[00:00:03]
[CALL TO ORDER]
CALL THIS MEETING, UM, WHICH IS THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE AUSTIN URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, TUESDAY, OC- OCTOBER 6TH, 2026, CURRENTLY 5:08 PM.UM, WE'RE LOCATED HERE IN CITY HALL, ROOM 1101, 301 WEST 2ND STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
UM, WE ARE AT OUR EXACT QUORUM, WHICH IS SIX.
UM, HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE SOME MORE COMMISSIONERS ARRIVE, BUT WITH SIX, IF WE DO LOSE ANYONE, INCLUDING LOSING SOMEONE OFF CAMERA, WE'LL HAVE TO STOP FOR LOSS OF QUORUM.
SO, UM, PLEASE, UM, UM, BE AWARE OF THAT, THAT WE ARE AT EXACTLY SIX, WHICH IS OUR QUORUM.
UM, I WILL GO AHEAD AND TAKE, UM, I'M SAYING THAT, BUT NOW I'LL OFFICIALLY READ OUT THIS ATTENDANCE.
UM, UH, COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER, OUR VICE CHAIR? HERE.
COMMISSIONER CAVALMAN, OUR PARLIAMENTARIAN.
COMMISSIONER BROWN? NOT PRESENT.
COMMISSIONER CHEN? HERE AND ONLINE.
UH, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ? HERE.
COMMISSIONER JACOBSON? AND COMMISSIONER PRASAD.
A REMINDER TO, UM, ATTENDEES WHO ARE ATTENDING VIRTUALLY, IT IS REQUIRED THAT YOU, UM, IN WRITING, UM, REPORT TO OUR STAFF LIAISON, UH, THE LOVELY NATALIE, TO, UH, LET HER KNOW THAT YOU ARE ATTENDING VIRTUALLY IN WRITING FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE TO BE COUNTED.
SO PLEASE, IF YOU HAVE NOT ATTENDED TO THAT, BE SURE TO DO SO THAT, UH, RIGHT NOW.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE TIME FOR, UM, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION ON A GENERAL TOPIC, NOT ON THE AGENDA.
THE FIRST FIVE SPEAKERS SIGNED UP PRIOR TO THE MEETING ARE ALLOTTED A THREE-MINUTE ALLOTMENT TO ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNS IF THERE ARE ANY INDIVIDUALS.
I HAVE NO ONE SIGNED UP TODAY.
SEEING NO ONE, THEN WE WILL GO AHEAD AND MOVE
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
ON TO ITEM NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE AUSTIN URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING FROM, UM, AUGUST 4TH, 2026.UM, COMMISSIONERS, YOU DO HAVE THAT IN YOUR PACKET IF YOU WANNA GIVE THAT A LOOK.
I'M HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION.
I'LL MAKE A, A MOTION TO APPROVE.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION FROM, UH, VICE CHAIR SCHUMACHER, SECOND FOR COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ.
SOUNDS LIKE WE MAY HAVE AN EDIT THAT WE NEED TO DO THAT ON, THROUGH AMENDMENT.
YEAH, I THINK THE ONLY EDIT IS ON COMMITTEE UPDATES NUMBER 10.
IT SAYS WE RECEIVED AN UPDATE FROM COMMISSIONER SUMMERS.
SO I THINK WE SKIPPED THAT AGENDA ITEM.
OH, AND IT SAYS CHAIR SUMMERS ADJOURNED THE MEETING.
I WOULD, I WOULD ASSUME THAT WAS PROBABLY ME.
YEAH, VICE CHAIR SCHUMACHER DURING ME.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA DO THAT AS AN AMENDMENT OR TEXT EDITS.
I THINK WE CAN DO THAT AS TEXT EDITS UNLESS WE SEE ANY OBJECTION TO THOSE.
NATALIE, CAN YOU INCORPORATE THOSE FOR US? ABSOLUTELY.
THEN WITH THOSE TEXT EDITS THAT WERE JUST READ OUT, UM, IF EVERYONE WANTS TO TAKE A VOTE ON THAT, ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES WITH THE REQUESTED EDIT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY AYE.
THAT DOES APPEAR UNANIMOUS OF THOSE PRESENT, SO I APPRECIATE THAT.
[2. Curb Management Study Briefing. Presentation by Joseph Al-Hajeri, Division Manager, Austin Transportation and Public Works.]
TAKE US INTO OUR STAFF BRIEFING ITEM, WHICH IS, UM, ITEM, UH, NUMBER TWO, UM, THE CURB MANAGEMENT STUFF, STU - CURB MANAGEMENT STUDY BRIEFING.TWISTED ME THERE, UH, WITH A PRESENTATION BY JOSEPH ALCHI - ALGER - ALHAJIRI FROM THE DIVISION MANAGER FROM AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.
VICE CHAIR, COMMISSIONERS, JOSEPH AHADRI, TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS, UH, PARK ENTERPRISE DIVISION MANAGER.
UM, THIS IS OUR THIRD TIME COMING AROUND FOR THIS.
I KNOW THE PLAN HAD JUST, UH, HAD BEEN COMPLETED.
WE WENT TO MOBILITY COMMITTEE RECENTLY.
UM, WANTED TO GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY JUST TO GO THROUGH THIS.
I'M GONNA GO THROUGH PROBABLY JUST KIND OF SET THE TABLE HERE, UM, THE FIRST PART OF THIS PRESENTATION PRETTY QUICKLY.
I KNOW THAT Y'ALL HAVE SEEN MOST OF THAT ALREADY, UM, AND REALLY THE MEAT OF IT IS TOWARDS THE END.
SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE Y'ALL A LITTLE CONTEXT THERE.
OKAY, SO, UH, QUICKLY, UM, WE'LL JUST DO A QUICK OVERVIEW.
UM, REALLY, YOU KNOW, UH, THE WAY THIS KIND OF GOT ALL SET OUT WAS IN 2020 WE HAD AN AUSTIN CURB ROADMAP, WHICH WAS OUR FIRST ATTEMPT TO ORGANIZE OPERATIONAL EFFORTS TO CURB MANAGEMENT.
UM, AND IT RECOMMENDED THAT WE DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE CURB, UM, MANAGEMENT STRATEGY PLAN, NO STRATEGIC PLAN.
UM, AND IN LATE 2023, WE SAW SOME MAJOR POLICY CHANGES THROUGH REMOVAL OF OUR PARKING MINIMUMS AND QUESTIONS AROSE TO THE IMPACTS TO ON-STREET RESIDENTIAL S - UH,
[00:05:01]
TO ON-STREET RESIDENTIAL STREETS AND PARKING, UH, AFTER COUNCIL ACTION.SO OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, WE'VE SEEN RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF AV TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER DEVELOPMENTS INTO COMMERCIAL RIDE-SHARE SERVICES.
SO I THINK THIS PLAN REALLY COMES INTO EFFECT AT THE RIGHT TIME.
UM, SO WE GOT THIS KICKED OFF IN JUNE 2025.
UM, WE RECEIVED A DRAFT DELIVERABLE IN MAY 26TH AND A FINAL PLAN DOCUMENT IN LATE JULY.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH EACH OF THE THINGS THAT WE WENT THROUGH FOR THE PLAN, UM, AND THEN WE'LL GO THROUGH, UH, SOME OF THE STRATEGIES AND, AND THE PILOTS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND THE, THE ROADMAP TO NEXT STEPS.
UM, REALLY THE CURB MANAGEMENT PLAN, UH, IS A CITYWIDE, UM, POLICY INFORMED OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK.
IT REALLY, IT GOES ON THIS, UM, IT PROVIDES CITY STAFF A COMMON LANGUAGE, UM, A TYPOLOGY FOR CLASS AND CURB, UM, UH, SEGMENTS, UM, AND A REPEATABLE DECISION MAKING PROCESS AND CONSISTENT FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING COMPETING CURB DEMANDS.
I'D LIKE TO STRESS THAT THE CMP IS NOT A REGULATORY DOCUMENT AND IT'S NOT A BLOCK LEVEL REDESIGN OF THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.
SO WHAT DID WE ACCOMPLISH, UM, IN GETTING THE PLAN, UH, DEVELOPED IS, UH, WE WENT THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, A LITERARY REVIEW OF, OF PEER CITY PRACTICE AND INDUSTRY, UH, GUIDANCE.
UH, WE RAN THROUGH COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
UH, WE DEVELOPED THE CURB TYPOLOGY FRAMEWORK, UH, WHAT, WHICH WE'LL DISCUSS HERE SHORTLY.
UH, WE, UH, INVENTORIED EXISTING CURB CONDITION, ANALYZE U- UH, ANALYZED UTILIZATION DATA, AND ALL THAT ROLLED UP INTO A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOCUMENT ITSELF.
UM, IT, IT WAS REALLY GROUNDED IN WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING IN OUR STREETS TODAY, UM, AND REAL FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY.
SO WHAT DO WE HEAR? UM, ENGAGEMENT IS REALLY WHERE WE LEARNED A LOT FROM, UM, IN DEVELOPING THE STRATEGY.
WE RECEIVED OVER 500 RESPONSES THROUGH THE SPEAK UP AUSTIN SURVEY.
WE SPOKE DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC WITH INTERCEPT SURVEYS, AND WE CONDUCTED A CURB SUMMIT WHERE WE INVITED VARIOUS MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, UH, TO PARTICIPATE IN A PANEL DISCUSSIONS ON WHAT IS WORKING AND WHAT IS NOT, UH, WHEN USING AUSTIN CURBSIDE.
UM, WHAT WE HEARD QUICKLY IS LOCATION, TIME, MATTER.
UM, PEOPLE TOLD US THAT PAIN POINTS ARE DOWNTOWN, ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS, EVENING, WEEKENDS, AND DURING SPECIAL EVENTS, UH, NOT EVERY BLOCK ALL THE TIME.
PICKUP, DROP OFF, AND DELIVERY ACTIVITY AND CREATING PRESSURE POINTS, UM, ARE CREATING PRESSURE POINTS, AND AS YOU'LL SEE SHORTLY, IT IS THE FASTEST GROWING SOURCE OF CONFLICT AT THE CURB.
CONFUSION FROM UNCLEAR AND CONSISTENT SIGNAGE, AND PEOPLE ALSO ALSO TOLD US THAT THEY NEED FLEXIBILITY AND COORDINATION, NOT RIGID ONE SIZE FITS ALL RULES.
UM, AND ALONGSIDE ENGAGEMENT, WE COLLECTED, UH, DIRECT OBSERVATIONAL DATA, UH, AT EIGHT LOCATIONS ACROSS CITY, UH, JUST REPRESENT A RANGE OF LAND USES, STREET TYPES, ACTIVITY LEVELS.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THE MAP THERE FROM DOWNTOWN TO WEST CAMPUS AND MANOR ROAD TO EAST 11TH STREET.
AT EACH LOCATION, OBSERVATION DATA WAS COLLECTED 24 HOURS A DAY OVER SEVEN DAYS PERIOD.
AT EACH SITE, WE TRACK TRANSPORTATION MODES, COMMERCIAL DELIVERY ACTIVITY, PASSENGER PICKUP AND DROP-OFFS, PARKING TURNOVER, OCCUPANCY AND DURATION, UM, AND VIOLATION TRENDS.
WE ALSO USE DATA TO VERIFY OUR PAID PARKING TRANSACTIONS AT THE AREAS THAT WE DID HAVE, UH, PAID PARKING ON STREET.
UM, SO WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM THOSE OBSERVATIONS? CAN I ASK A QUESTION ON THAT REAL QUICK? YEAH, YEAH, SURE.
UM, SORRY, SO I'M JUST CURIOUS BECAUSE I, AND PLEASE STOP ME IF YOU'RE GONNA COVER THIS LATER, BUT, UM, IF YOU GUYS WERE VERIFYING REAL-TIME TRENDS WITH THE, YOUR DATA ON WHO WAS PAYING FOR PARKING, DO YOU KNOW ROUGHLY WHAT THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO PAY FOR PARKING IS VERSUS PEOPLE WHO PARK WITHOUT PAYING FOR PARKING? SOMEWHAT.
I MEAN, WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE EXACT BECAUSE WE CAN'T SEE LICENSE PLATES.
WE DIDNT GATHER LICENSE PLATES.
UM, BUT WE CAN SEE DURATION OF TIME COMPARED TO VEHICLES THAT DID STAY THERE AND MAKE AN INFERENCE OF LIKE WHAT THAT TIME LOOKED LIKE.
SO DO YOU HAVE A BALLPARK IDEA OF IT? RIGHT.
WHAT WOULD THAT BALLPARK BE OF? UH, I DON'T HAVE IT OFFHAND.
UH, BUT YEAH, WE CAN DEFINITELY CIRCLE BACK AROUND.
AND, AND WE MAY BE ABLE TO ANSWER IT SOME HERE.
UM, SO SOME OF THE KEY CHALLENGES AND FINDINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THIS, UM, SO MOST OF AUSTIN'S CURB SPACE IS ALLOCATED TO LONG DURATION VEHICLE STORAGE.
UM, WHILE THE FASTEST GROWING DEMAND, UH, IS SHORT DURATION.
UH, SPECIFICALLY SEVEN, UH, UH, 77% OF OUR CURB SPACE CITYWIDE IS DEDICATED TO PARKING STORAGE.
UH, LOADING AND PICKUP AND DROP OFF COMBINED IS ABOUT 1%.
BUT THAT 1% IS, IS GENERATING A DISPROPORTIONATE SHARE OF THE CONFLICTS WE'RE SEEING.
THE PLANNING DIVIDES SEVEN FOCUS AREAS DRIVEN BY THIS.
SO THE ALLOCATION VERSUS DEMAND MISMATCH I JUST, UH, DESCRIBED THERE.
UM, WE SEE STATIC RULES TRYING TO MANAGE DEMAND THAT VARIES BY TIME OF DAY AND DAY OF WEEK.
YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE CHART ON THE RIGHT, UH, WITH CLEAR LUNCH AND DINNER PEAKS AND A WEEKEND EVENING SURGE.
UH, CONFLICTS CLUSTERING IN SPECIFIC HOTSPOTS, DOWNTOWN ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS, MIXED USE CORRIDORS, REGULATORY COMPLEXITY FROM OVERLAPPING SIGNAGE AND PERMIT TYPES.
UM, AND KIND OF WHAT I MENTIONED FOR, UM, IS THERE'S NO SINGLE FORUM TODAY FOR CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION ON CURB DECISIONS.
[00:10:01]
WE'VE DONE THIS IN THE PAST.EVERYTHING IS REACTIVE NATURE WHEN IT COMES TO CURB MANAGEMENT.
WE HEAR A COMPLAINT, WE FIX A SEGMENT OF THE CURB, WE MOVE ON AND WE CONTINUE.
UM, WHERE THIS HOPES, AS WE GET TO THESE NEXT SECTIONS, GETS INTO A MORE COORDINATION, UH, DEMAND WAY OF WHAT WE LOOK AT CURB MANAGEMENT.
UM, SO, AND, AND AS YOU'LL SEE THERE, YOU KIND OF SEE THE, THE PAID TIME AND THE UNRESTRICTED TIME AS YOU SEE, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S, THERE'S NOT REALLY MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE THERE.
UM, ALL RIGHT, CURB TYPOLOGIES.
UM, SO REALLY TO HAVE A MORE, UH, THOUGHTFUL APPROACH TO CURBSIDE MANAGEMENT DECISIONS, WE NEED A STARTING POINT TO HELP WITH THE CONSISTENT CURB EVALUATION MODEL.
THAT IS WHY THE CURB TYPOLOGY FRAMEWORK WAS DEVELOPED.
UH, THIS IS A CONTACT BASED APPROACH THAT PRIORITIZES CURB FUNCTION OVER A ONE SIZE FITS ALL RULE BOOK.
UM, IT ALLOWS BLOCK BY BLOCK FLEXIBILITY.
IT'S NETWORK ORIENTED, SO WE'RE THINKING ABOUT CORRIDORS, NOT JUST ISOLATED SEGMENTS, AND IT'S DATA DRIVEN, UM, AND REPEATABLE.
TYPOLOGIES DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY PRESCRIBE REGULATIONS FOR EACH BLOCK.
IT GIVES US AN IDEA OF WHAT A DEMAND LOOKS POTENTIAL IS FOR THAT STREET, UH, OR THAT SEGMENT.
UM, THERE ARE STARTING FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATION OPTIONS.
THEY DO NOT REPLACE STAFF JUDGMENT OR COMMUNITY INPUT ON THE GROUND.
IT'S JUST PART OF THE PROCESS.
UM, SO HERE'S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE APPLIED TO A RELOCATION.
