[00:00:02]
AND CHAMBERS SAYS THE AB TECH SAYS, UH, ALREADY IN ATX AND I MENTIONED THAT ALREADY, TOO, SO, YEP.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET GOING THEN.
[CALL TO ORDER]
ALL RIGHT.UM, I WILL CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING OF THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT IS THURSDAY, MAY 27TH AND IT'S 1:04 PM.
I AM JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUES, VICE-CHAIR KELLY AND COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.
UM, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBERS, ALTAR AND MAYOR PROTESTS.
THEY SHOULD BE JOINING US SHORTLY.
UM, I WANTED TO MAKE A QUICK NOTE, UM, IN THE BACKUP ITEM, NUMBER TWO HAS TWO PRESENTATIONS.
UM, THE COA BIKEWAYS UPDATE AND THE URBAN TRAILS PRESENTATION ITEM NUMBER THREE, PERTAINS TO HEALTHY STREETS, AND IT ORIGINALLY HAD THE URBAN TRAILS PRESENTATION POSTED AS BACKUP THERE.
SO YOU WILL SEE IT DUPLICATED, BUT WE WILL BE TAKING IT UP WITH ITEM TWO.
UM, THE WAY WE ORGANIZE THIS AGENDA TODAY IS IN CELEBRATION OF MAY BEING NATIONAL BIKE MONTH.
SO YOU WILL NOTICE THERE IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT TODAY'S AGENDA, AND THAT IS THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT A LOT OF THE PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT AND ENHANCE BICYCLE MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY.
SO, UM, THIS SHOULD BE A REALLY FUN ONE.
UM, WE DO HAVE ONE SPEAKER SIGNED UP, SO IF MS. SYNOVIA JOSEPH IS QUEUED UP, UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE HER HER REMARKS FIRST BEFORE MOVING ON TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES CHAIR.
I DON'T KNOW IF SONOMA JUSTICE IS ON YET, UNLESS THIS IS HURT.
IS THIS SYNOVIA JUSTICE INSTEAD OF NOVI ADDRESS UP THERE? I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S ON YET.
WELL MAYBE WHAT WE CAN DO CAUSE SHE IS SIGNED UP ON ITEM ONE, SINCE IT IS THE ONLY ITEM THAT'S LISTED FOR A VOTE TODAY.
UM, SO IF THERE'S NO CONCERN WITH TAKING THAT ITEM UP LATER, IF MS. JOSEPH HOPS ON, THEN WE CAN TAKE HER COMMENTARY AT ANY POINT IN TIME OR TOWARD THE END OF THE MEETING.
SO I CERTAINLY WANT TO MAKE SURE SHE HAS A CHANCE TO SPEAK.
UM, SO WITH THAT, LET'S GO AHEAD AND START WITH THE BRIEFING ITEM.
NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS AN UPDATE ON THE CITY'S BIKEWAY PROGRAM.
DID I MISS, ARE WE WAITING TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? YES, I WAS GOING TO SUGGEST THAT, UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT MS. JOSEPH WAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON IT IN ONE SENSE.
IT'S THE ONLY ONE THAT SIGNED UP TO VOTE ON.
AND I DON'T WANT TO, I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
WELL, WE'LL STILL BE ABLE TO DO IT.
[2. Update on the City's Bikeway Program. (20 minutes).]
LET'S GO AHEAD WITH ITEM NUMBER TWO ON THE CITY'S BIKEWAY PROGRAM UPDATE COMING UP HERE.DO WE HAVE THAT PRESENTATION THAT LOOKS LIKE IT? THAT'S RIGHT.
AND I BELIEVE WE SHOULD HAVE NATHAN WILKES JOINING.
MAYBE WE'RE JUST MOVING FOLKS OVER.
I SEE LAURA DARRIN FIELD DESIGN AND AFTERNOON COUNCIL MEMBER.
NATHAN WILL BE OUR SPEAKER FOR TODAY.
IT LOOKS LIKE MAYBE YOU ALL CAN HEAR ME.
AND MAYBE CAN YOU SEE ME NOW? WE CAN, RIGHT.
I WAS LIKE IN A VACUUM THERE FOR A SECOND.
SO I, I ASSUME I'LL BE CUING SLIDE CHANGES.
SO JUST SAY NEXT SLIDE AND WE'LL DO IT.
