES THROUGH THINGS LIKE KIOSKS OR MAYBE SMALL EVENTS AND THINGS THAT WOULD PROGRAM THE SPACE IN POSITIVE WAYS, COLLECTING THOSE REVENUES TO THEN REINVEST IN THINGS LIKE WASTE MANAGEMENT OR, OR PUBLIC SPACE MANAGEMENT, UM, AT THE HIGHEST QUALITY THAT THE CITY DESERVES.
SO THAT'S A KEY PIECE THAT WOULD NEED TO COME INTO PLACE FOR A PLAZA CONCEPT LIKE THIS TO SUCCEED.
UH, AND IN CONSULTATION WITH THE CAPITAL COMPLEX, UM, FOLKS, I THINK THEY CERTAINLY HAVE DONE A, A GREAT JOB OF, OF ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING THAT SPACE, I THINK.
AND WE WOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, LOOK TO THEM FOR SOME INSPIRATION FOR HOW THAT MIGHT COME ABOUT, UM, IN, IN KEEPING A PLAZA LIKE THIS AT A QUALITY THAT CONTINUES TO INVITE THE COMMUNITY TO USE IT AND BE THERE WITH THAT.
I THINK WE CAN, UM, OH, WELL, I'LL, I'LL OFFER HERE THE CROSS SECTION, UM, WHAT THAT FULLY RECONSTRUCTED CROSS SECTION MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
NOTING THE DOUBLE ROW OF TREES FOR THAT EXTRA SHADE CANOPY.
SO WE'RE WELCOMING FEEDBACK, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE 24TH.
CERTAINLY, UH, WOULD HOPE THE, THE COMMISSION WOULD, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GUYS DID WANNA MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, WE'D WELCOME THAT NOW OR LATER TOO.
IT'S, IT'S ALL VERY, UM, VERY WELCOME IN TERMS OF FEEDBACK, BUT OPENING UP FOR QUESTIONS WOULD BE OUR PLEASURE TONIGHT AND, UM, GETTING YOUR FEEDBACK ALIVE.
COMMISSIONER CARROLL, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I'M, I HAVE TO SAY, I'M, I'M SHOCKED AND ELATED, UH, AT WHAT I'M LOOKING AT HERE BECAUSE, I DON'T KNOW,
[01:25:01]
TWO YEARS AGO THE ORIGINAL INITIATIVE WAS BROUGHT TO THE DESIGN COMMISSION AND I SUGGESTED CLOSING CONGRESS TO TRAFFIC AND PEOPLE IN THE ROOM LITERALLY LAUGHED AT ME.SO THIS IS FANTASTIC THAT THIS IS BEING CONSIDERED NOW.
UM, TWO, TWO THINGS I WANT TO, UM, MENTION.
ONE IS THE BRIDGE, AND I UNDERSTAND THE STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS, UH, THE LIMITATIONS.
I IMAGINE THERE'S LIMITATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BAD COLONIES AS WELL.
UM, BUT WHEREVER THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR SHADE MM-HMM,
UM, AND THEN MY QUESTION IS, THE, THE CROSS SECTION PROVIDED AT THE 700 BLOCK IS A LITTLE CONFUSING TO ME.
IT SEEMS TO SUGGEST THAT THE BUILDINGS ON THE WEST SIDE HAVE A HIGHER FINISHED FLOOR ELEVATION THAN THE EAST, IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH,
WHENEVER I'M IN A, A ROOM WITH, WITH, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS OR ENGINEERS, THEY'RE, THEY'RE JUST SHAKING THEIR HAIR LIKE, YEAH, THIS IS REALLY TOUGH
SO YEAH, IT'S, I MEAN, NEXT TIME YOU'RE OUT THERE, YEAH, IT JUST, THE SLOPES ARE REALLY CHALLENGING.
