The following might interest you...Please note the dates of the next meetings:
on the 18th and 19th of may to help form the next phase of these plans....
Dear Downtown Austin Plan “Interested Party,”
We would like to provide you with an update on the Downtown Austin Plan.
Phase One:
Most of the work known as “Phase One” of the DAP has already been completed. These completed tasks include:
• “Issues and Opportunities” report – Presented to City Council 2/14/2008, which can be found at:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/downloads/DAP_PH_1_REPORT_2-14-08.pdf
• Urban Rail Corridors Study – Presented to City Council 7/24/2008, which can be found at:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/downloads/dap_rail_brief_072408.pdf
• Downtown Transportation Framework Plan – Completed November 2008. This piece of work is “ongoing” in nature, in that we expect it to be refined during Phase Two. In order to make it more accessible to the general public, we have prepared an Executive Summary. Both the full Framework Plan and the Executive Summary are available (as are the other documents identified above) at the City’s Downtown website (
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/).
• Affordable Housing & Density Bonus Studies:
The only un-finished portions of Phase One are the Affordable Housing and Density Bonus studies, and we are approaching completion of those. Two upcoming meetings have been scheduled to present recommendations by the City’s consultant and gather further input regarding the draft studies:
Public Town Hall Meeting: Monday, May 18th, 6:00-8:30pm, Waller Creek Bldg., 625 East 10th Street, Room 104.
Joint Commissions Meeting: Tuesday, May 19th, 6:00-8:30pm, Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs Road, Room 130.
We intend to place draft reports for each of these studies on the Downtown Plan website about a week before the meetings.
Phase Two:
Phase Two of the project is underway. This work will produce the “Downtown Austin Plan,” which will include the following elements:
• Vision for Downtown
• Downtown Districts, including: delineation of districts; district-specific goals, activities, and priorities; urban design guidelines; identification of and priorities for historic and cultural resources
• District-Specific Plans for the Northwest District and the Cores/Squares District
• Parks and Open Space Master Plan
• Updated Transportation Framework Plan
• Infrastructure Improvement Strategy
• Economic Development Policies
• Implementation Strategy
In the coming months, we will be focusing primarily on work related to Downtown Districts, historic preservation, live music and arts/cultural resources, and parks and open space.
District Surveys: Earlier this year we launched a survey to invite the community to express its vision and goals for the various Downtown districts, and we thank those of you who took the time to participate. We have re-opened the survey to allow further public input. The survey is formatted so that you can provide your input on more than one district by repeating the survey for a different district each time. The survey can be found at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Qc82_2bR6VqU4q5nN9Cl3Mdw_3d_3d
Downtown Transportation Framework Plan – Executive Summary: The “Downtown Transportation Framework Plan” was released in late 2008, and it will continue to be refined during Phase Two. We have prepared an “Executive Summary” of that study, which provides a good overview and understanding of the Framework Plan. Both the Framework Plan and the Executive Summary can be found at:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/default.htm#dntnplan
Downtown Austin Plan Website: Remember -- you can always check the Downtown Austin Plan website for updates and reports, at:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/default.htm.
Thank you for your continued interest in the Downtown Austin Plan.
Jim Robertson and Michael Knox
Co-Project Managers