I'M NATHAN WILKES, UH, REPRESENTING THE CITY'S BIKE WAYS PROGRAM, UH, SPECIFICALLY THE INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENT SERVING THE 2016 AND 2020 BONDS.
UM, SO HAPPY TO GIVE YOU ALL AN OVERVIEW OF WHERE
[00:05:01]
WE'VE BEEN, WHERE WE'RE AT.AND I'M WITH THE, UH, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT AND THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND STREET DESIGN DIVISION.
AND I WORK CLOSELY WITH LAURA.
UM, SO JUST A LITTLE BACKGROUND.
UM, THE KIND OF MOST RECENT MODERN BICYCLE PLAN, UH, WAS DONE IN 2014.
THAT'S WHEN WE MADE THIS BIG SWITCH TO ALL AGES AND ABILITIES TO PROTECT IT INFRASTRUCTURE, WE RE UP THAT PLANNING, UM, AND KIND OF, UH, INTEGRATED INTO OUR CITYWIDE, UH, MOBILITY FRAMEWORK AND THE ASN P IN 2019 AS PART OF THAT, UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, THE ALL AGES AND ABILITIES BICYCLE NETWORK, UM, THE 2014 NETWORK ACTUALLY GOT KIND OF BY COUNCIL APPROVAL, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER, I THINK ABOUT 50%.
AND THAT WAS REALLY CAPTURING A LOT OF NEW OPPORTUNITIES AROUND TOWN.
YOU KNOW, LIKE, UH, UH, I THINK HILL PARKWAY WAS SPECULATIVE BACK IN 2014 AND IN 2019 WE KNEW THAT IT WAS GOING TO INCLUDE HIGH QUALITY SHARED USE PATHS.
SO THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE S AND P UM, OUR, OUR BICYCLE PLANNING STRATEGY REALLY HASN'T CHANGED A TON SINCE 2014 AND I'LL KIND OF GO STEP THROUGH THAT, BUT JUST REALLY QUICKLY, ALL AGES AND ABILITIES HAS BEEN THE FOCUS SINCE THEN BUILDING A COMPLETE NETWORK, GETTING PEOPLE FROM A TO B A AND THEN FOCUSING ON SHORT TRIPS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SERVING, GETTING PEOPLE TO TRANSIT ACCESS TO LOCAL DESTINATIONS AND ALSO GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND THEN WE ARE ALSO GOING TO BE, UH, UPDATING OUR BICYCLE PLANNING, UM, AS PART OF THE WALK LIKE ROLES, UH, UH, URBAN TRAIL PEDESTRIAN AND SIDEWALK PLANNING EFFORT.
UH, SO BICYCLE, UH, BIKE WAYS IS KIND OF, UH, OR THE BICYCLE PLAN WILL ALSO BE UPDATED AS PART OF THAT PROCESS AND, UH, RELATIVE TO THE 2020 BOND AND, UH, THE KIND OF NEW PROVISIONS THAT WERE IN THERE TO KIND OF ASK ALL PROGRAMS TO RE-LOOK AT EQUITY AND, AND PRIORITIZATION.
THAT'S, UH, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HANDLE, UH, KIND OF THE WRAP UP ON, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR PRIORITIZATION AND EQUITY FOCUS IN THAT PLANNING EFFORT.
SO WITH THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, KIND OF GROUNDING OURSELVES IN, IN WHAT WE'RE DOING, UM, ONE BIG ONE IS REALLY LOOKING AT, UH, GETTING ALL MODES ONLINE.
AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT THAT 74% DRIVE ALONE, TRYING TO SHIFT THAT TO 50%.
I THINK THAT KEEPS ROUGHLY ABOUT THE SAME NUMBER OF PEOPLE DRIVING ON THE ROADS, BUT TO HANDLE THE GROWTH IN PEOPLE, TRAFFIC THROUGHOUT THE CITY, ALL THE OTHER MODES NEED TO INCREASE.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE, UH, BICYCLE TRAFFIC, WHICH, YOU KNOW, SCOOTER TRAFFIC WAS, UM, MAYBE STARTING TO BECOME A REALITY.
AND IF YOU GO STAND ON CONGRESS AVENUE, I SUPPOSE, TRAFFIC AND SCOOTER TRAFFIC IS ONE OF THE SAME, UH, EXPANDING FROM 1% TO 5%, UM, AND ALSO KIND OF IMPLEMENTING THAT COMPLETE STREETS, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, ALL MODES APPROACH ON ALL OF OUR PROJECTS.