I THINKING ONE THING TO YOUR ONLY JUST HISTORICAL REFERENCE BEFORE THEY REDID CONGRESS AVENUE, YOU GO FURTHER UP, YOU'LL NOTICE THE SIDEWALKS ARE LIKE THIS UHHUH
SO IT WAS ALMOST LIKE A LOADING DOCK ALONG THAT SIDE, WHICH WAS GREAT FOR MY FIVE FOOT TALL GRANDMOTHER WANTING TO WATCH THE AGGIE BAND MARCH UP CONGRESS AVENUE,
IT, IT IS INTERESTING TO SEE THAT THE GRADE IS REAL.
UH, CAN I MAKE A COMMENT? UM, THIS IS AN EXCITING PLAN.
UH, I LIVE THERE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
I LIVE TWO BLOCKS FROM, UH, OLD BAKERY, SO I'M THERE ALL THE TIME, EVERY DAY, MOST EVENINGS.
UM, IT, IT, BUT THERE IS A CONCERN WHEN YOU REMOVE SECTIONS OF A GRID, A FUNCTIONING GRID, MM-HMM,
SO I, I THINK THAT HAVING A MORE FLEXIBILITY OF THOSE PROPOSED CLOSURES, UH, WHERE AT TIMES THAT THEY COULD STILL FUNCTION IF THEY NEEDED TO FUNCTION AS THEY ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, UM, AND FLEXIBILITY, UM, IN, IN THE OVERALL PLAN, UH, OF CERTAIN ELEMENTS.
BUT THERE'S ALSO A CONCERN THAT OUT THE GATE, THERE'S SO LITTLE FUNDING TO IMPLEMENT, UH, EVEN THIS PHASE ONE.
AND, UM, LIKE I BROUGHT UP WITH, UH, UH, PREVIOUSLY, UM, THE COMMENT ABOUT LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE MM-HMM.
UM, BUT I'VE SEEN IT OVER AND OVER IN THIS CITY DOWNTOWN WHERE, UM, BEAUTIFUL PLAN, BEAUTIFUL IMPLEMENTATION, AND THEN FROM DAY ONE, THERE'S NO MAINTENANCE BECAUSE THERE'S NO FUNDING FOR THE MAINTENANCE.
SO I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, UM, REALLY, UH, THINKING THIS THROUGH, UH, FROM THE BEGINNING OF HOW LONG TERM THIS IS GOING TO BE, BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE BEAUTIFUL AGAIN, THE FIRST DAY, FIRST WEEK, FIRST MONTH, FIRST YEAR, AND THEN SUDDENLY THE LANDSCAPING STARTS DYING.
AND SO, UM, I'VE SEEN THIS, I MEAN, IN THE EIGHTIES WHEN THE TREES WERE, UH, WERE PLANTED ALONG THE AVENUE, I WAS HERE, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS LITTLE FUNDING FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THOSE TREES THROUGH THE YEARS.
AND SO THAT CONCERNS ME WITH THESE BEAUTIFUL CONCEPTUALS, UH, OF A BIT BEING MAINTAINED AND, UM, WITH THIS BEAUTIFUL NATIONAL REGISTER, CONGRESS AVENUE HISTORIC DISTRICT.
I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THOSE COMMENTS.
IT'S, UM, YEAH, TO DO THIS TO, TO DO THIS WELL REQUIRES, YEAH, AN ENORMOUS FOCUS ON OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE, UM, JUST TO, TO MAKE THE, THE, THE SPACE LIVE IN, IN ALL TIMES OF THE DAY, DAYS OF THE WEEK.
UM, WE HAVE AN, OBVIOUSLY A VERY ACTIVE AND, AND MORE SO AS THE, WE GET AWAY FROM THE PANDEMIC DOWNTOWN CULTURE AND, YOU KNOW, LUNCHTIME RUSH AND ALL OF THE, THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF THE DOWNTOWN DURING THE WORK WEEK.
BUT HOW DO WE KEEP ACTIVATING THAT AND, AND
[01:30:01]
EVENINGS AND, UM, WEEKENDS AS WELL.SO, AND THEN TO DO THAT, HAVING REALLY SOLID, UM, MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS TO KEEP IT SAFE AND WELCOMING.
