AUSTIN | Projects & Construction III

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by deerhoof

I wish this would happen today. I think I-35 through downtown is so ugly.
http://impactnews.com/articles/i-35-...plan-proposed/

THIS IS THE BEST OPTION EVER and EVERYONE here needs to write letters to all of our city councilmen and women AND the mayor today. Sit down right now and write. I'd write three rounds of three letters per each person to really get the message to sink in.

[lzppjb]

I suggested this just about a week ago.

My pipe dream: I-35 below ground level through town with a lot of lanes for through traffic, and capped at ground level by some lanes and a green median for in-town traffic. Could harken back to East Avenue.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2995

[lzppjb]

btw...$550 million? I'd rather have this than the rail project for the same price.

[priller]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

btw...$550 million? I'd rather have this than the rail project for the same price.

Doesn't that price tag seem a bit optimistic??

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

I suggested this just about a week ago.



http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2995

I do wish that would happen. Like SecretAgentMan said , Actually it is an option that has been kicked around for years. Always ends up getting passed by beause of cost.....
But something big and creative needs to happen that does not just put a bigger barrier in the middle of town.
Note:
"Sinclair Black" is who he is refering to..... of "Black and Vemooy. That man has truly been a pioneer in this city. He owns most of the north side of 4th street between Colorado and Lavaca. His offices are there as well. I met him back in the dark ages when Fado was a Theatre!.... I was a child of course.

[wwmiv]

We can do both. In fact, if we do this, we could embed north-south rail above.

Big problem though: the current rail alignment east-west would have to be shut down in order for a project like this to move forward. The last stop would have to be just before the interstate, effectively making the current rail useless (not that it already wasn't) for ~3 years.

[wwmiv]

Also, it doesn't just open up land immediately above 35, it would open up significant chunks of land immediately east of 35 to expand the central business district in a cohesive way.

[KevinFromTexas]

$550 million isn't even that much when you think about it. Apparently the new Bush presidential library in Dallas cost $550 million. Think of what you could do with all that new land in downtown. You could even build a presidential library on it...

[lzppjb]

Using the middle for the N/S rail would be perfect. Surround it on both sides with CBD. The ROI is obvious.

[migol24]

I thought this was already proposed a few years ago. Even that one future skyline illustration from Imagine Austin in 2039 shows I-35 covered up. I'm too lazy to look up that photo but I'm sure it's there.

[lzppjb]

I did a quick estimate on the acres this project would add to downtown. The I35 ROW from the river to 15th is roughly 65 acres. That's a very rough estimate.

[Syndic]

I mean, it's a very positive idea, but I want to see a full I-35/130 swap. I want to see the current I-35 turned completely into a toll road and have 130 be free. Until that happens, the trucks are not going to take 130. They're going to keep blasting through our city with no regard for anybody who lives here, clogging the streets, driving like assholes. Maybe we could have a system set up whereby Austin metro residents don't have to pay very much (maybe $10 a month, like Spotify or Netflix) and only people passing through Austin have to pay full price.

Even with that, though, there would still be a need to bury the highway. Maybe this is a step in direction of my grand vision? It would certainly do a lot for the downtown area.

[wwmiv]

Reply to general argument: simply do both. In fact, they'll have to do both (I.E. re-route traffic onto 130) in order to fix 35 downtown.

Originally Posted by Syndic

Maybe we could have a system set up whereby Austin metro residents don't have to pay very much (maybe $10 a month, like Spotify or Netflix) and only people passing through Austin have to pay full price.

Fix: have a single toll each coming in on the north side and south side that is sufficient to re-route significant portions of traffic onto 130. Unfortunately, that would suck for alot of people in our southern suburbs, but it is the most realistic vision.

[Syndic]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Fix: have a single toll each coming in on the north side and south side that is sufficient to re-route significant portions of traffic onto 130. Unfortunately, that would suck for alot of people in our southern suburbs, but it is the most realistic vision.

