[Austin North Lamar Safety News Conference on August 6, 2025.]
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A PROPHETIC GREETING OF PEACE, MERCY, AND BLESSINGS.
FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THE REPORTERS AND THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO SHOWED UP TODAY.
MY NAME IS SHAMA ZIAN, AND, AND I AM THE OPERATIONS MANAGER WITH THE COUNCIL AND AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATIONS AUSTIN CHAPTER, WHAT ALIVE, WHAT A DEATH, AND WHAT A LEGACY IN HONOR OF IMAM MOSSAD'S REACH LIFE, TRAGIC DEATH, AND GREAT LEGACY OF SERVICE, COMPASSION, AND CARING FOR OTHERS.
WE HOLD THIS PRESS CONFERENCE ON SUNDAY, JULY 27TH AT 8:35 PM IMAM ISLAM MUSA WAS WALKING ON THE GRASS SIDE ALONG NORTH LAMAR BOULEVARD, PROBABLY HEADING TO THE MOSQUE TO PERFORM THE SUNSET PRAYER.
HE WAS STRUCK AND KILLED IN A FEDERAL CAR, PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT ON NORTH LAMAR BOULEVARD, A CORRIDOR THAT HAS BEEN NEGLECTED BY THE CITY FOR A LONG TIME.
HE WAS AUTHENTIC, YET RELEVANT.
HE WAS HUMBLE, YET OUTSPOKEN, AND HE WAS A SERVANT FOR EVERYONE, YET EXPECT NOTHING BACK.
WE MOURN HIM DEEPLY AND WE POUR OUR GRIEF INTO CARRYING HIS LEGACY OF SERVING AND TREATING EVERYONE EQUALLY.
HE LIVED FOR OTHERS, AND MAYBE HE HAD TO DIE FOR OTHERS AS WELL.
NOW, LET, LET ME INTRODUCE OUR FIRST SPEAKER, ADNAN SOLEMAN, A REPRESENTATIVE AND A FORMER BOARD MEMBER OF N UM, OF NMCC OR NORTH AUSTIN MUSLIM COMMUNITY CENTER.
HE'S AN ELECTRIC ENGINEER AND THE ONE WHO USUALLY MANAGED CONSTRUCTION AT THE MOSQUE.
HE STARTED COMMUNICATION WITH THE CITY REGARDING ERIAN SAFETY CONCERNS SINCE 2018.
I'LL GIVE HIM THE MIC TO SHARE MORE DETAILS.
I AM, UH, A MEMBER OF THE NORTH MUSLIM COMMUNITY CENTER AND, UM, AN ACTIVE MEMBER, UH, ACTIVE, UH, VOLUNTEER, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY.
BEEN WORKING THERE FOR A WHILE NOW.
UM, I JUST WANNA GO WITH A, A SMALL BRIEF HERE THAT THE NORTH COMMUNITY NA UH, COMMUNITY HAS BEEN, UH, A PART OF THE NORTH LAMAR, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD SINCE 1993.
UM, MANY OF OUR MEMBERS LIVE NEARBY, UH, AND FREQUENTLY WALK, UH, TO ATTEND THE DAILY PRAYERS SERVICES AND, UH, UH, COMMUNITY EVENTS FOR THE KIDS.
UH, TRAFFIC, UH, SAFETY ALONG THE NORTH LAWN MARKET CORRIDOR PARTICULARLY, AND ESPECIALLY, UH, FROM THE BREAKER LANE ALL THE WAY UP TO, UH, POWER LANE, UH, HAS BEEN A CONCERN, UH, TO OUR MEMBERS AND HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT AND AN ONGOING, UH, CONCERN, UH, WITH A LITTER TO NO IMPROVEMENT, UH, HAPPENED FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE, UH, IN EDUCATE OR LACK OF, UM, UH, SIDEWALK, UH, A PEDESTRIAN CROSSING, AND SO MANY OTHER, UH, ISSUES THAT, UH, UH, HAVE BEEN THERE FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
UH, JUST IF YOU WANT TO, UH, HAVE A FEELING OF THAT, UH, COME TO THE NORTH AUSTIN MUSLIM COMMUNITY CENTER ON A FRIDAY BETWEEN THE HOUR OF 12 NOON, UH, TO THREE O'CLOCK, AND WITNESS TO YOURSELF, UH, FIRSTHAND OF CONCERNING THE TRAFFIC CONDITIONS UNFOLDING IN FRONT OF YOU.
