Jul 17, 2025 Mobility Committee

PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPEAKERS.

WELL, THEN WE WILL GET STARTED WITH BUSINESS.

SO, UH,

[1. Approve the minutes of the May 15, 2025, Mobility Committee Meeting. Sponsors: Council Member Paige Ellis, and Council Member Zohaib ''Zo'' Qadri]

LET'S GET A MOTION FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR MAY 15TH, 2025.

WE HAVE A MOTION BY VICE CHAIR CADRE, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.

AND THEN INSTEAD OF GOING STRAIGHT TO ITEM NUMBER TWO, WE ARE GOING

[5. Briefing from the Urban Transportation Commission regarding actions from the June 3, 2025 and July 1, 2025, meetings. [Spencer Schumacher, Vice-Chair - Urban Transportation Commission]. ADJOURN]

TO MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WHICH ENDED UP BEING POSTED AS ITEM NUMBER FIVE, BUT IT IS USUALLY THE NEXT ITEM WE TAKE UP, WHICH IS AN UPDATE FROM THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.

I BELIEVE WE HAVE MR. SCHUMACHER AVAILABLE TODAY.

OKAY, PERFECT.

I SEE HIM GETTING LOADED ON THE WEBEX.

UH, THANK YOU, UH, CHAIR ELLIS, VICE CHAIR AND THE REST OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.

I THINK I HAVE A PRESENTATION IF THAT CAN BE UPLOADED, AND I KNOW YOU GOT A BUSY AGENDA, SO I'M GONNA TRY TO SPEED THROUGH THIS.

WE DO HAVE THAT PRESENTATION.

LOVELY.

I'LL WAIT FOR THAT TO GET UP AND THEN I'LL START.

ALL RIGHT, SO THESE ARE OUR ACTIONS FROM OUR JUNE MEETING AND ALSO OUR JULY MEETING.

WE CAN GO AHEAD AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

SO, UM, UH, IN JUNE, WE FOCUSED A LOT ON THE RESIDENTIAL PARKING PROGRAM, PROPOSED RULE, WHICH I BELIEVE THE FINAL RULE WAS, UH, POSTED YESTERDAY.

THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS WE THINK ARE REALLY GREAT IN THIS, UH, THE EXPANSION OF HYBRID PARKING REGULATIONS, WHICH IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE PARKING MODERNIZATION, UH, ORDINANCE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL PASSED A LITTLE WHILE AGO.

THERE'S A LOT OF EXPANSION FOR, UH, MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN CERTAIN, UH, FUNCTIONS LIKE GETTING DAY PASSES, WHICH WE THINK IS GOOD.

UH, A LOT OF CONSULTATION WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND REEVALUATION CRITERIA TO MAKE SURE THESE RPP ZONES ARE, ARE STILL, UH, UH, USEFUL.

UM, ONE THING WE WANTED TO CHANGE FROM THE GET GO WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S STILL THIS OLD LANGUAGE ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM BEING TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR RESIDENTS TO FIND AN OPEN PARKING SPOT.

AND WE THOUGHT THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THAT WAS THE CASE IN, IN WHEN IT WAS FIRST CREATED IN WEST CAMPUS, RIGHT? UH, BUT TODAY, THAT'S NOT REALLY HOW THE PROGRAM USED.

IT'S, IT'S REALLY TO, UH, BE A TOOL IN THE TOOL BELT WHEN WE HAVE AN OVER PARKED CURB IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA.

UH, THEY PUT MUCH BETTER LANGUAGE THAN WE SUGGESTED HERE.

SO THAT IS IN THE FINAL RULE, AND WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

UH, ONE THING THE UTC HAS BEEN REALLY FOCUSED ON IS WE DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS ISN'T JUST A PROGRAM THAT BENEFITS SINGLE FAMILY, UH, UH, RENTERS AND HOMEOWNERS, UH, AND SMALL MULTI-FAMILY.

WE WANT SOME BENEFITS TO BE AVAILABLE, UH, TO MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.

ONE THING WE SUGGESTED WAS ALLOWING THEM TO HAVE VISITOR PERMITS, ESPECIALLY FOR, UH, MANY OF OUR MULTIFAMILY COMPLEXES THAT DON'T HAVE, UH, VISITOR PARKING.

UH, THAT WAS ONE THING THAT WAS, UH, NOT INCLUDED IN THE FINAL RULE.

UH, AND WE'VE ALSO ASKED, UH, THE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TO, TO THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN'T INCLUDE MULTIFAMILY IN RPP PARKING, YOU KNOW, LET'S THINK ABOUT SOME WAYS THAT WE CAN STILL ALLOW SOME SORT OF COMMENSURATE BENEFITS SO THAT THE BENEFITS AREN'T ONLY GOING TO SINGLE FAMILY HOMEOWNERS AND RENTERS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THAT BE EXTRA LOADING AND DROP OFF SPACES.

PARK A TX CODES, ESPECIALLY THAT'S HELPFUL WHEN THERE'S, UH, PARKING OR, OR, UH, HYBRID PARKING IN THAT AREA.

AND THE NEXT THING THE COMMISSION WAS REALLY FOCUSED ON IS, UH, FIGURING OUT WAYS THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT, UH, SMALL COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES AREN'T, UH, ADVERSELY HARMED BY RPP.

UM, SO THE FIRST THING WE ASKED FOR WAS, UM, SOME SORT OF WAY THAT WE CAN ADD EMPLOYEES OF ADJACENT CULTURAL VENUES AND BUSINESSES AS INTERESTED PARTIES WHENEVER, UH, UH, THE AN RPP IS IS PLANNED, UH, SO THEY CAN BE PART OF THAT PROCESS.

UH, AND ALSO TO ASK, YOU KNOW, WHETHER WE COULD IN INGRATIATE THOSE EMPLOYEES INTO THE PROGRAM SIMILAR TO THE AFFORDABLE PARKING PROGRAM, UH, AND, AND CREATE A WAY FOR THEM TO ALSO, UH, HAVE SECURED PARKING, UH, CLOSE, UH, TO THOSE BUSINESSES.

AND THOSE WERE THINGS THAT THE DEPARTMENT SAID THEY WANTED TO LOOK IN FURTHER.

UM, SO THEY WEREN'T ADOPTED IN THIS ROLE, BUT THEY COULD BE ADOPTED IN THE FUTURE.

UM, AND THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD INTO OUR JULY, UH, ITEM, WHICH SHOULD BE ON THE NEXT PAGE.

SO, UH, THE, UH, NATO, THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CITY TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS, WHICH WE MODEL A LOT OF OUR POLICY OFF, UH, HAS LONG SUGGESTED ON ARTERIAL ROADWAYS THAT WE SHOULD HAVE AROUND A 10 FEET, UH, UH, WIDE WIDTH.

UM, AND THIS IS ONE PLACE WHERE IN THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL, WE ARE NOT ALIGNED WITH NTO.

SO WE, UH, ISSUED A RECOMMENDATION FOR LEVEL THREE AND LEVEL FOUR STREETS TO ALIGN WITH, UH, UH, THESE NTO STANDARDS.

AND THERE'S GOOD REASON TO FOCUS ON THESE STREETS.

THERE'S A LOT OF EVIDENCE THAT FOR, YOU KNOW, EACH FOOT, YOU INCREASE LANE WIDTH, UH, YOU GET ABOUT A 2.3

[00:05:01]

MILE PER HOUR BUMP IN THE SPEED SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE.

THERE'S ALSO A GREAT STUDY FROM JOHN HOPKINS THAT SHOWS THESE ARTERIAL STREETS WHEN THEY'RE 12 FEET, ARE ACTUALLY THE MOST DANGEROUS TYPE YOU CAN HAVE, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT WIDE ENOUGH TO BE FORGIVING, BUT THEY'RE NOT NARROW ENOUGH, UH, TO GET SLOW SPEEDS.

SO WHAT WE RECOMMENDED IS THAT WE START WITH THESE LEVEL THREE AND LEVEL FOUR STREETS, AND INSTEAD OF STARTING WITH AN 11 FOOT OR 12.5 FOOT STREET, WE START WITH A 10 OR 11 FOOT STREET.

AND WHEN IT'S CONSTRAINED, YOU CAN GO LOWER, UH, AND THEN HAVE THOSE CONTEXTUAL USES.

UH, THAT WOULD ASK OURSELVES, DO WE REALLY NEED A 12 FOOT LANE HERE? IS THERE SOME EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCE? UH, THE OTHER THING IS RIGHT NOW WE DESIGN ALL OF OUR OUTSIDE LANE TRAVEL WIDTHS TO BE ACCOMMODATING FOR, FOR FREIGHT AND FOR, UH, TRANSIT.

UM, I THINK IT'S BETTER TO CONSIDER THAT ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.

UH, ONE THING NATO RECOMMENDS IS, IS WHETHER 10% OF THE TRAFFIC THERE IS EXPECTED TO BE FREIGHT OR WHETHER THERE'S A TRANSIT ROUTE.

SO WE THINK THAT'S A GOOD STANDARD FOR, UH, UM, THE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS TO ADOPT IN THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL.

AND YOU CAN SEE A TABLE OF HOW WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING CHANGES, UH, FROM THE TCM.

UH, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT PAGE.

ALL RIGHT.

AND, UH, THE OTHER THING WE RECOMMENDED WAS THAT TPW CONSIDER DOING A LANE WITH AUDIT, SIMILAR TO THE VERY SUCCESSFUL SPEED AUDIT THEY DID, SO THAT WE CAN REALLY LOOK AT WHICH OF THESE ARTERIALS ARE OVERBUILT AND COULD BE CANDIDATES FOR, YOU KNOW, STREET PAVING TO MAYBE REDO, UH, SOME OF THOSE LANES AND GIVE US A COUPLE OF EXTRA WIDTHS.

UH, AND THE FINAL PART WAS, YOU KNOW, IDEALLY THE, THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL IS ALWAYS TALKING TO THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.

SO WHENEVER THE CITY COUNCIL DOES CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, SOME ASP AMENDMENTS IN THE FUTURE, UH, WE THINK IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO INCLUDE SOME TARGET INDICATORS FOR LANE WIDTH REDUCTION, UH, SO THAT WE HAVE SOME SORT OF METRIC TO EVALUATE THIS.

UH, SO HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN GET THIS IMPLEMENTED, NOT ONLY MEANS SAFER STREETS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THOSE EXTRA COUPLE FEET ON ARTERIAL ROADWAYS, UH, THAT COULD ALLOW US TO, YOU KNOW, PUT IN A STREET TREE OR PERHAPS PUT PROTECTION BETWEEN THE BICYCLE LANE AND PEDESTRIAN LANE.

UM, YOU KNOW, DO SOME THINGS THAT, THAT WE'RE NOT ALWAYS ABLE TO DO WHEN WE HAVE REALLY WIDE LANE WIDTHS.

UM, SO THOSE ARE OUR TWO RECOMMENDATIONS, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND LET YOU GUYS GET ON WITH YOUR MAIN, WE APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS? I DON'T BELIEVE SO.

SEEMS LIKE IT WAS QUITE THOROUGH.

[2. Updates on amendments to City Code related to parking regulations, including current compliance rates and challenges. [Joseph Al-hajeri, Manager of Parking Enterprise - Transportation Public Works].]

THAT WE ARE GOING TO MOVE ON TO WILL BE ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS THE UPDATE ON AMENDMENTS TO CITY CODE RELATED TO PARKING REGULATIONS, INCLUDING CURRENT COMPLIANCE RATES AND CHALLENGES.

WELCOME.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

HELLO, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS JOSEPH HORI.

I'M THE PARKING ENTERPRISE MANAGER FOR TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS, AND I HAVE MY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR HERE LEWIS LAP, UH, HELP WITH ANYTHING WE GOT, UH, GOING ON.

DO WE HAVE THE CLICK OR YOU JUST DO IT? .

THIS IS STILL, UM, YOU KNOW, A HUGE ISSUE THAT WE'RE SEEING AROUND TOWN.

SOUNDS GOOD.

UM, ALL RIGHT.

SO, UM, LIKE, UH, UH, THE TITLE SAYS THERE, PARKING CODE MONETIZATION.

WE, UH, COMMITTED TO COME BACK TO SPEAK TO A COUPLE ITEMS, UM, AND WANTED TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE RECENT CODE CHANGES THAT HAPPENED BACK IN FEBRUARY.

UM, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

UM, SO WE'LL GIVE SOME BACKGROUND.

WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME, UH, ENFORCEMENT CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH, UNDERSTANDING SOME OF THESE CODE CHANGES, UM, AND IN GENERAL, JUST IN ENFORCEMENT PRACTICES AS, AS A WHOLE.

UM, AND LIKE WE COMMITTED TO COME BACK TO TALK TO, UH, MAILING PARKING AND CITATIONS, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE CODE CHANGES, UH, IN THERE, AND SOME OF THE IMPLEMENTATION ELEMENTS THAT GO ALONG WITH THAT, INCLUDING SOME NEXT STEPS.

UM, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, BACK IN, IN, UH, FEBRUARY, WE, WE PASSED A, UH, UH, PARKING AND CODE MONETIZATION THAT CAME OUT FROM, UH, COUNCIL RESOLUTION TO INCREASE BIKE LANE ENFORCEMENT.

A PART OF THAT WAS TO CHANGE CODE TO ALLOW US, US TO ENFORCE BIKE LANES MORE EFFECTIVELY, AS WELL AS SOME OTHER CODES THAT NEED TO BE UPDATED, SOME LEGACY CODES.

UM, AND A PART OF THAT, UM, WAS CHANGING 12 DASH 5 56, WHICH ALLOWED US THE POSSIBILITY AT TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS TO MAIL, UM, PARKING RELATED, UH, CITATIONS.

UM, AND, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY TO TALK MORE ABOUT THAT.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

AND HERE'S A, A QUICK UPDATE ON WHAT HAS GONE, UH, ON SO FAR SINCE THAT, UH, CODE HAS PASSED.

UM, YOU KNOW, BIKE LANE ENFORCEMENT HAS PICKED UP, WE, YOU KNOW, COMMITTED TO DO, UH, WARNINGS IN A, IN A PERIOD TO INFORM THE PUBLIC ABOUT THESE CHANGES.

AND DURING THAT TIME, WE WROTE ABOUT 270 WARNING CITATIONS, UM, UH, THROUGH MAY.

UM, WE STARTED ON JUNE 1ST WRITING ACTUAL CITATIONS AFTER THAT PERIOD OF TIME.

UM, AND WE'VE SO FAR HAVE WRITTEN 80 CITATIONS.

UH, WE HAVE A DEDICATED ROUTE OF ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS THAT GO OUT AND, AND LOOK AT BIKE LANE INFRACTIONS.

UM, AND WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT OTHER WAYS OF, OF PICKING UP THAT ENFORCEMENT THROUGH, UH, BIKE ENFORCEMENT ON CONGRESS.

UM, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, WE'VE HAD 516, UM, BIKE LANE ENFORCEMENT CUSTOMER SERVICE REQUESTS.

[00:10:01]

UM, PEOPLE CALL IT IN.

AND OUR ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS, OF COURSE, UM, HAVE INCREASED, UM, BUT WE, YOU KNOW, TRY OUR BEST TO GET TO 'EM AS FAST AS WE CAN, BUT IT'S SPREAD OUT THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

UM, AND THEN GOING ON, YOU KNOW, UM, JUST KIND OF, UH, WHAT, UH, MR. SCHUMACHER HAD MENTIONED RECENTLY JUST PASSED THE, THE RPP DIRECTOR'S RULES.

WE HAD A REALLY GOOD SURVEY THAT I GOT A LOT OF COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, AND REALLY GAVE US THE INPUT TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES POSSIBLE.

UM, AND WE'RE PROUD THAT WE'RE ABLE TO, UH, POST THOSE, UH, FINAL RULES RECENTLY.

AND, AND LOCATIONS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO CREATE BEHAVIOR CHANGE WE NEED TO SEE IN SAFETY ARE, ARE SO IMPORTANT.

SO, LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME, UH, CHALLENGES IN, IN, IN ENFORCEMENT.

UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW IT, WE'VE SEEN AN INCREASE IN, IN DEMAND FOR OUR CURB SPACE DOWNTOWN.

UM, THERE'S MANY CHALLENGES WITH THAT.

