Texas Capitol Complex & North Austin Complex Projects Update Thread

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by Maximusx1

But then they shifted to wanting to attract people to work AND live downtown. These types of plazas look cool for the downtown lifestyle, but in practicality they make it way more difficult for those of us who live downtown to actually move around our neighborhood.

True -- as-proposed, this would cut off basically any crossing through downtown between the lake and 9th street, which would become near chaos in practice.

Originally Posted by Maximusx1

They need to tear down the old 9th street post office, build more bridges across the lake (and Barton Creek), time the lights better on Cesar Chavez, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th, Guadalupe, Lavaca, Trinity and San Jacinto, and build more direct connector ramps onto and off of Mopac and I-35. Instead they take away lanes on Barton Springs, Congress, mis-time the lights and propose pretty barricades like this. Classic Austin government.

I'm honestly a bit surprised that nothing somewhat innovative has been tried with traffic light timings in Austin yet. Is there truly no way to run things off of some algorithm that looks at current traffic and can make hourly adjustments? Either way IMO, the city could just re-work all of the traffic light timings in downtown at once based of the following priorities (in terms of how synced they are while travelling):

1. Congress Ave gets first priority.

2. Cesar Chavez, 6th, 7th, and 11th get second priority.

3. Guad and Lavaca get 3rd priority.

4. All other E-W numbered streets get 4th

5. All other N/S streets named after rivers are last.

[The ATX]

In case anyone didn't realize this, the plaza cross streets will all remain open to traffic like they are now.

[dilliam]

Did none of y'all actually look at the plan? They aren't blocking any of the cross-streets.

https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/de...ild_Vision.pdf

[Maximusx1]

Originally Posted by Maximusx1

It is nigh on impossible to drive across downtown right now. They have the lights timed so that you can only make it 1-2 blocks in any jump. They keep clogging the ingress and egress to downtown and taking away lanes on bridges. Then they go and propose another forever barricade like this. Right on par, brilliant.

I understand the Austin transportation apparatus has always believed in 'if we don't build it they won't come' and purposefully designed to get people out of their cars. It's been that way for 50 years and you come to expect it. But then they shifted to wanting to attract people to work AND live downtown. These types of plazas look cool for the downtown lifestyle, but in practicality they make it way more difficult for those of us who live downtown to actually move around our neighborhood.

They need to tear down the old 9th street post office, build more bridges across the lake (and Barton Creek), time the lights better on Cesar Chavez, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th, Guadalupe, Lavaca, Trinity and San Jacinto, and build more direct connector ramps onto and off of Mopac and I-35. Instead they take away lanes on Barton Springs, Congress, mis-time the lights and propose pretty barricades like this. Classic Austin government.

LOL it's like someone from the city read this post and 'said oh yea? watch this' and proceeded to block 3/4 lanes of west 6th for everyone leaving downtown. Just block all the lanes you want for any construction project, who cares?! What a joke. Zero oversight and zero recourse for drivers.

[OfficialPBreton]

Won't someone think of the drivers!!! My god!!

It's not like we've spent the last 70 years destroying any semblance of functioning or sustainable cities for personal automobiles while those vehicles get ever bigger and more dangerous (see: child killing machines).

I am amenable to the idea that we need to carefully think about this project and its intended uses, unintended consequences of having a car-free space, etc. But clutching pearls about ease of use for cars in the most walkable, transit rich environment we have in the city is laughable. Legitimately.

Try riding a bike around town and then tell me that CoA's transportation department has been failing cars.

[Armybrat]

What’s the % of Austinites & metro area folks who actually use bicycles for commuting to work, shopping, taking kids to school, running daily errands, hauling the elderly around, etc.?
Not to mention commercial vehicles transporting goods, utility vehicles maintaining infrastructure, AFD & EMS emergency vehicles, etc.?

I’ll hang up and listen.

[wwmiv]

I have the opposite complaint from everyone above…

Why this doesn’t go to at least 4th (better yet: Cesar Chavez), is mind-boggling.

An ideal build would take notes from Lower Wacker in Chicago between Cesar Chavez and 11th with entrance/exit portals for 5th/6th and 7th/8th.

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

I have the opposite complaint from everyone above…

Why this doesn’t go to at least 4th (better yet: Cesar Chavez), is mind-boggling.

An ideal build would take notes from Lower Wacker in Chicago between Cesar Chavez and 11th with entrance/exit portals for 5th/6th and 7th/8th.

How would you propose to keep it from becoming an attraction for people who will abuse the area, and use it as they see fit, and not it's intended use?

Take a look at Republic Park, or Mable Davis Park, or the Greenbelt...we don't have the will or resources to police these areas.

