AUSTIN | Transportation Updates - Page 405

JAM · #**8081** Posted **Sep 28, 2021, 3:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjk

I see your point. I believe the bridge for the Red Line is supposed to have pedestrian paths on at least one side of it (hopefully both). If the caps were connected to that, it could eliminate the need to cross the Frontage Rd lanes. Especially since they are trying to make the 4th St through downtown a main transportation corridor, it would be nice if they make that bridge pedestrian/bike/scooter friendly to help increase safety.

At this point, there is no funding for caps, is that correct? Sounds like we'll be lucky to get caps, let alone parks.

As to the parks being vast greenlands where children frolic, if I was homeless under the bridge, I'd just move upstairs to the park.

valhalla · #**8082** Posted **Sep 28, 2021, 7:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAM

At this point, there is no funding for caps, is that correct? Sounds like we'll be lucky to get caps, let alone parks.

As to the parks being vast greenlands where children frolic, if I was homeless under the bridge, I'd just move upstairs to the park.

I mean what do you expect the cap to be? A giant concrete slab? If they are going to find the money to build caps, presumably they will find the money to build parks with the caps. Again see Klyde Warren Park. That is literally a downtown cap park where children frolic. I don't understand the thinking in this thread that something like Klyde warren isn't repeatable in Austin. Are caps with good parks just a geographical feature that is only suitable for cities located north of waco?

As for homeless people, I assume many or most of those homeless people are under the overpass because it is an overpass and provides overhead shelter. If you take away the overpass the homeless people will move to another area with better protection. Will there be homeless in a cap park--probably. There are homeless people in basically every urban park. But a park is still infinitely better than what is there now, which is not a park. Rejecting something which is better simply because it may not be perfect or fix every conceivable existing problem is peak NIMBYISM.

We vs us · #**8083** Posted **Sep 28, 2021, 10:42 PM**

"The homeless might use them, too" is not an excuse not to do . . . well, pretty much anything.

Lobotomizer · #**8084** Posted **Sep 28, 2021, 11:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by valhalla

Rejecting something which is better simply because it may not be perfect or fix every conceivable existing problem is peak NIMBYISM.

Preach it! I agree 100%. This truth is not only relevant to this topic, but all which I can think of at the moment.

JollyvilleJ-Rad · #**8085** Posted **Sep 29, 2021, 1:45 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by valhalla

Rejecting something which is better simply because it may not be perfect or fix every conceivable existing problem is peak NIMBYISM.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lobotomizer

Preach it! I agree 100%. This truth is not only relevant to this topic, but all which I can think of at the moment.

Couldn't agree more! I said this previously, but besides connecting the fabric of the downtown Arts District and Uptown Dallas with a stunning park, the surrounding areas have built up into a dense and vibrant mixed-use destination. Klyde Warren is as important a cultural institution as anything in the Arts District. The road-top environment hardly keeps patrons from overflowing the parks amenities. The worst thing about Warren Park is driving under it and not getting to enjoy it (as it should be!). I can't imagine a better-case scenario with the current options TxDOT left on the table. The park environment is enough to make one forget they are frolicking over a major highway spur - even over just a couple blocks the highway caps make an incredible difference in the comfort of an area.

I'm still a lot more concerned about what they might do to the UT/North Campus area south of Airport...

sjk · #**8086** Posted **Sep 29, 2021, 7:30 AM**

A quote from this article that I referenced on the last page:

"TxDOT operates I-35 and is funding the $4.9 billion project from Hwy. 290 to Hwy. 71. The transportation agency has said it is willing to redesign the stretch of I-35 through downtown in a way that is compatible with the cap and stitch proposal but would not fund the implementation of such an initiative."

If I-35 is being lowered through DT to help connect DT and the East side, adding caps would be impactful in making this part of the city feel more connected and seamless. TxDOT has stated they are wiling to redesign it for compatibility, so now would be the best time to go about making this a reality. I believe many Austinites would support this project and there is no reason to believe that funding for the project would be impossible to find.

StoOgE · #**8087** Posted **Sep 29, 2021, 5:17 PM**

Lets just put pigeon spikes everywhere and call it a day.

JAM · #**8088** Posted **Sep 29, 2021, 8:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjk

A quote from this article that I referenced on the last page:

TxDOT operates I-35 and is funding the $4.9 billion project from Hwy. 290 to Hwy. 71. The transportation agency has said it is willing to redesign the stretch of I-35 through downtown in a way that is compatible with the cap and stitch proposal but would not fund the implementation of such an initiative.

If I-35 is being lowered through DT to help connect DT and the East side, adding caps would be impactful in making this part of the city feel more connected and seamless. TxDOT has stated they are wiling to redesign it for compatibility, so now would be the best time to go about making this a reality. I believe many Austinites would support this project and there is no reason to believe that funding for the project would be impossible to find.