I don't like the idea of charging people in the metro area an arm and a leg to use the road. Maybe the city could strike a deal with surrounding municipalities whereby those residents wouldn't have to pay any more than Austinites. I don't want to tax commuters. A lot of people live so far out because they can't afford to live (well) in Austin. They don't have a lot of money. So it would be a tax on the poor. I just want to attach a punitive charge for people who are using the highway to pass through Austin instead of taking 130.

I-35 is the main corridor for traffic from Mexico into the United States and vice versa. People always think that the traffic is because of the native population (and to a large degree it is), but I think it gets clogged up to a standstill because of the added traffic of people traveling through.

Though if we do have to charge commuters more to use the road I guess one benefit would be creating more of an incentive to live in the city proper. Unfortunately, that would mean more demand, which means higher cost of living still.

[lzppjb]

Like has been mentioned before and it's something I like...

If a car passes both 130 exits (north and south of town) on I-35 in a set amount of time (thru traffic), they get tolled. If they don't pass both, or it takes longer than a set time that accounts for slow traffic, then they are in-town traffic and would not be tolled.

That would hit truckers and travelers blasting through town, but not hit the wallets of locals and commuters.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by Syndic

I mean, it's a very positive idea, but I want to see a full I-35/130 swap. I want to see the current I-35 turned completely into a toll road and have 130 be free. Until that happens, the trucks are not going to take 130. They're going to keep blasting through our city with no regard for anybody who lives here, clogging the streets, driving like assholes. Maybe we could have a system set up whereby Austin metro residents don't have to pay very much (maybe $10 a month, like Spotify or Netflix) and only people passing through Austin have to pay full price.

Even with that, though, there would still be a need to bury the highway. Maybe this is a step in direction of my grand vision? It would certainly do a lot for the downtown area.

That idea would hurt the city economically and cause a massive shift of population east of the city which could potentially kill off the city core. Nobody is going to come to Austin driving 35 if they know its tolled. That's millions and millions of dollars that travelers passing through Austin, for gas, food, hotel stays that would be lost to the city. What we would end up with is 100 miles of sprawl along the current 130 route. If they have toll 35 at all which IMO it shouldn't even be an option, they can toll one or two new additional lanes while adding a 4th free lane.

[SecretAgentMan]

Originally Posted by migol24

I thought this was already proposed a few years ago. Even that one future skyline illustration from Imagine Austin in 2039 shows I-35 covered up. I'm too lazy to look up that photo but I'm sure it's there.

It isn't a new idea at all. The City did a very detailed study of this in conjunction with TxDOT over 10 years ago. But, to give full credit where it is due, it was also Sinclair's idea through the DAA that spurred on that earlier study.

[wwmiv]

It's been proposed at many stages, but this time now that the state is serious about fixing the situation it may garner some currency.

[AusTex]

Sinclair Black has been talking about this for years...Decision Makers are not listening.

The City of Austin needs to get off the pot and DECIDE what needs to be done and STRONGLY repeat this message...over and...over...again.

The following link is from 2008...seven years ago and lists this idea as "Sinking I-35 (not executed)". The idea is much older.


http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2008-03-28/606169/

[KevinFromTexas]

It seems like every idea that is thrown out there, though, is heavily contested by all the various types of contrarians in this city. And of course nothing is ever done quickly unless it's a sure thing that millions can be made by multiple parties. Of course, this is one of those situations where a lot of money could be made for the City of Austin and Travis County through property taxes from the newly created land. And it would give developers more developable land. I think eventually it'll happen. Developers, architects and engineers will have to push the issue, along with the City of Austin, realizing it would be a new source of property tax revenue. Downtown isn't infinite, and we also have the capitol view corridors which limit height and density. It's going to get to a point to where we have to ask, are we going to mow down neighborhoods like what happened for the Capitol complex and UT Campus 50 to 100 years ago, or are we going to stifle development and as a consequence, the economy? Historical preservation would also no doubt suffer and lose out since developers would snap up remaining low density properties and tear down historic buildings. But don't offer any of this as rational points for the argument of supporting this on say, the Statesman.com comments sections.