2020 Active Mobility Bond Proposal
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2020 8:07 pm
Colleagues -
This November, we have a historic and potentially singular opportunity to make significant progress on our stated mobility goals. I and my cosponsors could not be more excited about moving forward with our citywide transit plan, Project Connect, and we believe we can push even further toward the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan's 50/50 mode share goal by augmenting Project Connect with a substantial 2020 Active Mobility Bond.
We want to express our gratitude and appreciation to city staff for their speedy and diligent turnaround of recommendations in response to City Council Resolution No. 20200729-090. We ask much of staff, whose jobs are particularly tough during budget season, and without their work, we wouldn't be able to maximize the opportunity before us this November.
We believe we can go even further than the staff recommendation, understanding the difficulties of capacity and workload. If we want to achieve our stated goals in the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, the Austin Community Climate Plan, and our own Strategic Direction 2023, we need to put forth a significant proposal to the voters this fall.
To that end, we have constructed a $450M package that we believe will move us forward toward our ASMP 50/50 mode share goal by 2039 and our Bicycle Master Plan goal of 80% of the All Ages and Ability network constructed by 2025.
Please find a spreadsheet of our proposal here: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 81738.xlsx
Our proposal builds on the staff recommendation and includes the basic elements of the staff recommendation, plus some additional investments:
-- Funding for Very High and High Priority sidewalks throughout the city.
-- Funding for Tier 1 Urban Trails that are also part of the AAA Bicycle Network.
-- Fully funding the remaining on-street bikeways that are part of the AAA Bicycle Network.
-- Increased funding for Vision Zero and Safety programs throughout the city.
-- Increased funding for Safe Routes to School to give more kids safe options to walk and bike to school.
-- Local Transit Enhancement funding to augment transit lines not included in the Project Connect spending plan.
-- Funding for the Neighborhood Partnering Program.
-- Funding for large multimodal Capital Improvement Projects, including the construction of the Longhorn Dam Wishbone Bridge, Phase 1 of Congress Avenue improvements, replacement of the Barton Springs Road bridge over Barton Creek, and South Pleasant Valley Corridor multimodal improvements.
-- Significant investments in multimodal improvements on substandard streets in the Eastern Crescent, primarily Ross Road, Johnny Morris Road, and Walnut Creek Trail connections.
We are suggesting the $450M package strikes the right balance between overall size and transformational progress towards our City’s stated mode shift, climate change, Vision Zero, and mobility equity goals:
-- Bike infrastructure (urban trails + bikeways) and sidewalks are our workhorses on achieving mode shift and climate change mitigation, so those are boosted upwards the most compared to the staff recommendation.
-- The Safety / Vision Zero bucket covers a variety of critical programs and types of improvements, so this bucket is boosted substantially too.
-- The Multimodal Improvements to Substandard Streets bucket will advance mobility equity by focusing on improvements in the Eastern Crescent, so this bucket is boosted as well.
-- The bond election presents a unique opportunity to fund key large capital infrastructure projects that address major multimodal connectivity and safety problems, so we boost this bucket too, to add the Barton Springs Road Bridge and South Pleasant Valley Corridor Multimodal Improvements, in addition to the Congress Ave Urban Design Initiative Phase 1 and the Longhorn Dam Bridge.
We applaud the efforts that our Public Works and Transportation staff have undertaken to accelerate the deployment of the 2016 and 2018 mobility bond dollars. With our significant corridor improvements beginning next year, and the implementation of Project Connect, we have a chance to live up to our aspiration of becoming the most progressive city in the United States when it comes to non-automobile infrastructure. We also have a chance to build on the behavior change that has resulted from the pandemic, where more people are walking and riding bicycles in our city than ever before.
It's also important to consider that, in order for our transit system to be successful, we need to ensure that residents can access the main system points on safe and comfortable sidewalks, bikeways, and trails. By building out these networks, we can double or even triple the number of residents within a half-mile walk or a two-mile bike ride from a high-capacity transit stop.
I hope you'll join us in supporting a significant investment in our mobility future. The opportunity we have before is historic, and we can't let it pass us by.
