[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:04]
AND WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION MEETING.
AND LET ME PULL UP THE GENERALLY QUICK, I THINK THE FIRST AGENDA ITEM IS, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK OR, OKAY, GREAT.
AND, UM, DO WE, DO WE NORMALLY CALL ROLL AS YOU START? OKAY.
[2. Approval of Minutes of the September 16, 2020 Meeting Minutes]
HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK OVER THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING AND DO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THOSE MINUTES?LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO OUR
[3. State of Downtown]
NEXT AGENDA ITEM.AND ARE WE HAVING A PRESENTATION? ARE YOU THERE?
THERE IS OUR PRESENTATION AND JANELL IS ON.
UM, SO I'M NOT USED TO WEBEX, GIVE ME A SECOND HERE.
SO FIRST OF ALL, CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME? CAN I GET A THUMBS UP OR SOMETHING? YES.
BEN AND JENNIFER AND I AM LOOKING AT A SLIDE THAT IS AN AERIAL SHOT OF DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, AND IT'S A STATE OF DOWNTOWN UPDATE.
DO OTHER PEOPLE SEE THAT? YES.
I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF URBAN DESIGN FOR THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE.
I'M ALSO ON THE CALL IS MY COLLEGE AND L MOFFITT, OUR DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS.
OH, I ACTUALLY START MY VIDEO.
I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING I WASN'T DOING.
[00:05:01]
AND SO, UH, WE W WE WERE INVITED TODAY TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE STATE OF DOWNTOWN, UH, JENELLE.AND I DID THIS, I DON'T REMEMBER HOW MANY MONTHS BACK IT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, COVID HAS JUST DESTROYED ALL SENSE OF TIME.
UM, BUT WE HAD ORIGINALLY PRESENTED A STATE OF DOWNTOWN REPORT TO THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, UH, THAT OUTLINED, UH, WHAT WE CONSIDER TO BE THE INDICATORS AND THE ISSUES AND THE TOPICS, UH, THAT MAKE UP THE STATE OF DOWNTOWN.
IT'S A RE IT'S A REPORT OR A SERIES OF REPORTS, OR A SERIES OF INDICATORS THAT WE TRACK AND MONITOR.
AND, UH, TODAY WE'RE GOING TO PROVIDE A SNAPSHOT OF THE STATE OF DOWNTOWN, BUT WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THIS THROUGH THE LENS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, UH, AND THE IMPACT THAT IT HAS HAD UPON DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.
UH, SO HOW ARE WE ADVANCING SLIDES ON THIS? DO I JUST SAY NEXT OR ANYONE? OKAY.
I'LL JUST SAY NEXT THING WE NEED TO SAY NEXT.
SO LET ME FIRST DRESS, UM, HOW WE, THE DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE APPROACHED, UH, THIS IMPACT, UH, THE IMPACT OF THIS PANDEMIC, UH, BACK IN THE SPRING, WHEN THE LOCKDOWN HAPPENED, WHEN THE STAY AT HOME ORDERS WERE RELEASED, UH, THERE WAS A MASS EXODUS, UM, ALL OF A SUDDEN DOWNTOWN WENT FROM A BUSTLING, UH, THRIVING 24 SEVEN ENVIRONMENT TO AN ENVIRONMENT THAT FELT RATHER CABANISS AND A BIT CAVERNOUS AND A BIT GHOST TOWN, UH, BECAUSE PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THE DAYTIME EMPLOYEES IN DOWNTOWN, UH, STARTED WORKING FROM HOME AND A LOT OF THE HOSPITALITY AND RESTAURANT AND ENTERTAINMENT ESTABLISHMENTS, UH, EITHER WEREN'T GETTING CUSTOMERS WERE SHUTTING DOWN.
UH, AND SO WE HAD A VERY DRASTIC CHANGE IN DOWNTOWN.
UM, WE IMMEDIATELY WENT INTO CRISIS MANAGEMENT MODE AND, UH, WE DECIDED THAT THE BEST WAY THAT WE CAN HELP SERVE THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY IN THIS CRISIS WAS TO HELP EVERYONE STAY SAFE, INFORMED, AND CONNECTED.
UH, SO THIS IS A FRAMEWORK ON THIS SLIDE THAT YOU SEE THAT WE CONSTRUCTED TO HELP US UNDERSTAND, UH, WAYS TO APPROACH, UH, TRYING TO MITIGATE THE DAMAGE FROM THIS PANDEMIC.
SO WE'VE GOT, UH, DIFFERENT ELEMENTS AND FOCUS AND GEOGRAPHIES AND TIMEFRAMES HERE, AND THE RESPONSE RECOVERY RESILIENCY.
AND THOSE ARE A LOT OF TERMS THAT WE'VE SEEN OTHER DOWNTOWNS USE.
THOSE HAVE BECOME SOMEWHAT COMMON IN, UM, WATCHING CITIES ADDRESS THIS IMPACT.
UM, WE FEEL LIKE THIS IS SOMEWHAT LINEAR AND YET THEY ARE, THEY ARE ALSO OVERLAPPING.
SO RESPONSE IS WHAT WE DECIDED TO CALL SORT OF OUR IMMEDIATE MITIGATION, THE INFORMATION THAT WE WERE LOOKING TO PUT OUT THE WAY THAT WE WERE GOING TO TRY TO COMMUNICATE, UM, TO THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY, UM, RECOVERY IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE JUST REALLY BE DONE AND I'LL GET INTO THAT LATER.
UH, BUT THAT IS LOOKING AT WHEN CAN WE START TO DEFINE WHAT RECOVERY LOOKS LIKE? WHEN DOES IT START? AND THEN WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO, TO BEGIN TO CALL SOME SORT OF MEASURE OF SUCCESS RECOVERY, AND THEN RESILIENCY? UH, WE FEEL LIKE, UH, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT THIS PANDEMIC HAS GIVEN US TO TRY TO CREATE A MORE RESILIENT DOWNTOWN.
AND I THINK THERE WAS ALSO A COMMUNITY-WIDE AND CITYWIDE, UM, DESIRE TO, TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY AND CREATE MORE RESILIENCY IN OUR COMMUNITY IN MANY, MANY WAYS, ECONOMICALLY, SOCIALLY ENVIRONMENTALLY.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING TO BE RESILIENT, WE'RE LOOKING TO BE EQUITABLE, WE'RE LOOKING TO BE INCLUSIVE.
UM, AND SO THIS IS JUST A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF HOW WE TRIED TO LAY THINGS OUT, UM, TOO, AS AN APPROACH.
UH, THE FIRST THINGS WE DID WAS, UH, WE SORT OF RECONSTRUCTED OUR WEBSITE TO REALLY HIGHLIGHT INFORMATION ABOUT COVID-19.
UM, WE CREATED, UH, TWO PAGES, ONE THAT FOCUSED ON UPDATES AND RESOURCES, UM, WITH AS MUCH REAL TIME UPDATE INFORMATION, AS WE COULD FIND BACK IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS PANDEMIC, THERE WAS SO MUCH CONFUSION JUST NAVIGATING THE INFORMATION THAT WAS BEING PUT OUT EVERY DAY WAS A FULL-TIME JOB.
AND WE TRIED TO REALLY BE A FILTER AND A CLEARING HOUSE AND A CONDUIT FOR THE BEST INFORMATION, MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION FOR THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY.
UM, AND AS THE, AS TIME HAS GONE ON, UH, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BEGIN TO ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT
[00:10:01]
REFLECT UPON AND, AND LOOK AT HOW TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF THIS PANDEMIC ON DOWNTOWN.AND SO WE HAVE A NEW PAGE, UH, THAT IS ATTEMPTING TO ADDRESS THE ECONOMIC IMPACT AND THE HOPEFUL, HOPEFULLY SOMEDAY WE'LL GET TO ASSUME THAT STUDENTS SAY RECOVERY FOR DOWNTOWN FROM THIS PANDEMIC.
SO I URGE YOU TO CHECK OUT THOSE TWO WEB PAGES ON OUR WEBSITE NEXT.
SO I'M GOING TO QUICKLY GO THROUGH, UM, SOME OF THE WAYS THAT WE ADDRESSED THE PANDEMIC, UH, IN TERMS OF RESPONDING, UH, FIRST CLEAN AND SAFE.
UH, OUR DOWNTOWN AMBASSADORS IMMEDIATELY AMPED UP THEIR, UH, CLEAN AND SAFE MEASURES, BEGAN WIPING DOWN AND DISINFECTING, AND JUST REALLY GIVING THE, THE STREETSCAPES OF DOWNTOWN A MORE THOROUGH CLEANING THAN THEY WOULD HAVE EVER GOTTEN.
UH, AND EVEN THOUGH OUR, OUR AMBASSADORS DO A REALLY GOOD JOB OF KEEPING THINGS CLEAN, THEY TOOK IT TO A WHOLE OTHER LEVEL BECAUSE THEY, THEY WANTED PEOPLE TO COME DOWNTOWN AND TO BE ABLE TO FEEL LIKE THEY COULD SIT ON A BENCH, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD MAKE CONTACT WITH THE STREET LIGHT, THEY COULD TOUCH A DOOR HANDLE, UM, YOU KNOW, AND KNOW THAT SOMEONE WAS LOOKING OUT FOR THE CLEANLINESS.
UM, ALSO WORKING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, UH, TO JUST ADDRESS ANY AND ALL PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES.
WE WORKED CLOSELY WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE CITY INFORMATION DEPARTMENTS TO STAY AWARE OF ALL OF THE PROTESTS, UH, AND DID A LOT OF CLEANING UP BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER THE PROTEST, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, DAMAGE WAS TAKEN CARE OF AND TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT DOWNTOWN WAS READY FOR THE PROTEST READY FOR THE CROWDS, IF THEY DID SHOW UP.
UM, AND I, I DO JUST WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT AND SAY THAT THIS PRESENTATION IS REALLY MEANT TO LOOK AT THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC.
UM, MOSTLY THROUGH AN ECONOMIC LENS.
UM, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S A WHOLE LOT GOING ON AND THAT HAS GONE ON THE LAST SIX MONTHS.
UM, AND WE CERTAINLY DON'T HAVE TIME TO COVER ALL OF THE TOPICS THAT YOU COULD COVER IN, IN THE, THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO DOWNTOWN SINCE THE IMPACT, BUT WE'RE REALLY GONNA FOCUS ON ECONOMICS NOW, AND THEN WE CAN TAKE QUESTIONS, BUT WHAT OTHER INFORMATION YOU MIGHT WANT LATER? UH, WE'VE TRIED TO ACTIVATE, UM, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF THINGS WITH REPUBLIC SQUARE ON WHATEVER WE COULD DO THAT WAS STILL IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE MAYOR'S ORDERS AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH BEST PRACTICES.
UH, WE'VE TRIED TO PROVIDE SAFE ACTIVATIONS IN REPUBLIC SQUARE, SO YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE HERE, HERE'S SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE.
UH, WE'VE GOT THE FALL FITNESS SERIES, UH, BACK.
UM, IT'S BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL THUS FAR.
WE'VE GOT SOCIALLY DISTANCE YOGA AND FITNESS CLASSES.
UH, WE'RE REALLY HOPING TO BRING SOME LIFE BACK TO DOWNTOWN IN THE SAFEST POSSIBLE WAY THIS FALL AND INTO THE HOLIDAY SEASON.
UH, SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO HAVE, UH, MORE OF A STREET MARKET, UH, VIBE, NOT CROWDED, NOT, YOU KNOW, NOT VIOLATING ANY OF THE ORDERS, UH, BUT BEING ABLE TO GIVE PEOPLE A PLACE TO COME TO HOLIDAY SHOP, WHERE THEY WOULDN'T NORMALLY BE ABLE TO HOLIDAY SHOP IN OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT WE WANT TO DO IT IN THE SAFEST POSSIBLE WAY.
AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, UM, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND SEVERAL OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS ON THE SHOP, THE BLOCK PROGRAM, TRYING TO PROMOTE THAT PROGRAM TO BUSINESSES AND ALSO HELP BE A LIAISON AND, UM, CONVEY ANY CHALLENGES OR BARRIERS OR CONCERNS THAT ARE THAT'S COMING UP AS THEIR FRIEND WHO UTILIZE THAT PROGRAM TO BRING THEIR BUSINESS OUT ONTO THE STREETS, UH, AND HELP GENERATE SOME REVENUE NEXT.
SO RESEARCH, UM, IMMEDIATELY EVERYONE WAS STARVED FOR DATA AND STARVED FOR INFORMATION WHAT'S HAPPENING.
WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHO KNOWS WHAT'S HAPPENING WELL, YOU GOT TO GO FIGURE IT OUT.
AND, UH, IN MANY WAYS, DATA BECAME INCREDIBLY HARD TO COME BY, UH, AS SOON AS THE PANDEMIC HIT.
AND SO WE HAD TO SORT OF RECONSTRUCT OUR METHODOLOGIES.
WE HAD TO TRY TO FIND WAYS TO JUST UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN DOWNTOWN.
UH, WE IMMEDIATELY IDENTIFIED THAT THE RETAIL AND THE STOREFRONTS AND THE SMALL BUSINESSES WERE BEING HIT THE HARDEST.
AND SO WE DID SOME OUTREACH TO THOSE FOLKS AND WE GENERATED A REPORT THAT HELPED TO CAPTURE WHAT THEY WERE GOING THROUGH AND THE ISSUES THEY WERE FACING.
UH, AND TO TRY TO QUANTIFY THAT WITH SOME DATA AND FIND THAT REPORT ON OUR WEBSITE.
UM, WE ALSO DID SOME OUTREACH TO PROPERTY MANAGERS BECAUSE THE QUESTION OF WHEN WILL PEOPLE COME BACK TO THE OFFICES, ARE THEY GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK FROM HOME? WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF, OF THE HUNDREDS OF, OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND NINE TO FIVE WORKERS THAT YOU TYPICALLY SEE DOWNTOWN? AND THAT'S NOT EVEN SPEAKING ABOUT THE OTHER SHIFTS OF WORKERS, YOU KNOW, THE NIGHT TIME ECONOMY AND HOW IT WAS BEING AFFECTED TOO.
[00:15:01]
SO WE TRIED TO DO SOME OUTREACH AND JUST HAVE CONVERSATIONS AND QUANTIFY THE DATA THAT WE RECEIVED, UH, IN SOME REPORTS.UM, I TALKED A LITTLE BIT WITH ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS.
WE'VE ALSO HAD A LOT OF MEDIA ATTENTION.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE MEDIA ON TRYING TO HELP, UH, EVERYONE STAY INFORMED OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN DOWNTOWN.
WE PROMOTED THE MASS BRAND CAMPAIGN THAT WAS CREATED BY THE OPENING CENTRAL TEXAS TASK FORCE.
UM, AND, UH, WE ALSO CREATED AN ECONOMIC RECOVERY INDEX, WHICH I WILL GET TO IN JUST A SECOND NEXT, EXCUSE ME, WHILE I COUGH.
I'M OF COURSE JUST GOT A FROG IN MY THROAT.
SO ADVOCACY, UM, AS WE WERE BEGINNING TO IDENTIFY THE ISSUES AND THE CHALLENGES THAT SOME OF THE BUSINESS OWNERS WERE FACING BECAUSE OF THIS PANDEMIC, UH, WE TRIED TO IMMEDIATELY, UH, TAKE ACTION AND, UH, SHARE INFORMATION AND, UM, WORK WITH BOTH THE CITY AND PARTNERING ORGANIZATIONS, UH, AT ALL LEVELS, LOCAL REGIONAL STATE, FEDERAL TO TRY TO IDENTIFY WHERE WERE THE MOST CRITICAL NEEDS, AND THEN MATCH THOSE WITH THE POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCES AND THE POTENTIAL FEDERAL MONEY THAT WAS COMING LOCAL MONEY THAT WAS COMING IN QUESTIONS ABOUT STATE MONEY.
SO WE JUST TRIED TO BE LIKE, SORT OF MATCHMAKERS IN HELPING THE CITY UNDERSTAND WHERE THE NEEDS WERE.
SO WE WROTE SOME LETTERS TO COUNCIL AND WE TRIED TO SHARE OUR DATA, UH, TO HELP CONVEY WHERE THE CRITICAL NEEDS WERE AND TO HELP, UH, REFLECT WHAT WAS ACTUALLY HAPPENING IN DOWNTOWN.
UM, AND THEN IN, IN LOCAL EFFORTS, UH, WE'VE BEEN AT THE TABLE AT, FOR THE OPENING CENTRAL TEXAS TASK FORCE, UH, THE CURRENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENTS ACROSS LIKE THE FOCUS GROUP, UH, AND ARROWS, UM, RESILIENCE EFFORTS.
AND SO WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS, ADDITIONALLY, UH, WITH DIFFERENT DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATIONS ACROSS THE STATE AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO WE'VE REALLY BEEN TRYING TO MONITOR WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN OTHER DOWNTOWNS TO CALIBRATE THAT WITH THE EXPERIENCE THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING NEXT, THIS SLIDE TRIES TO CAPTURE SOME OF THE MOST UNIQUE OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE CHALLENGE THAT YOU UNIQUE CHALLENGES, THINGS WE'VE OBSERVED ABOUT HOW DOWNTOWNS ARE GOING THROUGH A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SITUATION THAN OTHER PARTS OF THE CITIES.
UM, ESPECIALLY FOR DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, IT'S OUR MAJOR TOURISM DESTINATION, AND OUR TOURISM IS JUST DROPS.
UH, IT'S OUR LARGEST EMPLOYMENT CENTER AND THE DAYTIME WORKERS HAVE DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY.
SO THE TWO BIGGEST SECTORS OF CONSUMERS THAT OUR DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES RELY ON HAVE BEEN GONE, AND THAT HAS REALLY IMPACTED THEIR BUSINESS.
AND YOU'VE HAD A LOT OF BUSINESSES CLOSE.
UM, SO THE POINT RED IS THAT UNTIL THE EMPLOYEES RETURN AND OR TOURISM INCREASES, UH, THEY WILL CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO HELP DRAW LOCALS, TO TRY TO COME BACK DOWNTOWN, TO GENERATE SOME REVENUE FOR THEM, AND TO TRY TO BE AS PREPARED AS POSSIBLE SO THAT WHEN THE TOURISM AND THE DAYTIME WORKERS DO COME BACK, THAT THEY'RE INFORMED, THEY WILL FEEL SAFE.
UH, AND THAT WE REALLY TRY TO MAKE DOWNTOWN FEEL ACTIVE, ACTIVATED, UH, SO CRITICAL EFFORTS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, UH, LEAD INCLUDE MARKETING FOR THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE OPEN, UH, AND ALSO LOOKING MORE LONG-TERM WHAT ARE THE RESILIENT LAND USE MIXERS? WHAT ARE THE RESILIENT TYPES OF SERVICES AND GROUND FOR SHOPS AND, AND RETAIL, UH, SERVICES THAT WE NEED SO THAT DOWNTOWN CAN BE MORE OF A COMPLETE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, THE NEXT TIME A CRISIS HITS THE REASON THAT DOWNTOWN HAS BEEN SO DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY IS THAT, UH, WHILE YOU CAN DRIVE UP TO HYDE PARK AND SEE PARKING LOTS, FULL PEOPLE GOING IN AND OUT OF THE STORES, YOU DON'T SEE THAT AS MUCH DOWNTOWN.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON, ONE OF THE PHENOMENONS OF THIS PANDEMIC IS THAT PEOPLE FEEL SAFER DOING MORE RETAIL AND SERVICE BASED ACTIVITIES, CLOSE TO HOME WHERE THEY CAN IMMEDIATELY GET OUT OF THEIR CAR.
