Texas Capitol Complex & North Austin Complex Projects Update Thread

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by Riverranchdrone

For those of you that dont live downtown. Where is your go to parking spots for this area?

I always park on the street. The ParkATX app works well.

I Uber on game days or concerts.

[Urbannizer]

[OsirisATX]

Looks like there was a support collapse during a pour this morning.

[lonewolf]

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...ss-avenue.html

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...ss-avenue.html

love this idea. how do we get the light rail to have a branch that goes up congress and ends in front of the capital on this mall?

[ATX2030]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...ss-avenue.html

ATX needs to incorporate something like this

https://www.architonic.com/en/projec...medina/5102418

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by ATX2030

ATX needs to incorporate something like this

https://www.architonic.com/en/projec...medina/5102418

Those would violate the CVC.

Love them, but they’d be better deployed elsewhere.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Those would violate the CVC.

Love them, but they’d be better deployed elsewhere.

Good point about the CVC. I don't think the City could put much of anything including trees on what is now Congress Ave.

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...ss-avenue.html

I support this concept, but I don't believe Austin has the political will to keep it from becoming a blight rather quickly.

The renderings are beautiful, but wishful. If we are honest with ourselves, we all know that once the homeless move in it will be a constant battle to keep or even try to bring the vision of these renderings to fruition. Not to pick on the homeless; the drunken college kids, disrespectful taggers, pissed off MAGA/BLM protest crowds (often without permits) will occupy this area whenever they see fit.

What would this plaza become on weekend nights? I can easily see bars emptying out and this area filling up with people who want to keep the party going....or worse. As someone who has partied downtown since the mid 80's and still going strong, not much good happens after 2a. I can easily see small, loud, drunk, possibly dangerous (most violent crime involves alcohol to some extent) groups of partiers winding up here when the bars close.

APD seemingly are unwilling or unable to do their jobs, just look at "Dirty Sixth". The local businesses hired private security to patrol, it's shameful. And to think we are going to give the APD a huge new contract. Though I don't blame APD specifically, the politicians, bureaucrats, activists, and APD union leaders, need to give the police the ability to do their job, while holding the few "bad apples" accountable. When we get back to sensible policing, I'll support a project like this.

If State Troopers agreed to patrol the area 24/7 and close the area down after 2am....then I could get behind it. Those Officers seem to have the will of the politicians to do their jobs.

I've taken my small kids to Republic Square a few times, once recently after dinner at Wu Chow, and the ONLY people besides my family were homeless people clearly on horrible drugs passed out all over the place. We were unable to use any of the tables or seating areas, as each of them were essentially "occupied". Trash was everywhere, including needles and and empty alcohol containers. This is basically a new park, that we probably spent a grip on, and its already in tough shape with no police presence in place to deter illegal activities.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by urbancore

I support this concept, but I don't believe Austin has the political will to keep it from becoming a blight rather quickly.

The renderings are beautiful, but wishful. If we are honest with ourselves, we all know that once the homeless move in it will be a constant battle to keep or even try to bring the vision of these renderings to fruition. Not to pick on the homeless; the drunken college kids, disrespectful taggers, pissed off MAGA/BLM protest crowds (often without permits) will occupy this area whenever they see fit.

What would this plaza become on weekend nights? I can easily see bars emptying out and this area filling up with people who want to keep the party going....or worse. As someone who has partied downtown since the mid 80's and still going strong, not much good happens after 2a. I can easily see small, loud, drunk, possibly dangerous (most violent crime involves alcohol to some extent) groups of partiers winding up here when the bars close.

APD seemingly are unwilling or unable to do their jobs, just look at "Dirty Sixth". The local businesses hired private security to patrol, it's shameful. And to think we are going to give the APD a huge new contract. Though I don't blame APD specifically, the politicians, bureaucrats, activists, and APD union leaders, need to give the police the ability to do their job, while holding the few "bad apples" accountable. When we get back to sensible policing, I'll support a project like this.

If State Troopers agreed to patrol the area 24/7 and close the area down after 2am....then I could get behind it. Those Officers seem to have the will of the politicians to do their jobs.

I've taken my small kids to Republic Square a few times, once recently after dinner at Wu Chow, and the ONLY people besides my family were homeless people clearly on horrible drugs passed out all over the place. We were unable to use any of the tables or seating areas, as each of them were essentially "occupied". Trash was everywhere, including needles and and empty alcohol containers. This is basically a new park, that we probably spent a grip on, and its already in tough shape with no police presence in place to deter illegal activities.

I whole heartedly concur with that assessment. I no longer take out of town guests downtown because the last couple times we were harassed multiple times then followed by some of the drugged out harassers who were angry that we did not give them money.

[ILUVSAT]

I think the rendering of Congress in front of The Paramount is gawd awful. Why do need any of that "artsy" crap all over that space? Looks like a child designed it. Keep it simple stupid. Bricks, cobblestone, or the like. Maybe with a herringbone design or something. And...More plants and trees.

However, I don't see this happening. Businesses and land owners from seventh to 11th will fight it - as they should.

[Maximusx1]

It is nigh on impossible to drive across downtown right now. They have the lights timed so that you can only make it 1-2 blocks in any jump. They keep clogging the ingress and egress to downtown and taking away lanes on bridges. Then they go and propose another forever barricade like this. Right on par, brilliant.