SO IN 2014, THIS IS MAYBE REVIEW, UH, FOR SOME OF Y'ALL THAT HAD BEEN FALLING AT, BUT, UM, THE 2009 PLAN THAT PROCEEDED THIS, UM, REALLY DIDN'T EVEN SPEAK TO PROTECT INFRASTRUCTURE.
IT GAVE A NOD TO THE TRAILS EXIST, BUT GENERALLY WE WERE USING A STRATEGY THAT WE, UM, THROUGH THE 2014 PLAN, WE DID SEE STIGMA, UH, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT, UH, POLLING, UM, IN AUSTIN.
AND WE FOUND THAT 15% OF AUSTINITES WERE BASICALLY COMFORTABLE RIDING IN A PAINTED BIKE LANE.
I EXPLAINED THIS TO PEOPLE LIKE IF WE PAINTED A LINE AND CALLED IT A SIDEWALK, WE PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE MANY PEOPLE COMFORTABLE WALKING EITHER.
SO BY SWITCHING TO THIS PHYSICALLY PROTECTED, UM, AND THERE'S A NUMBER OF MEANS TO DO THAT.
AND YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN LOTS OF ITERATIONS OUT ON THE STREETS.
YOU'VE GOT THIRD STREET DOWNTOWN, YOU'VE GOT KIND OF THE VERSION THAT YOU SEE ON CONGRESS, UH, AND, AND ON AND ON, BUT PHYSICAL SEPARATION FROM MOVING TAKES YOU FROM THAT 15% OF THE POPULATION TO 55 TO 60% INTERESTED IN WILLING TO RIDE A BIKE IN THOSE CONDITIONS, EVEN ON BUSY STREETS.
SO THIS IS REALLY KIND OF A PIVOTAL, YOU KNOW, FOUR TIMES THE POTENCY, UM, AND ACCESSIBILITY TO THE, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST MAKING, UH, THE ABILITY TO GET ON A BIKE OR A SCOOTER, YOU KNOW, UNIVERSAL AS OPPOSED TO A NICHE-Y THING.
UM, AND THEN ONE LAST POINT, UH, YOU CAN GO BACK ONE THE, THE NO WAY, NO, HOW, LIKE, AS, AS CITIES KIND OF DO THIS FOR LONGER, WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS THE NO WAY, NO, HOW REDUCES AND THAT THAT'S ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THERE, THERE ARE PEOPLE, UM, IN AUSTIN AND IN ANY PLACE THAT, UH, THEY'RE NOT ABLE, THEY'RE NOT INTERESTED AND THAT'S FINE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND REALLY WHAT OUR ASAP MODAL STRATEGY IS TO GIVE PEOPLE OPTIONS.
AND, YOU KNOW, SITTING IN TRAFFIC ALONE IN A CAR MAY NOT BE YOUR BEST OPTION, AND WE WANT TO TAKE SAFETY OFF THE TABLE, SO YOU CAN REALLY CHOOSE WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GET AROUND NEXT, PLEASE.
SO THIS, UM, WE HAD A REALLY AMAZING, UM, WORKSHOP WITH DUTCH PLANNERS
[00:10:01]
IN 2013, AND THAT KIND OF PROCEEDED THE 2014 BICYCLE PLAN.AND THEY, THEY, THEY SAID A LOT OF REALLY OBVIOUS THINGS THAT KIND OF LIGHT BULBS GO OFF, BUT ONE OF THEM WAS THEY SHARED, THIS IS THE MODAL SPLITS BY TRIP DISTANCE.
AND I ACTUALLY SAW THIS WHEN I WAS MAYBE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND I HADN'T SEEN IT TILL THEY CAME BACK AND, AND, AND KIND OF GIVE US AN OVERVIEW, BUT, YOU KNOW, AS WE KNOW FOR TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT, UH, OR JUST A TRANSIT STOP, LIKE WALKING RADIUSES ARE PRETTY SMALL.
THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, TRADITIONALLY A QUARTER MILE TO A HALF MILE.
SO GREAT FOR SHORT TRIPS, UH, GETTING THE LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD DESTINATIONS CAR TRIPS, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO PARK, YOU KNOW, YOU TALKING ABOUT THE DOOR TO DOOR TIME, UH, YOU KNOW, VEHICLE TRIPS ARE BETTER FOR LONGER RANGE, INNER CITY TRAVEL, TRANSIT TRIPS ARE ALSO BETTER FOR LONGER TRAVEL.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE RUNNING ON FIXED ROUTES.