UM, YOU KNOW, MANY NEW BUSINESSES, MANY DIFFERENT, UH, TYPES OF USES FOR OUR CURB SPACE, AS WELL AS NEW MOBILITY ALTERNATIVES, WHICH Y'ALL ARE GONNA HEAR, UM, IN THE NEXT, UM, PRESENTATION COME UP ABOUT AUTOMATED VEHICLES.

ALL THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, BRINGING PRESSURES TO BE ABLE FOR US TO ENFORCE CORRECTLY AND MORE EFFICIENTLY.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE INCREASING AND MANAGED PARKING AREAS AS WE SEE IT GEOGRAPHICALLY, AS OUR CITY STARTS TO GROW, THAT CURB SPACE THAT THAT MAN BECOMES NEEDED TO BE MANAGED.

AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO FIND WAYS TO EN ENFORCE THAT MORE CONSISTENTLY.

UM, AS WE KNOW, PARKING ENFORCEMENT HAS HAZARDS.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MANY CONFRONTATIONS THAT HAPPEN, UH, UH, CONTINUOUSLY THROUGHOUT.

AS A PREVIOUS PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER THAT USED TO TO WORK, YOU KNOW, BOTH DURING THE DAYTIME AND NIGHTTIME.

UM, I CAN TELL YOU FIRST HANDEDLY THAT, UM, IT CAN BE VERY CO CONTENTIOUS WHEN SOMEONE IS NOT HAPPY ABOUT GETTING A PARKING CITATION, AND WE'RE NOT LAW ENFORCEMENT, SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.

UM, WE TRY OUR BEST TO MANAGE THOSE CONFRONTATIONS, UH, IN THE SAFE WAY WE CAN, UM, AS WELL AS GETTING TO, UM, VIOLATIONS THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, REQUIRE US TO STOP A VE OR STOP OUR VEHICLE, UM, TO GET OUT.

UM, THAT JUST CREATES TO MORE OF THE MOBILITY CHALLENGE FOR THE REST OF THE PUBLIC TO GET IN AND OUT OF OUR CITY, UM, AND, AND, AND SAFELY FOR OUR OFFICERS AS WELL.

UM, OVER TIME, SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE 15 YEARS, UM, WE'VE CONSTANTLY UPDATED OUR CODE TO BE ABLE TO ENFORCE MO UH, MORE EFFICIENTLY.

UM, BUT THERE'S BEEN A MISALIGNMENT WITH THE WAY THAT WE CURRENTLY DO PARKING ENFORCEMENT WITH OUR CURRENT TECHNOLOGIES AND STRATEGIES THAT WE DO THINGS TO MEET THAT MODERNIZED CODE AND WHAT WE'RE DOING.

UM, AND WE ALSO WANTED TO SPEAK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ON, ON COMPLIANCE AND WHAT WE KNOW NOW.

THERE IS NO BASELINE THAT WE CURRENTLY UNDERSTAND, UM, THAT HELPS US GET TO A REAL TRUE COMPLIANCE NUMBER.

UM, USUALLY THERE'S PERCENTAGES TO UNDERSTAND.

UH, WE'RE TRACKING THAT INFORMATION MORE FREQUENTLY NOW TO UNDERSTAND THAT.

BUT WE DO CAN SAY ANECDOTALLY, UM, THAT ALTHOUGH, UM, WE'VE MADE CODE CHANGES, UM, THERE'S STILL INCREASES IN PARKING CITATIONS THAT COULD BE DUE TO NUMBER OF NEW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, UM, CHANGING IN ROUTES, UM, BUT DOESN'T GIVE US A REAL TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW COMPLIANCE IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING.

UM, AND SO WE'RE WORKING ON, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTAND THAT.

BUT ONE THING THAT'S GOOD TO SAY IS THAT, UM, AND I THINK WE ALL CAN SAY THIS, THAT MORE CONSISTENT ENFORCEMENT BRINGS MORE CONSISTENT, UM, UM, COMPLIANCE.

UM, SOMEONE KNOWS THEY'RE GONNA GET A CITATION IN AN AREA THEY'RE GONNA, THEY'RE GONNA GET, UM, THE BEHAVIOR CHANGE THAT WE, THAT WE WANNA SEE.

UM, BUT OF COURSE, THAT'S LIMITED TO, UM, THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT MILLING CITATION THAT CAN, HOW THAT CAN HELP.

UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, WE LOOK FOR IS INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY AND SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY IN PARKING ENFORCEMENT.

SO, JUST LIKE I SPOKE TO, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HAVE CONFRONTATIONS, UM, THAT LIMITS THE ABILITY FOR ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS OR, UM, THE 500 AND, YOU KNOW, 16 OR SO OR MORE, UM, CSRS THAT WE GOT, UM, A GOOD PERCENTAGE OF THOSE ARE DRIVES OFF.

WE CAN'T GET TO 'EM FAST ENOUGH, OR IF WE GET THERE, THE PERSON'S MOVING BY THEM.

SO REALLY THERE'S NO INCENTIVE FOR SOMEONE TO NOT PARK IN THOSE LOCATIONS AS THEY, YOU KNOW, CONTINUOUSLY WE SEE ISSUES WITH, UM, CONSISTENT ENFORCEMENT THROUGH A MAILING CITATION PROGRAM CAN HELP THAT.

UM, IT REDUCES THE, THE CONFRONTATION, THE INTERACTION BETWEEN STAFF, UM, AND ALLOWS US TO, UH, SEND OUT, UM, MORE CLEAR, UM, UM, CITATION INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC.

UM, SO WE ALSO LIMIT BLOCK BLOCKAGE OF TRAVEL LANES AS WELL.

LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, STOPPING, UM, AND, AND, AND HAVING TO WRITE A CITATION.

ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ARE ALSO CAUSING TRAFFIC BACKUPS IN THOSE, IN THOSE SCENARIOS, BEING ABLE TO STOP AND, AND CREATING THOSE ISSUES.

UM, CON YOU KNOW, SPOKE TO CONFLICT, UH, REDUCTION BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS COMPLIANCE AND CAPACITY.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IS THAT WE HAVE A, A GROWING CITY OF NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO ENFORCE MANY DIFFERENT VIOLATIONS IN OUR MOBILITY SYSTEM.

UM, AND CAPACITY FOR ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AS A MANUAL, YOU KNOW, UM, PROCESS CAN BE VERY DAUNTING TO GET THESE LOCATIONS.

UM, SO MAILING CITATIONS CAN BE, UH, A WAY TO ALLOW US TO ADD MORE CAPACITY TO ENFORCE MORE EFFECTIVELY THROUGHOUT THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS OF OUR CITY.

UM, AND AGAIN, AND I CAN'T, YOU KNOW, STRESS THIS ENOUGH, UH, ENFORCEMENT CONSISTENCY AND BE ABLE TO CREATE THAT CONSISTENCY WITHIN ENFORCEMENT, UM,

[00:15:01]

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

SO, UH, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CONSIDERATIONS THAT WE NEED TO, UM, THINK ABOUT MAILING CITATIONS? I WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT, UM, A MAILING CITATION COULD LOOK LIKE.

SO FIRST WE IDENTIFY AND VERIFY THE VIOLATION AND, AND VEHICLE INFORMATION.

UM, AND THEN AT THAT POINT, THE REGISTER OWNER IS IDENTIFIED, UM, AND THEN THE, WE MAIL THAT CITATION NOW FOR THE CURRENT SYSTEM IN THE MISSAL COURT, THERE'S SOME CHALLENGES.

THEY HAVE A CURRENT SYSTEM, NEW COURT SOFTWARE THAT THEY'RE IMPLEMENTING THAT IT WASN'T CONFIGURED OR THOUGHT ABOUT TO ADD IN A MAILING PARKING CITATIONS PROGRAM.

UM, SO THAT WOULD CAUSE SOME CHALLENGES FOR US.

REGARDLESS, THERE WOULD NEED TO BE A THIRD PARTY INTEGRATION FOR US TO HAVE A VENDOR TO MAIL OUT NOTICES.

THIS IS SOMEONE THAT'S GOING TO IDENTIFY THE VEHICLE, UH, OWNER, UH, REGISTER OWNER OF THAT VEHICLE, AND BE ABLE TO MAIL THAT CITATION OUT IN AN EFFECTIVE AMOUNT OF TIME TO HAVE TO RESPOND TO IT.

UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S OTHER ENFORCEMENT TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE FOR US TO DO THAT.

UM, AND IT REALLY CAN BE CUSTOMIZED AND WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, LOOKED AT OTHER CITIES AND WANTED TO FIND BETTER WAYS FOR OUR ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TO HAVE THAT, THAT RESOURCE TO THEM SO THAT, THAT WE CAN EFFECTIVELY ENFORCE.

UM, AND OF COURSE, ANYTHING WE DO WITH TECHNOLOGY, WE WOULD HONOR ANY OF THE PRIOR COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS THAT FOCUS ON DATA COLLECTION AND RETENTION, AS THAT IS SUPER IMPORTANT TO US TO ENSURE PRIVACY WITHIN THAT PUBLIC DATA.

NEXT STEP, UH, SLIDE.

SO WHAT IS OUR PROPOSED NEXT STEPS? UM, WE'RE REALLY GONNA FOCUS ON A COLLABORATION WITH SUPPORT, UNDERSTAND THEIR, THE PROCESSES AND OUTCOMES AND HOW THEY ADJUDICATE THEIR, UH, CITATIONS AND HOW WE INTEGRATE WITH THEIR SYSTEMS, UM, AND WHAT THAT IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH SHOULD LOOK LIKE.

UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON A SCOPE AND, AND METRICS FOR A POTENTIAL PILOT, UM, UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT VARIOUS TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO US IN ENFORCEMENT.

UM, AND TRYING TO, UH, CREATE SOME METRICS TO EVALUATE A PILOT EFFECTIVELY, INCLUDING DATA PRIVACY, UH, PROCUREMENT PROCESS FOR THIRD PARTY VENDOR.

WE WOULD START LOOKING AT WHAT THE RIGHT APPROACHES IS FOR US TO DO THAT, UM, AND ONBOARD A VENDOR, UM, AND, AND REALLY LOOK AT DIFFERENT PRODUCTS AND, AND INTEGRATION CAPABILITIES TO ENSURE THAT THINGS RUN, UH, SMOOTHLY THROUGH THAT SYSTEM.

UM, AND OF COURSE WE BRING THIS BACK TO COUNCIL FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD WITH ANYTHING.

AND, AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.

I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.

I KNOW THAT OUR EARLIER CONVERSATIONS WERE BECAUSE COUNCIL MEMBER VELA WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THIS MAILING OF CITATION ISSUE.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA KICK OFF SOME QUESTIONS OR IF YOU WANT SOMEONE ELSE TO START.

UH, HA.

HAPPY TO, UH, CHAIR.

THANK YOU, UH, SO MUCH.

UM, WHAT OTHER CITIES DO, UH, CITATION BY MAIL? UM, SO THERE'S MANY CITIES THAT DO IT.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN SPEAKING TO LIKE PITTSBURGH, UM, THERE'S SOME OTHER CITIES IN IN CALIFORNIA THAT HAVE, HAVE MOVED TO MAILING CITATIONS.

A LOT OF UNIVERSITIES MAIL CITATIONS.

UM, IT'S MORE EFFECTIVELY TO GET AROUND LIKE PARKING GARAGES AND OTHER SYSTEMS TO DO A LOT OF CITIES THAT HAVE LESS STAFF AVAILABLE TO THEM.

ANYBODY IN TEXAS? UH, YES.

CURRENTLY DALLAS AND DOES MAILING OF CITATIONS.

GAL? UH, GALVESTON.

OH, GALVESTON, YEAH.

ALONG THEIR SEA WALL THERE.

UH, THEY WERE HAVING A LOT OF CONFLICTS BETWEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC AND UNFORTUNATELY INEBRIATED PUBLIC, UM, THAT WOULD TALK TO A PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, A PARKING CITATION THAT WOULD NOW TURN INTO SOMEONE GETTING ARRESTED.

AND SO IN THIS CASE THAT LIMITED THAT, AND THEY NOW HAVE, UM, A MAILING CITATION PROGRAM TO LIMIT THAT.

UM, AND IN TERMS OF THE, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, AND AGAIN, I, I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT, UH, TIMEFRAMES, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU GET THE EARLY KIND OF PAYMENT AND THEN IF YOU DON'T PAY IT WITHIN THAT TIMEFRAME, YOU KNOW, I, AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT $20 TO $40 OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE FOR THE 75.

AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT SENSITIVITY.

HOW DOES THAT CHANGE UNDER A MAILING, UH, SCENARIO? BECAUSE THE CONCERN HERE, AND I SAY THIS BOTH FROM, YOU KNOW, PERSONAL EXPERIENCE FROM MULTIPLE CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER PEOPLE, AND, UH, PARTICULARLY IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND, AND HONESTLY, IMMIGRATION, PEOPLE DON'T CHECK THEIR MAILBOXES.

UH, EVERYTHING IS DIGITAL.

UH, AND, AND PEOPLE JUST DON'T CHECK THEIR MAILBOXES.

SO, SO NO ONE IS REALLY GONNA REALIZE THAT THEY ARE, I SHOULDN'T SAY NO ONE, BUT MANY PEOPLE WILL NOT REALIZE THEY HAVE A PARKING CITATION UNTIL WELL PAST THE EARLY PAYMENT DATE.

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, A, A PRETTY, UH, SIGNIFICANT, UH, UH, FINE OR FEE.

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF IMPLEMENTATION AS FAR AS THE, THE, THE KIND OF GRACE PERIOD THAT WE GIVE SOMEBODY? SO, YEAH, SO CURRENTLY IT'S 20 DAYS, UM, THAT MOVES TO 30 DAYS WITH UNDER THE NEW, UH, MAILING CITATION PROCESS.

BUT THAT, THAT TIME DOES NOT START UNTIL THE ACTUAL CITATION IS IDENTIFIED AND THEN ACTUALLY MAILED.

UM, AND ONCE IT'S MAILED, THERE'S A PERCEIVED DATE OF WHEN THEY SHOULD RECEIVE IT, WHICH I BELIEVE IT'S SEVEN DAYS.

I HAVE TO MAKE DOUBLE CHECK ON THAT.

UM, AND ONCE IT'S, UH, THAT PERCEIVED DATE IS HIT, THEY STILL HAVE IT 20 DAYS FROM THAT POINT.

SO IT TURNS OUT TO, IT'S A TOTAL OF 30 DAYS.

UM,

[00:20:01]

SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT AS FAR AS THE METRICS IN THE PILOT IS REALLY FOCUSING ON HOW DO WE DO THIS AND UNDERSTAND IT.

AND IT COULD BE WARNING CITATIONS, YOU KNOW, AT THE BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY GET INTO, UM, THE, THE OWNER AND IF THEY'RE PICKING IT UP AND, AND SEEING IT.

UM, AND A LOT OF THE COMPANIES, THESE THIRD PARTY VENDORS THAT MAIL OUT, UM, ARE VERY EFFICIENT.

AND SO THEY, THEY CAN UNDERSTAND WHEN THERE'S BOUNCE BACKS AND OTHER THINGS THAT COME ALONG WITH MAILING, ANY TYPE OF CITATIONS.

UM, SO WE'RE DEFINITELY SENSITIVE TO THAT AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S THE BEST APPROACH AND, AND FIGURING OUT A BEST WAY TO EVALUATE THAT DURING THE PILOT.

WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WITH BOUNCE BACK SPEAKS AGAIN, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T UPDATE THEIR CAR REGISTRATION EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE MOVED LIKE THREE TIMES OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE.

OR LIKE, THE REGISTRATION MIGHT STILL BE AT MOM'S HOUSE, UH, AND, AND YOU KNOW, THEY HAVEN'T LIVED THERE FOR 10 YEARS, OR YOU, AGAIN, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, , RIGHT? YEAH.

SO THE, THE THIRD PARTY, YOU KNOW, IS THE ONE THAT HANDLES THOSE.

UM, WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT THAT IS CURRENTLY THE WAY THAT WE DO REGISTERED VEHICLE, UM, INFORMATION IS THAT WE ONLY HAVE THE STATE OF TEXAS.

UM, IF YOU HAVE A THIRD PARTY THAT DOES, IT'S ALL 50 STATES.

UM, SO EVEN IF THERE'S OUTTA STATE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO SEND THAT, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION OUT TO THEM.

