Domain/North Austin Development Updates

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by ahealy

Y'all. I think the Domain infrastructure is officially broken. Yesterday I drove through during an off hour to grab a gift and was stuck in a line of cars for 30 minutes (Palm way) before being able to park. The four way stops were barely working due to idiot drivers + peds walking wherever they please. It feels like at this stage Domain needs to either just be a suburban simon mall with limited driving options or go full on "uptown" with traffic lights/better roads/street signs.

Any ideas for easing the total cluster f*ck that currently exists?

Don't ever drive through the Domain. Park in the surface lot between Dicks and Macy's or the surface lot or parking garage at Dillards just off Braker. Proceed to walk to your destination. That's all I got.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Don't ever drive through the Domain. Park in the surface lot between Dicks and Macy's or the surface lot or parking garage at Dillards just off Braker. Proceed to walk to your destination. That's all I got.

Very true, but improvements could be made:

Imminent domain acquisition of the quasi-public right of way in tandem with infrastructure upgrades and improved vehicular access, interconnectivity, and circulation.

[sammyk]

I usually get in near Whole Foods and get in the Blue Garage. Never had an issue.

[Armybrat]

Whenever our happy hour group meets at the Yard House on Wednesday afternoons, we drive in on Palm Way around 4:30 from Burnet up to the Blue garage. Never have had any traffic problems except the occasional gawker jaywalking.
We exit the Domain by Neiman Marcus about 6 to get on northbound MoPac. That has been pretty easy this year.

[Riverranchdrone]

They really need to make central Domain Pedestrian only. The cars are and pedestrians are too much for the 4 way stop signs to work correctly. Since COVID the drivers around town have become increasingly reckless. I prefer the Domain over downtown for shopping and dining. If I am shopping I come in from Braker and park no further north than Macy's and If I am dining then I come in from Burnet and park in the purple Garage. There is no need for cars in the central part unless you live there.

[ahealy]

So what I am gathering: original domain needs to be ped only (which I totally agree with because it doesn't even resemble a real urban setting) and the rest should be worked on as needed to become more accessible for cars/peds?

It just isn't feasible to avoid driving through the Domain for the long term if it continues to grow. I think short synced lights during the day would solve a ton of issues; with them turning into four way stop flashers after 9.

[StoOgE]

The biggest issue at the domain is they need crosswalk signs and traffic lights but I don't think they can have those unless its a public road.

Any point at which there is high pedestrian activity the pedestrians can be a near constant stream across the road and it can take a long time for a car to be able to go straight and turning is even harder since there are now two potential vectors with pedestrians in them.

The problem with the domain is its a shopping mall that everyone drives there car to, parks it and then walks around as though they were in a real urban environment. In order to arrive at the faux "urban" environment what they wound up doing is just sprinkling the parking apartments shopping and dining together instead of separating them like a normal mall. So you've got drivers trying to park as close as possible to the store they are going to because thats what humans do and there is not enough bandwidth to handle it in its current design.

At some point in time there may be enough people who actually live there that it turns into a more cohesive neighborhood but right now its an outdoor mall and suburban office park on steroids with no cohesion to it and its just an unpleasant place to get into. Once you are there the layout is horrendous. Its basically three long hallways of shops that meet end to end.

[lonewolf]

the reckless driving is something i'm surprised we don't see much coverage about in media. it's a national problem and becoming a very big deal ever since the lockdowns

https://www.autoblog.com/2021/03/04/...KzfpfrvTWFUtLS


https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api...ication/813199

none of us have ever seen anything remotely like this

[lebull]

Originally Posted by ahealy

So what I am gathering: original domain needs to be ped only (which I totally agree with because it doesn't even resemble a real urban setting) and the rest should be worked on as needed to become more accessible for cars/peds?

It just isn't feasible to avoid driving through the Domain for the long term if it continues to grow. I think short synced lights during the day would solve a ton of issues; with them turning into four way stop flashers after 9.

I have not had issues with rock rose. It would probably work pretty well as pedestrian only still.