If you have a plan, I'm all ears.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by urbancore

How would you propose to keep it from becoming an attraction for people who will abuse the area, and use it as they see fit, and not it's intended use?

I understand the sentiment, but we can't use that as an argument not to build stuff. We'd never do anything at all if we were worried that sometime in the future it might be taken over by riff raff. Honestly, that needs to be future us's problem, not current us.

[MichaelB]

This is a no for me.
Keep the grand avenue .
Keep the capacity to drive up to the Capitol.
Keep the parade and march routes!!!!!!!
Stop killing traffics routes in the center of town. Some of us actually live here and need to get around. I need to drive from South Congress to above the capitol and Past UT with the best possible outcomes. There are no plans for public transopraton that will actually solve the needs for locals to continue to function/shop/eat/get laundry/got to the post office... in the Actual City. ( And yes I walk/ride my bike/uber plenty. But that one rail line will not go to a grocery store!)

[Maximusx1]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

This is a no for me.
Keep the grand avenue .
Keep the capacity to drive up to the Capitol.
Keep the parade and march routes!!!!!!!
Stop killing traffics routes in the center of town. Some of us actually live here and need to get around. I need to drive from South Congress to above the capitol and Past UT with the best possible outcomes. There are no plans for public transopraton that will actually solve the needs for locals to continue to function/shop/eat/get laundry/got to the post office... in the Actual City. ( And yes I walk/ride my bike/uber plenty. But that one rail line will not go to a grocery store!)

Preach!!

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

...But that one rail line will not go to a grocery store!)

Nice rant. But the proposed light rail line will go to Congress & Oltorf where the new and improved HEB is located.

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Nice rant. But the proposed light rail line will go to Congress & Oltorf where the new and improved HEB is located.

Oh man, I always support your posts. But really????!!!!
Oltorf is of no use ( for a grocery store) if you live on North end of downtown really...
that's not our town.
How do you get to the grocery store? Would you ride a Train for 20-30 mins ( what it is going to take with stops, it can take 20 minutes now to get to Otorf thru SoCo.
And then try to get a weeks worth of groceries on and off a train plus the walks to the train?
And please don't go to deliveries, that's begging the question.
Center of town has to be drivable..... And we need rail.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

Oh man, I always support your posts. But really????!!!!
Oltorf is of no use ( for a grocery store) if you live on North end of downtown really...
that's not our town.
How do you get to the grocery store? Would you ride a Train for 20-30 mins ( what it is going to take with stops, it can take 20 minutes now to get to Otorf thru SoCo.
And then try to get a weeks worth of groceries on and off a train plus the walks to the train?
And please don't go to deliveries, that's begging the question.
Center of town has to be drivable..... And we need rail.

Easy now. I just said the light rail will go to a grocery after you said it wouldn't.

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Easy now. I just said the light rail will go to a grocery after you said it wouldn't.

hahahaha... cool..cool....

[atxsnail]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

Oh man, I always support your posts. But really????!!!!
Oltorf is of no use ( for a grocery store) if you live on North end of downtown really...
that's not our town.
How do you get to the grocery store? Would you ride a Train for 20-30 mins ( what it is going to take with stops, it can take 20 minutes now to get to Otorf thru SoCo.
And then try to get a weeks worth of groceries on and off a train plus the walks to the train?
And please don't go to deliveries, that's begging the question.
Center of town has to be drivable..... And we need rail.

I don't see how the pedestrian plazas would negatively impact anyone who wanted to drive from just about any part of downtown to a grocery store. The cross streets are still open and the downtown grocery stores are nowhere near that area anyway unless you're driving to a very specific Royal Blue.

I think it's awesome that an LRT stop will be located so close to a nice HEB. The idea that we all need to get 2 weeks worth of groceries in a single trip is a suburban way of thinking. If you're taking transit to HEB you're likely just shopping for a day or two or maybe buying fresh ingredients for a meal you're cooking that day. People all over the world manage to do this, I'm sure there will be a decent number of households for whom this will be a great arrangement (e.g. stopping there on the way home from work).

[The ATX]

I'll just throw this in the Downtown grocery store discussion. We have two downtown Whole Foods - one on the western side (N. Lamar) and one on the eastern side (I-35) as well as a Trader's Joe's.

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

Center of town has to be drivable..... And we need rail.

it is drivable. the end.

[sjk]

I should also mention that H-E-B has an intuitive app and delivery service (usually through Favor). I live in Easton Park right now, which is about 15 min from Slaughter Ln/I-35 H-E-B and we pay $5 delivery plus a tip. For me, that is worth the time and stress of physically going to the store. It works super well for me but I understand that might not work for everyone.

[Maximusx1]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

it is drivable. the end.

No it's not.

Hey look, it wasn't the end!