UM, AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ISSUES WITH IT, UM, AND SOMETHING THAT WE'RE STILL TRYING TO LEARN ON.

SO I DON'T HAVE A DIRECT ANSWER ON HOW EFFECTIVELY WE'D BE ABLE TO ANSWER IT.

UM, AND THAT'S A PART OF OUR VALUATION PROCESS WHEN WE WORK WITH ANY THIRD PARTY VENDOR.

AND THEN THE OTHER, I MEAN, ACCOUNTABILITY, I THINK THERE'S A LOT TO BE SAID FOR SOMEONE WHO COMES BACK AND IMMEDIATELY SEES THAT CITATION ON THEIR WINDOW IN TERMS OF ACCOUNTABILITY, GETTING THAT 25 DAYS LATER IN THE MAIL, YOU'RE LIKE, I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER, YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS, AGAIN, IN TERMS OF CHANGING BEHAVIOR, OBVIOUSLY BOTH HAVE SOME EFFECT, BUT THE, JUST THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE, THE KIND OF NOTICE OF THE VIOLATION FROM THE DATE OF THE VIOLATION MM-HMM .

IS A CONCERN IN TERMS OF, AGAIN, WANTING TO CHANGE BEHAVIOR.

I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I DID, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THERE MAY BE A PHOTO, BUT AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT OF, OF, OF, IT WAS JUST SO LONG AGO, OR I WASN'T DRIVING THE CAR.

UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, HOUSEHOLDS THAT SHARE VEHICLES, SO WHO'S GOT THIS TICKET? THOSE KINDS OF THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT ALSO JUST CONCERNS ME IN TERMS OF IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ACTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE, THE BEHAVIOR OF THE, THE PERSON INVOLVED.

I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.

COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, LEWIS, LEFT ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, TPWI, I THINK IT'S A FAIR POINT.

I THINK THAT'S WHY WE'RE LOOKING AT ROLLING THIS OUT IN A VERY KIND OF SLOW AND NARROW FASHION FIRST.

AND MAYBE IT'S A PILOT, WE COULD, YOU KNOW, NAME IT WHAT WE'D LIKE TO NAME IT, BUT MAKING SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE IMPACTS ARE AND START TO SEE WHAT THAT DATA AND, AND THE METRICS COMING BACK SAYING, HOW MANY REPEAT OFFENDERS DO WE SEE WITH THE MAILING OF CITATIONS RELATIVE TO SOMEBODY GETTING ON THEIR CAR? IS THERE A SIGNIFICANT, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THAT? I THINK THAT'S WHY WE WANT TO TRY SOMETHING AND SEE HOW IT GOES FIRST BEFORE WE START TO DO A FULL BLOWN KIND OF PROGRAM AROUND MAILING OF CITATIONS.

ALRIGHT.

WELL, UH, I, I, I GOTTA DIGEST, UH, ALL, ALL THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, I I I'VE EXPRESSED, UH, UH, CONCERNS, UH, QUALMS, UH, I, I NEED TO DIGEST ALL THAT.

UH, I, I, I REALLY HAVE TO THINK THROUGH THIS, UH, IN TERMS OF, OF OF HOW IT'S GONNA AFFECT THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

MY, AGAIN, MY SENSE WOULD BE THAT WOULD, I HATE TO MAKE THE ANALOGY, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU RED LIGHT CAMERAS AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS LIKE THAT, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW WELL RECEIVED IT WOULD BE.

THAT THAT'S MY, MY, MY MAIN CONCERNS.

WE'VE GOT QUESTIONS FROM VICE CHAIR CADRE.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

UH, BEFORE I GET INTO MY QUESTIONS THOUGH, I WANNA, UH, I MEAN, I AGREE WITH COUNCIL.

UH, WHEN I WAS A UNDERGRAD AT UT, UH, I GOT ONE PARKING CITATION, IT WAS RIGHT ON MY DASHBOARD.

I WAS REALLY P****D, BUT I KNEW THAT I DID IT.

UH, AND I NEVER GOT ONE AFTER THAT.

UH, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, TO TO HIS POINT, YOU KNOW, HAVING IT SENT TO YOU IN THE MAIL AND RECEIVING IT X AMOUNT OF DAYS LATER AND YOU'RE LIKE, HEY, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF I EVEN DID THIS.

I THINK I'M BEING FRAMED.

UM, SO ANYWAY, JUST, I, I AGREE WITH WHAT COUNCILOR VILLA HAD SAID.

UM, UH, ON PAGE FOUR, UH, YOU HAD THE, ALL THE NUMBERS OF THE BIKE LANE ENFORCEMENT ISSUES, 270 WARNINGS, 80 CITATIONS FIVE IN REQUEST OUTTA CURIOSITY, IS THERE A, ARE THERE HOT POINTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY? UH, YES.

UH, THANK YOU.

COUNCIL MEMBER.

YEAH, THERE IS HOT POINTS AROUND THE CITY THAT WE'VE SEEN.

WE ALSO MATCH UP OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE REQUEST DATA TO SEE IF THERE'S MORE FREQUENT AREAS THAT WE CAN ENFORCE.

AND WE, OUR OFFICERS TRY TO, TO MAKE SURE TO GET TO THOSE AREAS AS FAST AS THEY CAN.

UM, AND THEN WE HAVE A ROUTE THAT THEY TAKE, UM, THAT'S PRETTY CONSISTENT, AND THEY'LL CHANGE THAT ROUTE BASED OFF OF THOSE HOTSPOTS TO SEE IF THEY CAN GET TO 'EM SOONER.

OUTTA CURIOSITY, DO, DO YOU KNOW IF SOME OF THOSE HOTPOTS TOUGHER MIND? I WOULD ASSUME DOWNTOWN MIGHT BE SOME SOUTH CONGRESS? YEAH.

SO ONE OF THESE ARE SUSPECTS, YES.

YOU KNOW, I THINK CONGRESS AVENUE IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST ONES THAT WE HAVE ISSUES WITH.

AND SO WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON A, UM, A WAY FOR, TO HAVE MORE FREQUENT ENFORCEMENT, UM, EVERY 30 MINUTES OR SO, A ALONG BOTH SIDES OF CONGRESS, UM, JUST BECAUSE THAT IS A FREQUENT SPOT.

UM, THERE'S ALSO SOME OTHER SPOTS HERE AND THERE, BUT I CAN, I DON'T HAVE 'EM TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I CAN DEFINITELY GET BACK TO YOU ON THOSE.

AND THEN YOU HAD MENTIONED DURING THE PRESENTATION, UH, JUST ENFORCEMENT CHALLENGES TO DO THE COVERAGE, EX EXPANSION.

[00:25:01]

UH, SO I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS.

DO WE HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE CURBSIDE MANAGEMENT STUDY? YEAH, WE'RE, WE HAVE CURRENTLY, UH, STARTING THAT PROCESS.

PROCESS.

UM, WE'RE DOING, UH, STAKEHOLDER, UM, WE'VE GOT THE CONSULTANT, WE'VE DONE SOME STAKEHOLDER, UM, UH, COMMITTEE, I'M SORRY, ENGAGEMENT, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT INTERNAL FIRST.

WE'RE WORKING ON THAT.

UM, AND IT'S STILL ON TRACK TO HAVE SOMETHING BY NEXT YEAR IN APRIL.

JUST TO CLARIFY, THAT'LL BE THE DRAFT.

AND I THINK WHAT WE COMMITTED TO WAS KIND OF LATE SPRING, EARLY SUMMER, BRINGING THAT FINAL, UH, PLAN BACK TO COUNCIL.

SO WE ARE STILL ON THAT TIMEFRAME.

APRIL WILL PROBABLY BE LIKE THE FIRST DRAFT AND WE'LL BE GOING, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE ITERATIONS OF THAT.

BUT, UM, WE WOULD EXPECT APRIL MAY TIMEFRAME BEING ABLE TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL, PROVIDE SOME UPDATES ON THAT, IF, UH, THAT'S DESIRED BY THIS COMMITTEE.

AND THEN SECOND QUESTION, UM, DO YOU THINK NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO START EXPLORING VOLUNTEER PARKING ENFORCEMENT OPTIONS? UH, I THINK IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS RECOMMENDED IN THE ORIGINAL RESOLUTION OR, OR EVEN DEPUTIZING FOLKS TO KIND OF, UH, YOU KNOW, BE, BE THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND.

UH, THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER.

UM, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE'D HAVE TO TAKE BACK.

AGAIN, WE'VE, WE'VE COME AND, AND DEFINITELY HAVE PUT OUR OPINION OUT THERE AS A DEPARTMENT ON, ON HOW WE FEEL ABOUT THE, THE POTENTIAL OF THAT.

UM, THERE'S DEFINITELY A LOT OF SAFETY IMPLEMENTATIONS THAT COME INTO DEPUTIZING THE PUBLIC.

UM, LIKE I'VE JUST SPOKE TO YOU ABOUT MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, UH, HANDING OUT CITATIONS TO FOLKS AND I'M AN OFFICIAL CAPACITY.

UM, AND THAT BECOMES A HUGE ISSUE.

UM, AND SO, UM, I I, I CAN'T SAY MORE THAN THAT.

I WOULD THINK THAT WE CAN COME BACK AS A DEPARTMENT AND SPEAK TO THAT, BUT, UM, IN, IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, THAT THERE'S SOME ISSUES AROUND, YOU KNOW, SAFETY THAT ARE SOMETHING THAT I'D BE WORRIED ABOUT.

WELL, THAT'S IT FOR ME, CHAIR.

LET'S GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.

THANK APPRECIATE IT.

I, UM, I APPRECIATE THAT THAT'S HOW YOU GUYS ENDED IT.

UM, 'CAUSE THAT'S, UM, MY PRIMARY CONCERN.

SO I, I WAS LISTENING TO YOUR CONCERN, COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, AND I WAS THINKING LIKE, IF I HAD TO THINK, WHAT'S MY CONCERN HERE THAT PEOPLE WON'T BE OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACCESS THE BILL IN TIME TO NOT INCUR INCREASE, YOU KNOW, EXCUSE ME, JUSTICE CONSEQUENCES OR THE SAFETY OF OUR STAFF.

AND I'M LEANING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE SAFETY OF OUR STAFF.

THERE'S LIKE FOUR PARTS IN THIS PRESENTATION WHERE YOU REFERRED TO SAFETY AND THEN YOU REFERRED TO SAFETY AGAIN.

AND THEN, SO I WAS ALREADY THINKING ABOUT IT.

SO WHEN COUNCIL MEMBER OR VICE CHAIR CADRE SAID THE THING ABOUT DEPUTIZING PEOPLE, OH, I DON'T THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA AT ALL.

THAT TO SAY THOUGH I AM, I KNOW THAT CODE OFFICERS HAVE SOME SIMILAR CHALLENGES AND I'VE EVEN HEARD ABOUT AE FOLKS GETTING, YOU KNOW, FOLKS GIVING THEM A HARD TIME.

AND SO MY IMMEDIATE THOUGHT THERE IS ONE, IT FEELS LIKE THIS PRESENTATION SHOULD BE GIVEN AT THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE ALSO.

'CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A DEEPER ISSUE AROUND THE SAFETY OF OUR STAFF.

UM, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, GO TO THE THUNDERDOME IN ORDER TO DISPENSE A CITATION.

SO I'M JUST WONDERING HOW DO WE GET A MORE COMPREHENSIVE CONVERSATION GOING AROUND THAT PART? 'CAUSE THAT'S DEEPLY CONCERNING FOR ME.

UM, AND I'LL PUT AN ASTERISK NEXT THAT, 'CAUSE THAT'S NOT FOR THIS COMMITTEE, BUT AS IT PERTAINS TO PUBLIC SAFETY, I THINK THAT'S A BIGGER CONVERSATION.

UM, SO AGAIN, ON, UM, PAGE FOUR.

SO THE 516 BIKE LANE ENFORCEMENT RESIDENT REQUEST, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE COMPARED TO WHAT, WHAT'S THE SORT OF THE BASELINE, THE STANDARD? UH, YEAH, SO THAT'S A, THAT'S A LARGE AMOUNT.

I MEAN, UH, UH, SO THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REQUEST FOR PARKING VIOLATION ENFORCEMENT IN GENERAL IS VERY LARGE.

IT'S TOP, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, FIVE OR SO WITHIN THE CITY.

UH, I THINK LAST YEAR WE DID ABOUT 15,000 TOTAL.

UM, SO FIVE 16 IS A PRETTY LARGE NUMBER AS FAR.

I, I DON'T HAVE THE, THE PREVIOUS MONTH'S NUMBERS, BUT THEY'RE VERY COMPARATIVE.

SO WE HAD, YOU SAID LAST YEAR YOU DID, HOW MANY TOTAL? I'M SORRY? UH, ABOUT 15,000.

1500.

15,000.

15,000 CUSTOMER REQUESTS FOR, UH, PARKING VIOLATIONS IN GENERAL.

UH, FROM THE PUBLIC.

UH, BUT I MEANT FOR BIKE LANE IN ENFORCEMENT.

UM, I DO NOT HAVE THE, THAT, UH, YEAR TOTAL.

UM, SO I CAN GET BACK TO YOU ON IT, BUT THAT'D BE GREAT.

'CAUSE I'D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT THE BASELINE IS.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT 516 LOOKS LIKE COMPARED TO WHAT, YOU KNOW, IS THIS A BUMPER YEAR OR, YOU KNOW, IS THIS LOW? I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.

IT'S PRETTY COMPARATIVE TO THE PREVIOUS MONTH.

WE HAVEN'T SEEN IT, BUT I DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER.

ANY CODE OR WE ADD NEW, YOU KNOW, TECHNOLOGY LIKE, UM, DIGITAL PERMITTING OR, YOU KNOW, OR PARK A TX APP, UM, WE HAVE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE TOOLS IN ORDER TO ENFORCE THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE EFFICIENTLY.

I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT.

AND THEN, UM, ONE OF MY OTHER QUESTIONS WAS, OH YEAH, I ALREADY SPOKE TO IT.

THE HAZARDS FOR PUBLIC TRAVEL AND CONFRONTATIONS WITH ENFORCEMENT STAFF.

UM, UH, THE, THE QUESTION OR THE, THE NEXT BULLET ON PA UM, PAGE FIVE, MISALIGNMENT BETWEEN TRADITIONAL PARKING ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIES AND MODERNIZED CODE.

WHAT, WHAT IS THE, WHAT'S THE THING THAT'S MAKING IT SO WE'RE MISBALANCED? YEAH.

SO ANYTIME WE MODERNIZE

[00:30:01]

AND WHEN YOU HAVE MANUAL PROCESSES THAT TYPICALLY THAT WE'VE HAD FOR OLD WAYS OF DOING THINGS, UM, IT, IT CREATES CHALLENGES.

UM, AND HERE'S AN EXAMPLE.

UM, WORKING IN PARKING ENFORCEMENT, WE HAVE THE CHALK TIRES.

THAT'S SOMETHING YOU GO AROUND, YOU HAVE THIS LITTLE CHALK, YOU GO CHALK IT, AND THEN YOU, UH, COME BACK TO IT IF THAT CHALK HAS NOT MOVED AND YOU WRITE IT A CITATION FOR BEING THERE FOR MORE THAN 15 OR 30 MINUTES.

UM, BUT NEWER TECHNOLOGY, UH, THEY CALL IT EHO IN WHERE YOU'RE ABLE TO EHO THAT, UM, TIRE AND THAT VEHICLE COME BACK TO IT.

IF IT'S IN THE SAME SPOT, THEN YOU'RE ABLE TO WRITE A CITATION.

THOSE TYPE OF EFFICIENCIES CREATE, YOU KNOW, UH, OUR ABILITY TO ENFORCE, UM, UM, QUICKER AND, AND, AND HAVE MORE EFFICIENCIES WITHIN IT, UM, WITHOUT HAVING TO USE OTHER MANUAL PROCESSES.

SO WE HAVE A LOT OF LEGACY WAYS OF DOING THINGS WITH OUR MODERN CODE, UM, THAT PREVENTS US TO, UH, USE OUR ENFORCEMENT MORE EFFECTIVELY AND ACROSS THE CITY.

SO WE SPEND MORE TIME DOING CERTAIN THINGS THAN .

I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND.

AND I THINK, UH, IN MY EXPERIENCE, THAT'S SORT OF HOW THE CITY OF AUSTIN ROLLS.