AND REALLY IF YOU HAVE ALL YOUR SYSTEMS PERFORMING WELL AND SAFE, WHAT YOU WILL SEE IS THAT BICYCLE AND SCOOTER USE WILL BE THE PREDOMINANT MODE.
AND I THINK WE'RE WELL ON THIS PATH IN AUSTIN, WHICH IS REALLY EXCITING.
UM, BUT AS WE, UH, DO SURVEYS LIKE THIS IN THE FUTURE, I THINK WE WILL SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, IN THE, YOU KNOW, ONE TO TWO TO THREE MILE RANGE, IT'S GOING TO BE THE FASTEST EASIEST, YOU KNOW, UH, BECAUSE IT'S SAFE MODE FOR PEOPLE TO GET AROUND FOR MANY OF THEIR TRIPS.
AND AGAIN, IT'S NOT FOR EVERYBODY, BUT, UM, GIVING MOBILITY OPTIONS AND, YOU KNOW, THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB.
SO THE 2014 PLAN, WE GOT A LITTLE KIND OF, UM, QUANTIFIED, SO TO SPEAK ABOUT LOOKING AT OUR, UH, REGIONAL TRIP PATTERNS.
AND WE SAID, AND THIS WAS A SUGGESTION IN THAT THINK BIKE 2013, UH, WORKSHOP WITH THE DUTCH PLANNERS.
THEY SAID, SET REASONABLE TARGETS FOR YOURSELF OF HOW MANY TRIPS YOU'RE GOING TO CATCH.
SO WE SET 15% OF TRIPS BETWEEN ZERO AND THREE MILES AND 7% OF TRIPS, LESS THAN NINE MILES WAS GOING TO BE OUR GOAL TO CATCH AND CONVERT THOSE FROM DRIVING TRIPS TO, TO BICYCLE TRIPS.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL SAY BICYCLE AND SCOOTER.
SO I'LL TALK ABOUT LIKE WHAT, WHAT IT WOULD MEAN IF WE CAUGHT THAT NUMBER OF TRIPS AND AGAIN, THE GREEN CURVE IS THEIR CURVE.
UM, SO WELL BELOW THAT, UH, ACHIEVABLE IF WE KIND OF, IF WE BUILD OUT OUR ALL AGES AND ABILITIES NETWORK AND, UM, AND WE'LL SEE THE MAGNITUDE OF, OF WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE CATCH THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, THIS IS ABOUT CREATING A NETWORK AND, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T BAKE IN KIND OF TRAILS AND BICYCLING INTO THE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, IN AN ALL AGES WHERE, FROM THE WAY WE BUILT EVERY STREET FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME IN AUSTIN.
SO WE HAVE TO USE A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES TO GET TO A COMPLETED NETWORK.
SO WE HAVE PROTECTED BIKE LANES.
UM, SORRY, SECOND TRACKS IS DATED LANGUAGE.
UH, WHY IT'S STREETS OR NEIGHBORHOOD BIKEWAYS IS WHAT WE CALL THEM NOW, INTERSECTION TREATMENTS TO HELP PEOPLE ACROSS MAJOR STREETS THAT COULD BE A PHP OR A CROSSING ISLAND.
UH, AND THEN URBAN TRAILS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT AND EXCITED TO HAVE KATIE WEBTECH, UM, PRESENTING RIGHT AFTER ME ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW WE'RE USING URBAN TRAILS TO ALSO LINK TOGETHER AND ALL AGES AND ABILITIES, BICYCLE NETWORK.
UM, IT'S A LITTLE DATED, BUT THE, THE, THE GENERAL TREND IS THE SAME.
I'M SURE IT'S STILL, BUT, UH, EACH OF THESE CONTOUR LINES IS A DOUBLING OF, OF MAGNITUDE OF SHORT TRIPS.
SO YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF SHORT TRIPS ALL THROUGHOUT AUSTIN, THE CONCENTRATION OF SHORT TRIPS IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, THE UNIVERSITY AREA, ANYWHERE CENTRAL KIND OF SKYROCKETS, AND THAT PROBABLY GENERALLY PARALLELS KIND OF WHAT YOU SEE FOR USE.
