[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:03]
I WILL CALL TO ORDER THIS MEETING OF AUSTIN'S MOBILITY COMMITTEE.
IT IS 1:02 PM AND WE ARE HERE IN CHAMBERS.
I'M JOINED BY VICE CHAIR CADRY AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, LANE AND ELLA HERE ON THE DAAS.
AND THIS IS OUR LAST COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE YEAR.
I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF THEM HAPPENING DURING THIS WEEK, SO IT'S BEEN A VERY BUSY WEEK FOR US HERE AT CITY HALL.
[Public Communication: General]
WE ENDED UP HAVING EIGHT PEOPLE SIGN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, SO WE'VE ASKED THAT EVERYONE KEEP THEIR REMARKS TO TWO MINUTES SO THAT WE CAN HEAR FROM THE ADDITIONAL FOLKS THAT THAT SIGNED UP HERE IN THIS MOMENT.AND I WILL, BEFORE WE CALL ANY OF THE SPEAKERS, I JUST WANT TO MAKE A NOTE THAT THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ITEM ITEM SIX, ENDED UP LOWER ON THE AGENDA.
WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND TAKE THAT IN ORDER.
WE WILL ADOPT THE MINUTES, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA, UM, BE ABLE TO TURN IT OVER TO SUSAN SUMMERS, THE CHAIR OF THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, SO THAT SHE CAN GET ON WITH THE REST OF HER DAY.
AND THEN WE WILL MOVE INTO THE BRIEFING ITEMS. SO I WILL TURN IT OVER TO OUR COORDINATOR TO START CALLING OUR SPEAKERS.
IF I CAN HAVE SCOTT JOHNSTON, FOLLOWED BY BLAKE THOMAS AND CHRIS FLORES.
GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, CHAIR ELLIS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS SCOTT JOHNSON, AS YOU KNOW, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLI AND COUNCIL MEMBER VELA KNOWS I LED THE EFFORT ON GETTING THE CITY TO ADOPT A DISTRACTED DRIVING ORDINANCE IN 2014.
HERE'S SOME INFORMATION, AND THE PURPOSE OF MY TESTIMONY TODAY IS TO MAKE YOU AWARE THAT I'M VERY INTERESTED IN CONVENING A WORKING GROUP THAT THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE OR THIS, AND, OR THIS COMMITTEE CAN SUPPORT THAT WOULD RAISE AWARENESS FOR THE CURRENT ORDINANCE BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE THAT MOVED HERE SINCE THE ENFORCEMENT HAS BEEN REDUCED.
AND THERE'S SOME CREATIVE WAYS THAT WE CAN PERHAPS WORK TOWARDS BITTER, UH, IMPLEMENTATION OR, UH, GETTING THE ORDINANCE FOLLOWED.
THE SEEDS OF THIS STARTED IN 2005 WITH A BICYCLE SAFETY TASK FORCE THAT I WAS ON.
AND IN 2009, WE HAD A TEXTING WHILE DRIVING ORDINANCE PUT INTO PLACE.
THOSE ARE NOT EFFECTIVE THOUGH IN 2012 WITH NO ONE WORKING IN THIS SPACE, I BEGAN ADVOCATING FOR THIS AND WENT OUT TO UTC, URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION, AND TALKED TO IT UP WITH THEM.
I RECRUITED BIANCA BENSON, WHO'S STILL THE CHIEF PROSECUTOR FOR THE CITY TO SPEAK TO THEM.
THAT WAS A VERY GOOD DECISION.
NEXT PAGE, PLEASE, AND SCROLL DOWN.
AND THEN WE BROUGHT IT FORWARD 2014.
IT WAS EFFECTIVE DATE 2015, AND WE HAD A LOT OF CITATIONS WRITTEN IN 20 TEENS, UH, AFTER 2015 AND FORWARD.
AND AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO LESSEN IT BY THE STATE, AND WE FOUGHT IT, AND WE STILL HAVE THE ORDINANCE.
AND ALONG WITH A PD AND SAPD, WE WENT DOWN THERE.
THE CITATIONS ARE $200 OR MORE.
THERE IS A DIVERSION PROGRAM THAT WAS PUT TOGETHER BY THE LAW DEPARTMENT WITH BIANCA BENSON TAKING THE LEAD.
AND OTHER CITIES IN TRAVIS COUNTY, FORTUNATELY, AND OTHER CITIES STATEWIDE HAVE FOLLOWED OUR ORDINANCE WAS ONE OF ONE OF THE FIRST ONES IN THE REGION OR IN THE STATE.
IN, IN RECENT YEARS, THE ENFORCEMENT HASN'T BEEN GOOD.
I'M CERTAINLY NOT HERE TO CRITICIZE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
I'VE BEEN THE COORDINATOR, COORDINATOR FOR NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH FOR 17 YEARS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND HERE ARE THE CITATION NUMBERS FROM 20 15, 16, 17, 18, AND 19.
FATALITY NUMBERS ARE BELOW AND AT THE BOTTOM, THE 10 MOST USED APPS, WHILE DRIVINGS, SURPRISINGLY, THE PHONE IS NUMBER 10.
QUESTIONS AND A VIDEO FROM THANK YOU TPW ON VISION ZERO, DISTRACTED DRIVING AWARENESS.
DID YOU EMAIL THAT TO ALL OF US SO WE CAN REVIEW THAT VIDEO? I CAN.
I ALREADY SPOKE, SPOKE TO MS. LOVE, AND SHE'S PLANNING TO TO, TO DO THAT.
AND I'VE SENT IT TO THE PSC MEMBERS.
I'M A DISTRICT 10 RESIDENT, A DISTRICT NINE PROPERTY OWNER AND BUSINESS OWNER, AN AVID CYCLIST AND A BOARD MEMBER OF THE SIXTH STREET, UH, PECAN STREET OWNERS.
UH, AND I'M HERE TO SPEAK JUST IN ON AN OPEN ITEM THAT IS GONNA COME YOU GUYS WAY PROBABLY IN THE EARLY 2026, WHICH IS GONNA BE A RECOMMENDATION FROM TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, UH, SIXTH STREET MOBILITY AND REVITALIZATION PLAN.
AND AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CONS STREET OWNER ASSOCIATION, WE REPRESENT 113
[00:05:01]
PROPERTY OWNERS AND OVER 60 BUSINESSES WITH 80 STOREFRONTS ON HISTORIC SIXTH STREET.AND WE'VE BEEN VERY INVOLVED WITH ANNA MARTIN AND RICHARD MENDOZA'S GROUP, UM, TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THE CHARETTES AND THE WORKSHOPS AND THE DESIGNS THAT THEY'VE PUT FORTH.
OUR, UH, PECAN STREET OWNER ASSOCIATION HAS UNANIMOUSLY, UM, WITH 113 PROPERTY OWNERS AND 60 PLUS BUSINESSES UNANIMOUSLY VOTED IN FAVOR OF OPTION NUMBER THREE.
AND THAT, UM, THE, IT MAKES THIS CONVERSATION NOT AN ANTIBI CONVERSATION.
AS I SAID, I'M AN AVID CYCLIST.
I LOVE BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE IN AUSTIN.
UM, IT MAKES US A, A, A HEALTHY AND A FIT CITY.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT ON SIXTH STREET, WE JUST SIMPLY HAVE A MATH PROBLEM.
WE HAVE 80 FEET FROM BUILDING TO BUILDING, AND, UM, WE HAVE 30 MILLION TOURISTS THAT COME DOWNTOWN TO THAT AREA.
AND I, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU GUYS, WE'D LOVE TO INVITE YOU TO OUR BOARD MEETING, UM, OR DO A WALK DOWN SIXTH STREET.
IT'S INCREDIBLY BUSY IN THE EVENINGS, AND WE WOULD LOVE TO, UM, ACCOMMODATE THE PROGRAMMING THAT'S ALREADY GOING ON DOWN THERE AND HAVING TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC AND ONE LANE THAT'S A LOADING UNLOADING ZONE.
AND WE FEEL LIKE THIS, UH, PROGRAMS THE STREET TO, UH, PUTTING SIXTH STREET BACK IN ITS RIGHT STANDING AS AMERICA'S ONE OF AMERICA'S GREATEST STREETS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS, AND I'D LOVE TO INVITE YOU GUYS TO OUR BOARD MEETINGS ON, UH, THE FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH.
AND, UH, WE'D JUST LOVE TO, UH, HELP YOU GUYS UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT HOW THAT STREET IS PROGRAMMED.
UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, THAT'S GREAT.
HI EVERYBODY, MY NAME IS CHRIS FLORES AND I AM A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT 10.
I CAME TO SPEAK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT THE $25 MILLION, UH, FROM TXDOT THAT IS, UH, SUPPOSED TO GO TO BUILD A BOARDWALK AROUND THE HYATT HOTEL, IS MY UNDERSTANDING.
THIS IS PARK MITIGATION MONEY.
AND, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THAT THIS MONEY BE, UH, UH, INSTEAD OF PUT MADE TO BE, UH, PAYING FOR A BOARDWALK, THAT IT BE GIVEN TO THE PARKS DEPARTMENT SO THAT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT CAN BUY PARKLAND IN THE QUADRANT OF THE CITY THAT'S LOSING PARKLAND, AND THAT WOULD BE AN EAST AUSTIN.
UM, THE HYATT DOES NOT NEED A BOARDWALK IN THESE TIMES OF, UH, FINANCIAL, UH, BUDGET, UH, BUDGETS BEING TIGHT.
I THINK, UH, THE CHOKE POINT WHERE THE TRAIL IS RUNS IN FRONT OF THE HYATT CAN BE RESOLVED WITHOUT A $25 MILLION, UH, BOARDWALK.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
IF WE CAN HAVE PAUL BOWMAN FOLLOWED BY KEVIN REEM, SEAN AND SEAN CRINKLE.
PAUL BODOM OF STREAM REALTY PARTNERS.
I'M LEADING OUR SIXTH STREET HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND SORT OF REPURPOSING EFFORT FOR SIXTH STREET.
I'M HERE ALSO TO TALK ABOUT THE THREE DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS ON SIXTH STREET.
UM, IT IS STREAM'S DESIRE AND HOPE THAT THIS COMMITTEE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN SELECTS OPTION NUMBER THREE.
UM, SIMILAR TO BLAKE, THIS IS NOT AN ANTIBI CONVERSATION IN MY MIND.
THIS IS A, WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF SIXTH STREET LOOK LIKE? AND AS A PROPERTY OWNER WHO REPRESENTS OVER 30 PROPERTIES THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND AN ACTIVE LEASE UP, OUR MAIN GOAL IS TO TRANSITION SIXTH STREET AWAY FROM A PURELY NIGHTLIFE DESTINATION INTO AN 18 HOUR NEIGHBORHOOD STREET FOR ALL OF DOWNTOWN.
AND THAT INCLUDES RECRUITING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF RESTAURANTS.
AND IF YOU GO LOOK AT THE SUCCESS OF SECOND STREET, WHICH HAS A TON OF RESTAURANTS, I THINK YOU'LL LOOK AT, THERE'S THE NORTH SIDE OF THE STREET AND THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE STREET.
WHAT IS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SIDE OF THE STREET? ON SECOND STREET? IT'S THE WIDER SIDEWALKS WITH THE OUTDOOR DINING UNDER THE PROPOSED BIKE LANE SOLUTION.
THAT SOLUTION ONLY LEAVES NINE AND A HALF FEET OF SIDEWALK TO ACCOMMODATE OUTDOOR DINING.
AND IF YOU GO LOOK AT THE OUTDOOR DINING IN AUSTIN, THE ONLY ONES THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO FIND THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL ARE 11 FEET OR LARGER.
SO BARE MINIMUM, WE'RE RUNNING INTO BLAKE'S POINT A MATH PROBLEM.
THIS IS WHAT IS THE BEST AND MOST POSITIVE SOLUTION TO ALLOW SIXTH STREET TO TRANSITION AWAY FROM WHAT IT IS NOW INTO A PRODUCTIVE NEIGHBORHOOD STREET FOR EVERYBODY IN DOWNTOWN TO ENJOY FROM THE MORNING ALL THE WAY TO NIGHT.
SO I ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO PLEASE COME DOWN, WALK SIXTH STREET AND BE HAPPY TO HOST YOU.
WE HAVE A LEASING OFFICE DOWN THERE, SORT OF WALK YOU THROUGH WHAT OUR PLAN IS AND EXPLAIN MORE IN DETAIL OF, YOU KNOW, WHY WE'RE PUSHING FOR OPTION THREE.
[00:10:01]
YOU.I'M ON THE BOARD OF THE TEXAS BAR AND NIGHTCLUB ALLIANCE.
I HAVE OWNED AND OPERATED BUSINESSES ON HISTORIC SIXTH STREET FOR OVER 18 YEARS.
CURRENTLY OWN AND OPERATE 11 LOCATIONS ON THE THREE AND 400 BLOCKS OF EAST SIXTH STREET.
IN ADDITION TO THOSE 11 ESTABLISHMENTS, TODAY, I'M REPRESENTING AN ADDITIONAL 17 BUSINESSES ON THE THREE AND 400 BLOCKS, WHO UNANIMOUSLY AGREE THAT HISTORIC SIXTH STREETS SHOULD NOT HAVE BIKE LANES.
THIS ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT IS A DESTINATION THAT'S DENSELY POPULATED WITH PEDESTRIANS.
THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO COME TO THE DISTRICT ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT NEED AS MUCH SIDEWALK SPACE AS POSSIBLE TO BE ABLE TO FREELY MOVE THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT.
I'VE ATTENDED THE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING MEETINGS REGARDING THE THREE ALTERNATIVE DESIGN PROPOSALS FOR SIXTH STREET.
I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE BOTH THE MEMBERS OF THE TRANSPORTATION AND THE MEMBERS OF THIS MOBILITY COMMITTEE TO COME TO THE DISTRICT AT NIGHTTIME.
WE WOULD HOST YOU ANY TIME, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE THERE AT NIGHTTIME TO UNDERSTAND THE DISTRICT AND THE CHALLENGES WE ARE FACING IN REGARDS TO PEDESTRIANS NOT BEING ABLE TO MOVE FREELY THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT.
SIXTH STREET IS A UNIQUE, HISTORIC FAMOUS ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT, AND IT SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH BY THE CITY.
MAJOR ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS ARE PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY AND DO NOT HAVE BIKE RIDERS RIDING THROUGH THEM.
THE BUSINESSES ON SIXTH STREET, THE PROPERTY OWNERS ON SIXTH STREET, AND THE CUSTOMERS OF THESE ESTABLISHMENTS ALL AGREE THAT SIXTH STREET DOES NOT NEED BIKE LANES.
THE CITY SHOULD LISTEN TO THE STAKEHOLDERS AND NOT INCLUDE BIKE LANES IN ANY FUTURE PLANS FOR HISTORIC SIXTH STREET.
UM, I WANNA SPEAK ON THE SIXTH STREET TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
SIXTH STREET IS A HISTORIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT THAT IS VERY UNIQUE IN A SPECIAL PLACE AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH.
IT CONSISTS OF 80 STOREFRONTS AND LESS THAN HALF A MILE OF LENGTH WITH A CURRENT MIXTURE AS IS OF HOTELS, RETAIL, RESTAURANTS, GYMS, BARS, MUSIC VENUES, AND COMEDY CLUBS.
THAT MIX IS CONTINUING TO DEVELOP WITH MORE RESTAURANTS, RETAIL, AND APARTMENTS, AS A CELEBRATION OF ITS HISTORIC PEDESTRIAN AND ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT FOR VISITORS AND LOCALS.
THERE ARE ROUGHLY 30 MILLION PEOPLE WHO VISIT AUSTIN DOWNTOWN EACH YEAR.
THE DISTANCE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS LESS THAN 0.0003% OF THE PROPOSED BIKE LANES OVER THE NEXT SIX YEARS.
IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH I AM A SUPPORTER OF, THERE ARE NO DEDICATED BIKE LANES EAST OF 35 ON SIXTH STREET.
THERE ARE NO DEDICATED BIKE LANES WEST OF CONGRESS ON SIXTH STREET.
SO ANY PROPOSED, UH, LANES IN THE REDESIGN WOULD BE LANES TO NOWHERE.
THEIR DESIGN ONLY REMOVES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CAFE FOR SAFE PEDESTRIAN SPACE FOR A PD FIRE DEPARTMENT AND VENDOR USAGE.
THE DISTRICT HAS THE HIGHEST DENSITY OF PEDESTRIANS IN ALL OF THE CITY, IF NOT THE STATE, CONSISTENTLY ON A WEEKLY, MONTHLY BASIS.
IT IS RARE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN OR ANY COMMUNITY FOR THERE TO BE SO MUCH CONSENSUS AND AGREEMENT.
BUT NIGHTLIFE OF VENUES AND BARS, COMEDY CLUBS, TBNA, RESTAURANTS, BUILDING OWNERS AND PROPERTY OWNERS, THE AUSTIN RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION, THE PECAN STREET FESTIVAL, THE PECAN STREET OWNERS ASSOCIATION, THE DAA AND A PD ALL AGREE THAT OPTION THREE OF THE PLAN, REMOVING BIKE LANES FOR A DEVELOPMENT OF A SAFER SIXTH AS PROPOSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IN 2022, IS THE BEST PLAN FOR THE DISTRICT.
THIS UNIQUE STREET STARTED IN 1839 HAS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ITS EVOLUTION TO CONTINUE FOR ALL THE VISITORS AND LOCALS ALIKE.
IF WE CAN HAVE HAYDEN BLACK WALKER, FOLLOWED BY JANA MCCANN.
I'M HAYDEN BLACK WALKER WITH RECONNECT AUSTIN.
UM, FOR OVER 13 YEARS I'VE BEEN TRYING TO MAKE THE I 35 CORRIDOR A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
UM, I'VE BEEN WORKING ON A TECHNICAL STAKEHOLDER GROUP WITH, UM, CITY STAFF AND WITH, UM, TXDOT ON THE NORTHERN STITCHES FROM 41ST STREET UP TO THE RED LINE WHERE IT CROSSES THE AIRPORT.
AND WHAT I'M REALLY ASKING FOR TODAY IS MAYBE SOME HELP GETTING, UM, A COUPLE OF EXTRA MONTHS IN THE DECISION RIGHT NOW.
THERE'S A DECISION DUE AT THE END OF THIS MONTH IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS TO TDOT, UM, ABOUT WHAT THOSE NORTHERN STITCHES WILL LOOK LIKE.
AND I KNOW THE CITY'S WORKED REALLY HARD TO GATHER FEEDBACK.