UM, I, I SEE US EMERGING FROM THE ICE AGE SLOWLY.

UM, THAT SAID THOUGH, I I, I DO WANNA KNOW HOW DO WE CATCH UP? WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE LEAP? YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S THIS, YOU KNOW, PARADIGM SHIFT BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW, WHAT'S THE PUSH? YEAH.

SO IT'S, IT'S LINKING OUR CURRENT TECHNOLOGIES TO BE ABLE TO MEET THAT.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE HANDHELD DEVICES THAT WE CURRENTLY ARE IN CONTRACT WITH.

UM, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO SYNC THAT TO A BETTER, UH, MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO UNDERSTAND BETTER HOTSPOTS AND GET BETTER REPORTING THAT WE CAN DO, UM, USING VEHICLES, YOU KNOW, TO HELP US ENFORCE MORE EFFECTIVELY.

AND THERE'S DIFFERENT TECH TYPE OF TECHNOLOGIES TO DO THAT.

UM, AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE GET SOME OF THOSE WAYS OF, UM, ENFORCING MORE EFFECTIVELY A LARGER AREA MM-HMM .

THAN SENDING A NORMAL, YOU KNOW, AREA, YOU KNOW, BUT HAVE THREE OR FOUR OFFICERS WALKING IN AREA, YOU COULD HAVE ONE TO TWO OFFICERS EFFECTIVELY ENFORCING THE SAME AREA, UH, WITH THE NEWER ATTEMPTS TO TECHNOLOGY.

I JUST KEEP COMING BACK TO THAT ORIGINAL CONCERN AROUND PUBLIC SAFETY.

I WANT EVERYBODY TO BE SAFE, THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND OUR STAFF.

AND SO I AGREE TO YOUR ASSESSMENT AROUND, UM, LIMITING INTERACTION, YOU KNOW, REMOVING THE PO THE POTENTIAL.

UM, I PREFER REMOVING THE POTENTIAL THAN, YOU KNOW, DEPUTIZING PRIVATE CITIZENS OR GETTING, YOU KNOW, THE, I JUST REALIZED THE OTHER DAY THE SECURITY COMPANY AT THE HEB THAT THEY HAVE GUNS.

I JUST, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT BEFORE.

BUT LIKE THAT WE DON'T DO, WE WANNA ELEVATE, YOU KNOW, THE STATUS OF OUR PARKING ENFORCEMENT STAFF TO WHERE THEY'RE ARMED.

AND I JUST THINK YOU MORE GUNS MEANS MORE GUNS STUFF.

UM, AND SO, UH, BUT TO COUNCIL MEMBER VALLAS POINT, I I, I DO THINK THERE'S SOME INEFFICIENCY AND AN EFFICACY TO A MAILING PROGRAM THAT, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO SEE WHAT THE NUMBERS LOOK LIKE, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE IF WE'RE GETTING ALL MODERN WITH OUR TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE IT SO THAT WE'RE MORE EFFICIENT, THEN WHY DON'T WE MODERNIZE ALL OF IT.

UM, JUST WONDER IF THERE'S A BETTER WAY.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

APPRECIATE IT.

I APPRECIATE THOSE QUESTIONS.

I KNOW IN THE LAST BUDGET CYCLE, WE HAD EARMARKED, UH, A NUMBER OF E-BIKES TO BE ABLE TO LET PARKING MANAGEMENT OFFICERS UTILIZE THOSE.

AND WE HAD GOTTEN FEEDBACK THAT THERE WERE SOME FOLKS THAT PREFERRED TO USE THE E VEHICLES TO BE ABLE TO GO AND DO THEIR WORK.

JUST BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THAT CONFRONTATION IS COMING AND YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR SAFETY OFFICERS ARE ABLE TO DO THEIR JOB WITHOUT BEING HARASSED BY THE PUBLIC.

SO I APPRECIATE THAT.

I ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE ENFORCING OUR RULES, BUT ALSO NOT PUTTING ANYONE IN UNNEEDED DANGER.

I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER LANE HAS SOME QUESTIONS.

GO AHEAD.

UM, I DO ALSO SHARE THE CONCERN ABOUT MAILBOXES.

AND PERHAPS AS YOU'RE LOOKING INTO THINGS, YOU'LL FIND EXAMPLES OF PERHAPS COMPANIES, VENDORS THAT ARE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT TEXTING AS WELL AS MAILING OR SOMETHING MULTIPLE WAYS.

UM, I ALSO AM VERY HAPPY THAT YOU BROUGHT UP YOUR CONCERNS AROUND SAFETY.

UM, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE LOOKED TO CIVILIAN AND STAFF ENFORCEMENT OF A VARIETY OF THINGS ACROSS THE CITY, AND I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT CONCERN AND NOTING IT .

UM, OKAY.

SO I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.

UM, ARE THERE, HOW HAVE YOU WORKED AMNESTY OR FOR FORGIVENESS PROGRAMS FOR RESIDENTS THAT ARE EXPERIENCING HARDSHIP OR UNABLE TO PAY INTO YOUR PILOT PROPOSAL? SO, UH, THANKFULLY WE HAVE MUNICIPAL COURT PARTNERS WHO HANDLE THAT SIDE OF THE HOUSE.

AND SO, UH, OUR FOCUS IS ON THE REGULATION OF THE CURB ITSELF, THE, THE ENFORCEMENT OF THAT CURB.

AND THEN ONCE IT GETS TO THE MUNICIPAL COURT PROCESS, THEY'VE GOT THEIR OWN PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES IN PLACE.

SO, UM, THAT WOULD BE A QUESTION.

WE'D PROBABLY HAVE TO DEFER IT OVER TO MUNICIPAL COURT PARTNERS.

UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF MOVING PARTS AND SO IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE REVENUE IMPLICATIONS WILL BE.

UM, SOMETHING THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION WAS THE GEOGRAPHIC EXPANSION THAT THIS ALLOWS.

[00:35:01]

AND, UM, THERE CERTAINLY ARE POTENTIAL HARMS. AND SO, SO ONE, I THINK AT SOME POINT IN THIS PROCESS, AS WE ARE ALL GONNA END UP WEIGHING HARMS AND BENEFITS, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE SOME SORT OF RANGE ESTIMATE INFORMATION AROUND THE IMPACT TO, UM, THE GENERAL FUND AND OUR OPERATIONS SINCE THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT FACTOR RIGHT NOW.

UM, SUGGESTING THAT.

AND THEN ALSO MENTIONING SLASH ASKING, UM, WITH THE EXPANSION OF GEOGRAPHIC AREA AND IN WHERE THERE ARE, THERE ARE PARTS OF OUR CITY AND I KNOW HAVE NO IDEA HOW VAST THEY ARE, WHERE PARKING HASN'T BEEN ENFORCED FOR AN EXCEEDINGLY LONG TIME.

WE'VE ADDED A LOT OF NEW BIKE LANES.

WE'VE CHANGED THE LAWS ON, YOU KNOW, HOW WE'RE HANDLING THAT.

UM, I HAVE PERSONALLY OBSERVED PLACES WHERE FOR VERY LONG PERIODS OF TIME, THERE HAS BEEN STREET PARKING IN FRONT OF BUSINESSES THAT NOW THE STREET PARKING IS ALL A BIKE LANE AND THERE IS NO LONGER SAFE PASSAGE TO WHERE THOSE CARS WOULD HAVE TO PARK IN ORDER TO SAFELY ACCESS THAT BUSINESS OR NONPROFIT OR THAT SORT OF THING.

AND WHEN THAT TYPE OF THING IS COMING UP WHERE WE HAVE GEOGRAPHICALLY EXPANDED ALL IN ONE BURST TO AREAS WHERE WE WEREN'T REACHING BEFORE, UM, I HAVE CONCERNS.

SO I, UM, I ANTICIPATE THAT IF WE EVER GET TO THE POINT THAT WE'RE DOING A PILOT AND AN AREA THAT IS VERY ACCUSTOMED TO ENFORCEMENT AND THESE ISSUES HAVE BEEN THOROUGHLY VETTED, AND THEN WE IN ONE STEP EXPAND TO THE WHOLE CITY, THERE ARE DIFFERENT ISSUES THAT WILL ARISE.

AND SO I HOPE THAT AS YOU BRING IT BACK TO US, I DON'T NEED IT TODAY 'CAUSE I KNOW WE GOTTA STAY ON AGENDA, BUT AS YOU BRING IT BACK TO US, THAT, UM, THAT THAT PLANNING IS PART OF THE ROLLOUT PROCESS.

UM, IS THERE ANY PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES OF REVENUE THAT'S BEEN GENERATED BY THE BIKE LANE ENFORCEMENT AND THE INCREASE IN PARKING FINES FOR CARS? OR IS THAT COMING SOON? YEAH, THAT WE CAN BRING THAT BACK SOON.

WE DON'T HAVE THOSE TODAY.

I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WERE THRESHOLDS BY WHICH, YOU KNOW, EVERY QUARTER WE'D GET SOME INFORMATION.

THEY'VE BEEN MAJOR ADJUSTMENTS AND SO I WANNA BE MINDFUL THAT WE JUST NEED TO UNDERSTAND, IS THIS ACTUALLY SERVING THE PURPOSE THAT WE HAD SET OUT TO, OR IS IT JUST INCONVENIENCING THE FOLKS AFFECTED BY IT? WE, WE DID A LITTLE BIT OF PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS WHEN THE CODE CHANGES WERE HAPPENING JUST USING PRIOR YEAR DATA.

AND SO WHAT WE CAN DO IS UPDATE THAT INFORMATION WITH WHAT WE'VE SEEN ACTUALLY IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS AND BE ABLE TO MAYBE TIE THAT INTO THE COUNCIL BUDGET Q AND A PIECE.

'CAUSE IT, WE WILL HAVE SOME REVENUE IMPLICATIONS FOR MUNICIPAL COURT AND GENERAL FUNDS.

SO WE'LL PROBABLY GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS IF THAT WORKS.

AND I THINK THAT DOVETAILS INTO WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON ASKED, WHICH IS, THERE'S BEEN 516 BIKE LANE ENFORCEMENT REQUESTS.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN YEAR OVER YEAR? HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND THOSE? UM, I ALSO WANNA ASK A QUESTION ABOUT CAMERA ENFORCEMENT.

I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME CONVERSATIONS, I KNOW THERE'S AT LEAST ONE, PROBABLY MORE THAN ONE BUSINESS IN TOWN THAT THAT WORKS ON THIS.

WE JUST HAD A VERY LENGTHY AND DETAILED DISCUSSION ABOUT LICENSE PLATE READERS ON OUR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS VEHICLES AND WHERE ELSE THEY EXIST IN TOWN BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF PRIVATE ENTITIES THAT ACTUALLY HAVE APRS IN USE TODAY, WHETHER OR NOT OUR OFFICERS ARE USING THEM.

CAN YOU TALK A BIT ABOUT CAMERA ENFORCEMENT AND WHAT THE CITY IS INVESTIGATING AT THIS POINT, WHETHER THAT WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE USE OR HOW TO SAFEGUARD THE CONCERNS THAT WERE BROUGHT TO US IN JUNE OR MAY, WHENEVER WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION, IT WAS AT LEAST ONE OF THOSE LAST TWO COUNCIL MEETINGS.

SURE.

WE'VE CERTAINLY BEEN FOLLOWING ALONG WATCHING WHAT COUNCIL'S DIRECTIVE AND, AND POSITION IS ON THAT.

UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY OPTIONS THAT ARE OUT THERE.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, MOBILE OR, OR FIXED LPR, THERE'S, UH, VIDEO BASED SYSTEMS. THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA KIND OF TAKE AS NEXT STEPS IS LOOKING INTO WHAT OPTIONS ARE OUT THERE AND THEN START TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY'RE GONNA ALIGN WITH THAT.

UH, WITH THE RESOLUTIONS THAT COUNCIL HAS PASSED, GIVING THAT DIRECTION ABOUT DATA ACCESS, SECURITY RETENTION POLICIES, MAKING SURE THAT ANYTHING THAT WE TRY TO MOVE FORWARD WOULD BE TOTALLY IN ALIGNMENT WITH WHAT Y'ALL HAVE LAID OUT.

SO, UM, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND IT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE THAT BALANCE OF GAINING THE EFFICIENCY WHILE ADHERING TO THAT DIRECTION THAT'S BEEN GIVEN AND BEING ABLE TO SEE, UM, THAT WE'RE ON THAT SAME PATH FORWARD.

SO THAT'S WHAT THE NEXT STEPS REALLY INCLUDE IS THAT TECHNOLOGY ANALYSIS EVALUATION, STARTING TO SEE WHAT THESE COMPANIES OFFER AND WHAT OPTIONS WE HAVE MOVING FORWARD.

SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY ENGAGING WITH COMPANIES, TRYING TO SEE WHAT THEY OFFERED, SEEING WHAT THE BEST, UH, BEST IN CLASS PRODUCTS ARE ON THE MARKET, AND THEN SEEING HOW THAT ALIGNS WITH OUR CITY LOCAL POLICIES.

AND HAVE ANY COMPANIES REACHED OUT TO THE CITY PROACTIVELY JUST TO SAY, HEY, I'M HERE, OR I'M DOING BUSINESS IN OTHER TEXAS CITIES AND WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR TECHNOLOGY DOES OR DOESN'T DO? HAVE THEY REACHED OUT? I HAD AN EMAIL THIS MORNING.

UH, WE GET THOSE EMAILS FREQUENTLY, , THERE'S CERTAINLY COMPANIES, UH, BASED IN AUSTIN, BUT ALSO NATIONAL THAT, UH, HAVE BEEN REACHING OUT INTERESTED.

THEY SAW WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE CODE CHANGES IN THE SPRING, THEY SAW THE MAILING OF CITATIONS BEING A POTENTIAL OPTION.

[00:40:01]

AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH.

I APPRECIATE HEARING THAT.

I KNOW THE DISCUSSION AROUND WHERE DATA IS STORED IS SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE CARE ABOUT IN NOT JUST AUSTIN, BUT IN TEXAS RIGHT NOW.

UM, AND I REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IF WE END UP GOING THAT ROUTE, THAT WE HAVE ALL THE SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE TO BE ABLE TO SAY, THIS INFORMATION IS NOT BEING SHARED.

UM, IT SEEMS LIKE COMPANY TO COMPANY, THERE MAY BE DIFFERENT PRACTICES, BUT I REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT THE GENERAL PUBLIC BEING WEARY, UM, AND NOT NECESSARILY TRUSTING THAT DATA COLLECTION IS NOT BEING SHARED ELSEWHERE.

AND SO I KNOW YOU'RE AWARE OF SOME OF THE, THE FOLKS THAT DO THAT WORK IN AUSTIN TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, DATA IS NOT BEING COLLECTED AND SHARED OUTSIDE OF OUR JURISDICTION.

AND SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE IF THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE HAPPENING, THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL THINK ABOUT IN THESE, IN THESE MEETINGS TO SAY WE CAN'T LET THIS INFORMATION GET TO PLACES THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY AT LARGE DEFINITELY DON'T WANNA SEE.

YES, MADAM CHAIR, I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON, ON, UH, THE LAST TWO QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAD.

YES, THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY COMPANIES HERE IN AUSTIN.

THEY, THEY HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING ALL THE PROCEEDINGS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKING PLACE, AND THEY WOULD LOVE TO DO SOME TYPE OF PILOT HERE.

SO JUST TO, TO LET YOU KNOW IS, AS OUR TEAM SAID, WE HAVE COMPANIES RIGHT HERE IN OUR CITY.

ON THE OTHER ITEM THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, RELATED TO, UH, BUDGET.

I, I WANNA REITERATE THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT THEY'RE DOING FROM A, A, A STANDPOINT OF ENFORCEMENT IS REALLY FOR COMPLIANCE.

AND JUST AS WE HEARD FROM THE VICE CHAIR THAT THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE IS IF THERE IS A, A SITUATION THAT ONCE A ONE TICKET ACTUALLY OR CITATION GOES OUT, THAT THAT BEHAVIOR CHANGE TAKES PLACE.

SO I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE DOING ARE, ARE REALLY TRYING TO DRIVE THE COMPLIANCE, NOT THE REVENUE PIECE.

I APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH.

DID YOU HAVE ANOTHER THOUGHT COUNCIL MEMBER? VELA? I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE YOUR, UH, COMMENTS AROUND, UH, DATA PRIVACY.