THE FRAMEWORK CAN BE APPLIED CITYWIDE AND IT'S BUILT DIRECTLY OFF ADJACENT LAND USE.
YOU CAN SEE THE SHADING HERE REPRESENTS DIFFERENT LAND USES AND THOSE LAND USES INFORM THE CURB TYPE WE DESIGN.
SO SEEING SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL GETS A VERY DIFFERENT CURB TREATMENT THAN THE CIVIC AND OFFICE USE CLOSER TO CAMPUS.
UH, THIS TABLE IS THE TYPOLOGY FRAMEWORK, UH, WHICH IDENTIFIES NINE CURB TYPES, EACH WITH A PRIMARY DRIVER, TYPICAL CONTEXT AND GENERAL IMPLICATIONS FOR CURB MANAGEMENT.
THEY JUST, UH, UH, DESCRIBE THE DOMINANT ROLE OF THE CURB WITH, UH, WITHIN ITS RELATIVE CONTEXT, UH, INFORMS CURB ALLOCATION PRIORITIES AND STRATEGIES MOST LIKELY TO BE EFFECTIVE.
SO AT ONE END YOU HAVE HIGH ACTIVITY CORRIDORS.
UH, THESE, THINK OF THESE AS TRANSIT RICH, MAJOR, UH, CITY ROUTES, CITYWIDE ROUTES WHERE CURB ACCESS IS LIMITED BECAUSE MOVING PEOPLE TAKES PRIORITY.
UM, AND THEN AT THE END YOU HAVE A CATEGORY FOR MULTIPLE HIGH PRESSURE.
UH, FOR THE URBAN CORE INTERSECTIONS WHERE SEVERAL OF THESE DEMANDS OVERLAP AND ACTIVE, FLEXIBLE MANAGEMENT IS GENUINELY NEEDED TO, TO, TO BE ABLE TO CREATE A MORE, UM, DIVERSE ECOSYSTEM OF USING THE CURB.
BY FRAMING THESE QUESTIONS IN A CONSISTENT WAY, UM, THE TYPOLOGIES ESTABLISH A STARTING POINT FOR COORDINATION ANALYSIS AND PUBLIC DISCUSSION.
INITIAL TYPOLOGIES CAN CHANGE BASED ON ADDITIONAL DATA AND INPUT.
SO WHAT WE DID THROUGH THIS PROCESS OF COLLECTING DATA AT THESE EIGHT LOCATIONS, UM, WE, WE TOOK THAT, AND I, I ALWAYS SAY THIS AND I STRESS THIS ENOUGH.
WE LOOKED AT DIFFERENT PLANS AND STUDIES, UM, AND MOST OF THEM THAT CREATED TYPOLOGIES WERE FOR A VERY SPECIFIC DISTRICT, UM, IN THE CITY.
WE TOOK AN APPROACH THAT WE WANTED TO MAP THE ENTIRE CITY.
SO THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME INCONSISTENCIES ALONG THAT WAY BECAUSE IT'S A BIG PROCESS AND A PLAN.
WE TAKE EIGHT LOCATIONS AND TRY TO EXTRAPOLATE THAT OUT.
UM, SO AS, AS WE GET TO THESE NEXT SECTIONS AND WE, WE GO THROUGH IT, UM, I REALLY LIKE TO LAY THAT CONTEXT KNOWING THAT THERE'S STILL GONNA BE A LEARNING PROCESS AS WE GET THROUGH, UM, REVIEWING THIS MAP THAT WAS CREATED THROUGH THE PLAN.
CURB TYPOLOGIES PROCESS DEFINE THE CURB.
UM, SO REALLY JUST KIND OF GIVE AN IDEA OF WHERE, UH, WE, UH, DEVELOPED THIS, THIS THOUGH PROCESS IS STEP ONE, WE, UH, DOES THE CURB BLAME PRIMARY SUPPORT MOVEMENT? IF YES, WE EVALUATE, UH, MOBILITY ACTIVITY LEVEL AND ASSIGN ONE OR TWO MOBILITY CORRIDOR TYPES.
UM, IF IT DOESN'T, THEN IT GOES TO STEP TWO.
UM, DOES THE CURB SUPPORT MORE THAN ONE MAJOR ACTIVITY TYPE OR A SINGLE MAJOR TYPE OF SPILLOVER? IF YES, THAT'S A MULTIPLE HIGH PRESSURE DESIGNATION, PRESSURE DESIGNATION.
IF NOT, STEP THREE, IS THERE SPILLOVER FROM A NEARBY HIGH ACTIVITY AREA? IF YES, THAT'S A SUPPORTING STREET.
AND IF A SINGLE DOMINANT DRIVER REMAINS AFTER ALL OF THAT, THEN WE JUST ASSIGN THAT SPECIFIC DRIVER FOR THAT SURROUNDING LAND USE.
SO LIKE A BUSINESS, ENTERTAINMENT, NEIGHBORHOOD, PARK OR LOCAL STREET.
UH, THIS IS WHAT MAKES THE FRAMEWORK REPEATABLE RATHER THAN SUBJECTIVE.
AGAIN, STRESSING VERY HIGH THAT THIS IS THE BEGINNING FRAMEWORK, A LOT OF THAT CHANGES OVER THE GROWTH OF THE CITY AND WHAT LAND USES ARE THERE.
SO RECOMMENDED, UH, CURB MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
SO ALONG WITH BUILDING THE CITYWIDE CURB TYPOLOGY FRAMEWORK, WHICH IS ONE BIG PART OF WHAT THIS, UM, STUDY DID, UM, IT ALSO IDENTIFIED CURB MANAGEMENT TOOLS AND STRATEGY CATEGORIZED IN FOUR FOCUS AREAS.
UM, SO WE'LL KIND OF GO THROUGH THESE REALLY QUICKLY.
FIRST, DATA F- FUNDAMENTALS, UM, CONVERTING THE DIGITAL CURB INVENTORY TO A STANDARD DATA SPECIFICATION.
UH, EVERY OTHER RECOMMENDATION, UH, RECOMMENDATION DEPENDS ON HAVING RELIABLE, CONSISTENT CURB DATA.
[00:15:01]
THE BLUEPRINT, UH, THE FOUNDATION FOR US TO REALLY CREATE A REPEATABLE PROCESS, YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK THROUGH THESE THINGS.WHERE ARE WE GETTING DATA FROM? HOW ARE WE STORING IT? HOW ARE WE, UH, LOOKING AT IT IN ORDER TO START ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS IN ORDER TO MAKE DECISIONS AT THE CURB SPACE? UM, SECOND, PRICING AND MANAGING DEMAND.
THIS MEANS STANDARDIZING OUR PROCESS FOR EXPANDING PAID PARKING, WORKING TOWARD BLOCK LEVEL PERFORMANCE BASED PRICING, COORDINATING ON-STREET AND OFF-STREET PRICING AND WAYFINDING TOGETHER, UM, AND EXPANDING HYBRID PARKING ZONES.
THIRD, ALIGNING CURB ALLOCATION TO DEMAND, CONSOLIDATING AND EXPANDING LOADING ZONES SO THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT NUMBER OF SPACES FOR SHORT DURATION ACTIVITY AND COORDINATING WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
SO THIS IS MORE OF AN IDEA AS LIKE A WORKING IN COORDINATION WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN ORDER TO ADDRESS, YOU KNOW, ISSUES SIMILAR TO AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, SO LIKE WASTE COLLECTION SO THAT THEY DON'T BLOCK BIKE LANES.
AND WE'RE LOOKING AT POTENTIALLY DOING A PILOT WITH THEM.
AND FOURTH, ENFORCEMENT, WHICH I THINK IF YOU'RE GONNA KIND OF PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER, ENFORCEMENT IS SO KEY.
UH, IT'S CONSISTENT EXPAND ENFORCEMENT IS CRUCIAL TO ACHIEVE THE BEHAVIOR CHANGES IDENTIFIED, UM, WHEN IMPLEMENTING CURB POLICIES.
SO REALLY AS YOU SEE THIS, WE HAVE THIS IMPLET - IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP REALLY STARTS OFF WITH DATA COLLECTION WHERE WE REALLY GET ALL THE DATA IN ONE PLACE.
AND AS WE GO AROUND THIS ECO - YOU KNOW, PROCESS OF LEARNING, ALL THESE THINGS MATTER, UM, FROM PRICING, LOADING, ENFORCEMENT WORK TOGETHER TO IMPROVE A CURB AVAILABILITY, REDUCE CONFLICTS AND SUPPORT MORE RELIABLE MULTIMODAL ACCESS.
UM, AND, AND IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT AS WE LOOK AT THIS, I, I KIND OF SAY IT BEFORE, IT'S DATA COLLECTION IS KEY TO THE, THE BLUEPRINT AND THE FOUNDATION THAT WE DO.
ENFORCEMENT REALLY, YOU KNOW, UM, UM, ENFORCES THE, THE POLICIES THAT WE PUT ON PLACE, IN PLACE SO THAT WE HAVE BETTER, UM, UM, UH, BEHAVIOR CHANGE AS WE SEE THAT WE NEED CONSISTENCY IN THOSE AREAS AND IT COME, AND, AND THE OUTPUT OF THAT IS SAFER AND MORE RELIABLE MULTIMODAL STREETS.
SO IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP, I THINK THIS IS WHERE WE WANTED TO GET TO KIND OF REALLY TALK TO WHERE WE'RE GOING.
UM, SO THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, UM, WE'LL BEGIN, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENTING SOME OF THE PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS, SOME OF WHICH WILL HAPPEN CONCURRENTLY BASED OFF OF STAFF CAPA- CAPACITY.
UM, SO THROUGH THIS LATTER PART OF THIS YEAR, UM, WE'LL BE DETERMINING RESOURCES THAT ARE NEEDED, UM, FOR DATA, UH, COLLECTION AND CONTRACTS.
SO CREATE NEEDED CONTACTS FOR VENDOR SERVICES OF DATA AGGREGATION AND TESTING DATA COLLECTION HARDWARE.
UM, TO GIVE YOU, UH, A BETTER IDEA IS WE'RE REPLICATING WHAT WE DID IN THE STUDY TO DO AS A PROCESS INTERNALLY.
SO ONE OF THOSE, UH, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE EIGHT LOCATIONS, UM, AND WHAT WE'LL BE DOING IS PUTTING IN THE CURVE TYPOLOGY PROCESS, MAKING THE CHANGES USING THE DATA THAT IT'S ALREADY COLLECTED THROUGH THE STUDY ON THE STREET, AND THEN USING DATA COLLECTION SOFTWARE AND THINGS TO SEE HOW THE SUCCESS WAS FROM THAT.
DOES THE TYPOLOGY MEET THE DEMAND THAT WE SEE AND, AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CURVE TYPOLOGY FRAMEWORK TO MAKE THE DECISION AS WELL AS THE TOOLS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE THAT WE PUT IN THERE? SO DOES IT NEED MORE PICKUP AND DROP OFF? DOES IT NEED, YOU KNOW, VARIABLE PRICING? THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO LOOK FOR IN THAT AREA.
UM, SO WE'LL BE USING THAT AS A, A PILOT, IF YOU WILL.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, UH, FINALIZING THOSE FIRST TEST AREAS AND IMPLEMENTING THE CHANGES ARE WHAT WE'RE IN THE PROCESS NOW, LOOKING AT THOSE, THOSE LOCATIONS AND DETERMINING WHERE WE'RE GONNA MAKE THOSE, UH, INITIAL, UM, CURB LEVEL RECOMMENDATION CHANGES.
UM, HOW WE'LL DO, UH, DATA COLLECTION ACROSS VARIOUS SOURCES AND DOCUMENT IT, UM, AND USE COLLECTED, UH, COLLECT INFORMATION TO EVALUATE IMPACTS.
SO JANUARY THROUGH FEBRUARY, WE'LL BE PILOTING AND TESTING ONCE WE'VE SELECTED THOSE LOCATIONS, UM, AND WE'LL REALLY GAIN EXPERIENCE AND LEARN LESSONS TO REALLY HOPEFULLY APPLY FUTURE LOCATIONS, UH, IN THE SPRING OF 2027.
SO THIS IS A KIND OF A SILLY QUESTION, BUT ON THE LAST SLIDE, THERE'S LIKE A LITTLE DEVICE OR CAMERA, SOME KIND OF THING ON THE PAVEMENT, I, I THINK IS WHAT I'M INTERPRETING THAT IMAGE THERE.
IS THAT LIKE THE HARDWARE? COULD YOU SPEAK MORE ABOUT THAT TECHNOLOGY OR WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, HOW Y'ALL MO - HOW Y'ALL WILL BE MONITORING IT WITH THIS HARDWARE? YEAH.
SO THERE'S, THERE DI - THERE ARE DIFFERENT COLLECTIVE METHOD METHODS THAT WE CAN LOOK AT.
AND ONE OF THE ONES THAT WE ARE INTERESTED NOW IN IS, IS TWO.
THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S SENSORS, SO THEY'RE NOT CAMERAS.
UH, SENSOR, YOU HAVE GROUND SENSORS THAT THEY'RE LIKE PLUCKS THAT GO ONTO THE GROUND AND MONITOR IF SOMEONE'S THERE OR NOT.
WE ALSO HAVE AERIAL SENSORS THAT USE INFRARED, AND THESE INFRARED SENSORS COLLECT SIZES OF VEHICLES, UM, AS, AS WELL AS THE SAME COLLECTION METHOD OF, OF KNOWING HOW LONG THEY STAY THERE.
UM, NOW THE, THE STUDY AND THE PLAN DOES LAY OUT THE USE OF LPR POTENTIAL, UM, OF USING THESE OTHER TECHNIQUES, VIDEO C - YOU KNOW, UM, CAMERAS AND THINGS.
UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A PROCESS
[00:20:01]
TO DO THAT INTERNALLY THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT, UM, BUT WE'RE NOT THERE YET.THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF THESE, THESE, THE, THE SUGGESTIONS THERE WE HAVE TO EVALUATE, UM, AND WE'RE DOING THAT CURRENTLY AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK, UM, TO, TO, UM, POTENTIALLY IMPLEMENT THOSE IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND SO THIS WOULD ACTUALLY BE, YOU WOULD BE APPLYING, LIKE, A CHANGE AND MAKING SURE I, JUST CHECKING MY UNDERSTANDING, IN THE SPRING, YOU WOULD BE APPLYING SOME CHANGES, MAYBE YOU WOULD CREATE A LOADING ZONE OR A DROP OFF ZONE THAT DIDN'T PREVIOUSLY EXIST BECAUSE YOU THINK THERE'S DEMAND FOR THAT, AND THEN YOU WOULD BE SORT OF ASSESSING HOW THAT ACTUALLY PLAYS OUT USING THESE, THESE, THIS HARDWARE AND DATA.
IS THAT, IS THAT WHAT I UNDERSTOOD? CORRECT.
UM, SO WE WOULD DETERMINE THE, BASED OFF OF THOSE FOUR LOCATIONS, I'LL JUST GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, LIKE FOURTH STREET, UM, WE COLLECTED DATA THERE, UM, OBSERVATIONAL DATA.
AND SO WHAT WE'LL LOOK AT IS THE DETERMINING WHAT CHANGES TO THAT CURB SPACE NEEDS TO OCCUR BASED OFF WHAT THOSE TYPOLOGIES TELL US, UM, WHAT THE DATA TELLS US.
WE'LL PUT THAT IN PLACE AND WE'RE CREATING KPIS TO DETERMINE WHAT THE SUCCESS OF THAT LOOKS LIKE.
IS IT LESS PEOPLE QUEUING IN, DROPPING OFF IN A TRAVEL LANE? IS IT MORE PEOPLE USING THE CURB SPACE MORE EFFECTIVELY? IS MOVING THROUGH TRAFFIC, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE EFFECTIVE TO THAT AREA? DO WE SEE VALET ZONES BEING USED MORE EFFECTIVELY? UM, IS THERE LESS CONFLICTS OCCURRING TO ALLOW FREE MOVEMENT TO OCCUR? SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THAT PROCESS OF DEL - DEVELOPING THOSE, THOSE SUCCESS METRICS TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT SUCCESSFUL LOOKS LIKE, AND EACH AREA IS GONNA BE DIFFERENT.
SO EACH ONE WILL EVALUATE DIFFERENTLY.
UM, LOOKS LIKE, UH, VICE CHAIR SCHUMACHER HAS SOME QUESTIONS.
UM, SO I'LL, I'VE GOT A, A COUPLE.
I'LL, I'LL START WITH ONE AND THEN WE CAN SHARE THE LOVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, IT'S A GOOD USE OF IT, RIGHT? IT'S ULTIMATELY, LIKE, YOU, YOU WERE HERE IN THIS MOMENT, BOOM, RIGHT? WE DON'T NEED TO COLLECT THE DATA.
