Where do Austin’s mayoral candidates stand on transportation issues?

When Austinites cast their ballots this election, transportation will be front and center – not just because it’s a major challenge for the region, but also because voters will have just navigated their way to a polling station.

Austin’s mayor plays a powerful role in shaping how we get around the city and has an influential voice at City Hall. The City Council gets to appoint one of its own to the Austin Transit Partnership, the agency designing and building a multibillion-dollar light-rail network. So far, that’s always been the mayor.

To get insight into the candidates’ views, we sent five questions addressing five important topics. We included one open-ended bonus question: What’s your biggest transit priority?

Project Connect

The largest expansion of public transit in Austin history was approved at the ballot box in November 2020. Voters agreed to fund Project Connect with higher property taxes.

The money is paying for expanded bus services, commuter rail improvements, park-and-rides, and the centerpiece: a light-rail starter system. The first phase of light rail was reduced from 20.2 miles to 9.8 miles and a planned downtown subway was canceled after officials realized it would cost more than they said.

Opponents are trying to stop the project, and two lawsuits involving the city are working their way through the state’s courts.

Some mayoral candidates promise to improve bus service, but the city doesn’t run public transit. Bus services in Austin are provided by Capital Metro.

Austin’s City Council appoints two members to Capital Metro’s eight-member governing board, but unless the mayor is one of those people, the council wouldn’t have a direct say in how the transit agency is run. Even the planned light-rail system, while being financed and constructed by ATP, would be operated by Capital Metro.

I-35 expansion

The Texas Department of Transportation has already started work on the largest-ever expansion of I-35 through Travis County. But the most expensive and disruptive section – through downtown Austin – is just getting underway. And the city wants to spend $800 million or more covering the highway with almost 30 acres of parks after TxDOT lowers the highway’s main lanes.

The project could be halted by a lawsuit and civil rights complaint alleging TxDOT turned a blind eye to the environmental injustices of the project, failed to explore less disruptive alternatives and glossed over the effects on air and water quality. TxDOT denies the allegations.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport expansion

About 22 million passengers pass through an airport designed for 15 million annually. An expansion of the city-owned airport is underway now – including work on a new concourse with at least 20 gates and an expansion of the Barbara Jordan Terminal.

To make space for the expansion, specifically new taxiways and associated infrastructure, the city used the powers of eminent domain to try to seize the leasehold rights to the South Terminal from a private company granted a 30-year lease. The dispute ended with the city being ordered to pay $90 million to evict Lonestar Airport Holdings.

Fewer people driving to work alone

Austin’s long-range transportation strategy calls for fighting congestion by reducing the number of people driving to work alone. Currently, about 74 percent of commuters do so, according to the city. The Austin Strategic Mobility Plan aims to lower that to 50 percent by 2039 by encouraging carpooling, biking, transit, walking and working from home.

More road space for cyclists and pedestrians (and buses)

To encourage less driving alone, the city has taken road space away from cars to create express lanes for buses or give more room to pedestrians and cyclists. A recent high-profile experiment was on Barton Springs Road. The changes are happening citywide, creating safer spaces for nondrivers while angering some Austinites who oppose removing car lanes.

Candidate responses

All candidates were sent the same questions at the same time. The summaries are presented in the order that candidates responded. We’re also linking to each candidate’s full response so you can read it for yourself if the summary isn’t enough.

Carmen Llanes Pulido

Project Connect: Llanes Pulido says the current 9.8-mile light-rail plan doesn’t match what voters signed up for in 2020. She would push for ATP to prioritize rapid transit, a term for high-frequency bus service like CapMetro Rapid. “I believe if these items can’t be covered in the current plan, they won’t pass muster in a bond election, so we need to re-evaluate,” she said.

I-35 expansion: Llanes Pulido says she is “against it but practical about the marching orders of TXDOT.” She expects construction costs to soar and believes it could provide the city leverage if the state has to go back to the feds to request more funding.

“If we move ahead with I-35 expansion, I would push for maximum transparency on the costs and benefits of caps and stitches, and ensure that we do as much as possible to mitigate and not perpetuate inequities in our highway investments.”

ABIA expansion: Llanes Pulido supports the airport expansion and the jobs it will create. She said she’s surprised big-dollar contracts didn’t get more scrutiny by Council and is wary of how much the city pays for consultants and design firms.

Fewer people driving to work alone: She supports the goal and wants to “shift our conversation” to talk about transit that provides better service at all times of day. Llanes Pulido wants to “introduce a conversation about on-demand transportation” as an alternative to rideshare companies.

More road space for pedestrians and cyclists: Llanes Pulido says the “changes are appropriate in a number of areas.” She says they need to be carefully planned “because they can contribute to congestion in some intersections,” especially in areas with lots of development.

Biggest transportation priority as mayor: “Piloting and expanding on-demand and electrified transportation for commuter and circulator transit options.”

(Candidate’s full response)

Kirk Watson

Project Connect: Watson says he is disappointed Austin didn’t build light-rail in 2000, but the next best time is now. He applauds ATP for reducing the size of its Phase 1 plan to fit within the existing budget. Watson says he’s been meeting with federal officials and trying to find money for two possible extensions in the plan.

I-35 expansion: Watson supports the highway project; he helped secure funding for it while serving in the Texas Senate. “The expansion will let more people get through town faster,” he said. Watson says the caps over the highway will “connect pieces of Austin” while creating more space for parks, trails, performance spaces, dining, live music and sports facilities.