UH, WE'VE BROUGHT THESE ISSUES TO THE ATTENTION, UH, MULTIPLE TIMES, UH, INCLUDING DURING THE, THE 2016, UH, MOBILITY, UH, PROGRAM THAT IT WAS, UH, APPROVED FOR FUNDING, UH, THAT TIME.
UH, I, I BELIEVE IT'S, UH, 2019.
UM, AND AGAIN, IN 2022, WE BROUGHT THE ISSUES, UH, TO THE, UH, TO THE CPO, AND WE HAD, UH, DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM DURING THESE DISCUSSIONS.
WE SPECIFICALLY, UH, ASKED FOR A POSITION AT, UH, ACTIVATED OR ANDRE REQUEST TRAFFIC, UH, LIGHT AT THE CENTER, OR NEARBY THE CENTER TO ALLOW, UH, MEMBERS, UH, UH, SAFE, UH, CROSSING.
HOWEVER, THE CPO PROGRAM, UH, OR DESIGN, UH, HAD, UH, IN MIND A, A TRAFFIC LIGHT WAS VERY CLOSE TO THE, TO, TO THE EDGE OF THE CENTER.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY, BOTH TRAFFIC LIGHTS DID NOT MAKE IT SO FAR TO ROTATION SHADE.
WE DON'T SEE IT, UH, AROUND US.
UM, SO THIS LONGSTANDING CONCERN, UH, HAS SADLY, UM, TURNED INTO HEARTBREAK WITH THE TRAGIC LOSS OF IMAM, UH, UH, ISLAM MOSSAD
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AS A BELOVED LEADER, UM, TEACHER, AND A SPECIAL SPIRITUAL GUIDE TO NOT ONLY OUR COMMUNITY FOR THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY AS WELL, MANY MEMBERS OF THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY, UH, RE REGARD THEM AS SUCH, HIS PASSING IN A PRESIDENT, UH, IN A PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT, UH, CLOSED BY THE CENTER.UM, UH, IT HIGHLIGHTS THE URGENT NEED FOR ACTION.
THIS DEVASTATING EVENT SERVES AS A STRIKE REMINDER, UH, OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF INACTION.
WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL TO COUNCIL, UH, MEMBERS MIKE SIEGEL, UH, UH, ZHE CADRE AND, UH, JOSE VILLA, AS WELL AS KI AUSTIN FOR A QUICK RESPONSE AND ORGANI FOR ORGANIZING THE IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS THAT WE HAD, UH, EARLIER AND LED TO THIS PRESS RELEASE.
WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT THESE EFFORTS WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE, UH, RELIEF TO THE, TO THE SAFETY, UH, CONCERNS AROUND THE CENTER MORE BROADLY, UH, BRING A LONG OVERDUE ENHANCEMENTS ALONG THE ENTIRE NORTH LAMAR BOULEVARD, OR ENTIRE NORTH LAMAR, UH, NORTH LAMAR, UH, CORRIDOR AS WELL.
UH, WE ARE COMMITTED TO WORKING WITH THE, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, ALSO WITH, UH, TEXAS.TO IMPLEMENT SOLUTIONS THAT PRIORITIZE SAFETY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND WELLBEING FOR EVERYONE WHO LIVES, WORSHIPS, WORKS, AND WALK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, SOLEMAN NOW IS OUR SECOND SPEAKER.
UM, AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE SIEGEL, HE REPRESENT DISTRICT SEVEN.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH TO CARE AUSTIN AND THE NORTH AUSTIN MUSLIM COMMUNITY CENTER FOR INVITING US ALL HERE TO TAKE THIS IMPORTANT ACTION TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITY SAFER.