I'D HAVE TO BE IN AN ELEVATOR AND NOT HAVE TO BE IN A LOBBY.
AND THE DENSITY AND THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT DOWNTOWN HAS PROVEN DIFFICULT, DISADVANTAGE THEM NEXT.
THIS IS A NEW TOOL THAT WE CREATED VERY RECENTLY.
UM, IT'S CALLED THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY INDEX, AND THIS IS A REFLECTION OF THE TOP INDICATORS THAT WE HAVE BEEN WATCHING OVER THE PAST SEVEN MONTHS THAT WE BELIEVE WILL SHOW US, OR WILL BE IMPORTANT INDICATORS TO HELP GUIDE US FORWARD.
WHAT IS RECOVERY, ARE WE RECOVERING FROM THIS PANDEMIC? AND SO YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE THINGS LIKE HOTEL ROOM, OCCUPANCY, FOOT TRAFFIC, UH, TRANSIT, RIDERSHIP, CONSUMER SPENDING, UH, RENTS IN THE, IN THE MULTIFAMILY SECTOR AND RENTS IN THE OFFICE SECTOR,
[00:20:01]
UH, AND UNEMPLOYMENT.AND YOU CAN SEE WE'VE INDICATED WITH THE COLORS, WHERE WERE WE PRE PANDEMIC? SO WHAT WAS THE 2019 LEVEL? WHERE ARE WE NOW? AND THEN WHAT'S BEEN THE WORST.
WHAT'S BEEN THE LOWEST OR THE MOST SEVERE, UH, LEVEL FOR EACH OF THESE INDICATORS IN 2020.
AND IF YOU GO TO OUR WEBSITE, AND IF YOU HOVER OVER THESE CHARTS, THEY ARE INTERACTIVE AND THEY WILL BRING UP ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT.
UH, AND THAT'S PART OF THE LITTLE CIRCLE THAT SAYS TREND CHART.
SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF A DEEP DIVE INTO THIS DATA AND JENELLE MOFFITT IS GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU, UM, SOME OF THESE INDICATORS THAT WE ARE TRACKING.
UM, YEAH, JUST TO PICK UP OFF OF THE INDEX AND WHAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DO IS UNDERSTAND WHAT THE DIP LOOKS LIKE, THE, THE MAJOR IMPACT, AND WE ARE VERY HOPEFUL THAT DOWNTOWN WILL RETURN AND WILL RECOVER.
WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN, AND WE DON'T KNOW HOW SO HAVING SORT OF THIS INDEX TO LOOK AT MONTHLY INDICATORS AND COMPARE IT TO AUSTIN, IF WE CAN, OR COMPARE TO OTHER GEOGRAPHIES, IF WE CAN TO COMPARE IT TO THE LOWEST POINT OR THE HIGHEST POINT, UM, IS REALLY THE GOAL OF THIS, OF THIS EFFORT.
UM, WE PLAN TO ADD MORE MEASURES.
AND SO I WILL GO QUICKLY THROUGH SOME OF THE, THE AREAS THAT WE ARE MONITORING, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE TYPES OF DATA THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
SO THE NEXT FEW SLIDES WILL BE MORE TRADITIONAL STATE OF DOWNTOWN INFORMATION.
AND, UM, WE CAN JUST BEGIN TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
SO HERE'S SOME HIGH LEVEL FINDINGS.
UM, IF I WERE ASKED WHAT'S THE STATE OF DOWNTOWN NOW, UM, I WOULD GROUP IT IN THESE SORT OF CATEGORIES, UM, WHERE RETAIL HOTEL AND TOURISM SORT OF WERE HIT IMMEDIATELY, LIKE WITHIN A DAY, YOU KNOW, UM, ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS AGO IS WHEN THE FIRST COVID, UH, CASE HIT AUSTIN.
AND IT'S SORT OF PUT A LOT OF THINGS TO HALT.
UM, IT REDUCED, YOU KNOW, RESTRICTION OR ADDED RESTRICTIONS ON GATHERINGS THERE'S BAR CLOSERS, DIMINISHED TRAVEL.
LIKE EVERYTHING SORT OF HAPPENED AT ONE TIME.
AND JUST LIKE MICHELLE SAID EARLIER, DOWNTOWN IS JUST THIS HUB OF ALL OF THIS DIFFERENT ACTIVITY.
AND WHEN IT ALL STOPS, UM, IT JUST IS A SCREECHING HALL TO MANY, UM, BUSINESSES THAT SPEND THE MAJORITY OF THEIR DAY AND THEIR TIME THERE.
AND SO THE RETAIL BUSINESSES AND THE HOTEL BUSINESSES ARE EXACTLY THAT, UM, REDUCED FOOT TRAFFIC.
UM, IT ALL JUST, IT ALL JUST PUT DOWNTOWN AT A, AT A HOLD.
UM, THEN WE LOOK AT THE OFFICE MARKETING WORKFORCE WHERE THERE'S THERE'S TOWERS EVERYWHERE.
THERE'S, THERE'S BUSINESSES EVERYWHERE, BUT WITH THE STAY AT HOME ORDERS, UM, WORKING FROM HOME, UM, HAPPENS TO A MAJORITY OF OUR DOWNTOWN EMPLOYEES.
THEY WORK IN JOBS THAT CAN ALLOW THEM TO WORK FROM HOME.
AND SO WE REALLY SAW HOW THAT IMPACTED, UM, THE SHIFT OR IMPACTED THE ACTIVITY THAT WAS HAPPENING IN OUR URBAN CORE.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT TRAVEL OR TRAVEL, TOOK A DEEP DIVE AROUND MARCH OR APRIL, UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S COMING, IT'S RETURNING FASTER, UH, THAN SOME OF THESE OTHER INDICATORS.
AND SO I HAVE SOME, SOME DATA TO SHOW YOU ON THAT.
UM, AND RESIDENTS IS, IS MORE OF THE SLOWER MARKET.
AND SO WHILE, UM, OUR CONDO MARKET IN OUR, IN OUR MULTI-FAMILY MARKET, UM, IT'S, IT'S TOO EARLY TO TELL WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING THERE.
UM, WE DO KNOW THAT THERE'S, THERE'S A CHANGE IN ASKING RATES, UM, ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND, UM, OUR OCCUPANCY RATES ARE, ARE STARTING TO CHANGE.
AND SO WE ARE LOOKING AT OUR, UM, SUBURBAN MARKETS AND SEEING THAT THE SUBURBS ARE DOING QUITE WELL.
PEOPLE ARE BUYING SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES AT RECORD RECORD RATES, RECORD PRICES.
AND SO, UM, IT'S YET TO BE DETERMINED, WHAT'S REALLY GONNA HAPPEN FOR THE DOWNTOWN RESIDENTIAL MARKET, BUT WE ARE KEEPING AN EYE ON IT.
AND THEN OF COURSE, UM, RESIDENTIAL OR REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT, THERE, THERE ARE MANY CRANES IN THE SKY.
SO, UM, A LOT OF THE PROJECTS THAT WERE ON THE BOOKS TO BE CONSTRUCTED ARE MOVING FORWARD OR HAVE MOVED FORWARD.
A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT WERE SORT OF PUT ON THE SHELF AND THE, IN, IN THE PAST YEARS HAVE BEEN ADDED BACK ONTO THE BOOKS AND, UM, NEW PRODUCTS HAVE BROKEN GROUND.
SO I'M JUST GOING TO GO THROUGH EACH ONE OF THESE PRETTY QUICKLY AND JUST HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE, THE DETAILS.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT RETAIL SPECIFICALLY, UM, AT THE END OF JULY, UH, WE LOOKED AT THE OPERATING STATUS OF ALL OF THE STOREFRONT BUSINESSES IN DOWNTOWN AND FOUND THAT ROUGHLY 50% WERE STILL OPERATING IN SOME
[00:25:01]
CAPACITY.UM, MOSTLY WE'RE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LIKE GYMS, UM, RETAIL SERVICES, WHERE THEY CAN OPERATE ONLINE AS WELL OR PLACES THAT CAN OFFER DELIVERIES, BUT FOR OTHER BUSINESSES THAT JUST DON'T HAVE THAT OPTION, LIKE BARS, RESTAURANTS, UM, MUSIC, VENUES, ALL OF THOSE THINGS, THOSE REMAIN SHUTTERED.
AND SO, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE MAP, YOU CAN SEE THE CONCENTRATION OF WHERE THOSE BUSINESSES, UM, COULD OR ARE LOCATED AND, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE ARE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO, BUT YOU COULD SEE THE BREAKDOWN SORT OF ON THE CHART AND ON THE MAP.
UM, AND SO WE KNOW THAT THIS, THIS STATUS IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON TO REALLY SORT OF, UM, BEEF UP AND, AND SUPPORT OUR RETAIL BUSINESSES.
WE'RE HOPING THAT THERE'S SOME FUNDING FOR LIVE MUSIC VENUES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DEFINITELY LOOKING AT AS JUST A KEY COMPONENT OF A THRIVING DOWN, UM, NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO THEN WHEN YOU GO INTO HOTEL TOURISM, UM, THE OCCUPANCY WAS DOWN TO 62% IN APRIL, AND THEN IT'S, IT'S BEGAN TO RISE SINCE THEN.
AND SO OF COURSE THE LOSS OF TOURISM DOLLARS, UM, REALLY CREATE A STRONG IMPACT.
UM, WE'RE THINKING THAT THE RISE, UM, IN THE MOST RECENT MONTHS COULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO LOCAL TOURISTS OR TO THE OPENING OF SCHOOLS WHERE THERE'S NEW EVENTS, SPORTING ACTIVITIES, AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS, NEW BUSINESSES STARTING TO JUST SORT OF OPEN THEIR DOORS.
AND SO WE'RE NOT REALLY QUITE, UM, WHAT'S FEEDING SORT OF THE UPTICK, BUT WE'RE GLAD THAT IT'S HAPPENING.
UM, AND IF YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR DOWNTOWN, LIKE MICHELLE INDICATED EARLIER IS, IS A MAJOR TOURISM HUB.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF DOLLARS GENERATED IN DOWNTOWN.
SO I JUST PUT A QUICK EXAMPLE OF THE MIXED BEVERAGE SALES AND HOW IT'S JUST, IT JUST COMPLETELY DROPPED.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UM, NEW NEW DATA TO SORT OF SUPPORT OR TO SORT OF, UM, TRACK HOW QUICKLY THAT COULD SORT OF RETURN CAUSE THAT, THAT, UM, THAT MONEY, UM, SUPPORTS A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
YOU LOOK AT THE OFFICE, THE OFFICE PIECES IS A VERY INTERESTING ONE.
UM, OFFICE AVAILABILITY IS THE HIGHEST IT'S BEEN IN ABOUT 15 YEARS OR SO, OR AS LONG AS I HAVE THIS, THIS CHART.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE WHERE EXCEEDING, UM, AUSTIN'S RATES AND, UM, THERE'S BEEN A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN LEASED SPACE COMPARED TO 2019.
AND IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE IF WE LOOK AT THE PROFILE OF DOWNTOWN OCCUPATIONS, UM, OVER 60% CAN WORK REMOTELY.
AND SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES THAT WORK IN DOWNTOWN AND, AND DIFFERENT, UM, EMPLOYEE GROUPS, WE HAVE A VERY HIGHLY TALENTED, UM, EMPLOYEE POOL.
AND SO THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO WORK FROM HOME.
THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO HAVE JOBS THAT DON'T REQUIRE THEM TO BE IN THE OFFICE.
SO PART OF THE CHALLENGE FOR, UM, THE RETAIL BUSINESSES DOWNTOWN IS THAT IF THE OFFICE MARKET IS NOT THERE, OR IF THE OFFICE, OR IF THE WORKFORCE IS NOT THERE, THEN PEOPLE AREN'T SPENDING THEIR TIME SPENDING MONEY DOWNTOWN, LIKE THEY WOULD BE IF THEY WERE WORKING WITH THE DOWNTOWN.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE MONITORING ON A REGULAR BASIS TO SEE WHEN WILL OFFICE EMPLOYEES RETURN, UM, WHAT ARE SOME BEST PRACTICES, UH, WHO IS, UM, LEADING THE WAY TO SORT OF, UM, INSTITUTE SOME OF THOSE BEST PRACTICES AND HOW COULD WE SORT OF HELP, UM, LOOK AT THAT.
AND SO WE ARE STEADY MONITORING THESE INDICATORS AS WELL.
SO WITH THE RESIDENTIAL MARKET, IT'S A LITTLE BIT SLOWER IN TERMS OF ANY INDICATORS THAT WILL TELL US ANYTHING IN, IN PARTICULAR.
UM, WE KNOW THAT THE DAILY ASKING RATES HAVE DECLINED AND, UM, IT'S APPEARING THAT THE PREMIUM THAT WAS CHARGED FOR LIVING IN A DOWNTOWN SPACE IS SORT OF CLOSING IN ON THE CITYWIDE, UM, SORT OF RATES.
AND SO IF YOU LOOK DOWN AT THE BOTTOM CHART, UM, THAT OCCUPANCY RATE HAS DIPPED BELOW, UM, THE CITY'S RATES.
AND SO JUST REALLY LOOKING AT, UM, WHAT FUTURE DATA WILL SHOW US ABOUT THE RESIDENTIAL MARKET AND THE STRENGTH OF THE RESIDENTIAL MARKET.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT OUR OTHER COMPARATIVE MARKETS LIKE IN THE, IN THE SUBURBS AND THOSE IN THOSE AREAS AND THE SALES FOR SINGLE SINGLE FAMILY
[00:30:01]
HOMES ARE THROUGH THE ROOF.AND SO JUST INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING HOW RESIDENTS WILL, UM, WILL LOOK AT THEIR DOWNTOWN SPACE AND, AND WHAT, WHAT WILL THEY CONSIDER IN TERMS OF THEIR, THEIR NEW NEXT, NEXT NORMAL, UM, IF DOWNTOWN DOESN'T CHANGE, UM, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO MOBILITY IS AN INTERESTING ONE.
WE, UM, HAVE A SOFTWARE CALLED STREETLIGHT DATA AND WE TRACK SORT OF VEHICLE TRAVEL WITHIN OUR DOWNTOWN.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT IN MARCH, WE SAW 74% DECLINE IN VEHICLE TRAFFIC.
AND SO THAT MADE SENSE, BUT WHAT WE'RE FINDING THAT, UM, INCREMENTALLY MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE DRIVING INTO DOWNTOWN.
SO THIS MEASURE DOES NOT CORRELATE WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE STREETS, WALKING OR PEOPLE WHO ARE ENTERING INTO THEIR OFFICE SPACES.
AND SO WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY'RE GOING, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT TRAVEL IS UP.
WE DO KNOW THAT THE STAY AT HOME ORDER IS STILL IN EFFECT, BUT PEOPLE ARE NOT NECESSARILY STAYING AT HOME.
THEY ARE MOVING AROUND, MOVING AROUND THE CITY.
UM, THEY ARE GETTING LUNCH OR GOING SHOPPING OR DOING ALL OF THOSE OTHER THINGS.
CONSUMER SPENDING IS SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE TRACK.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT INCLUDED IN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT THE CONSUMER SPENDING DATA SHOWS THAT PEOPLE ARE SPENDING MONEY CLOSER TO HOME.
AND SO WE ARE CORRELATING THAT WITH THEY'RE SPENDING MORE TIME, CLOSER TO HOME BECAUSE THEY'RE WORKING FROM HOME AND THEY MAY QUICKLY GET A BITE TO EAT OR ORDER SOMETHING FOR DELIVERY, BUT MONEY'S BEING SPENT CLOSER TO WHERE THEY LIVE.
AND, UM, DOWNTOWN ONLY REPRESENTS ABOUT 1% OF THE TOTAL RESIDENTIAL POPULATION.
SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE 15% OF THE EMPLOYEE BASE, THAT WOULD TYPICALLY BE IN DOWNTOWN IN A, IN A TRADITIONAL PRE COVID TIME, THAT WOULD BE ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND EMPLOYEES OR SO.
AND SO IF A PORTION OF THAT IS NOT THERE, LET'S SAY 60% OF THAT IS NOT THERE, THEN THAT IS JUST LOST REVENUE.
SO TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO, UM, RECONCILE ALL OF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, BUT THE MOBILITY ARE PEOPLE DRIVING, MOVING AROUND USING TRANSIT, USING MICRO MOBILITY.
THAT'S STILL IT'S BELOW PRE COVID LEVELS, BUT IT IS MORE PROMISING THAN SOME OF THE OTHER MEASURES THAT WE'RE TRACKING NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO THIS IS ABOUT DEVELOPMENT.
THERE'S SO MANY THINGS I CAN SAY ABOUT DEVELOPMENT, BUT WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT DEVELOPMENT IS CONTINUING AND THE PIPELINE IS FACT WE ARE ON PACE TO DELIVER RECORD NUMBERS.
UM, I JUST FEEL LIKE THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT WERE ON THE BOOKS THAT WERE SET TO, UM, BREAK GROUND DID THERE WERE PROJECTS THAT WERE ON HOLD AND THAT WE SURFACED.
UM, AND SO JUST BECAUSE OF THE CALM, MAYBE, YOU KNOW, THEY WANTED TO CELEBRATE THESE THESE PROJECTS.
AND IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT PEOPLE ARE OPTIMISTIC THAT DOWNTOWN WILL RECOVER.
AND, UM, IT CREATES THIS OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF SPACE TO SORT OF ABSORB.
SO WE'RE HOPING THAT, UM, ALL OF THE, ALL THE PROJECTIONS ARE, ARE TRUE.
UM, AND SO THERE'S, THERE'S DETAILS HERE IN TERMS OF WHAT'S BEING DELIVERED AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF DATA ON OUR WEBSITE.
YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, JUST TO SHOW A QUICK, WE HAVE ASSETS ON OUR WEBSITE THAT SHOWS WE TRACK THE PROJECTS AND THE CONSTRUCTION PLANNED, AND PACO'S RECENTLY COMPLETED BY TYPE.
AND SO I CAN REALLY GET INTO THE WEEDS AND DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT, BUT I KNOW WE'RE, WE'RE SHORT ON TIME.
SO JUST KNOW THAT IT'S STILL HAPPENING.
THERE IS SLIGHTLY LESS BEING PROPOSED.
UM, BUT THERE ARE MORE, UM, SLATED TO BE DELIVERED.
SO I'M EXPECTING ABOUT 8 MILLION OR SO, UM, WILL BE DELIVERED IN THE NEXT TWO TO THREE YEARS.
UM, SO IT'S QUITE A BIT, AND, UM, I THINK THAT'S MY LAST ONE.
I'M GOING TO HAND THIS BACK OVER TO MICHELLE, AND SHE'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE SHORT AND LONG-TERM IMPLICATIONS OF THE DATA THAT WE'RE SORT OF TRACKING AND SOME TRENDS TO WATCH.
AND COULD YOU NOT, UH, SO THERE'S SO MANY TOPICS THAT WE COULD HAVE DRILLED DOWN INTO FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU'VE HEARD BOTH OF US TOUCH UPON SOME OF THEM.