THEY DID A REALLY GOOD PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
[00:15:01]
SESSION ON THE 22ND OF NOVEMBER.LOTS AND LOTS OF PEOPLE THERE.
I WAS REALLY SURPRISED WHEN I SHOWED UP HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE THERE.
BUT THE TIMING BETWEEN THAT AND MAKING THIS DECISION IS, IS REALLY TIGHT.
UM, THEY, UH, THERE'S SORT OF GENERAL CONSENSUS, UM, THAT, UM, ANY FUTURE STITCH WILL NEED A PRIVATE PARTNER AND THERE'S NOT BEEN ANY TIME BUILT INTO THE SYSTEM TO REALLY VET WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE WITH A PRIVATE PARTNER.
SO I THINK THERE'S A REAL OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO LOOK AT THAT BEFORE WE GIVE A FINAL DECISION TO TDOT.
UM, THERE ARE ALSO SOME REALLY COMPLICATED GEOMETRIES IN THIS AREA.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND MOST OF THEM AFTER MULTIPLE MEETINGS, BUT THERE ARE PLACES WHERE FRONTAGE ROWS AND COLLECTOR DISTRIBUTORS ARE 20 FEET BELOW GROUND WITH BIG, HUGE RETAINING WALLS.
THEY'RE KIND OF CANYONS IN HERE THAT MAKE IT A REALLY HARD PROBLEM TO SOLVE, BUT I THINK THAT THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO SOLVE THOSE PROBLEMS. AND THEN I'LL JUST POINT OUT, UM, THE CHARETTE THAT WAS DONE THAT LOOKED AT THE HANCOCK CENTER AREA AND THE FIESTA DELWOOD SHOPPING CENTER, UM, REALLY FOCUSED ON WHAT WE COULD DO QUICKLY, WHICH IS SOME IMPROVEMENTS ALONG 41ST STREET.
HI, MY NAME'S JANNA MCCANN AND I'M AN ARCHITECT AND URBAN DESIGNER WITH A LOCAL COMPANY IN TOWN.
AND I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH HAYDEN AND OTHERS IN THE SMALL GROUP OF TECHNICAL STAKEHOLDERS.
I THINK WE'RE CALLED TECHNICAL BECAUSE WE ARE COMING FROM PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE BACKGROUNDS.
UM, BUT FIRST WANTED TO THANK THE COUNCIL FOR HAVING AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THIS EXTRA LEVEL OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AROUND THE NORTHERN STITCHES THAT YOU ALL PASSED THE RESOLUTION ABOUT IN MAY OF THIS YEAR.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT AND THANKS FOR THE STAFF.
UM, I THINK THEY'VE CONDUCTED A GREAT PROCESS, ALTHOUGH IT'S EXTREMELY CURTAILED, AND WE'RE SUPPOSED TO COME UP WITH A DECISION ABOUT WHERE WE WANT THESE STITCHES TO BE AND WHAT THEY KIND OF LOOK LIKE IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO.
AND SO I ECHO THE, THE CONCERNS THAT HAYDEN EXPRESSED ABOUT WANTING MORE TIME.
BUT BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE CREATED SOME OVERALL GUIDING PRINCIPLES, AND I'LL JUST READ THE FIRST BULLET IS, UH, INTEGRATE BEST PRACTICES OF URBAN DESIGN AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY TO DELIVER A BEAUTIFUL AND SUSTAINABLE URBAN LANDSCAPE THAT CREATES HIGH QUALITY APPRECIATED PATHWAYS AND BELOVED COMMUNITY SPACES.
AND SO THAT'S KIND OF AN OVERARCHING IDEA.
AND THEN WE HAVE A LOT OF OTHER SORT OF SUB GOALS AND PRINCIPLES TO THAT.
AND WE'D JUST LIKE TO BE REASSURED THAT THOSE IDEAS ARE PART OF THE SORT OF EVALUATION PROCESS AND WE HAD WRITTEN THEM WITH THAT IN MIND.
WE DON'T REALLY, ARE NOT SUPER CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THAT EVALUATION PROCESS IS THAT WILL LEAD THE CITY TO COME TO A RECOMMENDATION TO GIVE TO TDOT.
WE'RE ASKED TO MAKE DECISIONS OR OUR BEST GUESS GIVEN THE FACT THOUGH THAT WE ARE ONLY PLAYING WITH A FEW CARDS OUT OF THE DECK.
WE DON'T KNOW WHO A FUTURE DEVELOPMENT PARTNER MIGHT BE, WHO MIGHT HAVE VERY DIFFERENT IDEAS THAN WHAT WE DO.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE A DEVELOPMENT PARTNER TO ACTUALLY CONSTRUCT THE FINAL LIDS OR STITCHES.
BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
DANIELLE, ARE THERE ANY OTHER SPEAKERS THAT HAVE SIGNED UP? THAT'S EVERYONE.
I THINK THERE MAY BE ONE OTHER SPEAKER OUT THERE THAT DIDN'T GET A CHANCE.
UM, IF WE COULD MOVE THROUGH THE PRESENTATIONS AND IF WE HAVE EXTRA TIME AT THE END, I'M HAPPY TO SEE IF THERE'S ANYONE ELSE THAT, UM, NEEDS A MOMENT TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS WITH THE COMMITTEE.
[1. Approve the minutes of the November 13, 2025, Mobility Committee Meeting.]
THAT WILL MOVE US ON TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR NOVEMBER 13TH, 2025.AND BY THE WAY, WE'VE BEEN JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, UM, HE'S NOT ON THE COMMITTEE SO HE CAN'T VOTE, BUT I'M SURE HE'S VERY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING THAT WE HAD.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER LANE, SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR CADRE.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES THAT IS UNANIMOUS BY THOSE IN ATTENDANCE TODAY.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON MIGHT BE JOINING US REMOTELY, BUT SHE HASN'T LOGGED IN YET, SO PLEASE LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT ANY OF THE VOTES THAT WE TAKE TODAY, UM, REFLECT THAT.
[6. Briefing from the Urban Transportation Commission regarding actions from the December 2, 2025, meeting.]
THE NEXT ITEM WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO IS ACTUALLY GONNA BE NUMBER SIX.WE'VE GOT THE UPDATE FROM THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ABOUT THEIR MEETING ON DECEMBER 2ND, AND WE HAVE SUSAN SUMMERS THE CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION JOINING US TODAY.
WE CAN SEE YOU HERE IN CHAMBERS.
I SEEM TO BE HAVING AN ISSUE WITH MY CAMERA, BUT HOPEFULLY IT'S, IT'S GOOD ENOUGH THAT, UM, Y'ALL CAN HEAR ME TODAY.
WE CAN'T SEE THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN,
[00:20:01]
BUT WE CAN SEE YOU.IT'S KIND OF SETTING ME OFF, BUT IT, I'M SURE IT'S FINE FOR TODAY'S PURPOSES.
I, UM, WE, URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION HAD OUR DECEMBER MEETING JUST TWO DAYS AGO AND WE ONLY HAD ONE ACTION ITEM.
UM, AND WE DID PASS A RECOMMENDATION THAT'S RATHER DENSE.
I REALLY WANNA TRY TO KEEP THIS TO ABOUT FIVE, NO MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES, BUT I REALLY WANNA WALK YOU THROUGH OUR RECOMMENDATION.
SO THIS IS, UM, I HOPE IT MADE IT INTO YOUR BACKUP, BUT I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE.
IT IS RECOMMENDATION 20 25 1 2 0 2 DASH 0 0 5.
AND IT IS A RECOMMENDATION ABOUT A POTENTIAL 2026 BOND.
WE HAD BEEN ADVISED BY THE, UM, BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE AND CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES THAT WE WOULD BEST POSITIONED TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE B-B-F-B-A-T-F AND, UH, CITY COUNCIL IF WE COULD ACCOMPLISH THAT BY THE END OF 2025.
AND, UM, I HAVE A LOT OF THANKS FOR THE WORKING GROUP THAT DID, UH, PUBLISH THIS, UM, RECOMMENDATION.
SO, UM, UH, THAT DRAFTED THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE COMMISSION, COMMISSION TO APPROVE.
UM, SO, UM, WE KNOW THAT THE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, UH, DID PROPOSE, UH, UH, HAD A LIST OF 10 PROJECTS THAT WAS UP TO 925, UH, MILLION DOLLARS THAT WERE PROPOSED.
AND SO WE KNOW THAT, UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT BASED ON THE PAST, UH, WHAT THE B DIFF AND PROJECT REVIEW BOARD HAVE TOLD US ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE BOND AND THE FACT THAT ABOUT 48% OF THE BOND COULD GO TO TRANSPORTATION ISSUES.
UM, THAT, UM, YOU TWO, UM, THAT, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT AROUND $331 MILLION THAT COULD BE FOR TRANSPORTATION ISSUES.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO CREATE A PACKAGE THAT WENT TO ABOUT THAT 331 MILLION AMOUNT.
UM, SO WE KNOW, AND I'M JUST RUNNING THROUGH A COUPLE OF OUR WHEREASES, BUT I WON'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON 'EM.
WE KNOW THAT, UM, THE PERCENT OF LANE MILES IN THE CITY STREET INVENTORY HAS, UM, IN FAIR TO EXCELLENT CONDITION HAS DROPPED FROM 75% IN FISCAL YEAR 21 TO NOW 68.5%.
WE WERE ALSO VERY FOCUSED ON THE 50 50 MODE SPLIT GOAL, WHICH IS A KEY PART OF THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, AS WELL AS THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UM, WE'RE ALSO, UH, URBAN TRANSPORTATION IS REALLY, UM, CONCERNED WITH THE A TX GOALS OF THE A TX WALK BIKE ROLL PLAN, WHICH INCLUDE EXPANDING TO 660 MILES OF ALL AGES, INABILITY BIKEWAYS BY 2033, ALL 94 MILES OF TIER ONE URBAN TRAILS BY 2043 AND ALL HIGH AND VERY HIGH PRIORITY SIDEWALKS AND SHARED STREETS BY 2033.
UM, SO, UM, WE, UM, ALSO NOTICED, UM, THAT IN OUR, WHEREAS HERE THAT A LOT OF IN PREVIOUS BONDS, UM, NAMED PROJECTS, SO PROJECTS LIKE THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM OR, UM, YOU KNOW, DOING A SPECIFIC BRIDGE OR A SPECIFIC PROJECT, UM, OR MORE AREAS IN PRIOR BONDS THAT WERE MORE LIKELY TO BE UNDERSPENT AND, UM, HAVE NOT RESULTED IN COMPAR COMPARABLE RESULTS TO PROGRAMMATICALLY DIVINE BOND FINDING.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY PROGRAMMATICALLY DIVINE BOND FUNDING, OF COURSE, IS WHEN WE HAVE FUNDING THAT'S GOING TO FUND A PLAN LIKE A TX WALK BIKE ROLE OR, UM, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE TRANSIT ENHANCEMENT, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, THOSE PROGRAMS HAVE TENDED TO, UM, SPEND MORE OF THEIR MONEY, UM, IN THE ALLOCATED TIME.
AND WE DO THINK THAT THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT WHEN WE GO TO VOTERS, ESPECIALLY IN TODAY'S ENVIRONMENT, THAT WE ARE PUTTING FORWARD PROJECTS THAT WE KNOW CAN BE, UM, SPENT AND, UM, IN THE TIME THAT IS INDICATED IN THE BOND AND THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE THOSE IMPROVEMENTS ON THE GROUND WHEN, UM, OUR CITIZENS, YOU KNOW, TAKE THE EFFORT TO APPROVE SOMETHING, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE SHOW THEM THOSE RESULTS AND THAT'S GONNA BUILD THE PUBLIC TRUST.
SO THAT WAS A BIG ASPECT OF OUR THINKING IN THE WORKING GROUP FOR WRITING THIS, IS THAT WE WERE REALLY THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LET'S LOOK AT PROGRAM PROGRAMMATIC SPENDING VERSUS NAMED PROJECTS BECAUSE WE JUST FEEL LIKE ALWAYS, BUT MAYBE ESPECIALLY IN THIS ENVIRONMENT, WE REALLY NEED TO FOCUS ON THINGS THAT WE KNOW THAT WE CAN SPEND, UH, AND GET THOSE IMPROVEMENTS OUT ON THE GROUND TO FOLKS AND HAVE THEM, YOU KNOW, ENJOY THEM AND EXPERIENCE THE SAFETY AND MOBILITY AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT COME WITH THEM.
SO, UM, AGAIN, WE WERE LOOKING FOR THAT 331, UH, MILLION DOLLAR, UH, UH, AMOUNT FOR THE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS.
AND WE CAME UP WITH THREE GOALS THAT, UH, THE MAIN THREE GOALS IN OUR BE IT RESOLVED THAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR WERE, UH, FOR THE WORKING GROUP, UH, AND UTC WERE REDUCING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE HURT OR KILLED BY TRAFFIC CRASHES TO ZERO, OF COURSE, FROM OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, AS WELL AS THE 50 50 MODE SPLIT GOAL OF 50 PEOPLE WALKING, BICYCLING, TAKING TRANSIT, OR USING OTHER NON DRIVE ALONE
[00:25:01]
MODES.AND THEN ALSO THE 80% OF THE TOTAL LANE MILES IN FAIR TO EXCELLENT CONDITION, WHICH IS A TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, UH, LONG-TERM KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR.
SO, UM, YOU'LL SEE THEN THE BULLET POINTS FROM OUR RECOMMENDATION OF WHAT WE WANTED TO INVEST.
AND I WILL SAY WE LOOKED AT ALL OF THE PROJECTS IN THE, YOU KNOW, 900, UH, 925 MILLION PACKAGE FROM AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS.
AND WE HAD TO MAKE, OBVIOUSLY WHEN WE'RE GOING TO FROM 925 TO 331, WE HAVE TO MAKE SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT CUTS TO WHAT COULD BE DONE.
AND THAT WAS VERY CHALLENGING FOR THE WORKING GROUP.
BUT I THINK WE CAME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF.
SO WE, UM, SAID, UM, THE INVESTMENT IN SAFETY, OUR FIRST CATEGORY, OUR FIRST GOAL IS 78.2 MILLION, AND THAT DOES INCLUDE 58.7 MILLION FOR VISION ZERO, WHICH IS NEARLY ALL OF THEIR REQUESTS.
IT INCLUDES 20 MILLION FOR SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL, WHICH IS THEIR FULL REQUEST.
IT INCLUDES, UM, THE INVESTMENT IN A TX WALK BIKE ROLL, WHICH IS 186 MILLION.
THAT DOES BREAK DOWN INTO THE SUBPROGRAMS 81 MILLION TO SIDEWALKS, UM, 40 MILLION TO BIKEWAYS, 53.2 MILLION TO URBAN TRAILS, AND 11.8 MILLIONS TO TRANSIT ENHANCEMENT THAT IS THE FULL, UM, RECOMMENDED OR REQUESTED AMOUNT FOR BIKEWAYS AND SIDEWALKS.
UM, AND IN PARTICULAR, THEY HAVE BEEN THE FLAGSHIP TO GET THE SPENDING OUT THERE AND GET THE STUFF ON THE STREETS.
THEY'VE REALLY INNOVATED IN THEIR PROJECT DELIVERY MODES.
AND I THINK IT SERVED AS A MODEL FOR ALL OF US OF WHERE, HOW TO GO FORWARD.
UM, WE DID REDUCE THE AMOUNT FOR URBAN TRAILS, MAINLY IN LIGHT OF THE, THAT THEY HAVE NOT SPENT THROUGH ALL THEIR BOND BOND FUNDING.
AND SO IT'S A LITTLE, LITTLE BIT LESS THAN WHAT IS REQUESTED.
UM, AND THEN THE TRANSIT ENHANCEMENT, WE DID REDUCE THAT A LITTLE BIT.
IN FACT, WE ACTUALLY, IN OUR FIRST DRAFT WE HAD CUT THAT, BUT WE HEARD A LOT.
WE TALKED TO STAFF AND WE TALKED TO A BUNCH OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND WE HEARD HOW IMPORTANT THE TRANSIT ENHANCEMENT MONEY HAS BEEN WHEN THEY ARE GOING IN AND DOING BIKE LANES, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND THAT MAY INTERFERE WITH THE CAP METRO STOP AND THAT MONEY THEN FROM THE TRANSIT ENHANCEMENT THAT CAN BE USED TO PUT IN, YOU KNOW, LIKE A BULB OUT BUS STOP OR SOMETHING THAT ALIGNS WITH THE BIKE LANE.
AND SO WE REALLY HEARD FROM STAFF AND COMMUNITY THAT THIS IS A CRUCIAL PART OF INTEGRATING TRANSIT INTO THE OTHER, UM, OTHER THREE PROGRAMS HERE.
SO, UM, DEFINITELY I THINK A LOT MORE TO COME ON TRANSIT ENHANCEMENT PROJECTS, BUT WE WERE REALLY, UH, WE ACTUALLY ADDED THAT BACK AND WE CUT SOME MONEY ELSEWHERE TO GET IT BACK IN THERE, UM, IN OUR RECOMMENDATION.
UM, AND THEN, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT OUR INVESTMENT IN THE ROADWAY CONDITIONS, UM, YOU WILL SEE THAT WE DID RECOMMEND 66.5 MILLION TO THIS.
THIS IS FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND REHABILITATION OF CITY STREETS THAT ARE IN POOR FAILING CONDITION.
SO OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR AND WE WOULD WANNA MAKE PROGRESS ON THAT.
I THINK, UM, UTC DOES FEEL THAT LONG TERM WE SHOULD NOT NECESSARILY BE FUNDING STREET MAINTENANCE WITH BOND FUNDING.
IT SHOULD BE SOMETHING WHERE WE CAN LOOK TO GET THAT IN MORE ANNUAL BUDGET OR FIND OTHER, UH, FUNDING FLOW THROUGHS THAT HELP, UM, UH, HELP US WITH THAT, WHETHER THE TRANSPORTATION USER FEE OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE.
BUT GIVEN THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM, WE DID RECOMMEND THAT AMOUNT.
AND WE ALSO THINK THE STREET RIGHT CONSTRUCTION AND REHABIL REHABILITATION CAN ALIGN WITH OTHER, SOME OF THE OTHER PROGRAMMING IN THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE RECONSTRUCTING A STREET THAT HASN'T BEEN RECONSTRUCTED IN A LONG TIME, THEN THAT GIVES YOU OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND SIDEWALK MONEY TO SPEND BIKE MONEY TO REBUILD IT AS A MORE MULTIMODAL STREET.
SO, UM, WE ALSO THINK THAT THAT, UM, UH, CAN BE, UH, GOOD IN THAT WAY.
