Mobility Committee hears public concern regarding expansion of MoPac

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) has proposed multiple plans to alleviate traffic along the 8-mile stretch of MoPac Expressway South from Cesar Chavez Street to Slaughter Lane. This decadelong project is nearing the end of the development process and will be entering the implementation phase in the near future. Members of the public expressed widespread concerns on the matter.

City Council’s Mobility Committee heard a briefing and public comment on the MoPac South project at its regular meeting on Thursday. During the development process, CTRMA is analyzing five build alternatives and six operational configuration options.

Miriam Schoenfield, board member for Rethink 35, indicated concern that the study of project alternatives was done 15 years ago.

“We feel really strongly that the city and the community have an opportunity to make sure that an alternative study aligns with our values and vision. Every time we expand a highway in the city, we are digging ourselves deeper into the very hole that we are trying desperately to claw ourselves out of with the rest of city policy,” Schoenfield. said Rethink 35 is a volunteer, nonprofit organization and grassroots movement that opposes expansion of Interstate 35 in Austin and pushes for “more humane, equitable, and effective mobility in the Austin area.”

Referencing current trends in city development, Schoenfield pointed out that “we are allowing more dense development to happen in the city, and that’s great, but the most immediate impact of a highway expansion like this is that it will result in low-density car-dependent development. It’s great that we are removing parking minimums, but if we’re then inviting an additional 100,000-plus cars into the city every day we are creating demand for parking. It’s great we are trying to eliminate our reliance on coal, but just the I-35 expansion is the emissions equivalent of a coal plant. And it’s great that we are investing billions in transit, but the data shows that the more highway line miles you have in a city the less effective transit will be.”

Schoenfield, on behalf of Rethink 35, advocated for “an alternative that does provide a congestion-free route for transit, but that does not involve a huge expansion of the highway like what is being proposed.”

Bobby Levinski, staff attorney at Save Our Springs Alliance, stated that “MoPac needs upgrades, it doesn’t need more lanes.” Levinski specifically referenced bottlenecks along the expressway that need to be addressed and reaffirmed the goal of making bus travel more convenient. “We don’t need four lanes to make that happen,” he said.

Victoria Rose, a resident of District 5, stated, “I would ask that you work to push CTRMA to consider alternatives to the project that would protect the endangered species and sensitive karst features near the proposed project while also allowing for increased functionality and safety along MoPac.”

Additionally, Rose shed light on the fact that CTRMA has not started consultations and conferences with the Fish and Wildlife Service to evaluate the impact on endangered species in the area. However, Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act requires only federal agencies to conduct these consultations and conferences, not independent government agencies such as CTRMA.

Charlotte Gilpin, vice president at K Friese + Associates and corridor manager for the MoPac South Environmental Study, and Mike Sexton, director of engineering for CTRMA, assured that public input is shaping this project. Adjustments made during the development process based on public input include the following: an added new direct connection at U.S. Highway 290, bypass lanes from Barton Skyway to Loop 360, a south-to-north Texas Turnaround at Barton Skyway, a lengthened turn lane leading to Texas Turnaround at Loop 360 and seven additional adjustments.

Technical work group meetings were held over topics including air quality, safety/operations, bikes/pedestrians, parkland, utilities, water quality/quantity and cultural and historic resources. From these work groups, 44 future and current considerations were introduced; 70 percent of the considerations were incorporated and 16 percent were partially incorporated into the environmental study and schematic moving forward.

An in-person open house for this matter was held on Nov. 12, which had 100 attendees and received 23 comments. The virtual open house was extended from the required 15-day period to 48 days ending on Dec. 29. Comments can be made online at www.voh.mopacsouth.com or by emailing mopacsouth@ctrma.org.

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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