UH, THE, THE TWO THAT WE FEEL LIKE ARE REALLY SORT OF AT THE TOP OF EVERYBODY'S LISTS, ARE THIS BIG SWELL ABOUT WORKING FROM HOME VERSUS WORKING AT THE OFFICE, UH, SO MUCH IS RIDING ON WHEN PEOPLE COME BACK OR IF PEOPLE
[00:35:01]
CONTINUE TO WORK REMOTELY.UH, SO HERE'S JUST SOME POINTS THAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SOME OBSERVATIONS THAT WE WANTED TO SHARE ABOUT THIS WORK FROM HOME OR WORK FROM OFFICE DEBATE, UH, YOU KNOW, LEASING ACTIVITY GROUND TO A HALT, UH, DURING THE PANDEMIC.
AND WE'RE SEEING A BIG INCREASE IN SUBLEASE ACTIVITY.
NOW, UM, WE ARE HEARING THAT IT'S ALL BUSINESS IT'S ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE EXPERIENCING ALL THE SAME CHALLENGES AND ALL THE SAME.
LIKE WE ALL WISH WE HAD THE FIRST OF ALL, LET'S LOOK INTO IT AND SAY, OH, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE 50% OF OUR WORKFORCE, UH, RETURNED TO THEIR OFFICES AND START SPENDING YOUR MONEY DOWNTOWN ON DECEMBER 1ST.
BUT WE DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE JUST TRYING TO MITIGATE THE DAMAGE.
DO WE PLAN TO GO BACK DOWNTOWN, UH, IN TERMS OF CONSTRUCTION, UH, BEEN SPEAKING TO A LOT OF, UH, CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY LEADERS AND LIKE JANELL WAS SAYING, UH, THE CRANES IN THE AIR AND THE ACTIVITY THAT YOU SEE RIGHT NOW IS STILL A RESULT OF A VERY HEALTHY ECONOMY THAT WE HAD BEFORE THE PANDEMIC.
WE WILL PROBABLY SEE A SLOW DOWN, UM, SOMETIME IN 2021, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT INTO 2022, BECAUSE IF YOUR PROJECT HAD FINANCING AND IF IT WAS ALREADY SORT OF IN THAT LIFE CYCLE OF, YOU KNOW, TWO, THREE, FOUR YEARS, WHICH IS WHAT IT TAKES TO DO YOUR DOWNTOWN PROJECT, IT'S CONTINUING IF THERE WAS NOT FINANCING ACHIEVE, OR IF THE PROJECT WAS JUST BARELY, UH, TRYING TO BEGIN ITS LIFE CYCLE, THOUGH, WE KNOW THAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE LESS, AND WE KNOW THAT EVENTUALLY WE WILL SEE LESS THINGS IN THE AIR.
IT'S JUST GOING TO BE SORT OF NAILING DOWN THAT LAG TIME WHEN WE'RE THINKING LIKE SIX TO 18 MONTHS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT TIME PERIOD.
UM, NOW WE JUST WANT TO PIVOT TO HOW WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FUTURE.
UH, WE JUST GIVE YOU A LOT OF DATA.
WE HAVE A LOT MORE ON OUR WEBSITE.
NOW WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT, UH, HOW WE ARE LEADING AN INITIATIVE CALLED THE ROADMAP TO RECOVERY.
AND, UH, WE WANT TO BRING TOGETHER PEOPLE IN DOWNTOWN AND PEOPLE ACROSS THE COMMUNITY TO HELP ADDRESS WHAT RECOVERY IS, HOW CAN WE BE MORE RESILIENT AND HOW CAN WE BRING, UH, NOT JUST THE SAME VITALITY THAT WE HAVE PRE PANDEMIC, BUT HOW CAN WE REDEFINE RESILIENCY AND VITALITY FOR DOWNTOWN AS WE MOVE OUT OF THIS PANDEMIC AND WE FIND OUR NEW NORMAL.
SO THE FIRST PLACE WE WANT TO GO IS WE WANT TO GO BACK TO OUR DOWNTOWN VISION.
UH, WE FEEL LIKE RECOVERY SHOULD BE GUIDED BY THIS DOWNTOWN VISION.
UH, IT'S STILL, YOU KNOW, SHOULD BE CONSIDERED THE GUIDING FORCE AND, UH, FUTURE DECISION-MAKING FOR DOWNTOWN.
UH, AND SO IT'S GOING TO BE GROUNDED IN OUR EFFORT.
UH, WE WANT TO CREATE A FLEXIBLE AND DYNAMIC ROADMAP, THINGS CHANGE IN THIS PANDEMIC SO QUICKLY THAT IF IT'S NOT FLEXIBLE AND DYNAMIC, IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK OR IT'S GOING TO BE OBSOLETE.
THE SECOND THAT WE PRODUCE IT.
AND SO WE WANT TO LOOK FOR SHARED EXPECTATIONS THAT ALIGN WITH THE VISION.
UH, WE WANT TO DETERMINE PRIORITIES, UH, FOR WHAT THE NEXT YEAR WE'LL NEED.
UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO BE SEEKING PERSPECTIVES FROM A LOT OF STAKEHOLDERS.
WE'RE GOING TO CONDUCT FOCUS GROUPS, INTERVIEWS, AND WE WILL REALLY SURVEYS.
UH, AND IT'S VERY LIKELY THAT THIS COMMISSION WILL, UH, BE ABLE TO HAVE A PRESENTATION ABOUT OUR DOWNTOWN RECOVERY ROADMAP, UM, IN THE FUTURE AS WE'VE JUST BEGUN IT.
AND, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE MORE TO REPORT SOON.
HERE'S A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT TIMELINE.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENT PHASES THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED FIRST.
WE NEED TO JUST DISCOVER, WE NEED TO HEAR FROM EVERYONE.
WHAT DO YOU THINK RECOVERY SHOULD LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE THE SUCCESS METRICS, UH, WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM, AND THEN WE WANT TO TRY TO CREATE A VISION AROUND WHAT THAT RECOVERY SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
UH, AND THEN SOME ACTIONABLE STRATEGIES, SOMETHING THAT WILL ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE A ROADMAP THAT WE CAN USE TO BEGIN TO MAKE DECISIONS, TO GUIDE DOWNTOWN, BACK TOWARD RECOVERY.
UH, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO KIND OF PULL IT BACK.
UH, WE'VE GOT REALIGNMENT IN THERE AS A PHASE THAT WILL CONSTANTLY NEED TO BE, UH, SERVING AS A CHECK AND BALANCE SYSTEM FOR ALL OF THE OTHER PHASES.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD AND WE'RE GOING TO CHECK WHAT WE KNOW AND MOVE FORWARD AND CHECK WHAT WE KNOW.
SO THAT'S WHAT THAT REALIGNMENT PHASES, UH, AND EVENTUALLY WE REALLY WANT TO, UH, CREATE SOME ACTIONABLE GOALS AND IMPLEMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENT POLICIES, IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS, UM, HELP ADVOCATE FOR, UH, REMOVING BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES AND SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES SO THAT BUSINESSES CAN BE INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE AND, AND FIND THEIR WAY.
SO THIS IS JUST THE TIMELINE WE'VE SET UP FOR ABOUT THE NEXT YEAR.
AND AGAIN, LIKE I SAID, YOU'LL BE HEARING MORE FROM US ABOUT THIS NEXT SLIDE.
[00:40:02]
UH, SO WHAT ARE WE HEARING SO FAR? YOU KNOW, WE'VE JUST BEGUN.UH, BUT THESE ARE SOME OF THE HOTTEST TOPICS THAT ARE COMING UP IN THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING.
UM, AND YET, UH, MELISSA BERRY, OUR VP OF PLANNING, UM, WHO IS LEADING THE RECOVERY, UH, ROADMAP SAID TO ME, WELL, I DON'T KNOW.
THESE ARE ALREADY A LITTLE BIT OUT OF DATE.
SO EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE HEARING, WE WILL CONTINUE TO AGGREGATE AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO, UH, CREATE NEW INFORMATION AND, UH, WE'LL BE RELEASING DIFFERENT TYPES OF DELIVERABLES AND INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT WE'RE HEARING, UH, ON OUR WEBSITE AS OUR DISCOVERY PROCESS CONTINUES.
SO JUST TO REMIND YOU, THERE'S SO MUCH MORE INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE.
UM, THESE ARE SLIGHTLY OLD SNAPSHOTS FROM OUR WEBSITE, BUT JUST TO KIND OF SHOW YOU, UM, WE HAVE LOTS OF DIFFERENT HEADERS.
WE HAVE LOTS OF CURRENT INFORMATION, UM, AND WE'D HAVE LOTS OF, UH, INDICATORS AND REPORTS ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT NURSEY NEXT SLIDE.
I'M MICHELLE VAN 50 JENELLE MOFFITT, AND WE CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
SHALLA UM, COMMISSIONERS, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? AND THIS IS AUGUST AND, UM, UM, ON BY PHONE NOW, AND I APOLOGIZE.
SO CAN YOU HEAR IT'S AUGUST? UH, I'M NOT ALLUDE, I CAN ACTUALLY DO THIS STUFF, BUT FOR SOME REASON, WEBEX AND I ARE NOT GETTING ALONG WITH THE EVENING, ALTHOUGH I HAD A WET WEBEX MEETING THIS MORNING AND IT WORKED JUST FINE.
UH, MICHELLE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UM, MICHELLE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, HAVE YOU SEEN IT EITHER, YOU KNOW, AS YOU TALK TO CITIES NATIONWIDE OR ANY KIND OF ANYTHING YOU'RE IN AUSTIN ABOUT OFFICE CONVERSION TO DIFFERENT USES AT THIS POINT, THERE'S BEEN A LOT MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS THERE.
UH, MY TAKE IS THAT THE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT MARKET IS GOING TO MOVE MORE SLOWLY THAN THAT.
I HAVE NOT HEARD ABOUT A LOT OF CONVERSIONS.
UM, THAT'S A VERY EXPENSIVE DECISION TO MAKE, AND I THINK THAT THE MARKET IS STILL THE WAIT AND WATCH MODE BEFORE THEY MAKE THE DECISIONS LIKE THAT.
HOWEVER, I THINK ON THE SUBLEASING SIDE, YOU ARE GOING TO SEE BUSINESSES MAKE SMALL CHANGES TO THEIR TENANT SPACES, TO TRY TO CREATE AN OFFICE ENVIRONMENT THAT ACCOMMODATES WHATEVER WE FEEL LIKE THE NEW NORMAL IS LIKE COMES BACK TO WORKING IN OFFICE, BUT IS A REAL ADAPTIVE REUSE.
I HAVEN'T SEEN OR HEARD A LOT OF THAT.
AND I THINK THAT WOULD GO MORE SLOWLY.
I WOULD JUST ADD THE ONLY THING THAT I'VE HEARD IS HOTELS DOING SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE CREATIVE, UM, OFFERING, YOU KNOW, ROOM FOUR WEEK BLOCK FOR SOMEONE TO WORK IN THEIR SPACE, UM, FOR THE PERIOD OF TIME OR UNIQUE, INTERESTING PLACES LIKE THAT ARE FARTHER AWAY FROM HOME JUST TO SORT OF INCENTIVIZE.
SO THAT'S ALL I'VE HEARD ON MY END.
I NOTICED, LIKE I GOT AN AD FOR, YOU KNOW, LEASING A HOTEL ROOM FOR THE WORK DAY FROM NINE TO FIVE.
FOR EXAMPLE, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU'D SEEN ANYTHING ELSE LIKE THAT.
THINK CHRIS HAD HIS HAND UP AT ONE POINT, CHRIS LAYMAN.
I GUESS I'M WONDERING WHAT, UH, WHAT'D YOU GUYS SEE AS CITY EFFORTS AT THIS POINT, WHAT'S THE PRIORITY DURING THIS PANDEMIC? I MEAN, HOMELESSNESS WAS A BIG PRIORITY COMING INTO IT, BUT NOW WE'VE GOT A NARROWER BANDWIDTH.
THERE'S PROBABLY LESS MONEY AVAILABLE GIVEN ALL THAT'S BEING LOST IN TERMS OF REVENUE.
WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO PRIORITIZE NOW? UH, SO, UH, I PARTICIPATED IN THE OPENING CENTRAL TEXAS TASK FORCE, AND I'M ALSO PARTICIPATING IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS PROCESS, THE FOCUS GROUP, AND, UH, THE JUGGLING OF PRIORITIES IS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS RIGHT NOW FOR THE CITY.
UM, I WOULD SAY FROM JUST THE PERSPECTIVE OF FUNDING, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY THE NEED TO TRY TO SAVE SOME OF THESE ICONIC BUSINESSES THAT ARE TRYING TO CLOSE.
AND THERE'S BEEN FEDERAL LEVELS OF ADVOCACY ALL THE WAY DOWN TO LOCAL, UH, LEVELS OF ADVOCACY WHERE, UH, JUST RECENTLY WE SAW CITY COUNCIL, UH, PASSED SOME DEDICATED FUNDING SOURCES FOR LIVE MUSIC VENUES
[00:45:01]
AND MORE CREATIVE CULTURAL SPACES.SO THAT'S DEFINITELY BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A PRIORITY, UH, CHILDCARE ISSUES AND TRYING TO HELP THE CHILDCARE INDUSTRY ADAPT TO THIS SUDDEN CRISIS OF PARENTS WITH CHILDREN WHERE SUDDENLY THE HOME HAS BECOME THE HOME, THE OFFICE, THE SCHOOL, AND THE DAYCARE CENTER, AND HAVING A DAYCARE ALTERNATIVE TO EVERYBODY BEING IN THE HOUSE TOGETHER, UM, HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A HIGH PRIORITY AND HOW CAN THE CITY ASSIST IN HELPING THE CHILDCARE INDUSTRY.
UM, AND THEN ALONG WITH ALL OF THAT, UH, STILL OF COURSE THERE ARE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY AND ASSISTING THOSE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND TRYING TO CONTINUE FORWARD WITH IDENTIFYING SOLUTIONS FOR LACK OF COMPETING PRIORITIES.
MICHELLE, HOW CAN THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION HELP YOU? UH, I THINK THAT FIRST OF ALL, WE WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO, UH, TAKE TO HEART THESE OBSERVATIONS THAT WE'VE MADE.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN LISTENING AND STUDYING AND MONITORING, UH, AND TRYING TO PULL TOGETHER AS MUCH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA AS WE CAN OVER THE LAST SEVEN MONTHS.
SO THE REPORTS THAT WE'VE GENERATED AND OUR, UM, INDICATOR INDEX IS WHAT WE WANT TO TELL EVERYONE ELSE ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING DOWNTOWN FROM THAT WE ARE TRYING TO PUSH TOWARDS SOLUTIONS AND ADVOCATE FOR THE DAMAGE.
SO IF YOU AGREE WITH, OR, YOU KNOW, TAKE TIME WITH SOMEBODY BACK DURATIONS, WE MAY ADVOCATE FOR, UH, REDUCING BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES PRIOR TO HELP BE MORE CREATIVE AND IN HOW THEY CAN BEGIN TO GENERATE SOME MORE REVENUE, UM, YOU KNOW, HELP OUR CITY COUNCIL UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, LIVE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT AND TOURISM BUSINESSES HAVE BEEN THE HARDEST AND NEED HELP RIGHT NOW.
UM, I JUST THINK WHAT, LET THE DATA SPEAK TO YOU AND TAKE THAT TO HEART AND THEN ASK US IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION OR IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO TO HELP BEN, I THINK YOU HEARD OF IT, MICHELLE.
MICHELLE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS OVERVIEW AND ALSO PACKING JUST A TON OF INFORMATION IN, IN SHORT FORM.
SO, UH, IT'S GONNA TAKE A WHILE EVEN THOUGH JUSTICE, BUT I, I APPRECIATE MUCH OF YOUR COMMENTS HAVING TO DO WITH SORT OF STILL IN RESPONSE MODE, BUT ALSO THINKING OF RECOVERY, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU HAVE THE RESILIENCY COMPONENT.
UM, UM, THIS DOES GIVE US OPPORTUNITIES, EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CRISIS TO RESET SOME OF THESE ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN PROBLEMS AND TAKE A FRESH LOOK, UH, KNOWING THAT, THAT WE WERE, WE WERE MAYBE NOT ADDRESSING THEM SUCCESSFULLY IN DOWNTOWN OR THAT THEY WERE, THEY WERE BUILDING AND WE'RE GOING TO BECOME A PROBLEM.
AND NOW WE, WE HAVE A MOMENT TO RECALIBRATE AND, UH, ONE IN PARTICULAR THAT I WOULD JUST WANT TO PUT ON THE TABLE.
NOW I'VE BEEN THE ONE VERY MUCH TRYING TO RAISE THE FLAG ABOUT THESE HISTORIC PROPERTIES IN DOWNTOWN.
ANY OF THEM ARE VERY LOW DENSITY AND MANY OF THEM ARE ON PROPERTIES THAT HAVE VALUES AND ZONING.
UH, THAT ALLOWS FOR A VERY HIGH DENSITY.
IT OCCURS TO ME THAT IF WE REALLY THINK BROADLY ABOUT WHAT LESSONS ARE LEARNED, BUT PART OF WHAT WE MAY BE THINKING ABOUT IS A VARIETY OF DENSITY AND MAKE THAT AS PART OF THE DESIRED GOAL FOR DOWNTOWN.
YOU KNOW, WE GET SCARED RIGHT NOW WHEN THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE ALL IN ONE PLACE, BUT MAYBE IN A DOWNTOWN ENVIRONMENT, WE SHOULD START LOOKING AT THOSE PLACES THAT AREN'T AS DENSE AS EQUALLY VALUABLE AND IMPORTANT AS A FOIL FOR THOSE AREAS WHERE WE WANT TO PLAN THE DENSITY.
AND THAT MAY GIVE A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON SOME OF THESE SAME PROBLEMS. SO I'LL JUST THROW THAT OUT.
I KNOW IT'S NOT THE FIRST THING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE THINKING ABOUT IN ALL THE OTHERS SWIRLING AROUND, BUT AS YOU'RE THINKING OF THAT RESILIENCY, UH, THIS DOES, I THINK, OFFER A CHANCE TO LOOK CREATIVELY AND, AND I WANT TO THROW THAT OUT WITH YOUR, ADD THAT TO YOUR CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING.
THAT'S FANTASTIC, BEN, UM, THAT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW WE WANT TO SEE THE DIALOGUE AROUND RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY BEGIN TO FORM.
UM, AND I WOULD SAY TO, TO GET BACK TO AUGUST QUESTION, IF YOU LOOK AT OUR INDEX, OR IF YOU LOOK AT OUR DATA AND YOU SAY, WHERE'S THIS MEASURE, WHERE'S THIS METRIC.
I DON'T SEE SOMETHING THAT I REALLY FEEL LIKE IS IMPORTANT TO THIS ISSUE OF RECOVERY.
LET US KNOW IT COULD BE THAT WE'RE TRACKING IT.
WE JUST HAVEN'T DAYLIGHTED IT, IT COULD BE THAT WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO ACTUALLY DAYLIGHT.
IT, IT COULD BE THAT YOU ARE THINKING OF SOMETHING
[00:50:01]
THAT WE'VE ABOUT THOUGHT OF YET.SO IF YOU FEEL LIKE THERE'S A GAP OR SOMETHING MISSING IN TERMS OF INDICATORS AND HOW WE'RE, WE'RE SHOWING THEM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MICHELLE.