WE DO THINK THAT IN LINE WITH OUR, UM, HESITANCY TO FUND NAMED PROJECTS, WE RECOMMEND THAT AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, UM, DEVELOP A STREET AND BRIDGE RE REHABILITATION PLAN AS A AU AMENDMENT TO THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IS ACTUALLY IN THE WORKS.
I THINK WE'RE GONNA HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT AT UTC, MAYBE EVEN NEXT MONTH, BUT WE REALLY RECOMMEND THAT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WITH SOME OF THESE PROJECTS, I THINK THAT, UM, WITH THE PROGRAMMATIC FUNDING, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVEN'T SAID YET IS WHEN YOU DO THAT YOU HAVE A NEEDS-BASED AND EQUITY-BASED PRIORITIZATION MATRIX THAT REALLY HELPS YOU ENSURE THAT YOU'RE MEETING THE AREAS OF GREATEST NEED.
I THINK SOMETIMES WHEN YOU HAVE A NAMED PROJECT AND YOU REALIZE YOU CAN'T SPEND THAT MONEY AND YOU DON'T HAVE A PRIORITIZATION MATRIX, IT JUST BECOMES WHO'S YELLING AT US THE LOUDEST ABOUT SOMETHING, WHERE CAN WE GET THIS MONEY OUT THE DOOR? AND IT MAY NOT NECESSARILY ALIGN WITH THE HIGHEST NEED OR EVEN OUR GREATEST AREA OF EQUITY THAT WE HAVE.
SO THAT'S ONE REASON THAT WE REALLY THINK THAT GETTING A, UM, A PLAN FOR THAT, THAT REALLY PRIORITIZES THE NEEDS AND PROJECTS WILL REALLY HELP AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS IN THE FUTURE WITH THAT KIND OF SPENDING.
UM, SO, UM, AND THAT WE ASK THAT THAT PLAN WOULD INCLUDE CURRENT ROAD CONDITIONS, FUTURE PROJECTIONS,
[00:30:01]
EQUITY AND NEED BASED PRIORITIZATION WOULD INCLUDE THE TOTAL FUNDING NEEDING TO GET NEEDED TO GET TO 80% OF LANE MILES AND BRIDGES IN GOOD TO FAIR CONDITION BY 2039 OR 2045.IT WILL INCLUDE A FUNDING STACK THAT INCLUDES THE USE OF TRANSPORTATION USER FEES, STREET IMPACT FEE FUNDS, AND GRANTS TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS BY THOSE DEADLINES.
AND ALSO CONSIDERATION FOR HOW MOBILITY GOALS, OTHER MOBILITY GOALS CAN ALIGN WITH OTHER STREET RECONSTRUCTION.
SO, UM, WE ALSO DID NOT, NOTABLY, WE DIDN'T INCLUDE, UM, THE SIXTH STREET MOBILITY AND REVITALATION PROJECT IN OUR RECOMMENDATION NOR, UM, THE AUSTIN CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
AND THAT WAS A REALLY TOUGH CUT FOR ME PERSONALLY, I WILL SAY.
BUT, UM, IT, IT GOES IN LINE WITH, WE HAD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COST ESTIMATES FOR THAT.
WHERE THOSE WERE COMING FROM IS GOING BACK TO THE NAMED PROJECTS ISSUE THAT WE HAVE.
I THINK IN ALSO IN LARGE PART, BUT WE DO BELIEVE THAT SOME OF THE, UM, THE, UH, PROGRAMMATIC FUNDING INCLUDING SIDEWAY SIDEWALKS, BIKEWAYS STREET RECONSTRUCTION, VISION ZERO, COULD BE USED TO WORK ON SIX STREET RELATED PROJECTS.
SO WE WANTED TO PUT THAT IN THERE.
THAT'S ONE OF OUR BE IT RESOLVED.
AND, UM, WE ALSO, UH, DID, UH, DEPRIORITIZE THE BRIDGE REHABILITATION AND CONSTRUCTION REALLY IN LIGHT OF HOW THEY HAVEN'T HAD A GOOD SPEND THROUGH, UM, ON THEIR PRIOR BONDS.
AND WE ALSO RECOMMENDED NOT FUNDING THE COMPLETE STREETS PROGRAM BECAUSE WE HAVE A LACK OF CLARITY.
THERE'S NO PLAN FOR COMPLETE STREETS, AND WE DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND HOW THAT THOSE PROGRAMS WILL DIFFER FROM US OTHER AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAM.
SO THAT'S OUR, AND THEN THE LAST BULLET POINT WAS JUST, UM, WE LOOK FOR DEFINED PROGRAMS AND PLANS, UM, GOING FORWARD FOR OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUNDING.
WE'VE GOT IT POSTED IN THE BACKUP AS WELL FOR REVIEW, FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO TAKE A DEEPER LOOK.
[2. Update on the I-35 Capital Express Central project.]
MOVE ON TO THE NEXT BRIEFING, WHICH IS AN UPDATE ON I 35 CAPITAL EXPRESS CENTRAL PROJECT.GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
RICHARD MENDOZA, DIRECTOR FOR TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME VISIT WITH YOU TODAY AND GIVE YOU A BRIEF UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE WITH ALL THINGS CAP AND STITCH AND I 35 CAPITAL EXPRESS PROJECT, UH, DOWNTOWN.
AND SO THE PURPOSE OF THE MEETING TODAY IS GONNA BE TO PROVIDE THOSE UPDATES ON SOME RECENT DEVELOPMENTS REGARDING THAT PROJECT.
I'M JOINED HERE BY BOTH MY, UH, TPW STAFF AS WELL AS FINANCE AND, UH, TDOT REGRETTABLY COULD NOT MAKE IT DURING AN ALL DAY TRAINING TODAY, BUT WE DID INVITE THEM, UH, HERE FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
I'M JUST GONNA GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW AND THEN HAND IT OFF TO OUR TRANSPORTATION OFFICER WHO YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH, MS. MICHELLE MARKS AND HER TEAM.
AND I'M TRYING TO WORK THIS THING OVER HERE.
SO AGAIN, AN UPDATE ON THE TIMELINES.
WE HAVE SOME NEW INFORMATION FROM T DOT.
UH, THEY HAVE ADJUSTED SOME OF THEIR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULING BASED ON WHAT THEY HEARD BACK FROM THEIR DESIGNER AND CONSTRUCTOR.
THEY HAD TO SPLIT THE PROJECT BASICALLY IN TWO DIFFERENT PHASES, WHICH HAS, UH, HAS A, UM, LIKE A DOMINO EFFECT ON SOME OF THE MILESTONE DATES FOR THE CITY, UH, AS WE LOOK TO PURSUE, UH, THE CAMP AND STITCHES.
UH, WE'RE ALSO GONNA GIVE AN UPDATE ON, UH, THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE AS DIRECTED BY COUNCIL IN MAY TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY ON, UH, DETERMINING WHERE WE WOULD LIKE TO PURSUE NORTHERN STITCH ALTERNATIVES.
UH, AS YOU RECALL, UM, WE WERE GIVEN THE DIRECTION TO PURSUE TWO, UH, LOCATIONS FOR A POTENTIAL NORTHERN DITCH.
AND THEN AGAIN, THE MILESTONES.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, WE'RE JOINED BY PARD.
UH, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME IMPACTS FROM THE CAPEX CENTRAL PROJECT TO PARKLAND.
WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH OP, THE PARD AND THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY, UH, ON THOSE IMPACTS.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN OVER TO MS. MARKS.
[00:35:03]
SO I'M JUST GONNA KICK US OFF BY REALLY BRIEFLY, UM, TAKING US BACK, UM, TO WHERE WE LEFT OFF IN OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH COUNSEL AT OUR LAST DISCUSSIONS WITH YOU BACK ON, UM, MAY 22ND OF THIS YEAR.UM, AT THAT POINT, UH, COUNSEL DID PASS A RESOLUTION, UM, FOR STAFF TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE AND A FA WITH TDOT FOR AN AMOUNT UP TO $104 MILLION TO FUND THE ROADWAY SUPPORT ELEMENTS, UM, THAT WOULD EFFECTIVELY FUTURE PROOF OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UM, CAPS ALONG THE I FIVE I 35 CORRIDOR.
UM, THOSE ARE THE, THE COMPONENTS THAT YOU SEE IN THE DIAGRAM HERE IN BLUE, UM, EFFECTIVELY HOLDING SPACE FOR FUTURE HORIZONTAL DECKS, UM, AS FUNDING BECOMES AVAILABLE.
AND THAT'S IN FIVE LOCATIONS ALONG THE CORRIDOR BETWEEN CESAR CHAVEZ AND THE AIRPORT BOULEVARD RED LINE CROSSING.
AND, UM, THAT, THAT $104 MILLION FUNDING COMMITMENT, UM, DID FUND THIS PHASE ONE YOU SEE HIGHLIGHTED HERE IN RED OF THE PROJECT.
AGAIN, THOSE ROADWAY SUPPORT ELEMENTS.
UM, WE DO HAVE SOME MORE INFORMATION ON, UH, POTENTIAL PHASE TWO, UH, TIMELINE OPTIONS FOR YOU, UM, IN A FEW SLIDES HERE.
AND THAT WOULD BE THE HORIZONTAL, UH, DECK COMPONENT ON TOP OF THOSE ROADWAY ELEMENTS.
UM, BEFORE WE DIVE INTO THAT, UM, WE DO HAVE SOME GENERAL SCHEDULE UPDATES THAT WE'VE RECEIVED RECENTLY FROM TXDOT SINCE WE LAST, UH, CAME TO COUNCIL IN MAY, 2025.
WE'LL SHARE THOSE WITH YOU NOW AS DIRECTOR MENDOZA, UM, ALLUDED TO, UM, SINCE MAY, TXDOT HAS MADE THE DECISION TO BREAK THEIR CAPITAL EXPRESS PROJECT INTO TWO, UM, SCOPE COMPONENTS.
AND AGAIN, THAT IS JUST GIVEN SOME FEEDBACK THAT THEY'VE RECEIVED FROM THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY THAT THE, THE PROJECT WAS, WAS JUST ENORMOUS, THAT IT MADE MORE SENSE, UM, TO PURSUE TWO SEPARATE BID PACKAGES, UM, AS CONTRACTORS.
SO THEY HAVE NOW, UM, TWO, UH, PROJECT COMPONENTS THAT THEY'RE, UM, TERMING THE ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION PACKAGE AND THE ULTIMATE CONSTRUCTION PACKAGE.
NOW THE ADVANCED, AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, WHICH PIECES OF THE PROJECT ARE IN WHICH OF THOSE, UM, THE ADVANCED, UH, IS SLATED TO GO TO BID IN 2027.
THE ULTIMATE CONSTRUCTION, UH, PACKAGE.
THIS IS THE COMPONENT, UM, IN WHICH THE CITY FUNDED CAP ANDIT ELEMENTS AND OTHER BETTERMENTS WOULD BE PART OF THAT WOULD GO TO BID NOW IN 2029.
SO THERE ARE, UM, AS DIRECTOR MENDOZA MENTIONED, SOME KIND OF WATERFALL IMPACT TO THE CITY COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT.
UM, BECAUSE OF THIS, UM, UH, DELAY, UM, THE, THE CITY FUNDED ROADWAY ELEMENTS WILL NOW, UM, GO INTO DESIGN IN 2027 AND INTO BID AND CONSTRUCTION IN 2029.
UM, SO THE CONSTRUCTION HAS BEEN PUSHED OUT THREE YEARS.
WHEN WE LAST CAME TO YOU IN MAY OF THIS YEAR, UM, WE WERE ANTICIPATING THOSE ROADWAY ELEMENTS TO GO INTO CONSTRUCTION IN 2026.
UM, NOW DESPITE THIS, UM, KIND OF PROJECT POSTPONEMENT, UM, WE ARE HEARING FROM TXDOT THAT THE, UH, REQUIRED FUNDING COMMITMENTS THEY'RE ASKING FOR FROM THE CITY, UM, THOSE HAVE NOT BEEN POSTPONED.
UM, IN FACT, WE, UM, WHEN WE CAME TO YOU IN MAY, WE WERE ANTICIPATING, UM, A REQUIRED COMMITMENT FROM COUNSEL FOR ANY PHASE TWO DECK ELEMENTS THAT YOU WANTED TO BE INCLUDED INTO THE BID PACKAGE.
UM, WE INITIALLY COMMUNICATED TO YOU THAT THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED FROM YOU IN NOVEMBER OF 2026.
WE'RE NOW HEARING FROM TECH TXDOT THAT THEY WOULD IN FACT LIKE THAT, UM, COMMITMENT IN MAY OF 2026.
UM, AND THIS CHANGE, UM, ADVANCING THAT COMMITMENT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE SEEKING TO ENTER INTO SCOPE AND BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS WITH THEIR CONSULTANT, UM, SOONER THAN INITIALLY ANTICIPATED.
THIS IS A, UH, GRAPHIC TIMELINE OF THAT NEW TXDOT SCHEDULE THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THEM, UM, A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO.
UM, AGAIN, JUST SHOWING THESE TWO PACKAGES THAT THEY ARE NOW PURSUING AN ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION PACKAGE AND ULTIMATE CONSTRUCTION.
UM, NOW THE ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION PACKAGE ANTICIPATED TO BREAK GROUND IN, UM, 2027 WITH LETTING IN LATE 26.
[00:40:01]
WILL INCLUDE, UM, SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THEY'LL BE MAKING TO THE BRIDGE OVERPASSES, UM, SUCH AS MLK, FOR EXAMPLE, BRIDGE.UM, ALSO SOME, UH, CHANGES IN, UH, TO THE FRONTAGE ROADS AS WELL AS, UH, UTILITY RELOCATION WORK TO ANTICIPATE, UH, THE MAJOR ROADWAY WORK FORTHCOMING AS PART OF THE ULTIMATE CONSTRUCTION PACKAGE.
UM, AGAIN, THE ULTIMATE CONSTRUCTION, UM, IS, IS GOING TO BE KIND OF THE PRINCIPLE BULK OF, OF THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS.
THE, UM, UH, ROADWAY CONSTRUCTION FOR TX DOTS, UH, FREEWAY WIDENING PROJECT THAT WILL, UH, GO TO LETTING IN 2029.
UM, AND THIS IS THE, THE CHUNK OF THE PROJECT IN WHICH THE CITY FUNDED, UH, CABIN STITCH ELEMENTS AND OTHER BETTERMENTS WILL BE WRAPPED INTO AS DISCUSSED.
SO YOU CAN SEE ON THE TIMELINE GRAPHIC HERE, UM, FOR BOTH THE UNIVERSITY SEGMENT, UM, GOING TO, UM, CONSTRUCTION IN 2029 AND THE DOWNTOWN SEGMENT.
UM, JUST SLIGHTLY LAGGING THAT I AM GONNA HAND IT OVER TO, UH, MY COLLEAGUES IN FINANCIAL SERVICES TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS TO THE CITY BETTERMENTS WITH THIS CHANGE IN SCHEDULE.
UM, I I DO WANT TO JUST HIGHLIGHT FROM A A, A CITY RISK PERSPECTIVE THAT THERE HAS BEEN WITH THIS CHANGE A TDOT, UH, OF WHEN THE PACKAGE TO LET, TO GET ANY OF KIND OF FEEDBACK FROM THE MARKETPLACE ABOUT WHAT COST ESTIMATES WOULD BE ON, LET'S JUST SAY THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS.
LET'S PUT IT THE CAPEX ASIDE FOR A SECOND, BUT JUST WHAT COUNCIL COMMITTED TO BACK IN MAY OF THIS YEAR, 104 MILLION TO FUTURE PROOF THE ROADWAYS WE HAD ANTICIPATED AT THAT TIME, UH, WHEN WE WERE BEFORE COUNCIL IN APRIL AND MAY, THAT BY THE TIME THE CITY HAD TO EXECUTE AN EFA AND COMMIT TO FUNDING THAT WE WOULD HAVE, THE CITY WOULD HAVE AT LEAST 60% DESIGN THAT WILL NO LONGER ON THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS IN ORDER TO CALIBRATE COSTS.
AND JUST A REMINDER IS THAT EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE COUNCIL APPROVAL FOR 41 MILLION IN A SIB LOAN, WHICH IS ALL THAT THE CITY RECEIVED, AND $63 MILLION IN CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION, THAT THAT'S THE CITY MUST PAY FOR ALL COST OVERRUNS OVER A VERY LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
AND WE HAD ESTIMATED AT THAT TIME A 25% CONTINGENCY THOSE COSTS THAT COUNCIL APPROVED FOR ROADWAY ELEMENTS THAT WE, WE PRESENTED, WHICH AMOUNTED TO $104 MILLION, WAS BASED ON 30% DESIGN BASED ON VERY GENERIC EXAMPLES FROM OTHER CITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS PRIOR TO, UH, TARIFFS PRIOR TO, UM, ANY OF THE CURRENT, UH, PRICING MARKET.
SO WHAT WE HAD HOPED IS BY GETTING 60% DESIGN, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO CALIBRATE BASED ON SOME RELATIVELY TRUE NUMBERS FROM A COMPETITIVE MARKETPLACE, WHAT THAT COULD BE.
WE NO LONGER WILL HAVE THAT BEFORE WE COMMIT IN AN AFA AND WHEN WE NEED TO CUT A CHECKS TO TEXTILE JUST FOR ROADWAY ELEMENTS.
SO I WANT TO, I KNOW I'M A DOWNER, I'M A BUZZKILL.
NOBODY INVITES ME TO MEETINGS ANYMORE, BUT THAT IS FROM FINANCIAL SERVICES POINT OF VIEW, THE CITY'S RISK PROFILE HAS INCREASED.
WE DO HAVE A DRAFT AFA, UH, FROM TXDOT, WHICH CLEARLY STATES THE CITY ACCEPTS ALL COST OVERRUNS.
THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE A ROLE IN, UH, DESIGN, IN DELIVERY, IN PERMITTING, ET CETERA.
SO I SAY ALL THAT TO SAY THE CITY HAS ALREADY, UH, ENTERED INTO DESIGN WITH TXDOT FOR THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS.
WHAT WILL BE BEFORE CITY COUNCIL IN, IN A FEW MONTHS IS YOUR CONSIDERATION FOR WHETHER IT WILL BE OUT IN A BID PACKAGE AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE IN SEVERAL YEARS IN, UM, I'M SORRY, IN 2029, UM, A BID PACKAGE FOR ULTIMATE CONSTRUCTION.
SO THERE IS RISK AND THE FACT EVEN FOR THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS, OUR RISK PROFILE HAS INCREASED SOMEWHAT AND DEPENDING ON HOW WE FEEL ABOUT THAT 25% CONTINGENCY.
