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CM Riley's Response to the AURA Rail Questionnaire

[Note: This is a link to the questions Council Member Riley responds to below. His responses were sent April 13, 2014. The AURA team is grateful to Council Member Riley for his responses.]

Voter support for bond funding will depend on how good the proposal is, and on what other local bond proposals are on the ballot. I expect that the transit item will likely be in the range of (B), $251-$500 million, and I’m hopeful that it will pass. At this point I would not rule out the possibility of a higher-cost item, if there is a compelling case for it, but a greater impact on taxpayers would mean more challenges for the campaign in support of the item.

Based on the scoring done during the Project Connect process, I would prioritize the segment from East Riverside to downtown, including a river crossing and getting through downtown.

There are neighborhoods in the Central Corridor area whose plans did not anticipate the alignment currently under consideration. The Hyde Park Neighborhood Plan, for example, predated the 2000 light rail election, and assumed that part of the line would be on Guadalupe. But all the neighborhood plans are supportive of improved transportation options, and I expect that the proposal to be considered this fall will generally be compatible with all the neighborhood plans for the areas covered. In areas that have not been zoned in anticipation of high-capacity transit, consideration of some upzonings may be warranted, especially for the purpose of enhancing nodes around stops. But development along the line should always be sensitive to its context. And I expect that consideration of any such upzonings will occur after November, once the outcome of the transit election is known.

Regardless of what happens with Project Connect, I expect we’ll need dedicated space for high-capacity transit at some point on at least one of the existing bridges, most likely the First Street Bridge. For the proposal that will be up for a vote this fall, a new crossing appears to be more likely, and I believe either a new bridge or a tunnel could work very well.

An advocacy organization like AURA can play a huge part in the community conversation about transit infrastructure. Organization members can examine infrastructure decisions carefully, educate members and the public about them, and otherwise raise the level of the public discussion. We’ll have a growing need for that kind of effort as we approach November. I’m hoping we’ll wind up with a bond proposal that merits our strong support, and that AURA will join other transit supporters in working toward its approval. We’re all aiming for a transit system we can be proud of, and I’d like to see a campaign we can be proud of too.

CM Martinez's Response to AURA Rail Questionnaire

[Note: This is a link to the questions Council Member Martinez responds to below. His responses were sent March 31, 2014. The AURA team is grateful to Council Member Martinez for his responses.]

1) I believe voters would support $250-500 million bond proposal as long as matching funds can be obtained from the FTA and we are able to provide a comprehensive plan for construction, timeline, routing, operating costs, and which entity would oversee operation.

2) I’m inclined to favor East Riverside for the start of the project. But I do believe if we put Phase 1 on the ballot and it includes Highland to East Riverside, we should work on the entire system and not forsake one over the other. Having the Lady Bird Lake crossing completed with as much federal funding as possible will lessen the impact locally while constructing a key piece of infrastructure.

3) High capacity transit does not necessarily conflict with neighborhood plans. If and where conflicts might occur, I would be happy to consider those plans and complete any amendments through the current public process that is used, including gathering community feedback about the best way to move forward. Accomplishing this prior to November is not necessary in my opinion. This project will be several years in the making, and there is more than enough time to receive key stakeholder input if we are to contemplate land use regulatory changes where needed.

4) Yes, I would support transit priority on bridges after all options are exhausted. Before we move forward with considering alignment across existing bridges, we should ensure that every other option has been fully vetted and there is no other alternative available. I would also support creating more transit priority lanes along our BRT routes as well.

5) AURA and other advocacy groups should continue to communicate to the current Council and candidates running for office this November to ensure they are educated on the priorities of the transit community. Holding candidate forums and providing platforms during the election cycle will give AURA an opportunity to work with candidates directly to discuss the intricacies of transportation needs facing our community. AURA should also continue to reach out to the community at large to build on the existing coalition and reach as broad an audience as possible.

CM Spelman's Response to AURA Rail Questionnaire

[Note: This is a link to the questions Council Member Spelman responds to below. His responses were dated March 19th, 2014. The AURA Executive Committee is grateful to Council Member Spelman for his responses.]

Response to AURA questionnaire

Councilmember Bill Spelman

19 March 2014

1) I think people are prepared to support a large investment if they think it will work: if a lot of people will ride it, if it will take a lot of cars off the road, if it will increase the capacity of our transportation network and not decrease it, if it will improve the quality of their lives. If they don’t believe these things will happen, voters won’t support even a small investment. We should solve the problem, then see what it costs, rather than set an arbitrary cost limit and try and force-fit a solution within it.