SO IT'S ALMOST AS IF TO, TO DO SOMETHING AS BIG AS A PLAZA, YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THAT MORE DEEPLY THAN YOU MIGHT IN ANY OTHER PROJECT.
SO I THINK WE HAVE THAT GOING FOR US IN SOME, IN SOME RESPECTS.
I WILL SAY, UM, A COUPLE QUICK THINGS THAT CAME TO MIND THAT I DIDN'T MENTION EARLIER.
YOU KNOW, WE ARE MINDFUL THAT THERE'S A LOT GOING ON IN THE DOWNTOWN.
WE WANNA HAVE AS LIGHT A TOUCH ON ANY CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS, UH, AS POSSIBLE.
SO THE IDEA IS, IS AS WE, UM, MOVE THROUGH THIS PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND, AND COME UP WITH WHAT WE WILL DO AS A COMMUNITY, WHICH THAT ISN'T REALLY, THAT THERE'S NO DONE DEAL AT THIS POINT, IT'S REALLY ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE PROPOSAL.
BUT, UH, WE CAN MOVE FORWARD IN A TWO PHASE PROCESS THAT LEVERAGES SOME OF OUR MORE FLEXIBLE EXISTING CONTRACTING TO DO THINGS LIKE SOME OF THE BETTERMENTS, UM, BEHIND THE CURB SOUTH OF SEVENTH OR EVEN, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE ON THE AVENUE, AND THEN BE ABLE TO COME IN WITH A RECONSTRUCTION PHASE THAT GIVES US SOME OF THAT TIME TO DEVELOP AN O AND M, UM, TYPE OF MANAGEMENT PARTNER.
UM, THERE HAS ALSO BEEN, I THINK JUST TO OFFER YOU ALL SOME PERSPECTIVE ON THE PUBLIC PROCESS THAT'S BEEN AT PLAY HERE FOR ABOUT A MONTH.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF GREAT FEEDBACK, UM, FROM, WE HAD A, A LOT OF ENGAGEMENTS WITH A VARIETY OF STAKEHOLDERS AROUND, UH, THAT THIRD WEEK OF, OF OCTOBER, AND HAVE HAD OTHER, UM, BRIEFINGS, UH, SINCE THEN.
AND I THINK THERE'S CERTAINLY SOME, I, I, I APPRECIATE THE, THE FULL SUPPORT OF THE PLAZA.
AND, UM, THIS IS CERTAINLY, I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE IT IS A RESPONSE TO, I THINK, SOME REACTION FROM THE COMMUNITY AS WE WERE COMING UP WITH THIS VISION PLAN THAT WE COULD DO BETTER AS A COMMUNITY THEN, UH, MAYBE WHERE WE WERE AT AT THAT POINT.
WITH THAT SAID, I THINK THERE'S BEEN, IN THIS ROUND OF FEEDBACK, SOME APPRECIATION FOR WHERE, UM, A A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT, UH, FUNCTIONS OF A STREET CAN, CAN BE, UM, COMPLIMENTARY AND ADDITIVE.
AND SO IT'S NOT MAYBE ABOUT AN ALL OR NOTHING, UH, BUT IT'S MAYBE ABOUT A MIX.
AND SO THERE'S THE IDEA OF, UM, PERHAPS KEEPING SOME OF THE VEHICULAR ACCESS, BUT STILL MAINTAINING THAT VERY HIGH QUALITY PEDESTRIAN REALM, UH, BIKE LANES.
AND, AND IS THERE A WAY TO SORT OF STRIKE A GOOD, A GOOD BALANCE THERE? MAYBE NOT IN A, IN THE INITIALLY PROPOSED, YOU KNOW, FIVE LANE SECTION, BUT MAYBE A, A DIFFERENT, UH, COMBINATION OF THAT IN, UH, IN DEFERENCE TO PARKING TO BIKE LANES TO BETTER PEDESTRIAN REALM.
