Domain/North Austin Development Updates - Page 73

enragedcamel · #**1441** Posted **Jul 4, 2019, 5:10 PM**

The Domain area needs several 400+ ft buildings before it can really be considered a "second downtown", IMO.

StoOgE · #**1442** Posted **Jul 4, 2019, 7:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by freerover

I went to the Apple Store yesterday and again saw a constant barrage of pedestrians walking across the street and cars yielding. I have no idea what Domain you go to.

I've had cars fail to yield in front of the Nordstrom's pretty regularly. I've also seen a fair number of agro drivers pull the "two cars one stop sign follow the leader" move on rock rose

zrx299 · #**1443** Posted **Jul 4, 2019, 10:29 PM**

What exactly is the point of the height limit in and around the Domain? I understand zoning and what it attempts to achieve, to a point, but what possible practical purpose other than political bs does a height limit serve here? There's no 30 story condo tower going up next door to a cul-de-sac of 1970-80's ranch style houses.

I don't want to hear about FAA nonsense either because Houston has at least 6 "skylines" that would put the Domain to shame. (Yes, much bigger city but planes still fly right over all of them)

hequals2henry · #**1444** Posted **Jul 5, 2019, 2:51 PM**

Taken yesterday

lonewolf · #**1445** Posted **Jul 9, 2019, 6:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hequals2henry

Taken yesterday

.

H2O · #**1446** Posted **Jul 10, 2019, 11:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonewolf

.

Pedestrians take photos from sidewalks. The perspective is a little different.

Novacek · #**1447** Posted **Jul 10, 2019, 1:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonewolf

.

thank god we have Downtown Austin as an alternative to that pedestrian unfriendly hellscape

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.2711986,...v572NfoM9LCGmhrfadNvw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

atxsnail · #**1448** Posted **Jul 10, 2019, 1:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by H2O

Pedestrians take photos from sidewalks. The perspective is a little different.

The walkability of the Domain seems to be an evergreen topic. The huge structured parking garages will hopefully be torn down over the next few decades and replaced by buildings. Remember there are a ton of spots all over the CBD that are just as car-centric (or even more) as the photo.

FWIW two of the more ambitious buildings planned for the Domain are supposed to go into the parking lot to the driver's left. The 803 stop is also located there for now.

mtb_jeremy · #**1449** Posted **Jul 10, 2019, 2:15 PM**

I live near and work in the Domain, and personally I think it is more open to criticism than downtown for lack of planning around transportation (walk, bike, car) because it is a development from scratch (2003) by just two developers. They had full ability to put thought in the planning before executing and it seems like there are some areas where no real thought went into what it would be like when fully populated.

As I have seen the office buildings get built in and populated, I always was waiting to see what would happen to traffic at lunch hour during the week. I originally thought the offices would create a strong lunch rush for the walkable restaurants in the Domain. Now, I am guessing it won't be as strong since many of the big employers (Facebook, Amazon, Indeed...) have large, free cafeterias in their buildings.

Correct me if I am wrong, but where some of the tax breaks tied to a requirement of bike lanes? And when it was noted that bike lanes weren't built, the Domain developers then added shared-biking lane markers in the car lanes? This is something that I personally am disappointed with, since the Domain is bikable from my home and I think how nice it would be to be able to bike with my 3 year old into the Domain for lunch or an outing on the weekends, but I really don't feel safe with him biking on those streets.

zrx299 · #**1450** Posted **Jul 10, 2019, 3:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Novacek

thank god we have Downtown Austin as an alternative to that pedestrian unfriendly hellscape

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.2711986,...v572NfoM9LCGmhrfadNvw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Thank God we have people to cherry-pick highly specific examples and inject passive aggressive sarcasm on here.

Sabine street? Seriously?

zrx299 · #**1451** Posted **Jul 10, 2019, 3:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by atxsnail

The walkability of the Domain seems to be an evergreen topic. The huge structured parking garages will hopefully be torn down over the next few decades and replaced by buildings. Remember there are a ton of spots all over the CBD that are just as car-centric (or even more) as the photo.

FWIW two of the more ambitious buildings planned for the Domain are supposed to go into the parking lot to the driver's left. The 803 stop is also located there for now.

The 803 is a joke. There's nothing 'rapid' about taking an hour to get from the Domain to downtown.

Domain's layout issues are from having 3 different developers in charge of the different phases. No incentive was made for them to build a cohesive neighborhood. They all inter-compete with one another.

Novacek · #**1452** Posted **Jul 10, 2019, 4:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by zrx299

Thank God we have people to cherry-pick highly specific examples and inject passive aggressive sarcasm on here.

Sabine street? Seriously?

I didn't cherry pick, that's literally the first spot I randomly picked in the general NE downtown quarter (since I do know that section of downtown is pretty crappy).

And since i was responding to "passive aggressive sarcasm" ("built for pedestrians what are you talking about"), it just seemed fair.

atxsnail · #**1453** Posted **Jul 10, 2019, 5:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by zrx299

The 803 is a joke. There's nothing 'rapid' about taking an hour to get from the Domain to downtown.

Domain's layout issues are from having 3 different developers in charge of the different phases. No incentive was made for them to build a cohesive neighborhood. They all inter-compete with one another.