2) Two segments are absolutely critical: (1) We need to connect the key employment centers in the central city – the central business district, the State Capitol complex, and the University of Texas; and (2) we need to cross Lady Bird Lake. Once we’ve done those two things, whether we extend north or south or both and how much should depend on all the characteristics we’ve been talking about for the last two years:

number of households and jobs within walking distance of the train stations,

potential for future land use to support more households and jobs, leading to

ridership now and in future and

cars taken off the road.

Our previous work suggests pretty strongly that this analysis will favor the southern segment over the northern segment. East Riverside is the best, single subcorridor in Austin. But I’d like to see a more detailed analysis once the final alignment is set.

3) The train only works if there are people to ride it, and that requires a relatively high density of households and jobs along the route. We know in advance that some changes will be needed: Running a train past all those parking garages on Trinity and San Jacinto only makes sense because we believe the State will follow through on its plan to redevelop them. Generally speaking, the alignments we’re considering are consistent with Imagine Austin and current neighborhood plans and I think we can smooth out any remaining rough edges.

It's not clear whether you're asking us to “upzone” in advance, but in case you are, allow me to quickly review the zoning process. It's very rare for the City to upzone on speculation. Usually we wait for a developer to seek rezoning (which may be upzoning) on a parcel, then negotiate a zone that allows the project to be built. This allows developers more flexibility to choose among, say, residential, office, retail, or industrial zones – any of which can increase rail ridership if they're more dense than current zoning. I am comfortable with current practice.

4) I’ll give priority to the route that makes the most sense. The Drake and Congress Avenue bridges are full of cars during rush hour; burning two lanes of traffic (one in each direction) for a train would be even more onerous there than elsewhere in the CBD. I don’t think voters will like it. We could build a new bridge, perhaps an extension of Trinity, but we’ll have to work around the Waller Creek plan. This would ask the voters to trade off between parks and transportation. I strongly suspect the best way to get over the water is to get under it, through a tube or tunnel.

5) We need your help. I can guarantee in advance that I won’t like all aspects of the locally preferred alternative. It’ll be too short, or too slow, or get over the river the wrong way, or something. Unless it’s just goshawful, however, I’m going to support it. I'd like you to support it, too. Our traffic problems will overwhelm us if we don’t start something now, and we shouldn’t let the best be the enemy of the good. The 2000 proposal wasn’t perfect, either, but our traffic patterns and our city as a whole would be a whole lot better off if we’d passed it, it had been constructed by 2007, and we’d been living with it for the last seven years. I don’t want another 14 years to pass before we take action on one of the city’s most critical needs.

There's another reason we need your help. The experience of other cities shows that the hardest transit election is the first one. Once people get a chance to ride the train and see that it actually carries people, they're more likely to vote for extensions. Even if you prefer a different alignment (and I know many of you do), I think the fastest way to get the train you want is to help us get started with the train we can get.

#urban rail #bill spelman

Where does Council stand on Rail?

You can read the survey here:

http://the-aura-blog.tumblr.com/post/78443668435/aura-council-member-questionnaire

And here's the link to the Council email page:

http://austintexas.gov/government

We'll be sharing the Spelman response soon. Stay tuned!

#scorecard #urban rail

AURA Council Member Questionnaire

We would be grateful to receive your response by Monday, March 31st. Completed questionnaires will be posted online at our website and disseminated through email and social media.

Point-of-Contact for the Austinites for Urban Rail Action Questionnaire: Brennan Griffin [ brennan dot griffin at gmail dot com ]

Project Connect Questionnaire for Austin City Council

Instructions: Please provide an answer for each of the following questions.

1) What range of local bond funding do you think Austin voters will be willing to support for a high-capacity transit investment this November? A) $0-250M B) $251-500M C) >$500M

2) Given the possibility that constructing the entire East Riverside-Highland route recommended by Project Connect may be financially impractical at this time, which segment of the route do you think should be prioritized in the initial investment? 3) If segments of the route are incompatible with neighborhood plans and current land use regulations, will you still support the proposal? If yes, will you commit to significant up zoning around the proposed route before the November election? 4) If Project Connect decided to move forward with an alignment that crosses Lady Bird Lake, would you support giving priority to high-capacity transit on existing bridges such as the Congress Avenue Bridge or First Street Bridge? 5) What can advocacy organizations such as AURA do to help make the public case for controversial but essential infrastructure like a new tunnel, a new bridge or the redesign of an existing bridge?