I understand the Austin transportation apparatus has always believed in 'if we don't build it they won't come' and purposefully designed to get people out of their cars. It's been that way for 50 years and you come to expect it. But then they shifted to wanting to attract people to work AND live downtown. These types of plazas look cool for the downtown lifestyle, but in practicality they make it way more difficult for those of us who live downtown to actually move around our neighborhood.

They need to tear down the old 9th street post office, build more bridges across the lake (and Barton Creek), time the lights better on Cesar Chavez, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th, Guadalupe, Lavaca, Trinity and San Jacinto, and build more direct connector ramps onto and off of Mopac and I-35. Instead they take away lanes on Barton Springs, Congress, mis-time the lights and propose pretty barricades like this. Classic Austin government.

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by Maximusx1

It is nigh on impossible to drive across downtown right now. They have the lights timed so that you can only make it 1-2 blocks in any jump. They keep clogging the ingress and egress to downtown and taking away lanes on bridges. Then they go and propose another forever barricade like this. Right on par, brilliant.

I understand the Austin transportation apparatus has always believed in 'if we don't build it they won't come' and purposefully designed to get people out of their cars. It's been that way for 50 years and you come to expect it. But then they shifted to wanting to attract people to work AND live downtown. These types of plazas look cool for the downtown lifestyle, but in practicality they make it way more difficult for those of us who live downtown to actually move around our neighborhood.

They need to tear down the old 9th street post office, build more bridges across the lake (and Barton Creek), time the lights better on Cesar Chavez, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th, Guadalupe, Lavaca, Trinity and San Jacinto, and build more direct connector ramps onto and off of Mopac and I-35. Instead they take away lanes on Barton Springs, Congress, mis-time the lights and propose pretty barricades like this. Classic Austin government.

TRUTH! I recall when they timed the lights like that years ago, one of my urbanist acquaintances applauded the out of synch lights for some bizarre reason. He did not live DT, but I did (360). Colorado was especially infuriating as you couldn't breeze south without hitting a light...and back then DT was much less congested.

All nice in theory unless it's your actual neighborhood.

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by Maximusx1

But then they shifted to wanting to attract people to work AND live downtown. These types of plazas look cool for the downtown lifestyle, but in practicality they make it way more difficult for those of us who live downtown to actually move around our neighborhood.

True -- as-proposed, this would cut off basically any crossing through downtown between the lake and 9th street, which would become near chaos in practice.

Originally Posted by Maximusx1

They need to tear down the old 9th street post office, build more bridges across the lake (and Barton Creek), time the lights better on Cesar Chavez, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th, Guadalupe, Lavaca, Trinity and San Jacinto, and build more direct connector ramps onto and off of Mopac and I-35. Instead they take away lanes on Barton Springs, Congress, mis-time the lights and propose pretty barricades like this. Classic Austin government.

I'm honestly a bit surprised that nothing somewhat innovative has been tried with traffic light timings in Austin yet. Is there truly no way to run things off of some algorithm that looks at current traffic and can make hourly adjustments? Either way IMO, the city could just re-work all of the traffic light timings in downtown at once based of the following priorities (in terms of how synced they are while travelling):

1. Congress Ave gets first priority.

2. Cesar Chavez, 6th, 7th, and 11th get second priority.

3. Guad and Lavaca get 3rd priority.

4. All other E-W numbered streets get 4th

5. All other N/S streets named after rivers are last.

[The ATX]

In case anyone didn't realize this, the plaza cross streets will all remain open to traffic like they are now.

[dilliam]

Did none of y'all actually look at the plan? They aren't blocking any of the cross-streets.

https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/de...ild_Vision.pdf

[wwmiv]

I have the opposite complaint from everyone above…

Why this doesn’t go to at least 4th (better yet: Cesar Chavez), is mind-boggling.

An ideal build would take notes from Lower Wacker in Chicago between Cesar Chavez and 11th with entrance/exit portals for 5th/6th and 7th/8th.

[MichaelB]

This is a no for me.
Keep the grand avenue .
Keep the capacity to drive up to the Capitol.
Keep the parade and march routes!!!!!!!
Stop killing traffics routes in the center of town. Some of us actually live here and need to get around. I need to drive from South Congress to above the capitol and Past UT with the best possible outcomes. There are no plans for public transopraton that will actually solve the needs for locals to continue to function/shop/eat/get laundry/got to the post office... in the Actual City. ( And yes I walk/ride my bike/uber plenty. But that one rail line will not go to a grocery store!)

[Maximusx1]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

This is a no for me.
Keep the grand avenue .
Keep the capacity to drive up to the Capitol.
Keep the parade and march routes!!!!!!!
Stop killing traffics routes in the center of town. Some of us actually live here and need to get around. I need to drive from South Congress to above the capitol and Past UT with the best possible outcomes. There are no plans for public transopraton that will actually solve the needs for locals to continue to function/shop/eat/get laundry/got to the post office... in the Actual City. ( And yes I walk/ride my bike/uber plenty. But that one rail line will not go to a grocery store!)

Preach!!

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

...But that one rail line will not go to a grocery store!)

Nice rant. But the proposed light rail line will go to Congress & Oltorf where the new and improved HEB is located.