SO I DID WANNA SAY THAT I THINK YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS SOME OF THOSE CONCERNS ABOUT THE GRID AND, AND HOW WE CAN MAYBE BEST ACHIEVE A BALANCE IN THE SPACE, UH, OVERALL, UM, THROUGHOUT THE AVENUE, ESPECIALLY IN THOSE NORTHERN BLOCKS WHERE WE SEEM TO HAVE A BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY AS IT, UH, OPERATIONALLY IT DOES, UM, FROM A VEHICULAR VOLUME PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, DROP OFF CONSIDERABLY NORTH OF SEVENTH, UM, IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF CARS.
OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER BRAD? I HAVE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS.
UH, I'LL KIND OF START THE WAY YOU STARTED WITH THE PRESENTATION, WHICH IS ON THE FULLY CONCEPTUAL, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE, WHEN WE GET THERE.
UM, THIS MAY BE AN INTERESTING COMMENT ABOUT THE BRIDGE AND THE CONCEPTUAL VIEW THAT I SAW.
THERE WAS A, A VERY STRONG DELINEATION BETWEEN CAR TRAFFIC AND BIKE TRAFFIC.
I DO FEAR THAT WE MAY BE A VICTIM OF OUR SUCCESS IN TERMS OF BAT WATCHING, THAT IF PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET THROUGH ON BIKES AND THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE, THERE MAY BE A, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE CONFLICT AND NO ABILITY TO GO AROUND.
I HAVE A SIMILAR COMMENT TO THE GREAT STREETS COMMENT I MADE A LITTLE BIT EARLIER LOOKING AT CANOPIES MM-HMM,
UH, ALSO FOR PROTECTION FROM WEATHER, UH, MM-HMM,
IF WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT PERMANENT OR SEMI-PERMANENT RETAIL.
UM, ALSO MAINTAINING VEHICULAR ACCESS, I THINK HAS A, ANOTHER, UH, OPTION HERE, WHICH IS THE ABILITY TO ACTIVATE WITH FOOD TRUCKS.
UM, EVERY TIME IT DOES WORK EVERY TIME.
SO ABOUT THE INITIAL BUILD, UM, I REALLY SUPPORT FROM 200 TO 600, UH, REALLOCATING THOSE A DA SPACES, UH, AND ALSO GETTING RID OF THAT ANGLE IN PARKING FOR A MORE VALUABLE AND LIVELY USAGE OF THE SPACE.
I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE HELPFUL FOR RETAIL AND HELPFUL FOR THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE WORK, UH, MOVE AROUND IN DOWNTOWN.
UM, I THINK IT'LL ALSO REDUCE THE, THAT CONFLICT WITH CARS.
I PERSONALLY BIKE ALONG CONGRESS AVENUE QUITE OFTEN.
AND I AM ALWAYS AFRAID SOMEONE JUST DECIDES TO CUT LOOSE AND RUN BACK OUT OF THE SPACE BECAUSE
[01:35:01]
THEY SEE THAT CAR TRAFFIC HAS FINALLY LED UP.UM, AND THEN ALSO I THINK A TWO-WAY CONVERSION HOPEFULLY WILL REDUCE SPEED AND HOPEFULLY INCREASE AWARENESS WHEN IT COMES TO THOSE CROSS STREETS.
I SEE A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, TRY TO MAKE IT THROUGH THAT INTERSECTION.
AND OTHER BIKERS, THANKFULLY NOT ME, ARE A LITTLE BIT CARELESS ABOUT CHECKING FOR TRAFFIC AND SEEING THAT THERE WILL BE TWO WAY TRAFFIC, MIGHT HOPEFULLY GET PEOPLE TO PAY ATTENTION MORE.
OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER SCHAFFER? UM, YEAH, I JUST WANNA URGE A LOT OF CAUTION ABOUT MAINTAINING THE FLEXIBILITY.
I'VE DEFINITELY HEARD SOME, IN SOME OF THE FEEDBACK MEETINGS.
