Quote:
Originally Posted by Novacek
I'll definitely recognize shortcomings in the Domain
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There are SO many, but much of the shortcomings require state or city action:
(1) Alterra Pkwy should be extended across MoPac.
(2) Domain Blvd should be extended across MoPac and connected to the Nat'l Instruments campus entrance.
(3) The service roads should be given grade separated rail crossings.
(4) Palm Way should be extended across MoPac.
(5) Esperanza Crossing should be extended across MoPac and given a signalized intersection there.
(6) Amy Donovan Plaza/Feathergrass Court should be turned into an actual road paralleling the tracks from MoPac/Esperanza crossing and ending at a signalized intersection with Braker.
(7) All/most of the stop signs internally should be changed to signalized intersections.
(8) The parking garage that the Kramer extension dead ends at should be demoed and Kramer should be extended to a signalized intersection with Amy Donovan, thru a grade separated rail crossing, and across MoPac thru the Braker Pointe property continuing on to the Stonelake/Balcones Center intersection.
Essentially, the problem with the Domain is not the size or scale of the roads, but the lack of viable access points ensuring a disadvantageous distribution of traffic. I.E. The current road plan creates bottleneck points that are overloaded by the demand. If we want this area to truly be a second downtown, then you need to create greater access.
In downtown Austin, there are 9 cross streets with I-35 that allow ingress into and egress from downtown: MLK, 15th, 12th, 11th, 8th, 7th, 6th, Cesar Chavez, and River/Holly. There's also a pair of turnarounds at 4th. I-35 reconstruction may or may not add additional connections, depending upon the final design. 5th, for instance, is something that city leaders have pushed TXDOT to consider.
In the Domain, there are 2: Braker and Burnet/Duval, with a set of turnarounds at the rail tracks. This isn't adequate at all.
Adding these crossings above would increase that to 7ish: Duval/Burnet, Alterra, Domain, Palm, Esperanza Xing/Amy Donovan (which renders the existing turnarounds gone, but oh well -- this intersection would ideally be modeled after the 51st/Cameron/I-35 intersection redesign), Kramer, and Braker.
The ONLY 2 currently planned added connectivity to MoPac are:
(1) extending Longhorn over MoPac to connect with York. That's smart, as Longhorn is also going to be connected to Rundberg. That'll provide an entirely new major E-W thoroughfare through North Austin, from Dessau to Stonelake.
(2) Connecting Rutland over MoPac to 360. This one is much less likely to happen, given that it requires cutting through the Pickle Campus, which isn't going to happen in the foreseeable future. But if they're seriously considering that, then why haven't they also considered a N-W arterial thru the campus by connecting Neils Thompson/Creativity to Feathergrass/Amy Donovan? And why not connect this southward underneath 183 where the access roads loop around around by the rail tracks and then via the empty strip of land to Shoal Creek?
Note that this added connectivity isn't in the (currently) right place to make a major difference for local traffic, though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by drummer
I have a question for you folks who understand the city codes and plans moving forward...perhaps Novacek or someone else can enlighten me and others. Is there any sort of plan to create more of a true grid in the future? For instance, there are so many random streets that lack any sense of planning or foresight, which leads to some of the disconnected feeling, in my opinion.
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The current roadway plan focuses on connecting the area to adjacent neighborhoods via Metric and adding roadways throughout the area to create an irregular grid with a good number of superblocks. Unfortunately, the current plan does not add any connectivity to the primary thru-way (MoPac), which is the primary connectivity problem.
ftp://ftp.ci.austin.tx.us/npzd/Austi...g_reg_plan.pdf
See page 10 of the .pdf, Figure 1-3.
Note that they are also leaving a fair amount of obvious cards on the table w/r/t new roadways. The diagonal strip of abandoned rail ROW from the Braker/Burnet intersection heading southeast toward the Red Line, for instance, should be coopted as a roadway. Metric should be realigned behind the Goodwill and connected underneath 183 adjacent to the Red Line with a signalized intersection. Waterford should be given a grade separate rail crossing and connected to Metric. Why not connect Industrial to Tudor underneath MoPac (this would require some more intricate engineering to accomplish, though).
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