WE DON'T NEED TO SURVEIL PEOPLE ACROSS THE CITY.
IT'S JUST IN THIS MOMENT, IN THIS TIME, YOU DON'T NEED TO STORE IT FOR THAT OFTEN.
AND WE'RE CALLING THOUGH BACK TO THE PARKING MODERNIZATION ORDINANCE THAT WE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE.
WE WERE SUPPORTIVE OF PUTTING STUFF IN THERE ABOUT MAILING CITATIONS, AND Y'ALL WERE AS WELL, BUT I BELIEVE CITY COUNCIL WAS NOT, AND THAT WAS STRIPPED OUT, IF I'M REMEMBERING CORRECTLY.
IT WAS ULTIMATELY PUT IN THERE? IT, IT WAS PUT IN.
WE, WHAT WE DID IS WE, WE PROMISED THAT WE WOULD COME BACK POTENTIALLY WITH A, A PILOT, UM, BUT WE WOULDN'T IMPLEMENT ANYTHING UNTIL WE CAME BACK TO COUNCIL TO SHOW WHAT WE WOULD PLAN TO DO.
SO, AND THAT, AND YOU'LL HAVE TO GO TO COUNCIL ANYWAYS TO GET ANY LPR TECHNOLOGY APPROVED ANYWAY.
SO YOU WOULD JUST LOOK AT IT THEN.
WELL, THAT SOLVES MY QUESTION.
LOOKING AROUND FOR OTHERS THAT MAY HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS.
YEAH, COMMISSIONER CHEN, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I JUST WANNA DOUBLE CHECK I UNDERSTAND THE INTENT OF THE TYPOLOGIES CORRECTLY.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY'RE INTENDED TO DESCRIBE THE WAY IN WHICH SPECIFIC CURB SECTIONS ARE CURRENTLY USED TODAY TO BASICALLY HELP IDENTIFY SORT OF REMEDIATIONS THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR EACH ONE.
SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, BASED OFF OF ONE, LIKE A, LIKE A MULTIPLE HIGH PRESSURE, FOR INSTANCE, IN A CERTAIN CORRIDOR COULD SAY THAT THAT AREA IS A BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, CORRIDOR THAT ALSO HAS, YOU KNOW, HIGH ACTIVITY MOVEMENT IN IT, BUT IT HAS CURB, YOU KNOW, AVAILABLE.
UM, AND SO BASED OFF OF THOSE PRIMARY, AND I'M GONNA, I'LL, I'LL SUM IT UP HERE, IS A TYPE, THE TYPOLOGY IS A FRAMEWORK AND THEN WE SIGN IT A CURB TYPE.
SO YOU HAVE THE CURB TYPE AND THEN YOU HAVE A SECONDARY CURB TYPE.
SO YOU HAVE A PRIMARY AND THEN YOU HAVE A SECONDARY FOR A MULTIPLE HIGH PRESSURE, IF YOU WILL.
UM, AND THAT DETERMINES HOW, WHAT, UH, TREATMENTS THAT WE WOULD USE ON THE CURB TO START OFF WITH BASED OFF THAT.
AS I'M THINKING THROUGH THIS, AS YOU ISSUE TREATMENTS FOR THEM, WOULD THAT POSSIBLY CHANGE THE CURB TYPE OVER TIME OF A SPECIFIC SECTION? UH, POSSIBLY.
UH, IT DEPENDS, IT DEPENDS IF THE, THE TREATMENT THAT WE INITIALLY USED BASED OFF THE CURB TYPOLOGY THAT'S, THAT'S APPLIED, YOU KNOW, DOESN'T HAVE A SUCCESS, RIGHT? AND WE SEE, OH, THAT ACTUALLY DID NOT WORK.
SO DID WE ACTUALLY NAME THE TYPOLOGY CORRECT OR IS THE TREATMENT ACTUALLY NOT THE RIGHT TREATMENT FOR THE AREA, BUT THE TYPOLOGY'S CORRECT.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S GONNA, THERE'S GONNA BE SOME, YOU KNOW, UM, MOVEMENT WITH IT.
I THINK TYPOLOGIES WILL CHANGE OVER TIME AS LAND USE CHANGES, RIGHT? SO AS LAND USE CHANGES, THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO SIGN IT A DIFFERENT TYPE AND THEN WE CAN REEVALUATE FOR THAT FUTURE.
UM, AND REALLY AGAIN, AND I'LL STRESS IT, IS THAT THE TYPOLOGY IS, IS A, IS A CONVERSATION STARTER.
IT REALLY ALLOWS US TO START, YOU KNOW, PLACE A START AND REALLY THEN BUILD FROM THERE.
SO EVEN IF THE TYPOLOGY'S NOT 100% CORRECT, I THINK IT GIVES US A WAY TO START AND THEN MOVE FROM THERE.
BUT YOU'RE CORRECT, YEAH, IT COULD CHANGE.
YOU KNOW, I THINK MORE CHANGE ON THE LAND USE SIDE RATHER THAN THE CURB TREATMENT SIDE.
LET ME RAISE AN EXAMPLE FOR WHAT I'M THINKING OF.
UH, SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE TER - CURB TYPOLOGY
[00:25:01]
FLOW CHART, RIGHT, IT BASICALLY FIRST LOOKS AT WHETHER THE CURBSIDE LANE PRIMARILY SUPPORTS MOVEMENT AND THEN WHETHER IT'S NOT MOVEMENT FOCUSED AND SO ON.SO IF HYPOTHETICALLY TODAY YOU HAD A CURB WHERE THE CURBSIDE LANE WAS A THROUGH TRAFFIC LANE AND ONE OF THE TREATMENTS WERE TO REPLACE THAT WITH A PARKING LANE, THAT WOULD CHANGE ITS TYPOLOGY, RIGHT? I SEE YOUR, I SEE YOUR POINT.
UM, NOT, NOT, IT DEPENDS, RIGHT? SO I THINK THERE'S A, YEAH, THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S OTHER THOUGHT PROCESS HERE WHERE IS THE, THE, UM, THE THROUGH LANE GOING TO BE CHANGED COMPLETELY TO PARKING, RIGHT? IS IT, IS THE THROUGH LANE GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, ELIMINATED OR ARE YOU ADDING PARKING BECAUSE THERE'S AN INSET PARKING, YOU KNOW, THERE, RIGHT? SO WE, THERE IS HIGH ACTIVITY MOVEMENT AREA, UH, CORRIDORS, UH, THAT DO HAVE VERY LIMITED PARKING AVAILABILITY, WHICH IS MAINLY INSET PARKING.
UM, AND SO IT COULD HAVE THAT STILL.
UM, IT JUST DEPENDS, YOU'RE RIGHT, LIKE IT DEPENDS ON WHETHER OR NOT...
ACTUALLY, I, I TAKE THAT BACK.
I DON'T THINK IT WOULD NECESSARILY WILL CHANGE IT AND, UM, BECAUSE AT THAT POINT WE, WE WOULD SAY, "DO WE NEED TO ACTUALLY ADD PARKING IF IT'S HIGH ACTIVITY AT THAT POINT?" SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD, YOU KNOW, WE WOULDN'T CHANGE IT IF THAT'S THE CASE.
AND I THINK KIND OF WHERE THIS WHOLE TRAIN OF THOUGH IS LEADING ME IS, IS THERE ANY THOUGHT INTO NOT JUST USING THESE TYPOLOGIES FOR DESCRIBING HOW CURBS ARE CURRENTLY USED, BUT ALSO EVENTUALLY SOME THOUGHT INTO LOOKING AT A S - A MAP OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN SAYING HOW WE WANT EACH SECTION OF CURB TO BE USED, ASSIGNING A TYPOLOGY THAT WAY AND STARTING TO MOVE THINGS IN THAT DIRECTION.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT THERE, THERE IS ALWAYS, UM, THE ABILITY TO, TO ADJUST A MAP AS WE SEE FIT BASED OFF OF OUR MOBILITY GOALS WITHIN THE CITY, RIGHT? AND SO AS WE SEE THAT CHANGE, AND I, I ACTUALLY THOUGHT OF AN EXAMPLE RIGHT NOW, LIKE IF YOU THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, WEST 6TH STREET AS YOU GET TO LAMAR, UM, WE HAVE FLEXIBLE PARKING THERE ON THAT LAST BLOCK, YOU KNOW, JUST WEST OF BLUE, OF BOWIE STREET.
THERE'S PARKING AVAILABLE THERE, BUT AFTER BETWEEN 40 AND 6: PM, THE PARKING IS ELIMINATED TO ALLOW FOR MORE FLOW OF TRAFFIC.
SO AS YOU SEE HIGH ACTIVITY KIND OF CHANGE.
SO I THINK THAT EVEN TIME OF DAY COULD CHANGE THE TYPOLOGY NEED, RIGHT? SO I THINK, UM, YOU'RE RIGHT THOUGH.
I THINK WE, THIS IS AN INITIAL THOUGHT PROCESS, A WAY TO MAP IT THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSISTENT THAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST.
AND AT THAT POINT, THEN WE CAN START APPLYING OUR MOBILITY GOALS FOR THE CITY OVER, OVER, YOU KNOW, AND SAYING, OKAY, DO WE, WHAT DO WE, HOW DO WE WANT TO CHANGE THIS CORRIDOR BASED OFF OF THOSE GOALS? AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT NOW, AND THAT'S THROUGH THAT COORDINATION PIECE I SPOKE ABOUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH OUR, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, WORKING WITH WHO IS TOUCHING OUR CURB SPACE AND, AND LIKE GREAT STREETS AND OTHERS AND SAYING, OKAY, HOW DO WE WANNA SEE THIS STREET CHANGE OVER TIME? THE CURB TYPOLOGY MIGHT BE THIS, UM, BUT AS WE LOOK AT FUTURE GOALS FOR THAT CORRIDOR, IT MAY CHANGE THAT, THAT TYPOLOGY.
I HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION ON THE TECHNOLOGY USAGE FOR ENFORCEMENT.
SO AS COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER MENTIONED, RIGHT, USING LPRS IS A GOOD WAY TO HANDLE ENFORCEMENT.
THERE HAS ALSO RECENTLY BEEN A LOT OF BACKLASH AGAINST AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS AND THEIR USE IN SURVEILLANCE.
SO I THINK WHAT, WHAT ARE Y'ALL LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF THE LICENSE PLATE READERS AND HOW CAN YOU SORT OF REASSURE AUSTINITES THAT, THAT WON'T BE PART OF SOME SURVEILLANCE APPARATUS? YEAH.
UM, SO I, I HEAR, I'LL, I'LL SAY IT THIS WAY.
I'VE BEEN IN PARKING FOR 17 YEARS.
UM, LPR USE AND THE PARKING INDUSTRY HAS BEEN THERE BEFORE A LOT OF PUBLIC SAFETY USES FOR IT.
WE'VE BEEN USING IT FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME.
I WILL TELL YOU NOW, MOST PARKING, UH, ENFORCEMENT TEAMS ALREADY USE A DEVICE THAT HAS A PICTURE.
SO WHEN YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, THERE AND YOU, YOU'RE IN VIOLATION, IT TAKES A PICTURE, UM, AND IT PUTS IT WITH A VIOLATION AND SENDS IT OFF TO MUNICIPAL COURT.
IT'S NO DIFFERENT THAN WHAT AN LPR IS, RIGHT? THE ONLY TIME THAT A LICENSE PLATE READER TECHNOLOGY CAMERA FOR THE PARKING INDUSTRY TAKES A PICTURE IS ONLY WHEN THE VIOLATOR, IT'S, IT'S IN VI - THE PARKING, THE, THE VEHICLE IS IN VIOLATION.
OTHERWISE, IT'S NOT COLLECTING ANY OF THAT DATA.
ADDITIONALLY, YOU SAY, YOU SEE ALPR, ALPR IS AUTOMATED.
TYPICALLY, THOSE ARE CONNECTED TO CLOUD DATA SYSTEMS. WE'RE, WE DON'T USE THAT SYSTEM.
WE HAVE A HUMAN WAY INTERNALLY TO DO THAT.
SO IF SAY THERE'S SOMETHING IN VIOLATION, IT TAKES A PICTURE OF, UM, A VEHICLE, SOMEONE IN THE BACK OFFICE VIEWS THAT, DETERMINES WHETHER OR NOT IT IS ACTUALLY A VIOLATION, APPROVES IT, AND THEN THAT WOULD GO ON TO MUNICIPAL COURT AT THAT TIME.
NO OTHER DATA IS ACTUALLY KEPT, UM, OR STORED.
AGAIN, UM, WE WILL FOLLOW THE TRUST ACT AND WHAT THAT APPLIES FOR US INTERNALLY AS WE, YOU KNOW, EXPLORE THESE OPTIONS AND TO ENSURE THE TRUST OF THE PUBLIC, UM, AND TO HAVE SOLID POLICIES INTERNALLY TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE AUDITING AND DOING THE THINGS THAT WE NEED.
[00:30:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S PUBLIC TRUST ISSUES WHEN IT COMES TO THESE TYPES OF, UH, TECHNOLOGIES, UM, AND WE'LL FOLLOW WHAT INTERNAL PROCESSES THAT WE HAVE TO ENSURE THAT SAFETY'S THERE.SO IF I'VE GOT THAT CORRECTLY, IT SOUNDS LIKE THE LPRS THAT YOU'RE USING TODAY AND INTEND TO USE FOR THIS ARE BASICALLY LIKE A HUMAN IN THE LOOP SNAPSHOT.
YOU TAKE ONE PICTURE, IT GETS USED TO IDENTIFY THE CAR AND THEN IT GETS DISCARDED.
IS THAT RIGHT? THAT WOULD BE CORRECT.
THAT'S THE WAY THAT WE USE IT.
WE DON'T USE IT TODAY, BUT THAT WOULD BE THE INTENTION OF WHAT WE DO IN THE FUTURE.
I AM GONNA, UM, ASK SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT PICKUP ZONES.
UM, SO, UM, I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE SURPRISING TO MOST OF US THAT, UM, PICKUP ZONES ARE, UM, OR LACK OF PICKUP AND DROP OFF ZONES IS A PAIN POINT.
I MEAN, I THINK, UM, AS THE CITY HAS DENSIFIED LEGACY BUSINESSES, MAYBE THEY USED TO HAVE OKAY DROP OFF PICKUP OPTIONS THAT HAVE NOW BECOME MORE DIFFICULT.
MAYBE THERE'S NEW BUSINESSES THAT HAVE GONE IN AND AREAS THAT HAVE DENSIFIED.
AND THEN OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, RIDE SHARE, AVS, ALL OF THESE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF, UM, PICKUP DROP OFF ISSUES.
SO ONE OF, I MEAN, HERE'S MY BIGGEST QUESTION ABOUT BUILDING OUT MORE PICKUP DROP OFF ZONES, WHICH I FEEL LIKE I HAVE THIS INTUITION THAT EVERYBODY WOULD THINK IT'S A GOOD THING TO HAVE MORE PICKUP DROP OFF ZONES.
I MEAN, WITH BUSINESSES, IT'S ONE THING.
IF IT'S A LOADING ZONE, SO, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN PUT THE DIET COKE INTO THE, YOU KNOW, CORNER STORE, LIKE THAT'S ONE THING.
LIKE YOU CAN COMMUNICATE THAT WITH THE BUSINESS AND ITS VENDORS.
BUT IF YOU'RE, ESPECIALLY LIKE IN A, LIKE SAY AN ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT WHERE YOU'RE TRYING TO SAY, "OKAY, YOU KNOW, UBER, LYFT, PLEASE DROP OFF HERE SO THAT YOU'RE NOT ALL BLOCKING THE TRAFFIC LANE." HOW DO YOU GET PEOPLE TO KNOW WHERE THAT AND HAVE THE BEHAVIOR THAT YOU WANT THEM TO HAVE WHEN YOU'VE CREATED THE ZONE FOR THEM? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STRATEGIES THAT Y'ALL HAVE RESEARCHED AROUND THAT? YEAH.
SO IT ALL COMES DOWN TO A DIGITAL FORM OF OUR CURB SPACE.
AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE SAY THE DATA, UH, FOUNDATION IS IMPORTANT, UM, TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THAT DIGITIZATION OF ALL OF OUR, UM, CURB REGULATIONS.
SO AS WE START TO SET OUT THESE ZONES, IT'S CREATING THAT, THAT DIGITAL FORM OF IT TO, THAT CAN APPLY TO THESE SYSTEMS THAT THEY HAVE.