UM, I REALLY WANT TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBERS, CADRE AND VELA FOR JOINING ME.
UH, WE ARE FORMING A TEAM ON COUNCIL TO MAKE SURE THAT FIXES HAPPEN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UM, IMAM MOSSAD WAS A COMMUNITY TREASURE.
HIS LIFE TOUCHED THOUSANDS OF LIVES.
HE WAS A FRIEND, A MENTOR, A GUIDE TO COUNTLESS PEOPLE IN THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY AND THE GREATER AUSTIN COMMUNITY.
AND AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF DISTRICT SEVEN, I ABSOLUTELY VALUE THE WORK OF NORTH AUSTIN MUSLIM COMMUNITY CENTER.
UH, THEY'RE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF OUR COMMUNITY, AND THEY'RE DOING SO MUCH TO BENEFIT US, AND THE CITY REALLY DOES NEED TO GIVE BACK BY MAKING SURE THAT THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMUNITY CENTER CAN GET TO PRAYERS, UH, AND GET TO PROGRAMS SAFELY, INCLUDING BY CROSSING THE STREET, UH, FROM NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES.
UM, HOW THIS HAPPENED, UH, UNFORTUNATELY, IS AN UN UNACCEPTABLE SERIES OF EVENTS, UH, PROMISES WERE MADE BY OUR CITY, GOING BACK TO A 2016 BOND THAT PROMISED REAL DEEP SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS TO THE NORTH LAMAR CORRIDOR.
UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS TO THIS DAY, ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS CORRIDORS IN THE CITY FOR PEDESTRIANS.
UH, FAR TOO MANY LIVES HAVE BEEN LOST DUE TO ACCIDENTS BETWEEN CARS AND PEDESTRIANS AND OTHER TYPES OF ACCIDENTS.
UM, AS A TEAM ON COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBERS, VELA, UH, CADRE AND MYSELF, WE ARE COMMITTED TO WORKING WITH CITY STAFF TO GETTING IMMEDIATE ACTION AND ALSO LONG-TERM ACTION.
IN THE IMMEDIATE, WE'VE BEEN GIVEN ASSURANCES BY CITY LEADERS THAT BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, WE CAN GET A SAFE, UH, CROSSING BEACON FOR PEDESTRIANS THAT WILL ALLOW PEOPLE TO CROSS NORTH.
UH, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA, THIS IS A STREET THAT WAS NOT BUILT TO BE A PART OF A MAJOR URBAN, UH, DENSE AREA.
IT WAS KIND OF ON THE OUTLYING PART OF TOWN.
IT WAS BUILT BY THE STATE THROUGH TXDOT.
IT IS A SUBPAR ROAD IN TERMS OF INTERACTIONS WITH THE URBAN INTERFACE, AND SO IT'S GONNA TAKE MAJOR INVESTMENTS TO FIX THIS.
SO, UH, THE SHORT TERM, WE WANT THIS TRAFFIC BEACON TO BE INSTALLED, BUT LONG TERM, WE WANNA BUILD THE TRUE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE NECESSARY, NOT JUST IN THIS STRETCH OF NORTH LAMAR, BUT ALL THE WAY FROM, FROM 180 3, UH, NORTH TO THE PFLUGERVILLE BORDER.
THIS NEEDS TO BE A SAFE CORRIDOR FOR ALL.
UM, AND WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT TO OUR NEXT SPEAKER.
UH, MY NAME IS COUNCIL MEMBER ZO, UH, ZOE AT REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT NINE ON THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.
UH, I ALSO WANT TO EXPRESS MY, MY THANKS TO CARE AND N-A-M-C-C, UH, FOR BRINGING EVERYONE TOGETHER AND ALSO EXPRESS MY CONDOLENCES, UH, TO SHAIKH ISLAM AND, AND, AND HIS FAMILY, UH, AND TO THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY AT LARGE, AND JUST EVERYONE WHO, WHO KNEW, UH, THE SHAIKH.