I, I DON'T WANNA BE A A, A LUDDITE AND AND SAY, NO, WE'RE NOT GONNA, YOU KNOW, TURN TO ANY, BUT IF WE DO, WE HAVE TO DO IT IN A VERY CAREFUL AND CAUTIOUS WAY AND BE RESPECTFUL OF THE DATA THAT WE'RE COLLECTING AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE KEEPING IT CONFIDENTIAL.

UH, SO I, I JUST, I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND, AND I COMPLETELY SHARE YOUR CONCERNS.

YEAH, I I THINK THAT'S, UM, A GREAT POINT.

AND JUST UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF US ARE NOT DATA TECHNICIANS AND HOW EASY IT IS TO COPY AND PASTE THINGS.

WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, HOW IS THAT WORKING ON THE BACKEND? HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT THE FOLKS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE TO US AND TO THE CITY AT LARGE ARE FOLLOWING THOSE PROTOCOLS AND HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT EVEN IF FOLKS MEAN THE BEST THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTING IN, IN THE BEST WAY FORWARD.

I'M SORRY, JOE, ONE MORE.

AND AGAIN, AND I, I UNDERSTAND AND RECOGNIZE, AND AGAIN, SIMILAR PUBLIC SAFETY CONVERSATION GOING ON, UH, IN ADDITION TO THE TRANSPORTATION, THERE ARE EFFICIENCIES TO BE GAINED.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT ACROSS MULTIPLE AREAS, BUT WE JUST HAVE TO GO IN EYES WIDE OPEN, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE SITUATION IS AND, AND MAKE SURE WHATEVER SYSTEMS THAT WE DESIGN ARE, ARE, ARE VERY SECURE.

WELL, I APPRECIATE THE UPDATE.

IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE, I THINK THAT WRAPS UP THAT PRESENTATION.

OUR NEXT ITEM NUMBER THREE WILL BE AN UPDATE ON THE OPERATION OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN THE CITY AND APPLICABLE REGULATIONS.

THANK YOU, COUNCIL.

THANKS.

[3. Update on operation of autonomous vehicles in the City and applicable regulations. [Rachel Castignoli, Senior Business Process Consultant - Transportation Public Works]. Sponsors: Council Member Paige Ellis, and Council Member Zohaib ''Zo'' Qadri]

WELCOME, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE TIME TODAY.

UH, IT'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT SINCE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE A FULL UPDATE ON AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE OPERATIONS HERE IN AUSTIN.

QUITE A LOT HAS CHANGED IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS, AND I THINK WE'RE STARTING JUST TO SEE THE, THE INDUSTRY REALLY, UM, EMERGE.

UM, THEY'RE VERY INTERESTED IN AUSTIN.

THEY'RE VERY INTERESTED IN SEEING HOW OPERATIONS ARE GONNA HAPPEN BOTH NOW AND MOVING FORWARD.

AND, AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE RAPID GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF VEHICLE THAT ARE OPERATING, UH, NOT ONLY IN THE KIND OF EARLY PHASES OF, OF TESTING, BUT ALSO NOW DEPLOYING FOR COMMERCIAL AVAILABLE RIDES.

SO, UH, WE'RE EXCITED TO GIVE YOU THIS UPDATE.

THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO DISCUSSING WITH YOU.

AND, UH, WE'VE GOT LIEUTENANT WHITE HERE WITH A PD WHO'S PART OF OUR, UH, AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE WORKING GROUP HERE AT THE CITY AND BEEN A VERY STRONG KIND OF LEADER IN THIS SPACE FROM THE PUBLIC SAFETY SIDE OF THINGS.

SO, UH, RACHEL CAST GONNA BE OUR SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT PROVIDING THE PRESENTATION.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO DISCUSSION.

THANKS.

UM,

[00:45:01]

AND SO JUST THIS MORNING WE HEARD THAT WAYMO IS EXPANDING ITS, UM, DEPLOYMENT ZONE BY ALMOST DOUBLE WHERE CURRENTLY WAS.

SO THIS IS VERY APROPOS.

UM, AS YOU KNOW, UNDER TEXAS LAW, WE CAN'T, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS CANNOT REGULATE OR PERMIT AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

THERE WAS A LAW THAT WAS PASSED IN THE LEGISLATURE, IT WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1ST, BUT THE DMV ANTICIPATES ACTUAL ENFORCEMENT NOT TO BEGIN UNTIL THE SPRING.

UM, THAT WILL CREATE A PERMITTING SYSTEM, UM, BETWEEN THE TEXAS DMV AND THE DEPARTMENT OF UM, REGULATIONS THAT WILL, UM, AV COMPANIES WILL HAVE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION, RECEIVE A PERMIT FOR COMMERCIAL USE, AND THE DMV WILL THEN HAVE THE POWER TO SUSPEND, REVOKE, OR CANCEL THOSE PERMITS.

ANOTHER PART OF THAT LAW, SB 28 0 7, WAS, UM, TO REQUIRE A FIRST RESPONDER PLAN FOR ALL COMMERCIAL AVS.

THAT PLAN WOULD INCLUDE HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH SUPPORT STAFF, HOW TO SAFELY MOVE THE VEHICLE FROM THE ROAD, AND HOW TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE AV IS AN AUTONOMOUS MODE.

UM, THIS IS A, THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WE'VE REALLY ADVOCATED FOR DURING THE LEDGE, UM, OURSELVES, UH, FIRE POLICE AND, UH, EMS AS WELL.

SO WE'RE REALLY HAPPY TO SEE THAT IN THERE.

AND THE TEXAS DMV WILL BE THE OWNER OF THAT PROCESS.

UM, THIS IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT HAPPENS, UM, THAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED IN AUSTIN WITH AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

WE HAVE A MAPPING PHASE WHERE VEHICLE'S BEING DRIVEN, BUT IT'S GOT ALL THE TECH ON IT, IT'S PULLING IN THE DATA.

WE HAVE A TESTING PHASE THAT'S USUALLY THERE'S A PERSON IN THE VEHICLE, BUT, UM, IT IS MOVING AROUND AUTONOMOUSLY.

A SAFETY DRIVER'S TYPICALLY PRESENT, THEY MIGHT NOT BE.

AND THEN WE HAVE A DEPLOYMENT PHASE WHERE THE VEHICLES ARE ACCEPTING COMMERCIAL PASSENGERS.

FREQUENTLY WE'RE SEEING TWO OF THESE PHASES OCCUR SIMULTANEOUSLY FOR A COMPANY.

SO AS AN EXAMPLE, RIGHT NOW, TESLA IS DEPLOYED AND THEY ARE STILL DOING SOME TESTING ON, UM, MORE ROADWAYS OR SOMEONE MIGHT BE MAPPING IN ONE AREA, TESTING IN ANOTHER, DEPLOYED IN THIRD.

SO, UM, BUT THESE ARE THE THREE PHASES THAT AVS GO THROUGH HERE.

THIS IS WHAT YOU WOULD CURRENTLY SEE IN AUSTIN AND NO LAW REQUIRES ANYONE TO TELL THE DOT OR US, UM, HOW MANY VEHICLES THEY HAVE.

SO WE HAVE WORKED WITH THE AV COMPANIES TO GET THESE NUMBERS.

THEY MIGHT NOT BE COMPLETELY ACCURATE.

UM, WE'VE GOT THE WAYMO'S THAT Y'ALL HAVE SEEN HERE.

THERE'S AT LEAST A HUNDRED OF THOSE.

WE HAVE PROBABLY 11 TO 12 DEPLOYED ROBO TAXIS, BUT ANOTHER HUNDRED OR SO.

UM, TA TESLA IS BEING TESTED.

UM, VOLKSWAGEN, A DMT IS TESTING 12.

THAT ZOOX HIGHLANDER, YOU SEE ABOUT 20 OF THOSE THAT ARE IN TESTING MODE.

BUT THE DEPLOYED VEHICLE WILL BE THAT, UM, TEALISH VEHICLE.

THAT VEHICLE DOESN'T HAVE A STEERING WHEEL OR HUMAN CONTROLLED BRAKES.

THAT VEHICLE IS DEPLOYED IN LAS VEGAS RIGHT NOW.

SO WE DO ANTICIPATE THOSE COMING NEXT YEAR.

UM, AND THEN AV RIDE HAS ABOUT 12 HYUNDAI IION.

UM, LIKE LOUIS SAID, WE HAVE A SAFETY WORKING GROUP.

CAN YOU GO BACK? THANK YOU.

UM, AND THIS GROUP'S BEEN TOGETHER, BEEN DOING WORK SINCE JUNE OF 2023, UM, KIND OF WHEN CREW STARTED.

UH, WE CAN'T REGULATE, BUT WE DO HAVE AN EXPECTATIONS DOCUMENT.

UM, IN THAT EXPECTATIONS DOCUMENT.

WE, YOU KNOW, EXPECT TRAININGS FOR OUR FOLKS.

WE, UM, UH, WE FACILITATE COMMUNICATIONS SO THAT PEOPLE CAN, WE CAN TALK TO THE AV COMPANIES WITH ONE VOICE AND, UM, WE ALSO COLLECT THE DATA AND HAVE OUR DATA.

UM, AND WE MEET PRETTY REGULARLY TO GO OVER WHERE WE'RE SEEING INCREASED INCIDENTS.

UM, AND WHAT POLICE FIRE AND EMS ARE ALSO SEEING.

I WILL SAY THAT THE AIRPORT IS NOW INVOLVED IN THAT BECAUSE AVS ARE EXTREMELY INTERESTED IN GOING TO THE AIRPORT.

SO THIS, UH, SLIDE SHOWS SOME OF THE DATA THAT WE SHARE WITH AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE COMPANIES.

OUR EXPECTATION IS THAT AVS CAN OPERATE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY WITHOUT ANY DATA FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE LIGHTS AND SIRENS, UM, TO RECOGNIZE A SCHOOL ZONE SIGN TO RECOGNIZE AN EMERGENCY SCENE.

HOWEVER, BECAUSE WE SUPPORT THE SAFETY OF THESE DEPLOYMENTS, WE DO SHARE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE HAVE.

A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AND WE'RE JUST, UM, MERGING IT INTO A MAP FOR THEM.

SO WE SHARE WHERE ALL OUR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS, AS WELL AS SPECIAL EVENTS, SINCE THAT SEEMS TO BE A, UM, AN ISSUE FOR SOME AV COMPANIES.

WE ALSO SHARE SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL ZONES FOR EMERGENCIES.

AND THIS ONLY APPLIES FOR FIRE AND EMS FROM LARGE EMERGENCIES, OR WHAT THEY CALL HIGH PRIORITY EMERGENCIES.

MULTIPLE ENGINES ARE BEING DISPATCHED.

WE, UM, SEND THAT RIGHT OUT OUT OF OUR COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH SYSTEM DIRECTLY TO THE AV COMPANY.

OUR EXPECTATION IS AN EXCLUSION ZONE AROUND THAT EMERGENCY SCENE OF 1000 FEET FOR ONE HOUR, UM, THAT ALIGNS WITH SAN FRANCISCO AND PHOENIX.

WE BUILT THAT, UH, PROCESS, THE THREE OF

[00:50:01]

US TOGETHER.

UM, AND SINCE THOSE ARE THREE, THE THREE BIGGEST CITIES WAYMO ARE OPERATING IN, WE HOPE THAT IT MAKES IT EASIER FOR THEM AS WELL.

AND THAT BOTTOM SHOWING THE EMAIL THAT THEY GET WITH THE LAB.

LONG.

I'M GONNA LET, UH, LIEUTENANT WHITE TALK A LITTLE ABOUT THE CITATIONS PROCESS.

WE CAN CITE AVS, BUT IT'S A LITTLE COMPLICATED.

SO, UH, UNFORTUNATELY, LIKE SHE SAID, IT'S VERY CUMBERSOME AND COMPLICATED.

WE'VE ONLY ISSUED THREE TO DATE SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN NOVEMBER, UH, BECAUSE OF THE, UH, PROCESS ESSENTIALLY.

SO THE CITATION AS WE KNOW IT, WHERE AN OFFICER FILLS OUT A TICKET AND GIVES IT TO YOU, UH, WHEN YOU SIGN IT, IT'S A PROMISE TO APPEAR.

SO BECAUSE THESE ARE AUTOMATED VEHICLES, YOU HAVE NO ONE TO ISSUE THE CITATION TO.

SO THE PROCESS THEN BECOMES THE OFFICER HAS TO GO BACK, WRITE A COMPLAINT, LIKE AN AFFIDAVIT, EXPLAINING WHAT HAPPENED, IDENTIFYING THE VEHICLE, AND THEN FROM THERE HE HAS TO SEND IT TO ME.

I HAVE TO THEN RUN THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE VEHICLE THROUGH THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S WEBSITE TO SEE WHO'S THE REGISTERED AGENT IN TEXAS, BECAUSE THAT'S WHO IS ULTIMATELY GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DEALING WITH THE CITATION.

SO WE THEN COMPLETE THE AFFIDAVIT BASED ON THAT INFORMATION, SEND IT BACK TO THE OFFICER WHO SIGNS IT AND HAS TO HAVE IT WITNESSED BY A SECOND OFFICER.

AND THEN FROM THERE IT'S EMAILED TO THE MUNICIPAL COURT AND THEY HANDLE IT FROM THAT POINT.

SO, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IT'S A LOT MORE OF A PROCESS AND MOST OFFICERS JUST AREN'T GONNA BE WILLING TO DEAL WITH IT LIKE THEY NORMALLY WOULD JUST BY E ISSUING A CITATION AT THE TIME OF THE PROCESS.

SO FAR AS I KNOW, WE ARE THE ONLY CITY IN AMERICA THAT DOES ISSUE CITATIONS TO AVS.

UM, BUT OTHER CITIES HAVE CALLED US AND ASKED ABOUT OUR PROCESS.

UM, IT'S REALLY STATE COURTS OR STATE SPECIFIC.

SO, UM, WE ALSO CAN AND DO ISSUE PARKING VIOLATIONS TO AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

A PARKING CITATION IS AGAINST A, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT A CAR.

UM, SO WE ARE ABLE TO DO THAT.

AND THAT IS ALSO THROUGH EMAIL.

THIS IS OUR, UH, PUBLIC DASHBOARD.

IT'S AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE.

THE LAST TIME WE WERE HERE, Y'ALL ASKED FOR US TO MAKE THIS AVAILABLE.

UM, IT IS, I BELIEVE, THE MOST VISITED DASHBOARD AT TPW .

UM, AND, UH, WE ARE CONSTANTLY GETTING FEEDBACK FROM OUR RESIDENTS AS WELL AS POLICE AND FIRE ABOUT WHERE THEY'RE SEEING THINGS.

UM, ISSUES WITH AVS, WE DON'T DO ANY VALIDATION OR VERIFICATION OF THOSE CLAIMS. WE PUT THEM RIGHT IN HERE.

UM, WE CATEGORIZE THEM.

WHAT WE'RE USING THIS FOR IS TO TELL US WHERE AND WHEN WE'RE HAVING ISSUES SO THAT WE CAN WORK WITH THE AV COMPANIES TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SOLVE THEM.

SO WE KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF ISSUES AROUND THE MOODY CENTER AND THERE, UM, ARE INFRASTRUCTURE REASONS FOR THAT.

AND THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, UH, CONES AND THERE ARE POLICE DOING HAND SIGNALS AND THERE'S JUST A LOT GOING ON AROUND THERE THAT REGULAR DRIVERS STRUGGLE WITH AS WELL DURING, UH, EVENTS.

SO WE ARE ALWAYS WORKING WITH OUR AV PARTNERS TO WORK ON, UH, THAT AREA AS WELL AS BARTON SPRINGS BETWEEN LAMAR AND SOUTH FIRST.

THAT'S ANOTHER AREA WE SEE THINGS.

UM, AND IT'S JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT THE BARBECUE, YOU HAVE THE PALMER CENTER.

SO, UM, THOSE ARE TWO PLACES WE'VE REALLY SEEN THINGS EMERGE.

PREVIOUSLY IN 2023, THE VEHICLES THAT WERE HERE STRUGGLED WITH LIGHTS AND SIRENS.

UM, INCREASINGLY THAT HAS SOMEWHAT BEEN RESOLVED.

UM, THE VEHICLES WE'RE SEEING TODAY ARE REALLY STRUGGLING WITH POLICE HAND SIGNALS.