SO WE, WE TALK WITH OUR TNC COMPANIES AND WE TALK WITH, UM, OUR AV COMPANIES, WE'RE SAYING, "HEY, THESE ARE THE LOCATIONS WE WOULD LIKE FOR Y'ALL TO PICK UP." UM, THEN THEY CAN MAP THAT INTO THEIR, YOU KNOW, OPERATING SYSTEMS TO BE ABLE TO DISPLAY HOW PEOPLE GET THERE.
UM, I'VE SPOKEN TO A LOT OF OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE DONE THIS.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, ALL DRIVERS FOLLOW THE PATHWAY THAT IT'S SET OUT FOR THEM.
UM, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, AS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE START TO SEE THAT AN AREA IS BEING USED MORE OFTEN, THEN PEOPLE KNOW THAT.
A LOT OF THE SAME DRIVERS USE THESE ZONES DOWNTOWN, RIGHT? AND AS THEY START TO GET USED TO IT, THEY SEE THAT, THAT SAME CONSISTENCY AND THEN, AND THEN, AND KIND OF FALL INTO PLACE.
BUT AGAIN, THAT'S, IT'S A PART OF THE, THIS LEARNING PROCESS THAT WE PUT INTO PLACE.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES I THINK IS, IS COORDINATING PICKUP AND DROP OFFS IN A WAY THAT IS, IS MEANINGFUL.
AND SOMETIMES WE MIGHT EVEN SEE MORE CONFLICT THAT OCCURS AT A CURB SPACE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO COORDINATE RATHER THAN IT BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE CHAOTIC, RIGHT? UM, SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO LEARN.
UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH OUR, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS, YOU KNOW, THE BUSINESSES WITH APD, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT EVENING DROP OFFS AND PICKUPS, YOU KNOW, AT THE 2: AM, YOU KNOW, PICKUP, YOU WANT EVERYBODY COORDINATED INTO ONE PLACE AND EVERYBODY'S FIGHTING FOR ONE SPOT, THEN ALLOWING PEOPLE TO DISPERSE OUT.
YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO CONSIDER AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
YEAH, IT SOUNDS VERY EASY TO TAKE DATA AND SAY, "OKAY, THAT, AND WHAT WE SEE OBSERVATIONAL-WISE, LET'S JUST PUT EVERYBODY RIGHT HERE." UM, BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, UH, A LOT OF OTHER DATA PIECES.
BUT TO ANSWER YOUR, YOUR QUESTION MORE SPECIFICALLY, IT'S THE DIGITAL CURB THAT WILL BE ABLE TO THEN WORK WITH OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES TO GET THAT INFORMATION TO THEM.
UM, YEAH, UH, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ.
I THINK THE GENERAL PUBLIC OR MYSELF IS AWARE OF HOW MUCH GOES INTO THIS CURB MANAGEMENT SPACE.
UM, I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED 77% OF THE CURB SPACE IS DEDICATED TO PARKING S- STORAGE AND LESS THAN ONE DEDICATED OR, OR, OR DRIVEN BY MICRO MOBILITY, BUT THAT'S A GROWING SHARE.
COULD YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT'S, WHAT'S SHARE, DRIVING THAT AND RELATED TO COMMISSIONER CHEN'S QUESTIONS? LIKE, ARE THERE GEOGRAPHIC FACTORS GOING IN THAT BUILT INTO THIS REDESIGN? UH, LET ME MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY.
JUST UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, THAT 1% AND LIKE MICROMOBILITY PARKING OR THE PICKUP AND DROP OFFS AND - UH-HUH.
UM, SO DECISION MAKING WHEN IT CAME TO, IN THE, UH, FOR PICKUP AND DROP OFFS IN THE PAST, AGAIN, LIKE I MENTIONED, A LOT OF THOSE THINGS WERE REACTIONAL.
UM, SO IF THERE WAS STAKEHOLDERS SAYING, "HEY, WE'RE SEEING THIS ISSUE OR MAYBE
[00:35:01]
IT'S, UM, OUR ENFORCEMENT OR WE GET A, YOU KNOW, 311 CALLS OR, UM, OUR TRAFFIC ENGINEER SEES SOMETHING, WE MIGHT PUT IN A 15 MINUTE ZONE, RIGHT? THERE WASN'T REALLY A, UH, DESIGN SYSTEM AROUND IT TO REALLY HAVE A, A WAY TO EVALUATE IT AND TO SAY," OKAY, THIS IS WHY WE PUT A 15 MINUTE ZONE GEOGRAPHICALLY IN THIS LOCATION."THAT'S WHERE THE TYPOLOGIES COME IN.
THAT HELPS US DETERMINE THAT AND GIVES US A FRAMEWORK TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT'S MORE CONSISTENT.
SO THEN WE HAVE AN EVALUATION METRIC THAT DETERMINES, IS THIS ACTUALLY WORKING OR NOT? UM, FOR WHEN IT COMES TO MICRO MOBILITY PARKING, TYPICALLY, AND WE, THE WAY, THE REASON WHY IT'S, IT'S STATED AS LESS THAN 1% IS BECAUSE WE DON'T TYPICALLY PUT THEM ON STREET.
WE HAVE LIKE THE MOBILITY BOXES THAT PEOPLE PARK IN.
REALLY, SHOULD WE BE DEDICATING SOME OF THAT SPACE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, LOST SPACE? WE LOOK AT A PARKING SPACE AT 20 FEET.
UM, SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT A CURB SPACE OVERALL, YOU MIGHT HAVE MAYBE FIVE OR 10 FEET LEFT OVER THAT CAN BE USED.
OR SOME OF THAT NO PARKING ZONE THAT DOESN'T REALLY NEED TO HAVE A CAR PARKED THERE, BUT CAN HAVE MICRO MOBILITY PARKING IN THOSE CORNERS.
SO ARE WE DOING MORE TO PUT THAT ON THERE, UM, ON OUR STREET SPACE? 77% OF OUR STREET, UM, FOR STORAGE, YOU KNOW, I LOOK AT THE STREET AS A BINARY, UM, IN, IN MY WAY AND, AND THOUGH PROCESS.
Y- YOU EITHER STORE A VEHICLE OR IT'S FOR A SERVICE ORIENTED USE, RIGHT? SO REALLY THE MORE PEOPLE THAT ARE PAYING TO PARK AND STORE THEIR VEHICLE THERE FOR LONG TERM CAUSE A BIGGER IMPACT TO OUR MOBILITY SYSTEM.
AND SO WE WANNA BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT KNOWN AS YOU SEE HERE, 77% OF IT IS TO THAT.
WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF THAT 1% EXPANDING THAT OUT IN THOSE LOCATIONS THAT NEED IT.
AND THAT COULD ALSO MEAN FLEX ZONES, RIGHT? PAID PARKING DURING THE DAY, PICK UP AND DROP OFF AT NIGHT IN THOSE AREAS THAT WE SEE.
UM, FOLKS HAVE HIT MY OTHER QUESTIONS.
SO I JUST HAVE TWO THINGS WHICH AREN'T REALLY QUESTIONS, THEY'RE JUST OBSERVATIONS FOR YOU.
UM, NUMBER ONE IS, UM, UH, MAYBE YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY FOUND THIS, BUT I'VE JUST FOUND THIS WITH AVS IN GENERAL THAT THEY'RE A LOT LESS, UH, OR A LOT MORE HESITANT TO PULL INTO A SPOT THAN A REGULAR UBER OR LYFT.
SO I FOUND, I THINK THE SPOTS THEY LIKE THE MOST ARE THAT FIRST SPOT AFTER THE INTERSECTION, YOU KNOW, EIGHT TO 10 FEET BACK FROM A STOP SIGN.
THAT MAY BE A GOOD PLACE TO PUT, UM, LOADING ZONES, PICKUP, DROP OFF AS WE CONTINUE TO HAVE MORE AVS.
AND THEN THE SECOND THING WAS, UM, I THINK IT'D BE INTERESTING TO HAVE A 311 OPTION FOR FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO ASK FOR A PICKUP AND DROP OFF SPOT OR A LOADING ZONE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I LIVE IN AN APARTMENT DOWNTOWN NOW AND FOLKS IN OUR GROUP CHAT ARE ALWAYS COMPLAINING LIKE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALLY DRIVE A LOT THERE, BUT THEY'LL GET A RIDE SHARE AND OUR, OUR CURB FILLS UP ATNIGHT, RIGHT? SO IT'S REALLY HARD TO GET AN UBER OR LYFT, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE A WAYMO OR ZOOX, UH, BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANNA PULL IN.
SO IT, IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT FEEDBACK DIRECTLY FROM RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES, UH, DIRECTLY TO Y'ALL SO YOU CAN LOOK AT IT.
YEAH, WE ACTUALLY, SO, UH, WE DON'T HAVE A FORM FACTOR FOR IT, BUT IF SOMEONE, YOU KNOW, HAS AN ISSUE, WANTS A PICKUP AND DROP OFF LOCATION, THEY CALL, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN 311, THEY CAN PUT IN A SERVICE REQUEST IN FOR AN AREA TRAFFIC ENGINEER TO DO AN EVALUATION FOR THE NEED OF A PICKUP AND DROP OFF ZONE.
DEPENDING ON THE AREA THEY ARE IN, THEY'LL ASSIGN IT TO THE AREA TRAFFIC ENGINEER AND ONE OF THEIR ENGINEERING TECHS WILL GO OUT THERE AND REVIEW IT AND DETERMINE IF THERE'S ACTUALLY A SPACE OR A NEED FOR IT.
UM, SO WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, HOW THE SORT OF BACK AND FORTH DYNAMIC OF MAKING THE OBSERVATIONS AND DOING THE STUDY AND THEN ASSIGN, ASSIGNING THE TYPOLOGY AND USING THAT TO MAYBE CHANGE THE CURB.
AND THEN IF THE BEHAVIOR CHANGES, DOES THAT FORCE THE NEW SORT OF, UH, DESCRIPTION OF THE CURB? GIVEN THAT THIS COULD BE A CYCLICAL THING AND HOW QUICKLY THINGS ARE CHANGING WITH LIKE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, HOW OFTEN DO YOU EXPECT WE'LL NEED TO DO THESE SORTS OF ASSESSMENTS TO REEVALUATE THE CURB AND POTENTIALLY MAKE CHANGES BASED ON GROWING POPULARITY OF TRANSPORTATION AND MAYBE WHAT REMAINS TO BE SEEN IN THE TECHNOLOGY OF LIKE DELIVERY TRUCKS OR SOMETHING? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE STILL LEARNING, YOU KNOW, UM, WE'RE STILL EV- EVALUATING HOW, UH, BIG OF, OF AREAS THAT WE MAKE CHANGES TO AT A TIME, UM, HOW WE I- IDENTIFY AND PRIORITIZE THOSE BASED OFF OF DIFFERENT FACTORS.
IT COULD BE THE NUMBER OF 311 COMPLAINTS, UM, THE NUMBER OF CONFLICTS THAT WE SEE IN A LOCATION, CHANGING LAND USES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE EVALUATING HOW WE PRIORITIZE THAT THROUGH AN INTERNAL CURB WORKING GROUP THAT WE JUST CREATED.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO CREATING A CURB FORUM GROUP THAT WILL BE MORE CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL, UM, TO HELP US TRACK A LOT OF THESE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON AT THE, AT A LARGER LEVEL.
SO WITH LIKE GREAT STREETS AND, YOU KNOW, OTHER PLAN, ACT PLANS AND THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE ABLE TO COORDINATE, YOU KNOW, BETTER IN THAT WAY TO DETERMINE WHERE PRIORITIZING, UH, PRIORITIZATION LIES, UM, AND HOW WE IDENTIFY THOSE.
[00:40:01]
AS WE MAKE THOSE CHANGES TO THE CURB, WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT H- H - WHAT'S THE, THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF TIME TO DETERMINE IF THE SUCCESS OF THOSE CURB CHANGES IS, IS, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THEM AND THEN TO KEEP THEM AND THEN MOVE ON.UM, BECAUSE WE CAN'T PUT CURB SENSORS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, CAMERAS IN EVERY SINGLE LOCATION IN THE CITY.
UH, THE REAL GOAL IS TO TAKE IT PIECE BY PIECE AND THEN, AND LOOK AT, UM, HOW WE EVALUATE THAT.
GIVE YOU A QUICK IDEA FOR, I THINK, BELIEVE FOR SAN FRANCISCO, THEY DO THEIRS EITHER ON A THREE TO FIVE YEAR CYCLE, THE WHOLE CITY.
UM, BUT THEY HAVE, I THINK, 200 AND SOMETHING, UM, LPR CAMERAS THAT THEY USE, UM, AND IT'S A VERY BIG, YOU KNOW, OPERATION TO GET TO THAT POINT.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE TIMELINE YOU HAVE NOW FOR THIS IS, LIKE, FROM NOW THROUGH FEBRUARY WILL BE A DATA COLLECTION THROUGH PILOT AND EVALUATION.
SO IS THAT A TYPICAL TIMELINE THAT'S, IT SEEMS PRETTY QUICK TO ME, LIKE FIVE OR SIX MONTHS? YEAH.
WELL, SO THE, THE, THE REASON WHY IT'S PRETTY QUICK ON THIS, ON THIS END IS BECAUSE THE FIRST HALF OF, OF WHAT, UH, WE, UH, OF THIS, LIKE, PROCESS WAS ALREADY COMPLETED DURING THE PLAN.
SO WE HAD THOSE EIGHT LOCATIONS.
WE SELECTED FOUR OF THEM THAT WE'RE GONNA DO PILOTS ON.
WE ALREADY HAVE THE DATA COLLECTION FOR CURRENT CONDITIONS THAT YOU EVALUATE AND THEN TO MAKE THE CHANGE.
AND SO THIS FIRST HALF FROM NOW UNTIL THE, UH, DEC - THROUGH DECEMBER IS MAKING THOSE CHANGES TO THE CURB SPACE ITSELF.
AND THE HOPE IS FROM JANUARY TO, THROUGH FEBRUARY, WE'LL BE ABLE TO COLLECT DATA TO UNDERSTAND IF THEY WORK.
NOW, AGAIN, IT COULD TAKE LONGER, YOU KNOW, DATA COLLECTION TO UNDERSTAND ACTUAL BEHAVIOR CHANGE, BUT OUR GOAL RIGHT NOW IS TO COME BACK IN THAT TIMEFRAME TO SAY, "THIS IS WHAT WE'VE LEARNED THROUGH THIS PROCESS THAT WE'VE, WE'VE UNDERGONE.
THIS IS WHAT WE'VE LEARNED BASED OFF THE DATA THAT WE'VE ALREADY COLLECTED, AND HERE'S OUR NEXT PLAN." SO WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA COME BACK AGAIN AT THAT POINT TO DETERMINE WHAT'S THE NEXT STEPS.
ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, I'M LOOKING AROUND ONE LAST TIME.
IF ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR OUR PRESENTER? ALL RIGHT.
SEEING NONE, I THINK THAT TAKES US THROUGH THAT ITEM.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT.
AND, UH, WE'RE ALWAYS UP FOR MORE PARKING AND CURB MANAGEMENT HERE, SO WE'LL HOPE TO SEE YOU BEFORE TOO LONG, I'M SURE.
[3. The Mayor’s Public Spaces Task Force Outcomes Report. Presentation by Steven Rivas, Chair, Public Spaces Task Force.]
NOW TO OUR DISCUSSION ITEM, WHICH IS ITEM THREE.THIS IS, UM, THE MAYOR'S PUBLIC SPACES TASK FORCE OUTCOMES REPORT.
OUR PRESENTATION IS BY STEVEN RIVAS, WHO IS THE CHAIR OF THE PUBLIC SPACES TAX, TASK FORCE.
SO AS YOU'RE READY, PLEASE COME RIGHT ON UP.
THANKS FOR YOUR VOLUNTEERISM THIS EVENING.
WELL, GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS.
I'M STEVEN RIVAS, AND I SERVE AS THE CHAIR OF THE MAYOR'S PUBLIC SPACES, UH, PUBLIC SPACES TASK FORCE, WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED IN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR.
UH, SO I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING AS THE DISTRICT THREE COMMISSIONER FOR THE LGBTQIA, UH, COMMISSION.
AND I HAVE A NUMBER OF COLLEAGUES THAT REGRET THEY CAN'T BE HERE THIS EVENING.
THE OUT YOUTH GROUNDBREAKING IS AT THIS VERY MOMENT, AND SO EVERYONE SAYS HELLO.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING TIME FOR US THIS EVENING.
UH, THIS EFFORT BEGAN WITH A STATE REGULATORY DIRECTIVE REGARDING NON-STANDARD PAVEMENT MARKINGS, AND FOR COMMUNITIES SUCH AS AUSTIN, WE KNEW IMMEDIATELY, UH, AS THINGS WERE STARTING TO HAPPEN IN THE LATE FALL, THAT TEXAS WOULD BE AFFECTED WITH THAT SAME DIRECTIVE.