SO, UH, JUST PUT THAT OUT THERE TO SAY THAT IS WHAT MOVED.
UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'D ALSO LIKE TO SAY HERE A LITTLE BIT IS THAT, UM, WE, WE DO UNDERSTAND THAT TXDOT
[00:45:01]
IS KIND OF MOVING TIMELINES NOW AND THE FACT THAT IT'S REALLY NOT A NOVEMBER OF 26 HARD DECISION, THAT THEY REALLY NEED MORE CLARITY FROM COUNCIL IN MAY OF 2026 FOR FUTURE COMMITMENTS FOR CAPEX.THAT THAT IS ALSO SOMETHING TO CONSIDER.
SO, UM, ANYWAY, I JUST DON'T WANNA BELABOR THAT POINT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT FROM THE CITY'S, UH, LIKE THE FINANCIAL RISK PERSPECTIVE, WHAT THIS MIGHT MEAN, TOOK ALL THE OXYGEN OUT OF THE ROOM.
I, UM, CAN PROCEED TO THE OTHER SLIDE.
I KNOW THERE IS ONE BEYOND THIS BEFORE WE HEAD INTO THE NEXT SECTION, BUT I JUST, UM, I WILL ALSO BE A DEBBIE DOWNER TODAY WITH THIS INFORMATION.
UM, WHO IS DOING THE SPECULATIONS ON WHAT THIS COST MIGHT BE FOR THE CITY? IS THE CITY CRUNCHING THESE NUMBERS OR IS TECH DOT CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS AND GIVING THEM TO US? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
WHAT WE ARE DOING IS WE ARE COLLABORATING WITH TDOT TO SEE IF, AND YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER TO OUR TECH, TO OUR, UH, TPW DEPARTMENTS, BUT THEY, THEY DO RECOGNIZE THIS PINCH POINT AND THEY ARE LOOKING AT OTHER KIND OF PRICING IN OTHER CAP DECKS, UM, FROM SAY WHAT'S HAPPENING UP IN, IN, IN DALLAS.
AND I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO PEOPLE WHO REALLY, YEAH, WE, WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT THE COST ESTIMATES.
WE RECEIVE LINE ITEM COST ESTIMATES THAT ARE VERY TRANSPARENT AND OPEN AND COLLABORATIVE BETWEEN TECH TEXT, ETHNICITY OF AUSTIN.
WE ALSO HAVE HAD OUR CITY ENGINEER REVIEW THE COST ESTIMATES THAT WERE PRESENTED TO YOU BACK IN MAY.
AND SO IN ANTICIPATION OF ANY CONTINUED CONVERSATION, WE HAVE THAT CITY ENGINEER IF NEEDED TO CONTINUE REVIEWING AND, UH, LOOKING AT A FORECASTED, UH, COST ESCALATION.
UH, BUT AT THIS TIME WITH THE COST CONTINGENCIES THAT WE DO HAVE WITHIN THE COST ESTIMATES, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH AS WE CAN BE FAIRLY CONFIDENT ABOUT THE 30% COST ESTIMATES THAT WE'VE RECEIVED TO THIS POINT.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE AT 30% DESIGN OR 60% DESIGN.
30 AND 60% WON'T HAPPEN UNTIL 2027.
IS IT CUSTOMARY FOR THIS TYPE OF PROJECT TO START DOING BIDS ON SOMETHING OF THIS SIZE WITH ONLY 30% SCHEMATIC? NO.
AND, AND THAT HAS BEEN A CONCERN OF OUR FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT PARTNERS.
WELL I WON'T BELABOR IT 'CAUSE I KNOW THERE'S A COUPLE OTHER SECTIONS INCLUDE, INCLUDING THE NEW INFORMATION ABOUT THE NORTHERN CAPS AND STITCHES OPTIONS.
UM, BUT THIS PUTS THE CITY IN A VERY TOUGH SPOT WHEN WE ARE IN A MOMENT OF HAVING TO MAKE SOME VERY TOUGH DECISIONS ABOUT OUR OWN CITY BUDGET AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE'VE GOT THE DOLLARS AVAILABLE TO ACCOMMODATE ALL OF THIS NEED, UM, IS NOT HELPFUL TO HAVE OUR TIMELINES MOVED UP AND FOR US TO HAVE TO BE COMMITTING TO FUNDING WHEN WE'RE ONLY AT 30% DESIGN.
I JUST THINK THAT'S A, A PRETTY POOR PRACTICE AND IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT ON YOU.
I KNOW, BUT WE'RE ALL IN THE ROOM TOGETHER.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT IF NO ONE HAS ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR PHASE, LET'S MOVE INTO THE OTHER SEGMENTS OF THE, THE PRESENTATION YOU PREPARED.
I, I DON'T, I DON'T VIEW THIS AS DEBBIE DONNER OR ANY OF YOU.
I STRONGLY AGREE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS AND, UM, THIS RISK PROFILE IS REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, PARTICULARLY WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON WITH VOTER APPROVAL OF, OF THE TRE UPCOMING BOND, ALL OF THAT.
SO THANK YOU FOR BEING TRANSPARENT ON WHERE WE'RE AT AND HOW THIS IMPACTS THAT.
BETTER FOR US TO HAVE THE INFORMATION THAN BE SURPRISED LATER.
UH, MR. CHAIR, I DO WANNA MAKE A STATEMENT.
YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS MAY DECISION POINT THAT TDOT HAS MADE AVAILABLE TO US IS NOT THE FINAL, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR US AS A CITY TO MAKE A DECISION OR DETERMINATION, UH, ON WHERE WE WANT TO PURSUE AND, AND ADVANCE DESIGN ON THESE DECKS.
UH, THAT'S ACTUALLY, THAT'S OPEN UP UNTIL LIKE 29.
IT'S ONLY IF WE WANT TO HAVE THIS INCLUDED WITH THE PRESENT DESIGNER.
AND IN THIS ORIGINAL BID PACKAGE, WE CAN ALWAYS, UH, WE DON'T HAVE TO BE FEEL PRESSURED INTO A DECISION.
WE CAN WAIT UNTIL THE DESIGN ADVANCES FURTHER.
TYPICALLY, COST ESTIMATES GET MORE REFINED AT A 30% LEVEL.
THEY COULD VARY PLUS AND MINUS 70% AT 60 PLUS AND MINUS 30%.
AS THE DESIGN ADVANCES, WE BECOME MORE CERTAIN, UH, OF THOSE COST ESTIMATES.
SO THIS IS ONLY IF WE WANT TO GO IN THE ORIGINAL BID PACKAGE.
WE HAVE THE CHANGE ORDER MECHANISM AS AN OPTION WITH TIGHTER, UH, COST ESTIMATES AVAILABLE TO US IN ENSUING YEARS.
AND THE MORATORIUM AFTER THEY FINISH CONSTRUCTION, THAT NOTHING ELSE BE STARTED AFTER 32 OR 33, IT'LL BE 10 YEARS.
[00:50:01]
OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT I, I MIGHT WANNA MENTION IS, AND I JUST WANNA POINT TO TDOT'S TIMELINE AND I I TURN IT OVER TO, TO YOU, BRIANNA, BUT THIS IS TDOT'S REQUEST.SO JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THAT GIVEN COUNCIL MIGHT GIVE DIRECTION THAT EXECUTING AN AFA AND A COMMITMENT, AND I'M JUST SAYING FOR ROADWAY ELEMENTS, I KNOW THIS IS A COMMITMENT ALSO TO INCLUDE CAPEX.
IT, IT MIGHT BE A NEGOTIATION WITH TXDOT BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE SOLIDIFIED, SOLIDIFIED THE EXECUTION DATE OF THE AFA FOR ROADWAY ELEMENTS.
SO THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT IS A NEGOTIATING POINT.
SO JUST TO BE CLEAR THEN, THE MAY, UH, UH, THE ADVANCED FUNDING AGREEMENT THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS FOR THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS.
UM, COUNCIL HAS ALREADY MADE THE FUNDING COMMITMENT FOR THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS, UM, IN MAY OF THIS YEAR.
THE REQUEST IS FOR ANY HORIZONTAL CAP DECKS THAT YOU WOULD ALSO LIKE INCLUDED IN THE BID PACKAGE.
UM, AS DIRECTOR MENDOZA SAID, THAT'S, UM, NOT A FIRM DEADLINE.
UM, YOU OR ANY OF OUR, YOU KNOW, PRIVATE PARTNERS COULD ADD DECKS TO THE PROJECT AS A CHANGE ORDER ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE END OF THE PROJECT, 20 32, 3 4, WHENEVER IT ENDS.
UM, IT'S, IT'S TO INCLUDE THEM IN THE BID PACKAGE TO GET THE BEST POSSIBLE CONSTRUCTION PRICE.
BUT THE BID PACKAGE FOR THE DECKS IS NOT GOING OUT UNTIL 2029.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING AND DISCUSSION WITH TXDOT IS THEY'RE ASKING THAT MUCH LEAD TIME BECAUSE THEY WANNA KNOW WHAT THEIR DESIGNERS NEED TO DESIGN FOR INCLUSION IN THE BID PACKAGE.
AND, AND, AND I MEAN, AGAIN, JUST THINKING OUT LOUD A BIT, UH, YOU KNOW, CONCEIVABLY, UH, WE, 'CAUSE AGAIN, THE CHANGE ORDER IS WHAT STAFF HAS COMMUNICATED IS THAT A CHANGE ORDER, UH, WOULD INCREASE COST.
UH, IT'S BETTER TO PUT IT IN THE INITIAL BID PACKAGE.
NOW LET ME ASK, WHAT ABOUT A CHANGE ORDER DOWN? LIKE, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, IN OTHER WORDS, IF WE SAY WE WANT ALL THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS, WE WANT ALL THE CAPS INCLUDED IN THE INITIAL BID PACKAGE, THEY GO OUT WITH THE INITIAL BID PACKAGE, THEY COME BACK WITH THE BIDS.
AND LET'S SAY FOR EXAMPLE, WE SAY, OH, THAT'S TOO MUCH.
OR, OR, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
WHAT, WHAT'S, HOW WOULD THAT WORK? BECAUSE AGAIN, I DON'T WANNA CHANGE ORDER UP.
I, I GUESS I WOULD FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE CHANGE ORDERING IN GETTING THE INITIAL KIND OF FULL SCOPE AND THEN ADJUSTING AS NEEDED BASED ON, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, FUNDING.
AGAIN, THERE'S, THERE'S JUST A LOT OF MOVING PARTS HERE.
I MEAN, WE, WE, WE HAD THE $105 MILLION GRANT THAT, THAT WENT AWAY.
IS THAT GONNA COME BACK IN THE FUTURE? I DON'T KNOW.
WE, I MEAN IF, IF, IF SO THERE'S JUST A LOT OF MOVING PARTS WHERE, UH, UH, WE DON'T HAVE CLARITY.
COUNCIL MEMBER, THANK YOU FOR THAT INPUT.
AND YES, IN TERMS OF CHANGE ORDERING DOWN, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE A NEGOTIATION WITH TDOT.
WHAT THEY'RE TELLING US RIGHT NOW IS THAT THEY HAVE DESIGNER ON BOARD AND THEY, THEY'RE NEGOTIATING THE, THE FEE, THE CONSTRUCTION FEE FOR THAT, UH, DESIGN CONSTRUCTION MANAGER.
AND SO, UH, THEIR ASK OR REQUEST FOR MAY IS FOR A DECISION FROM THE CITY OF WHAT WE WOULD LIKE THEM TO INCLUDE IN NEGOTIATIONS NOW SO THAT THEY CAN, UM, USE THEIR EXISTING DESIGN CAPACITY RESOURCES FOR THAT WORK.
OTHERWISE, UM, WE'LL COME IN LATER WITH A CHANGE ORDER, THEN THEY CAN FOCUS THEIR DESIGNERS ON THE APPLICABLE WORK, UH, AT THE MOMENT THAT WE'VE ALREADY DESIGNED OR DECIDED THE SCOPE.
SO ARE THEY DESIGNING IT INTERNALLY AND THEN PUTTING IT OUT TO BID THEN IS IT IS OR, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S THEY'RE DESIGNING IT AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA BID CONSTRUCTION, HUH? UM, I BELIEVE SO.
THEY ALREADY HAVE, UM, A CONSULTANT TEAM ONBOARDED WHO WILL DO THE DESIGN AND THEN IT'LL GO OUT TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY FOR BID.
I, I DO THINK THOUGH, FROM WHAT COUNCIL HAS COMMITTED TO THE 104 MILLION FOR THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS, I THINK TO YOUR POINT, IF, IF THAT IS DESIGNED AND SAY THAT THERE WAS SOME FUNDING FOR CAPEX, THERE WOULD BE A FEE IF THERE WAS A CHANGE IN SCOPE AFTER, AFTER IT IS DESIGNED BECAUSE IT WOULD NEED TO BE REDESIGNED MM-HMM
RIGHT? SO IT, IT WOULD NOT BE, IT WOULD NOT BE FREE AT ALL.
AND IT IS NOT SURE WHAT THAT COST WOULD BE BECAUSE AS MORE TIME GOES, YOU KNOW, COSTS FOR DESIGN MAY EVEN GO UP.
[00:55:01]
ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THAT COULD THAT NOT BE A SITUATION WHERE THE COUNCIL MIGHT CHOOSE TO CHANGE ORDER SOMETHING OUT OF THE DESIGN AFTERWARDS THAT WOULD CAUSE A, THAT WOULD BE AT A FEE.BUT AGAIN, JUST MY SENSE AGAIN IN TERMS OF PRESERVING OPTIONS WOULD BE TO, UH, GET MORE INFORMATION AND THEN MAKE, UH, DECISIONS WHEN WE HAVE MORE INFORMATION, UH, UH, AVAILABLE.
I KNOW THERE'S SOME MORE SECTIONS TO THE PRESENTATION.
COULD I ASK JUST ONE QUESTION? IS THAT BE OKAY? SORRY, I'M, I KNOW I'M NEW TO THIS COMMITTEE JUST VISITING, BUT I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY IN TERMS OF WHEN PAYMENTS ARE ACTUALLY DO OR WHEN WE WOULD BE MAKING PAYMENTS.
NOT COMMITTING, BUT MAKING UNDER THIS CALENDAR, UH, THE DOWNTOWN SECTION CONSTRUCTION, WHICH INCLUDES THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS WOULDN'T BEGIN UNTIL SEPTEMBER OF 29.
AND MY RECOLLECTION WAS THAT THESE, WE PAY KINDA ON A REIMBURSEMENT BASIS, SO WE WOULD NOT BE PAYING ANY DOLLARS OUT THE DOOR UNTIL LATE 2029 ISH.
SO, UM, BACK IN MAY OF 2025 WHEN, UH, WE PREVIOUSLY CAME TO COUNCIL, TEXDOT HAD DRAFTED A PAYMENT SCHEDULE AND THE FIRST PAYMENT WOULD'VE BEEN DUE IN 2026.
BUT NOW GIVEN THIS NEW TIMELINE, UM, I THINK THAT THAT IS A CONVERSATION WE ARE NEEDING TO HAVE WITH TEXDOT.
IF THE PAYMENT SCHEDULE CHANGES AT ALL, UM, THE PAYMENT PLAN WOULD, WOULD'VE STARTED WITH A 15% PAYMENT IN 2026, AND THEN IT WOULD INCREMENTALLY HAVE GONE UP OVER THE YEARS WITH THE SECOND PAYMENT DUE IN 2029.
AND THEN AFTER THAT IT WOULD'VE BEEN CONSECUTIVE YEARS AT A PORTION OF PAYMENT THAT WOULD'VE JUST BEEN FOR THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS, THE 1 0 4 THAT YOU APPROVED.
NOW, AS SOON AS WE START TALKING ABOUT DECKS, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT DOES MOVE FORWARD, THOSE WOULD BE POSTPONED INTO THE LAST TWO YEARS OF CONSTRUCTION, WHICH IS 2022 AND 2023.
UM, AND THAT WE CALL IT KIND OF CALL THEM BALLOON PAYMENTS, THEY WOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER AND THEY JUST BE THE LAST TWO YEARS.
AND, AND THERE ARE THINK, I THINK MORE DISCUSSIONS TO BE HAD ABOUT THAT.
AND WE HAVEN'T DRAWN ON THE SIB LOAN YET.
WE WOULD NEED A ROADWAY ELEMENTS A FA BEFORE WE HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DRAW DOWN THE SIB LOAN.
AND WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT WE NEED A, FROM A FINANCIAL SERVICES PERSPECTIVE, WE NEED A, WE NEED A LOOK AT THE ENTIRE DEAL STRUCTURE OF WHAT COUNCIL WANTS TO DO BEFORE WE COMMIT TO A CIVIL LOAN.
'CAUSE WE NEED TO HAVE THE DECISIONS ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, IT IS, IT IS TIED TO THE CITY'S BOND DEBT CAPACITY AND IT IS INTEREST RATE.
AND WE, WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE, THE EXIT AND THE FULL COSTS IN ORDER TO DETERMINE HOW TO STRUCTURE THAT SIB LOAN.
AND THE S LOAN IS BY FAR A LOT LESS THAN WE HAD ORIGINALLY HOPED.
ALRIGHT, LET'S KEEP IT MOVING.
SO I'M HERE TODAY TO, UH, PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE, UH, NORTHERN STITCHES.
AND JUST TO REMIND YOU ALL, AS, UH, MY PREVIOUS COLLEAGUES PRESENTED ON THIS IS TIED TO THE RESOLUTION FROM MAY IN 2025, WHERE COUNCIL COMMITTED THE ONE OH $4 MILLION FOR ROADWAY ELEMENTS.
AND IN THAT LANGUAGE, IT WAS VERY, UH, SPECIFICALLY LAID OUT THAT COUNCIL HAD A VISION OF THESE, UH, TWO NORTHERN STITCHES TO CONNECT BETWEEN 41ST STREET AND THE RED LINE CAT METRO CROSSING IN, UH, THIS, THE NORTHERN PART OF THIS CORRIDOR.
AND THERE WERE DIRECTIONS TO, UH, SPECIFICALLY ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY.
SO TODAY I'M HERE TO PRESENT ON THAT ONGOING EFFORT, UM, AND PROVIDE YOU GUYS SOME INSIGHT INTO OUR NEXT STEPS AS STAFF.
SO, UM, EARLIER THIS FALL, BETWEEN SEPTEMBER OF NOVEMBER, WE WERE ABLE TO FORM A STAKEHOLDER WORKING GROUP WITH SOME OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE PRESENTING HERE TODAY.
