Downtown Commission questions scope, cost of core transportation plan

The city has identified improvements to several east-west streets through downtown as priority projects in a new plan to address mobility in the area.

Last month, the Downtown Commission got the first look at portions of the Austin Core Transportation Plan, which was developed by the Transportation and Public Works Department as a complement to the city’s Strategic Mobility Plan and other major infrastructure efforts – like Project Connect and the reconstruction of Interstate 35. The plan, which is not yet in its public draft form, is expected to be available for review by the end of the year, according to a department spokesperson.

The four highest-priority streets named in the plan are Fifth through Eighth streets, with most or all of the roadway from Lamar Boulevard to I-35 identified for a range of improvements and building scenarios. Along with accessory projects, the plan is forecast to cost from $835 million to $1.13 billion, with the city’s 2026 bond package likely to include funding for portions of the plan.

Cole Kitten, a division manager for the Transportation and Public Works Department, said the plan is intended to set the table for how to improve mobility and safety throughout the downtown core, with funding expected to be explored as the plan is discussed before and after its consideration by Council early next year.

The plan’s implementation calls for strategic coordination with ongoing projects, notably the I-35 Capital Express Central project and Project Connect. Additionally, the ACT Plan recommends incorporating “quick wins” – lower-cost, near-term solutions that can be rapidly deployed to show early benefits. Kitten underscored the goal of “moving the vision forward” with smaller-scale projects while setting the groundwork for major long-term investments.

“The ACT Plan doesn’t prescribe how we get there. If we want to do interim investment strategies that are lower-cost that don’t require full street reconstruction, then we can do that,” he said. “What the ACT Plan is intended to do is to lay out that conceptual streetscape from a full street reconstruction perspective. Those costs are all inclusive of building the right-of-way line to the updated standards.”

Kitten said street impact fees and parking revenue are among the funding sources city staff will analyze to look for ways to pay for the priority and accessory projects outside of the 2026 bond package.

With Project Connect and other transportation plans aiming for the city to shift local travel to at least 50 percent away from low-occupancy vehicles, Kitten said the ACT is clear in promoting bicycles, mass transit and other means to decrease congestion in the downtown core.

“If everyone were to drive in a car by themselves, we don’t have the capacity to facilitate that demand, so managing demand is about developing ways to encourage people to take transit, to ride bikes, to live in proximity, to be able to walk as well as non-travel options like teleworking,” he said.

Commissioner Spencer Schumacher said staff should look at how to implement smaller components of the plan so improvements for bicycles and pedestrians can take place even if funding is unavailable for the larger-scope projects.

“I did want to ask you about the cost estimates though, because they did jump out at me as pretty steep when we’re talking about $150 million for one street and one segment of a street in downtown,” he said. “The cost of adding in all of the protected bike lanes and neighborhood bikeways in the building plan is about $350 million to $375 million, I think … so $150 million on a street? If it’s something like Congress (Avenue) I can understand, but how are we justifying $150 million for Ninth Street?”

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Posted In: City Council, District 9