UM, THE DIRECTIVE WAS SIMPLY, UH, THAT DECORATIVE STREET MARKINGS WERE NO LONGER ALLOWED, PERIOD.
IF THERE WAS NO COMPLIANCE, THEN THERE WOULD BE A DETRIMENTAL EFFECT ON FEDERAL FUNDING.
THERE WERE TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF DECORATIVE STREET MARKINGS THAT WE WENT THROUGH, AND I'LL GO OVER THOSE.
SOME OF THOSE WERE GRANT FUNDED, SO WE DIDN'T TOUCH THE GRANT FUNDED BECAUSE THE FEDS COULD COME IN AND SAY, "GET RID OF THEM ALL." LUCKILY FOR US, MANY OF THOSE WERE KIND OF TEST DECORATIVE STREET MARKINGS THAT HAD JUST NATURALLY COME OFF THE STREET PAVEMENT WITH WEATHERING.
UH, AND THE SECOND, UH, WERE SOME VERY DEEP, UH, IMPORTANT COMMUNITY MARKERS THAT WE'LL GO OVER THIS EVENING.
AND FEEL FREE TO INTERRUPT ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
[00:45:04]
ARE WE GOING? ALL RIGHT.MAYOR WATSON CONVENED OUR 22 MEMBER TASK FORCE ON NOVEMBER 6TH, 2025.
WE BROUGHT TOGETHER STAKEHOLDERS FROM ACROSS THE CITY.
THE MAYOR, ALL OF OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS APPOINTED SOMEONE TO BE A PART OF THIS TASK FORCE.
KEY COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS INCLUDED CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESS LEADERS, CIVIC COMMISSIONERS.
THE GOAL WAS CLEAR TO ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY-LED PROCESS TO SHAPE AUSTIN'S RESPONSE WHILE THE CITY NAVIGATED ITS STATE REGULATORY REVIEWS.
AND I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE VITAL SUPPORT FROM THE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS STAFF AND ALL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
ON OUR VERY FIRST MEETING, IT MUST HAVE BEEN 40 PEOPLE FROM EVERY IMAGINABLE DEPARTMENT THE CITY HAD.
IT WAS CLEAR THAT EVERYONE ON THE TASK FORCE WOULD HAVE THE RESOURCES OF THE CITY AT OUR DISPOSAL TO DO WHATEVER WE NEEDED.
I BELIEVE THAT OUR CHARGE WAS NOT SIMPLY TO REACT TO A MANDATE, BUT TO TRANSITION TEMPORARY PAVEMENT ART INTO PERMANENT POLICY COMPLIANT PUBLIC SPACE INVESTMENTS.
THIS WAS A DIFFICULT TASK FORCE TO WORK WITH.
I STARTED MY CONVERSATION WITH YOU THIS EVENING BY MENTIONING
UH, THE LIST WAS AS THICK AS THIS PAD THAT THEY PRESENTED TO US.
THE CITY HAD DONE ITS HOMEWORK.
EVERYONE HAD SCOURED THE CITY LOOKING FOR A RAINBOW CROSSWALK OR ANY KIND OF DECORATIVE STREET MARKING, AND IT MADE ITS WAY ONTO A LIST.
SO I WANT TO JUST ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROACTIVE RESPONSE THE CITY HAD GONE THROUGH.
AND THAT PUT THE TECHNICAL SCOPE INTO PERSPECTIVE.
AUSTIN FORMALLY SUBMITTED 15 LOCATIONS FOR THE STATE TO REVIEW UNDER THE TEXAS MANUAL ON UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES.
THIS IS THE ACTUAL DOCUMENT THAT REALLY MADE EVERYTHING REALLY FALL INTO A REGULATORY, UH, RESPONSE.
IT INCLUDED OUR 4TH STREET OR OUR BETTY NAYLOR CROSSWALK, EAST 11TH STREET'S BLACK ARTISTS LIVES MURAL ON THE STREET, NEIGHBORHOOD ARTWORK, AND LOCAL DECORATIVE TREATMENTS.
IT ALSO INCLUDED THE TEXAS ON THE DRAG.
AND THE CITY'S OCTOBER 30TH EXCEPTION REQUEST WAS GROUNDED IN PUBLIC SAFETY DATA.
CITY STAFF DOCUMENTED 46% DECLINES IN ANNUAL CRASHES ACROSS 15 LOCATIONS POST INSTALLATION.
WHILE THOSE WERE SMALL, ABSOLUTE TOTALS, IT DIDN'T ESTABLISH THE DIRECT CAUSATION THAT DEMONSTRATED THE DECORATIVE TREATMENTS CERTAINLY WEREN'T COMPROMISING SAFETY.
TXDOT ULTIMATELY TOOK A STRICT INTERPRETATION REGARDING THAT UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL STANDARDS AND ISSUED A NON-COMPLIANCE DETERMINATION.
AND OUR JOB AS A TASK FORCE WAS TO TRANSLATE THAT REGULATORY BOUNDARY WITH OUR COLLEAGUES AT THE CITY AND CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ENDURING PUBLIC SPACE DESIGN.
TEXAS CITIES HAD DIFFERENT RESPONSES, AND I WANT TO THANK MAYOR WATSON FOR PUTTING TOGETHER THIS TASK FORCE.
WE KIND OF, AS A CITY, REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE FORWARD PATHWAY WAS.
WHEN TXDOT APPROACHED MUNICIPALITIES WITH THE THREAT OF FUNDING REVOCATION WITH NONCOMPLIANCE OF THE MANUAL, ONE OF THE BIG CONCERNS WE HAD WAS THE LACK OF A TIMELINE.
WE JUST KNEW THAT WE WERE NOT GOING TO BE ALLOWED TO HAVE THESE ANY LONGER.
WE DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WOULD BE TWO WEEKS THAT THE TASK FORCE HAD TO COME UP WITH COMMUNITY IDEAS WITH STAKEHOLDERS OR TWO MONTHS.
IT ENDED UP WE DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING FROM THE STATE UNTIL AFTER MAY.
UH, SO THIS, THIS MEANT THAT OUR, OUR PROCESS REALLY HAD SOME BREATHING ROOM.
AND AS A TASK FORCE, WE HAD THE ABILITY TO MEET DECLINED CLOSED DOORS WITHOUT TOMA IN ORDER TO ASK VERY SERIOUS QUESTIONS ON BOTH THE LEGAL, THE ENGINEERING, AND THE COMPLIANCE SIDE AS A TASK FORCE.
AUSTIN, CERTAINLY NOT ALONE IN THIS CHALLENGE.
ACROSS THE STATE, WE SAW HOUSTON REACTED QUICKLY, UH, WITH
[00:50:01]
THE REMOVAL OF A CROSSWALK IN OCTOBER OF 2025.UH, THAT WAS BEFORE THERE WAS EVEN AN OPPORTUNITY THAT HAD ARISEN FOR A MUNICIPALITY TO ASK FOR A WAIVER.
UH, MAYOR WHITMEYER SAID, "BE GONE WITH THE RAINBOW CROSSWALK." IT WAS PUT THERE IN HONOR OF, OF SOMEONE.
UM, SAN ANTONIO SUBMITTED AN EXCEPTION REQUEST THAT WAS DENIED, UH, DUE TO THE LACK OF ASSIGNED AND SEALED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER CERTIFICATION.
AND AGAIN, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT HOW INCREDIBLY SUFFICIENT OUR OWN CITY OF AUSTIN ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT WAS IN TERMS OF PUTTING TOGETHER THIS PACKET FOR TXDOT.
OURS HAD THE PE SEAL AND, UH, I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT HOW PROUD, UH, OUR DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION PUBLICS WORKS WAS TO PUT HIS PROFESSIONAL, UH, ENTIRE CAREER ON THE LINE WHEN HE STAMPED THAT AND SENT IT OFF TO THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SAN ANTONIO, WHEN THEY WERE DENIED, THEY PIVOTED TO SIDEWALKS.
AND WE KNEW INSTANTLY, UH, WE'RE NOT GONNA COPY ANOTHER CITY.
WE'RE GONNA DO THINGS THE AUSTIN WAY.
DALLAS SOUGHT EXCEPTIONS FOR 30 CROSSWALKS, AND WHILE STAFF CITED LOCAL BENEFITS, LICENSED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS COULD NOT CERTIFY THAT NON-STANDARD ROADWAY MARKINGS CONFORMED TO THE STRICT MANUAL DESIGN STANDARDS.
AND THAT DISTINCTION MATTERED.
FOR A TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, UH, THIS WASN'T AN ADMINISTRATIVE PUSHBACK.
IT WAS A FUNDAMENTAL FRICTION BETWEEN CUSTOM ASPHALT ART AND PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING UNDER, UH, LIABILITY OF STATE CODE.
SO AUSTIN'S CONTRIBUTION WAS ESTABLISHING SOMETHING THAT NO OTHER TEXAS MUNICIPALITY DID, A PROACTIVE MULTI-COMMUNITY TASK FORCE.
UH, LISTEN FIRST AND JUST GO WITH THE FLOW.
WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT OUR END DATE OR WHAT DEADLINES WERE ONGOING.
UH, IN NOVEMBER, WE ORGANIZED OUR WORKING GROUPS.
WE ESTABLISHED CORE PRINCIPLES.
IN APRIL, WE SET TO MODEL SCENARIO ALTERNATIVES BEFORE TXDOT NOTIFIED THE CITY IN MAY OF A - ON MAY 18TH.
ON JUNE 22ND, THE CITY FORMALIZED ITS FORMAL ACTION PLAN.
AND JUNE 19TH THROUGH THE 20TH, WE HOSTED DEDICATED COMMUNITY GATHERINGS THAT CELEBRATED THE RETIREMENT OF OUR STREET MARKINGS.
I WILL SAY THAT IN THAT PROCESS, WHAT WAS INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING TO US IS I WAS ASSIGNED SOMEONE TO GUIDE ME EVERY DAY, UH, THROUGH EMAILS, POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS, SENDING OUT EMAIL INVITES, AND THAT WAS NATALIE LEONE.
SO THANK YOU, NATALIE, FOR NOT JUST BEING, UH, THE STAFF LIAISON TO THIS COMMISSION, BUT BEING THE STAFF LIAISON TO OUR OWN PUBLIC SPACES TASK FORCE.
AFTER THAT VOLUMOUS LIST, WHAT PULLED A LOT OF IT FROM US NOT HAVING TO LOOK AT IT WAS A PRIOR FEDERAL GRANT THAT HAD EXPIRED.
ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UH, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SAID, "WELL, UH, IF YOU WERE GIVEN A AUTHORIZATION FOR A STREET MARKING UNDER THAT GRANT, UH, THAT'S REVOKED." AND SO THE CITY HAD IDENTIFIED THOSE LOCATIONS.
UH, WE KNEW THAT WAS GOING TO BE AN ISSUE.
THEY'D ALREADY PRE-PLANNED SOME OF THEIR WRITTEN RESPONSES TO THE STATE.
SO THEY GAMED OUT WHAT IF THEY SAY THIS, WHAT IF THEY SAY THAT? THAT, THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL FOR US.
WE HONED IN AFTER ALL OF THOSE STREET MARKINGS ON THREE.
THE FIRST WAS BETTY NAYLOR STREET IN COLORADO, THE RAINBOW CROSSWALK, AND THEN THE EAST 11TH STREET CORRIDOR, BLACK ARTISTS LIVES MATTER.
AND THE THIRD WAS A COMMUNITY DRIVEN RESPONSE.
IT WAS IDENTIFIED AS FERRY ALLEY.
YOU MAY HAVE SEEN ON SOUTH LAMAR, JUST OFF TREADWELL BY THE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE, IS THIS COMMUNITY CAME TOGETHER ORGANICALLY, OUT OF CONCERN, UH, FOR SAFETY OF NEIGHBORHOOD CHILDREN AND WELFARE.
UH, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE GET ATTENTION? AND THEY CREATED THIS BEAUTIFUL LITTLE, VERY AUSTIN-LIKE, UH, CORRIDOR OF FERRIES PAINTED AND LIT UP.
SO OUR OUTCOMES REALLY DIFFERED BASED ON THE ROW CLASSIFICATION.
FOR EXAMPLE, TXDOT ALLOWED FERRY ALLEYS RESIDENTIAL MARKINGS TO NATURALLY AGE OUT WITHOUT IMMEDIATE SCRAPING, WHEREAS MAJOR ARTERIAL CROSSWALKS, THOSE REQUIRED THE RAPID REMEDIATION.
UH, A RIGHT OF WAY MANAGEMENT RESPONSE REQUIRES
[00:55:01]
AN INVENTORY-BASED APPROACH, BUT EVERY CORRIDOR DEMANDS A TAILORED DESIGN RESPONSE.SO THESE BECAME OUR THREE PRIORITY LOCATIONS, AND WE CELEBRATED THE, THE RETIREMENT OF TWO OF THOSE.
I WANNA TALK ABOUT WHY PLACE AND HISTORY MATTER.
WHEN I WALKED INTO THAT VERY FIRST TASK FORCE MEETING, UM, IT, IT, IT WAS, IT LOOKED LIKE THE CONGRESS OF WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT A RAINBOW CROSSWALK AND STREET MARKINGS IN AUSTIN? UH, THE AGENDA WAS VERY SIMPLE.
THEY EXPLAINED WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS.
THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT SAID THIS WAS OUR RESPONSE.
AND THE NEXT SLIDE SAID, "ELECT A CHAIR."
UM, I WAS HONORED TO BE ELECTED AS CHAIR.
UH, WE HAD A VICE CHAIR, THIS IS CHAZ MOORE, AND, UH, WE HAD REALLY NO RULES.
DAPHNE MCDAY BECAME OUR, UH, SECRETARY.
UH, SHE IS THE CEO OF SIX SQUARE, SO THAT WORKED OUT VERY WELL.
WE HAD A BLACK AND BROWN LED COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP IMMEDIATELY FOR THIS TASK FORCE.
WE KNOW THE STREETS ARE NEVER BLANK SLATES, AND EAST 11TH STREET IS ALWAYS THE FIRST STREET MARKING THAT I PIVOT TO IN CONVERSATION.
UH, ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM ARE AWARE OF THE 1928 PLAN, AND OUT OF RESPECT AND DEFERENCE TO OUR EAST AUSTINITES, WE WORKED VERY CLOSELY TO IDENTIFY, UH, WHAT PRESERVATION MISSION WE HAD MOVING FORWARD.
AND THE BLACK ARTISTS MATTER STREET ART THAT WAS IN- INSTALLED IN JUNE 2021, REFRESHED IN 2024, UH, THAT WAS A VISUAL CONTIN - CON - I WOULD SAY IT, IT REALLY WAS THE CONTINUITY, UM, OF, OF THAT RESILIENCE OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND FOURTH STREET, OF COURSE, THAT CARRIES DECADES OF LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY HISTORY.
BETTY NAYLOR WAS HONORED, UH, AFTER HER PASSING WITH THE STREET DESIGNATION, AND THE CITY WAS VERY GENEROUS.
BETTY NAYLOR STREET ON 4TH STREET ACTUALLY STEMS FROM SAN ANTONIO TO CONGRESS.
AND SO WE KNEW THAT, UH, THESE TWO SPECIFIC LOCATIONS, UH, WERE KEY.
AND THERE WAS A LOT OF EMOTION, UH, THAT WAS TIED TO THESE STREET MARKINGS.
WE KNEW THAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE A THOROUGH CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE TAKE THE STREET MARKINGS OFF.
MAYOR WATSON LIKES TO SAY THAT WE ARE MORE THAN PAINT ON PAVEMENT, AND THAT'S TRUE.
WHAT WE KNEW FROM OUR FIRST MEETING WAS WHATEVER THE PUBLIC SPACES TASK FORCE COMES UP WITH FOR IDEAS, UH, THERE MIGHT NOT BE ANY MONEY FOR THESE CHANGES.
WE ALSO KNEW THAT THERE WOULD NEED TO BE LONG-TERM PLANNING, UH, FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS.
ONE, EAST 11TH STREET, UH, IS GOING THROUGH A METAMORPHOSIS RIGHT NOW.
AND U- UTC UNDERSTANDS THAT THERE IS A, I SHOULD SAY NOT MODIFIED, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S AN ENHANCED TRANSPORTATION PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN BECAUSE OF OUR LIGHT RAIL PLAN THAT WOULD MOVE THE BIKE RA - BIKE LANES FROM 3RD TO BETTY NAYLOR STREET.
SO WE SAW A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY WITHIN 24 MONTHS, UH, AND THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THEY INCLUDED, "CAN I HAVE RUPAUL RECORD A VOICE FOR THE CROSSWALK? CAN I CHANGE THAT OUT? CAN I HAVE DOLLY PARTON AT THE NEXT CROSSWALK?" AND THE CITY SAYS, "YES.