#questionnaire #city council #urban rail

DAA poll confirms need for East Riverside prioritization

For Immediate Release

February 28th, 2014

Austinites for Urban Rail Action (AURA) responded to publication of urban rail public opinion polling conducted on behalf of Downtown Austin Alliance by reiterating the need for East Riverside to Downtown service as the initial sequence.

Brennan Griffin, a bus rider and transit advocate, explained the group’s analysis: “This poll makes it crystal clear that Austin voters are not in the mood for a ‘build-it-and-they-will-come’ rail plan. They want to see their tax dollars working to move real people on a high-ridership line from day one. For the urban rail bond to pass this November, it will need all of the support it can get. We need a route that makes sense right now. An East Riverside to Downtown route is the unifying choice. Highland to Downtown does not fit the bill.”

Austinites for Urban Rail Action (AURA) was founded to ensure that Austin has a data-driven, transparent, inclusive, and successful process for selecting our next urban rail line. It has emerged as a leading civic voice in Austin’s transportation planning, bringing unprecedented levels of community engagement on transit planning to the City Council and to Project Connect’s Central Corridor Advisory Group (CCAG), on which AURA Executive Committee member Julie Montgomery serves.

AURA’s Executive Committee is guided by the advocacy goals outlined in AURA’s Resolution 1.

#Press release #polling

AURA: Mayor’s State of the City rail message fails

For Immediate Release

February 25th, 2014

Austinites for Urban Rail Action (AURA) expressed disappointment that Mayor Lee Leffingwell failed to embrace the prioritization of East Riverside as the initial sequence for urban rail in today’s “State of the City Speech”. Leffingwell delivered the speech at the Real Estate Council of Austin’s Ideas Forum today.

Dan Keshet, a member of AURA’s Executive Committee, delivered the group’s reaction: “The difference between Highland and Riverside couldn't be more stark: Highland serves politicians' fancies like an 'innovation district', along roads ill-fitted to trains, while Riverside serves real riders who desperately need more transportation options, along paths planned for transit. I am disappointed and frankly bewildered that the Mayor and City Council are not sending a loud, clear message to voters that they will refuse any plan that doesn't serve Riverside and real Austin riders first.”

AURA’s Executive Committee is guided by the advocacy goals outlined in AURA’s Resolution 1.

#Press release #leffingwell state of the city

AURA calls on Mayor to prioritize East Riverside rail in State of the City

For Immediate Release

February 24th, 2014

Austinites for Urban Rail Action (AURA) called on Mayor Lee Leffingwell to embrace the prioritization of East Riverside as the initial sequence for urban rail in tomorrow's “State of the City Speech”. The speech is scheduled to be delivered at the Real Estate Council of Austin’s Ideas Forum tomorrow at noon.

“The Mayor’s has alluded to East Riverside as the unifying choice. I hope he will take the opportunity to unify the community by speaking forcefully of the importance in prioritizing East Riverside rail as the initial sequence and investing in the infrastructure necessary to make it happen,” argued Jace Deloney, an AURA Executive Committee member and former chair of Capital Metro’s Customer Satisfaction Advisory Committee (CSAC).

Marcus Denton, a transit activist explained the current state of AURA’s analysis of rail politics: "The Riverside-Downtown section looks more and more like the viable way forward on this. The fact that Project Connect is now considering bypassing the entire northern part of its route seems to indicate there's not enough demand around Highland to justify an urban rail investment there."

AURA’s Executive Committee is guided by the advocacy goals outlined in AURA’s Resolution 1.

#Press release #leffingwell state of the city

AURA reiterates need for East Riverside as initial sequence

For Immediate Release

February 21st, 2014

After examining today’s route recommendation created by Project Connect staff, Austinites for Urban Rail Action (AURA) reiterated its support for East Riverside and downtown to be served in the initial investment. This would require the construction of a bridge or modifications to an existing one.

Niran Babalola explained AURA’s analysis: “Austinites want a guarantee that there's a path out of our terrible traffic situation so we don't face yet another decade of this. The Highland route is a gamble that someday there might be enough people living there to benefit from rail. Riverside is already a dense neighborhood that can support rail, and it's growing rapidly. Let's start there, where rail isn't a gamble: it's guaranteed to work.”