The biggest issue as far as traffic is Rock Rose right next to the apple store. I disagree that driving through there is unavoidable: the only thing to access via car is the parking garages on either side and the very little street parking there. I would hate to see a traffic light there when there is plenty of traffic to remove to begin with.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

The biggest issue at the domain is they need crosswalk signs and traffic lights but I don't think they can have those unless its a public road.

Any point at which there is high pedestrian activity the pedestrians can be a near constant stream across the road and it can take a long time for a car to be able to go straight and turning is even harder since there are now two potential vectors with pedestrians in them.

The problem with the domain is its a shopping mall that everyone drives there car to, parks it and then walks around as though they were in a real urban environment. In order to arrive at the faux "urban" environment what they wound up doing is just sprinkling the parking apartments shopping and dining together instead of separating them like a normal mall. So you've got drivers trying to park as close as possible to the store they are going to because thats what humans do and there is not enough bandwidth to handle it in its current design.

At some point in time there may be enough people who actually live there that it turns into a more cohesive neighborhood but right now its an outdoor mall and suburban office park on steroids with no cohesion to it and its just an unpleasant place to get into. Once you are there the layout is horrendous. Its basically three long hallways of shops that meet end to end.

^^I think you pretty much nailed it!!

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

The biggest issue at the domain is they need crosswalk signs and traffic lights but I don't think they can have those unless its a public road.

Yep, everything you say is true. Is there a way the roads could become public??

Simon and the city have to realize it's not sustainable the way it is and with all the future growth planned. Reminds me of how buses weren't part of the Domain and how silly that once was.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by ahealy

Yep, everything you say is true. Is there a way the roads could become public??

Simon and the city have to realize it's not sustainable the way it is and with all the future growth planned. Reminds me of how buses weren't part of the Domain and how silly that once was.

Either eminent domain or through a land donation to the city by the developers.

[KevinFromTexas]

I saw the Domain skyline today from SH-71 west of the 360 intersection. It was quite prominent in the distance.

[H2O]

There is nothing stopping the Domain owners from putting in signals and crosswalks on private streets. If the City takes them over, it just means every tax payer is contributing to the upgrades and maintenance.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by H2O

There is nothing stopping the Domain owners from putting in signals and crosswalks on private streets. If the City takes them over, it just means every tax payer is contributing to the upgrades and maintenance.

I mean - it also means that the city can control the traffic flow within the domain where loads of people live and work and public good and not commercial marketability may drive some decisions around road closures, and connectivity to existing city streets.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

I mean - it also means that the city can control the traffic flow within the domain where loads of people live and work and public good and not commercial marketability may drive some decisions around road closures, and connectivity to existing city streets.

But the connectivity to existing streets is so limited. You can drive in and out of the Domain, but there really is no reason to drive through the Domain unless you plan on stopping for some reason. The Domain has a limited number of entrance and exit points into the grid, unlike Downtown, which is a fine grained grid of streets that distribute traffic throughout. The City has an interest in controlling intersections where Domain streets meet the grid of public streets, but little reason to control the streets within.

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by H2O

But the connectivity to existing streets is so limited. You can drive in and out of the Domain, but there really is no reason to drive through the Domain unless you plan on stopping for some reason. The Domain has a limited number of entrance and exit points into the grid, unlike Downtown, which is a fine grained grid of streets that distribute traffic throughout. The City has an interest in controlling intersections where Domain streets meet the grid of public streets, but little reason to control the streets within.

True. I think it's inevitable that we'll see traffic light systems implemented eventually. We'll also see more entrances and corrections to the Domain's grid (specifically the suburban one lane unmarked windy roads). If it is to become our tried and true Uptown, the city must make some moves to un-strangle the infrastructure.

[The ATX]

A site plan was just filed for a project called Domain Central and is described as "an office building to include ground level retail and structured parking with associated improvements." It appears to map to the surprisingly large surface lot next to Nordstrom's parking garage.

https://abc.austintexas.gov/public-s...rtyrsn=3334541

[The ATX]

That was (is?) the site of Domain 14 & 15. It has been discussed in this thread, but it has been a long time:

https://nelsenpartners.com/nb-portfolio/domain-14-15/

[Echostatic]

These ones do a lot better with their parking podiums than most of the other Domain towers.