The worst part of the 803 is that stupid 10-15 minute detour through the PRC.

I think the biggest issue with the Domain layout is that Phase I and II were intentionally designed to be inward facing. Simon develops malls. Their goal is to draw people in and to make it difficult or unpleasant to leave.

The Northside layout and pedestrian experience is much better. It probably helps that Simon was not involved there. However the friction between Phase I and Northside is really obvious at the intersection of Domain Dr and Palm Way (near Aloft). There isn't even an ADA-compliant way to get between them without walking through a parking garage there.

Novacek · #**1454** Posted **Jul 10, 2019, 5:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtb_jeremy

Correct me if I am wrong, but where some of the tax breaks tied to a requirement of bike lanes? And when it was noted that bike lanes weren't built, the Domain developers then added shared-biking lane markers in the car lanes? This is something that I personally am disappointed with, since the Domain is bikable from my home and I think how nice it would be to be able to bike with my 3 year old into the Domain for lunch or an outing on the weekends, but I really don't feel safe with him biking on those streets.

Looking at the ordinance for the deal

https://data.austintexas.gov/widgets/pxe3-na7s

http://www.cityofaustin.org/edims/document.cfm?id=84381

I'm not seeing anything for "bike" or "bicycle", just the affordable housing requirements and such.

zrx299 · #**1455** Posted **Jul 10, 2019, 5:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by atxsnail

The worst part of the 803 is that stupid 10-15 minute detour through the PRC.

I think the biggest issue with the Domain layout is that Phase I and II were intentionally designed to be inward facing. Simon develops malls. Their goal is to draw people in and to make it difficult or unpleasant to leave.

The Northside layout and pedestrian experience is much better. It probably helps that Simon was not involved there. However the friction between Phase I and Northside is really obvious at the intersection of Domain Dr and Palm Way (near Aloft). There isn't even an ADA-compliant way to get between them without walking through a parking garage there.

Simon also felt zero need to connect their two phases. It's really mind blowing that they wasted all that space on an unnecessary massive surface parking lot. Definitely one of the (many) reasons the Dillard's-Dick's section has struggled to attract quality tenants.

Domain Drive from the Braker entrance to the 8-lane 4-way stop needs a complete overhaul. Constant backups. An awkward curving merge from 2 down to 1 lane.

Blow the whole grid up and start over. Do it right the first time.

StoOgE · #**1456** Posted **Jul 10, 2019, 5:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by atxsnail

The worst part of the 803 is that stupid 10-15 minute detour through the PRC.

I think the biggest issue with the Domain layout is that Phase I and II were intentionally designed to be inward facing. Simon develops malls. Their goal is to draw people in and to make it difficult or unpleasant to leave.

The Northside layout and pedestrian experience is much better. It probably helps that Simon was not involved there. However the friction between Phase I and Northside is really obvious at the intersection of Domain Dr and Palm Way (near Aloft). There isn't even an ADA-compliant way to get between them without walking through a parking garage there.

Yup. The internals of the area where the movie theater are are actually pedestrian friendly-ish. I mean, no one ever appears to be over there. But it's not horrible once you are in it.

Domain Drive is fine. It's definitely just a mall that is outside but it's fine.

Northside is great. I've said it a bunch, it's the interconnections between the different areas in the Domain that makes it unfriendly. That and rage drivers that don't like that pedestrians have the right-of-way

I'd be all for tearing out the entire thing Simon build and starting again, but that feels unlikely. At least redoing the parking garages and surface lots feels like a necessity at some point.

zrx299 · #**1457** Posted **Jul 10, 2019, 6:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by StoOgE

Yup. The internals of the area where the movie theater are are actually pedestrian friendly-ish. I mean, no one ever appears to be over there. But it's not horrible once you are in it.

Domain Drive is fine. It's definitely just a mall that is outside but it's fine.

Northside is great. I've said it a bunch, it's the interconnections between the different areas in the Domain that makes it unfriendly. That and rage drivers that don't like that pedestrians have the right-of-way

I'd be all for tearing out the entire thing Simon build and starting again, but that feels unlikely. At least redoing the parking garages and surface lots feels like a necessity at some point.

The dead zone around Shake Shack, and the suburban styled hotel-in-a-big-parking-lot Westin are the two single biggest offenders in my mind.

drummer · #**1458** Posted **Jul 11, 2019, 6:11 PM**

^^ Agreed. Yet I also think that it's reparable if they're committed to making the area better.

KevinFromTexas · #**1459** Posted **Jul 15, 2019, 7:24 PM**

ftp://ftp.ci.austin.tx.us/ATD_AULCC/AULC...N/AULCC_brockton+dr+hotel_TC_PLAN_01.pdf

Crane plan for "Brockton Drive Hotel"

5-story hotel with 154 rooms.

The address is 2600 Brockton Drive.

zrx299 · #**1460** Posted **Jul 15, 2019, 9:49 PM**

I wonder if that's the long planned Courtyard Marriott v2.0, or if it's something new.

IIRC, the original spot for that was the Clean Scapes business that fronts Kramer Lane.

I also can't imagine why Brockton drive needs to be 4 lanes wide + parallel parking on both sides. A road diet is long overdue there. Unnecessary 1970s suburban style planning.