Compact + Connected
The Invest in a Compact and Connected Austin Priority Program calls for coordination of capital investments, incentives, and regulations in order to support the vision of Imagine Austin. This priority program focuses primarily on:
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investing in a transportation system that supports the Imagine Austin Growth Concept Map and decreased dependence on driving
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using the City’s economic development toolkit and partnering with the private sector to leverage more beneficial development in support of Imagine Austin
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aligning the overall Capital Improvement Program with Imagine Austin
Progress
Souly Austin is a place-based economic development program focused on creating and retaining strong, vibrant, culturally-rich, and diverse neighborhood business districts. This year, the American Planning Association awarded Souly Austin’s a planning achievement award for excellence in Economic Development Planning on the State and National Level. In 2020, the Souly Austin program supported six merchant associations, providing trainings and resources to enhance their district and attract visitors. Through Souly Austin’s Activation Award, the East Cesar Chavez Merchants Association was able to engage local artists to commission eleven unique hearts spread throughout the district.
I Heart Souly Austin
Program Champion:
Mike Trimble
Departments: Corridor Program Office, Public Works, Planning and Zoning, Economic Development, Austin Transportation, Watershed Protection
Ryan Drive Project
The City of Austin's Economic Development Department Redevelopment Division completed an extensive site analysis and community engagement process to prepare the 5.5-acre site adjacent to Crestview Station for redevelopment. Currently an underutilized warehouse, the site will be reimagined as a walkable area with affordable housing, open space, and new bike and pedestrian connections to the rail station to enhance and expand the Crestview Transit Oriented Development. The Redevelopment Division intends to release a solicitation to find a developer for this site in 2020.
St. John Redevelopment Project
The Redevelopment Division worked with consultants and the University of Texas to create a vision for redeveloping nearly 20 acres in the St. John neighborhood. The scenarios for the currently vacant site, which is comprised of a former Home Depot and Chrysler dealership, envision a mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood that celebrates the community’s history and creates new human-scale spaces. The Redevelopment Division intends to release a solicitation to find a developer for this site in the coming months
Colony Park Sustainable Community
The Colony Park Sustainable Community (CPSC) is a community and City-led effort to develop 208 acres of City-owned property located on Loyola Lane between Johnny Morris Road and Decker Lane in northeast Austin. Following a three-year planning process informed by extensive public engagement, the Austin City Council adopted a master plan and planned unit development zoning district for the site on December 11, 2014.
The Economic Development Department, which is leading the CPSC development, signed an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with Catellus Development Corporation (Catellus) on May 12, 2020. The project team is now in the process of negotiating a Master Development Agreement (MDA) that will follow the concepts developed through the master planning process with continued engagement and input from the Colony Park community. When complete, CPSC is expected to feature a mix of housing types, retail and office space, a transit center, and a town center.
To support the development of this mixed-use community, the project team worked closely with partnering agencies and interdepartmentally to coordinate nearby adjacent and supporting projects. These efforts include the Colony Park District Park, Colony Park District Pool, Walter E. Long Master Plan, and Capital Metro Project Connect (for which Colony Park was identified as a station area for the Green Line Commuter Rail).
A critical initiative to support these efforts is the Colony Loop Drive project, which will provide a continuous complete street between Loyola and Decker Lanes through the existing and future Colony Park neighborhoods. The Colony Loop Drive project will also support the Cap Metro Purple Bus Rapid Line. Preliminary engineering for the existing sections of the project is complete and permitting for complete street improvements are underway through 2016 Mobility Corridor Program. Design and permitting for the missing section of Colony Loop Drive is sponsored through the Economic Development Department. The final permitted set for Colony Loop Drive will combine both the existing and missing sections of Colony Loop Drive into one complete street project ready for construction funding.
Corridor Mobility Program
Following the April 2018 adoption of a $1.4 billion Corridor Construction Program, the City began preliminary engineering and design on mobility improvements for nine key corridors that are consistent with the Imagine Austin Growth Concept map. The program is now in the full design phase, with construction of some early-out, critical safety and mobility projects underway. The bulk of major corridor construction is expected to occur between 2021 and 2024.
The Corridor Construction Program is funded in part by the voter-approved 2016 Mobility Bond. The investments will help to further the Compact and Connected vision of Imagine Austin. Learn more at austintexas.gov/corridormobility.
Healthy Street Initiative
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Austin Transportation launched a Healthy Streets Initiative on May 21, 2020 to create more space for daily physical activity and create connections to active transportation infrastructure. Healthy Streets allow for residents walking, running, wheelchair rolling, scooting, and biking to enjoy the outdoors at a safe distance. These temporary street modifications consist of partial road closures which limit through vehicle traffic, while maintaining local access for residents, deliveries, emergency vehicles, and transit service. The resulting decreased number of vehicles are also urged to drive slowly while looking out for pedestrians, bicycles and other non-car modes of transportation. Streets were selected based on criteria established by Council Resolution 20200507-062, and include geographic diversity to serve the most about of people possible, streets that offer alternatives to overcrowded parks and trails, degree of parkland accessibility, and areas of concern as reported through the City’s COVID-19 surveillance dashboard. Additional criteria included population density, income, school aged children, older adults, households that do not have access to a car, as well as public input.