I'VE BEEN TO SOME VERY SERIOUS CONCERNS EXPRESSED BY SUPER KEY STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT THE PLAZA CONCEPT.
I THINK EVERYBODY TOTALLY SUPPORTS THE HIGH QUALITY PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT, AND WE'RE ALL OVER THAT.
BUT, AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A POINT, UM, WHEN YOU SHOWED THE PLAN OF THE STATE AND THE DOWNTOWN, I'M AN ARCHITECT, I LIKE SYMMETRY,
IT DOES NOT DEPEND ON PUBLIC ACCESS FOR SUCCESS AS AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT.
IT'S NOT AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT, REALLY.
IT JUST HAPPENS TO BE IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT.
THAT'S A AND VERY INTERESTINGLY PUT AND, UM, YEAH, I THINK IT IS A, IT IS A DIFFERENT SPACE FOR SURE.
UH, NOT MEANT TO, TO, UH, IT'S NOT MEANT TO COPY IT NECESSARILY, BUT YEAH.
UM, UH, APPRECIATE THAT A LOT.
UH, I'VE GOT ONE QUESTION, AND THIS FOLLOWS ON COMMISSIONER PTOS.
UH, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT I SEE WITH SO MANY CITY PROJECTS, UH, AND CERTAINLY YOUR DEPARTMENT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.
THE, WE HAVE HAD AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF SIDEWALKS.
WE'VE HAD AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF BIKE LANES.
UH, BUT MAINTENANCE IS AN ONGOING ISSUE.
AND THE AMOUNT THAT YOU HAVE AVAILABLE FOR O AND M IS GOING TO BE CHALLENGED, AND PARTICULARLY WITH THE LEGISLATURE CAPPING WHERE WE CAN GO WITH TAXES.
I DO THINK THAT TRANSPORTATION IS PARTICULAR IN PUBLIC WORKS THAT HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY GUILTY OF THIS.
UH, IT'S, YOU, YOU ARE ABLE TO DRAW FUNDS FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES AND BUILD THESE BEAUTIFUL THINGS, THESE USEFUL THINGS.
YOU DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO MAINTAIN 'EM.
AND AS YOU LOOK AT ANY OF THESE WONDERFUL PROJECTS, IF YOU HAVE NOT ACCOUNTED FOR LONG-TERM OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COSTS, YOU'RE CREATING A LIABILITY FOR THE CITY.
AND SO I THINK YOU HAVE TO, ON ANY OF THESE PROJECTS, YOU HAVE TO DIG HARD AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU GOT THE RESOURCES GOING FORWARD.
I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I'VE SEEN, WHETHER IT'S A BIKE LANE OR A SIDE, SIDEWALKS ARE PARTICULARLY VISIBLE BECAUSE THERE'S ONE OUT HERE ON AIRPORT BOULEVARD THAT'S OVERGROWN MM-HMM.
AND SO YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE THE RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN IT.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I'M A FAN OF OUR PARK SYSTEM.
WE'VE ACQUIRED A LOT OF PARKLAND.
WE DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN THE PARKLAND.
SO IT IS INCREDIBLY CRITICAL THAT YOUR DEPARTMENT FOCUS ON WHERE THE FUNDS ARE GONNA COME FROM TO MAINTAIN THESE HIGH QUALITY SPACES SO THEY DON'T DEGRADE OVER TIME.
LITTLE SPOTTY YEAR FIVE, THEY'RE URBAN BLIGHT.
SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S A PRIORITY THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.
AND I DON'T THINK IT IS BE, YEAH.
I, I TAKE THOSE COMMENTS VERY SERIOUSLY.
AND I THINK YES, WE, IT'S SOMETHING WE, IT WAS A GOOD PART OF MY DAY TODAY,
HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE MAYBE THE BIKEWAY BARRIERS IN A WAY THAT ARE, ARE MUCH MORE ROBUST AND LONGER LASTING? YOU KNOW? AND, UH, YEAH.
AND THAT WOULD BE THE TYPE OF BIKEWAY BARRIER HERE.
