General Austin Thread for Central Texas CFers

It's a lake because the river is damed on two sides by Tom Miller and Longhorn Dam.

This is what the "lake" used to look like:

 

This is the guy who funded the campaign to recall ann kitchen which is something austin leaders b****ed a lot about. It seems like a huge contradiction if they support it given Lyft/Uber actually didn't have anything to do with the recall even though they were blamed for it.

I really don't trust the guy. You always have to be careful with a non-profit because it's more donation based and no one is expecting to see a profit so you are never sure where that money is actually going. I hear a lot of good things about fare. Fasten is starting this weekend. What a huge mess.

 

So, a lot of people thought my posts were boring but I thought there were at least some of you could might like to see it and contribute. Everyone else is free to post any of the cool stuff.


Much of Austin would fit inside the 610 Loop in Houston. You could fit close to all of it if you were going by area within the loop since Austin's development is more vertically rectangular than square at that diameter. A complete loop with no stops at around that size will be done by 2020. That includes the complete reconstruction of 183 from 71 to 290. For those of you who are sim nuts, this is a thing of beauty:

Direct connectors from 183 to Loop 360 (Capital of Tx Highway) will allow you to go from 183 to 360 without stopping. Work is beginning on building overpasses on 360 to bypass all lights. That will create a continuous loop via 183,71,360

There is a longer term project that is going on that like Beltway 8 in Houston. However, it would not cover as much land and it's being built in drawn out phases like the Grand Parkway in Houston. It's a tollway that currently goes from I-35 in South Austin to 71 east of the airport, then north parallel to 35 and 183, passes 290 east which is now an expressway to a new Austin Suburb in Manor, curves west to round rock, passes 35 again, passes Mopac North, and ends at 183 North. The next phases for the west side have begun including the hugely important southwest side. Extending the tollway from South 35 west to south mopac would be a huge deal. It would allow traffic to bypass the congested 35 (slaughter to 71) and 71 west for people to get to Mopac South. This has been a very difficult segment to get built for environmental reasons. Unfortunately, there will be a small gap just west of 35 to the new Mopac section for probably the same reason. The big section after that will be a north-south section in far west Austin Metro in Lakeway,Tx which would complete the loop. It would run from south mopac, go past west 71 and 290 which would alleviate the logjam at the Oak Hill Y. This section would terminate at the 2222 highway which gives access to central Austin. I'm not sure about the section from 2222 back to the opposite end of the new toll loop but I'm sure it's in the extended schedule.

Overall, Austin's mobility issues have been put back on track but do face opposition from NIMBY council members that can't see the whole picture. About %40 were against the 700 million mobility bond that passed with overwhelming public support. The future leadership of the city has made it clear that billion dollar bonds are in the city's future and I think there will be the same support from the people once they see all the new much needed roadwork that will be done. This is especially true of the 360 overpasses in West Austin. The work on major corridors within the city core will also make a big difference to people and you might see increased support to fund work on all parts of those corridors instead of just sections. The bond also allows the city to add a lot more staffers to transportation which was badly needed. The biggest question is if they city will try a 3rd time for light rail. The last proposal was actually a great idea but was poorly explained to the people. It would build rail in corridors that have the space for it and aren't already major transit corridors. a big effect of it would be driving future high density apartment complexes like the Amlis that put a lot of people very close to the rail line. Those complexes have ground level retail/restaurants/ bars which is good for the area and also helps fill the trains. There was a lot of detractors who didn't understand growth and focusing population density that wanted the train to run down Lamar. The problem was that the corridor does not have the needed density to drive residential use. There is a study about how if people live around 1/4 mile away from a transit line then they won't use it. A good thing to show people was the roadside density along south Lamar. That would be the perfect place for a train especially given how connected it gets when it hits the north side however there isn't enough space for it. They are planning on getting rid of the center turn lane on S. Lamar which is dangerous and not needed. I suppose they could maybe squeeze a train down that section. An elevated track would be ideal but there is no money for that. The previous plan to run rail down Lamar required the closure of 2 lanes which is just not possible anymore. Plus, that corridor is the best served bus corridor in the form of the new rapid system which can control the lights and will further be supported by bus cutouts that won't slow traffic on stops. They got it right the last time. There was some push to extend the rail to the airpot but that wouldn't really be needed until a 2nd terminal is built or maybe once the next round of expansion is finished which would either build a 2nd terminal or expand the terminal north over a demolished short term parking garage and south in the form of piers that would add a lot of gates. The reason for that is your transit lines to airports are really populated by airport employees and not as much flier. HOWEVER, the run down airport instead of Lamar was not why the bond was defeated. The people inside Mopac, 183 and 71 voted for the rail by a decent amount. It was everyone in the outside of the core that really rejected it. The new road construction in those areas could change the temperament but it might signify that a bond should include commuter trains like the existing one from downtown, Eastside to far west austin which has been a huge success. It's standing room early in rush hour and recently got grants to add more trains and double tracks for increased service.