WE, AGAIN, WE APPRECIATE Y'ALL COMING IN, SPEAKING TO MY PETS AND STUFF THAT WE'VE BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT FOR A WHILE, AND I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE ABLE TO BRING SO MUCH MATERIAL THAT WILL VARY GOING FORWARD.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING WITH, UH, AS AUSTIN AND DOWNTOWN AUSTIN EMERGES FROM OUR CURRENT PRICES, PRIVATE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS MOVING FORWARD AUGUST IF I MAY.
SO I WAS WONDERING, UM, THE PANDEMIC HAS BROUGHT ABOUT SOME SITUATIONS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA THAT WE COULD NOT, UM, ENFORCE IF WE WANTED TO.
SO A REDUCTION IN THE TRAFFIC IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, ALTHOUGH IT SEEMED LIKE THE, UH, THE, THE DATA THAT YOU GUYS HAD WAS THAT IT DID STOP FOR A WHILE, BUT THEN IT STARTED BACK UP.
I WAS JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS IF WITH TH WITH THE REDUCTION IN TRAFFIC DOWNTOWN, DID THAT INFORM OR EDUCATE SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT ARE GOING ON AROUND, WHAT DO WE DO AROUND WHAT KIND OF CROSSWALK WALKS AND HOW TO REDUCE OR CHANGE TRAFFIC PATTERNS SO THAT IT'S NOT AS CONGESTED.
SO IN SOME WAYS WE HAVE A LESS CONGESTED DOWNTOWN, SO HOW CAN WE MAKE IT STAY LESS CONGESTED, BUT STILL HAVE PEOPLE BE DOWNTOWN.
UM, AND I WAS JUST WONDERING IF GIVEN THIS EXPERIMENTAL SITUATION WITH, WITH SOME VARIABLES THAT ARE CONTROLLED, HOW ARE WE USING THIS SITUATION TO INFORM US ABOUT HOW THINGS MIGHT BE ABLE TO BE DONE AFTER THE PANDEMIC? IS THAT A QUESTION FOR THE DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE OR FOR YOURSELF? WELL, I THINK FOR, FOR YOU GUYS, BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE KEEPING TRACK OF THE METRICS AND WE'RE GOING TO HEAR TWO MORE PRESENTATIONS AFTER THIS, THAT I INVITE YOU GUYS TO, TO STAY ON.
UH, EVERYTHING THAT'S STOPPED UP IS, IS REALLY A PRETTY GREAT SEGUE FOR WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT.
AND I KNOW THAT THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN DOING EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID.
THEY'VE BEEN LOOKING AT HOW CAN WE USE THIS EXPERIMENT AND STUDY IT, AND THEN ALTER, UH, HOW YOU GET AROUND DOWNTOWN, UM, IN TERMS OF THE BALANCE OF MULTIMODAL, UM, OPTIONS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT THE AUSTRIANS BIKES, SCOOTERS SHARE TRANSIT CARS, AND HOW DO WE LOOK AT THEIR REBALANCING OF THOSE? AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY'VE DONE WITH THE CONGRESS AVENUE PRESENT AND THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE, BUT WHAT I CAN SAY IS, YES, WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT.
DO, DO WE HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS RIGHT NOW FOR HOW WE WANT TO GET, GET AROUND DOWNTOWN BETTER AS WE RECOVER? NO, NOT YET, BUT THAT'LL BE A BIG PART OF OUR RECOVERY PROCESS.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD THE, WE ARE SITTING ON A LOT OF DATA THAT WE HAVEN'T, DAYLIGHTED USING MICHELLE'S WORDS.
SO IF THERE ARE PRESENTATIONS IN THE FUTURE OR OTHER GROUPS THAT ARE WORKING ON THIS ISSUE, THAT YOU SEE SOME DATA GAPS THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO HELP WITH, JUST PUT THEM IN TOUCH WITH US.
CAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE SITTING ON A LOT OF INFORMATION AND WE SUPPORT LOT OF DIFFERENT INITIATIVES AND WE MAY NOT, UM, FULLY UNPACK ALL THE NEEDS.
WE DO NEED MORE CAPACITY FROM A RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE.
THERE'S ONLY TWO RESEARCHERS ON STAFF AND WE ARE SWAMPED.
SO IF YOU DO KNOW OF ANYONE THAT NEEDS EXTRA DATA OR WANTS TO LOOK AT THE DATA THAT WE HAVE, THE STREETLIGHT DATA IN PARTICULAR, THE ONE THAT I SHOWED, WE DO HAVE IT BY DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS.
WE DO HAVE ORIGIN AND DESTINATION DATA.
SO IF, IF YOU KNOW OF ANY PARTNER THAT WANTS TO WORK WITH US ON THAT, WHERE WE WILL WELCOME THAT AND HAVE YOU ALL SHARED YOUR ORIGIN AND DESTINATION DATA WITH ATD? YEAH.
I'VE HAD A COUPLE OF CONVERSATIONS WITH COLE KITTEN AND A COUPLE OF, UM, OTHER PEOPLE IN HIS, IN HIS GROUP AND SHARED A LITTLE BIT OF THAT.
UM, I THINK CASEY, YOUR ACT WITH OUR OFFICE IS SORT OF WORKING MORE ON THE MOBILITY FRONT.
UM, I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING SINCE I SORT OF TOLD THEM WE DO HAVE THIS, THIS INFORMATION.
WE HAVE A CONTRACT STREETLIGHT, UM, FROM OUR CIRCULATOR STUDY.
AND SO, UM, WE DO HAVE THE DATA.
SO IF YOU, IF, IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT'S BEST THAT I REACH OUT TO HIM AGAIN AND SEE IF THERE'S, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DO WITH THAT, I'D BE HAPPY TO DO THAT.
I'VE SHARED, UH, LIKE AN OPEN DROPBOX LINK, UM, TO THE DATA, TO THE SHAPE FILES, TO ALL OF THAT INFORMATION.
UM, IT'S, IT'S FREE FOR THEM TO ANALYZE HOWEVER THEY SEE FIT.
[00:55:01]
WELL, I THINK THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL.THAT'S BEEN ONE OF OUR CONCERNS, UH, ABOUT ATDS USE OF DATA OR THE LACK THERE, UH, W WE DO NEED TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.
AND SO I DO HOPE SINCE IT IS RELEVANT TO MUCH OF WHAT YOU ALL DISCUSSED TODAY, THAT YOU WILL BE AVAILABLE, UH, TO, UH, PARTAKE IN THE DISCUSSION, UH,
[4. Congress Avenue Interim Safety and Mobility Improvements]
THE NEXT ITEM UP, IF, UNLESS WE'VE SKIPPED AROUND DURING MY WANDERING THROUGH THE TECHNOLOGICAL DOOR, UM, THE NEXT ITEM UP WOULD BE, UH, THE CONGRESS AVENUE OF INTERIM SAFETY AND MOBILITY IMPROVEMENTS.LAURA, ARE YOU SINCE I CAN'T SEE EVERYBODY, LAURA, ARE YOU ON GOOD EVENING, LAURA? THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.
THANK YOU, CHAIR HARRIS AND COMMISSIONERS.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION OR THE INVITATION TO BE HERE TONIGHT.
UM, WE, WE APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE TO THE DOWNTOWN AND DEFINITELY APPRECIATE, UM, ALL OF THE WORK THAT THE DA IS DOING TO UNDERSTAND, UM, WHERE WE ARE NOW AS A COMMUNITY AND WHERE WE'RE HEADED.
UM, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO SHARE WITH YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, WHAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO IN THE SAME SPIRIT THAT MICHELLE AND JENELLE SHARED IN TERMS OF, UH, THE ABILITY FOR US TO LOOK RIGHT NOW AT, AT HOW WE CAN RECOVER BETTER, UH, GOING FORWARD, UM, WITH THAT I'LL, UM, ASK, WELL, ACTUALLY, I'LL STAY HERE AT THE, AT THE PRESENTATION SLIDE OF FLAVOR AND CAN SEE IT.
UM, TONIGHT WE'LL BE SHARING WITH YOU THE INTERIM SAFETY MOBILITY IMPROVEMENTS THAT COUNCIL, UH, DIRECTED THE CITY TO, UH, TO IMPLEMENT OVER THE SUMMER AND, UH, WHERE WE'RE HEADED WITH THAT GOING FORWARD.
UM, I WILL NOTE THAT, UM, WHEREAS WE WILL BE DISCUSSING THE CONGRESS AVENUE, URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE AND ITS ALIGNMENT WITH THESE INTERIM SAFETY MOBILITY IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, W WE ARE NOT DISCUSSING ELECTRON ELECTION RELATED MATTERS TONIGHT.
UH, WE, UH, WE ACKNOWLEDGED THERE, WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF THAT RIGHT NOW.
AND, UH, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, TONIGHT IS, UH, THE WORK THAT WE HAVE, UM, FUNDED CURRENTLY AND AT THE DIRECTION OF COUNCIL OVER THE SUMMER.
SO, UM, I APPRECIATE THAT NOTE AND WE'LL MOVE FORWARD TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, SITTING WITH THE VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN, UH, AS IMAGINED BY THE CONGRESS AVENUE, URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE.
UM, THERE'S BEEN SOME REALLY HARD WORK AMONGST MANY PEOPLE HERE ON THE CALL TODAY, UM, TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN, UM, BALANCE THE SPACE ON CONGRESS AVENUE INTO THE FUTURE TO REALLY SUPPORT ALL OF THE NEEDS, WHETHER IT IS A COMMUTER, UH, DRIVING IN AND OUT OF DOWNTOWN, UM, ABOUT WATCHER ON THE BRIDGE, OR, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, A NEW RESIDENT OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT DISTRICT, UM, YOU KNOW, BIKING OR WALKING TO DINNER, UH, IN THE DOWNTOWN, ALL OF THOSE TYPES OF TRIPS ARE, UM, BEING HAD AND WILL BE HAD AS WE GROW INTO 2040.
AND THE VISION FOR CONGRESS AVENUE REALLY CALLS FOR A WAY TO SUPPORT ALL OF THAT, UH, IN AN HONOR, UM, THE SPECIAL PLACE THAT CONGRESS AVENUE IS, UH, IN THE CITY, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND AS WE LOOK TO THAT FUTURE AND THAT REBALANCING, UM, WE ARE A COMMUNITY IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC AND TRYING TO SORT OUT HOW, UM, TO RECOVER BETTER FROM, UH, THIS EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE AS PART OF THAT, THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, AMONG MANY OTHER DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN, UM, TRYING TO ADDRESS A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FRONTS.
UM, AND WHEN IT COMES TO TRANSPORTATION, UM, ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE CAN HELP THE MOST IS TO, TO UNDERSTAND HOW SPACE CAN BE BETTER, SERVED, BETTER, SERVE THE COMMUNITY IN THIS INTERIM TIME THAT WE'RE IN.
AND AS WE LOOK ACROSS TO MANY OF OUR PEER CITIES, UM, ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UH, THE USE OF STREET SPACE IS BEING, UH, SORT OF RE-IMAGINED, UM, TO MAKE ROOM REALLY FOR THE COMMERCE, FOR THE MOBILITY
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AND, UM, FOR ALL OF THE ACTIVITY THAT, UM, THE STREET LIFE, UM, REALLY, UH, NEEDS NOW IN, IN A TIME WHERE PHYSICAL DISTANCING IS, IS VERY APPROPRIATE.UM, SO IN JUNE COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION, DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO LOOK AT WAYS TO IMMEDIATELY IMPLEMENT A REBALANCING OF SPACE THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR THE PHYSICAL DISTANCING NEEDED, AGAIN, THAT, THAT RETAIL, UH, COMMERCE SHOP THE BLOCK LEVEL FROM A MOBILITY PERSPECTIVE, UM, UNDERSTANDING CONGRESS AVENUE AS A CRITICAL NORTH SOUTH CONNECTOR, UM, UM, FOR MANY, THE RESOLUTION ALSO ACKNOWLEDGES, UM, THAT THERE IS ALIGNMENT WITH WHAT WE CAN DO IN AN INTERIM VERSION, UH, TO WHAT WE SEE AS A VISION FOR THE FUTURE, UM, AS SHARED IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, UH, AND IT ASKS US TO BOTH TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION AND THEN RETURNED BACK WITH RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW WE CAN RETAIN SOME OF THOSE BENEFITS.
ONE SOCIAL DISTANCING, PHYSICAL DISTANCING IS NO LONGER, SORRY.
I CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL.
WE IMPLEMENTED A VERY TEMPORARY CONDITION, UM, THAT MANY OF YOU MAY HAVE HAD EXPERIENCE WITH, UM, IF YOU'VE BEEN IN THE DOWNTOWN SINCE THE END OF JUNE.
SO WHAT CURRENTLY EXISTS NOW ON THE STREET IS A PROTECTED, UH, BICYCLE SUITOR LANE, UH, THAT USES TALL CONES.
AS YOU SEE PICTURED HERE, UM, TO OPEN UP THAT, UH, OUTSIDE GENERAL TRAVEL LANE, UM, FOR PEOPLE ON, BY SOME SCOOTERS, IT, UH, HELPS TO DE-CONFLICT THE, UM, UH, USE OF SIDEWALKS, LIMITED SIDEWALK SPACE FOR PEOPLE WALKING ON SCOOTERS AND BIKES.
AND I KNOW IT'S HARD TO REMEMBER BACK, UM, TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO OR SO WHEN WE HAD THAT RATHER ACUTE, UH, DUMP OF SCOOTERS ON OUR COMMUNITY AND, AND, UH, WE WERE FORCED INTO, UH, UH, UM, EMERGENT, UM, MANAGEMENT, UH, CHALLENGE.
AND, AND CERTAINLY THE SIDEWALKS ON CONGRESS WERE ONE OF THOSE PLACES WHERE WE REALLY HAD TO THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT HOW TO BEST MANAGE THAT SPACE.
UM, SO IT MOVED LIKE THIS HELPS TO DECONFLICT, UM, THAT SHARED SPACE AND ESPECIALLY WITH, UM, THE WAY THAT RETAIL AND THE WAY THAT DINING, THE WAY THAT QUEUING, UH, IS, UH, IS NEEDS, NEEDS.
THAT SPACE IS AS ONE OF THE IMMEDIATE, UM, POINTS OF RELIEF THAT I THINK COUNSEL SOUGHT IN TAKING THIS ACTION.
UH, THE CURRENT CONDITION WITH THE CONES, UM, IS IT WORKS TO A DEGREE, BUT IT IS RATHER BLUNT AND IT DOESN'T REALLY OFFER AS MUCH RESILIENCY, UH, AS I THINK THE STREET NEEDS AND AS DENELLE AND MICHELLE SHARED, AS WE START TO SEE RECOVERY, WE WANT TO BUILD IN AS MUCH RESILIENCY INTO THE STREET AS WE CAN.
AND SO THE CURRENT TWO LANES IN EACH DIRECTION DOES NOT REALLY OFFER AS MUCH OF THAT RESILIENCY AS WE'D LIKE TO SEE WHILE ALSO RETAINING THE BENEFITS OF THE PHYSICAL DISTANCING AS CALLED FOR IN THE RESOLUTION, WHICH LEADS US TO, UH, THIS NEXT INTERIM PHASE.
UM, WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT AS PLACE AS SPECIAL AS CONGRESS AVENUE, UM, MAY NOT DO SO WELL WITH ORANGE CONES, UM, UH, ON, UH, ON A MONTH TO MONTH BASIS THAT, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS SOMETHING A BIT MORE AESTHETICALLY PLEASING IS, IS DUE FOR A PLACE LIKE THIS.
UM, AND OF COURSE THE DAILY MAINTENANCE REQUIRED TO KEEP, UH, CONES IN PLACE IS A DRAIN ON, ON STAFF TIME AND, UM, COULD BE VERY USED ELSEWHERE.
SO FOR ALL THOSE REASONS, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT TAKING A NEXT STEP, UM, IN OFFERING SOME TEMPORARY INTERIM RELIEF TO BUSINESSES AND TO PEOPLE MOVING THROUGH THE CORRIDOR BY REBALANCING THE SPACE, UH, TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY WHILE RETAINING ALL THE FLEXIBILITIES THAT, UH, WE CAN, UM, SHORT OF FULLY RECONSTRUCTING THE STREET, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO IN LOOKING AT WAYS THAT WE CAN TAKE, UM, THE CONDITIONS FROM THE CURRENT CONED VERSION INTO SOMETHING A BIT MORE RESILIENT, UH, WE UNDERTOOK A SAFETY ANALYSIS USING A BRAND NEW DATA FROM OUR VISION ZERO PROGRAM.
UH, AS YOU SEE HERE ON THE SLIDE, UH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO UNDERSTAND CITY-WIDE WHERE WE HAVE, UM, THE MOST CONCERNING AREAS WITH RESPECT TO CRASHES AND THE COSTS OF THOSE CRASHES, UM, RE UH, BEAR ON THE CITY AS A COMMUNITY AND ON PEOPLE SPECIFICALLY, UM, WHAT YOU SEE IN THE SLIDE IS, IS THE GENERALLY THE DOWNTOWN AREA AND THE BLUE CROSSES ARE INTERSECTIONS IN OUR TOP 100 MOST CONCERNING INTERSECTIONS FROM A CRASH PERSPECTIVE.
AND YOU ALSO SEE IN RED, UH, THAT NEXT TIER OF TOP 200, AND IN ORANGE, THE TOP 300, UH, IN LOOKING MORE CLOSELY AT CONGRESS
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AT THE DIRECTION OF COUNCIL, WE, WE DID FIND A NUMBER OF CONCERNING PATTERNS THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED IN INTERIM, UM, UH, MEASURES AS, AS THOSE UNDERWAY HERE ON CONGRESS.UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE PARTICULARLY CONCERNED WITH, WITH RIVERSIDE, WITH CESAR CHAVEZ AND WITH SIXTH STREET, UH, AND FOUND THAT THOSE ARE AMONG OUR WORST IN TERMS OF TOP CRASH INTERSECTIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE CRASH COSTS, WHICH I'LL GO THROUGH IN A MOMENT AS WELL.
UH, WE HAVE TWO OF THE WORST FIVE SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS DOWNTOWN FOR PEDESTRIANS, UM, THAT CESAR CHAVEZ AND A SIXTH STREET IN TERMS OF, OF THEIR SAFETY.
UM, AND AS A MORE VULNERABLE USER, IT'S, IT'S ONE OF A PARTICULAR CONCERN FROM A VISION ZERO PERSPECTIVE.
UH, AS I SAID, THIS IS NEW DATA THAT COMBINES THE, UH, CRASH RECORD FORMS FROM THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, UH, WITH, UH, ANALYSIS FOR COMPREHENSIVE CRASH COSTS, WHICH WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
SO COMPREHENSIVE CRASH COSTS IS A WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE, UH, THE BURDEN OF, UH, MOTOR VEHICLE RELATED CRASHES ON A COMMUNITY AND ON, UH, INDIVIDUALS SPECIFICALLY.
SO HERE, UH, AS YOU CAN SEE AT CEZAR CHAVEZ AND CONGRESS AVENUE, UM, IT'S, UH, OF A PARTICULAR CONCERN.