“As was the news yesterday with Dropbox announcing they are adding 200 jobs here in Austin, our city continues to grow by these big announcements. It's time we fix mobility within the densest areas of our city because those areas will only become more dense as our city grows. Areas like East Riverside Drive are now full of very dense residential, business, and entertainment destinations and are exactly where mobility needs to be addressed to keep our city vibrant and a place companies want to expand in. The Highland area shares none of the characteristics of areas like East Riverside and would not solve the mobility problems we face now or will face in the next several years,” said Steven Knapp, a transit user and well-known transit advocate.

“Starting at East Riverside would be the unifying choice. I hope the Mayor and Council look at the data and make the right decision. We need to serve regular Austinites, not speculate on shaping growth,” argued Jace Deloney, an AURA Executive Committee member and former chair of Capital Metro’s Customer Satisfaction Advisory Committee (CSAC).

AURA’s Executive Committee is guided by the advocacy goals outlined in AURA’s Resolution 1.

#Press release #urbanrail #east riverside

AURA Calls on CCAG to Add East Riverside Residents, Students

For Immediate Release

February 9th, 2014

Austinites for Urban Rail Action (AURA) is calling on the Mayor’s Central Corridor Advisory Group (CCAG) to expand its membership to include East Austin residents and students. CCAG is the group advising the Mayor on the route selection for Austin’s ‘next high-capacity transit investment’ (i.e. urban rail).

CCAG’s membership does not include students or representatives from the East Riverside community:

Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell (chairman)

Bill Spelman, Austin city councilman

John Langmore, vice chairman of the Capital Metro board of directors

Sid Covington, chairman of the Lone Star Rail District board

Pat Clubb, vice president for university operations at UT

Martha Smiley, Austin Area Research Organization

Tom Stacy, Downtown Austin Alliance

Greg Hartman, president and CEO of Seton Medical Center Austin

Aundre Dukes, portfolio manager and public liaison for the Texas Facilities Commission

Ali Khataw, past chairman of the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce

Celia Israel, secretary of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Texas State Representative-Elect

Julia Montgomery, citizen and representative from the Austinites for Urban Rail Action

Dave Sullivan, citizen and former member of the Austin Planning Commission

Tim Taylor, citizen and partner with the Office of Jackson Walker LLP

Boone Blocker, citizen and vice chairman of the Urban Transportation Commission

“One of the goals in targeting the Central Corridor for high-capacity transit is to serve students. It makes sense to have us at the table if the Mayor and CCAG are serious about serving us”, said Andrew Houston, University of Texas Student Government committee chair.

“As a resident of East Riverside’s City Council District 3, I think adding community voices to CCAG would be a good-faith move that a rail route there is still on the table. Also, the many transit-reliant residents of the East Riverside Corridor have been largely-ignored stakeholders in this process and deserve to be represented in the advisory group,” argued Jace Deloney, an AURA Executive Committee member and former chair of Capital Metro’s Customer Satisfaction Advisory Committee (CSAC).

“Hopefully, CCAG will consider this request before or at our February 21st meeting. The decision-making process is moving so quickly that, if we don’t add this balance very soon, it will become a permanently lost opportunity,” said CCAG member and AURA Executive Committee member Julie Montgomery.

AURA sent Council members a letter on Friday, February 7th urging them to request the Mayor expand the body.

Austinites for Urban Rail Action (AURA) was founded to ensure that Austin has a data-driven, transparent, inclusive, and successful process for selecting our next urban rail line. It has emerged as a leading civic voice in Austin's transportation planning, bringing unprecedented levels of community engagement on transit planning to the City Council and to Project Connect's Central Corridor Advisory Group (CCAG), on which AURA Executive Committee member Julie Montgomery serves.

AURA's Executive Committee is guided by the advocacy goals outlined in AURA's Resolution 1.

#press release #city council #east riverside #students #urbanrail

Letter to City Council requesting Central Corridor Advisory Group Expansion

This letter was emailed to City Council on February 7th.

Dear Council Member,

We are writing to request you to ask Mayor Leffingwell to expand the membership of the Central Corridor Advisory Group to include students and East Riverside community members.

As we move forward in determining the Central Corridor’s high-capacity transit investment, it has become clear that the needs of East Riverside, UT and ACC students, the University of Texas administration, the Highland Corridor, and the existing Red Line will need to be balanced.

However, the membership of CCAG does not fully reflect these different stakeholder constituencies.

Including students and East Riverside community members will enhance CCAG’s ability to craft the best Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for your consideration and for the November ballot, as well as strengthen the body’s legitimacy. It will communicate that the body is moving forward in good faith and fairly considering the East Riverside corridor.

Sincerely,

Austinites for Urban Rail Action

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