UH, I, I HAD THE PRIVILEGE, PRIVILEGE OF KNOWING HIM.
I, I, I ATTENDED N-A-M-C-C, UH, A HANDFUL OF TIMES.
UH, IT WASN'T MY, MY, THE MAIN MOSQUE I ATTENDED, BUT ANYTIME I, I, I WAS THERE.
UH, I WAS ALWAYS GRADED BY, BY SHAIKH ISLAM.
AND, AND HIS KINDNESS AND HIS WARMTH, UH, IS SOMETHING THAT I, THAT I STILL REMEMBER.
I'M IN A, I'M IN A GROUP TEXT FULL OF, UH, UH, FOLKS FROM THE COMMUNITY, UH, FROM THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY HERE IN AUSTIN.
AND I GOT A TEXT, UH, ABOUT SHEIK ISLAM'S DEATH, AND I WAS, I WAS GUTTED, UH, AS I THINK MANY FOLKS WERE.
UH, AND I THINK ANY, ANY DEATH, YOU KNOW, ONE DEATH IS, IS ONE DEATH TOO MANY IN
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OUR ROADS, AND OUR, OUR ROADS ARE NOT SAFE.UH, THERE'S TRAFFIC VIOLENCE ON, ON A DAILY BASIS, AND MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE AS HIGHLIGHTED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL.
SO, I'M, I'M THANKFUL FOR HIS LEADERSHIP, UH, ON LEADING AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT'S LIKE THESE ARE, ARE NOT ONLY, UH, PREVENTABLE, BUT THAT ARE, THAT ARE A THING OF THE PAST.
UH, NORTH LAMAR HAS HIGHLIGHTED IS A VERY DANGEROUS, UH, ROAD.
UH, I DRIVE IT SEVERAL TIMES, UH, WHETHER THEY'RE GOING TO THE MOSQUE OR GOING TO, UH, STORES IN THE AREA.
UM, AND, AND, AND WE NEED TO DO BETTER.
UH, YOU KNOW, I I THINK MANY OF US SAY ON THE COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, CITY COUNCIL, LOCAL POLITICS ARE SO INTIMATE, UH, WHEN YOU SEE GOOD POLICY COME FORWARD, UH, YOU SEE IT IN, IN, YOU KNOW, COME TO LIFE AND ITS POSITIVE EFFECTS, YOU KNOW, IN REAL TIME.
UH, AND WHEN THERE'S INACTION, UH, ON THE COUNCIL OR IN ACTION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, UH, YOU SEE, YOU KNOW, THE ADVERSE EFFECTS PLAY OUT IN REAL TIME.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE SAW HERE.
SO, UH, I'M THANKFUL FOR COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, COUNCILOR MARVELLA FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP, UH, ON, ON THIS AND US COMING TOGETHER.
UH, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKING SURE THAT, THAT THINGS LIKE THIS, UH, DON'T HAPPEN AGAIN.
THANK YOU, UH, VERY MUCH FOR, FOR HAVING ME.
UH, I'M, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CHITO VELA.
I REPRESENT DISTRICT FOUR ON THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.
UH, FIRST AND, UH, UH, FOREMOST, I WANT TO EXTEND MY SINCERE CONDOLENCES, UH, TO THE MEMBERS OF THE NORTH AUSTIN MUSLIM COMMUNITY CENTER.
UH, AND OF COURSE, UH, THE FRIENDS OF, UH, AND FAMILY OF, UH, IMAM MOSSAD, UH, IS A, A TRAGEDY, UH, AND PARTICULARLY ON A FAITH COMMUNITY.
WHEN A FAITH COMMUNITY LOSES ITS, UH, LEADER, IT, IT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT DEEPLY AFFECTS THE ENTIRE, UH, COMMUNITY.
SO MY, MY DEEP, UH, CONDOLENCES, UH, TO, UH, ALL WHO, UH, WHO MOURN HIM, I NORTH LAMAR, UH, ESSENTIALLY COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL AND I SHARE NORTH LAMAR, UH, THROUGH ITS ENTIRE, UH, STRETCH.
UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, UH, ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE, BRINGING IT TO LIGHT.
UH, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH HIM OVER THOSE NEXT FEW YEARS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE PROMISED.
UM, JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, THERE WAS A, A QUARTER BOND PASSED BY THE CITY TO MAKE, UH, SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS ALL UP AND DOWN, UH, NORTH LAMAR.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY, THE AMOUNT THAT WAS, UH, SLATED FOR THOSE IMPROVEMENTS IS SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH.
UH, I AM, UH, COMMITTED TO MAKING SURE THAT WE FUND THE REMAINING AMOUNT IN THE, UH, 2026 BOND THAT IS CURRENTLY UNDER DISCUSSION RIGHT NOW.
UH, THIS IS, UH, AS BOTH OF MY COLLEAGUES MENTIONED, ONE OF THE, UH, IF NOT THE DEADLIEST KIND OF, UH, STREET IN AUSTIN, UH, AND THAT, THAT NEEDS TO CHANGE.
IT'S A STREET WITH A LOT OF PEDESTRIANS, WITH A LOT OF BUS RIDERS, UH, WITH A LOT OF ACTIVITY.
AND WE NEED TO MAKE SIMILAR SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS HERE AS WE'VE DONE IN, IN SO MANY OTHER CORRIDORS.
AND, AND WE CAN DO IT, YOU KNOW, WE, THE TRANSPORTATION, UH, DEPARTMENT IS REALLY GOOD AT MAKING THESE VISION ZERO IMPROVEMENTS AT PUTTING IN, UH, MEDIANS AND CURB CUTS AND HIGH VISIBILITY TRAFFIC LIGHTS.
WE KNOW THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE.
UH, WE KNOW THAT THESE IMPROVEMENTS WILL INCREASE SAFETY AND SAVE LIVES, AND WE NEED TO GET IT DONE, UH, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UH, AND, UH, AGAIN, I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, KADRI AND COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL TO, UH, GET THIS DONE.
UH, SO, UM, NOW WE ARE OPEN FOR Q AND A.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION OR COMMENTS, UM, NEITHER OF YOU SPEAK JUST MORE TO THE IMAM'S LIFE, UM, JUST KINDA A LITTLE BIOGRAPHY, IF YOU WILL.
UM, SO, UM, I KNOW THAT HE SERVED, UM, IN THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY AS AN IMAM FROM 2008 TO 2000, UH, 23, BUT EVEN AFTER, AND BEFORE, UH, HE WAS BORN IN AUSTIN, SO EVERYONE KNOWS HIM.
HE'S EITHER A SON OF SOMEONE OR A BROTHER OF SOMEONE, OR A FATHER AND MENTOR AND TEACHER.
UM, AND, UH, HE JUST HAVE THIS LIGHT SPIRIT AND, UH, THIS, YOU KNOW, GIFT, UM, ON CROSSING BARRIERS.
YOU KNOW, HE READS HIS AUDIENCE AND HE CAN REACH AND HE CAN, UH, BE RELEVANT TO WHOEVER HE, HE'S SPEAKING, UH, WITH.
HE WAS THE FIRST, UH, MUSLIM PRESIDENT OF I ACT, UM, THE INTERFACE CENTRAL, THE INTERFACE ACTION OF CENTRAL TEXAS.
AND, UH, HE DID A LOT OF OUTREACH, A LOT OF INTERFACE, UM, COMMUNICATION.
WHAT SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS HAVE MOSQUE, UH, ATTENDEES, MOSQUE MEMBERS? WHAT HAVE THEY THEY ASKED FOR IN THE PAST? YEAH.
SPECIFICALLY FOR, UH, IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFETY? YEAH.