IT'S ONE OF OUR TOP CRASH INTERSECTIONS CITYWIDE, AND FOR THE CORRIDOR, UM, FROM 11TH TO RIVERSIDE DRIVE, UM, THERE'S BEEN OVER 190 MILLION IN COMPREHENSIVE CRASH COSTS ACCOUNTED FOR, UH, IN THE FIVE-YEAR PERIOD.
WE ANALYZED FROM 2014 TO 2018.
THIS WOULD ACCOUNT FOR EVERYTHING FROM LOST WAGES, PRODUCTIVITY, MEDICAL EXPENSES, UH, WHAT AN EMPLOYER WOULD, UH, PAY FOR UNINSURED COSTS, DAMAGES TO MOTOR VEHICLES AND PROPERTY, UH, ALSO AS WELL AS QUALITY OF LIFE LOSSES.
SO THE DEGREE TO WHICH WE, AS A SOCIETY, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL PAY TO REDUCE RISKS TO OUR OWN HEALTH AND SAFETY.
UM, THIS IS NOT THE WORST SEGMENT IN THE CITY, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY, UH, VERY HIGH IN TERMS OF COMPREHENSIVE CRASH COSTS.
THIS ANALYSIS HAS REALLY CHANGED THE WAY THAT WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE THINGS WE CAN DO NEAR TERM FROM A VISION ZERO PERSPECTIVE.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE NOW LOOKED CRITICALLY AT PLEASANT VALLEY ROAD OVER THE LONGHORN DAM FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE, UM, AND ARE PURSUING INTERIM IMPROVEMENTS TO ADDRESS THOSE CRASH PATTERNS.
SLAUGHTER LANE IS ANOTHER AREA OF DEEP CONCERN THAT WE'VE MADE IMMEDIATE CHANGES TO.
UM, AND THERE ARE OTHER PLACES IN THIS CITY, UH, CAMERON ROADS AND OTHER ONE WHERE, UM, THE UNDERSTANDING NOW FROM A COMPREHENSIVE CRASH COSTS PERSPECTIVE IS, IS MUCH CLEAR AND, UM, DOES PRESENT A SAFETY IMPERATIVE THAT WE SHOULD ADDRESS AND SHOULD ADJUST QUICKLY AND HAVE THE MEANS TO DO SO.
WE ALSO REALLY BENEFITED IN OUR ANALYSIS FROM THE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVES MOBILITY REPORT.
UH, THIS WAS DONE, UM, BY THE ALLIANCE TRANSPORTATION GROUP PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC IN MARCH OF 2019.
AND IT WAS IN SERVICE TO THE CONGRESS, URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVES VISION FOR WHAT, UH, THE AVENUE, UH, COULD SUPPORT, UH, FROM A MOBILITY PERSPECTIVE, AS WE IMAGINED HOW TO BALANCE THAT SPACE BEST FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, WE, WE HAVE A MUCH BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE, THE STREET OPERATES FROM A PRE PANDEMIC LEVEL AND KNOW THAT THE CURRENT CONFIGURATION WITH SIX LANES REALLY IS, IS NOT OPTIMAL, UH, FOR, FOR REALLY ANYONE.
AND THAT CAN BE A RATHER ENCOUNTER INTUITIVE, UH, PROPOSITION, BUT THE IDEA THAT WE HAVE A SIX LANE, UM, ARTERIAL THROUGH THE DOWNTOWN WITHOUT PROTECTION FOR LEFT TURNS, UH, WITHOUT ANY, UM, ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES THAT SOME OF THESE MAJOR INTERSECTIONS IS, IS REALLY QUITE STUNNING AND PROBABLY A LEGACY OF OUR SMALLER TOWN DAYS, UM, THAT WE DO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS NEAR TERM.
WE KNOW THAT TRAFFIC IS VERY, UM, INTENSE AT CERTAIN PLACES ALONG CONGRESS, ESPECIALLY AT CEZAR CHAVEZ AND FIFTH AND SIXTH, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE SUPPORTING THOSE EAST WEST AND NORTH SOUTH MOVEMENTS.
UM, WE KNOW THAT BY PUTTING IN LEFT TURN LANES, WE CAN HELP SUPPORT THOSE MOVEMENTS MUCH BETTER THAN WE CURRENTLY HAVE WITH, UM, WITH A MORE BLUNT CONDITION.
UM, WITH THE TRAFFIC CONES, WE CAN BUILD THAT RESILIENCY INTO THE STREET, AS WE RECOVER.
AND AS JANELL SHOWED, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL TRIPS BEING MADE TO THE DOWNTOWN FROM THAT 74% REDUCTION, UH, IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE, OF THE STAY HOME WORKSAFE ORDER.
WE ALSO KNOW THAT THAT NOT EVERY INTERSECTION BEHAVES THE SAME THAT WE HAVE THESE VERY KEY INTERSECTIONS THAT SAYS, OR CHAVEZ FIFTH AND SIX, AND THAT WE HAVE MORE MINOR INTERSECTIONS, UH, ELSEWHERE IN THE STREET THAT DON'T DRIVE THAT CONGESTION AS MUCH.
IT MAY APPEAR THAT IT'S ALL RELATED AS BACKUPS OCCUR, BUT IT'S REALLY AT THESE KEY INTERSECTIONS THAT SUPPORT THE COMMUTER PATTERNS AT THE PEAK HOUR THAT WE
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WANT TO TRY TO ADDRESS AND IMPROVE AND MAKE MORE OPTIMAL, UH, THROUGH RECONFIGURATION SIGNAL CHANGES, UM, WHILE ALSO BALANCING THE OVERALL NEEDS FROM A SAFETY AND COMFORT PERSPECTIVE, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE IN ADDITION INTO TRYING TO RESET, REBUILD, UH, AND BUILD RESILIENCY INTO THE STREET FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.UH, EVEN BEYOND THAT INTO 2040, WE KNOW THAT OUR COMMUNITY WILL CONTINUE TO GROW.
WE HAVE THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT DISTRICT.
UM, WE HAVE MANY OTHER PROJECTS UNDERWAY AS, AS JENELLE AND MICHELLE SHARED, AND WE WANT TO BUILD IN THAT RESILIENCY.
UM, THE IDEA OF SAY SOMEONE LIVING IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT DISTRICT AND HAVING TO DRIVE 20 MINUTES THROUGH, THROUGH TRAFFIC TO GO TO DINNER OR GO TO WORK, UH, IN THE DOWNTOWN, UH, REALLY DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
IT'S NOT TIME COMPETITIVE AT IT.
UH, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO TRY AND BREAK THAT VICIOUS CYCLE OF DEPENDENCY INTO SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE VIRTUOUS AND A LITTLE MORE RESILIENT GOING FORWARD.
SO AS WE LOOKED AT GROWTH INTO 2040, UM, WHAT THE, ONE OF THE CORE THEMES OF THE CONGRESS URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE IS TO LOOK AT HOW TO REBALANCE THE SPACE OVERALL UNDERSTANDING, SAY FOR THE, THE BRIDGE, FOR EXAMPLE, AS YOU SEE HERE, UM, WE, WE REALLY HAVE A LOT OF COMPETING NEEDS FOR THAT SPACE.
UM, AND WE, WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS TRY TO BUILD, UM, REBALANCE AND BUILD SPACE FOR RESILIENCY GOING FORWARD.
UM, AND WE CAN INDUCE A MODE SHIFT BY DOING THAT, THAT INDUCES, THAT, UH, IDEA OF, YOU KNOW, MOVING A SCOOTER, A BIKE OUT OF THE SIDEWALK.
THAT'S VERY LIMITED FOR PEDESTRIANS INTO A CHAIR, INTO A PROTECTED SPACE.
THAT'S NOT SHARED WITH MOTOR VEHICLES.
THAT'S THE KIND OF CATALYTIC MOVE THAT WE CAN DO NEAR TERM AS WE, AS WE BUILD AND LOOK TOWARDS THE FUTURE.
AND IN DOING THAT, UM, WHAT THE URBAN DESIGN MOBILITY REPORT SHOWS IS WE WOULD BE ABLE TO SUPPORT AS MUCH AS A FOUR TO 12% DECREASE IN MOTOR VEHICLE TRIPS ON CONGRESS AVENUE, UM, AND LOOKING FORWARD UP TO 30 TO 60%.
SO REALLY TRYING TO GET THAT VIRTUOUS CYCLE AS CATALYZED BY, UH, NEAR TERM REBALANCING, UH, REALLY IN, IN THE FACE OF THE, OF THE LIMITED SPACE THAT WE HAVE, UH, IN A BUILT-OUT URBAN CORE, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO LET'S TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DESIGN ITSELF.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, WE, WE EXPECT SIGNIFICANT SAFETY BENEFITS HAVING UNDERSTOOD NOW, THE CRASH PATTERNS, INCLUDING HEAD-ON CRASHES AND PEDESTRIAN RELATED CRASHES ALONG THE STREET, UH, GIVEN OUR ANALYSIS OF, UH, THE COMPREHENSIVE CRASH COSTS, WE, UH, WOULD BE INSTALLING AND HAVE INSTALLED NEW LEFT TURN LANES THAT SAYS, OR CHAVEZ STREET, AND, UH, WE'LL BE PROCEEDING WITH LEFT TURN LANES AT FIFTH AND SIXTH STREET WITH PROTECTED TURN PHASES TO REDUCE THOSE HEAD-ON CRASHES THROUGHOUT THE CORRIDOR AND REDUCE THE TERRESTRIAL CONFLICTS.
WE'VE EXTENDED THE STORAGE CAPACITY FOR PEOPLE TURNING LEFT ON CEZAR CHAVEZ SOUTHBOUND TO CONGRESS AVENUE, UH, TO MAKE THAT MOVEMENT SAFER, MORE PREDICTABLE, UM, AND, AND A BIT BETTER GOING FORWARD.
UM, WE'VE ALSO, UM, PUT IN DEDICATED RIGHT TURN LANES NORTHBOUND THAT SAYS, OR CHAVEZ BARTON SPRINGS ROAD AND NORTHBOUND RIVERSIDE DRIVE, UM, WITH LEADING PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE SIGNAL PHASES SO THAT THE MORE VULNERABLE USER IS MOST VISIBLE AND, UH, CAN GET OUT IN FRONT, UH, TO, TO MAKE THOSE CONFLICTING MOVEMENTS, UM, MORE SAFELY.
AND THEN SIMPLIFY THE LANE CONFIGURATION ALONG CESAR CHAVEZ BETWEEN CONGRESS AVENUE IN BRAZOS STREET.
AS I MENTIONED TO REALLY GET THAT STORAGE CAPACITY, UM, MAXIMIZED FOR THAT LEFT TERM.
AND ALL OF THIS WAS REALLY DESIGNED TO REALLY BETTER MEET PRE POST COVID TRAFFIC LEVELS, AS WE RECOVER, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
IN ADDITION, UM, THE CHANGES, UH, ON THE STREET, UH, HAVE, HAVE SHORTENED THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING DISTANCES IN THE TEMPORARY CONE VERSION.
AND, AND AS WE MOVE INTO THIS NEXT INTERIM PHASE WOULD CONTINUE MAINTAIN THOSE BENEFITS, UM, BRINGING BETTER VISIBILITY AND BETTER PREDICTABILITY, UH, FOR PEDESTRIANS CROSSING THE STREET.
AND, AND GIVEN THAT WE'RE IN A PLACE WITH TWO OF THE FIVE WORST PEDESTRIAN, UM, WORST INTERSECTION SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION FOR PEDESTRIAN SAFETY.
UM, THOSE ARE STEPS WE ARE EAGER TO MAKE.
UM, WE WOULD ALSO BE PUTTING IN A PROTECTED INTERSECTION DESIGN AT RIVERSIDE DRIVE, BARTON SPRINGS ROAD, UH, THIRD STREET AND 11TH STREET, UH, AND AGAIN, TO IMPROVE THAT VISIBILITY FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE USERS AND THEN ENHANCING, UH, THE BICYCLE CROSSINGS AS WELL, UM, AS THEY CROSS THE STRUCTURED PARKING, UM, ALL PARKING REMAINS THE SAME ON THE STREET, UH, BOTH THE PARALLEL OR, UM, UH, DUCK IN PARKING, AS WELL AS THE ANGLED PARKING.
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UH, YOU CAN GO HEAD TO THE NEXT SLIDE IN TERMS OF THE ALIGNMENT WITH THE CONGRESS URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE.THERE'S A GREAT DEAL OF ALIGNMENT, UM, WITH THE, WITH THE INTERIM IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, IT, IT CATALYZES THAT REBALANCING OF THE STREET SPACE, UM, WHILE MAINTAINING THE FLEXIBILITIES AND THE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES THAT WE CAN GAIN AT INTERSECTIONS LIKE FIFTH AND SIX WITH LEFT TURN POCKETS, IT HELPS TO SEPARATE BICYCLE AND SCOOTER TRAFFIC ON LIMITED SIDEWALK SPACE, UH, FOR PROTEST MEANT FOR PEDESTRIANS INTO, UH, INTO A SEPARATED SPACE AND THEREBY CREATES BETTER VISIBILITY QUEUING, UM, AND, AND USE OF SPACE AT, AT INTERSECTIONS AND CORNERS.
IT CERTAINLY DOESN'T GO AS FAR AS THE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE.
AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, ABOUT THAT, THAT DIFFERENCE IN A MOMENT, UH, GO AHEAD TO THE NEXT, AND I THINK, UH, IN A REFLECTION OF THE, UM, AND REAL INTEREST, I THINK WE HAVE AS A COMMUNITY TO BRING LIFE BACK TO CONGRESS AVENUE, UM, FOR ITS ECONOMIC FUTURE.
UM, I THINK ONE OF THE MORE PROMISING OPTIONS, UH, THAT THIS, THESE INTERIM CHANGES OFFER IS, UH, IN THAT INVITATION TO REMOVE THE CONFLICTS ON THE SIDEWALK INTO A MORE DEDICATED, PROTECTED SPACE, UM, TO IMAGINE A STREET LIFE LIKE YOU SEE HERE IN THE FUTURE, UM, BY CATALYZING, UM, THAT REBALANCING WHERE WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, UM, FREEING SPACE FOR CUING FREEING SPACE FOR DINING, UM, UH, FREEING SPACE FOR OTHER ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ON THE SIDEWALKS, UM, GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND CERTAINLY ON THE BRIDGE ITSELF, UNDERSTANDING WE, THIS IS A PLACE WHERE, UH, WE HAVE HAD A FATALITY IN THE LAST, IN THE LAST DECADE AND A PLACE THAT CAN BE QUITE TERRIFYING, UM, TO SHARE SPACE, WHETHER YOU ARE A PEDESTRIAN, TRYING TO MAKE YOUR WAY ON THE SIDEWALK, OR, UM, RIDING IN THE GENERAL, UH, TRAVELING ON THE OUTSIDE, UM, AND UNDERSTANDING THAT BY REBALANCING SPACE, WE CAN MAKE IT BETTER FOR EVERYONE, UM, THROUGHOUT THE CORRIDOR.
UM, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT NOW.
UH, GO AHEAD TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW, UM, WHEREAS MANY OF THESE INTERIM IMPROVEMENTS ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE.
IT DOES NOT, UM, CALL FOR A COMPLETE RECONSTRUCTION OF, OF THE AVENUE.
UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING, UH, WITH THESE INTERIM IMPROVEMENTS IS MAKING, UH, NEAR TERM CHANGES, RESETTING REBALANCING THE STREET, UM, WHILE RETAINING ALL THE FLEXIBILITIES, UH, TO, TO MODIFY THAT SPACE WHERE NEEDED AS WE CONTINUE TO RECOVER AS A COMMUNITY.
UH, IT, UH, ALL TOLD WERE, UH, WE WERE LOOKING AT ABOUT 250,000, UH, FOR ALL OF THE IMPROVEMENTS AND THAT FACED WITH $190 MILLION COMPREHENSIVE CRASH COSTS IS CERTAINLY A RETURN ON INVESTMENT WORTH PURSUING.
UM, WE, WE WOULD NOT BE RECONSTRUCTING CURBS, UH, PARKING WOULD REMAIN THE SAME.
UH, SO THERE ARE NOT ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE FULL BENEFITS THAT THE CONGRESS URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE OFFERS, BUT CERTAINLY, UM, A GREAT DEAL OF THEM WHILE RETAINING AGAIN, THAT FLEXIBILITY TO MAKE CHANGES AS WE GO FORWARD.
UM, WHEREAS THE MOBILITY REPORT OFFERS A FAIRLY STRONG PICTURE OF HOW THE AVENUE WOULD OPERATE IN THE FUTURE.
WE DON'T HAVE THAT CRYSTAL BALL AS WE ALL WANT.
SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN RETAIN THAT FLEXIBILITY TO MAKE MODIFICATION WHERE WE NEED TO, UM, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE FOR EVERYONE AND UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE WE ARE IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN OUT ON THE STREETS.
UM, WE WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED THE INITIAL PHASES OF THE INTERIM IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, ESSENTIALLY SOUTH OF SECOND STREET, WE HAVE RECONFIGURED INTERSECTIONS AT CEZAR CHAVEZ, BARTON SPRINGS ROAD AND RIVERSIDE DRIVE.
UM, WE'VE ADDED PHYSICAL PROTECTION, UM, TO A MAJORITY OF THE STREET, HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THAT TO DO.
UM, SOUTH OF SECOND THOUGHT IS, UH, CON CONES REMAIN NORTH OF SECOND.
AND WE ARE NOW AT, UH, A MOMENT TO TRANSITION INTO OUR THIRD AND FOURTH PHASES OF THE PROJECT, WHICH WOULD LOOK TO OPEN UP THOSE LEFT TURN LANES AT FIFTH AND SIX BUILDING, BUILDING THAT RESILIENCY INTO THE INTERIM, UH, CONDITIONS AS WE CONTINUE TO RECOVER AND REFRESHING MARKINGS AND ADDING THAT PHYSICAL PROTECTION, UM, INVITING, UM, BICYCLES AND SCOOTERS OFF OF SIDEWALKS AND INTO A MORE PROTECTED FACILITY.
UM, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, THE COMMISSION WITH, UH, THIS IMAGE.
UH, I KNOW WE'RE IN BAT WATCHING SEASON RIGHT NOW, AND, UH, CERTAINLY FRIDAY NIGHT, UM, UH, THIS PHOTO IN THE MIDDLE WAS TAKEN FRIDAY DAY.
SO FRIDAY NIGHT, THERE WAS, UM, A LOT OF FOLKS OUT ENJOYING THE VIEWS OFF OF THE BRIDGE AND HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA
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SPACE THERE, UM, TO DO SO SAFELY, UM, WAS A COMFORT FOR ME TO SEE.AND I THINK ONE THAT WE, UM, UH, WE NEED AS A COMMUNITY TODAY AND CAN CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARDS THE ULTIMATE VISION OF THE, OF THE AVENUE AS A COMMUNITY TOGETHER THROUGH THE CONGRESSWOMAN DESIGN INITIATIVE.
UM, AND WITH THAT I'LL STOP AND OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS, UH, OR ANY FOLLOW-UP, UM, THAT, UH, THE COMMISSION MAY HAVE.
AND BEFORE YOU DO JUMP IN, I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY COLLEAGUES.
UM, NATHAN WILKES, AND EMILY TUTTLE ARE HERE WITH US TODAY.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO LAURA AND HER COLLEAGUES.