Thanks, that is what I remembered. Got a few here wanting to argue about something that isn't even really on the drawing board. Which goes back to what I originally asked: does this look easier to cross to anyone, or am I missing something? Some how some answers to that question turned into infantile mudslinging. Anyway, I digress.... With this thing not capped, it looks down right scary to cross to me. Got 12 lanes of fast moving freeway below to stare at, while your dodging 6 lanes of feeder traffic above. Not better than what we have now. So we fix the I-35 congestion issue, but not the east/west divide issue.

chinchaaa · #**8089** Posted **Sep 29, 2021, 10:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAM

Thanks, that is what I remembered. Got a few here wanting to argue about something that isn't even really on the drawing board. Which goes back to what I originally asked: does this look easier to cross to anyone, or am I missing something? Some how some answers to that question turned into infantile mudslinging. Anyway, I digress.... With this thing not capped, it looks down right scary to cross to me. Got 12 lanes of fast moving freeway below to stare at, while your dodging 6 lanes of feeder traffic above. Not better than what we have now. So we fix the I-35 congestion issue, but not the east/west divide issue.

What makes you think this will resolve traffic issues? What does resolved traffic issues even look like to you?

drummer · #**8090** Posted **Sep 30, 2021, 4:02 PM**

CapMetro kicks off MetroRail Red Line expansion, Leander leaders study transit services

Quote:

LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — CapMetro kicked off its expansion of the MetroRail Red Line on Thursday, adding tracks between Discovery and Park Street to increase capacity.

Quote:

CapMetro’s investment in Leander comes at a time when the future of the agency there is in question. Just last week, Leander City Council voted to launch a study to evaluate CapMetro’s services. At present, the agency runs the Red Line, a weekday commuter bus route, and most recently, pick-up service around town. However, some city leaders feel that’s not enough for what they’re paying.

https://www.kxan.com/news/capmetro-kicks...-leander-leaders-study-transit-services/

KevinFromTexas · #**8091** Posted **Sep 30, 2021, 7:01 PM**

So, how soon until the Q2 Stadium MetroRail station is ready? I feel like the Domain area getting a rail stop is really going to boost the legitimacy of it and be a boost to development.

freerover · #**8092** Posted **Oct 1, 2021, 1:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

So, how soon until the Q2 Stadium MetroRail station is ready? I feel like the Domain area getting a rail stop is really going to boost the legitimacy of it and be a boost to development.

Mid 23

H2O · #**8093** Posted **Oct 2, 2021, 3:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

So, how soon until the Q2 Stadium MetroRail station is ready? I feel like the Domain area getting a rail stop is really going to boost the legitimacy of it and be a boost to development.

There is already a station at Kramer. It has been there since the Red Line opened, before the Domain really began to gain momentum. Not that the Kramer Station had any real impact on that. Too remote and not great pedestrian and bike connections.

JollyvilleJ-Rad · #**8094** Posted **Oct 2, 2021, 9:05 PM**

Austin City Council lays out specific requests for I-35 central project in letter to TxDOT

Quote:

In a detailed letter addressed to the Texas Department of Transportation, nine members of Austin City Council laid out a series of recommendations for the state agency’s proposed I-35 central project, which runs from Hwy. 290 to Hwy. 71.

Quote:

“Funding for the caps could come from the TxDOT-requested, [Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization]-deferred nearly $1 billion in regional projects identified to make this project feasible at a time when other large Texas cities were unable to do the same for projects in their area. Those other cities have now received funding for similar projects and are able to use their regional dollars to fund additional improvements like highway caps. We should also have that same ability,” the letter read.

The council members also called for a design that would allow for managed lanes to be converted to toll lanes and for reducing frontage road lane widths to 11 feet and speeds to 25 miles per hour.

https://communityimpact.com/austin/centr...i-35-central-project-in-letter-to-txdot/

JollyvilleJ-Rad · #**8095** Posted **Oct 2, 2021, 10:42 PM**

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincouncilforum/95-20210927134629.pdf

(The letter from Council referenced in the above article)

JAM · #**8096** Posted **Oct 3, 2021, 3:32 PM**

Ford Motor Company, Argo AI and Walmart have collaborated on plans for a driverless delivery service fleet in Miami; Washington, D.C.; and Austin, Texas, using Ford’s autonomous test vehicles that have the Argo AI Self-Driving System embedded to deliver Walmart orders.

https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2021/...-driverless-delivery-to-miami-dc-austin/

KevinFromTexas · #**8097** Posted **Oct 5, 2021, 4:58 AM**

Proposed improvements for the Montopolis Bridge.

https://www.kut.org/transportation/2021-...yJTP2hhYG6zUKex7kHc0r9Q1vKZCyCSAl506Nd0k

sjk · #**8098** Posted **Oct 5, 2021, 6:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Proposed improvements for the Montopolis Bridge.

https://www.kut.org/transportation/2021-...yJTP2hhYG6zUKex7kHc0r9Q1vKZCyCSAl506Nd0k

Love this proposal!

OfficialPBreton · #**8099** Posted **Oct 6, 2021, 12:00 AM**

Interesting tidbit I heard at the Project Connect (CapMetro/ATP/CoA) "Update on Our Partnership" meeting tonight. As planning and early construction begins on the orange line, there's a possibility that they may separate the orange line from the red line at Crestview. Mostly due to their freight agreements w/the red line rails, traffic intersections, and other concerns in that particular area.

Lobotomizer · #**8100** Posted **Oct 6, 2021, 12:57 AM**

I think it's been the plan for sometime to elevate the Red Line over Lamar.

I have never heard of any timeline, however. Doing it simultaneously with the Orange Line construction makes sense.