SO, YEAH, SO, UH, SO WE'VE, WE'VE DISCUSSED WITH THE CITY
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MULTIPLE TIMES.WE, UH, WE ALSO, UM, APPROACH THE CITY TO HAVE, UH, A DIFFERENT ENTRANCE AND EXIT BECAUSE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, DURING TRAFFIC TIME, UH, GETTING IN AND OUT, UH, ON, UH, LAMAR BOULEVARD, IT IS VERY DANGEROUS.
AND THAT'S WHY I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT IF YOU GO ON A FRIDAY, FOR EXAMPLE, BETWEEN NOON AND 3:00 PM UH, THE TRAFFIC IN THERE IS REALLY, UH, SCARY.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR VOLUNTEERS DO A LOT TO, UM, UH, ALLEVIATE SOME OF THESE TRAFFIC CONCERNS.
HOWEVER, UH, WE NEED SOME, UH, ENGINEERING WORK IN THERE.
SO, UH, WE ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH TEXAS DOT, AND, AND, UH, I KNOW, I KNOW THE CITY WILL REFERRED US TO TEXAS DOT.
SO WE, WE WANNA WORK WITH BOTH, UH, UH, PARTIES TO, UH, ELEVATE SOME OF THESE, UH, CONCERNS BY BRINGING A DESIGN WHERE WE WILL, WE WILL BE ALLOWED TO HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, A, A TURN AND LANE INSTEAD OF, UH, JUST BEING, YOU KNOW, GETTING INTO THE TRAFFIC RIGHT AWAY.
IS YOUR GOALS SHORT TERM OR LONG TERM IMPROVEMENTS? WHAT WOULD BE THE ONE THING THAT COULD HAVE HELPED IN THIS CASE? YEAH, AND, AND AVOIDED THE, UH, UM, IMON STAFF.
SO WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS AGAIN WITH, UH, WITH THE CITY, UM, BACK IN TWO, 2019 MULTIPLE TIMES.
WE, WE'VE, WE'VE APPROVED THE, A A APPROACHED THE CITY FOR MULTIPLE TIMES FOR A, UM, AT LEAST LIKE A, A BEACON, UH, UH, A TRAFFIC LIGHT WHERE A PEDESTRIAN ACTIVATED CAN, CAN, CAN BE ABLE TO CROSS SAFELY BY, YOU KNOW, UH, PRESSING THE ACTIVATE THE, THE, THE LIGHT AND, AND CROSS INTO, IN AND OUT, UH, FOR A COUNCIL MEMBER.
ANYONE, UH, AGAIN, COULD YOU REITERATE, UH, WHY, UH, IMPROVEMENTS HAVE TAKEN SO LONG AT, UH, AT THIS PARTICULAR CORRIDOR? UH, IS IT STRICTLY A FINANCIAL MATTER, STRICTLY A BOND ISSUE? IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, SO THE CORRIDOR, UH, WE HAVE ESSENTIALLY A SHARED JURISDICTION WITH, UH, TXDOT.
UH, WE PASSED THE CORRIDOR BOND IN, I BELIEVE, UH, 2016.
UH, BUT, UH, ONCE IT WAS PASSED, AS WE STARTED GETTING DEEPER INTO THE DESIGN AND ENGINEERING WORK, UH, WE REALIZED THAT THE AMOUNT, UH, WAS NOT GOING TO BE SUFFICIENT.
UH, NOT ONLY, UH, THERE THERE'S NOT SUFFICIENT, THERE'S NOT DRAINAGE.
UH, RIGHT NOW, UH, WE PUT DRAINAGE UNDERGROUND.
RIGHT NOW THE DRAINAGE IS ESSENTIALLY JUST IN A DITCH ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD ALONG NORTH LAMAR.
MOST OF NORTH LAMAR HAS THAT SUBSTANDARD TYPE OF DRAINAGE.
SO IT'S NOT JUST A MATTER OF MAKING THE ROAD IMPROVEMENTS.
WE HAVE TO FIX THE DRAINAGE ISSUES FIRST AND THEN DO THE ROAD IMPROVEMENTS ON TOP OF THAT.