I THINK MAYBE WITH RESPECT TO THE CONGRESS PROJECT IN PARTICULAR, UM, I THINK IT DOES HAVE THE BENEFIT OF BEING VERY VISIBLE AND, AND HIGHLY PRIZED REAL ESTATE IN THE CITY.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S OUR HOPE THAT THROUGH, UM, THERE ARE MANAGING PARTNER, UM, EXPERTS.
WE ACTUALLY ARE CO COLLEAGUES IN FINANCIAL SERVICES HAVE A ROTATION LIST.
SO A, A SELECTION OF, OF, OF SIX OR SEVEN EXPERTS IN THIS VERY REALM OF HOW DO YOU MANAGE PUBLIC SPACE WELL, AND THROUGH THEIR CONSULTATION IS TO COME UP WITH THE MOST ROBUST AGREEMENT INFORMED BY PROPERTY OWNERS THAT
[01:40:01]
HAS THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THIS, THE STICKS OR THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THAT MAINTENANCE WITH THE CARROTS OF A, OF A REVENUE STREAM THAT CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN MAKE, WE CAN HAVE THAT SUSTAINABILITY.SO THERE'S, THAT'S REALLY ONE OF THE KEY FOCUSES OF, OF THIS SORT OF MANAGING PARTNER CONCEPT.
BUT I TAKE YOUR POINT VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY.
AND, AND AT A, AT A CITYWIDE LEVEL, THEY'RE EVERYTHING FROM YEAH.
VEGETATION TO TREES, TO SIDEWALKS, UM, URBAN TRAILS AND THE LIKE, UH, IS SOMETHING WE ARE HIGHLY FOCUSED ON GIVEN THE, THE RAMP UP OF ALL THAT, ALL THAT INFRASTRUCTURE AND, AND TO BE ABLE TO, TO DO THAT WITH, YEAH.
WITH LIMITED RESOURCES, BUT PERHAPS USING THOSE IN A DOSE RESPONSE THAT WORKS THE BEST.
THERE ARE CERTAIN SEASONS WHERE WE'RE GONNA SEE THE MOST AMOUNT OF GROWTH IN, IN THINGS LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, OVERRUN GRASSES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
IF WE CAN KIND OF TRY TO FOCUS THAT, UH, WHERE WE REALLY NEED IT, UM, YEAH, WE, UH, HAVE A FIGHTING CHANCE OF KEEPING UP WITH THAT
UH, YES, A COUPLE OF COMMENTS.
UM, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
SO JUST A COUPLE OF AREAS AND IN TERMS OF PUBLIC SAFETY, I WOULD JUST NOTE THAT, YOU KNOW, A A PLAZA AREA WHERE THERE'S MORE CONGREGATION IS A VERY DIFFERENT PUBLIC SAFETY SCENARIO THAN, THAN A THOROUGH AFFAIR.
SO JUST HOPE THAT THERE'S THE APPROPRIATE PARTNERSHIP WITH A PD EMS. MM-HMM.
AND THEN SECONDLY, IN TERMS OF PROGRAMMING, UM, WHAT I, I THINK WOULD BE NICE TO SEE FOR THE MANAGING PARTNERS TO OFFER POSSIBLY TIERED PRICING OR SO THAT THE, THE SPACE IS BOTH AVAILABLE TO ENTITIES THAT CAN HAVE LARGER EVENTS AND THEY CAN PAY MORE.
UH, BUT ALSO IT'S EQUALLY ACCESSIBLE FOR SMALL NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TO UTILIZE THE MM-HMM.
AND A PD HAS BEEN VERY INSIGHTFUL AND HELPFUL IN OUR CONSULTATIONS ABOUT HOW WOULD THIS WORK WITH THEM HAVING THIS ECOSYSTEM OF SUPPORTIVE ENTITIES AND HAVING MAYBE THIS MANAGING PARTNER BEING ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE TO HELP SORT OF BALANCE OUT, UM, YEAH.