THIS WAS A REALLY THOROUGH, REALLY GOOD, A GOOD OVERVIEW OF THEIR, OF THEIR WORK.
SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR WHAT YOU ALL ARE DOING.
UH, I KNOW WE'VE HAD MANY DISCUSSIONS REGARDING THESE INTERIM IMPROVEMENTS AND, UH, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE COMMITTEE IS AWARE OF SOME OF THE ISSUES WE'VE, WE'VE DISCUSSED IN THE PAST.
UM, FIRST THING, WHEN, WHEN YOU WAS BROUGHT UP TO THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, I BELIEVE IT WAS LAST YEAR.
UH, WHAT WAS PRESENTED WAS A, WAS A FIVE LANE SCENARIO WHERE WE WERE ASSURED THAT OUR VEHICULAR TRAFFIC CAPACITY WOULD NOT BE REDUCED BY GOING IN THAT DIRECTION.
UH, RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT A FOUR LANE WITH SOME DEDICATED, LEFT TURN LANES.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK IN THE UDI, YOU SEE THAT THE ANALYSIS WAS NOT A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS.
IT WAS JUST A COUPLE OF INDIVIDUAL INTERSECTIONS.
AND ONE OF MY MAJOR CONCERNS IS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AT, UH, YOU KNOW, PRIOR TO COVID, UH, CONGRESS WAS, WAS GRIDLOCK FROM ABOUT SEVENTH STREET ALL THE WAY THAT SAYS ARE CHAVEZ ON A DAILY BASIS AT RUSH HOUR.
AND IT'S ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTERNOON, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO LESS LANES.
AND, UH, SOME OF THE TWO WAY STREETS, WE'RE NOT GOING TO, YOU KNOW, I CAN SEE WHERE PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE LEFT TURNS AT THE SAME TIME THEY'RE MAKING RIGHT TURNS, WHERE YOU HAVE PEDESTRIANS, BIKES, AND SCOOTERS, UH, PRETTY MUCH PREVENTING ANY TRAFFIC FROM MOVING.
AND I'M, I'M, UH, I AM LEGITIMATELY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT AND WONDERING WHY CITY DIDN'T DO ANY COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS, WHICH TAKES ALL THAT INTO ACCOUNT BECAUSE THE UDI CERTAINLY, CAN YOU HEAR ME? WE CAN.
I, UM, I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS A COUPLE OF THOSE QUESTIONS AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE NATHAN WILKES IS HERE AS WELL, UM, WITH OUR TEAM AND, UM, PERHAPS EXPLAIN A BIT ABOUT WHAT THE MOBILITY REPORT DOES OFFER IN TERMS OF ITS UNDERSTANDING OF THE STREET.
SO WITH THAT, NATHAN, IF I LOOKS LIKE YOU MIGHT HAVE A, UM, AN ERR, CAN YOU HEAR US? I CAN HEAR YOU.
BUT I THINK MY VIDEO, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A TEAMS CONFLICT OR WHAT, BUT, UM, I CAN SEE ALL, Y'ALL SORRY, YOU CAN'T SEE ME, BUT YEAH.
ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS ABOUT THE MOBILITY ANALYSIS IS, AND JUST HOW TRAFFIC WORKS IN GENERAL, AND THIS IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD, UH, JUST IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC, BUT THE BACKUP THAT HAPPENS TO SEVENTH STREET IS GENERATED BY CEZAR CHAVEZ.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE MOBILITY REPORT, THE HIGHEST LEVELS, LIKE BY FAR OF DELAYS, IT SAYS OR CHAVEZ.
AND THE SECOND ALONG THE CORRIDOR IS AT RIVERSIDE.
AND THE REASON THAT THAT HAPPENS, UH, AND THE REASON THAT THE BRIDGE CAN FUNCTION WITH FOUR LANES WHILE SAYS, OR CHAVEZ NEEDS MORE LANES IS BECAUSE IT SAYS A CHAVEZ IS A VERY MAJOR STREET AND IT HOGS GREEN TIME AND CONGRESS, YOU KNOW, WITH THE TURN PHASES THAT ARE ON BOTH CEZAR CHAVEZ AND ON CONGRESS, UH, BOTH CEZAR CHAVEZ AND CONGRESS BOTH DON'T GET 50% OF THE GREEN TIME FOR THROUGH MOVEMENTS.
SO THE REALITY IS THAT SECOND AND THIRD AND FOURTH, UH, WILL BE ABLE TO EASILY FEED WHAT SAYS A SHOT, EVEN WITH PEDESTRIAN AND SCOOTER CONFLICTS AND BICYCLE CONFLICTS BE ABLE TO FEED WHAT SAYS OR CHAVEZ CAN
[01:25:01]
TAKE, YOU KNOW, FROM BASICALLY JUST THE CROSS STREETS.UH, YOU KNOW, THE SAYS SHOP HAS DEMAND THAT SHUTS DOWN CONGRESS, YOU KNOW, OPENS UP ON A 92ND CYCLE AND, YOU KNOW, LESS THAN THE 45 SECONDS IS EVEN GREEN TIME FOR THE THROUGH MOVEMENTS, UM, ON CONGRESS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY THE BACKUPS GO UP TO SEVENTH STREET.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S WHY WE ARE CONFIDENT IN, IN OUR ASSESSMENT THAT THE INTERSECTIONS OF SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH ARE NOT, UH, THE CRITICAL INTERSECTIONS TO BE WATCHING.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY FIFTH AND SIX HAVE LEFT TURN LANES.
WE WERE VERY CAREFUL WITH LEFT AND RIGHT TURN PROVISIONS TO MANAGE CONFLICT AND KEEP THROUGH MOVEMENTS AT BARTON SPRINGS AND RIVERSIDE.
UM, BUT YEAH, HOPEFULLY THAT, THAT HELPS EXPLAIN.
AND THEN, AND ALSO JUST KIND OF RE HIGHLIGHTING.
UM, IF WE WENT WITH THE FIVE LANE CROSS-SECTION, UH, FROM CEZAR CHAVEZ ALL THE WAY TO THE CAPITOL, WHAT WE WOULD HAVE BECAUSE WE HAVE A 60 FOOT STREET, AND THIS IS AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE OF THE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE.
WE WERE TWEAKING HALF FEET OF SPACE IN A RECONSTRUCTION SCENARIO WHERE WE COULD SAY, YOU KNOW, IF WE PINCH THE BIKE SCOOTER LANE, ANY LESS THAN SIX AND A HALF FEET WITH A TWO FOOT BUFFER FROM THE TRAFFIC LANES, WE THINK WE'RE GOING TO RUN THE RISK OF, UH, PEOPLE CHOOSING TO RIDE IN THE PEDESTRIAN SPACE.
AND WE WANT TO RELIABLY SERVE THE DEMANDS FOR THE BICYCLE SCOOTER, UM, KIND OF TRAFFIC THAT PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC AND BALANCE IT WITH THE MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC, UM, WITH, AND WE WERE MOVING EVERYTHING.
UH, WHEN IN, IN THOSE CROSS SECTION RENDERINGS THAT YOU SEE IN THE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE WITH THE EXISTING STREET AND WITH THE SAFETY IMPERATIVE AND THE VERY REAL OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE OPERATIONAL BENEFITS IN THE NEAR TERM, UH, WE ARE DOING SO WITH A 60 FOOT WIDE STREET, UH, THERE IS NO WAY TO MAKE IT A 62 FOOT WIDE STREET OR A 64 FOOT WIDE STREET.
AND IF IT WERE THOSE, YOU KNOW, IF IT WERE 64 FEET WIDE, WE WOULD HAVE BE HAVING A DIFFERENT DISCUSSION ABOUT IT.
IF WE HAD A, UH, IF WE KEPT THE FIVE LANE CROSS SECTION THROUGHOUT, YOU KNOW, NORTH THAT SAYS THERE CHAVEZ, WHAT WE WOULD BE LEFT WITH IS A FIVE FOOT BIKE LANE WITH BOLLARDS.
IF WE TRIED TO PUT PHYSICAL PROTECTION ON IT, WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THAT'S WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO ATTRACT PEOPLE OFF THE SIDEWALKS, IT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE TO PASS GENERALLY SPEAKING.
UH, YOU KNOW, LET'S TAKE TWO, UH, PEOPLE THAT ARE SKILLED AT RIDING A SCOOTER OR A BICYCLE.
SO, UH, THE, THE DISCERNMENT THAT WE HAD TO MAKE AND THE ONE THAT WE'RE CONFIDENT OF, UH, AND, UH, I'LL SPEAK TO HOW WE CAN RESPOND, UH, IN CASE THERE ARE ANY, UH, THINGS THAT WE NEED TO RESPOND TO, IS THAT AT THE INTERSECTIONS THAT DO NOT DRIVE THE BOTTLENECK AND TRAFFIC, THAT IS SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH, UH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH, AND 10TH.
IT WAS IN OUR VIEW THAT IT WAS MOST IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE VISION OF THE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE TO, UH, PRIORITIZE A SPACE THAT IS WIDER AND MORE COMFORTABLE, THAT HAS THE ABILITY TO ATTRACT PEOPLE, RIDING SCOOTERS, AND BICYCLES OFF THE SIDEWALKS WHERE YOU COULD, CAN PASS, UH, ANOTHER USER, UH, THAT, THAT WAS THE BETTER BALANCE OF THE SPACE.
UM, AND, AND LIKE LAURA SAID, IF IT TURNS OUT THAT SECOND STREET HAS TURNING DEMANDS, UH, THAT REALLY WARRANT A LEFT TURN LANE, WE CAN EXTEND THE FIVE LANE SECTION, YOU KNOW, THROUGH SECOND STREET, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO EVALUATE AS TRAFFIC ESCALATES.
AND, AND LIKE LAURA SAID, THE, THE, THE, ALL THE DATA GATHERED FOR THE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVES MOBILITY REPORT WAS, YOU KNOW, PEAK AUSTIN TRAFFIC PRE COVID.
UH, WE FORECASTED IT TO 2020 WITH GROWTH RATES, ACCOUNTING FOR THE TRAFFIC SHIFT PATTERNS IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT.
UM, AND, AND IT IS DESIGNED FOR POST COVID TRAFFIC.
UM, SO HOPEFULLY THAT, THAT HELPS.
AND I'M HAPPY TO HEAR ANY OTHER, I'VE GOT A FEW MORE, WE'VE GOT TIME ON ONE NIGHT, NATHAN HAS A TRAFFIC ENGINEER REVIEWED THIS, UH, ON A COMPREHENSIVE BASIS, THE PROPOSED TRAFFIC REALIGNMENT.
AND, AND ARE THEY ABLE TO SAY THAT WE'RE NOT REDUCING THE VEHICULAR TRAFFIC CAPACITY? YES.
A NUMBER OF TRAFFIC ENGINEERS HAVE REVIEWED THIS.
UM, LAURA LAURA HAD MENTIONED THAT ATKINS DEVELOPED THE, UM, MOBILITY REPORT FOR THE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE.
UH, IT WAS CO-CREATED, UM, AN ACTUALITY WITH A NUMBER, UH, OF CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, TRAFFIC ENGINEERS, AND SIGNAL STAFF, UH, MYSELF, UH, AS ONE OF THEM.
AND, UH, WE WERE VERY CONFIDENT IN, IN THE APPLICABILITY OF THAT REPORT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE DATA THAT WAS USED, UH, TO GENERATE IT, THE MODELING, AND, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UH, YOU'RE AWARE THAT THERE'S A PROVISION OF, UH, MODELING LIMITATIONS.
[01:30:02]
UM, AND, AND WHICH IS REALLY MEANT TO KIND OF CAPTURE THE NUANCE OF, UH, HOW OUR TRAFFIC SIGNAL ENGINEERS KIND OF TUNE THE DOWNTOWN SYSTEM AND IN A, IN A RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS FROM OUR BRIEFING AT THE, UM, DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE, UM, BRIEFING, YOU KNOW, WE SHARED THAT WHEN THE MOPAC MANAGED LANES, UH, TURNED ON, IT CREATED SUCH A SHIFT IN TRAFFIC, UH, LOADING BECAUSE SAYS OUR SHOP HAS GOT LOADED IN A VERY DIFFERENT WAY, UM, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SIGNAL ENGINEER THAT PARTICIPATED IN, IN THE, THIS REPORT RE TIMED ALL OF DOWNTOWN AS A RESULT AND HAS KIND OF THE BEST, UH, POSSIBLE KNOWLEDGE OF, OF OUR DOWNTOWN SIGNAL SYSTEM CAPACITIES, ET CETERA.UM, WHAT WILL BE DONE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW ON THE, ON THE TEMPORARY, UH, THE SCOOTERS BIKES, ET CETERA, UH, SEEM TO, PLENTY OF THEM SEEM TO BE USING STILL USING THE SIDEWALK, BUT WHAT'S GOING TO BE DONE TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO NOT BE USING THE SIDEWALK.
THAT'S LIKE THAT ONE, I GUESS.
UM, YEAH, I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE, THE ESSENCE OF, OF WHAT THESE INTERIM IMPROVEMENTS, UH, AMONG THE MANY BENEFITS WE IN, WE LOOK TO, TO BRING ABOUT RIGHT NOW, WHAT YOU HAVE IS A SORT OF A BLUNT, UH, VERSION OF A PROTECTED BIKE LANE IN THE FORM OF CONES WITH SOME SIGNAGE AND, UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT THE MOST IDEAL CONFIGURATION, UM, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED FROM A SAFETY PERSPECTIVE, UM, FOR, FOR THE MULTIPLE USERS AT, AT INTERSECTION.
SO WHAT, UM, THE INTERIM IMPROVEMENTS DO IS, IS CREATE THAT PROTECTED SPACE, THE CONFLICT MARKINGS AT THE, UM, AT THE PARKING ENTRANCES AND INVITE, UH, USE, UM, INTO A PROTECTED SPACE AWAY FROM THE SIDEWALKS THAT CARROT AND STICK, IF YOU WILL.
I KNOW WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UM, AND DOES SO AT, AT AS MUCH OF THAT, UM, SPACE BETWEEN 11TH AND RIVERSIDE, AS WE POSSIBLY CAN, WHILE UNDERSTANDING AND ACKNOWLEDGING OPERATIONALLY AND SAFETY WISE, WE WANT TO TRY TO CREATE, UM, OPTIMAL CONDITIONS, ESPECIALLY AT CESAR CHAVEZ, UH, FIFTH, SIX, UM, AND OF COURSE, THROUGHOUT THE CORRIDOR.
SO IT'S REALLY ABOUT CREATING, UM, A LITTLE MORE ENDURING, UH, CONFIGURATION, STILL RETAINING THAT FLEXIBILITY.
AGAIN, WE'RE NOT MOVING ANY OF THE CURBS, SO THIS IS VERY, VERY ADAPTABLE AS WE, AS WE LEARN AND ITERATE, UM, OUT OF, OUT OF THIS PANDEMIC INTO RECOVERY.
UM, SO RETAINING THAT FLEXIBILITY, BUT TRYING TO CREATE THAT CARROT AND STICKS A SITUATION, OR MOSTLY A CARROT SITUATION TO TRY TO DECONFLICT, UM, THE SIDEWALKS THAT NOW I THINK WE UNDERSTAND SIDEWALK SPACE DIFFERENTLY.
RIGHT NOW, WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND IT FROM A CUING PERSPECTIVE, FROM AN OUTDOOR DINING PERSPECTIVE, ESPECIALLY AS IT BECOMES MORE PLEASANT TO BE OUTSIDE, UM, AND LOOK TO OUR PEER CITIES FOR THE SUCCESS THAT THEY'VE HAD IN OPENING UP STREET SPACE DIFFERENTLY.
UM, AND THE WAY TO DO THAT IS, IS TO, IS TO DECONFLICT, UM, THAT SIDEWALK SPACE, UM, INTO THAT GENERAL OUTSIDE LANE AND, AND JUST, UH, ANECDOTAL OBSERVATIONS.
LIKE IF YOU LOOK AT THIRD STREET AND YOU LOOK AT CEZAR CHAVEZ AND JOEL, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THIS ON OUR PHONE CALL.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT CEZAR CHAVEZ CROSSING,
I SEE, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST SCOOTER AFTER SCOOTER, YOU KNOW, BICYCLE, UM, YOU KNOW, HEADED ACROSS
YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S RARE ON THIRD STREET TO SEE A SCOOTER, NOT IN THE BIKE LANE OR A BIKE, NOT IN THE BIKE LANE, YOU KNOW, AS THE INFRASTRUCTURE GETS CLEAR, I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, AND RIGHT NOW, UH, AND, AND I WAS THE ONE TASKED WITH THE CHALLENGE OF MAKING CONES LOOK LIKE A BIKE LANE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN DO A LOT BETTER.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT'S ALREADY IMPLEMENTED SOUTH OF CEZAR CHAVEZ, THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS MUCH, MUCH MORE CLEAR, UH, AND, AND GIVES PEOPLE THE CONFIDENCE THAT THEY NEED TO CHOOSE, CHOOSE WHERE THEY CAN BE.
UM, YOU KNOW, OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS IS, IS, UH, EVERYONE COMES BACK DOWNTOWN AND WE'VE GOT NEW OFFICES THAT ARE PREGNANT AT AS MANY AS 12,000 NEW NEW EMPLOYEES DOWNTOWN.
UM, WHAT IF, IF THIS DOESN'T WORK AS, AS, UH, WE HOPE IT DOES, WHAT WILL THE CITY DO IN REGARDS TO RETURNING TO A, A DIFFERENT PATTERN? YES, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
I MEAN, THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
WE'RE IN A POSITION TO, TO WARRANTY OUR WORK AND TO, AND TO MONITOR IT.
AND LIKE, I THINK THE APPROACH THAT THE DA'S TAKING TO, TO UNDERSTAND
[01:35:01]
AND TO ITERATE, UH, AND, AND TO RESET, UM, THAT IS THE COMMITMENT WE MAKE TO ANYTHING WE DO.SO ONGOING MONITORING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE INTENDED BENEFITS ARE REALIZED, UM, BOTH FROM AN OPERATIONAL PERSPECTIVE, SAFETY PERSPECTIVE, UM, AND OVERALL COMFORT AND RESILIENCY PERSPECTIVE.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE DOWNTOWN AREA IS VERY UNIQUE.
IT OFFERS A LOT FOR EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE ABILITY TO HOP ON A SCOOTER AND GO, YOU KNOW, A FEW BLOCKS TO REPUBLIC SQUARE FOR LUNCH, UM, WAS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE DID ROUTINELY.
UM, ESPECIALLY AS, AS SCOOTERS BECAME MORE, UH, UH, MORE PROLIFIC IN OUR COMMUNITY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
UM, WE WANT TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT PEOPLE ARE FEEL COMFORTABLE AND NO MATTER HOW THEY'RE GETTING TO AND FROM WORK, UM, AND, AND REALLY RECOGNIZING THAT THERE IS, UM, UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DOWNTOWN THAT WE NEED TO REALLY EMBRACE, UM, AND SUPPORT AS IT RECOVERS, UM, UNIQUELY, UM, AS, AS TO OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY AS WELL.
SO, UM, CERTAINLY WE ARE HERE.
