Measuring Success
The Year 10 Reporting process is an opportunity to evaluate and assess progress toward plan implementation. To provide the full spectrum of accomplishments and challenges, this section highlights high-level summarization of actions on specific Imagine Austin recommendations as well as important planning work completed by City of Austin departments.
Priority programs monitor plan implementation performance via a set of actions and indicators. In the plan, actions (also known as plan recommendations), are monitored and reported on an annual basis. A set of indicators- or measures - are reported every five years to assess implementation progress over time. It should be noted that indicators and actions do not have a one-to-one relationship. Reporting on Imagine Austin’s performance is specific to the comprehensive plan and is not intended to represent a city department’s complete portfolio of work.
Imagine Austin Actions
The comprehensive plan recommends an annual update to the Imagine Austin actions indicating the implementation status of benchmarks of each priority program. The multi-year horizon of long-range planning work results in projects spanning long periods of time. Significant progress towards one component of the action does not necessarily result in completed status. As a result, numerous actions remain “in progress” or “ongoing” for multiple reporting cycles.
Imagine Austin Actions status, as of August 2022, in summary:
As of 8/23/2022
“Complete” actions have been fully implemented. “Ongoing” actions have been initiated and are of a continuing nature. “In Progress” actions have been partially completed or are underway. “No Further Action Planned” actions are those that City departments will no longer be working on. “No Status Available” actions are those in which city staff has not yet been able to verify an implementation status or assignment to a city department.
Since Imagine Austin’s adoption, the priority program team’s completed work includes but is not limited to:
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Creating…
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an ongoing Vision Zero Task Force and developing a Vision Zero Action Plan.
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a comprehensive building condition report to assess the need for remodeling, expansion, replacement, or consolidation of City-owned facilities.
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a regional planning initiative to encourage local governments in Central Texas to promote a mix of housing and land uses for diverse populations and income groups, located near work, shopping, and services.
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an integrated transportation plan that encompasses driving, transit, bicycling, walking, and roadway and rail freight.
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Developing…
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an Urban Trails Master Plan to increase connectivity throughout the city and region and improve consistency across multimodal transportation goals.
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a program and funding source to retrofit existing, incomplete roadways into complete streets.
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Adopting…
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Watershed Protection Ordinance to strengthen protections for Austin’s creeks and floodplains.
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Parkland Dedication Ordinance to help address gaps in access to parks and green space.
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Expanding programs providing discounted transit fares for economically disadvantaged citizens, disabled individuals, and seniors.
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Collaborating with sponsoring organizations, sponsors, and transportation companies to develop special event transportation plans to mitigate traffic congestion associated with these events.
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Strengthening tree protection regulations.
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While the summaries of actions provided above are at a high level, the granular data are numerous and detailed. The Imagine Austin actions, including detailed descriptions, analysis, and status updates, are available in the following, embedded Airtable.
Imagine Austin Indicator Data
Collecting consistent and thorough data on a regular basis is important to measuring Imagine Austin’s progress. A set of indicators were chosen based on their relevance to the comprehensive plan, the availability of data sources, and their relationship to the Imagine Austin vision, priority programs, policies, and actions.
The indicators attributed to the plan have varying degrees to which the City of Austin as an organization can affect them. Some of the indicators are directly responsive to City regulation and investment, while others have only minimal reactivity to the City’s influence. Taken as a whole, they can provide a gauge for measuring if we are making progress towards our goals from Imagine Austin, but they do not paint the complete picture.
Imagine Austin Indicator status, as of August 2022, in summary:
Since the adoption of Imagine Austin in 2012, the indicator data reveals relatively positive or improved conditions in environmental health, life-long learning opportunities, land preservation, non-residential construction, employment, small business development, and public sidewalks and bike lane construction. Worsening conditions were found in household affordability, investments in the arts, community health, physical activity, and transit ridership.
The embedded Airtable below provides a deeper dive into the indicators including: detailed descriptions, methodologies, data sources, analyses, and status updates.
Internal Alignment
Imagine Austin is a high-level, long-range planning document operating on a 30-year planning horizon. Implementation of the plan requires the creation of additional plans operating on shorter planning horizons. These plans are typically more strategic in nature and focused on pressing community issues or subject areas. Staff recognizes this work as significant to Imagine Austin’s progress and sees opportunities to strengthen the implementation relationship between the comprehensive plan and:
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The Austin Strategic Housing Blueprint (for Progress Reporting, click here.)
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Parks and Recreation Department Long Range Plan for Land, Facilities and Programs
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Austin Climate Equity Plan (for Progress Reporting, click here.)
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Strategic Direction 2023 (SD23) (for Strategic Performance Dashboard, click here.)
Imagine Austin and SD23 have a unique relationship; one that staff recognizes as important to inform the implementation of Imagine Austin in the years ahead. As a five-year strategic plan, SD23 was developed within the guidelines of Imagine Austin and shares the same community vision. SD is organized around six strategic outcomes: Mobility, Economic Opportunity, Safety, Health & Environment, Culture & Lifelong Learning, and Government That Works for All.
The SD Outcomes align and relate to Imagine Austin priority programs, though not in a one-to-one relationship. SD Outcomes have indicators and measures to assess how the city is performing in reaching our community’s vision. The following list and graphic below illustrate this relationship and provide direct access to SD Strategic Performance Dashboard.
Strategic Direction Outcomes and related priority programs:
Health & Environment: relates to Healthy Austin, Green Infrastructure, and Sustainable Water.
Safety: relates to Healthy Austin, Compact and Connected, and Sustainable Water.
Economic Opportunity and Affordability: relates to Household Affordability, Creative Economy, Revise Regulations, and Workforce, Economy, Education.
Mobility: relates to priority programs Compact and Connected and Healthy Austin.
Culture & Lifelong Learning: relates to Creative Economy and Workforce, Economy, Education.
Government That Works for All: relates to Compact and Connected and Revise Regulations.