UH, YOU KNOW, UH, THESE ARE THINGS WE CAN STILL DO, BUT WE'VE GOT A WHOLE LIST OF, OF, UH, OF, OF JUST AMAZING IDEAS THAT CAME OUT OF THE COMMISSION." BUT WE HAD NO END DATE AT THE TIME.
WE DIDN'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, IS IT, ARE THEY EVER GONNA TELL US THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THESE STREET MARKINGS? UH, I THINK THE EARNED MEDIA THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO RECEIVED WITH THEIR SIDEWALK REALLY PUSHED THIS BACK INTO THE FOREFRONT, UH, AND THE TXDOT TEAM, AFTER WORKING ON FIFA, UH, HAD TIME TO CIRCLE BACK TO THIS, IS REALLY WHAT HAPPENED IN THE TIMELINE.
UM, AND SO WHAT TRANSPIRED WAS, UH, TWO DAYS AND ONE AUSTIN.
WE HAD AN EVENT ON JUNETEENTH WHERE THE COMMUNITY GATHERED ON EAST 11TH STREET AND WE CELEBRATED BLACK ARTISTS' LIVES AND BLACK LIVES.
[01:00:01]
QUESTIONS WERE ASKED BY THE NEWS MEDIA THAT DAY, UH, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? BOTH LOCATIONS HAVE DIFFERENT GOALS.UH, THE SIX SQUARE DISTRICT IS A STATE RECOGNIZED CULTURAL DISTRICT.
IT'S NOT JUST A CITY OF AUSTIN THING.
UH, IT HAS ITS OWN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM.
THIS SEEMINGLY ODD REQUEST FROM THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TO REMOVE A STREET DECORATION HAS LAUNCHED ALL SORTS OF IDEAS FOR PERFORMATIVE ART, BANNERS, SECURITY, STREET MARKINGS, REVISED PLANS FOR THE EAST 11TH STREET CORRIDOR THAT MAY TAKE UP TO 36 MONTHS WITH PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND MAYBE SOME BONDS, UH, TO COME TO FRUITION.
FOR THE BETTY NAYLOR, UH, SECTION, WE WANT TO CLOSE THE STREET DOWN BETWEEN COLORADO AND, UH, LAVACA TO ALL TRAFFIC AND ALLOW THAT TO GROW INTO A COURTYARD OR A PAVILION THAT WILL CELEBRATE LGBTQIA, UH, AUSTINITES AND TEXANS.
WE KNEW THAT THERE WOULD BE A DEDICATED QUEER HISTORICAL MARKER AT SOME POINT BY THE END OF THE SUMMER.
THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR PUBLIC SPACES TASK FORCE.
IT WAS JUST A NICE TO HAVE IN OUR TOOLBOX THAT IF WE REMOVED A CROSSWALK, WE KNEW SOON AFTERWARDS WE WOULD HAVE SOMETHING POSITIVE TO PUT IN ITS PLACE.
AND FOR THAT, AGAIN, WE SHOULD ALL CREDIT OUR MAYOR AND COUNCIL WHO UNANIMOUSLY CHAMPIONED THAT INITIATIVE.
AND OUR FELLOW LGBTQ COMMISSIONER, CARRIE BROWN, WHO REALLY IMAGINED THAT IDEA.
AND WE GATHERED IN AUGUST, UH, FOR PRIDE, DEDICATED THAT MARKER.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN LOOK ON FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM, UH, TIKTOK, PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE STANDING IN FRONT OF THAT LGBTQ QUEER MARKER, UH, TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS.
OUR CITY MADE SURE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR TASK FORCE FOR THE NEXT DAY WHEN WE RETIRED, UH, OUR RAINBOW CROSSWALK, THAT WE HAD RAINBOW BANNERS WITH BETTY NAYLOR STREET, UH, THAT WE HAD A MURAL THAT WAS REALLY A DONATION AND A GIFT FROM PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY TO REPLACE THAT CROSSWALK.
AND WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE MURAL IS WE TRUST OUR AUSTINITES WITH A PAINTBRUSH, AND IT'S NOT JUST LGBTQ STUFF ON THAT MURAL.
IT'S LIFE, IT'S COMMUNITY, AND IT'S OUR EARTH.
AND WE BROUGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE THESE TWO SPACES, UH, WITH PRIDE FLAGS.
I SAW LAST WEEK THAT MAYOR WHITMEYER PURCHASED OUT OF PO- POCKET SIMILAR BANNERS, UH, FOR, FOR, UH, FOR MONTROSE.
OUR CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, TEAM ALREADY HAD A BUDGET IN PLACE FOR BANNERS, AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET THOSE REPLACED, UH, QUICKLY, UH, FOR OUR CELEBRATION AND SUBSEQUENTLY FOR OUR DEDICATION, UH, OF THE MARKER.
AND FINALLY, I WANNA TALK ABOUT JUST WHAT A LITTLE BIT OF THOSE IDEAS INCLUDED.
WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT, AGAIN, KNOWING THAT 3RD STREET WILL EVENTUALLY CHANGE TO TWO-WAY TRAFFIC.
UH, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S TWO-WAY TRAFFIC, ONE-WAY TRAFFIC WITH THE LIGHT RAIL.
BUT WITH THE BIKE LANE MOVING TO 4TH STREET, THAT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, ENVISION A NEWER BETTY NAYLOR STREET BETWEEN COLORADO AND LA VACA.
CANDIDLY, BECAUSE OF THE EXTREME DURATION OF THIS TASK FORCE, A LOT OF THINGS HAPPENED.
THE BEAUFORT SHOOTING REALLY TERRIFIED A LOT OF MEMBERS OF THE TASK FORCE.
UH, IT'S NOTABLE THAT THE INDIVIDUAL, UH, THAT COMMITTED THAT CRIME WAS DRIVING AROUND LOOKING FOR THE BIGGEST CROWD.
THAT COULD HAVE BEEN ANY OF OUR QUEER SAFE SPACES LIKE OCH, UH, OR RAIN ON 4TH STREET.
UH, AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD AS A COMMUNITY, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE COGNIZANT OF THE SERIOUS ISSUES WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH IN TERMS OF SECURITY AND PROTECTION.
WHAT WE LEARNED IS TO REALLY START WITH ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND AUSTIN.
UH, WE WERE VERY BLESSED TO HAVE A STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE URBAN DESIGN PLANNERS, ARCHITECTS, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INDIVIDUALS, LGBTQ CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
[01:05:02]
OF INDIVIDUALS THAT UNDERSTOOD NOT JUST WHAT IT MEANT TO ONE PART OF AUSTIN, BUT ALL OF AUSTIN.WE LEARNED THAT WE SHOULD TREAT THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT AS REALLY HAVING THE INPUT THAT WILL LAST A LIFETIME AND ADAPTING TO A SITUATION IN WHICH WE'D HAD NO IDEA, UH, WHEN THE LEGAL AND, UH, MANUAL TRANSPORTATION PARAMETERS WOULD SHIFT WITH DATES OF CONCLUSION AND BUILDING SPACES THAT AUSTINITES LOVE AND WILL TREASURE FOREVER.
THERE CAME A TIME, I THINK IT WAS SOMETIME IN APRIL, AND MAYOR WATSON SAID, AFTER LOOKING AT THE LIST OF SUGGESTIONS FROM THE TASK FORCE, "WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? LET'S NOT WAIT ON THE STATE OF TEXAS TO TELL US TO TAKE THESE MARKINGS OFF AND CELEBRATE THEM." OUR TIMING WAS GREAT.
WE'D ALREADY PLANNED FOR OUR RETIREMENT IN JUNE AND IN THE SUMMER.
AND SO WE ARE PROUD AS A TASK FORCE TO HAVE DELIVERED TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN A REALLY RESPECTFUL AND A REALLY EXCITING PATHWAY FORWARD FOR PUBLIC SPACES THAT NO ONE ASKED TO BE REMOVED.
SO WITH THAT, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
I'M HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, UM, COMMISSIONERS, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY, UH, QUESTIONS FOR OUR PRESENTER? YEAH, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ.
UM, SO YOU MENTIONED THERE WERE 15 LOCATIONS IDENTIFIED.
UH, WHAT HA - WHAT, WHAT WERE THE OUTCOMES OF THE OTHER 12? I, I'LL HAVE TO GO BACK AND, AND, AND ASK NATALIE TO, TO PULL THIS, THIS, THIS SPREADSHEET.
UH, BUT THOSE WERE ALL REMOVED, INCLUDING THE TEXAS ON, ON GUADALUPE.
UM, FERRY ALLEY WAS A ORGANIC, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD DRIVEN THING THAT WAS, AS I MENTIONED, ALLOWED TO KIND OF DISAPPEAR OVER TIME.
UH, BUT THOSE LOCATIONS, UH, YOU KNOW, IN COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL STATUTE, WE HAD TO HAVE THOSE REMOVED.
WELL, FIRST, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SERVICE AND, UH, CHAIR SUMMERS, I BELIEVE YOU SERVED ON AS WELL.
SO, UH, AND NATALIE AND ALL STAFF, I KNOW THIS WAS A, A TIGHT TIMELINE, YOU GUYS GOT A LOT DONE.
UM, I'D BE CURIOUS TO HEAR, LIKE, WHAT YOU GUYS KIND OF FOUND THE BOUNDARIES WERE OF TWO THINGS.
ONE, I HADN'T EVEN THOUGH ABOUT THE BIKE LANE MOVING TO BETTY NAYLOR STREET.
UH, YOU KNOW, ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES THERE? CAN WE DO, YOU KNOW, RAINBOW CONCRETE, UH, PROTECTED BIKE LANES? UH, AND THEN YOU MENTIONED LIGHTING.
UH, DID YOU GUYS TALK ABOUT WHAT THE BOUNDS ARE OF LIGHTING IN TERMS OF, LIKE, CAN WE DO RAINBOW COLORED STREET LIGHTING? CAN THAT ONLY BE ON THE SIDEWALKS? YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT CAN WE AND CAN'T DO ON LIGHTING? I'D BE CURIOUS TO HEAR.
AND, AND I WISH YOU COULD HAVE HEARD THOSE CONVERSATIONS THAT THESE MEETINGS WERE GOING FOR TWO HOURS AND WE COULD ASK STAFF.
UH, I THINK ONE OF THE QUESTIONS, UH, NATALIE
UH, AND, AND, UH, THE SHORT ANSWER WAS MAYBE, UH, PROBABLY NOT.
YOU WOULDN'T SEE IT DURING THE DAY.
UH, LIGHTING IS SOMETHING THAT CAME UP A LOT ON EAST 11TH STREET FROM A SAFETY AND SECURITY PERSPECTIVE.
UM, THEY HAD THIS BEAUTIFUL WROUGHT IRON GATEWAY ENTRY INTO EAST 11TH STREET.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT HERE.
UH, YOU KNOW, IDEAS WERE, YOU KNOW, LET'S HAVE A RAINBOW ARCH OFF OF, UH, CONGRESS.
WE'VE GOT BETTY NAYLOR AGAIN, SAN ANTONIO TO CONGRESS ON 4TH.
UH, COULD WE PROJECT, UH, COLORED LIGHTING, UH, ALONG THE, THE, THE AREA? UH, AND, AND THE ANSWERS WE WOULD GET WERE PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING'S POSSIBLE, BUT AGAIN, IT'S THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAN CHANGE ANYTHING AT ANY TIME.
AND REALLY, AS WE PROGRESSED, WE CONCLUDED THAT THE SAFEST WAY TO PROJECT LIGHT AND CREATE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT, UH, FOR OUR QUEER BUSINESSES AND SAFE SPACES BETWEEN 4TH AND COLORADO IS JUST SHUT IT DOWN TO STREET TRAFFIC, UH, AND ALLOW EMERGENCY TRAFFIC, UH, COMMERCIAL DELIVERY, UH, BICYCLE ACCESS.
WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT 4TH STREET, ESPECIALLY JUST BETWEEN COLORADO AND LA VACA, IS THERE ARE TWO ALLEYWAYS.
AND OUR QUEER SAFE SPACE BUSINESSES ALREADY USE THE ALLEYWAYS FOR NOT JUST DELIVERIES, BUT ALSO VIP ACCESS AND SECURE ACCESS FOR, UH, FOR EMPLOYEES AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS.
SO JUST THOSE ALLEYWAYS IN THE LAST, I WOULD SAY 18 MONTHS HAVE EMERGED AS ADDITIONAL AREAS, UH, OF PUBLIC SPACES THAT COULD INCLUDE ARTWORK AND UNIQUE LIGHTING OPPORTUNITY.
UH, WE FORESEE THAT SHORT CORRIDOR
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BETWEEN LA VACA AND COLORADO, UH, TO ONE DAY HAVE EVEN A COLUMBARIUM, WHICH COULD ALLOW INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE NO, UH, PLACE TO, TO REST, UH, TO ALLOW THEIR ASHES, THEIR RE - THEIR REMAINS TO BE INTERRED AND PARTY FOREVER ON 4TH STREET, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, CELEBRATE LIFE AND CELEBRATE, UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN AND PROTEST AND, UH, JUST CREATING A UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT.THIS IS NOT UNIQUE IN TERMS OF AN IDEA.
THERE ARE OTHER CITIES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES THAT HAVE KIND OF COURTYARDS AND LGBTQ KIND FOCUSED AREAS.
UH, BUT KNOWING THAT THE LIGHT RAIL WOULD AFFECT 4TH STREET AND BETTY NAYLOR, UH, GAVE US A LITTLE BIT MORE ROOM TO, TO EVEN GET MORE CREATIVE.
UM, AND SO THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I HOPE I WAS ABLE TO ANSWER THAT FOR YOU WELL.
WE DEFINITELY HAD SOME CO- CONVERSATIONS AROUND ALSO LIKE PAVE- PAVERS AND PAVEMENT TREATMENTS, LIKE, ESPECIALLY IF SOMETHING WERE, ESPECIALLY SO IF SOMETHING WERE, YOU KNOW, PEDESTRIANIZED OR MADE INTO A PLAZA, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU, THERE'S A LOT THAT YOU CAN DO WITH, UM, PAVERS THAT'S DEFINITELY WITHIN UNIFORM MANUAL TRANSPORTATION AS WELL.
SO WE HAD CONVERSATIONS, OF COURSE, LIKE REPAVING SOMETHING WITH COBBLESTONES OR SPECIAL PAVERS IS A LONGER TERM AND MORE EXPENSIVE THING, BUT LIKE WE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS AROUND THAT FOR SOME OF THE AREAS AS WELL, IF I RECALL EARLY ON.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE COULD GET REAL CREATIVE.
WE COULD HAVE A YELLOW BRICK ROAD.
WE COULD HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S NOT A STREET AND IT'S JUST A PARK, UH, YOU KNOW, WE CAN HAVE, YOU KNOW, AN HONOR WALK THAT IS A RAINBOW SIDEWALK.
UH, WE, WE COULD, WE COULD DO A LOT OF THINGS.
AND AGAIN, HOW DO YOU PAY FOR IT? AND, UH, THAT'S PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, THAT'S A VISION.
UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UH, CREATING A, A MICROPID, UH, PUBLIC IM- IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT THAT WOULD JUST KIND OF OVERLAY.
UH, THERE ARE IDEAS THAT WE TALK ABOUT EVERY WEEK.
THIS IS AN INITIATIVE THAT'S ONGOING.
AND AGAIN, CREDIT TO THE MAYOR'S PUBLIC SPACES TASK FORCE, UH, AND, AND TO THOSE UPON HIGH WHO DECIDED IT WAS A GREAT IDEA TO TRY AND POKE US, UH, YOU KNOW, AND, AND MOVE US FORWARD.
WE DID SOMETHING REALLY DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER TEXAS CITY.
WE CAME TOGETHER, WE CELEBRATED, AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA DO SOME GREAT THINGS OUT OF IT.
COMMISSIONERS, I'M LOOKING AROUND FOR ANY OTHER FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR OUR PRESENTER.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PRESENTING.
I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT ALL OF THESE, UM, CHANGES, SO I'M VERY GLAD TO HEAR ABOUT IT.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE SERVICE ON, ON THIS TASK FORCE.
OH, UH, YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE NOT, UM, YOU DID NOT HAVE TO, LIKE, COMPLY WITH TOMA FOR THE...
IS IT BECAUSE IT'S A TASK FORCE AND NOT, LIKE, AN ELECTED BOARD? SO THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UH, SO THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT IS VERY SPECIFIC.