UM, AND WE WERE ABLE TO MEET WITH T DOTS DESIGNERS, T DOTS LEADERSHIP AND CITY STAFF, TO REALLY CREATE AND COLLABORATE BEHIND THESE FOUR ALTERNATIVES THAT WERE ULTIMATELY BROUGHT TO THE PUBLIC.
WE REALLY DUG IN DEEP TO LEARN ABOUT THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE CORRIDOR AND WHAT PRESENTED OPPORTUNITIES THERE WERE FOR THESE TWO NORTHERN STITCHES.
UM, WHAT WE ENDED UP DOING IS WE BROUGHT THOSE FOUR OPPORTUNITIES TO AN OPEN HOUSE THAT HAPPENED TWO SATURDAYS AGO, NOVEMBER 22ND.
WE HAD OVER A HUNDRED FAMILIES SIGN IN, BUT WE HAD MANY MORE COME IN WITH THOSE RESPECTIVE FAMILY MEMBERS.
UM, IT WAS A WILDLY SUCCESSFUL EVENT.
WE ASKED FOR THE PUBLIC'S OPINIONS ON SOME OF THE TRADE-OFFS THAT WE WERE PRESENTING TO THEM, AND WE ARE CURRENTLY DIGESTING ALL OF THAT INFORMATION, AND WE'LL BE SUMMARIZING IT INTO A STAFF RECOMMENDATION LATER THIS MONTH.
[01:00:01]
TO REMIND YOU ALL WHAT WAS PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC INCLUDED ALTERNATIVES THAT DID FIT WITHIN THE 24 MILLION BUDGET THAT WAS, UH, PRESENTED TO US BY COUNCIL WHEN COUNCIL APPROVED THE ONE OH 4 MILLION.AND THESE, ALL OF THESE STITCHES WERE ALSO TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE IN TERMS OF CONSTRUCTION AND UH, UH, FUTURE PROOFING OF THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS.
AND JUST TO REMIND YOU ALL, WE DO HAVE THIS DECEMBER DEADLINE FROM, UM, REQUEST FROM TXDOT AND, UM, TO SHED SOME LIGHT ON HOW OUR STAFF RECOMMENDATION WILL BE FRAMED LATER THIS MONTH.
WE ARE CONSIDERING EACH ALTERNATIVES FROM A TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY STANDPOINT, EVALUATING IT AGAINST OUR STAFF CRITERIA, AND ALSO INCORPORATING THE ONGOING COMMUNITY INPUT THAT WE'VE BEEN COLLECTING THE PAST COUPLE MONTHS AND, UM, IDENTIFYING A FINAL STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR WHICH OF THE FOUR WILL MOVE FORWARD.
SO I'M GOING TO JUST BRIEFLY WALK YOU ALL THROUGH.
I DON'T WANNA, UM, TAKE TOO MUCH OF YOUR TIME, BUT REALLY WE'VE GOT TWO DIFFERENT EXAMPLES OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN WITH THESE TWO STITCHES.
SO IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER IS OPTION A, AND THEN ON THE UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER IS OPTION B.
THESE TWO ALTERNATIVES CREATE A STITCH ALTERNATIVE THAT REALLY HUGS THE CAP METRO COMMUTER RAIL LINE AS IDENTIFIED IN THE NUMBER TWO STITCH ON THE SCREEN.
BUT WHAT'S DIFFERENT BETWEEN OPTION A AND OPTION B ARE THIS 41ST STITCH, WE CAN EITHER STITCH ON THE NORTH SIDE OF 41ST STREET OR SPLIT IT HALFWAY.
THE SAME TYPE OF CONSIDERATION FOR THAT 41ST STITCH IS CONSIDERED AN OPTION C AND D.
BUT THE ONLY THING THAT'S DIFFERENT BETWEEN THESE FOUR ARE THAT OPTION C AND D REMOVE THE ENHANCED WIDEN RED LINE STITCH AND ACTUALLY MOVE THE MASSING INTO THIS CENTER OF THE ROADWAY.
WE'RE, UH, CALLING THIS ONE THE HANCOCK STITCH.
THERE IS AN IDENTIFIED WHITE MARK HERE JUST TO BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO THAT IS A, UH, PUBLICLY DESIRED PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE THAT WOULD BE PRIVATELY FUNDED, UM, OR COULD BE PRIVATELY FUNDED IN FUTURE PHASES TO CONNECT, UH, ADJACENT PROPERTIES TO THIS.
SO THESE ARE THE FOUR THAT WERE PRESENTED.
UM, WE, WE HAD A GREAT DISTRIBUTION OF FEEDBACK, UM, VERBAL AND, UM, FROM A VOTING ACTIVITY.
AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE SUMMARIZING ALL OF THAT INTO THIS MEMO THAT WE'RE GONNA BRING TO YOU ALL LATER THIS MONTH.
UM, AND I BELIEVE WITH THAT, I'LL HAND IT BACK OFF TO MICHELLE.
JUST, OH, YEAH, JUST A, A QUICK SUMMARY OF NEXT STEPS.
I THINK WE'VE ALREADY, UM, ALLUDED TO THESE, BUT, UM, WE WILL BE COMING TO YOU IN MARCH.
I KNOW THE SLIDE SAYS FEBRUARY, UM, SHOULD SAY MARCH.
UM, AT THIS POINT, UM, TRANSPORTATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES STAFF WILL, UM, SHARE A POTENTIAL, UM, FUNDING AND FINANCING PLAN.
THIS IS SOMETHING YOU ASKED FOR, UM, AT, DURING YOUR, AS PART OF YOUR MAY RESOLUTION.
UM, WE'LL BE LOOKING TO SCHEDULE A WORK SESSION, UM, TO BRING YOU THAT WORK.
UM, WE'RE GONNA BE, UM, COMING TO YOU WITH INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL FUNDING STRATEGIES FOR CAPEX AND AMENITIES ON TOP.
UM, AND THEN LOOKING AT PHASING STRATEGIES, TIMELINES, AND REALLY KIND OF DRILLING DOWN INTO SOME OF THESE KIND OF POTENTIAL COST AND RISK IMPACTS THAT WE'VE, UM, STARTED TO DAYLIGHT WITH YOU TODAY.
UM, LEADING UP TO THIS MARCH WORK SESSION, WE, UM, WILL BE PROVIDING ONE-ON-ONES, UM, WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THIS WORK SESSION, UM, TO REALLY HAVE SOME KIND OF ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATIONS WITH YOU AND ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.
UM, AND THEN IN MAY IS THIS TEXT REQUESTED, UM, COUNCIL ACTION FOR ANY, UM, COMMITMENTS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE TO, UM, INCLUDE CAPEX IN THAT ORIGINAL BID PACKAGE.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, A NOTE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN THAT THIS IS NOT THE LAST BITE OF THE APPLE, UM, THAT CAPEX CAN BE INCLUDED VIA CHANGE ORDER, UM, FOR YEARS TO COME.
UM, AND WITH THAT, I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUES AT PARKS AND REC.
WE HAVE ANY QUICK QUESTIONS? I HAVE ONE THAT'S HOPEFULLY A SHORT ANSWER.
UM, I SEE YOUR DECISION MAKING PROCESS THAT IS LISTED OUT ON SLIDE 13.
UM, IS THIS NEXT DECISION COMING TO COUNCIL AT ALL? IS THAT WHAT IS COMING IN MARCH OR, YOU KNOW, WE HAD DECIDED ON THOSE RETAINING WALL STRUCTURES FOR THIS AND I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ON OUR NEXT AGENDA.
CAN YOU TALK ME THROUGH HOW THAT DECISION'S BEING MADE AND WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS BETWEEN A DECEMBER COMMITMENT AND A MARCH COMMITMENT DECEMBER? OH, THE DECEMBER DECISION FOR THE LOCATION OF THE NORTHERN STITCHES IS TO INFORM TEXTILES SO THEY CAN PROGRESS THEIR DESIGN AROUND THE, UH, CAPEX 35 COUNCIL MEMBER IN YOUR RESOLUTION AND DIRECTION TO STAFF FROM LAST MAY.
UM, YOU DIRECTED US TO GO OUT TO DETERMINE THE MOST APPROPRIATE AND DESIRED COMMUNITY, UM,
[01:05:01]
LOCATIONS FOR THOSE NORTHERN STITCHES WITHOUT THE REQUIREMENT TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL FOR ACTION.SO IT'LL WORK OFF OF A SCORING CRITERIA.
YOU KNOW, PROBABLY A MORE DETAILED VERSION THAN THESE FEW DOTS.
SO I APPRECIATE THE SIMPLICITY HERE, BUT Y'ALL WILL HAVE SOME INTERNAL SCORING STRUCTURE TO TRY TO, TO FINALIZE THAT DECISION.
ALRIGHT, IF NO ONE ELSE HAS QUESTIONS ON THAT, UM, NOW WE'RE ONTO THE PARKLAND PIECE OF THIS.
COUNCIL MEMBERS RICARDO SOLI WITH AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION.
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO PRESENT THE IMPACTS TO PARKLAND.
DUE TO THE EXPANSION OF I 35, THE IMPACTS TO PARKLAND HAVE OCCURRED AND WILL OCCUR FROM SEPTEMBER, UH, 2025 THROUGH 2033.
UM, THESE IMPACTS INCLUDE DETOURS TO THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL ALONG EAST AVENUE, WEST OF THE INTERSTATE AND UNDER THE OVERPASS.
UM, RELOCATION OF EXISTING CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITIES FROM TXDOT RIGHT OF WAY, UM, TO ADJACENT PARKLAND IN PARTICULAR IMPACTS TO PALM PARK.
AND, UM, EDWARD REDONE PARK TEMPORARY POWER OUTAGES THAT WILL OCCUR THROUGHOUT, THROUGHOUT THE AREA DUE TO, UM, CONSTRUCTION PERIODS.
UM, AUSTIN PARKS MEETS REGULARLY WITH TEXDOT AND, UM, THEIR PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT OFFICER, AS WELL AS THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY ON OPERATIONAL ISSUES.
SO WE CAN BE AHEAD OF THE GAME WITH, WITH, WITH THOSE IMPACTS.
VEHICULAR DETOURS OCCUR AT TIMES DUE TO DELIVERIES AND EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES TO THE AREA, TEMPORARY EASEMENTS AS SHOWN IN RED.
UM, UH, THE PARKLAND IS USED FOR STAGING MATERIAL AND EQUIPMENT AND FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE HIGHWAY, INCLUDING BUILDING OF A SEPARATED AND LOWERED, UH, PEDESTRIAN BICYCLE BRIDGE ADJACENT TO THE TRAVEL LANES TO CONNECT THE BOARDWALK ON THE SOUTH AND SHORELINE.
UM, AND THE TRAIL TO THE NORTH, AND I'LL HAVE AN IMAGE OF THAT HERE SHORTLY.
UM, THE FEE SIMPLE ACQUISITION SHOWN IN BLUE, THE ACQUISITION WAS NECESSARY TO SERVE AS A LAUNCHING AREA FOR A BARGE THAT WILL BE USED TO TRANSPORT EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES, MATERIALS TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE COLUMNS NEEDED, UH, FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE EXPRESSWAY.
UM, THIS IS JUST AN IMAGE OF, OF THAT, UM, PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE THAT WILL CONNECT THE SOUTH, UM, BANK OR TO THE BOARDWALK, TO THE EXISTING BOARDWALK TO THE, THE NORTHERN SHORE OF THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL.
THE, UH, MITIGATION COMPENSATION PACKAGE FOR BOTH TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT USE OF PARKLAND IS ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT 19 MILLION.
UM, I I MENTIONED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PALM PARK, WHICH IS IN PARTICULAR THAT MAY, MAY BE IMPACTED.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF COORDINATION HAPPENING RIGHT NOW WITH, UH, TXDOT AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, AT, AT ONE POINT, UH, WE'RE NOT SURE IF WE'LL BE ABLE TO AVOID THIS, BUT AT ONE POINT THOSE UTILITIES WOULD HAVE TO BE, UM, REMOVED TXDOT RIGHT OF WAY INTO THE PARK.
AND THE BLUE AREA SHOWS THE PERMANENT LOCATION OF THOSE UTILITIES.
UM, AND WITH THE RED TEMPORARY, UH, LOCATION, HOWEVER, THE COMPLICATION OF THE DESIGN FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE PARK AND THE CONSTRUCTION, YOU KNOW, THERE THERE'S SOME NEGOTIATION AND COORDINATION THAT'S HAPPENING THAT PERHAPS MAYBE, UM, IT WON'T BE NECESSARY AND THEY'LL FIND OTHER ALTERNATIVES.
BUT, BUT AT THIS POINT, THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT WE KNOW RIGHT NOW.
UM, THE, UM, THE BOARDWALK, THE PROPOSED BOARDWALK WAS INCLUDED BY TXDOT AS A MITIGATION UNDER SECTION FOUR F OF THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ACT OF 1966.
THE IDEA FOR A BOARDWALK BOARDWALK AT THIS LOCATION WAS IDENTIFIED BY THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY AS A PINCH POINT IN THE TRAIL.
UH, THE BOARDWALK WOULD CONNECT TO PARKLAND AS IT RECONNECTS TO THE LAND, AND THIS WAS FOR MITIGATION FOR THE IMPACTS OF THE, UH, AND IMPACTS TO THE, THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL THROUGHOUT THE, THE CORRIDOR, AND PARTICULARLY CLOSER TO THE I 35 CONSTRUCTION.
UM, AS, AS I SAID, RIGHT NOW, WE, WE KNOW THAT IT'S 25 MILLION THAT WOULD BE TOWARDS THIS CONTRIBUTION, AND THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY WOULD BE THE ONE THAT WOULD BE MANAGING THIS PROJECT
[01:10:01]
IN, IN THE, IN THE NEAR FUTURE.UM, ONE OTHER THING THAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS THAT THERE'S TWO, THERE'S TWO BOATS THAT ARE NEAR THIS LOCATION THAT PROVIDE SIGHTSEEING EXCURSIONS TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, ONE OF THE BOATS IS A CITY OF AUSTIN CONCESSIONAIRE, THE LONE STAR RIVER BOAT.
THE OTHER CAPITAL CRUISES IS A, IS A PRIVATELY OWNED, UM, UH, BUSINESS.
BOTH OF THESE BUSINESSES WILL HAVE TO BE STUDIED FURTHER, UM, AS DESIGNED, YOU KNOW, GET STARTED ON THE BOARDWALK TO SEE HOW, HOW THOSE BUSINESSES WILL BE IMPACTED, UH, WITH THE ULTIMATE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BOARDWALK.
UM, THAT, THAT IS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I HAVE A QUESTION, UM, ABOUT THE, THE $25 MILLION ALLOCATION.
HAS TDOT PROVIDED THOSE DOLLARS TO THE CITY YET FOR MITIGATION? OR IS THAT TO BE COMING TO US AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE? AS FAR AS I KNOW, WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED THAT UNLESS THERE'S ANOTHER, AN UPDATE TO THAT, BUT NO, WE HAVE, WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED THAT.
YEAH, I KNOW JUST WITH ALL THE, THE DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, TDOT IS GOING TO PAY THE MONEY TO THE CITY AND THEN TO LOOK AT WHICH DEPARTMENT HOUSES IT, WHO CONSTRUCTS IT.
I KNOW IT'S A TRAIL CONSERVANCY PROJECT THAT THEY HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT FOR A LONG TIME, AND I WAS NOT INVOLVED IN THE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW TDOT CAME UP WITH 25 MILLION.
SO IT'S GREATLY APPRECIATED THAT THOSE MITIGATION DOLLARS ARE COMING TO US FOR THESE IMPACTS.
UM, BUT I AM CURIOUS, AND MAYBE WE CAN FOLLOW UP OFFLINE ABOUT WHEN DOES THAT GET PAID TO THE CITY AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR WHOEVER'S GOING TO BUILD IT? WHAT DOES THEIR TIMELINE LOOK LIKE? BECAUSE AS IT SEEMS TO BE HAPPENING MORE AND MORE THESE DAYS, THE LONGER IT TAKES US TO SPEND A DOLLAR, THE LESS WE GET OUT OF THAT DOLLAR.
AND I REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MAKING THE BEST IMPACT, UM, FOR THIS PROJECT.
AND SO I KNOW A BUNCH OF FOLKS HAVE BEEN EXCITED ABOUT IT FOR A WHILE, AND NOW THAT THERE'S ALLOCATED DOLLARS TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS, I'M JUST VERY CURIOUS ABOUT WHEN IS THAT COMING TO THE CITY AND WHEN WILL A PROJECT BE DEPLOYED? HOW ARE WE GOING TO MAKE THAT DETERMINATION? THANK YOU.
DO OTHER QUESTIONS? I SEE COUNCIL MEMBER, VICE CHAIR CADRE HAS HIS HAND UP.
JUST WANTED TO THANK Y'ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I JUST WANTED TO JUST SAY THAT I, I APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S HARD WORK.
I APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK OF THE ADVOCATES SAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN A, IT'S A LABOR OF LOVE AND THERE'S A LOT OF DETAILED ATTENTION TO ALL THIS.
SO, UH, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING, YOU KNOW, STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION ON THIS.
AND I'VE BEEN CHATTING WITH THE TWO, MY TWO COLLEAGUES ON, ON EACH SIDE OF ME ABOUT THIS.
SO JUST WANT TO JUST SEND AND SHOW MY APPRECIATION.
COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH ON THE, THE FEE SIMPLE TAKING THAT THEY'RE, UH, RIGHT THERE OFF OF, UH, UH, RAINY OFF THE RAINY NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, WHY IS THAT PERMANENT IF THEY'RE JUST GONNA HOST THE BARGE THERE UNTIL CONSTRUCTION IS OVER? AND, AND, AND WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH THAT PIECE OF PROPERTY AFTER TXDOT IS DONE WITH IT? YES.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, ACTUALLY THAT WAS THE DESIRE OF TDOT ORIGINALLY WAS TO JUST RENT THE SPACE FOR SIX YEARS OR HOWEVER THEY NEEDED IT.
BUT IT GOT A LITTLE COMPLICATED THAT THIS PORTION OF, UH, THE CORRIDOR OF LADY BIRD LAKE CORRIDOR, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN PURCHASED THIS LAND THROUGH, UH, FEDERAL, FEDERAL DOLLARS, WHICH PROTECTS THE LAND.
AND THEY, THEY CALL THIS A SIX F PROTECTED MM-HMM
WHICH MEANS THAT, UM, THAT IT ONLY ALLOWS FOR THE TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF THIS LAND FOR SIX MONTHS OR LESS.