UM, WE ARE MONITORING THIS, UH, EVERY SINGLE DAY, UM, ROUTE QUITE LITERALLY WITH THE CONES OUT THERE NOW, AND, UM, CONTINUE TO MONITOR WITH OUR COLLEAGUES IN THE SIGNAL ENGINEERING GROUP, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE OPTIMIZING THE OPERATIONS AND THE SAFETY AND THE OVERALL COMFORT FOR EVERYONE.
UM, AND ONE, ONE OF THE THING THAT IS REALLY WORTH STRESSING, SORRY, JOEL, I GOTTA GET A WORD IN ON THIS.
UM, CONGRESS AT CEZAR CHAVEZ IS KIND OF THIS PERFECT STORM, AND I'M SURE Y'ALL HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE STATESMAN SITE DEVELOPMENT AND THEY, UH, SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT IN GENERAL, UM, THE, THE TRAFFIC SITUATION AT CEZAR CHAVEZ IS SUCH THAT IN A PEAK HOUR, YOU CANNOT GET ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, SATURATED CONDITIONS.
SO I'M TALKING PRE AND POST COVID TRAFFIC.
YOU CANNOT LITERALLY GET ANOTHER VEHICLE THROUGH THAT GATEWAY IN A, IN A PEAK HOUR.
UH, YOU CAN GET MORE PEOPLE THROUGH THAT GATEWAY AND THE NEW CONFIGURATION THAT IS ALREADY IN PLACE THAT SAYS, OR CHAVEZ MAINTAINS THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES, MOTOR VEHICLES THAT ARE GETTING THROUGH THAT GATEWAY WHILE SIGNIFICANTLY OPENING UP THE QUALITY AND CAPACITY FOR PEOPLE WALKING, BICYCLING, SCOOTERING, PETTY, CALVING, YOU KNOW, HOWEVER YOU CHOOSE TO GET FROM SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT BOLDEN, ET CETERA, AND, AND THE WHOLE KEY TO, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND THAT'S WHAT OUR TRANSIT CONVERSATIONS ARE ABOUT.
LIKE, IF WE'RE GOING TO GET MORE PEOPLE INTO DOWNTOWN, THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO BALANCE THE DEMAND OF GETTING PEOPLE TO DOWNTOWN.
SO, UH, THINKING SMARTER ABOUT, AND THAT PARTICULAR GATEWAY, IF YOU READ THE REPORT REALLY CLOSELY, IT'S ABOUT THAT GATEWAY AND HOW MANY PEOPLE WE CAN GET THROUGH IT.
UM, AND, AND IN OUR CURRENT CONFIGURATION, WE DO NOT ALLOW KIND OF MODE SHIFT TO KEEP ORGANICALLY KIND OF GROWING, UH, IN THE WAYS OUR ASPIRATIONS ARE.
AND I THINK IF YOU GO LOOK AT WHAT'S AT, ON CONGRESS RIGHT NOW, IT SAYS, OR CHAVEZ, YOU CAN START TO IMAGINE, UH, THAT CHANGE PROCESS STARTING TO TAKE PLACE, WHICH THE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVES VISION WOULD TAKE EVEN FURTHER.
WELL, THANK YOU, NATHAN AND LAURA, AND I REALLY LIKED THE CLOCK YOU HAVE THERE ON YOUR WALL ANYWAYS.
SO I'LL PASS THE BATON ON TO ANYONE ELSE THAT MAY HAVE QUESTIONS.
YEAH, I HAVE, UM, REAL QUICKLY, THIS IS AUGUST.
I HAVE REVERTED BACK TO A CONFERENCE CALL WITH MY BATTERY ON MY PHONE DIED.
SO, UH, WE DO NEED TO MOVE ON IF THERE'S ONE MORE QUESTION THAT ANYBODY HAS.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT TO, UM, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A QUESTION, BUT I DO WANT TO JUST SORT OF PUT IT OUT THERE THAT, YOU KNOW, COVID, EVEN THOUGH, YOU KNOW, UH, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE RECOVERY AND, AND WE CAN'T GET THERE FAST ENOUGH.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE IN A RISE AGAIN, UM, AND WHO KNOWS HOW LONG WE'LL ACTUALLY BE IN IT.
UM, PEOPLE FEEL SAFE IN THEIR CARS.
THEY FEEL LIKE THAT IS A PLACE WHERE THEY IT'S THEIR BUBBLE, IT'S THEIR PLACE THAT THEY CAN CONTROL.
AND SO, BECAUSE OF THAT, I, I THINK THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING RISE IN CURBSIDE PICKUPS AND ALL THESE THINGS WHERE THEY'RE, THEY'RE TIED MORE TO THEIR CAR THAN WE EVER HAVE BEEN.
UM, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE WORKING FROM HOME AND WE'RE DOING OUR THINGS FROM HOME WHEN PEOPLE ARE OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M SEEING, YOU KNOW, LESS BIKES ON THE SIDEWALKS GOING DOWN THERE, I'M SEEING DEFINITELY LESS SCOOTERS, YOU KNOW, UM, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO I JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH I VERY MUCH WANT TO SHIFT US AWAY FROM OUR DEPENDENCY ON CARS, UM, IT'S IN OUR PSYCHE THAT THAT IS A PROTECTED SPACE.
SO I JUST WANT TO PUT IT OUT THERE.
UM, AS WE, AS WE THINK ABOUT WHAT IS COVID GOING TO DO TO US, UM, YOU KNOW, AS, AS PEOPLE DESIRE TO MOVE FORWARD.
UH, JENNIFER AND, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, LOOKING CERTAINLY CITYWIDE, UM, I UNDERSTAND, UM,
[01:40:01]
YOU KNOW, HOW PEOPLE ARE CHOOSING TO MOVE ABOUT, I HAVE TO SAY, UM, WITH RESPECT TO, TO THE DOWNTOWN IN PARTICULAR AND, AND THE SHORT TRIP, UM, POTENTIAL THAT EXISTS THERE, UM, FOR SO MANY, IT REALLY COMES BACK TO, TO, UH, UNDERSTANDING LIMITED SPACE AND HOW THAT CAN BE BEST UTILIZED, WHETHER YOU'RE A RETAILER RIGHT THERE AT THE GROUND LEVEL, UM, TRYING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, BRING A, A CRITICAL MASS FOR, YOU KNOW, YOUR RESTAURANT OR, UM, OR YOU'RE SOMEONE WHO IS MAKING A SHORT TRIP, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THIS NORTH SOUTH CONNECTION, UM, TO GET TO WORK.SO WE'VE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE HEARD FROM QUITE A FEW FOLKS WHO, UM, ARE DEEPLY APPRECIATIVE OF SOMETHING THAT OFFERS A LITTLE MORE PROTECTION WHILE MAKING SURE THAT IF YOU'RE IN A CAR YOU'RE STILL ABLE TO DRIVE SAFELY AND COMFORTABLY THROUGH, THROUGH THAT CORRIDOR AS WELL.
SO MAYBE, UM, WHAT I'LL OFFER IS IT'S REALLY TRYING TO, UH, FLOAT ALL BOATS AND BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO ALL THE WAYS THAT, THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS CHOOSING TO GET ABOUT.
AND, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT FORECLOSING ON ANY OF THOSE OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE AS THEY MAKE THOSE CHOICES, WHETHER THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, SITTING OUTSIDE FOR, FOR COFFEE OR WHETHER THEY'RE TRYING TO GET TO AND FROM A GARAGE DOWNTOWN.
SO CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A DIFFERENT CHOICE FOR EVERYONE.
AND WHAT WE WANT TO TRY TO DO IS OFFER THOSE CHOICES, UH, SAFELY LAURA, THIS IS AUGUST, I'VE GOT ONE MORE POINT OR QUESTION BEFORE WE MOVE ON.
UM, IN PUTTING THIS TOGETHER, I OBVIOUSLY Y'ALL HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO A NUMBER OF, UH, GROUPS THAT ARE IMPACTED BY MOBILITY SOLUTIONS.
HAVE YOU SPOKEN TO THE BUSINESSES, THE RETAILERS, THE RESTAURANT TOURS, THE BUILDING OWNERS, UH, IN DEPTH ABOUT WHAT THESE SOLUTIONS ARE AND HOW THEY WOULD AFFECT THEM AND GOTTEN THE PULSE FROM THEM ON HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT THIS? YES, THANK YOU.
UM, CERTAINLY THROUGH, YOU KNOW, OUR PARTNERSHIP AND ONGOING COORDINATION WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, UM, WE HAVE REALLY BENEFITED FROM A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF PERSPECTIVE, UM, FROM THEIR BOARD FROM THEIR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, THAT REPRESENT THE PLACE, UH, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE.
SO, UH, THAT ALONG WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, UM, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS ALONG THE AVENUE, WE'VE GONE DOOR TO DOOR, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, TO INFORM, UM, AND, AND ENGAGE WITH, UH, ALL STAKEHOLDERS ALONG THE AVENUE.
WE KNOW THAT THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL PLACE, UM, AND IT'S SPECIAL IN DIFFERENT WAYS FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
UM, AND, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS AN, IS AN INTERIM STEP IN THE SPIRIT OF, OF MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN RESPOND, ITERATE AND, AND LEARN FROM, UM, WHAT THE PANDEMIC HAS, HAS KIND OF BROUGHT FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND HOW WE CAN BEST, BEST TO BE SPACE GOING FORWARD.
SO CERTAINLY INVITE THAT DIALOGUE TO CONTINUE AND, UH, APPRECIATE THE CHANCE TO BRIEF THE COMMISSIONERS TONIGHT, UM, ON THIS AND, AND INVITE ANY OF YOU TO SEND US QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE, UM, AFTER THIS, WE'RE HAPPY TO ENGAGE ONE-ON-ONE OR, UM, AND ANY ADDITIONAL, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, FEEDBACK THAT Y'ALL MAY HAVE.
I THINK MEGAN, MIGHT'VE HAD HER HAND UP.
I DID, UM, JUST QUICK INTERJECTION, LAURA, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU.
UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, OWNING A CAR AND BEING ABLE TO DRIVE IN A CAR AND, UM, DO CURBSIDE PICKUP IN THE CAR IS A PRIVILEGE THAT MANY PEOPLE IN AUSTIN DO NOT HAVE, UM, PEOPLE ON THIS CONDITION DO NOT HAVE THE CAR ACCESS.
AND SO JUST ON BEHALF OF MY FELLOW NEIGHBORS AND MYSELF, THAT AREN'T AUTO DRIVERS.
UM, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR LOOKING OUT FOR OUR SAFETY ON THIS SUPPORTER, SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
UM, WE NEED TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM, UH, WHICH IS ABOUT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS RELOCATION.
IS THERE ANY ACTION THAT WE NEED TO TAKE? IS THERE ANY MOTION FROM THE COMMISSION? OKAY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH HEARING NONE.
OH, I GUESS I, YOU CUT OUT THERE, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A MOTION AND IF WAS ANY FURTHER INTEREST IN PURSUING THAT, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
NOW REGARDING THE INTERIM IMPROVEMENTS TO CONGRESS AVENUE, TRAFFIC CAPACITY BE MONITORED AND THE, AND IF THE IMPROVEMENTS AS INSTALLED DO REDUCE THE TRAFFIC CAPACITY FROM PRE COVID LEVELS, THEY BE EXPEDITIOUSLY MODIFIED TO RETURN TO A PRIOR CAPACITY.
[01:45:05]
I THINK MEGAN, AND YOUR HAND AUGUST, YOU CAN'T SEE IT.I'M NO LONGER ON WEBEX, SO I CAN'T SEE IT.
ANY DISCUSSION? DOES ANYBODY HAVE THEIR HAND UP? OKAY.
AM I CORRECT? THAT THE EYES CARRIED IT.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO FUTURE UPDATES FROM YOU.
[5. Austin Police Department (APD) Headquarter Relocation]
BUSINESS IS BUSINESS.IS AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? UM, YES, REALLY QUICK.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I WAS JUST LOOKING AT THE EMAIL THAT WAS SENT OUT THERE, BACKUP MATERIAL FOR THIS, OR, OR NO.
UM, SO THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TO THIS EVENING, UH, COMMISSIONERS.
I'M THE INTERIM OFFICER FOR THE OFFICE OF REAL ESTATE SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, UH, JUST AS PREVIOUSLY ASKED, NO, THERE'S NO PRESENTATION, UH, TO GO ALONG WITH THIS.
AND REALLY THAT'S JUST BECAUSE WE ARE VERY EARLY IN THIS PROCESS.
UM, OF COURSE WITH THIS BEING PASSED AS PART OF THE BUDGET RIDER, UH, WE ARE STILL WORKING ON FORWARD WITH THIS, UH, REQUESTS THAT WAS INCLUDED AS PART OF, UH, PART OF THE BUDGET RIDER.
SO WE, WE REALLY AT A HIGH LEVEL, SEE THIS AS A TWO-STEP PROCESS, UH, AND STEP ONE BEING, UH, WORKING ON THE RELOCATION AND POTENTIAL CO-LOCATION OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY RESOURCES.
UH, AND SO AT A HIGH LEVEL, WHAT WE SEE THAT AS, AS WE TREAT ANYTIME WE ARE MOVING STAFF FROM ONE LOCATION TO ANOTHER LOCATION, UM, WE ARE TREATING THIS SIMILARLY, UH, ALONG THOSE SAME LINES.
AND SO THIS IS A, A PROCESS THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE DO CORRECTLY.
AND WE DO RIGHT HERE, UH, MOVING STAFF INTO THE SPACE THAT WORKS FOR THEM.
SO WHAT WE ARE PLANNING ON DOING IS, UH, CURRENTLY WORKING TO SCOPE A PLAN WITH OUR CONSULTANT TO HELP US, UH, DETERMINE WHAT THE, WHAT THE SCOPE OF THIS PROJECT LOOKS LIKE.
UH, LOOKING AT RELOCATING THE STAFF THAT CURRENTLY ARE HOUSED AT THE APD HEADQUARTERS ON EIGHTH STREET.
AND WHAT WE SEE IS WE SEE HAVING TO DO A NEEDS ASSESSMENT WITH, UH, THE DEPARTMENT LOOKING AT PROGRAMMATIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT, WORKING WITH THE CONSULTANT, UH, THAT WE HAVE TO HELP US WITH THAT.
AND SO WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT APD APDS NEEDS ARE FOR SPACE, WHAT LOCATIONS NEED TO BE, UH, FOUND FOR THEM, WHAT THEIR PARKING LOOKS LIKE, AND THEN ALSO, UH, ANY SORT OF STORAGE EQUIPMENT, EVERYTHING ELSE THAT GOES ALONG WITH SECURING AND FINDINGS.
SO RIGHT NOW WE SEE, WE ESTIMATE, YOU KNOW, A SIX TO EIGHT WEEK PROCESS TO ACTUALLY WORK, WORK DOWN, UH, THROUGH WHAT WE'VE JUST DESCRIBED TO COMPLETE THAT NEEDS A ASSESSMENT.
WE HAVE THINGS PLANNED, UM, WITH THE CONSULTANT FOR STARTING NEXT MONTH.
UM, BUT REALLY OUR WORK IS TO DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, HOW AND WHERE, UH, SPY, UH, FINDING THE SPACE FOR THOSE
[01:50:01]
DEPARTMENTS IS GOING TO WORK.WE, WE CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE, UM, VACANT SPACE THAT WE CAN CERTAINLY JUST MOVE, UH, APD STAFF INTO.
SO IT'S ESSENTIALLY, UH, GOING TO HAVE TO FIND A SOLUTION FOR THAT SPACE.
AND COULD IT BE AN OVERALL SOLUTION, UM, TIED INTO OTHER SPACE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT? YES, BUT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT AS A BIGGER PICTURE.
SO THAT THAT'S REALLY THE STEP ONE PROCESS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE RELOCATE STAFF? AND THEN STEP TWO IS REALLY THE REDEVELOPMENT FOR THE REUSE OF THE APD HEADQUARTERS SITE.
UM, AND THAT THAT'S FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD.
WE, WE HAVE NOT NECESSARILY STARTED PLANNING FOR THAT.
UH, HISTORICALLY THE CITY HAS HANDLED PROJECTS OF CITY-OWNED PROPERTIES, UM, DIFFERENTLY, UH, SOMETIMES, UH, AS OF RECENTLY, UM, AND CHRISTINE WHO'S ON HERE, MCGUIRE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD EDD HELP US WITH DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
UM, SOMETIMES IT'S OFFICE OF REAL ESTATE TIMES IT'S, UH, AN OFF SHOOT GROUP WITH THIS STRATEGIC FACILITIES GOVERNANCE TEAM THAT WORKS ON SITES, UH, FOR REUSE OR REDEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND THEN WHAT'S A RECENT CREATION OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S A POTENTIAL FOR THAT GROUP TO, TO POSSIBLY, UH, COME UP WITH A PLAN AS WELL.
AND SO WHAT WE DO SEE IS STAFF COMING UP, UH, FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD AND DEVELOP A PLAN ON THAT SITE.
UM, YOU SEE THAT AS KIND OF THE SECOND STEP, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT CAN BE WORKED ON AND WE'RE WORKING ON THE FIRST STEP AND WORKING TOWARDS, UH, FINDING A SPACE TO RELOCATE THE, THE CURRENT APD STAFF FROM THE SITE.
UM, AND THAT WORK CAN OF COURSE BE CONCURRENT, BUT WE DO SEE IT KIND OF AS A SECOND STEP, UH, TUESDAY OF THIS TWO-STEP PROCESS, FINDING A SPACE FOR THEM TO MOVE TO.
AND THEN OF COURSE WORKING ON THE REDEVELOPMENT SIDE FOR REUSE OF THAT SITE.
SO HOW BIG IS THE SITE IN ITS ENTIRETY, INCLUDING THE APDS BUILDING AND THE PARKING GARAGE? UM, UNFORTUNATELY I DID NOT COME PREPARED.
I WASN'T, I WASN'T REALLY SURE AWARE OF WHAT THE QUESTIONS WERE GOING TO BE BECAUSE WE ARE CURRENTLY FOCUSING ON THE RELOCATION OF THE STAFF FROM THE, WE HAVE NOT REALLY GONE DOWN THE PATH OF LOOKING AT THE REDEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL OF THE SITE, RIGHT.
UH, I WAS JUST CURIOUS, THE, THE PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT FOR LAND DOWNTOWN IS WORTH OF A THOUSAND DOLLARS A SQUARE FOOT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE 60, 65, $70 MILLION OR UP, UH, WOULD BE AVAILABLE WHERE THE CITY TO SELL THAT LAND.
SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF ALL HAD NOODLE THROUGH ANY OF THAT YET OR NOT.
AND I REALIZED NOT HAVING, NOT HAVING SCOPED THE ISSUE YET YOU, YOU WON'T HAVE SOME OF THESE ANSWERS, BUT, UH, JUST THE THOUGHT GOING FORWARD.
NO, I, I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION AND I DEFINITELY THINK THOSE ARE ITEMS TO TAKE UNDER CONSIDERATION.
UM, OF COURSE TAKING THE VALUE OF THE SITE INTO CONSIDERATION ON TOP OF, UH, COMMUNITY INPUT AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH AS WELL FOR THE SITE COMMISSION QUESTIONS.