Active Transportation
Austin Transportation’s Active Transportation and Street Design Division (ATSD) works to help everyone walk, roll and bike around Austin safely, comfortably and conveniently. In 2019, ATSD completed over 25 miles of new and improved bicycle and trail facilities, including over 5 miles of protected bikeways. ATSD partners with outside departments and agencies to accomplish this work. A partnership that emerged in 2019 between ATSD and Austin Transportation Department’s Parking Enterprise Division greatly improved the Bike Parking Program, leading to significant maintenance improvements to bike parking and the installation of 35 new bike racks in the public right of way. Another partnering project to highlight from 2019 includes the Contraflow Transit Lane project on Guadalupe Street, which involved a partnership between Active Transportation, the Public Works Department and Capital Metro, to accomplish a contraflow transit lane and an improved sidewalk and bikeway. One All Ages and Abilities facility that was completed in 2019 is the Zach Scott Street two-way protected bikeway, which includes the city’s first completely protected intersection for active transportation users at Zach Scott Street and Berkman Drive. ATSD also hosted two events to activate newly installed infrastructure, including the Zach Scott St. bikeway, by inviting the community to come out to the site and celebrate with a guided bike ride or walk.
Bike Parking Program
In 2019, the Bike Parking Program was revamped with the help of interdepartmental partnerships and a programmatic approach to bike parking was created. This includes (starting in 2019 and including 2020 work) an improved and Spanish version of the bike parking application for public request, data collection and mapping of assets, security and quality improvements to equipment and processes, staff siting new on- and off-street bike parking needs, and engagement with other City departments included PARD and EDD. Unfortunately, COVID-19 disrupted a few major goals for the Bike Parking Program in 2020. The two temporary bike corrals – micromobility corrals, as they included scooter parking – were installed for SXSW, which was cancelled. Also, the major contract that would have established an equipment vendor, a steady flow of equipment needs, and equipment standards was delayed to the next fiscal year due to budget changes related to COVID-19 impacts.
W 4th Street in front of Halcyon Café - new sidewalk installed by Public Works Department with new bike racks installed by Austin Transportation
Austin Bike Map
In the last year, the Austin Bike Map went through a comprehensive update. This is first full re-design of the bike map since its debut and will include not only updated routes but updated art work and information on bicycling, as well. This was the first time City staff turned the cover art into an engaging activity with the public. City staff partnered with the George Washington Carver Center to help teach three summer youth camp classes. The campers learned about biking, how to use the bike map, and drew the artwork that you will see on the front and back covers of the 2020 Austin Bike Map. COVID-19 changed the goal of printing and distributing the new bike map in time for May 2020 which is Bike Month. The new bike map will be printed in June and staff will distribute maps to bike shops that are open.
Smart Trip Austin
The Smart Trips Austin program is designed to help Austinites find transportation solutions that work for their everyday trips by promoting bicycling, walking, riding the bus, carpooling, or a micromobility option, such as scooters. In 2019, the Smart Trips Austin program reached 25,251 households living in the Eastern Crescent. Respondents reported driving alone less often following the program. Respondents who reported driving alone “all of time” decreased from 18% to 14%. The combined mode share for walking, carpooling, ride-hailing, and other (e.g. moped, skateboard) increased 12 percentage points. More than three-quarters of post-program survey respondents (78%) reported feeling more aware of transportation options in Austin because of the program. Check out the story map from the 2019 program.
Commute Connections and Smart Commute Rewards
The City of Austin’s Commute Connections program helps City employees understand their sustainable commute options and take action to reduce their drive-alone work trips, especially during peak travel times. The ultimate goal is to minimize the impact these commutes have on traffic congestion and air quality in our region. To promote active commuting, employees can receive a free annual bikeshare membership with B-cycle and an unlimited transit pass with Capital Metro; some City offices have e-bikes available for employees to use for midday work trips. Smart Commute Rewards is the incentive arm of Commute Connections and encourages employees to adopt a commute habit that incorporates sustainable travel by offering various incentives. The Administrative Leave Program, which runs for six-month periods throughout the year, offers employees time off for taking and logging sustainable trips. A total of 1,226 City employees participated in the first six-month period.
Project Connect
Capital Metro’s board and the Austin City Council both gave unanimous approval Wednesday, July 8, 2020, to a $9.8 billion transit plan that would build three light rail lines throughout Austin. The plan, called Project Connect, likely will be put to voters this November in the form of a tax rate election. To finance the light rail lines, a new commuter rail line and a myriad of other improvements, officials estimated the city’s tax rate would need an 11-cent increase.
CapMetro estimates the total system will cost $9.8 billion with local taxpayers footing $5.4 billion. Officials are hoping that a strong commitment of local money would encourage the federal government to pay for the remaining $4.4 billion.
“We have what I think is a transformational plan,” CapMetro board Chairman Wade Cooper said. “If you think about being able to step off an airplane and be at the Republic Square (park in downtown) in 20 minutes, it really opens up the whole city.” -- City, CapMetro OK $10 billion Project Connect transit plan By Philip Jankowksk. Austin American-Statesman. July 11, 2020
Challenges
The Austin Strategic Mobility Plan lays out the biggest challenges we face in trying to achieving our vision of a mobile, safe, and interconnected Austin:
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Lowering the risk of travel-related injury and protect and promote public health
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Supplying a multimodal transportation network that can meet the demands of a growing region while providing equitable access to transportation choices, opportunities, and services
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Preparing for and leading in leveraging rapidly evolving technology in transportation
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Ensuring a financially and environmentally sustainable transportation network
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Collaborating effectively with agencies, organizations, and the Austin community around mobility decision-making
Learn more about the strategies developed to address these challenges in the ASMP document.