Another big problem was state money ran out for highways shortly after the Katy Freeway expansion. That's why there have been so many tollroads finished. If the state can't afford to fix 35 then it can't afford to build uninterrupted freeways to far west austin and the loop in the metro area. However, the recent state amendments which increase highway funding is turning that around and is the only reason why there will be a good amount of money for 35 work in 2020.

The tollroad lanes on Mopac will also be a great addition. The construction of them on the north side has been a nightmare because the city went with the lowest bidder but the initial schedule projection was ridiculous. It was a very difficult project given the little space that was there to work with along with all of the utilities and sound walls that had to go up on the borders. The whole reason that the mopac highway exists is because of the MoPac railroad. There has always been a desire to relocate the railroad to outside the city but that would cost billions of dollars. The tollroad allows busses to offer express service to give an incentive to public transportation, emergency vehicle access to clear accidents faster and for general drivers to bypass traffic. Some people will use it everyday like they do in other Texas cities. A lot of people don't drive on mopac on a regular basis so the const isn't a big deal. I'll always use it when I go to Mopac. Adding toll lanes to the south side of Mopac will go much faster because there is no railroad and a ton of open space.

I was in Houston for the Katy Freeway expansion and was a huge highway nut. The thing to remember about that project was that the K-T railroad was removed so the city had a HUGE amount of land to use to widen the highway which does not exist in Austin. There will have to be some lane expansions but a lot of focus on mobility improvements to highways in the form of re-done entrances and exits and highway alignment which makes a much bigger difference than people think. For example, the Katy freeway has a continuous lane that is on the edge of the feeder lane until approaching a road intersection. It then moves onto the highway to allow people to get on the highway but it doesn't require them to merge immediately. They have time to find the right spot to merge without stopping traffic. Some 35 entrance ramps require you to floor it and force your way on.

The biggest problem with 35 is that it developed along East Avenue which already had development on the east and west side. There is just too many private property along 35 to widen it which makes eminent domain too expensive. There are other fixes that can be done by either elevating 35 in downtown or burying it which would allow widening under some existing feeder roads. A lot of people blame 35 traffic on the upper decks which are not the problem at all. They are actually great because they allow the highway to have 4 lanes in each direction instead of 3. The problem is when the deck ends and 4 lanes have to merge to 3 creating a bottleneck. I-35 work (which will begin in 2020 once the 183 east expressway is finished), will add a additional free lane and a toll lane for express travel. They found a way to reinforce the upper deck to add the weight of an additional lane at the top while they add a toll lane at the bottom.

 

Not Transit News, but the Airport stuff is pretty cool.

The eastward expansion of the main Austin Airpot terminal is progressing nicely. It will add a delta club which is the airline that is expanding the most at the airport. It's not yet known what their plan is but it's possible they could try to use Austin as a jumping off point for South American expansion. The current expansion will also add 6-7 additional gates which will help serve increased domestic and international travel. There is also other work being done with the taxi ways. The new customs area that opened a coupe years ago is AMAZING and such a better experience than Houston. It's currently bigger than the current demand to allow continued short term international growth and it can be expanded. Right now, my wife has to go through a separate long ass line when we fly into Bush even though she has a green card. Both us us went through customs together in Austin.

The new "South Terminal" has opened. It's a bit ironic that people are complaining how cheap it seems while taking advantage of the super cheap Allegiant flights. The city is actually leasing the operation of the terminal to a private company for 40 years that spent a few million to renovate an old air force building in the central airport area that offers airline a decreased gate rental. That has resulted in a continuous expansion of cities by Allegiant. This is the 2nd time the city has done this but the host airline was a Mexican one that only served Mexican cities. It had to shut down all of its North American expansion when the recession hit. Allegiant is a lot more stable and a 2nd airline (Texas Sky) is slated to begin operations there as well.

There have been a lot of complaints about access to the new south terminal. There is no direct access from the main airport roads because it would require tunneling under the taxiways in order to reach the south terminal. That would require a tremendous amount of money which would negate the point of setting up a cheaper south terminal. There is also not a plan for a train connection between the 2 terminals for that reason. Also, the previous plan was to build a larger real terminal near that area however that is being reconsidered. The construction of 2 new garages with a 3rd one on the way at the main terminal might push the city to expand the main terminal further. The new garage will also add administration offices which could also push for the main terminal expansion. The initial airport master plan has basically been thrown out the window. A new one will be made and released in about 2 years.