UM, SO I KNOW THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE JUST, UM, RIGHT NOW ON, ON LOCATION, WHEN YOU ARE READY TO DO THE REUSE, UM, I'M LOOKING AT THAT, WILL THERE BE, UM, PUBLIC INPUT AND KIND OF, DO YOU, DO YOU HAVE A VISION OF WHAT THAT PROCESS MIGHT LOOK LIKE A LITTLE BIT? UH, I, I MEAN, I DEFINITELY THINK THAT, UM, PUBLIC INPUT WOULD BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WITH THAT.
I DON'T THINK WE'VE MAPPED OUT WHAT THAT PROCESS MAY LOOK LIKE RIGHT NOW, HISTORICALLY THOUGH.
UM, ANY TIME THAT ASIDE IS BEING LOOKED AT FOR REDEVELOPMENT OR REUSE, YOU KNOW, THEN PUBLIC INPUT IS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION FOR THOSE THINGS, ESPECIALLY, UM, ASIDE LIKE THIS THAT, YOU KNOW, WAS, WAS
[01:55:01]
I THINK ADDED AS A BUDGET WRITER TO SPECIFICALLY KIND OF LOOK AT AT, UH, WHAT THE COMMUNITY MAY WANT, UH, FOR, FOR THIS, FOR THIS SITE AS IT WAS THE, UH, THE FORMER ACTING CURRENT USE AS THE APD HEADQUARTERS.AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU MENTIONED RELOCATING THE STAFF, CAN YOU DESCRIBE, I MEAN, I ASSUME THAT SOME STAFF WILL STAY AND THAT IT WILL REMAIN AS A, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, POLICE, UH, I GUESS SATELLITE OFFICE FOR A LITTLE WHILE, IF, IF THE MAJORITY OF THE STAFF HAS MOVED SOMEWHERE ELSE, DESCRIBE TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THAT SPACE WILL BE USED UNTIL EVERYTHING GETS MOVED, OR WILL THERE ALWAYS BE AN ELEMENT OF THE POLICE FORCE, UM, AT THAT, IN THAT SPACE? I DON'T KNOW IF WE KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT YET.
UNFORTUNATELY, EITHER COMMISSIONER, UM, I THINK WE WANT TO WORK TOWARDS THAT.
I THINK, I THINK WE SEE IT AS THE POTENTIAL TO FIND A NEW SPACE FOR APA APD STAFF TO MOVE TO.
UM, OF COURSE THAT'S, IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE JUST KIND OF A ONE GROUP AND WE'RE IN THOSE EARLY STAGES, BUT I THINK, UM, THERE, THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THERE'S A CENTRAL COMMAND AND THEN, UM, THE, THE MAIN APD STAFF FAIR.
AND SO THERE ARE KIND OF DIFFERENT SPACES, DIFFERENT TEAMS WITHIN A BD THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH.
UH, AND SO THERE DEFINITELY HAS TO BE SPACE DOWNTOWN THAT APV, UH, MAINTAINS WHETHER OR NOT IT'S THIS FACILITY OR SOME OTHER LOCATION, I THINK IS STILL SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO WORK ON, UM, TO SEE WHERE EXACTLY WHAT THOSE PROGRAMMATIC AND LOCATION REQUIREMENTS ARE THAT APD NEEDS.
I JUST FEEL, UM, SOMEWHAT CONCERNED, UM, THAT THERE WOULD NOT BE A STRAIGHT, UM, YOU KNOW, POLICE ELEMENT IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, ESPECIALLY WITH ALL THE BARS AND EVERYTHING THAT ARE LOCATED IN THAT AREA.
UM, SO I JUST WANNA, YOU KNOW, I'M TRYING TO VISUALIZE WHAT THAT FUTURE LOOKS LIKE.
SO I APPRECIATE YOU WALKING ME THROUGH THOSE QUESTIONS.
AND JUST TO ADD TO THE PREVIOUS QUESTION, AND I KNOW THIS AS AN END ALL BE ALL OF THE SIZE OF THE TRACK, BUT ON THE TEEKAT THEY SHOWED US 2.74 ACRES, ROUGHLY FOR THE, UM, THAT APD SITE, IF THAT CHANGES THE NUMBER A LITTLE BIT, RIGHT.
$167 MILLION FOR A NEW POLICE HEADQUARTERS.
UM, THIS IS OBVIOUSLY GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT WE, AS A COMMISSION ARE GONNA VERY BE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT, OBVIOUSLY THE NEED TO HAVE APDS GEORGE SECTOR CO LOCATED MORE DOWNTOWN SERVING OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, ANYBODY HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH.
SO IF I MAY, UM, WHAT, WHAT, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MOVING THE PEOPLE, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? SO BASED ON, UM, DATA PULLED, PULLED TOGETHER, UM, EARLIER IN 2020, I THINK THERE WAS APPROXIMATELY 500 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES THAT WERE, UM, WORKING OUT OF THE DOWNTOWN LOCATION THERE.
UM, BUT THAT IS, UH, TWO SEPARATE COMMANDS, UH, THAT ARE OUT OF THAT LOCATION AS WELL AS JUST THE CENTRAL COMMAND.
SO, UM, IT'S, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT ALL THOSE, UH, POSITIONS WERE PHIL THAT WAS JUST FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, ESSENTIALLY FULL-TIME POSITIONS THAT, UH, HAD SPACES.
AND SO, UM, NOW THE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE APD REDESIGN, UM, WILL ALL THE PERSONNEL NEED TO HAVE A PLACE TO GO, OR IS ANY OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE SET TO BE PART OF IT? WE DESIGNED FOR APD.
I THINK THAT IS PART OF THE DISCUSSION AS WELL, YOU KNOW, WITH THE IMAGINING OF, UM, THE PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTION.
I THINK THAT WILL BE ADDITIONAL DISCUSSIONS TO SEE YES.
ARE THOSE, THOSE POSITIONS POTENTIALLY BEING MOVED TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS OR WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THIS.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR PRESENTING TO US.
[02:00:01]
STILL EARLY DAYS? SO WE DON'T YET HAVE THE PARAMETERS THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS ESTABLISHING FOR THEIR NEEDS, LIKE, UM, GENERAL LOCATIONAL AND THEN THE SPACE CRITERIA AND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THEY WOULD LIKE AT THIS NEW FACILITY.I'M JUST WONDERING IF SOME OF THE, IT SOUNDS LIKE SOME WILL STAY DOWNTOWN, BUT SOME WILL GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
HOW WIDE OPEN THAT SOMEWHERE ELSE IS? YES, EXACTLY.
WE ARE DEFINITELY IN THE EARLY DAYS HOPING TO START, UM, THOSE MEETINGS, UH, WITH APD, UH, COMMAND AND THE ADMINISTRATION WITH, AND WORKING WITH OUR CONSULTANT TO DETERMINE WHAT THOSE PROGRAMMATIC REQUIREMENTS ARE, UH, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS.
UM, WELL, WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO WORK WITH YOU ON THIS ISSUE, UH, AND WE'LL BE INVITING YOU BACK TO A FUTURE MEETING TO GIVE US MORE UPDATE.
UM, AUGUST, I JUST WANT TO, UM, CIRCLE BACK ALEX REALLY QUICK.
SO YOU SAID THAT THE YOU'RE, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE LOCATIONS AND YOU'RE REVIEWING THE STAFF MOVE AND THAT SHOULD TAKE ABOUT SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS.
TO WORK THROUGH THE, THE KIND OF PROGRAMMATIC REQUIREMENTS THAT APD NEEDS, UH, ON, UH, ON NEW SPACE.
SO POTENTIALLY EITHER IN NOVEMBER OR DECEMBER, IF WE HEARD BACK FROM YOU, YOU MIGHT A LITTLE FARTHER DOWN THE LINE OF ABOUT THIS PROCESS.
I THINK MORE, YOU'D BE MORE TOWARDS DECEMBER, JANUARY, BUT YES.
PERHAPS WE CAN INCLUDE IT FOR JANUARY OR JANUARY MEETING.
[6. Downtown Commission 2021 Meeting Schedule]
MOVE ON.UH, THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS TO DISCUSS THE 20, 21 MEETING SCHEDULE.
HEY, IT'S NOT THAT IT'S NOT NECESSARILY FOR ME, FOR MY PURPOSES.
MAY I ASK WHAT, WHAT IS THE TIME? YEAH, IT WAS FIVE 30.
I WILL MAKE A SPECIAL REQUEST.
AND I THINK I'VE BROUGHT THIS UP BEFORE IN ALL CORRESPONDENCES, WHEN THE AGENDA IS SET THAT, UM, IF YOU PUT THE DATE, PLEASE PUT THE TIME RIGHT NEXT TO IT.
I KNOW EVERYBODY ASSUMES THAT WE ARE GOING TO KNOW THE TIME, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE JUST, ALL OF OUR COMPETING SCHEDULES AND NOT BEING IN ONE SPACE RIGHT NOW, HAVING THAT TIME ON THERE IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION AND MAYBE I'M JUST MISSING SOMETHING, BUT THE JANUARY 19TH, FEBRUARY 16TH, APRIL, MAY, ALL OF THEM, THAT'S IT? JANUARY, JANUARY 19TH IS INDEED A TUESDAY.
UH, BUT I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND SAY REALLY QUICK, JANUARY 20TH OF THIS YEAR, THAT IS INAUGURATION DAY.
UM, THE 18TH IS MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY.
AND THEN, UM, THE 20TH IS INTEGRATION DAY.
[02:05:01]
WANT TO MY, I PUT MY CALENDAR UP HERE AND I SAW THOSE TWO THINGS ON THERE.IMPROVE THIS CALENDAR AND SEE MY FACE.
SO I UNDERSTAND SECOND, WHICH IS PROBABLY A GOOD THING RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE DO NEED TO TAKE ACTION ON THIS WITH THE SCHEDULE AS AMENDED.
UH, AND I, I THINK WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT AS LONG AS THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS ARE IN PLACE, THAT WE'RE SUBJECT TO, UM, SOME CHANGE AND THAT WE'LL NEED TO CONTINUE TO BE FLEXIBLE AND STAFF KEEP US APPRISED OF CHANGES AS THEY GET THEM FROM THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT SAID, WE DO HAVE AN AMENDED SCHEDULE.
UH, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE MOTION THAT WE APPROVE IT? COMMISSIONER LAYMAN MAKING THE MOTION.
I HAVE A SECOND COMMISSIONER SHIFT FOR A SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY, AYE, HOLD ON.
THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A LITTLE DISCUSSION THERE.
UM, AND THIS IS JEN, UM, APOLOGIZE.
I RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE, UM, THAT WE'RE VOTING ON THE SCHEDULE.
WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON A, UM, A DRAFT HERE.
UM, I THINK IT ALSO NEEDS TO SAY, I JUST WANT TO PUT ON IT DOWN HERE.
IT SAYS LOCATION, SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
UM, YOU MIGHT WANT TO ALSO ADD THAT, UM, TOPIC IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE ON THERE.
SO WE JUST HAVE THAT ALL CLEAR AND THEN ALSO THEN IT ALSO DOES INCLUDE THE TIME.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT ON THE AMENDMENT WE'VE GOT BOTH PARTS TO IT.
[02:10:01]
I'D NEVER, I DIDN'T GET TO, I JUMPED THE GUN AND DIDN'T GET TO ASK THE QUESTION.ARE THERE ANY OPPOSED HEARING NONE, THE MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIES,
[7.A. Austin Core Transportation Plan (ACTP) Working Group]
UH, THE NEXT SIDE OF A BUSINESS OR WORKING GROUPS? UH, THE FIRST ONE AUSTIN, POOR TRANSPORTATION PLAN, WORKING GROUP, UH, COMMISSIONERS CORNEA.DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? OKAY.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THE WORKING GROUP, NEITHER WORKING GROUP HAS HAD A CHANCE TO MEET SINCE THE LAST MEETING.
UM, I WILL SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY WORKING.
THERE HAS BEEN NO MEETING, UH, AND THERE'S NO ACTION TO TAKE AT THIS AT THIS POINT DISCUSSION.
[8. Items from other Commissions]
THE NEXT ITEM IS, UH, ITEMS FROM OTHER COMMISSIONS, UH, COMMISSIONER ANELLE ROBLEDO.ARE YOU ON THE LINE? I'M NOT HEARING ANYTHING, UH, COMMISSIONER HIVE, SASS, I BELIEVE YOU YOU'RE STILL ON.
YEAH, I CAN JUST REPORT QUICKLY.
WE HAD A, UH, JUST AN EARLY GLIMPSE AT WORK THAT THE PRESERVATION STAFF IS DOING IN CONJUNCTION WITH SOME OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN IDENTIFYING A TARGET, BASICALLY TARGET PROPERTIES THAT ARE IN OUR PROGRAM, UM, BASED ON THE, UM, POTENTIAL ZONING.
AND THAT SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WILL, UH, BE ABLE TO HELP TRACK WHERE SOME OF THESE AT RISK PROPERTIES ARE.
UH, BUT IT'S, IT'S QUITE, IT WAS QUITE AN EYE OPENER JUST TO SEE EVEN SEE THE, UH, THE EARLY DRAFT OF THIS.
AND WE'LL BE HAVING THAT PROBABLY IF NOT IN OUR NEXT MEETING, YOU'LL BE IN THE MEETING AFTERWARDS, UH, AS WE HAVE MORE DATA TO ADD TO THE DISCUSSION ABOUT DOWNTOWN.
UH, THE LAST MEETING OF THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION WAS SOLELY ON THE SUBJECT OF REVIEWING THE, UH, AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
AND, UH, IT PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON INCLUSION OF THE AIRPORT AS PART OF THAT.
NO ACTION WAS TAKEN AND WE'LL BE LOOKING AT IT AGAIN NEXT MONTH.
I DON'T THINK THERE WAS ANY THING THAT RELATES TO THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
COMMISSIONER KEATON, ARE YOU WITH US? I'M NOT HEARING ANYTHING.
UM, AND I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER LEVITAN WAS NOT HERE FOR YOUR INTRODUCTION.
UH, YOU ARE NOT POSTED AS AN ITEM ON OUR AGENDA, BUT WE LOOK FORWARD TO UPDATES.
I HOPE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK TO THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION A LITTLE BIT.
WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU WERE INTRODUCING YOURSELF ON WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE MUSIC COMMISSION.
I HAVE NOT HAD, UH, A CHANCE TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION, UM, BUT I LOOK FORWARD TO UPDATING THE NEXT MEETING.
[9. Staff Updates]
UH, STAFF UPDATES.ANY OTHER STAFF UPDATES FOR US THIS EVENING? OKAY.
UM, POTENTIAL FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, COMMISSION UPDATE FROM THE MUSIC COMMISSION.
WELL, TH THE UPDATE FOR THE MUSIC COMMISSION WILL BE A STANDING ITEM FROM HERE GOING FORWARD.
[02:15:01]
APOLOGIZE.I HAD A WEBEX MEETING ON THIS VERY COMPUTER THIS MORNING, EVERYTHING WORKED FINE.
UM, WHENEVER I LOAD WEBEX AND I TRIED TO DO A ZOOM MEETING LATER, IT BLOCKED ME FROM DOING THAT.
AND I'M WONDERING IF IT HAS DONE THE SAME WITH THIS WEBEX MEETING.
IT'S BEEN A BIT OF A CHALLENGE FOR ME, UH, TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING THE WAY I WOULD LIKE TO.
AND IT'S BEEN A HARDSHIP ON EACH OF YOU, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT, UH, WITH NO FURTHER BUSINESS,
[10. Potential Future Agenda Items]
I HAVE ONE, UM, CYNTHIA, UM, DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE WORTHWHILE FOR THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION TO HEAR, UM, THE CLAIMANT REPORT NOW? I BELIEVE THAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT HAVING PRESENTATIONS BEFORE OTHER COMMISSIONS, AND I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.I HAVEN'T READ THE ENTIRE REPORT.
UM, SO IT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO LISTEN TO OR HEAR, AND THEY, AND THE PEOPLE WHO PREPARED IT COULD PROBABLY PULL OUT WHAT THEY THINK YOU MIGHT BE MOST INTERESTED IN.
YEAH, I THINK, UM, I THINK THAT IMPACTS, UH, AS GREATLY, ESPECIALLY AS WE THINK OF, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR RECOVERY PROCESS AND, UM, AND JUST MOVING FORWARD, I'VE, I'VE REVIEWED AND LOOKED AT THE ONE FOR HOUSTON AND IT'S FASCINATING AND IT IMPACTS THEIR DOWNTOWN AREA.
SO I THINK I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR, UM, THE REPORT AND HAVE A LOOK AT IT AND, AND SEE, UH, SEE THAT IN SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE.
I THINK IT WAS BROUGHT BEFORE TRANSPORTATION BECAUSE TRANSPORTATION IS SUCH A BIG PART OF THE POLLUTION THAT WE KNOW OF.
I HAVE ONE OTHER SUGGESTION THOUGH, FOR A FUTURE ITEM POSSIBLY, AND THAT IS MUCH LIKE THE, UH, ALLIANCE PRESENTED WHAT'S GOING ON, UH, AND HOW THEY'RE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE.
UH, AND, AND THE SECOND PRESENTATION AS WELL, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF POSITIVES THAT MIGHT COME OUT OF THIS SITUATION THAT WE'RE IN.
I WONDER IF THE CITY STAFF KNOWS THIS HAS ANY KIND OF PLANS TO ACCELERATE, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT MAY BE COMPLETED MORE EASILY DURING THIS TIME PERIOD, UH, WHETHER IT'S ABOVE GROUND, BELOW GROUND IN WHATEVER THAT MIGHT BE.
CERTAINLY IF IT'S EMPHASIZING THE DOWNTOWN AREA, YOU KNOW, AND IMMEDIATELY I THINK OF UNDERGROUND AND, UH, WATER AND CIRCULATION AND WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE LIGHTING.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR, UM, SUGGESTIONS FROM ARTISTS FOR ART INSTALLATIONS THAT MIGHT BRING PEOPLE DOWNTOWN TO SEE THOSE AND, UM, TEMPORARY ART INSTALLATIONS AND THEN TEMPORARY MUSIC VENUES OUTDOORS, WHILE WE STILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT.
I, I WOULD GUESS THAT OUR, UH, REPRESENTATIVE FROM BOTH THE ARTS COMMISSION AND THE MUSIC COMMISSION TO PROVIDE US WITH UPDATES ON THOSE EXACT ITEMS. THANK YOU.
HEY, MEGAN, WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT, UM, WE HAD A, A PRESENTATION SEVERAL YEARS AGO ABOUT, UM, FROM THE ARTS COMMISSION THAT WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT INVENTORY THAT'S OUT THERE OF ART INSTALLATIONS RIGHT NOW, AND THEN ALSO WHAT WAS PROJECTED TO COME IN THE FUTURE.
IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE THINKING? NOT EXACTLY.
I WAS THINKING OF, UM, BRINGING NEW THINGS IN, UM, NOT THINGS THAT WERE PAID FOR AS PART OF THE BUILDING OF THINGS.
DIFFERENT BUILDINGS THAT MAKE SENSE.
[02:20:03]
ALRIGHT.DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? ALSO MAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR, AUGUST, AUGUST, YOU CAN'T SEE IT, BUT EVERYBODY RAISE YOUR HAND.
UH, I PROMISE NEXT TIME WILL BE BETTER.
I MAY JOIN CHRISTINE AND MONA DOWN AT CITY HALL.
THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYBODY FOR YOUR COMMITMENT AND YOUR TALK.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT THE NEXT MEETING.