AND BECAUSE THEY NEEDED IT FOR MORE THAN SIX YEARS OR AROUND SIX YEARS, THAT WAS NOT POSSIBLE.
THROUGH, UH, THROUGH CONDEMNATION.
THE, THE DESIRE OF TXDOT REALLY AT THE END OF THE DAY IS TO RETURN IT BACK TO ITS USE.
SO THE, THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL WILL GO THROUGH THERE LIKE, LIKE IT IS TODAY.
WE'LL HAVE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT JUST LIKE WE DO UNDERNEATH I 35 FOR PARKING AND, AND THE TRAIL ITSELF.
SO THIS WOULD, YOU KNOW, ON THE SURFACE, THE PUBLIC WILL SEE IT BACK TO HOW IT IS TODAY.
THEY JUST, NOW THAT THEY OWN THE LAND, THEY'LL HAVE THE, THE RIGHT TO, UM, CLOSE IT IF THEY NEED TO, OR, YOU KNOW, DETOUR THE PUBLIC IF THEY NEED TO GO AND, AND MAINTAIN THE COLUMNS OR DO ANYTHING, ANY WORK ON THE, ON THE BRIDGES OF THE, OF THE INTERSTATE.
HOPEFULLY THEY CAN JUST DEED IT BACK TO US WHEN THEY'RE, UH, DONE WITH.
AND JUST A QUICK COMMENT ON THE, UM, ON THE NORTHERN, UH, STITCHES.
I KNOW IN, IN, IN, UH, OPTIONS, UH, B AND D, YOU HAVE THE BUILDINGS ON EITHER SIDE OF IT.
IS THAT 41ST STREET RIGHT THERE? YES.
[01:15:01]
THAT THE, THE WHAT, WHAT THAT CALLS TO MIND IS THE, I BELIEVE COLUMBUS, OHIO HAS THE, THE STITCHES KIND OF ON OTHER SIDE OF THE FREEWAY, UH, OR, OR THE STREET GOING OVER THE FREEWAY? UH, I HAVE NOT VISITED, UH, UH, MYSELF, BUT I HEAR THAT THAT IS, IS THAT THE, THE, THE THINKING THERE THAT, THAT THE STITCHES COULD HOLD SMALL, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE STORY BUILDINGS AND BASICALLY YOU WOULD HAVE A CONNECTED STREET SCAPE BETWEEN WHAT'S NOW HANCOCK CENTER AND, AND, UH, THE EAST SIDE THERE.COUNCIL MEMBER VALA THE, THOSE TWO STITCHES COULD HOLD TWO STORY BUILDINGS AND TREES, AND IT WILL ALSO HAVE VEHICLE ASK ACCESS FOR DELIVERIES AND, UM, FIRE AND EMS SO THEY CAN HAVE BUILDINGS ON THEM JUST LIKE IN COLUMBUS, OHIO.
UH, I, I MEAN THAT, AGAIN, I'M, YOU KNOW, GONNA LET Y'ALL AND, AND THEN THE PUBLIC, UH, YOU KNOW, WORK OUT, UH, WHICH OPTION, UH, TO GO WITH.
BUT, UH, THAT ONE, UH, JUMPS OUT TO ME AS AN, AS AN INTERESTING OPPORTUNITY AS OPPOSED TO JUST KIND OF PILING ALL OF THE, THE, THE STITCH ON THAT SEEMS LESS, UH, USEFUL, I WOULD SAY THAN, THAN THE DOUBLE KIND OF STITCHES ON EITHER SIDE.
UH, BUT, UH, ANYWAY, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT.
AND JUST TO NOTE THAT, THAT, THAT COLUMBUS, UH, UH, STITCH THAT AGAIN, I, I'VE SEEN MULTIPLE PRESENTATIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HIGHWAY CAPPING AND STITCHING AND, AND FOLKS, UH, POINT TO THAT ONE AS, AS ONE OF THE, THE, THE GOOD ONES, BASICALLY.
AND I KNOW Y'ALL WILL BE KEEPING AN EYE ON WHAT SOURCES OF FUNDING ARE SUBSCRIBED FOR, FOR THESE USES.
'CAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME, UM, SOME DELICACIES AROUND SPECIFIC TYPES OF FUNDING LIKE VOTER APPROVED BONDS VERSUS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO I TRUST THAT Y'ALL ARE KEEPING TRACK OF ALL THE DUCKS AND MAKING SURE THAT HOWEVER WE ALLOCATE THIS, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO, TO DO IT AND MOVE IT FORWARD AND, AND MAKE SURE WE'VE GOT OUR, OUR FINANCING STRAIGHT FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS PRESENTATION? I DON'T SEE ANY.
[3. Briefing on moratorium on scooter providers and curb management study update.]
WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PRESENTATION, WHICH MY NOTES SAY IS A BRIEFING ON THE MORATORIUM ON SCOOTER PROVIDERS AND AN AN UPDATE ON THE CURB MANAGEMENT STUDY.FOR THE SAKE OF TIME HERE, SINCE IT'S ABOUT TWO 20, AND I KNOW WE DID HAVE ONE MORE SPEAKER THAT HAD SIGNED UP LATE AND WANTED TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK TOWARD THE END, I MIGHT SUGGEST THAT WE POSTPONE THE URBAN TRAILS ITEM NUMBER FOUR.
YOU ALL KNOW I AM VERY EXCITED TO GET THIS BRIEFING.
I LOVE OUR URBAN TRAILS PROGRAM, BUT I JUST WANNA BE MINDFUL OF THE TIME THAT WE HAVE HERE TO BE ABLE TO GET INTO DEPTH ON SOME OF THESE OTHER ISSUES.
IF WE CAN'T GET TO IT, I'LL SUGGEST WE BRING THAT IN JANUARY AND WE'LL HAVE A NICE GREAT HAPPY NOTE TO START OUR JANUARY OFF ON.
AND WE WILL TRY TO DO OUR BEST TO BE QUICK THROUGH THIS, AND I'M GLAD TO FOLLOW UP WITH SPECIFIC QUESTIONS AFTER IF WE DON'T HAVE TIME TODAY.
I'M ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS.
UH, FIRST PRESENTATION WE'VE GOT MICHAEL KIMBRO, OUR SHARED MOBILITY SERVICES PROGRAM IS GONNA GIVE THE UPDATE WHERE WE STAND WITH OUR MICRO MOBILITY PROGRAM, PARTICULARLY THE SCOOTERS WITHIN THE CITY.
AND THEN WE'LL GO TO THE CURB MANAGEMENT PLAN UPDATE AFTER THAT.
ALRIGHT, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
THANKS FOR AS ALWAYS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO UPDATE YOU ON MICRO MOBILITY.
UH, AS I SAID, MIKE KIMBRO, PROGRAM MANAGER FOR SHARED MOBILITY SERVICES, UM, WILL JUMP RIGHT IN, UH, SINCE WE'RE PRESSED FOR TIME.
UH, FIRST WE'LL DO A LITTLE BIT OF A BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT ON THE, UH, CURRENT STATE OF THE SYSTEM, UH, BRIEF DATA UPDATE AND TALK ABOUT STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS AS FAR AS THE MORATORIUM ITSELF IS CONCERNED.
UM, YEAH, SO SOME BACKGROUND, AS YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER, UH, DECEMBER OF 2023, WE HAD, UH, TWO, UH, MICRO MOBILITY VENDORS LEAVE THE MARKET LEAVING US WITH TWO.
UH, SHORTLY AFTER THAT, WE DECIDED TO PLACE A MORATORIUM ON ANY NEW VENDORS ENTERING THE MARKET.
UM, WE KEPT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PERMITTED DEVICES AND BEGAN LIMITING THE NUMBER OF DEVICES THAT COULD BE DEPLOYED, UH, DOWNTOWN.
UM, THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM, WE'VE BEEN OPERATING ON A LICENSE AND PERMIT, UH, OPERATING MODEL, UH, THAT RENEWS BI-ANNUALLY EVERY YEAR AT DECEMBER AND JUNE.
WE ARE ALMOST THROUGH THE, UH, DECEMBER RENEWALS RIGHT NOW, THANKFULLY.
UM, BUT MOVING ON TO, UH, SOME DATA UPDATE.
UM, THE TABLE ON THE LEFT MIGHT BE FAMILIAR TO YOU ALL.
UM, I'VE UPDATED THE THIRD COLUMN, UM, WITH SOME UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION, BUT BASICALLY WHAT THIS SHOWS IS, UH, THE TIMEFRAME, UM, SINCE WE IMPLEMENTED THE MORATORIUM, WHICH OFFICIALLY STARTED APRIL 1ST, 2024, UH, WE LOOKED AT THE YEAR PRIOR TO THAT APRIL 1ST, 23 THROUGH MARCH 31ST, 24, UH, THEN THE YEAR SINCE THE MORATORIUM, UH, AND NOW WE'VE GOT INCOMPLETE DATA IN THE THIRD COLUMN.
BUT I THINK IT'S, UH, A LITTLE BIT HELPFUL TO LOOK AT.
UM, THE AGGREGATE NUMBERS OBVIOUSLY AREN'T COMPLETE YET BECAUSE WE'RE MISSING A FEW MONTHS THERE.
UM, BUT I THINK, UH, HOPEFULLY WE CAN LOOK AT, UH, THE, THE,
[01:20:01]
THE TRIPS FOR VEHICLE PER DEVICE NUMBERS AND SEE THAT WE HAVE SEEN, UH, POSITIVE GROWTH IN THAT DIRECTION, MEANING THAT THE, THE SCOOTERS AREN'T SITTING AS LONG, THEY'RE BEING USED MORE FREQUENTLY, UH, IN RECEIVING MORE TRIPS PER DEVICE.UM, SO ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SLIDE, UM, WE CAN LOOK AT SOME YEAR TO DATE NUMBERS.
UH, THIS MIGHT BE A LITTLE MORE HELPFUL THAN THE, THE TABLE.
SO THIS IS BASICALLY JANUARY 1ST THROUGH NOVEMBER 20TH.
UH, COMPARING THIS YEAR TO LAST YEAR, UM, OVERALL WE'VE SEEN A 6% INCREASE IN TRIPS, UH, YEAR OVER LAST, UH, UH, CITYWIDE.
UM, FOR FESTIVAL SEASONS, WE SAW A 14% INCREASE DURING SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST AND A 15% INCREASE, UH, DURING AUSTIN CITY LIMITS.
AND I THINK, UH, ONE HELPFUL NUMBER IS WE'VE SEEN A, A MARKET DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF 3 1 1 AND PARKING ENFORCEMENT SERVICE REQUESTS THAT HAVE BEEN ENTERED, UH, MEANING FEWER DEVICES ARE PARKED INCORRECTLY, UH, PARKING ENFORCEMENT ISN'T ENTERING AS MANY SERVICE REQUESTS AND THE, THE PUBLIC AT LARGE ISN'T ENTERING AS MANY, UH, 3 1 1 REQUESTS.
SO, UM, YEAH, SO AN UPDATE ON THE MORATORIUM ITSELF.
UM, LIKE I SAID, WE'VE, WE'VE CAPPED THE NUMBER OF VENDORS AT TWO, UH, WHAT OUR RECOMMENDATION IS.
AND THROUGH, UH, LOOKING AT PEER CITIES, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE RIGHT, UH, UH, THE INDUSTRY HAS KIND OF SETTLED ON TWO AS THE, THE OPTIMAL NUMBER.
MOST OF THE CITIES THAT, THAT WE KIND OF COMPARE OURSELVES TO ARE OPERATING WITH, UH, WITH THAT KIND OF MARKETPLACE.
UH, TWO PLUS A DOCK BASED BIKE SHARE IN CHICAGO AND PORTLAND, MUCH LIKE WE HAVE HERE.
SO OUR, UH, OUR RECOMMENDATION IS THAT WE KEEP THE MORATORIUM IN PLACE FOR NOW, UH, CAPPING THE NUMBER OF VENDORS AT TWO, AND WE WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF, UH, TRANSITIONING TO A CONTRACT MODEL FROM A LICENSE AND, UH, PERMIT MODEL.
UM, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE ADDITIONAL VENDORS THAT WOULD LIKE TO ENTER THE MARKETPLACE.
SO WE THINK ONE OF THE BENEFITS FROM THIS IS THAT IT WOULD, UM, ALLOW THEM TO COME IN AND COMPETE FOR A CONTRACT SO WE CAN, YOU KNOW, OFFER TWO CONTRACTS FOR THE CITY, UH, HERE, REQUEST OUR PROPOSALS FROM, FROM DIFFERENT VENDORS AND MAKE A DECISION FOR WHO WE THINK IS GONNA BE BEST FOR THE CITY.
UM, YEAH, LONGER CONTRACT TERMS, UH, WOULD, WOULD LIMIT STAFF TIME AND, AND, UH, ANALYZING PERMITS AND WHATNOT, NOT JUST FOR US, BUT FOR THE VENDORS THEMSELVES.
UH, IT WOULD ALSO, YOU KNOW, INCREASE THE VENDOR'S CONFIDENCE, UH, IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, ALLOWING THEM TO REMAIN WITHIN THE CITY, WHICH COULD LEAD TO MORE INVESTMENTS, UH, OPERATIONALLY, EDUCATIONALLY, AND EVEN IN PARKING INFRASTRUCTURE POTENTIALLY.
IT'LL REMIND, REQUIRE, UH, UM, SOME AMENDMENTS TO ORDINANCES AND OBVIOUSLY SOLICITATIONS FOR PROPOSALS.
SO IT WOULD BE A, A LONG-TERM THING.
BUT, UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN THE PROCESS IF, IF WE CAN AND, UH, YOU KNOW, PUT THIS IN LINE WITH THE EXISTING JUNE AND DECEMBER FOR RENEWAL DATE SO WE CAN JUST KIND OF, UM, UM, SEAMLESSLY TRANSITIONED INTO THE CONTRACT MODEL.
SO, LIKE I SAID, THAT WOULD BE A QUICK ONE.
UH, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
I SEE COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE WHO REPRESENTS THE AREA WITH MOST OF THE SCOOTERS YEAH.
WE'VE, WE'VE REALLY ONLY JUST KIND OF BEGUN THE PROCESS.
UH, AND THEN WHAT WOULD, SO, YEAH, SO I GUESS MY NEXT POINT, BOTH OF MY QUESTIONS HAVE TO DO WITH TIMELINES ABOUT WHAT A TIMELINE WOULD BE, LOOK WHAT A TIMELINE WOULD LOOK LIKE FOR AN RFP PROCESS.
BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO GET THE FIRST TIMELINE DONE.
I THINK, UH, THE RFP ITSELF WOULD BE SIX TO NINE MONTHS.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I'D SAY OPTIMISTICALLY WE'D BE LOOKING AT MAYBE A YEAR FROM SURE.
AND THEN WHEN IT COMES TO THE CONTRACT MODEL, UM, I LIKE A LOT OF THE BULLET POINTS THAT YOU HAVE.
I, I WONDER IF WE COULD ALSO LOOK AT, I CAME UP WITH THREE BULLET POINTS ON, ON MY END IS, IS THAT IF WE COULD HAVE THE CONTRACT ALSO HAVE A REQUIREMENT TO HELP US BUILD, UH, SCOOTER CORRALS IN THE STREET.
UM, AND THEN ALSO WHEN IT COMES TO LIKE LABOR, COULD WE, YOU KNOW, TO WHAT EXTENT CAN WE REQUIRE, UH, QUALITY OF LABOR AND GOOD JOBS FROM THE VENDORS THAT, THAT COME INTO AUSTIN? AND THEN ALSO JUST SOMETHING I, I, I KNOW THAT THREE ONE, I FORGOT WHAT PAGE IT WAS ON 3 1 1 AND PARKING ENFORCEMENT SERVICE REQUEST ARE DOWN 19%, WHICH IS GREAT, BUT I WONDER IF WE COULD ADD LIKE, MORE REQUIREMENTS IN THE APP TO, TO EDUCATE RIDERS ON, YOU KNOW, HOW TO RIDE SAFELY AND HOW TO PARK APPROPRIATELY AND WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO DO.
UM, SO THAT THAT WAY THAT NUMBER CAN KEEP GOING ON, YOU KNOW, DOWN, DOWN, DOWN.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE BIG BENEFITS FROM THE CONTRACT IS WE CAN GET A LOT MORE GRANULAR, GRANULAR THAN WE ARE WITH THE, THE CURRENT DIRECTOR'S RULES AND REALLY REQUIRE A LOT OF THESE THINGS AND, UH, REALLY, REALLY DEFINE A LOT OF THE KPIS THAT WE'RE GONNA TRACK AND WHATNOT.
SO, YOU KNOW, ALL THOSE COULD BE CONSIDERATIONS FOR SURE.
YEAH, AND AS, UM, THE CHAIR WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, BEING, UH, THE DOWNTOWN COUNCIL, ALL THIS, ALL THIS IS GREAT, ALL THE NUMBERS ARE GREAT, ALL THE PROGRESS WE'VE MADE IS GREAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, JUST TO REALLY SUPPORTIVE OF ALL, ALL THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE GREAT.
AND I'M FULLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE IDEA
[01:25:01]
OF US HAVING SOME SORT OF DOCK.YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SOMETHING SUPER FORMALIZED, BUT AT LEAST SOME STRIPING.
WHAT I FIND WHEN I'M DOWNTOWN IS THAT PEOPLE ARE PUTTING THE SCOOTERS IN WHERE THE BIKE LOCKS ARE MM-HMM
AND SO YOU'RE GETTING THIS CONFLICT WHERE YOU'RE TRYING TO LOCK THE BIKE THERE, AND THE SCOOTER PERSON IS TRYING TO GET IT OUTTA THE WAY.
THEY'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE PUTTING IT IN A SPACE THAT IS SAFE FOR PEOPLE AND STILL AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
BUT THEN WHEN YOU TRY TO DRAG 'EM OUTTA THE WAY AS A CYCLIST, IT JUST CREATES A LOT OF, UM, A LOT OF ISSUES.
SO I JUST WANNA SAY, I THINK PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING.
THEY JUST NEED A SPACE TO SAY, PUT IT NEXT TO THE BIKE RACK SO YOU CAN HAVE THE SCOOTERS AND THE, THE BIKE LOCK AREAS ALTOGETHER.
COUNCIL MEMBER, VELA, GO AHEAD.
UM, UH, FIRST OF ALL, I DO WANNA SAY I, I THINK THE CONTRACT MODEL, UH, I WOULD AGREE WITH, UH, WITH VICE CHAIR CADRE'S, UH, COMMENTS, THAT, THAT, THAT SEEMS TO BE A, A BETTER MODEL WITH A LONG TERM KIND OF COMMITMENT.