THAT'S PROBABLY OUR, ONE OF OUR MOST COMMON ISSUES.

SO EITHER IGNORING THEM OR, UM, YOU KNOW, REACTING NOT THE WAY THE OFFICER'S ASKING.

SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING PRETTY FREQUENTLY WITH, UH, BOTH A BOTH DEPLOYED AV COMPANIES ON, ON SOLVING FOR NEXT SLIDE.

UM, SO I JUST TALKED A LITTLE ABOUT HOW WE'RE USING THAT DATA.

WE ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON THE GEOGRAPHIC ASPECTS OF IT.

UM, YOU KNOW, IS OUR INFRASTRUCTURE GOOD HERE? IS THIS A PLACE WHERE HUMAN DRIVERS ARE STRUGGLING? SO WE CAN PULL OUR VISION ZERO AND OUR CRASH DATA AND SEE IF WE'RE SEEING OVERLAP BETWEEN THE AUTONOMOUS DRIVER AND THE HUMAN DRIVER.

UM, AND WE CAN AND HAVE MADE APPROPRIATE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS LIKE RE STRIPING OUTSIDE FIRE STATIONS, UM, TO HELP BOTH AVS AND DRIVERS UNDERSTAND HOW THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE, UH, REACTING.

WE SHARE ALL OF THE DATA THAT BACKS THIS DASHBOARD UP WITH, UM, TXDOT AS WELL AS NHTSA, THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION SAFETY ASSOCIATION, WHO REGULATES AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

WE ALSO SHARE ALL WITH THE AV COMPANIES, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN DO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ON THEIR MODELS.

IF THEY NEED TO, HOW TO REACH OUT TO US.

UH, WE DO A LOT OF COLLABORATION, WHICH IS REALLY GOOD AND FUN.

WE FIND THAT A ISD, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND CAP METRO ARE REALLY BIG STAKEHOLDERS, UM, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.

SO WE WORK WITH THEM TO SHARE PROCEDURES, TALK ABOUT, UM, WHAT TO EXPECT, HOW TO STOP THE VEHICLE

[00:55:01]

UM, WE ALSO DO AN ANNUAL AV STAKEHOLDER MEETING IN PETTING ZOO.

YOU CAN SEE IT THERE, UM, WHERE PEOPLE GET TO COME IN AND SEE THE VEHICLES, UM, AND ALSO HEAR FROM US ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING AND HOW WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH MAKING THEM SAFER.

WE WORK WITH OUR STATE AND, UH, FEDERAL PARTNERS A LOT.

WE, UH, ARE CONSTANTLY IN CONTACT WITH FHWA AND NITSA ABOUT WHATEVER THEIR NEEDS ARE SO THAT THEY CAN DO, UH, FEDERAL REGULATIONS.

BUT WE'RE ALSO, UM, LEWIS SITS ON THE TEXAS CONNECTED AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE TASK FORCE, WHICH IS KIND OF SETTING THE STATE POLICY.

AND THEN WE DO PARTICIPATE IN THE SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS, UM, ON THEIR ON-ROAD, UH, AUTOMATION TO GIVE FEEDBACK 'CAUSE THEY'RE WRITING THE BEST PRACTICES.

SO WE'RE TRYING AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO BRING OUR EXPERIENCE AND OUR NEEDS, ESPECIALLY THE NEEDS OF FIRE POLICE AND EMS, UM, TO ALL THE PLACES WE CAN SO THAT AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE DEPLOYMENTS BECOME SAFER AND, UM, SAFER IN AUSTIN AND EVERYWHERE.

AND THAT'S IT.

I THINK WE'RE PERHAPS HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

RIGHT.

I'LL OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

LET'S START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.

I KNOW YOU HAD MENTIONED THIS AT A PREVIOUS MEETING, JUST NOTICING HOW THEY'RE OPERATING IN, IN YOUR DISTRICT AND HAD SOME CONCERNS ABOUT IT.

UM, AND HONESTLY TODAY, I, I DON'T HAVE ANY CON I WILL SAY I'M A GARDENER, SO I'M OUTSIDE A LOT WITH MY BACK TO THE STREET AND I KNOW WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE AND THAT IS CREEPY.

I KNOW WHEN THEY'RE COMING.

UM, THAT SAID THOUGH, MY CONCERN WAS LISTENING TO YOU TALK ABOUT THE MULTI-TIERED PROCESS BY WHICH WE ENFORCE.

UM, AND IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE THAT'S, IT'S SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THESE PROCESSES WHERE IT HAS TO TOUCH NINE SETS OF HANDS.

I'M LIKE, THAT'S THREE HOURS PER EMPLOYEE WITH $33 AN HOUR.

HOW MUCH DID IT COST US TO GET 12 BUCKS OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE THING IS COMPARATIVELY.

SO LIKE THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS THING, I MEAN, WHAT'S THAT? THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF LIKE DIMINISHING RETURNS, IT SOUNDS LIKE THE JU SAYING WORKED THE SQUEEZE THERE, IN WHICH CASE IF, IF IT'S, IF IT'S A PUBLIC SAFETY CONCERN, YOU KNOW, JUST NOT DOING IT IS NOT AN OPTION.

IN WHICH CASE IT SOUNDS LIKE THE NEXT BEST THING WOULD HAVE TO BE TO HAVE THESE COMPANIES INCUR THAT COST.

WE CAN'T INCUR THAT COST FOR THEM TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH OUR TRAFFIC REGULATIONS.

IN WHICH CASE IT SOUNDS AGAIN, LIKE THE CONVERSATION IS BIGGER.

UM, I, I DON'T, NOBODY ELSE GETS TO OPERATE, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY ON OUR ROADS.

SO, UM, I GUESS THE QUESTION IS HOW DO WE INITIATE THAT BIGGER CONVERSATION AND WHO'S THE WE NOT IT ? UH, THAT, THAT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT WE BROUGHT UP TO THE, THE STATE WITH REGARD TO LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS.

AND I KNOW PART OF THE CONVERSATION WE'RE GONNA BE HAVING IS WITH THE DPS REGARDING THIS BILL.

UH, WE'VE HAD SOME SUGGESTIONS ABOUT MAYBE THE STATE SHOULD IMPLEMENT A PROCESS BY WHICH OFFICERS CAN WRITE A CITATION DIRECTLY TO THE COMPANY.

BE IT THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY LEAVE THE COPY OF THE CITATION IN THE VEHICLE OR THEY'RE ABLE TO EMAIL IT.

HOWEVER THE CASE IS, WHERE IT CAN MAKE THAT PROCESS.

LIKE YOU SAID THAT I'VE HEARD THAT A LOT WITH THE JUICE BEING WORTH THE SQUEEZE OF THEM HAVING TO GO THROUGH THIS WHOLE PROCESS JUST TO CITE THE AV MM-HMM .

UH, WHEN THEY'VE GOT SO MANY PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES THEY'VE GOTTA DEAL WITH AS IT IS.

SO THAT'S WHERE WE'VE STARTED THE CONVERSATION.

UH, AS A MATTER OF FACT, THEY'RE MEETING AT THE END OF THE MONTH WITH DPS, UH, UH, ONE OF MY, UH, CORPORALS IN THE SPECIAL EVENTS OFFICE.

AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT THE DISCUSSION'S GONNA BE ABOUT IS A CITATION PROCESS THAT HOPEFULLY WILL BE SOME KIND OF STATE TYPE OF PROCESS.

INTERESTING.

SO, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT CAME TO MIND, I AM, I WAS FORCED TO GET A NEW IPHONE 16.

LISTEN, I WAS NOT A WILLING PARTICIPANT IN THE PROCESS.

THEY DON'T CARRY MY PHONE ANYMORE, .

AND SO, UM, AS I WAS SETTING IT UP, IT SAID THE THING ABOUT HOW I CAN MAKE IT SO THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT CAN OPEN MY PHONE.

YOU HAVE LIKE A BYPASS CODE OR SOMETHING.

AND SO IT SEEMS TO ME, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GET ONE OF THE ALIEN CARS, YOU PRESS THE BUTTON TO UNLOCK THE CAR AND THAT'S SEEMS LIKE YOU GUYS SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE A BYPASS CODE.

JUST CLICK IT, OPEN THE DOOR, TOSS THAT PUPPY IN THERE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A DESIGNATED SPOT FOR IT.

YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE SPOT WHERE AT THE END OF THE DAY WHEN YOU CLEAN OUT THE CAR WEAR POTENTIAL CITATIONS WOULD BE OR WHATEVER.

THE ZONE AND THEN NOT REENTER? SO WE CAN'T SET UP GEOFENCES, ONLY THE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE COMPANIES CAN MAKE DECISION.

THAT WAS, THAT WAS ONE OF THE SUGGESTIONS I HAD MADE WAS WE, THEY WILL ALREADY LET US GET ACCESS.

'CAUSE WE'LL HAVE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM THROUGH THE TWO-WAY RADIO.

AND YOU COULD EVEN EXPLAIN, I'M STOPPING IT BECAUSE OF X, Y, Z, I'M ISSUED THE CITATION AND I'M PLACING THE CITATION OF IN THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT OF THE VEHICLE, WHATEVER THE CASE IS.

WELL, I'M, I'M INTERESTED TO SEE HOW THAT EVOLVES.

UM, THAT'S AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION.

ONE OF THE OTHER QUESTIONS I HAD WAS THIS WHOLE, UM, LIKE THE ONE HOUR EMERGENCY ZONE CLEARANCE.

UM, I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW IF THE CAR'S ALREADY WITHIN THE ZONE, DOES IT, UH, DISABLED THE CAR OR DOES IT ALLOW IT TO LEAVE

[01:00:01]

RIGHT.

THAT'S I'M SAYING.

SO WHAT'S THE PROTOCOL FOR THEM? THEY USUALLY ALLOW IT, SO THEY'RE GETTING IT AT EXACTLY THE SAME TIME THAT IT'S COMING IN ESSENTIALLY TO THE 9 1 1.

SO THEY'RE GETTING IT BEFORE, UM, USUALLY EMERGENCY RESPONSES ON SCENE, SO THEY'RE ABLE TO LEAVE THE ZONE.

UM, AND YEAH, THIS IS TO PREVENT, WE SAW A LOT OF ISSUES IN SAN FRANCISCO AND SO THEY REALLY WERE THE LEADERS ON LIKE, THIS IS WHAT WE NEED AND WE IMPLEMENTED IT BEFORE WE HAD TOO MANY ISSUES HERE.

EXCELLENT.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I APPRECIATE IT.

AND I HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION, AND IT WAS, UM, ABOUT THE LIGHTS AND SIRENS AND HAND SIGNALS.

AND I'M JUST WONDERING, DOES THE COMPANY SOUND AS THOUGH THESE ARE FIXES THAT ARE COMING SOON? OR, I MEAN, AGAIN, WHAT'S THE REGULATION THERE? ANY OTHER DRIVER WOULD BE EXPECTED TO FOLLOW TRAFFIC LAWS THAT, TRAFFIC COMMANDS THAT WERE PROVIDED BY A MEMBER OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.

AND IF THEY CAN'T COMPLY, THEN I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW WE, I MEAN, IF YOU'RE NOT IN COMPLIANCE, YOU'RE NOT IN COMPLIANCE.

AND SO WE'VE HAD, RACHEL CAN ATTEST TO NUMEROUS CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR PROBLEM.

UH, WE OFTEN GET THE SAME ANSWERS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IT AND WE, WE STILL OCCASIONALLY WILL SEE THAT ISSUE.

I, I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY, THEY'VE NEVER GIVEN US A TIMEFRAME THAT IT'LL BE, YOU KNOW, EVER CORRECTED SO TO SPEAK.

UM, I, I CAN'T EVEN SAY THAT WE'VE NECESSARILY SEEN IMPROVEMENT IN IT.

SO WHAT, WHAT OFTEN HAPPENS IS WHEN IT FREEZES UP, BECAUSE IT'S EITHER NOT OBEYING THE TRAFFIC, UH, SIGNALS THAT THE OFFICER'S GIVEN, UH, THE OFFICER HAS TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE COMPANY THROUGH THE, UH, EITHER THE PHONE OR THROUGH THE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION IN THE VEHICLE, AND THEN THE OFFICER HAS TO PHYSICALLY MOVE IT SOMEWHERE TO GET IT OUTTA THE WAY MM-HMM .

SO THAT WHATEVER THE PROCESS IS CAN CONTINUE BE, AND IT USUALLY HAPPENS DURING SPECIAL EVENTS DOWNTOWN MM-HMM .

UH, IT JUST, THE VEHICLE FREEZES UP, IT CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHICH WAY TO GO AND DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE OFFICER'S TRYING TO GET IT TO DO.

AND THEY, THEY HAVE CLAIMED TO BE WORKING AT IT ON IT, BUT AT THIS POINT WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE EVIDENCE THAT INDICATES THAT, UH, THEY'VE CORRECTED THE ISSUE.

INTERESTING.

IT SEEMS LIKE THEY HAVE A LOT OF AUTONOMY IN MAKING THE DECISIONS ABOUT HOW TO OPERATE ON OUR ROADS.

YEAH, AND I'LL I'LL JUST ADD TOO, IF I COULD THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESS THAT'S LAID OUT WITHIN THE STATE LEGISLATION THAT DID PASS IS ALLOWING FOR THAT KIND OF PERMITTING PROCESS FOR THE DMV TO HAVE THAT OWNERSHIP OVER THAT.

WE'VE MET WITH THEM AND THEY'VE SAID, YOU KNOW, IF YOU ARE CONTINUOUSLY SEEING ISSUES, WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THAT MM-HMM .

AND THAT MIGHT INFLUENCE THEIR ABILITY TO PROVIDE THAT PERMIT OR OPERATION, OPERATIONAL ABILITY FOR THAT COMPANY IN THE FUTURE.

MM.

SO THAT IS THE KIND OF ONLY PATH AVAILABLE TO US AT THIS POINT WITHOUT FURTHER STATE LEGISLATIVE CHANGES OR SOME OTHER, YOU KNOW, PIECE OF THOSE RULES, PROCESSES BEING MORE EXPLICIT ABOUT IT.

INTERESTING.

APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

THEM ABOUT PICKUP DROP OFF OPPORTUNITIES.

OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE? LET'S GO TO VICE CHAIR CADRY.

GREAT, THANK YOU.

UM, SO WE'RE, OUR OFFICE WAS ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO HAVE A MEETING WITH TESLA AND WE NEVER SHOWED UP.

SO, UH, I HAVE A QUESTION.

MAYBE YOU GUYS HAVE MORE CONTEXT THAN I DO BECAUSE I HAVE, I HAVE NONE.

UH, DID TESLA ACTUALLY EVER DO ANY TESTING ON THE ROADS HERE IN AUSTIN? YES, THEY'VE BEEN TESTING ON THE ROADS THEY HAVE.

OKAY, GREAT.

AND THEN DO YOU KNOW HOW THE EXCLUSION ZONE APPLIES FOR SPECIAL EVENTS? I-E-A-C-L SOUTH BY, UM, WHEN, WHEN IT COMES TO THIS, WE CANNOT EXCLUDE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES FROM ANY PLACE THAT WE CANNOT EXCLUDE REGULAR VEHICLES.

WE DO MEET VERY FREQUENTLY.

WE MET YESTERDAY, UM, WITH SOME AV COMPANIES TO TALK ABOUT THE MLS ALL-STAR GAME IN Q2 NOW THAT BOTH, UM, DEPLOYMENTS ARE UP IN THE AREA.

UM, AND WE WILL HAVE A BIG MEETING EVERY YEAR FOR ALL OUR AV COMPANIES TO TALK ABOUT A CF ONE MOVE-IN WEEKEND UT FOOTBALL.

UM, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WE TRY TO BRING THE AV COMPANIES PHYSICALLY TO THE MOODY CENTER AND DKR AND WALK AROUND IT, UM, WITH AUSTIN POLICE TO TALK ABOUT OUR EXPECTATIONS, BUT WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF MOODY CENTER ISSUES.

UM, SO YEAH, WE CANNOT LIMIT THEM FROM ANYWHERE WE WOULD ALLOW A REGULAR VEHICLE.