Thank you,
CM Ellis, Mayor Adler, CM Harper-Madison, and CM Casar
This November, we have a historic and potentially singular opportunity to make significant progress on our stated mobility goals. I and my cosponsors could not be more excited about moving forward with our citywide transit plan, Project Connect, and we believe we can push even further toward the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan's 50/50 mode share goal by augmenting Project Connect with a substantial 2020 Active Mobility Bond.
We want to express our gratitude and appreciation to city staff for their speedy and diligent turnaround of recommendations in response to City Council Resolution No. 20200729-090. We ask much of staff, whose jobs are particularly tough during budget season, and without their work, we wouldn't be able to maximize the opportunity before us this November.
We believe we can go even further than the staff recommendation, understanding the difficulties of capacity and workload. If we want to achieve our stated goals in the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, the Austin Community Climate Plan, and our own Strategic Direction 2023, we need to put forth a significant proposal to the voters this fall.
To that end, we have constructed a $450M package that we believe will move us forward toward our ASMP 50/50 mode share goal by 2039 and our Bicycle Master Plan goal of 80% of the All Ages and Ability network constructed by 2025.
Please find a spreadsheet of our proposal here: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 81738.xlsx
Our proposal builds on the staff recommendation and includes the basic elements of the staff recommendation, plus some additional investments:
-- Funding for Very High and High Priority sidewalks throughout the city.
-- Funding for Tier 1 Urban Trails that are also part of the AAA Bicycle Network.
-- Fully funding the remaining on-street bikeways that are part of the AAA Bicycle Network.
-- Increased funding for Vision Zero and Safety programs throughout the city.
-- Increased funding for Safe Routes to School to give more kids safe options to walk and bike to school.
-- Local Transit Enhancement funding to augment transit lines not included in the Project Connect spending plan.
-- Funding for the Neighborhood Partnering Program.
-- Funding for large multimodal Capital Improvement Projects, including the construction of the Longhorn Dam Wishbone Bridge, Phase 1 of Congress Avenue improvements, replacement of the Barton Springs Road bridge over Barton Creek, and South Pleasant Valley Corridor multimodal improvements.
-- Significant investments in multimodal improvements on substandard streets in the Eastern Crescent, primarily Ross Road, Johnny Morris Road, and Walnut Creek Trail connections.
We are suggesting the $450M package strikes the right balance between overall size and transformational progress towards our City’s stated mode shift, climate change, Vision Zero, and mobility equity goals:
-- Bike infrastructure (urban trails + bikeways) and sidewalks are our workhorses on achieving mode shift and climate change mitigation, so those are boosted upwards the most compared to the staff recommendation.
-- The Safety / Vision Zero bucket covers a variety of critical programs and types of improvements, so this bucket is boosted substantially too.
-- The Multimodal Improvements to Substandard Streets bucket will advance mobility equity by focusing on improvements in the Eastern Crescent, so this bucket is boosted as well.
-- The bond election presents a unique opportunity to fund key large capital infrastructure projects that address major multimodal connectivity and safety problems, so we boost this bucket too, to add the Barton Springs Road Bridge and South Pleasant Valley Corridor Multimodal Improvements, in addition to the Congress Ave Urban Design Initiative Phase 1 and the Longhorn Dam Bridge.
We applaud the efforts that our Public Works and Transportation staff have undertaken to accelerate the deployment of the 2016 and 2018 mobility bond dollars. With our significant corridor improvements beginning next year, and the implementation of Project Connect, we have a chance to live up to our aspiration of becoming the most progressive city in the United States when it comes to non-automobile infrastructure. We also have a chance to build on the behavior change that has resulted from the pandemic, where more people are walking and riding bicycles in our city than ever before.
It's also important to consider that, in order for our transit system to be successful, we need to ensure that residents can access the main system points on safe and comfortable sidewalks, bikeways, and trails. By building out these networks, we can double or even triple the number of residents within a half-mile walk or a two-mile bike ride from a high-capacity transit stop.
I hope you'll join us in supporting a significant investment in our mobility future. The opportunity we have before is historic, and we can't let it pass us by.
Thank you,
CM Ellis, Mayor Adler, CM Harper-Madison, and CM Casar