AND WITH, AGAIN, KIND OF A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, MORE KIND OF DEFINED, UH, SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES.
AGAIN, THAT, THAT MAKES A LOT OF, UH, OF SENSE.
UH, HOW MANY VENDORS DID WE HAVE? MAXIMUM VENDORS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN? SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, WE'VE HAD FOUR MAXIMUM, BUT I BELIEVE JOSEPH, WE MAY HAVE HAD MORE AT ONE TIME.
UH, UH, HELLO, JOSEPH HO, PARK ENTERPRISE MANAGER, UH, TRANSPORTATION PLUG WORKS.
WE, AT ONE POINT, I THINK AT THE VERY BEGINNING WE HAD UP TO 15 DIFFERENT OKAY.
VENDORS, SO, AND SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION.
UH, AND WHEN WE STARTED TO, WHEN WE, WHEN WE FIRST LIMITED THE AMOUNT OF SCOOTERS, IF MEMORY SERVES, I THINK WE HAD FIVE.
AND, AND DO YOU KNOW WHICH ONES THEY, THEY, THEY WERE, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT A, A COUPLE OF THEM WENT BANKRUPT RIGHT AND LEFT.
ONE OF 'EM WENT BANKRUPT LINK.
UM, AT THAT TIME, UM, THERE'S A COUPLE OTHERS THAT DECIDED JUST TO LEAVE THE MARKET DEPENDING ON JUST THE, THE AMOUNT OF VENDORS THAT WE DID HAVE.
SO THE MARKET WAS, YOU KNOW, A LOT HARDER TO GET RIDES.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT REALLY BECOMES TO A CHALLENGE TO GET RIDERSHIP MM-HMM
UM, WHEN YOU HAVE MULTIPLE VENDORS TRYING TO FIGHT FOR IT.
SO YOU HAVE A QUALITY OF SERVICE FOR EACH, YOU KNOW, PROVIDER GO DOWN WHEN YOU HAVE MULTIPLE IN MARKET.
WELL, I MEAN, I GUESS I WOULD DISAGREE WITH THAT, JUST IN THE SENSE, AND, AND, AND AGAIN, I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE, UH, A CONTRACT WITH A DEFINED NUMBER OF VENDORS.
OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T WANT A MONOPOLY.
YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT JUST ONE, I MEAN, TWO VENDORS IS ALSO A DUOPOLY.
I MEAN, THIS IS A ECONOMIC, UH, UNDERSTANDING THAT, THAT THAT'S ALSO NOT A GOOD POSITION FOR CONSUMERS TO BE IN, WHERE THEY ONLY HAVE, UH, TWO VENDORS TO CHOOSE FROM BECAUSE THAT'S NOT GOOD FOR PRICE AND, AND THAT'S NOT GOOD FOR SERVICE QUALITY.
UH, AGAIN, WHY NOT THREE, YOU KNOW, OR MORE VENDORS, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE LIMITING THE OVERALL NUMBER OF SCOOTERS SO THAT, UH, SO THAT WE HAVE MORE COMPETITION AND WE HAVE BETTER CHOICE FOR THE CONSUMER.
SO, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBER, GREAT POINTS.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION AS WE START TO EXPLORE THIS FURTHER.
THAT'S WHY THE, THE SLIDE DID HAVE, EXPLORE THAT TRANSITION, BECAUSE THERE ARE GONNA BE SOME LEGAL ELEMENTS THAT I THINK WE NEED TO WORK THROUGH AS WELL.
AND SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT BEST PRACTICES FROM OTHER CITIES.
AS YOU CAN SEE, MOST OF OUR PEER CITIES LIMITED AT TWO.
UM, BUT THERE MAY NOT BE A GOOD REASON TO DO THAT HERE NECESSARILY.
SO WE CAN ALWAYS GO THROUGH THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS TO SAY, UP TO A CERTAIN NUMBER OF VENDORS, BECAUSE WE DO KNOW THAT AT, AS YOU ADD MORE VENDORS IN, YOU'VE GOT MORE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE OF THE HOUSE THAT YOU'VE GOTTA DEAL WITH AND, AND, UH, ALL THE COMMUNICATION THAT HAS TO HAPPEN, COORDINATION ON THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF HOW WE HAVE SCOOTERS AND WHERE THEY'RE PLACED.
AND, UH, SOMETIMES WE'VE GOT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES WITH SOME OF THE SCOOTERS NOT BEING ON THE ROADWAYS ANYMORE.
SO WE DO WANT TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON THE SAFETY OF THOSE, THE ACCESSIBILITY OF OUR SIDEWALKS AND OTHER AREAS, UH, WHILE EN ENCOURAGING THAT KIND OF SAFE USE OF THE DEVICES THEMSELVES.
SO, UH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE RIGHT NUMBER OF VENDORS, AND MAYBE WE'LL HAVE A PROCUREMENT PROCESS THAT HAS SOME FLEXIBILITY BUILT INTO IT.
AND, AND LET ME ASK, I MEAN, DO WE KNOW WHAT ARE THE NUMBER OF POSSIBLE VENDORS OUT THERE? IT HAS, UH, DWINDLED DRAMATICALLY FROM THE 15 THAT WE HAD, UH, IN 2018.
UH, I, I'D SAY FROM MY KNOWLEDGE, MAYBE FOUR OR FIVE THAT ARE STILL OPERATING OKAY.
YOU KNOW, AT, AT THE SCALE THAT WE WOULD WANT.
SO IT'S, IT'S VERY, IT'S A VERY SMALL FIELD THESE DAYS.
AND DO WE, DO WE REGULATE PRICING AS PART OF THE VENDOR AGREEMENT? WE DO NOT, NO.
WELL, I MEAN, I GUESS EVEN MORE SO IF WE DON'T REGULATE PRICE.
AGAIN, I'M THINKING ABOUT THE KIND OF THE TAXI CAB MODEL WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS SOME KIND OF COMMISSION THAT AGREED AND SET PRICES AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.
UH, THAT TO ME, AGAIN, JUST REALLY PUSHES ON THE SIDE OF THE MORE VENDORS THAT WE HAVE, THE MORE PRICE COMPETITION THERE IS BETWEEN THE VENDORS.
AND, AND AGAIN, I'M JUST, THIS IS ANECDOTAL.
I REALLY DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHO RIDES SCOOTERS? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF UT STUDENTS DO A LOT OF FOLKS IN DOWNTOWN DO, BUT I RIDE A SCOOTER SOMETIMES
[01:30:01]
ONCEUH, BUT HONESTLY, I SEE, ESPECIALLY, AGAIN, THIS IS MY DISTRICT, DISTRICT FOUR, BUT I SEE A LOT OF LOW-INCOME FOLKS, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT, UH, THERE, THAT THEY TAKE THE SCOOTER TO THE BUS STOP, OR THEY TAKE THE SCOOTER FROM THE BUS STOP TO THEIR HOUSE.
LIKE, LIKE, I JUST DON'T WANT TO, I KNOW EVERYBODY'S LIKE, OH, IT'S JUST THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE FRAT BOYS DOWNTOWN.
LIKE, BUT IT'S, IT'S REALLY, IT'S MORE THAN THAT.
IT IS A LEGITIMATE MICRO MOBILITY OPTION FOR ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE.
AND I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, ESPECIALLY AGAIN, IF WE'RE NOT GONNA REGULATE PRICING, THEN THAT REALLY, THE IDEA THAT THERE ARE JUST TWO VENDORS OUT THERE WHO CAN KIND OF, YOU KNOW, UH, COLLUDE BASICALLY, UH, INFORMALLY EVEN TO JUST KIND OF SET A, A HIGHER PRICE CONCERNS ME.
I AGREE, AND I DON'T HAVE THE INFORMATION IN FRONT OF ME RIGHT NOW, BUT I HAD HEARD ANECDOTALLY THAT THE MEDICS HAVE SAID THAT HAVING FEWER SCOOTERS IS CREATING FEWER INJURIES.
I DON'T WANNA PUT WORDS IN THEIR MOUTH BY ANY MEANS, BUT I KNOW THAT WE HAD HAD ISSUES WHEN SCOOTERS WERE FIRST DEPLOYED, AND WE HAD, YOU KNOW, ONE TEAM THAT WAS WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE CITY, ANOTHER ONE THAT JUST PUT EVERYTHING OUT ONE MORNING AND SAID, GOOD LUCK EVERYONE.
UM, BUT WE HAVE HAD BRIEFINGS AS A CITY COUNCIL ABOUT THE SAFETY ISSUES, ESPECIALLY IN THOSE LATE NIGHT HOURS WHERE MAYBE A SCOOTER'S MALFUNCTIONING, MAYBE THE VISIBILITY WITH HEADLIGHTS AND OTHER TRAFFIC SITUATIONS IS, IS NOT SAFE.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE WERE BASICALLY TOLD, LOOK, THIS IS CREATING A LOT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES FOR THE RIDER'S LATE AT NIGHT.
AND MY MAIN GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE SAFE AND GOOD, GOOD PATRONS AND GOOD STEWARDS IF THEY'RE GONNA BE USING DEVICES LIKE THIS.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON SCOOTERS BEFORE WE MOVE TO CURBSIDE MANAGEMENT? ALL RIGHT, THINK SO.
SO THE NEXT PRESENTATION, UH, JOSEPH'S GONNA BE LEADING US THROUGH THIS.
I THINK THERE WAS A REQUEST, UM, A WHILE BACK FROM, UH, THIS COMMITTEE TO LOOK AT CURB MANAGEMENT, UH, STUDY IT.
HOW DO WE PLAN FOR THE DEMANDS THAT ARE NOW BEING FACED AND CONTINUED GROWTH INTO THE DEMANDS FOR THE USE OF, OF CURBSIDE SPACE? UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT INTERESTED PARTIES IN THAT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES THAT HAPPEN THAT ARE RIDE SHARE, DROP-OFFS, UH, PEOPLE WANTING TO PARK THEIR OWN VEHICLES, THE USE OF THAT CURBSIDE SPACE FOR MOBILITY OPTIONS LIKE BIKING AND SCOOTERS.
UM, HOW, HOW WE'RE SEEING A PROLIFERATION NOW OF OTHER DELIVERY TYPES OF SERVICES.
AND THEN YOU'VE GOT JUST REGULAR MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES THAT HAPPEN TO HAPPEN AT THESE BUILDINGS AS WELL.
SO A LOT OF DEMANDS THAT ARE PLACED.
AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS FIND A WAY TO HAVE A PLAN THAT WOULD HELP US INTERNALLY PRIMARILY TO COME UP WITH A FRAMEWORK FOR DECISION MAKING AROUND THAT.
AND SO WE ARE UNDERWAY WITH A CONSULTANT.
JOSEPH'S GONNA LEAD THE PRESENTATION HERE, GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHERE WE'RE AT AND WHERE WE'RE HEADED, AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE DISCUSSION AFTER THAT.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS, JOSEPH HORY, PARKING ENTERPRISE MANAGER, TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS.
AND LIKE LEWIS SAID, UH, COMPETITION AT THE CURB IS BECOMING INCREASING, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT MODES IN USE.
AND SO THIS REALLY GIVES US A NEW FRAMEWORK, UM, FOR US TO LOOK AT.
SO LET'S GO THIS PRETTY QUICKLY.
UM, WE GOT SOME BACKGROUND HERE.
WE HAD TO REQUEST, UH, PRELIMINARY FROM COUNCIL JUST AS WE STARTED TO SEE, UM, SOME CHALLENGES AND EVEN BEFORE THAT, AS WE CHANGED, UM, OUR DEVELOPMENT CODE AND HAD NO PARKING APARTMENTS.
WHAT IS THAT PRESSURE GONNA LOOK LIKE ON OUR CURB SPACE OVER TIME? AND AS IT, WE CONTINUE TO SEE THAT GROW.
UH, WE EXECUTED A CONTRACT IN, UH, MAY OF THIS YEAR, AND WE HAD TO KICK OFF PRETTY QUICKLY.
WE'RE ESTIMATING ABOUT A 12 MONTH TIMELINE.
SO, UM, REALLY NEXT JUNE, UM, LOOKING FOR, UH, A FINAL DELIVERABLE.
AND REALLY THE FOCUS HERE IS TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, A CURB MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT REALLY HELPS TO GUIDE OPERATIONAL DECISION MAKING.
THIS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN A NORMAL STUDY THAT WE DO, THAT WE HAVE A NUMBER OF STRATEGIES THAT WE HAVE TO IMPLEMENT OR LOOK TO, TO FOCUS ON HERE, IS TO CREATE A, A FRAMEWORK, A POLICY GUIDE, A PLANNING GUIDE THAT IS AMENABLE AS OUR, UH, OUR CITY GROWS AND AS OUR, OUR, OUR NEEDS FOR OUR CURB SPACE CHANGE.
UM, SO, UH, REALLY WHAT IS THE GOAL OF, OF, OF THE, THE PLAN ITSELF.
WE REALLY WEREN'T LOOKING AT A COMPREHENSIVE CURBSIDE MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT PROVIDES CLEAR GUIDELINES AND FLEXIBLE USER-CENTRIC SOLUTIONS FOR CURB SPACE.
UM, REALLY FOCUSING ON AIMS TO ADDRESS THE DIVERSE AND OFTEN CONFLICTING DEMANDS IN CURB SPACE.
PRIORITIZING, USE, USES TO REDUCE CONFLICTS, MEET PRIMARY NEEDS, AND PLAN FOR FUTURE CHANGES.
AND THERE WAS FOUR TASKS THAT WE REALLY LOOKED AT.
ONE, REALLY LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT CURRENTLY POLICIES WE HAVE HERE AT THE CITY AND, AND OTHER POLICIES THAT GOVERN, UM, WHAT WE DO HERE, UM, IN OTHER STUDIES THAT WE'VE HAD REALLY GET A GOOD AMOUNT OF STAKEHOLDER INPUT, BOTH INTERNAL, EXTERNAL AND PARTNERS, BUSINESS PARTNERS, AND THOSE AROUND US THAT ARE USING OUR K SPACE.
UM, AND THE REAL FRAMEWORK IS FOCUSED AROUND WHICH TASK TWO, WHICH IS A CURB TYPE POLICY, REALLY LOOKING AT, IF YOU SEE TO YOUR RIGHT SIDE, AN EXAMPLE FROM ATLANTA.
CURBSIDE MANAGEMENT STUDY REALLY LAYS OUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, CREATING A, A PRIORITY BY, UH, NEEDS AND, AND REPRESENTATIVE OF THESE AREAS THAT HAVE LIKE ENTERTAINMENT CENTERS AND, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD
[01:35:01]
MOBILITY CORRIDORS AND UM, UH, COMMERCIAL CENTERS.UM, AND REALLY CREATING A CURB USE PRIORITY BASED OFF OF THAT.
AND TASK THREE, REALLY LOOKING AT OUR EXISTING CONDITIONS, WHAT WE'RE DOING, HOW WE'RE DOING THAT, HOW WE COULD DO BETTER, AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE SEE OUT THERE NOW AND, AND HOW WE'RE DOING THINGS.
UM, AND THEN TASK FOUR, REALLY CREATING THAT FRAMEWORK.
HOW DO WE USE THIS MOVING FORWARD NOW, OPERATIONALIZE IT SO THAT WE HAVE A FRAMEWORK THAT CAN GOES.
NOW, REALLY WHEN WE, WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS, UM, IT'S HARD TO GET DATA FROM EVERY POINT OF OUR CITY.
SO WE REALLY WANNA LOOK AT THESE SPECIFIC LOCATIONS THAT CAN BE TRANSFORMED AND, AND LOOKED AT, UM, THEIR SPECIFIC, THAT SPECIFIC TYPOLOGY.
UM, SO AS WE GET INTO WHAT WE'VE ACHIEVED SO FAR, SO WE'VE ALREADY DONE, UM, UH, SOME LITER LITERATURE REVIEW, CITY POLICIES LIKE A ASS AND P AND, AND OTHERS, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOKED AT OTHER AGENCY POLICIES.
WE ALSO LOOKED AT OTHER STUDIES, LOOKED AT OTHER PEER CITY STUDIES, OTHER, UM, UH, CURBSIDE MANAGEMENT PLANS FROM, UM, CITY OF BOULDER AND, AND OTHERS.
ATLANTA, LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE.
UM, WE DID A LOT OF INTERNAL STAKEHOLDER INPUT FROM, UM, INTERNAL TPW PARTNERS AS WELL AS OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UM, TO, TO REALLY, UH, GET A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THEY, UH, USED THE CURB SPACE AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THEM.
UM, AND WE ALSO REALLY, WHICH WAS A, A GREAT POINT, IS WE HAD A CURBSIDE MANAGEMENT SUMMIT, WHICH JUST HAPPENED THIS LAST MONTH.
UM, THAT WE HAD A LOT OF COMMUNITY LEADERS AS WELL AS BUSINESS OWNERS, UM, VALLEY OPERATORS, OTHERS THAT REALLY CAN GIVE INPUT ON WHAT THEY SEE TO CURB SPACES, THE CHALLENGES THAT THEY HAVE.
WE HAD INTERACTIVE POLLING AND, UM, WE HAD, UM, A PARTNER CITY FROM SEATTLE GIVE THEIR TESTIMONY ON WHAT THEY DO IN THEIR CITY.
UM, AND WE'RE REALLY, UH, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND GOT SOME GOOD FEEDBACK.
UM, AND THEN WE, UH, ARE, UH, COLLECTED DATA.
WE JUST FINISHED THIS UP AT EIGHT STUDY LOCATIONS BASED OFF THOSE TYPOLOGIES THAT I'VE TALKED ABOUT.
UM, AND WE'RE GONNA START ANALYZING THAT TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW WE PUT THAT INTO PRACTICE.
SO WHAT IS OUR NEXT STEPS? UM, WE, LIKE I JUST MENTIONED, WE COMPLETED THE DATA ANALYSIS OF THE EIGHT STUDY LOCATIONS.
UM, WE'RE STILL CONTINUE TO REVIEW THE FEEDBACK WE GOT FROM OUR STAKEHOLDER, UM, MEETINGS, AS WELL AS FROM OUR, UM, RECENT SUMMIT.
UM, WE ARE ABOUT TO LAUNCH A PUBLIC INPUT OPPORTUNITY, WHICH WILL BE ONLINE AN IN-PERSON SURVEY PLANNED FOR, UH, NEXT COUPLE WEEKS IN DECEMBER.
UM, AND THEN OUR FOCUS IS TO HAVE INITIAL DRAFT OF THE, UH, UH, DRAFT OF THE PLAN, LIKELY INTERNALLY REVIEW, UM, IN APRIL MAY WITH A FINAL DRAFT DELIVERED FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION IN JUNE.