IS IS THERE A WAY TO JUST KIND OF WORK WITH THEM ON MAKING SURE, 'CAUSE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE, THE ALLSTAR GAME THAT'S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK AND THEN, YOU KNOW, A C L'S GONNA BE HERE BEFORE WE KNOW IT SOUTH BY, UM, YOU KNOW, DROP OFF ZONES ON WHERE FOLKS SHOULD BE BEING DROPPED OFF AND NOT, I MEAN, WE'VE, THERE WAS A, I THINK THERE'S A VIDEO ON ONLINE.

SOMEONE WAS BEING, IT STOPPED ON AN, ON AN ON RAMP, UM, AND LET SOMEONE OUT.

UH, THERE, THERE'S A STAFFER IN OUR OFFICE WHO, UH, WROTE IT ONCE AND IT JUST STOPPED IN FRONT OF CITY HALL ON CESAR CHAVEZ.

THAT'S NOT SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU SHOULD STOP.

UM, SO IS THERE, IS THERE CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING AROUND THAT? YEAH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE, UM, WHEN WE GET FEEDBACK FROM PEOPLE, WE'RE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO THE AV COMPANY AND FIND KIND OF SPECIFIC AREAS, UH, AND THEY CAN GEOFENCE FROM LETTING OUT IN THAT PLACE.

UM, WE HAVE TALKED TO

[01:05:01]

UM, THEY ASSURE US THAT LIKE ANY RIDESHARE, THEY CAN DO IT WHERE ANY RIDESHARE DOES AND THAT THEY'RE ACTING THE SAME WAY AN UBER AND LYFT WOULD.

BUT, UM, WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEM, ESPECIALLY AROUND ACL AREAS THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE AND NOT, NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THEM.

WE'RE REALLY, I MEAN, THE REAL CONCERN IS THAT THEY'LL BLOCK, UM, LIKE NECESSARY EMERGENCY VEHICLES.

SO, UM, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO, TO WORK OUT AREAS WHERE THEY CAN'T GO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE KEEPING THOSE LANES OPEN AND WE'LL HAVE TO MAKE THOSE AREAS WHERE NO, NO VEHICLES CAN GO.

AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION ON THE, UH, NIFTY MAP, I DUNNO WHAT PAGE IT'S ON, BUT THE LITTLE, THE LITTLE, THE LITTLE NIFTY THE MAP, UH, THAT I THINK EVERYONE'S WAS EXCITED TO SEE AND, AND LOOK AT, UH, THERE'S SPIKES ON, ON THE, ON THE INCIDENT CHART.

UM, I MEAN ONE, ONE IS OCTOBER, 2024, I WOULD THINK, YOU KNOW, IT SPRINTS, ACL HAPPENS ONE, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S MARCH OF 25.

ARE ARE THESE BECAUSE OF, OF FESTIVALS? IS IT BECAUSE THERE'S MORE, YOU KNOW, CARDS ON THE GROUND? UM, THE OCTOBER 20, 24 1 IS ABOUT THE GEORGIA, TEXAS GAME, I SUSPECT.

OH, OKAY.

THAT'S RIGHT.

AND, UH, THE, THE MARCH ONE IS ALSO RELATED TO SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, SO YES, IT IS.

UM, WE CAN'T ALWAYS PREDICT WHERE WE'RE GOING, WHERE A PD IS PLANNING ON SHUTTING DOWN ROADS.

SO WE REALLY STRUGGLE WITH, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY DO BETTER WHEN THEY HAVE THE INFORMATION IN ADVANCE AND AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, WE GIVE THEM INFORMATION IN ADVANCE, BUT, UM, EVENTS AS LARGE AS SOUTH BY ROAD CLOSURES ARE, ARE HAPPENING KIND OF, UM, AS NEEDED.

AND IT'S, IT'S HARD TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM DURING, DURING THE EVENT AMOUNT.

GO AHEAD.

CRASHES INVOLVING AV VEHICLES, HOW IS, HOW MANY, WHAT ARE WE SEEING? WHAT ARE Y'ALL SEEING ON IN TERMS OF CRASHES? SURE.

UM, I THINK IN AUSTIN WE'VE HAD ABOUT 64 REPORTED CRASHES.

THOSE ARE CRASHES REPORTED TO THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION SAFETY, UH, ASSOCIATION WHO DOES MONITOR ALL AV CRASHES.

UM, UNDER THE NEW ADMINISTRATION, THE RULES AROUND SHARING THAT DATA HAVE CHANGED.

SO WE DO ANTICIPATE SEEING FEWER CRASHES.

UM, WE HAVE CRASHES.

SOMETIMES WE FIND OUT ABOUT THEM THROUGH THE MEDIA.

SOMETIMES A POLICE REPORT IS FILED, SOMETIMES A THOMAS VEHICLE COMPANY CALLS US.

UM, WE'RE OBVIOUSLY VERY CONCERNED ABOUT COLLISIONS.

MANY OF THE COLLISIONS ARE BEING HIT FROM BEHIND BECAUSE THEY TEND TO, UM, COME TO A FULL STOP AT A STOP SIGN.

MAYBE OTHER PEOPLE DON'T EXPECT THAT.

UM, BUT, UH, THEY ALSO, YOU KNOW, WILL STOP IN TRAFFIC IF THEY SEE SOMEONE ENTERING THE ROAD.

UM, SO, UH, THEY DO, WE DO HAVE THOSE KIND OF COLLISIONS AND WE ARE TALKING TO THEM ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT BEING FOLLOWED TOO CLOSELY AND ALSO LIKE THEY'RE MAKING IT CLEAR THAT THEY'RE GOING TO STOP.

UM, BUT YESTERDAY, WE, YESTERDAY POLICE TOLD US THAT THERE'S LOTS OF RUINED COLLISIONS IN AUSTIN, SO IT MIGHT NOT BE, THEY MIGHT JUST BE ACTING LIKE REGULAR DRIVERS.

REGULATE WHAT, WHAT IS HAPPENING WITHIN OUR OWN CITY BOUNDARIES.

UH, VERY, UH, INTERESTING.

AND, AND, UH, KIND OF A A A BIGGER QUESTION, BUT HOW, AND, AND AGAIN, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF WE'RE THERE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THE COMPARISON, BUT HOW DO THEY COMPARE TO REGULAR DRIVERS, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE NOTORIOUSLY BAD DRIVER? IT DEFINITELY DEPENDS ON THE DRIVER, BUT I, I MEAN, THAT'S A WHOLE DEBATE, RIGHT? I MEAN, AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES, UH, HUMAN DRIVERS MAKE MANY ERRORS, UH, AND ARE VERY DANGEROUS, UH, CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS.

UH, ANY INITIAL THOUGHTS, PERCEPTIONS ON, UH, SAFETY OF AVS VERSUS SAFETY OF HUMAN DRIVERS? YEAH, CONCEPTUALLY IT MAKES SENSE, RIGHT? THEY'VE GOT, SOME OF 'EM HAVE OVER 20 CAMERAS ON THE CAR AND THEY'VE GOT VISION EVERYWHERE, AND THEY CAN SEE FURTHER THAN ANY ONE HUMAN DRIVER COULD SEE IN, IN MORE PLACES AT ONCE.

UH, I THINK THE BENEFIT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR IS THAT THE SPEED HAS TYPICALLY BEEN AT THE SPEED LIMIT.

AND WHEN WE SEE SEVERE CRASHES AND, AND FATALITY CRASHES, USUALLY SPEED IS A PRIMARY FACTOR.

AND SO STAYING AT THAT SPEED LIMIT, THAT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, SET BECAUSE OF ENGINEERING ANALYSIS AND JUDGMENT AND OUR POLICY GOALS, BEING ABLE TO SEE THAT IN PLACE HAS REALLY HELPED AT ON THE SEVERITY OF CRASHES.

UH, AS FAR AS FREQUENCY, THERE'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, SOME STUDIES, SOME ANALYSIS DONE.

I'VE SEEN ONE FROM THE, UH, COMPANY THEMSELVES.

I DON'T THINK WE'VE SEEN, YOU KNOW, A FULL ACADEMIC LEVEL RIGOROUS ANALYSIS OVER TIME.

AND SO TO GET THAT FULL COMPARISON AND, AND REALLY UNDERSTAND, ARE WE SAYING, YOU KNOW, OUT OF THE MILLION VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED, HOW MANY CRASHES HAVE HAPPENED? ARE WE LOOKING AT SEVERITY OF CRASHES? THERE ARE A LOT OF FACTORS TO MAKE THAT KIND OF DETERMINATION IS, IS IT SAFER, IS JUST A REALLY HARD ONE TO DEFINE RIGHT NOW.

I THINK OVER TIME WITH MORE MILES TRAVELED, MORE ACTUAL RIDERSHIP, UH, IN REAL SITUATIONS ON THE ROADWAYS, I THINK WE'LL SEE THAT PLAY OUT OVER TIME AND, AND HAVE THAT ANALYSIS

[01:10:01]

DONE.

IT'S A FASCINATING, UH, WHERE IN KIND OF EPICENTER OF A FASCINATING GLOBAL, UH, EXPERIMENT HERE.

AND, UH, I, I APPRECIATE, UH, UH, Y'ALL'S WORK AND HONESTLY, THE SPEED LIMIT ISSUE IS, IS A REALLY IMPORTANT POINT 'CAUSE UH, NO QUESTION SPEED KILLS.

UH, AND, AND WHEN WE SEE DEATHS AND, AND I'VE GOT A HANDFUL OF ROADWAYS THAT ARE VERY DANGEROUS AND, UH, THAT'S EXACTLY THE PROBLEM IS THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING WAY OVER THE SPEED LIMIT AND TURNS WHAT SHOULD BE A FENDER BENDER INTO A MUCH MORE, UH, SERIOUS ACCIDENT.

SO THANK YOU.

ABSOLUTELY.

I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY.

SO IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT SOME OF THE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES THAT ARE CURRENTLY DEPLOYED IN AUSTIN WORK MORE OFF OF SENSORS AND THE ROBOT TAXIS MAY WORK MORE ON CAMERAS.

IS THAT TRUE? AND CAN YOU TELL ME A BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR OPERATING A VEHICLE THAT IS WORKING OFF OF SOFTWARE OR SOME O OTHER SORT OF REMOTE, UM, MANAGEMENT? SURE.

I'M SURE THAT TESLA CAN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR CAMERA ONLY SYSTEM.

UM, THEY HAVE SPOKEN TO US ABOUT IT MANY TIMES.

IT'S MORE TRAINED ON HOW A DRIVER ACTUALLY WOULD DRIVE.

UM, AND THEY HAVE A, A NEURAL NETWORK AND A LOT OF DATA FROM PRIVATE TESLA OWNERS, UM, THAT THEY'RE WORKING OFF OF.

SO THEY DO ONLY HAVE CAMERA, A CAMERA BASED SYSTEM.

UH, THEY ARE, THERE ARE TESLAS GOING AROUND THAT HAVE LIDAR ON THEM THAT ARE DOING, UM, SOME AMOUNT OF, OF MAPPING.

SO, UH, ALL INTO THAT SYSTEM.

THE WAYMO'S AND OTHERS HAVE HAVE THE WHOLE SENSOR SUITE WITH THE LIDAR AND THE RADAR.

THEY'RE DOING, UM, MORE OF A SOFTWARE BASED DRIVING.

SO, UM, BOTH, UH, COMPANIES HAVE TOLD US THAT IT WORKS AND IT'S SAFE.

SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WE ARE KIND OF WAITING TO SEE HOW IT PLAYS OUT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.

BUT, UM, WE HAVE THE SAME EXPECTATIONS FOR BOTH TECHNOLOGIES.

I'VE HEARD MIXED REVIEWS FROM BOTH SIDES.

I HEAR SOME FOLKS THAT ARE SAYING, UM, THE SENSOR AND LIDAR IS BETTER.

I'VE HEARD OTHERS SAYING THE CAMERA IS BETTER.

I WILL JUST SAY, AS SOMEONE WHO DOES DRIVE IN AUSTIN, UM, TESLAS CAN GO FAST QUICKLY.

I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE PERKS THAT THEY ADVERTISED WHEN THEY FIRST DEPLOYED WAS, YOU KNOW, ZERO TO 60 IN HOWEVER MANY SECONDS.

UM, MY CAR DOESN'T ACCELERATE THAT FAST, AND IT'S KIND OF WHY I LIKE IT.

I DON'T NEED TO GO THAT FAST WHEN I'M, WHEN I'M DRIVING.

AND SO I'M REALLY MINDFUL OF, UM, WHAT KIND OF MANEUVERS, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM THAT SOME OF THE CARS CAN HANDLE.

AND WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS IF YOU'RE A PEDESTRIAN OR YOU'RE A PARENT PUSHING A STROLLER OR YOU'RE SOMEONE UTILIZING A WHEELCHAIR TO GET AROUND A CONGESTED AREA.

HOW DO THESE TECHNOLOGIES PLAY IN? UM, HAVE THERE BEEN ANY UPDATES ON, I KNOW THERE WAS ONE VIDEO THAT WENT AROUND A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO ABOUT THE, THE USE OF SOME OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGY AND SCHOOL BUSES.

CAN IT READ THE STOP SIGNS THAT SCHOOL BUSES DEPLOY TO MAKE SURE THAT KIDS CAN GET OFF AND GET ACROSS THE STREET SAFELY? OR ARE YOU SEEING ANY CHANGES OR NUANCE IN THAT VIDEO THAT WASN'T PRESENTED? WHO WANTS TO TAKE THAT ONE? YEAH, .

UM, SO WE DO EXPECT ALL VEHICLES TO READ THE STOP SIGN, UM, AT THE BUS.

WE ARE CURRENTLY DOING A PROJECT WITH A ISD TO PREPARE FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR WITH MULTIPLE DEPLOYMENTS TO MAKE SURE OUR CROSSING GUARDS WHO ARE TPW EMPLOYEES, UM, ARE READY FOR IT AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO, UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE EXTREMELY CONCERNED ABOUT SCHOOL BUSES AND CHILDREN.

WE HAVE, UM, WHAT WE FOUND THIS PAST YEAR IS THAT PICKUP DROP OFF RULES ARE OFTEN UNWRITTEN, LIKE EVERY, ALL PARENTS KNOW WHAT PICKUP DROP OFF.

IT'S ONLY ONE WAY AT THIS TIME, BUT, YOU KNOW, AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE CAN'T RECOGNIZE THAT.

SO WE ARE TRYING TO DOCUMENT THAT, UM, AND SEND IT OUT TO REALLY KEEP THAT, ESPECIALLY THAT PICKUP DROP OFF TIME, UM, REALLY, UH, KIND OF A BUBBLE.

UM, THAT'S THE REQUEST THAT WE'RE MAKING.

AGAIN, WE DON'T HAVE ANY REGULATORY POWER, BUT, UM, UH, AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT NITSA IS DOING ITS OWN WORK ON ITS SIDE TO REVIEW THE SAFETY OF THESE VEHICLES.

AND WE ARE PROVIDING THEM WITH ANY INFORMATION AND VIDEOS THAT THEY NEED, UM, TO DO THEIR REVIEW, BUT THEY'RE THE, THE AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS, SO WE'LL LET THEM, UH, COME TO A CONCLUSION.

THANKS FOR THAT ANSWER.

AND I KNOW THAT CAT METRO BUSES, THEY TRY TO SCHEDULE THEIR STOPS SO THAT THE PEDESTRIANS WHEN THEY'RE GETTING OFF ARE GOING BEHIND THE VEHICLE AND MORE VISIBLE TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC AS OPPOSED TO GOING IN FRONT OF THE, THE BUS THAT IS STOPPED.

AND SOMETIMES DRIVERS GOING PAST MAY NOT SEE THAT THERE'S A PEDESTRIAN THERE, UM, UNTIL THE LAST SECOND.

SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF AS THERE ARE NEW TECHNOLOGIES HERE.

UM, ON THE LINE OF OUR ABILITY TO REGULATE THINGS.

CAN YOU GIVE US ANY UPDATES ON WHERE THE DMV IS AT WHEN WE CAN EXPECT, UM, YOU KNOW, SEPTEMBER 1ST IS WHEN NEW LAWS GO INTO EFFECT.

I APPRECIATE SEEING THAT THE STATE CARES ABOUT THIS AND WANNA, WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE VEHICLES THAT ARE ON OUR ROADS ARE FOLLOWING SAFETY STANDARDS.