AND THEN, YEAH, JUST LIBERALIZING THE, THE WAYS IN WHICH THE COMMUNITY CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS SPACE IS CERTAINLY ANOTHER YEAH.
VERY MUCH A, A RICH PLACE TO EXPLORE THE POTENTIAL OF, FOR, UM, FOR IN ANY WAY THAT THIS MOVES FORWARD.
I FEEL LIKE TOO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S WAYS TO MAKE CONGRESS VERY MUCH, VERY, VERY INCLUSIVE, UM, IN, UH, IN HOWEVER WE RESHAPE THIS SPACE.
CAN I MAKE ANOTHER COMMENT, COMMISSIONER PTO? UM, YES.
I, I THINK AS THIS, UM, PROCEEDS AND THIS MORE OR LESS BECOMES EVENT, UH, ORIENTED SPACES, UH, BEING VERY CAREFUL NOT TO HAVE, UM, THESE PUBLIC SPACES PRIVATIZED AND CLOSED DOWN AND, AND TO KEEP THE FLOW BECAUSE THIS IS A NEIGHBORHOOD, IT'S MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND, AND I, I THINK HAVING SECTIONS CLOSED OFF OF CERTAIN EVENTS AND WHICH IS PUTTING, UM, PEDESTRIANS AND RESIDENTS, UH, GOING AROUND THESE EVENTS CAN BE PROBLEMATIC.
I THINK THAT YOU, THAT NEEDS TO BE THOUGHT OUT.
I THINK, UM, SOME OF THOSE, YEAH.
FUNDAMENTALS WOULD NOT BE MEANT TO GO AWAY, BUT MORE ENHANCED.
USE THE SPACE IN WAYS THAT, UM, BE AREN'T, YEAH.
AND MORE, MORE FREQUENTLY USE WHAT WAS VEHICULAR LANES IN DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT KEEP THAT, KEEP THAT MOVEMENT, UM, OPEN FOR BIKING AND WALKING.
WE, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME THIS EVENING.
I LOOK FORWARD TO FUTURE UPDATES.
[5. Approve the formation of a Working Group to contribute input to the update of theDowntown Austin Plan.]
THE NEXT ITEM WAS BROUGHT FORWARD BY SEVERAL COMMISSIONERS, UH, TO APPROVE THE FORMATION OF A WORKING GROUP TO CONTRIBUTE INPUT TO THE UPDATED OF THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN.WE'VE GOTTEN A LITTLE, UH, LITTLE BREADTH OF THAT FROM DAA TONIGHT, UH, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED A NUMBER OF TIMES.
UM, WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? WELL, IF WE'RE GOING TO FORM SUCH A WORKING GROUP, I WOULD DEFINITELY LIKE TO BE ON THIS GROUP AS A DOWNTOWN RESIDENT, AND I'M SURE THAT CHARLES PROBABLY FEELS THE SAME.
UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO FORM A WORKING GROUP AND WORK WITH THE CITY ON THIS BECAUSE THAT IS AFTER ALL THE REASON FOR THIS COMMISSION'S EXISTENCE.
UM, AND, UM, WHEN WE GET TO THAT POINT, WE'LL CERTAINLY CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS.
AS A REMINDER, WE CAN ONLY HAVE FOUR, FIVE COMMISSIONERS ON A WORKING GROUP.
[01:45:01]
UH, WE CANNOT HAVE A QUORUM OF THE COMMISSION.UH, AND, UM, I WOULD HOPE THAT THE, THE WORKING GROUP WOULD PRESENT, UH, ON A REGULAR BASIS TO THE COMMISSION ON ITS PROGRESS IN MEETING WITH STAKEHOLDERS AND, AND, UH, CITY STAFF ON THIS.
UH, SO, UH, WOULD ANYBODY ELSE LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT? UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO CREATE A, UH, A, WE'LL CALL IT THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN UPDATE WORKING GROUP.
ANY OPPOSED? HEARING NONE, THE MOTION CARRIES.