AND I WILL TAKE PUSH ON THIS NOW.
I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS.
I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER VELA HAS SOME FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE.
AND, AND GOOD TO SEE THE CURBSIDE MANAGEMENT STUDY MOVING FORWARD.
UH, UH, UH, WE'RE, UH, SOME BIG SUPPORTERS OF IT AND HONESTLY, GLAD TO SEE THAT THERE'S WORK KIND OF BEEN GOING, UH, TO, YOU KNOW, FOUNDATIONAL WORK, RIGHT.
FOR THE, UH, STUDY, UH, SEMI RELATED TO THE, THE SCOOTER CONVERSATION AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, WHEN THAT THERE WAS THAT PHOTO OF THE SCOOTER CORRAL ON, UH, SOUTH CONGRESS, UH, IS THAT RENTED BY THE SCOOTER COMPANY? LIKE, LIKE HOW DOES THAT, AND, AND THINKING ABOUT THE CURB MANAGEMENT STUDY, THE THINKING ABOUT, I I, I WOULD AGREE THAT FROM A BIG PICTURE PERSPECTIVE, WE NEED TO, UH, CREATE MORE AREAS THAT ARE DESIGNATED, KIND OF PICK UP AND DROP OFF AREAS TO PREVENT CARS FROM JUST KIND OF PULLING UP WHEREVER.
UH, AND, BUT CAN WE KIND OF MAKE THEM PAY FOR THAT THOUGH, IN THE SENSE THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE WELCOME.
YOU'RE WELCOME TO BRING YOUR SCOOTERS AND OPERATE, BUT YOU HAVE TO RENT, YOU KNOW, ONE SPACE EVERY, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, SO, AND THAT'S GONNA BE YOUR SCOOTER PICKUP AND DROP OFF AREA, AND YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, PAY US TO, TO HOLD THAT SPACE.
CAN WE DO SOMETHING SIMILAR WITH THE, UH, UH, WITH THE RIDESHARE STUFF WHERE WE'RE GONNA SAY LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA GIVE Y'ALL LIKE THIS BLOCK AND THIS OTHER BLOCK AND YOU KNOW, THAT SIDE TO DO PICKUP AND DROP OFF, BUT, UH, THERE, THERE'S SOME FEE INVOLVED, RIGHT? UH, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE DO NOT CURRENTLY REGULATE, UM, YOU KNOW, RIDE HAILING OR, YOU KNOW, BUT WE DO WITH TAXI.
UM, IT GETS A LITTLE COMPLICATED WHEN IT COMES TO THE STATE LAWS AND ALLOWING US TO REGULATE THAT.
NOW, TECHNICALLY THE CURVE SPACE IS OURS.
SO THERE, UH, IT'S A CONVERSATION WE COULD HAVE AND LOOK INTO FURTHER TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE COULD DO THAT MM-HMM
UM, BUT REALLY THE FOCUS HERE TOO IS ON THESE TYPOLOGIES, IS LOOKING AT THESE CERTAIN AREAS AND SAYING WHAT AREAS REALLY NEED TO BE USED FOR THAT TYPE OF USE, RIGHT? MM-HMM
UM, YOU KNOW, AND THAT COULD CHANGE OVER TIME, BUT YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A COMMERCIAL CENTER OR IF IT'S AN ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT, AND, AND YOU KNOW, THIS IS A POLICY FRAMEWORK THAT ALLOWS US TO START THERE AND THEN WE CAN HAVE THOSE LARGER CONVERSATIONS AND HOW WE MOVE WITH THOSE STAKEHOLDERS IN THE FUTURE.
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, I DON'T WANNA
[01:40:01]
STOP, LIKE, I DON'T WANT TO SAY THAT, OH, IF WE CAN'T MAKE MONEY, WE'RE NOT GONNA CREATE, YOU KNOW, PICK UP AND DROP OFF, OFF.IF WE, WE NEED 'EM, WE NEED 'EM, LET'S DO IT REGARDLESS OF, OF WHETHER WE CAN GET REIMBURSED OR NOT.
BUT IF WE GET REIMBURSED, LIKE LET'S, LET'S GET, LET'S GET REIMBURSED.
UM, DO THE SCOOTER COMPANIES RIGHT NOW, DO THEY CURRENTLY PAY FOR THOSE LITTLE CORRAL SPOTS? NO, THEY CURRENTLY DON'T.
SO THAT'S THE CITY DEDICATING ITS RIGHT OF WAY FOR KIND OF THE, THE SCOOTER.
UH, AND, AND AGAIN, JUST GOING BACK TO THAT ITEM FOR FOR A SECOND, WOULD THAT BE PART OF A, A POTENTIAL CONTRACT? AND TO ME, MY SENSE WOULD BE THAT IS ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF DOING A CONTRACT IS THAT WE COULD MAKE SOME DEMANDS ON THEM, RIGHT? CORRECT.
AND WE ACTUALLY, CURRENTLY, WE HAD SOMETHING IN THE PREVIOUS DIRECTOR RULES THAT ALLOWED US TO POTENTIALLY RECOUP SOME OF THOSE COSTS, BUT THERE WAS SOME LEGAL ISSUES WITH DOING THAT, GOING TO A CONTRACT MODEL THAT'S MORE CONCISE AND IN THE WAY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO THINGS THROUGH OUR NORMAL PROCUREMENT METHODS.
ALLOWS US MORE AVAILABILITY TO DO SOMETHING IN THAT MATTER.
AND, AND THE SCOOTER COMPANIES WE'VE TALKED TO ARE MORE THAN WILLING TO, TO DO THAT OPTION AND ARE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING THAT ABILITY TO REINVEST INTO SOMETHING IN THAT MATTER.
THAT WOULD BE MY SENSE TOO, IS BECAUSE IF THEY WANT TO GET KIND OF ESTABLISHED AS PART OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY DON'T WANNA KIND OF DO THIS, YOU KNOW, GRAY AREA KIND OF STUFF.
AGAIN, MY, MY JUST KIND OF GENERAL SENSE OF IT, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND I'LL JUST ADD TOO, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, COMMITTEE MEMBER, THE, THE, THERE'S A PUBLIC BENEFIT TO HAVING THOSE DEDICATED SPACES AS WELL, RIGHT? AND WE DON'T, WE DON'T CHARGE BICYCLE USERS TO PARK AT A BIKE RACK.
UM, THERE'S, SO THERE'S A PUBLIC BENEFIT OF HAVING THAT IN AN ORGANIZED SPACE.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHY WE'VE TAKEN THE STEPS WE HAVE TO PUT THE ONES THAT ARE IN PLACE NOW AND TO BE ABLE TO HAVE LESS CLUTTER ON THOSE SIDEWALKS, LESS CLUTTER ON THOSE PLACES WHERE PEOPLE ARE WALKING OR WHEELCHAIRS NEED ACCESS.
SO, UM, IT, THERE'S A PUBLIC BENEFIT TO THAT ELEMENT AS FAR AS THE, THE RIDE SHARING DROP OFF GOES, YOU KNOW, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT.
IT'S KIND OF TIED INTO SOME OTHER CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND THE ABILITY TO DO THAT BECAUSE THERE'S A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME WHERE THOSE DROP OFFS AND PICKUPS ARE HAPPENING.
SAME THING WITH DELIVERIES, SAME THING WITH OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT ARE VERY QUICK.
SO WE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO ENFORCE THAT BY PERSON.
WE'D PROBABLY LOOKING TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS THAT ARE CERTAINLY OUT THERE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE DESIGNATED SPOTS.
AND WE'VE SEEN OTHER CITIES DO THIS WHERE THEY'RE CHARGING A, A, A SMALL FEE, YOU KNOW, A VERY REASONABLE FEE FOR A SMALL AMOUNT OF TIME TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
BUT THAT'S USING SOME TECHNOLOGY BASED CONCEPTS.
AND AGAIN, JUST TO BE CLEAR, I DON'T WANT TO, UH, CUT OFF MY NOTES, SPOT MY FACE, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A GOOD POLICY, LET'S DO IT.
BUT IF THERE'S MONEY AVAILABLE TO GET REIMBURSED FOR THE GOOD POLICY, THEN LET'S DO THAT TOO.
BUT, BUT AGAIN, I I'M NOT GONNA BE LIKE, WELL IF WE DON'T GET THE MONEY THEN TOO BAD FOR YOU.
WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT'S, I DEFINITELY, THAT'S NOT THE APPROACH THAT, THAT UH, UH, UM, UH, SUPPORTING.
NO, YEAH, HE SAID HE, UM, DIDN'T NEED TO ASK HIS QUESTIONS.
I GUESS HE'LL FOLLOW UP OFFLINE WITH YOU IF HE NEEDS TO.
UM, I JUST WANNA SAY I APPRECIATE THIS IS MOVING FORWARD WITH CURBSIDE MANAGEMENT AS, AS A PRACTICE.
I KNOW OVER THE PAST DECADE AT THIS POINT, UM, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT KIND OF WHAT IS THE MOST RESPONSIBLE WAY TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT STREET SPACE IS EVER INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU GET TO FOOD DELIVERY DRIVERS OR RIDE SHARES.
IT'S NOT THAT WE'RE GONNA SAY, HEY, YOU HAVE TO BE HERE, YOU HAVE TO BE THERE.
BUT AT A CERTAIN POINT, IF YOU PROVIDE AN EASE OF THIS IS A CONVENIENT PLACE TO BE ABLE TO PULL OVER, LEAVE YOUR BLINKERS ON, DROP SOMEONE OFF, GET FOOD, WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO, THE SAFER THE STREETSCAPE IS GOING TO BE.
I KNOW THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF TIMES I SEE, ESPECIALLY ON SECOND STREET, RIGHT OUTSIDE OF CITY HALL WHERE PEOPLE ARE JUST BLOCKING THE ROAD, THEY'RE JUST STOPPING THE BLINKERS ARE ON, THEY'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
AND IT CREATES A SITUATION WHERE YOUR CHOICES STAY BEHIND THEM FOR AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME OR SEE IF THERE'S A WAY TO GO AROUND THEM.
AND YOU'RE ESSENTIALLY DRIVING INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC, WHICH IS NOT ANYONE'S FIRST CHOICE.
AND I'M PROBABLY AGAINST STATE LAW.
UM, SO IT PUTS A LOT OF PEOPLE IN A TRICKY POSITION AND I WON'T NAME NAMES, BUT THERE'S LIKE ONE BUILDING DOWN HERE WHERE EVERYBODY'S DOING IT ALL DAY LONG AND, UM, IT'S CREATING A REAL SAFETY HAZARD FOR PEOPLE.
SO I THINK THE GOAL, AT LEAST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE FOR CURB MANAGEMENT, IS TO JUST MAKE SURE THERE'S A SAFE, VISIBLE, EASY PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO DO WHATEVER IT IS THAT THEY NEED TO DO.
WE KNOW THAT WE'RE A BIG HUSTLING BUSTLING DOWNTOWN CITY, UM, AND TRYING TO CREATE THOSE SAFE SPACES FOR ALL USERS IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE TRYING TO STRIVE FOR WITH THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE.
IF THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS, I THINK
[5. Report by the Austin Transportation and Public Works related to ongoing mobility programs and projects in the Central Texas region, including construction and service updates.]
WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BUMP THE URBAN TRAILS UPDATE AS MUCH AS I WANNA HEAR IT, IT LOOKS REALLY GOOD AND I WANNA GIVE IT THE TIME THAT IT DESERVES.
SO THAT'LL BE COMING BACK TO US IN JANUARY, OR IT SOUNDS LIKE MAYBE POTENTIALLY IN FEBRUARY TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
AND THAT WILL TAKE US INTO, LET ME GET MY AGENDA OPEN FOR US, THE ONGOING MOBILITY PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
[01:45:02]
I KNOW IF DIRECTOR MENDOZA HAS A SPECIFIC REPORT OR IF YOU JUST WANTED TO READ US SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS IN THE REPORT, WE'D LOVE TO SHARE THIS BECAUSE IT SHOWS A LOT OF THE GOOD WORK THAT MAY NOT GET HALF AN HOUR IN A COMMITTEE MEETING, BUT IS DEFINITELY HAPPENING EVERY DAY BEHIND THE SCENES.UM, WE HAVE A BRIEF BUT VERY EXCITING, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN MOBILITY REPORT FOR DECEMBER OF 2025.
UH, FIRST, UH, WE'RE DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE LONGHORN DAM WISHBONE BRIDGE IS NEARING SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION IN THE MONTH OF THIS CURRENT MONTH OF DECEMBER.
AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN A LONG ANTICIPATED PROJECT TO PROVIDE SAFE, UH, PASSAGE FOR BIKES AND PEDESTRIANS AND SCOOTER RIDERS, UM, ON ALONG THE, UM, ROY BUTLER TRAIL IN THE VICINITY OF WISHBONE, UM, NOT WISHBONE LONGHORN DAM.
AND SO WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS, NOT ONLY, UH, OF THE, UH, WISHBONE BRIDGE ITSELF, BUT ALSO AN ACCESS TUNNEL, WHICH WILL THEN EXTEND THE URBAN TRAIL NETWORK TO THE EAST SIDE OF OUR TOWN.
AND SO WE'RE ANTICIPATING SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION THIS MONTH, UH, WITH FINAL COMPLETION AND A GRAND OPENING CEREMONY IN EARLY 2026.
AND THEN SECONDLY, SOME SUBSTANTIAL NEWS FROM OUR, UH, HIGH PERFORMING AUSTIN, UH, AIRPORT.
UH, WE'RE REPORTING THAT WE SENT A SET A RECORD FOR ALL TIME BUSIEST MONTH, UH, FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER WITH OVER 2 MILLION, UH, TRAVELERS GOING THROUGH OUR AIRPORT THAT REPRESENTS AN 8.9% INCREASE OVER A PRIOR YEAR.
AND WE SET A, ACTUALLY A ONE DAY RECORD OF OVER 45,000 DEPARTING PASSENGERS ON THE DAY AFTER F1.
SO ALL THIS IS OCCURRING WHILE, UH, WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE MULTI-YEAR PROGRAM TO DELIVER MORE THAN 20 ADDITIONAL GATES, UH, TO OUR AIRPORT.
AND SO LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, FURTHER SUCCESS, UH, UH, FROM OUR, UH, AUSTIN AIRPORT.
AND IN ADDITION, WE'RE DOING THIS IN A SUSTAINABLE MANNER, UH, FOR THE FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW, OS RECEIVED A LEVEL THREE PLUS NEUTRALITY IN GLOBAL AIRPORT CARBON ACCREDITATION.
THIS IS A GLOBAL AIRPORT CERTIFICATION THAT SHOWS, UH, OUR AIRPORT'S COMMITMENT TO BEING A CARBON NEUTRAL, UH, FACILITY IN THIS AREA.
AND SO THAT'S INFORMATION IS ALSO LOCATED IN YOUR REPORT.
AND THAT CONCLUDES, UH, MY, MY REPORT.
ANY QUESTIONS OR HIGHLIGHTS? Y'ALL WANTED TO DAYLIGHT? WE APPRECIATE IT.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT, UH, RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE WISHBONE BRIDGE.
THAT IS ONE THAT HAS BEEN A PARTNERSHIP OF MANY STAKEHOLDERS OVER THE YEARS AND IT'S FUNDED THROUGH THE 2020 MOBILITY BONDS.
AND THEN OUR CONGRESSMAN CASAR WAS ABLE TO SQUEEZE A LITTLE MORE MONEY OUT OF A FEDERAL SUPPORT TO BE ABLE TO BUILD THAT PROJECT.
AND SO IT'S REALLY BEEN AN ALL HANDS ON DECK KIND OF ENDEAVOR.
SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT OPENING.
WE'VE GOT A LIST OF OTHER BRIEFINGS BY MEMORANDUM, SO IF FOLKS WANNA REFERENCE THOSE AND MAKE SURE YOU'RE UP TO DATE ON ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT'S BEEN PROVIDED IN THAT THERE IS SOME REALLY GOOD WORK BEING DONE.
[7. Identify items to be discussed at future meetings.]
THEN THE LAST ITEM IS GOING TO BE ITEMS TO DISCUSS AT FUTURE MEETINGS.JANUARY IS ALREADY FILLING UP.
WE'VE GOT SOME OTHER TECH STOCK CONVERSATIONS, A TP MOBILITY ANNUAL PLAN POTENTIALLY, AND UM, SIXTH STREET PILOT.
I KNOW WE HAD SOME SPEAKERS COME AND JOIN US EARLIER IN THIS MEETING TO TALK ABOUT THEIR, UH, PERSPECTIVES ON THE SIXTH STREET PILOT.
SO I KNOW THAT CONVERSATION IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
UH, FEBRUARY, WE MIGHT DO CITYWIDE LIGHTING PLAN, INCLUDING AROUND PROJECT CONNECT STATION AREAS AND POTENTIALLY SOME PARKING REFORM NEXT STEPS.
AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER LAUNDRY LIST OF ABOUT 10 OR 12 OTHER ITEMS. SO YOU CAN ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO US BEHIND THE SCENES AND LET US KNOW IF THERE'S A SPECIFIC TOPIC THAT YOU WANNA COVER.
WE'VE GOT A BUSY SPRING IS, WE'VE ALREADY GOT SOME THINGS POPULATING FOR FEBRUARY, MARCH, AND APRIL.
AND WE ALWAYS WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE KEEPING OUR EYES OPEN ON TIMELY CONVERSATIONS AROUND I 35 CAP AND STITCH ANYTHING REGARDING LIGHT RAIL OR FIRST MILE LAST MILE INITIATIVES AND ETOD PLANNING UPDATES.
SO AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME WE WILL CIRCLE BACK AND ADD THOSE INTO THE AGENDA AS NEEDED.
AND OUR SPEAKER THAT WAS NOT ABLE TO GET SIGNED UP AND SPEAK BEFORE, UH, SAID HE DIDN'T NEED TO SPEAK AND HE'S NOT IN THE ROOM ANYMORE.
AND SO HOPEFULLY IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE THAT NEEDS TO BE SHARED WITH US, FEEL FREE TO SEND US ALL EMAILS AS COMMITTEE MEMBERS OR TO THE ENTIRE MAYOR AND COUNCIL LIST AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO MOVE THROUGH THOSE THINGS AND
[01:50:01]
GET THE INFORMATION THAT WE NEED.AND ON THAT NOTE, IT IS 2:52 PM I BELIEVE ALL OF OUR BUSINESS HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED FOR TODAY.
SO I WILL ADJOURN THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE THE LAST ONE OF THE YEAR FOR DECEMBER, AND WE'LL SEE YOU ALL IN JANUARY.