UM, YOU KNOW, BUT WITH MUNICIPALITIES NOT BEING ABLE TO ACTUALLY

[01:15:01]

UM, YOU KNOW, THE SAME FORMULA MAY NOT WORK FOR SAN ANTONIO, AUSTIN, DALLAS, HOUSTON, OR EL PASO, WHERE YOU'RE GONNA SEE SOME OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES DEPLOYED.

UM, DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE FROM THE DMV OR IF, YOU KNOW, DPS IS PROVIDING INPUT TO THEM TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT OUR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS CAN, UM, TELL THESE VEHICLES HOW TO BEHAVE SAFELY? YEAH, SO THE, THE, YOU'RE CORRECT.

THE LEGISLATION TYPICALLY IS IN EFFECT SEPTEMBER 1ST WITH THIS BEING A RULES PROCESS BEING DEVELOPED.

THEY HAVE POSTED SOME DRAFT RULES AS, AS OF LAST THURSDAY, I BELIEVE.

UM, SO THERE'S DRAFT RULES THAT THEY, UH, PRESENTED TO THE BOARD FOR THE DMV AND, AND THEY'VE GOT A PROCESS AND TIMELINE FOR THAT.

THEIR GOAL IS, WHAT THEY'VE TOLD US IS DEFINITELY BY DECEMBER 1ST, PROBABLY SOONER THAT THOSE RULES WOULD BE IN PLACE.

THE STATE LEGISLATION IS CLEAR THAT IT'S 90 DAYS FROM WHEN THE RULES ARE FINALIZED TO WHEN THEY WOULD BE IMPACTFUL OR EFFECTIVE AS FAR AS ENFORCEMENT OF, OF THOSE RULES.

SO THAT WOULD BE A 90 DAY WINDOW STARTING AROUND DECEMBER 1ST, IF NOT EARLIER, TO WHERE THE COMPANIES COULD PROVIDE THAT DOCUMENTATION INFORMATION AS REQUIRED BY THE RULES.

AND THEN GENERALLY AROUND MARCH, IT WOULD WHEN WE ACTUALLY SEE THAT BE, UH, EFFECTIVE FOR ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES OR FOR REPORTING PURPOSES AND EVERYTHING ELSE.

I, UM, I HEARD A BIT OF A MENTION ABOUT SPECIAL EVENTS IN AUSTIN, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, DO WE HAVE THE, THE APPROPRIATE STAFFING, WHETHER THAT'S IN SMART MOBILITY OR THROUGH SPECIAL EVENTS WITH A PD TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE NOT DOWN SOME POSITIONS OR HAVE VACANCIES FOR THESE EVENTS WHERE WE HAVE SEEN SOME OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES GO AWRY AND START BLOCKING INTERSECTIONS AND NOT FOLLOWING THE, THE DIRECTIONS OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS.

UM, SO I HAVEN'T BEEN MADE AWARE OF ANYTHING SHORTAGE WISE THAT BECAUSE OF THE AVS IT'S JUST THE EVIDENCE THAT WE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WHERE THEY, THEY CAUSE PROBLEMS JUST FOR THE OFFICERS ALREADY THERE ON THE SCENE.

UH, A GOOD EXAMPLE, LIKE SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT HAPPENED DURING SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST WHERE OFFICERS NEEDED TO MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT TO TRAFFIC FLOW.

EVEN SO, EVEN THOUGH THE AVS HAD BEEN GIVEN, UH, THE, THE ZONE TO WHERE TO STAY OUT OF BECAUSE THEY HAD TO MAKE A CHANGE TO THE TRAFFIC FLOW.

NOW THE AV DIDN'T REALIZE AND DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, FROZE UP, CAUSED A TRAFFIC JAM, AND THEN THE OFFICERS HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF CONTACTING SOMEONE TO BE ABLE TO PULL THE VEHICLE OFF THE ROAD AND ALL THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.

SO, UH, FROM WHAT WE'RE SEEING, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THAT, UH, WE HAVE A SHORTAGE OF STAFF, IT'S JUST THOSE INCIDENTS THAT, THAT DRAIN THE RESOURCES BECAUSE OF THE, UH, A GOOD, A GOOD, UH, THING.

LIKE YOU GUYS WERE TALKING ABOUT, THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLES.

ANECDOTALLY FROM WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN AUSTIN, THEY DO APPEAR TO BE SAFER THAN A HUMAN DRIVER.

THEY'RE NOT DRINKING, THEY'RE NOT DISTRACTED, THEY'RE NOT EATING WHILE THEY'RE DRIVING.

WE'RE NOT SEEING THEM PLOWING INTO PEOPLE LEFT AND RIGHT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

UH, BUT THEY LACK THE SOCIAL AWARENESS OF LIKE, HEY, THE OFFICER WANTS ME TO GO LEFT.

UH, I DON'T RECOGNIZE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN FRONT OF ME, SO I'M JUST GONNA FREEZE UP AND SIT HERE.

AND SO THAT'S THE BIGGEST ISSUE WE'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW.

AND OUR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

I MEAN, I KNOW THERE'S A TRAFFIC PLAN WHEN THERE'S A MAJOR EVENT THAT GOES, YOU KNOW, A PD ASSESSES HOW DO WE WORK WITH THIS TRAFFIC PLAN? UM, THE VEHICLES CAN FOLLOW THAT AS LONG AS THEY'RE NOT CHANGED AT THE LAST MINUTE FOR THE MOST PART.

WE CAN SHOW THEM WHAT ROADS ARE GONNA BE SHUT DOWN SO THAT THEY KNOW THE VEHICLE AND THE, THE, THE ISSUE IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE IS THE VEHICLES AREN'T SUPPOSED TO GO ONTO THE INTERSTATE.

THAT WAS BY PROGRAM PROGRAMMING FROM WAYMO ITSELF.

IN THIS CASE, THE OFFICERS REDIRECTED TRAFFIC ONTO THE INTERSTATE TO CLEAR OUT THE DOWNTOWN AREA.

AND SO THE WAYMO FROZE UP BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO BECAUSE IT'S NOT ALLOWED TO GET ONTO THE FREEWAY.

IT IT HIT A ROBOT WALL, SO TO SPEAK.

EXACTLY.

IT JUST SAID, WELL, I CAN'T GO THIS WAY AND I CAN'T GO THAT WAY.

AND I, I'LL MENTION TOO, YOU FROM TPW PERSPECTIVE, I WANNA GIVE RACHEL A TON OF CREDIT.

KRISTEN, ON OUR TEAM, CHRISTINA, THEY HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB SETTING UP THE MODEL THAT OTHER CITIES ARE NOW LOOKING TO US AS FAR AS HOW WE ENGAGE WITH AND COORDINATE AND COMMUNICATE WITH THESE COMPANIES, EVEN IF WE DON'T HAVE THE REGULATORY POWER, UH, BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION UP FRONT, I THINK HAS AVOIDED A LOT OF ISSUES EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT QUITE PERFECT AND, AND NOT QUITE WHERE WE NEED IT TO BE YET.

UM, BUT IT, IT HAS ALLEVIATED A LOT OF THINGS ON THE FRONT END WITH THAT PLANNING AND, AND REALLY GREAT FRAMEWORK THEY'VE SET UP.

SO I WANNA GIVE THEM CREDIT FOR THAT.

AND AS YOU'VE SEEN IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET, THERE'S UM, BEEN A SHIFT AS FAR AS THE, THE STRUCTURE OF SMART MOBILITY NOT CONTINUING ON IN ITS IN ITS STRUCTURE.

UH, RACHEL WILL BE CONTINUING ON AS THE LEAD SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT WITH THE AV WORK THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN MOVING FORWARD.

AND I THINK WE'LL BE REASSESSING OVER TIME, YOU KNOW, AS WE SCALE UP, DO WE HAVE THE MODEL AND FRAMEWORK IN PLACE TO WHERE OUR PARTNERS IN SPECIAL EVENTS AND A PD AND AND FIRE AND EMS, CAN THEY CONTINUE THAT MODEL AND MOVE THAT FORWARD? OR WILL THERE NEED TO BE ADDITIONAL KIND OF TPW STAFF DIRECTLY ENGAGED WITH THAT? I THINK, UH, WHAT THEY'VE CREATED SO FAR IS, IS REALLY GIVEN US THE, THE STRUCTURE AND THE BASELINE TO MOVE FORWARD EFFECTIVELY WITH THAT FOR NOW, AND WE'LL REASSESS OVER TIME.

[01:20:01]

AND I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS KIND OF LOOKING AT HOW TO DO THEIR, UM, STRATEGIC PROGRAMMING AND, AND LOOK AT THEIR ORG CHARTS, BUT THIS, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY EVENTS AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IS SOMETHING THAT I REALLY THINK WE NEED TO BE FOCUSING ON RIGHT NOW.

I THINK WE NEED TO ALLOCATE OUR RESOURCES BECAUSE I THINK THAT THE RISKS FAR OUTWEIGH, UM, ANY BENEFIT OF COST SAVING IF WE END UP WITH ONE PERSON SEVERELY INJURED OR WORSE, THAT'S NOT GONNA BE ACCEPTABLE TO ME.

AND I REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU AND YOUR PROGRAMS HAVE WHAT THEY NEED TO, TO DO THE WORK.

WELL, I APPRECIATE THAT.

IT'S ALMOST, YOU KNOW, COMING FROM A VISION ZERO BACKGROUND, IT'S, THERE'S A VISION ZERO TEAM, BUT VISION ZERO IS REALLY INCUMBENT UPON EVERYBODY TO MOVE THAT FORWARD AS A MINDSET AND HOW, HOW WE APPROACH SOMETHING.

WE'VE GOT A PD AND, AND OTHER PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS ENGAGED TOO.

SO IT, IT WOULDN'T BE JUST A TPW TEAM DOING THAT.

IT'S GONNA TAKE A, A LOT OF DIFFERENT FOLKS WORKING ON IT CONTINUOUSLY OVER TIME.

DO ANTICIPATE THAT ZOOX VEHICLE TO COME OUT SOON AND WE ARE, UH, IN CONTACT WITH LAS VEGAS ALL THE TIME TO SEE WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCE IS THERE WITH IT.

AND I KNOW WE JUST KICKED OFF THE BUDGET PRESENTATION ON TUESDAY, SO I JUST WANNA FLAG THAT I'M GONNA PLAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THAT.

UM, I JUST WANTED TO FLAG ALSO WITH THE CONVERSATION AROUND AIRPORT RIDES.

I KNOW THAT, UM, FOR ME, I THINK THERE IS GOING TO BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SURE FOLKS CAN GET FROM THE AIRPORT TO THE CONVENTION CENTER.

I THINK IT'S UPON EVERY CITY TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS THAT ARE LANDING HERE AT OUR AIRPORT OR ANY OTHER CITY'S AIRPORT CAN GET WHERE THEY NEED TO BE VERY QUICKLY.

UM, IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE AIRPORT, BECAUSE THEY'RE UNDERGOING AN EXPANSION, THEY SAID, PLEASE DON'T MAP THIS CURRENT LAYOUT BECAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE ISSUES AS SOON AS WE START REALIGNING ROADS AND CHANGING WHERE A BUILDING EXITS AND ENTRANCES ARE, WHERE THE ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES, YOU KNOW, HOW THOSE OPERATE.

UM, THEY KNOW THAT IT'S OUT THERE, THEY'RE WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE COMPANIES THAT WANNA OPERATE IN THAT SPACE, BUT JUST SAID, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE GOTTA GET THROUGH OUR EXPANSION AND OUR PLANNING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE VEHICLES WE'RE MAPPING ONCE AND DOING IT WELL.

SO THAT'S DEFINITELY A CONVERSATION.

I THINK AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES COULD BE A GREAT, UM, TEST PILOT FOR THE, YOU KNOW, AIRPORT TO DOWNTOWN CONVERSATION.

UM, LEMME SEE IF I HAVE ANY OTHER, I THINK THAT DOES IT FOR THOSE QUESTIONS.

ANY LAST ONES ON AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO FUTURE ITEMS? LET'S GO WITH COUNCIL MEMBER LANE.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT I HAVE TO SAY HERE IS THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WORK YOU'VE DONE.

YOU HAVE YOUR, HAD YOUR HANDS FULL, UH, WITH VERY LIMITED OPTIONS, SO THANK YOU.

UM, I HAVE TWO QUICK QUESTIONS.

UM, AS I'M, I'M WONDERING IF THE ISSUE OF OPERATING UNDER ADVERSE CONDITIONS AND MAYBE SOME LIMITATIONS AROUND THAT, WHETHER THAT MIGHT BE RAIN THAT'S IMPACTED VISIBILITY OR, YOU KNOW, WE JUST SAW SOME SAFETY DATA ABOUT PEDESTRIANS AND HOW MANY MORE PEDESTRIANS ARE INJURED BY CARS AT NIGHT OR WHERE THERE'S POOR LIGHTING OR WHEN THERE'S FOG OR IS THAT IN THE MIX OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON? YEAH, ON UM, AND I THINK THERE'S A PHOTO OF IT IN THE POWERPOINT ON, UH, MAY 28TH WHEN WE HAD SOME STORMS. UH, WE HAD SOME ISSUES WITH, UM, AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE GETTING CAUGHT IN SOME FLOODING AT ROSEWOOD AND CHACONE.

SO WE HAVE SINCE THEN ENGAGED IN A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WE'VE REALLY BEEN PUSHING SINCE, UH, LAST YEAR.

BUT AGAIN, A TX FLOODS, UM, FOR MONITORING, UH, ROADWAYS THAT ARE CLOSED AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

UM, I WILL SAY THAT, THAT WE BELIEVE THAT HAVING SOMEONE LOCAL MAKES A REALLY BIG DIFFERENCE.

UM, SO ON THE THIRD AND 4TH OF JULY WHEN WE WERE WORKING WITH AV COMPANIES TO, UM, TALK ABOUT FLASH FLOODING AND, AND TALK ABOUT WHAT WE NEEDED FROM THEM, YOU KNOW, LIKE TALKING TO PEOPLE IN AUSTIN VERSUS TALKING TO PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN, THERE WAS A BIG DIFFERENCE IN, IN, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY WERE PERCEIVING AS AS OUR ISSUES.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE COMMUNICATED WITH OUR AV COMPANIES THAT WE'D LIKE TO HAVE SOMEONE LOCAL.

IT HELPS US TO GO ON SITE AND, AND LOOK AT THINGS TOGETHER, BUT ALSO REALLY HELPS US DURING THOSE SEVERE WEATHER.

THE EOC DOES HAVE THE PHONE NUMBERS, UM, FOR ALL OF THESE FOLKS DURING, UM, KIND OF LARGE SCALE EXPECTED PROTESTS, THEY DID PULL OUT OF DOWNTOWN.

UM, SO WE ARE TRYING TO, TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS EVERYONE'S CONTACT SO THAT WE CAN ASK THEM TO, TO PULL BACK.

WE CAN'T MAKE THEM, UM, BUT WE CAN ASK THEM TO PULL BACK, UH, WHEN WE, WE NEED EVERYONE OFF THE ROADS.

DURING, DURING, UH, EMERGENCIES, DO YOU HAVE A FEEL FOR WHEN, UM, ZOOX AND ANY OTHER OPERATORS MIGHT BE LIKELY TO ACTUALLY ENTER BOSTON MARKET? SURE.

UM, SO ZOOX HAS TOLD US, UH, AS OF TUESDAY THAT THEY WILL LIKELY BE OPERATING THEIR CUSTOM-BUILT, THEIR PURPOSE-BUILT VEHICLE.

UM, IN 2026.

THERE WAS UM, SOME, UH, THERE HASN'T BEEN CLARITY AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL ABOUT THOSE VEHICLES 'CAUSE THEY DON'T MEET FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS.

THEY DON'T HAVE, UH, STEERING WHEELS AND SO THERE WAS A LACK OF CLARITY ON THAT.

BUT NEW, UH, RULEMAKING HAS COME OUT IN THE FEDERAL DOT TO, UM, MAKE THOSE VEHICLES PRODUCTION, YOU KNOW, FASTER, UM, AND GET THEM ON THE STREETS.

SO WE

[01:25:01]

UM, AND ANY LEARNINGS WE CAN TAKE ABOUT THE VEHICLE, THEY WILL DO A LOT OF TRAINING WITH OUR FIRST RESPONDERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN ACCESS IT AND MOVE IT WHEN WE NEED TO.

THANK YOU AGAIN.

ALRIGHT, I THINK THAT DOES IT FOR THE PRESENTATION.