NOW, UM, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE APPROPRIATE TO CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS EXCEPT, UH, I, I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER KOFA MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN IT, BUT SHE'S NOT ONLINE AT THE MOMENT.
UM, BUT, UM, I KNOW I SEE TWO VERY DISTINCT.
UM, SHOULD WE LEAVE ONE OPEN, UH, AND AND FILL THAT AT THE NEXT MEETING AND FILL THAT? YEAH.
I KNOW OTHER FOLKS ARE EAGER TO JUMP IN, UH, BUT, AND NOT TO GIVE PREFERENCE TO SOMEBODY OR FOLKS THAT AREN'T HERE, BUT I DO WANT TO MAKE SURE, SINCE WE ARE LIMITED IN THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS THAT, THAT EVERYBODY HAS A CHANCE TO WEIGH IN.
AND THEN Y'ALL CAN DUKE IT OUT.
I THINK CHAIR HARRIS, UH, COULD I JUST GET YES MA'AM.
CLARITY ON WHO HAS JOINED SO FAR, OR COMMISSIONER VETO? YEP.
AND WHILE I AM HIGHLY INTERESTED AND ENGAGED ON THIS ISSUE, MY, MY TIME IS LIKELY COMING TO AN END AND SO I WILL LET YOU CARRY, CARRY THE TORCH FORWARD.
UH, FOR THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW, I, I WAS APPOINTED BY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, WHO IS NOW, UH, OR IS COMING UP ON HER RETIREMENT FROM CITY HALL.
SO FOR THE TIME BEING, UH, OR I, I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, I HAVE NO IDEA.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, DO ANYTHING FROM STAFF? NO.FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, CHRISTINE AND I DISCUSSED, AND I, I THOUGHT THAT I WOULD PROBABLY BE ABLE TO FIND SOMEBODY ON THE, THE COMMISSION WHO WOULD SECOND IS TO END THE YEAR WITH A CHEERY REPORT ABOUT THE PROGRESS OF THE WATERLOO GREENWAY.
SO I HAVE MY SECOND RIGHT HERE.
SO IF WE COULD GET THAT SCHEDULED, UH, FOR OUR DECEMBER MEETING.
AND I WILL, UM, I'LL REACH OUT TO, UM, THE FOLKS OVER THERE AND SEE IF WE CAN GET A SPEAKER.
I I'M SURE MOST OF Y'ALL HAVE SEEN SOME OF THE WORK THAT'S, OR A LOT OF THE WORK THAT'S BEEN GOING ON.
IF YOU GO INTO SOME OF THE TOWERS AND LOOK DOWN AT THE WORK, IT IS TRULY SPECIAL.
IT'S GONNA BE WONDERFUL WHEN THEY GET FINISHED, BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A, A NICE PROGRAM TO END THE YEAR ON.
UH, AND SO I APPRECIATE, UH, YOUR SECOND, UH, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER PRESENTATION.
MAKES IT EVEN EASIER FOR THEM.
UM, OTHER, OTHER, UH, FUTURE ITEMS, WE'VE GOT, UH, SOME INTERESTING STUFF COMING UP.
SO, UH, WITH THAT, UM, IT IS 7:25 PM IT'S BEEN A VERY ROBUST MEETING.
THANKS EVERYBODY FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.
I WANT TO WISH ALL OF Y'ALL A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING, UH, TO ALL OUR FOLKS.
COMMISSIONER LOCK, I SEE YOU WE'RE WAVING, WE'RE ALL GONNA HOP ON THE DILLO AND GO RIGHT AROUND AND CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING TOGETHER.
YEAH, HAPPY THANKSGIVING IN, IN TWO SEPARATE DOUGHS.
SO WE DO NOT MAKE FORMS
BUT THANKS EVERYBODY, THANKS TO STAFF.
UH, WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT CHRISTIE AND HER TEAM DO AND, AND CHRISTINE, WHO WAS NOT WITH US TONIGHT.
AND AGAIN, HAPPY THANKSGIVING.
THANK YOU AS ALWAYS, FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.