UH, WE'VE GOT A GREAT LEGAL DEPARTMENT AND OUR CITY CLERK'S OFFICE IS REALLY OUTSTANDING AT ADVISING, UH, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS EVEN THAT IF YOU HAVE A WORK GROUP, UH, THAT WORK GROUP IS OUTSIDE OF TOMA.
THAT GIVES US SOME BREATHING ROOM.
OF COURSE, IN BOARDING COMMISSION WORK GROUPS, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO, UH, HAVE THE COMMISSIONER BOARD PUT SOMEONE ON A, ON A WORK GROUP THAT IS NOT EVEN A MEMBER OF THAT BOARD OF COMMISSION JUST FOR THE STATED GOAL OF ACCOMPLISHING, UH, RESEARCH OR THE OUTCOME, UH, THAT'S DESIRED.
AND FOR THE TASK FORCE, WE HAVE THAT SAME BREATHING ROOM.
AND THEN, UM, MY OTHER QUESTION WAS, UM, AND FORGIVE ME FOR NOT KNOWING THIS, BUT THE, THE DIRECTIVE ABOUT REMOVING THE R- ROAD DECORATIONS, IT SOUNDS LIKE, BECAUSE YOU'RE DESCRIBING, LIKE, THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT COULD BE DONE IN PARKS OR IN OTHER SETTINGS, LIKE IF YOU SHUT DOWN THE ROAD, IS IT, WAS IT JUST SPECIFIC TO ROADS THAT CARS GO ON? LIKE IF BIKE LANES ARE AN OPTION TO DECORATE? I'M CONFUSED ABOUT THE, LIKE, SPECIFICITY OF THE DIRECTIVE.
SO ADMITTEDLY, I'M NOT A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER, UH, NOR AN EMPLOYEE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, BUT, BUT WHAT WE WERE TOLD SPECIFICALLY, UH, WAS THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS A MANUAL, UH, AND THAT EACH STATE ADOPTS ITS OWN VERSION OF THAT MANUAL.
UM, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THIS, THAT THE TEXAS MANUAL HAS BEEN AMENDED, BUT WE KNOW THAT, THAT ONCE, UH, THERE WAS A CHANGE IN PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATIONS, UH, THERE WAS A, UH, A PROJECT 2025 GUIDEBOOK WHERE THIS WAS SPECIFICALLY STATED AS AN ACTION THAT WOULD OCCUR.
IT DID OCCUR, UH, SO IT WENT FEDERAL TO STATE, AND THEN THE STATE NOTIFIED ALL MUNICIPALITIES, UH, AND, AND GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES AFFECTED BY THAT, UH, UNIFORM CODE,
[01:15:01]
UH, MANUAL THAT, UH, IT, EVERYONE NEEDED TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE AT THE RISK OF LOSING FEDERAL FUNDING.AND FOR AUSTIN, UH, NON-COMPLIANCE WAS, WAS IN THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF...
HEATHER, I DO BELIEVE IT'S LIKE, IT'S LIKE A CURB TO CURB SITUATION AND, AND WE DO HAVE A TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO LIKE, HELP US WITH THAT ONE, BUT...
YES, I'M JIM DALE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR TRANSPORTATION AND, UH, PUBLIC WORKS.
UM, IT WAS PRIMARILY WHEN, UM, FOR CARS AND DISTRACTING CARS AND THE SAFETY IMPL- IMPLICATIONS OF THAT, AND THAT'S ALL OF THESE HAD THAT IN COMMON, UM, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THAT THERE WAS, UM, VEHICLES TRAVELING OVER THOSE AREAS.
AND SO THE CONCERN THAT WAS RAISED AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL THAT WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE LOCAL DATA THAT WE HAD WAS ABOUT SAFETY.
THE SAFETY DATA WE HAD SHOWED JUST THE OPPOSITE OF THEIR CONCERN, BUT STILL WITH US RECEIVING THAT DIRECTIVE, WE HAD THE LIABILITY OF, LIKE THE CHAIR HAD SAID, OF LOSING FEDERAL FUNDING IF WE DID NOT REMOVE THE, UM, DECORATIVE CROSSWALKS.
SO IN THEORY, THIS, A SIMILAR THING COULD BE APPLIED TO, FOR EXAMPLE, A BIKE LANE UNDER THE SAME ASSUMPTION THAT THERE'S AN IMPACT ON SAFETY, BUT THAT HASN'T HAPPENED YET.
WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING IN THAT REGARD, UM, SO FAR, BUT LIKE THE CHAIR DID SAY TOO, THE, UM, EVERY, JUST ABOUT ANYTHING'S POSSIBLE, BUT WILL WE FACE THE SAME, UM, DIRECTIVE, UM, COMING DOWN WHERE WE'RE, UM, LIMITING THE SPACE FOR WHERE THERE ARE NOT ANY CARS AND IT'S JUST A PEDESTRIAN PLAZA, THERE'S A LOT MORE THAT WE CAN DO IN A PLACE LIKE THAT, UM, THAT DOESN'T MEET, NEED TO MEET THE TEC - UH, THE TEXAS MUTCD.
UM, SO THERE'S A LOT MORE OPPORTUNITY THERE.
IF THAT COMES TO FRUITION, I'M SURE THAT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THERE TO, UM, DO SOMETHING DECORATIVE, SOMETHING DIFFERENT, UM - YEAH.
WILL BE TALKED ABOUT AND, AND LOOKED AT.
THE REASON I ASK IS BECAUSE I WONDER IF THERE'S A, UM, IF IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO DO A PROACTIVE STUDY, FOR EXAMPLE, ON BIKE LANES ABOUT THE IMPACT OF SAFETY ON VARIOUS MARKINGS, BECAUSE I KNOW EVEN, YOU KNOW, APART FROM DECORATIVE MARKINGS, WE'VE TALKED IN THIS BODY BEFORE ABOUT HOW THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF TREATMENTS FOR BIKE LANES.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT DATA ALREADY EXISTS.
NOT THAT THAT DATA IS RELEVANT FOR THOSE CONCERNED IN THIS PARTICULAR CONTEXT AS IT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN DISREGARDED FOR THE, UH, THE ROAD EVIDENCE, BUT, UH, THAT WAS JUST WHY I BROUGHT IT UP.
AND THEN, UM, SORRY, I HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION.
I'LL LET SOMEONE ELSE GO AND COME BACK TO ME IF I THINK OF IT.
AND, AND YOU'RE AL - YOU'RE ALWAYS WELCOME TO EMAIL ME AS WELL.
AND I BELIEVE I'M ON YOUR EMAIL THREAD, UH, FOR THIS, FOR THIS EVENING'S, UH, UH, EMAIL.
IT'S VC-STEPHEN.REVAS@OSENTEX.GOV.
THANK YOU FOR ASKING THOSE QUESTIONS.
AND, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK INTO ON OUR SIDE, UH, TO SEE IF THERE IS ANY LEEWAY FOR THE DECORATIVE BIKE WAYS.
AND I'M NOT SURE IF THIS MAY HAVE COME UP ALREADY IN THE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR TEAM THAT WAS WORKING ON IT, BUT SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE CAN CHECK INTO, WHETHER IT'S, UM, BIKE WAYS, URBAN TRAILS, YOU KNOW, OFF THE, THE PATH THERE.
WELL, AND THE ANSWER TOO MAY BE VERY DIFFERENT IF IT WAS LIKE A MULTI-USE TRAIL OR SIDEWALK TYPE OF BIKE LANE THAT'S SORT OF OFF THE MAIN STREET VERSUS SOMETHING THAT'S LIKE...
I WOULD DEFINITELY BE CONCERNED IF IT WAS IN THE CURB TO CURB STREET THING THAT THAT WOULD NOT BE INTERPRETED AS ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WAS ALREADY REQUIRED TO BE REMOVED, WOULD BE MY FEAR WITH THAT.
BUT IF IT WAS SOMETHING WHERE IT WAS LIKE MAYBE A S - QUASI SIDEWALK, MULTI-USE PA- PATH OR SOMETHING, I THINK THEN YOU MAY SEE MORE FLEXIBLE ANSWERS POSSIBLY.
THAT'S JUST MY, MY GUESS IS A, WELL, I'M NOT A TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER, I'M JUST A, BIG DORK.
I DO THINK THIS HAS COME UP IN BIKE WAYS DESIGN BEFORE BECAUSE WE HAVE THE TERRACOTTA COLOR DESIGNATING, UH, ABOVE CURB BIKE LANES, WHICH IS NOT IN THE MUTCD.
WHICH MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT'S FINE AS LONG AS IT'S NOT, LIKE WE CAN'T MAKE A TERRACOTTA ON THE ROADWAY WHEN IT'S - YEAH.
UH, BUT IT'S FINE IF IT'S, IF IT'S ABOVE THE CURB.
AND WE HAVE RED BUS LANES, UH - RIGHT.
SO THERE'S - RIGHT, THERE'S THE GREEN ARROWS AND - UH-HUH.
GLAD THERE'S ALL KINDS OF VISUAL THINGS GOING ON.
YEAH, WE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE ASKED THE CITY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DID HAVE THE ORIGINAL IDEA OF HAVING A RAINBOW, UH, SIDEWALK BEFORE SAN ANTONIO, UH, WAS DENIED THEIR WAIVER.
AND WE'RE ALSO AWARE THAT IF YOU'RE ON THE SOUTH
[01:20:01]
SIDE, UH, THE SOUTH SIDEWALK, IF YOU WILL, UH, ON 4TH STREET BETWEEN COLORADO AND LA VACA IS, IS VERY AGED, UH, IT WILL NEED TO BE, UH, REPLACED.IT'S, THERE, IT'S NOT VERY ADA ACCESSIBLE, UH, AND IT'S, IT'S NOT A VERY HAPPY SPOT.
IT'S ALSO RAISED ABOVE GROUND BECAUSE THERE'S AN ELEVATION DIFFERENCE, UH, UH, TREMENDOUS JUST ON THAT ONE LITTLE BLOCK.
UM, BUT BECAUSE THERE WILL NEED TO BE AN EVENTUAL REPLACEMENT TO THE SIDEWALK, UH, AND, AND CHANGES TO THE BIKE LANE, AGAIN, THAT ALL FACTORED INTO, WE'VE GOT A BIG GIANT WISHLIST AS AUSTINITES ABOUT TO CELEBRATE, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR CULTURE AND, UH, THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE AGAIN WITHOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, A DIRECTIVE, UH, AND WE TURNED THAT DIRECTIVE INTO GOOD.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BEING PART OF THAT TASK FORCE AND, UH, ALLOWING ME TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS TONIGHT.
I THOUGHT MY OTHER QUESTION, IT WAS ABOUT SHUTTING DOWN, UM, THE STREET, UH, I THINK YOU SAID AROUND 4TH STREET, THE BETTY NAYLOR STREET.
I SHOULD PROBABLY KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS, BUT I'M WONDERING WHAT IT TAKES TO PUT THAT INTO ACTION, GIVEN THAT WE JUST REVERSED THE SHUTTING DOWN OF 6TH STREET IN, IN THE NIGHT.
LIKE, I, YOU KNOW, IMAGINE MAYBE JUST ONE SECTION OR ONE BLOCK WOULD NOT BE SO HARD, BUT I'M WONDERING IF, IF ANYONE HERE CAN EXPLAIN WHAT THAT WOULD TAKE AND IF THAT'S, LIKE, SOMETHING WE CAN HELP TO PUT IN MOTION, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE PERMITTED TO DO HERE.
THE LGBTQ COMMISSION HAS A NUMBER OF RESOLUTIONS THAT HAVE PASSED, UH, AND CERTAINLY WE ALWAYS ASK OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TO CONSIDER, UH, CARRYING FORTH A SIMILAR, UH, RESOLUTION AND SUPPORT.
THE MORE RESOLUTIONS THAT WE SEE THAT COME OUT OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, UH, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE CERTAINLY TAKES NOTE.
UH, I CAN TELL YOU ON BACKGROUND, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THEIR STAFF ARE AWARE OF THIS PROPOSAL.
WE'VE NOT HAD ANY PUSHBACK, UH, BUT IT ALSO REQUIRES, MOST IMPORTANTLY, COMMUNITY, UH, AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, AND THAT INCLUDES PROPERTY OWNERS AND A, UH, A WHOLE HOST OF, OF, OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, UH, TO MAKE SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPEN.
UH, BUT WE'VE GOT THE TIME, WE'VE GOT THE PLAN, AND I THINK YOUR QUESTION IS, UH, REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT, IT, IT SPEAKS TO THE VISION OF HOW CAN WE ACTUALLY MAKE IT HAPPEN? UH, AND IT'S TRUE THAT FOOTPRINT FROM HALCYON TO WHERE THE, UH, WHERE THE FORMER CROSSWALK WAS, UH, IS A SMALL FOOTPRINT AND IT GIVES US A, A GOOD LITTLE AREA TO, TO WORK WITH.
IN FACT, TO, TO CELEBRATE THE STREET CLOSURE, WE HAD TO CLOSE THE STREET TO CELEBRATE, UH, THE REMOVAL OF THE CROSSWALK AND THE INSTALLATION OF THE QUEER MARKER, UH, AND, AND WE SAW WHAT A BENEFIT THAT WAS WITH PEOPLE JUST WALKING AND, AND, AND GOING THROUGH THE WHOLE STREET.
IT REALLY, REALLY GAVE US KIND OF A, UH, AN EARLY, UH, I THINK, UH, A TEST DRIVE OF WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR OUR PRESENTER? ALL RIGHT.
SEEING NONE, I THINK THAT CONCLUDES OUR ITEM.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT TODAY AND PRESENTING TO US.
WE REALLY, TRULY APPRECIATE IT.
ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, THAT DOES TAKE US TO
[4. Discussion and approval of 2027 Urban Transportation Commission meeting dates. ]
OUR LONE ACTION ITEM FOR THIS MEETING, WHICH IS, UM, ITEM FOUR, DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL OF 2027 URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING DATES.UM, SO THESE DATES ARE IMPORTANT TO, UM, TO PASS BECAUSE UNTIL WE HAVE A SLATE OF MEETING DATES, NATALIE CAN'T BOOK US ROOMS. AND SO, UM, THE SOONER THAT WE GIVE HER OUR MEETING DATES, SHE CAN GO TRY TO BOOK US ROOMS. UM, JUST A REMINDER ON A COUPLE THINGS, UM, WHERE WE WILL, UM, ON, IN NOVEMBER, UM, PER...
I GUESS IT'S PER STATE LAW, YEAH, THAT WE'RE NOW...
OR IS IT CITY, CITY, CITY CODE? IT'S, IT'S A CITY, CITY RESOLUTION.
WE CANNOT MEET ON ELECTION DAY, SO, UM, WE'RE AVOIDING, UM, ELECTION DAY.
AND SO, UM, THIS COULD BE ADJUSTED BY US, BUT THE PROPOSAL IS FOR, UM, TO STILL MEET ON A TUESDAY, BUT JUST TO MEET ON THE SECOND TUESDAY INSTEAD OF THE FIRST TUESDAY AS USUAL.
UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES I DON'T NECESSARILY NOTICE ANY DAYS THAT ARE, LIKE, ARISING THAT ARE, LIKE, REALLY CONFLICTING WITH HOLIDAYS.
LIKE, SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, LIKE, JULY 4TH OR JULY 1ST, YOU KNOW, JANUARY 2ND OR SOMETHING, WE'VE TRIED TO AVOID THOSE DAYS AND WE'VE MOVED...
WE'VE ADJUSTED SOMETHING IF WE HAVE A CONCERN.
BUT, UM, I WOULD JUST INVITE Y'ALL TO LOOK OVER THESE PROPOSED DATES AND SEE IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS.
UH, PARTICULARLY THE NOVEMBER ALWAYS IS THE ONE, LIKE, I THINK THROUGH...
WE'VE ALWAYS GOTTEN TRIPPED UP
[01:25:01]
ON WHAT STATE HOLIDAYS WE CAN'T MEET ON.DO WE KNOW IF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY IS ONE, BECAUSE THAT'S MARCH 2ND? I KNOW THAT IT DOESN'T COUNT FOR TOMA.
THAT WAS WHERE WE GOT TRIPPED UP THE LAST TIME.
I CAN, I CAN FOLLOW UP ON THIS.
UM, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE'S ANY RULING AGAINST MEETING ON A STATE HOLIDAY.
UM, THE STATE HOLIDAYS DO NOT COUNT TOWARDS POSTING TIME THOUGH.
SO, UM, SAY THE HOLIDAY FALLS ON A MONDAY, I HAVE TO POST THAT A DAY EARLIER THE WEEK BEFORE TO MAKE SURE IT'S POSTED FOR THE, THE TIME ALLOTTED.