UH, AND SO ONCE THAT KIND OF CAME TO THE SURFACE AND THE COSTS INVOLVED, UH, WERE REALIZED, UH, THAT'S WHERE WE, WE JUST SIMPLY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY IN THE BOND THAT WAS ALLOCATED, UH, WAY BACK WHEN, UH, TO DO THE TYPE OF IMPROVEMENTS, UH, THAT WE WANTED TO.
UM, THE SOLUTION TO THAT WOULD BE BOTH KIND OF VALUE ENGINEER, SEE WHAT WE CAN DO IN THE SHORT TERM.
AND THEN ULTIMATELY I THINK IN THE 2026 BOND, UH, ALLOCATE AN ADDITIONAL SUM OF MONEY, UH, TO TRY TO, TO MAKE THE QUARTER AS, UH, SAFE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, ANOTHER POSSIBILITY, AND I WOULD DEFER TO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL ON THIS BECAUSE HE SERVES ON THE, UH, CAMPO BOARD IS, UH, FOR THE TDOT OR CAMPO TO ALSO HELP OUT WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO GET THIS CORRIDOR, UH, UP TO A, A BETTER, UH, STANDARD.
UM, AND THE LAST THING THAT I WOULD NOTE IS THAT ONCE THAT I 35 REBUILD GETS GOING, UH, I THINK NORTH LAMAR IS GOING TO SEE A LOT OF CUT THROUGH TRAFFIC.
UH, THE, UH, I 35 TRAFFIC ON I 35 WHILE IT'S UNDER RECONSTRUCTION, IS GOING TO SLOW DOWN SI SIGNIFICANTLY.
WE'RE ALREADY, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, SEEING IT RIGHT NOW.
UH, NORTH LAMAR IS GONNA BE A WAY TO GET AROUND THAT AND, UH, WOULD REALLY LIKE TO BE ABLE TO GET AHEAD OF THAT, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, AND GET SOME OF THESE IMPROVEMENTS DONE, UH, SO THAT THE STREET IS SAFER AND, AND READY TO HANDLE THE INCREASED TRAFFIC FROM, UH, UH, FROM THE I 35, UH, RECONSTRUCTION, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
AND A BEST GUESS ESTIMATE WHEN WE COULD SEE, UH, CHANGES, UH, A ROUGH TIMELINE, DO WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR THIS, UH, BOND NEXT BOND ELECTION BEFORE ANYTHING CAN BE DONE IN THE SHORT TERM? MY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT SIDEWALKS IN PARTICULAR, JUST GETTING SIDEWALKS ON THE ROAD ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD THERE, UH, IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD NEED TO WAIT FOR IN THE SHORT TERM.
I BELIEVE WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO IMPROVE CERTAIN CROSSINGS AND ADD SIDEWALKS ALONG, UH, NORTH LAMAR.
UH, BUT IN TERMS OF THE ACTUAL
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STREET IMPROVEMENTS, UH, WE NEED TO FIX A DRAINAGE BEFORE WE CAN RECONSTRUCT THE STREET PUT IN MEDIANS.IN OTHER WORDS, WE DON'T WANT TO DO A BUNCH OF WORK ON THE STREET AND THEN HAVE TO TEAR IT UP TO PUT IN THE DRAINAGE.
SO THE DRAINAGE HAS TO COME FIRST.
UH, I, I DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE DETAILS TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T DO.
UH, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO DIGGING INTO THAT, UH, OVER THE, THE NEXT YEAR OR SO IN ANTICIPATION OF THE 2026 BOND TO, TO SEE WHAT, WHAT WE CAN DO ON THAT.
AND ONE LAST QUESTION, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
THE TRAFFIC BEACON CROSSWALK THAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED, THAT'S IN OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, OSTENSIBLY TAKE PLACE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER? YES.
UH, THE THREE OF US COUNCIL MEMBERS MET WITH CITY LEADERSHIP YESTERDAY AND WE WERE ASSURED THAT THERE ARE FUNDS AND, UH, READINESS TO INSTALL THE TRAFFIC BEACON BY THE END OF THE YEAR.