You have to take 183 south and enter through a southern access point at the airport grounds to access the south terminal. The signs along 71 aren't very good and don't match the standard airport signs that you see at most airports which clearly mark both terminals and the airlines that occupy them. It doesn't help that you currently have to exit Riverside when going west, drive past the intersection and then turn onto 183 south. That will be fixed once the 183 expressway is completed.

For those of you who use 71 to visit Houston: The first tollway section on 71 east of the airport finished and it's great. It allows you to bypass 3 previous stoplights. Yea it's a toll but you can just take the feeder road which is still better than what it was before the toll road. The problem is that you face a light at a school shortly after that which creates a small bottleneck there will be another overpass added there. I don't know if it will be tolled. There is a long term plan to bypass all of the lights on 71 from Austin to Houston. They finished most of the Bastrop overpasses back in 2007 or so which made a huge difference. They are currently working on a overpass at the Bucky's intersection which will make a huge difference. All of the other lights will get fixed after that and I don't believe there is a plan to make those small bypasses toll roads. This will be a huge accomplishment. When I moved to Austin, you had a ton of lights in Bastrop and lights along Ben White all the way to 35. Finishing that Riverside underpass was ****ing fantastic. This will take you from the airpot all the way to west Austin near oak hill. The first phase of the oak hill Y (290+71 spirit) is progressing. The long term plan is to extend the expressway to the Y and have uninterrupted ramps both ways.

TLDR: Central Texas and City of Austin mobility/road/highway work is on track and meeting the demands of the modern city. There is a lot to look forward to now that the TXDOT has more money. The main concern is if the city can push even bigger bonds every couple years which might depend on if the current mayor is re-elected in 2 years or if he is replaced by a current NIMBY council member.

 

The county is going to push for a hotel tax increase to build a new arena and expo center in Far East austin to replace the Erwin center for non UT-Events. It will be a big upgrade to the Erwin center but it won't be as big and fancy as modern arenas being built in other cities. The main reason is that there isn't a way that it could attract a pro NBA or NHL team. You could think of it like the NRG Expo Center and NRG Arena except the arena is bigger and nicer. It would replace the current arena that is at the Travis County Expo Grounds. There will also be land that is preserved for future development that typically serves arenas like hotels, restaurants bars etc. It also raises the possibility that the area could serve as a entertainment part of town. They are already planning to build a small rugby arena and it's possible they could eventually build a soccer stadium that could be expanded for a MLS team although I'm not sure you would want that far away from downtown. It seems like that is in the "boondocks" but when the 183 expressway is finished you are going to see a lot of expansion in that area. There are already a lot of nice neighborhoods going up there. You could think of it like where Fiesta Texas and Seaworld are in San Antonio. It's far far southwest and probably seemed like a strange place to put it at the time. There isn't really a great place to put another arena in central Austin. I could see putting it next to the domain with how much Rock Rose has brought to it but North Mopac would be a lot harder to get to at that time of day than Far East Austin. There is a conflict developing between the city and county over the hotel tax. The city is looking to increase it by 2% which has the Hotel industry support to expand the convention center which is badly needed. This is not something that would require a public vote. The county might want to increase that tax as well to build this project and some others but the hotel industry is skeptical and it would require the city to only increase the hotel tax by %1. An increase by the county would require a public vote. I would be for that split and have the city use the %1 increase on the convention center along with diverting some of the past convention center money on this expansion. Adding that much more space will vastly increase the capacity of the building which is currently turning away interested companies as well as losing existing ones. The big thing to take away here is that increasing the hotel tax does not cause the people in Austin to spend any more money.



Let me know if you have any questions about this stuff or anything else city/metro related to Austin. I keep up with a lot of it.

 

Lastly, here is a good writeup for a possible county bond election this November by the Austin Monitor. If you like it then I would suggest subscribing to the site. They do great work with little money.

TravCo bond talk takes explosive turn

It's also possible that there is a 1 billion dollar AISD bond. That would normally be an easy yes but I think the city might be getting burnt out on bonds with increased concern about property tax increases. It would be badly needed given the cities growth.

 

There is another bill at the ledge that would screw Austin. It would basically stop the city from annexing growing surrounding areas by requiring those areas to vote for annexation. That limits the tax base while those areas increase the burden on city infrastructure like roads and other ****. Austinites would be much better served if they paid attention to the capital like they pay attention to the federal government.

Via Austin Monitor:
Anti-annexation bill now biggest threat to city

The state ledge needs a complete overall. So many bills that have a lot of support can be killed by a minority of reps that are akin to Congresses' Freedom Caucus. Both decriminalizing and legalizing medicinal mar1juana had a vast amount of bi-partisan support but they were both deliberately left off and pushed past the schedule deadline. It's bad enough that they only meet every 2 years.