AND HONESTLY, IN OUR CONVERSATIONS, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO JUST POST SEVERAL DAYS EARLY ANYWAY, IN MANY CASES, JUST TO
BUT YES, UM, I MEAN, WE CAN DOUBLE CHECK THAT, BUT WE HAVE SOME TIME TO ADJUST, UM, WE CAN DOUBLE, IF WE HAD TO, NEEDED TO COME BACK AND READJUST THAT.
SO I'LL JUST READ THESE DATES.
IT'S JANUARY 5TH, 2027, FEBRUARY 2ND, MARCH 2ND, APRIL 6TH, MAY 4TH, JUNE 1ST, JULY 6TH, AUGUST 3RD, SEPTEMBER 7TH, OCTOBER 5TH, NOVEMBER 9TH, AND DECEMBER 7TH.
AND THOSE ARE ALL FIRST TUESDAYS EXCEPT FOR THE NOVEMBER DATE, I BELIEVE.
I WAS JUST GONNA FLAG THAT JULY 6TH, RIGHT AFTER 4TH OF JULY, AND SEPTEMBER 7TH RIGHT AFTER LABOR DAY MIGHT BE ONES TO WATCH, BUT...
WE HAVE OCCASIONALLY MOVED THE JULY ONE.
I DON'T KNOW IF I FEEL SO COMPELLED.
IT IS A LITTLE BIT CLOSER THAN USUAL.
SO JULY 4TH IS THE, THE SUNDAY.
I DON'T, I PERSONALLY DON'T...
AT UT, I DON'T GET IT IF IT'S NOT ON A WEEKDAY.
UM, I FEEL LIKE WHEN WE DID MOVE IT, I THINK ONE YEAR WE HAD EVEN LESS ATTENDANCE.
THAT'S BEEN THE CONCERN SOMETIMES, IS THAT PEOPLE...
SO IF I CAN SUGGEST TOO, UM, IF YOU, IF WE'RE GOOD WITH THESE DATES, YOU CAN ALWAYS PASS IT AS SUCH.
AND THEN AS WE GET CLOSER AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT QUORUM, UM, CONCERNS, WE COULD ALWAYS DO SPECIAL CALLED MEETINGS AND, AND CANCEL IF NECESSARY.
AND, AND WE COULD ALWAYS GET BACK ON AND VOTE TO CHANGE A DATE.
UM, IT'S, IT IS HARDER TO GET ROOMS WHEN WE'RE OUT OFF OF OUR NORMAL, NORMAL TIME.
LIKE ANYTHING THAT'S NOT THE FIRST TUESDAY IS A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT.
LIKE I WORK THROUGH IT, NO PROBLEM.
UM, BUT IT CAN, IT CAN PROVE A LITTLE BIT MORE TROUBLESOME.
AND JUST FOR EVERYONE'S INFORMATION, WE USUALLY DON'T HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM, UM, GETTING THIS ROOM IN, UM, CITY HALL, THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM, EXCEPT DURING BUDGET SEASON.
UM, OFTEN WE HAVE A CHALLENGE AROUND THAT TIME IF THERE'S BUDGET MEETINGS, UM, AND EXTRA COUNCIL WORK MEETINGS AROUND THE BUDGET.
IN THOSE TIMES WHERE WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BOOK THIS ROOM, UM, USUALLY WHAT I'VE TOLD NATALIE, WHAT I'VE EXPERIENCED FROM THE COMMISSION IS I THINK OUR NEXT BEST CHOICE THAT PEOPLE LIKE SEEMS TO BE THE AUSTIN ENERGY SPACE OVER IN THE MUELLER NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND THEN THE SECOND PLACE WOULD BE THE, UM, PDC, THE, THAT PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER OVER BY HIGHLAND, UH, MALL CAMPUS, UM, HIGHLAND ACC.
I THINK THAT'S OUR THIRD CHOICE.
SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW I RANK THEM, UM, WHEN I SPEAK WITH HER.
BUT IF YOU EVER HAVE ANY FEEDBACK, YOU'RE ALWAYS WELCOME TO ALSO SHARE WITH ME YOUR PERSONAL PREFERENCES OF MEETING SPACES, BUT THAT'S KIND OF HOW I'VE BEEN RANKING THEM.
UM, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION OF THESE MEETING DATES? IF NONE, SEEING, HEARING NO FURTHER FEEDBACK, WELL, I MEAN, WE STILL CAN HAVE FURTHER FEEDBACK.
I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE APPROVAL OF THESE DATES.
LOOKING AROUND, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT.
I'M GONNA, UM, UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY AYE.
AND SO, UM, NATALIE WILL, UM, WORK ON BOOKING THOSE ROOMS. AND IF SHE DOES RUN INTO...
LIKE IF SHE LITERALLY CAN'T BOOK A SPACE OR SOMETHING, THEN SHE WILL COME TO US WITH THAT AS WELL AND WE WOULD WORK THROUGH THAT.
BUT, UM, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE DOING THIS IN ADVANCE ENOUGH THAT WE SHOULD BE OKAY THERE.
CAN I ASK, UH, JUST ON A RELATED NOTE, ARE WE MEETING ON THIS COMING ELECTION DAY NEXT MONTH OR IS IT MOVED TO WEDNESDAY? IT IS - THAT WILL BE ON TUESDAY THE 10TH.
SO WE MOVED IT TO THE SECOND TUESDAY AND THAT MEETING WILL BE AT THE PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER.
THANK YOU FOR, UM, SHARING THAT.
THAT'S A GOOD REMINDER TO ME BECAUSE I HAVE HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF SHOWING UP HERE WHEN WE ARE ACTUALLY AT PDC, SO.
[01:30:01]
NOT REPEAT MY MISTAKES.[5. Update from Commissioner Chen from the Downtown Commission regarding actions taken at the August 19, 2026, and September 16, 2026, meetings. ]
OUR COMMITTEE UPDATES.UM, SO, UM, UH, I WILL RUN THROUGH THESE.
UM, ITEM FIVE IS AN UPDATE FROM COMMISSIONER CHEN FROM THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE, UH, AUGUST 19TH, 2026 AND SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2026 MEETINGS.
UH, SO FOR THE PREVIOUS MEETING, TWO ACTIONS WERE TAKEN.
THE FIRST ONE WAS TO RECOMMEND THE CITY COUNCIL TO TAKE ALL ACTION NEC - ALL ACTIONS NECESSARY FOR FIVE THINGS.
UH, THE FIRST ONE SUPPORTING SUSTAINED DEVELOPMENT IN ENERGY, EMERGENCY SHELTER CAPACITY, PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AND DIVERSION PROGRAMS THAT MOVE PEOPLE FROM DOWNTOWN STREETS INTO STABLE HOUSING AND CARE.
TWO, EXPANDING FUNDING FOR PSYCHIATRIC CRISIS CARE BEDS, STEP DOWN BEDS IN LONG-TERM CARE.
THREE, EXPANDING IN VOLUNTARY COMMITMENT AUTHORITY TO PSYCHIATRISTS, PHYSICIANS, AND THEIR DELEGATES.
FOUR, THAT APD INCREASE AND MAINTAIN DOWNTOWN AREA STAFFING TO A MINIMUM OF 90% OF THE APPROVED LEVEL.
AND FIVE, THAT CITY OF AUSTIN ENFORCED MORE STRONGLY PANHANDLING ORDINANCE 9413 AND THE SIT LIE ORDINANCE 9414.
THAT ONE WAS PASSED UNANIMOUS OF ALL PRESENT.
AND A SECOND RECOMMENDATION, UH, ASKING CITY MANAGER TO AUTHORIZE ABOUT $82,000, $81,000 FOR THE PURCHASE OF TWO MERIDIAN ARCHER RAPID GATES.
THE APD CAN BASICALLY BLOCK OFF STREETS MORE EFFECTIVELY.
UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T HAVE AN UPDATE FROM THE SEPTEMBER ONE, SO, UM, YEAH, I CAN COME BACK NEXT MONTH WITH ONE FOR THAT.
[6. Update from Commissioner Prasad from the Joint Sustainability Committee regarding actions taken at the August 26, 2026, and September 23, 2026, meetings.]
UM, IS UPDATE FROM COMMISSIONER...NO, ITEM SIX, UPDATE FOR COMMISSIONER PRASAD FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE AUGUST 26TH, 2026 AND SEPTEMBER 23RD, 2026 MEETINGS.
COMMISSIONER PRASAD IS NOT HERE, SO I ASSUME WE HAVE NO UPDATE FOR THAT.
[7. Update from Commissioner Schumacher from the Bicycle Advisory Council regarding actions taken at the August 18, 2026, and September 15, 2026, meetings. ]
UM, UPDATE FROM COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER FROM THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE AUGUST 18TH, 2026 AND SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2026 MEETINGS.SO, UM, ONE ITEM TO UPDATE ON THE SEPTEMBER 15TH MEETING, WHICH WAS A, A JOINT MEETING WITH THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL.
UM, OBVIOUSLY OUR, UH, BYLAW AMENDMENTS WERE PASSED BY CITY COUNCIL, I THINK, LAST MONTH.
UM, SO THE PAC AND BAC ARE NOW GOING THROUGH AND DOING THEIRS, WHICH DEFINES THE ROLE OF THE UTC LIAISON WITHIN THE PAC AND BAC.
UH, THEY HAVE TO PA- PASS ALL BYLAW AMENDMENTS TWICE.
SO THEY STARTED THE PROCESS, IT'LL FINISH IN OCTOBER.
UM, BUT NOW THE, UM, PAC AND BAC LIAISONS WILL OFFICIALLY BE MEMBERS OF THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION...
OR SORRY, LET ME REPHRASE THAT.
THE UTC LIAISONS WILL NOW OFFICIALLY BE MEMBERS OF THE PAC AND BAC AND CAN PARTICIPATE LIKE A MEMBER, UM, WHICH SHOULD BE GOOD GOING FORWARD.
UM, THAT BRINGS US TO ITEM EIGHT,
[8. Update from Commissioner Kavelman from the Pedestrian Advisory Council regarding actions taken at the August 3, 2026, and September 15, 2026, meetings. ]
UPDATE FOR COMMISSIONER CAVALMAN FROM THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE AUGUST 3RD, 2026 AND SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2026 MEETINGS.UH, THERE WERE NO ACTIONS AT THE AUGUST 3RD MEETING AND THEN IT WAS THE SAME MEETING AS THE BAC.
THERE WERE NO ACTIONS AT THE AUGUST 3RD MEETING TAKEN AND IT WAS THE SAME MEETING AS THE BAC FOR SEPTEMBER.
[9. Update from Chair Somers from the Community Advisory Committee of the Austin Transit Partnership Board regarding actions taken at the August 13, 2026, and September 10, 2026, meetings.]
TO ITEM, UM, NUMBER NINE, WHICH IS UPDATE FROM MYSELF, CHAIR SUMMERS FROM THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE AUGUST 13TH, 2026 AND SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2026 MEETINGS.UM, WE HAD A BUDGET RECOMMENDATION.
UM, SO, UM, THE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN BUDGET PROCESS WAS LONG FINISHED AND HOW THE PROJECT CONNECT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE CAN ENGAGE WITH CITY BUDGET IS A WORK IN PROGRESS.
AS WE KNOW, YOU HAVE TO GET STARTED REALLY, REALLY, REALLY EARLY.
UM, BUT, UH, THERE'S ACTUALLY MORE OPPORTUNITY TO INFLUENCE THE CAP METRO AND THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BUDGETS FAIRLY LATE.
SO WE DID PASS A BUDGET RECOMMENDATION AT THE LAST MEETING.
THE OTHER THING THAT MIGHT BE WORTH CHECKING OUT IF YOU WANNA WATCH ONE OF OUR PRESENTATIONS, WE, UM, THE PUBLIC ART PROGRAM FOR PROJECT CONNECT, UM, NOW HAS STAFFING AND THEY ARE BEGINNING THEIR PROCESS.
AND SO, UM, THEY HAVE A LOT OF REALLY GREAT IDEAS THAT ACTUALLY ECHO SOME OF THE PRESENTATION WE JUST HEARD.
I THOUGH THERE COULD BE SYNERGY THAT WOULD COME THROUGH BECAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE A VERY ROBUST PUBLIC ART PROGRAM THAT GOES ALONG WITH PROJECT CONNECT AS WELL.
SO, UM, YOU MIGHT CHECK OUT THAT PRESENTATION.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
US THROUGH ALL OF OUR ITEMS INTO DISCUSSION OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. NORMALLY, WE'RE USED TO HAVING SORT OF A DOCKET LIST OF THINGS,[01:35:01]
BUT NATALIE AND I BOTH AGREED THAT OUR LIST WAS PRETTY STALE.THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS IN THAT LIST THAT I THINK ARE NO LONGER POSSIBLE FUTURE ITEMS. SO, UM, SHE'S GONNA READ OUT WHAT SHE HAS AND THEN WE'LL GET WORK TOWARDS HAVING SORT OF A NEW RUNNING LIST.
BUT OF COURSE, WE, ANYTHING, WE'RE GONNA WELCOME MORE INPUT AS YOU GIVE THOSE.
CAN YOU LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW, NATALIE? YEAH.
SO CURRENTLY LOOKING, UM, OUT TO THE END OF 2026, UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT, UH, ETOD UPDATE ON RIVERSIDE, UM, A MOBILITY HUBS UPDATE POTENTIALLY, UH, THE 7TH STREET PER THAT WE DISCUSSED, AS WELL AS A VISION ZERO UPDATE.
UM, THERE IS A REQUEST IN TO PUBLIC SAFETY FOR THE APD PRESENTATIONS.
UM, HAD STARTED THAT CONVERSATION.
UM, FEW THINGS HAPPENED THAT I THINK WILL SLOW THAT CONVERSATION ON MY END, BUT I'LL KEEP PUSHING THROUGH, UM, AND DEFINITELY OPEN TO OTHER ITEMS. DO, DO WE HAVE A, A TIMELINE ON WHEN THE 7TH STREET PER WILL BE READY FOR OUR EYES ON IT? SO RIGHT NOW, UM, IT'S SOUNDING LIKE DECEMBER MAY WORK, UM, BUT I'M NOT...
IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY PENCILED IN CURRENTLY.
IT IS NOT, IT IS NOT WRITTEN IN PEN.
AND IT'S PROBABLY ALSO A GOOD TIME TO, UH, TELL THE REST OF THE COMMISSION THAT THE, THE DOGSHEAD, UH, ITEM HAS BEEN PUSHED TO MARCH PER A MEMO TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
SO WE'VE GOT PLENTY OF TIME ON THAT.
YES, LOTS OF TIME, TIME ON DOGSHEAD.
AND IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHY OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING WAS CANCELED, WE HAD...
WE'RE GOING TO DEVOTE IT ALMOST ENTIRELY TO THAT DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND, UM, DUE TO THAT BEING SO DRASTICALLY POSTPONED, WE DIDN'T...
WE COULDN'T GET ANY OTHER ITEMS IN TIME, BASICALLY, UM, STAN - STOOD UP.
SO, UM, WE'LL TAKE THAT UP IN THE SPRING.
UM, UH, WE'VE SAID 7TH STREET PER A FEW TIMES.
WHAT IS PER? SO, UH, PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT.
IS THAT FOR THE POTENTIAL CHANGING DIRECTIONS OR MAKING IT TWO-WAY? YES.
I WAS ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT THAT.
I THINK ANOTHER THING THAT I HAD, I'LL JUST...
NATALIE AND I DISCUSSED THIS, BUT, LIKE, A REPORT ON, UM, I-35 SAFETY DURING CONSTRUCTION OR...
DID WE RETIRE THAT ONE, NATALIE? CAN YOU REMIND ME? NOT QUITE.
ANY OTHER ITEMS? YEAH, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ.
UM, I THINK THE SOUTH 183 WAS SOMEWHERE ON YOUR LIST.
THEY'RE NOT MOVING FORWARD RIGHT NOW, BUT I'M ON, I'M ON THEIR LIST THAT IF THEY DO MOVE FORWARD, HOPEFULLY THEY'LL REACH OUT AND IF THEY DON'T, AS SOON AS I SEE MOVEMENT, I WILL.
ANYTHING ELSE LOOKING AROUND? JUST A REMINDER THAT IF ANYTHING ARISES, YOU KNOW, IN BETWEEN A MEETING, WE JUST NEED TWO COMMISSIONERS TO SPONSOR.
I'M, I'M OFTEN GAME TO CO-SPONSOR SOMETHING, SO YOU'RE WELCOME TO REACH OUT IF THAT'S THE CASE.
WELL, THAT DOES TAKE US THROUGH THE END OF OUR AGENDA, AND SO SEEING NO OBJECTION, I'LL GO AHEAD AND ADJOURN THIS MEETING AT 6:47 PM.