ABIA expansion: Watson says the city should have started years ago, but he is “pleased we’re now getting things done and moving forward,” pointing to his votes supporting the expansion. He says he’s proud that $437 million of the multibillion-dollar expansion will go to “local, small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses.”

Fewer people driving to work alone: Watson supports the goal for three reasons. 1) More options to get around would make the city more affordable; 2) getting cars off the road would create more space for those who have to drive; and 3) fewer people driving would reduce the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

More road space for pedestrians and cyclists: Watson says “drivers need to get around town safely,” but he wants more safe routes for cyclists. “This requires a balance and I believe over the past two years we’ve gotten that right,” he said, pointing to the Barton Springs Road pilot project as a “great example.”

Biggest transportation priority as mayor: “A stable, expert, team atmosphere at City Hall and in the field guided by steady leadership,” he said, but then added that the single biggest priority is probably the Austin Infrastructure Academy, a program to train more trade workers to build planned projects.

(Candidate’s full response)

Kathie Tovo

Project Connect: Tovo supports the transit expansion “for the environmental, quality of life, and financial benefit,” but is disappointed by the “scaled back” first phase of the light-rail route. Tovo says she would ensure Project Connect “proceeds with full financial transparency, extensive community engagement, and comprehensive environmental study.”

I-35 expansion: Tovo is a vocal opponent of the highway project and signed on to a federal civil rights complaint. “Adding lanes is unlikely to alleviate traffic in a meaningful way, as research suggests that highway expansions usually result in more cars flocking to those routes,” she said. Tovo is calling for more air quality monitors to track the effects of increased traffic.

ABIA expansion: Tovo supports the expansion and voted for it when she was a City Council member. She says ABIA should have “more family-friendly amenities, such as play areas and rocking chairs,” and wants better opportunities for local businesses to operate at the airport and compete for vendor contracts against “large national corporations.”

Fewer people driving alone to work: Tovo supports the goal “along with historic investments in sidewalks, bicycle lanes and public transit.”

More road space for pedestrians and cyclists: Tovo says “road diets” can be a good strategy along with other changes. She says the city has taken a “cookie-cutter approach” to public engagement and should do more outreach to those affected. “Not all of these changes thus far have been made in collaboration with impacted communities, and the City needs to do better,” she said.

Biggest transportation priority as mayor: More teleworking to get cars off the road, starting with city employees.

(Candidate’s full response)

Jeffery Bowen

Project Connect: Bowen says the current plan has “no resemblance of what was on the ballot the voters approved,” but he says it would be too soon to provide any input on changes to the transit plan while lawsuits aiming to stop it are still playing out. He’s critical of delays rolling out CapMetro Rapid routes and wants Capital Metro’s Pickup service expanded.

I-35 expansion: Bowen says his position doesn’t matter because “the interstate was going to be expanded no matter what.” He wants transparency with the costs of building and maintaining caps, along with a clear timeline for completion.

ABIA expansion: Bowen responded only about the city’s move to evict the private operator of ABIA’s South Terminal to make room for the expansion. “If Austin Bergstrom management knew the level of expansion needed and approaching timeline, why would anyone sign a 25-year lease (with five-year extension) for the South Terminal?”

Fewer people driving to work alone: Bowen supports the goal but points out having 50 percent of people choose any option besides a single-occupancy vehicle “is just that, a goal, not a mandate and 2039 is 15 years away.” He says the city could retain more employees by listening to their demands about working from home.

More space for cyclists and pedestrians: Bowen says the city often goes too far and should evaluate how heavily bike lanes are used. “In many cases, no one is using the bike lanes,” he said. Bowen believes that “does not help the car/bike relationship.”

Biggest transportation priority as mayor: Bowen says taxpayer dollars should be better used to establish transit all over the city and provide reliable service for the elderly and those with disabilities. “One last thing – fix the sidewalks situation.”

(Candidate’s full response)

Doug Greco

Project Connect: Greco is vowing to get “Project Connect done on time and on budget, including light-rail and expanded bus service.”

I-35 expansion: Greco signed on to the federal civil rights complaint trying to stop the highway project, but he expects the expansion will probably happen. If the highway is widened, he said, “we need the caps and stitches.” Greco says Mayor Watson should have negotiated a better deal when he was a state senator working to have the project funded.

ABIA expansion: Greco supports the expansion, saying “we need a world-class airport.” He says he wants “competitive wages for airport workers and living/prevailing wages for construction workers.” He says he doesn’t like plans to tear down the Red Garage and South Terminal for the expansion.

Fewer people driving alone to work: Greco supports the city’s goal to have less than half of Austinites commuting in a single-occupancy vehicle by 2039. To achieve the goal, he says, Project Connect needs to be completed on time and on budget. Greco calls for investments in bus service and measures that incentivize carpooling. He says he wants more money spent to make streets “walkable and bikeable.”

More road space for pedestrians and cyclists: Greco says the changes are “critical to achieving our long term goal of reducing car dependency.” He would try to strike a balance so people have options for walking, biking, driving and taking public transit.

Biggest transportation priority as mayor: He wants “equity in our transit system, so that all Austinites have multiple transportation options including public transit.” Believes Capital Metro’s bus drivers and mechanics deserve raises.

This story was produced as part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting partnership with KUT.

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