UM, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE SHOULD ONLY, IN MY OPINION, BE FOCUSING ON, UH, THOSE HOTTEST PARTS, BECAUSE THERE IS ALSO AN EQUITABILITY OF ACCESS THERE'S, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU GET TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD PARK OR LOCAL TRANSIT STOP? SO REALLY THE NEEDS FOR SAFE, UH, STREETS FOR ALL MODES AND ALL AGES AND ABILITIES IS CITYWIDE, BUT THERE IS SOME STRATEGY AROUND, UH, WHERE WE FOCUS THAT CONNECTIVITY, UM, TO, TO HAVE THE BIGGEST EFFECT ON OUR CITYWIDE MODE SHARE, YOU KNOW, AS ONE OF, UH, MANY OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE PURSUING WITH OUR MOBILITY STRATEGIES.
THIS IS, I, I CAN'T KIND OF SHAKE OUT THIS INTERESTING TIDBIT, SO I KEEP INCLUDING IT, UH, THE INTERSECTION OF FIFTH, SIXTH, AND LAMAR, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S PERCEIVED TO BE, UH, IN NON COVID TIMES, CHRONICALLY CONGESTED.
UM, AND, UH, WHEN YOU RUN, UH, ALL OF THE REGIONAL TRIPS THROUGH, UH, A TRAFFIC MODEL, 50% OF THE TRIPS GOING THROUGH THIS INTERSECTION ARE LESS THAN THREE MILES, WHICH MEANS THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE VERY RIPE FOR KIND OF SHORT TRIP CONVERSION.
AND IF YOU START THINKING ABOUT LIKE MANY OF OUR DOWNTOWN TRIPS, UH, ARE NOT, YOU KNOW, C UH, GREATLY LENGTHY AND CAN BE CONVERTED.
SO THE GREEN IS, UH, THE 2014, UH, ALL AGES AND ABILITIES BICYCLE NETWORK.
I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS MAP WITH ALL THE ADDITIONS IN THE ASM P BUT IT'S, IF THE ALI DOES INABILITY HIS BICYCLE NETWORK SITTING ON TOP OF THAT KIND OF HEAT MAP OF
[00:15:01]
SHORT TRIP DEMAND, UH, YOU KNOW, HITTING ALL THOSE, UH, DESTINATIONS THAT I TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.ONE WAS ANOTHER KIND OF STRATEGY AND REALLY KIND OF GAVE RISE TO A, WE CALLED IT A SHORT-TERM ALL AGES AND ABILITIES, BICYCLE NET NETWORK FOR AWHILE.
AND WE DROPPED THE SHORT TERM.
WE'RE JUST TRYING TO DO IT VERY QUICKLY.
UH, THE REASON WHY IS, UH, IN THIS CURVE, YOU CAN SEE, UM, PORTLAND, OREGON OVER 20 YEARS, GOT TO KIND OF THE STATURE AND MODE SHIFT.
THEY HAVE ABOUT 7% BICYCLE MODE SHIFT AND A SIMILAR AMOUNT OF TIME.
WE'VE GOTTEN OUR CENTRAL CITY UP TO ABOUT THE SAME LEVELS OF BICYCLING.
UM, AUSTIN'S ABOUT TWICE AS LARGE AND LAND AREAS, PORTLAND, OREGON, JUST, UH, FOR CONTEXT AND, UM, UH, SEVILLE OR SYLVIA SPAIN, UM, DID A REMARKABLE THING.
THEY BUILT AN ALL AGES AND ABILITIES BICYCLE NETWORK IN A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS.
AND THEY ALSO BROUGHT ONLINE BIKE SHARE, WHICH THERE'S WAS A VERY ROBUST SYSTEM, UM, WITH OUR SCOOTER AND, YOU KNOW, THE CYCLE BEING ELECTRIFIED.
LIKE I THINK WE'RE IN A SIMILAR PROFILE AS FAR AS, UH, UH, BIKE SHARING AS WELL.
UM, IN THREE YEARS THEY WERE ABLE TO GET, GET THE MODE SHIFT THAT PORTLAND WAS ABLE TO GET IN 20.
SO THAT THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH THE ALL AGES AND BUILD THESE BICYCLE NETWORK.
AND WHEN I TALK IN A MINUTE ABOUT ACHIEVING THE BUILD-OUT TARGETS AND THE RATE OF THE BUILD-OUT TARGETS, THIS IS REALLY WHAT WE'RE AFTER, UH, NEXT SLIDE.
SO WHEN I TALKED ABOUT THOSE TRIP CAPTURE TARGETS THAT, UM, 15% OF TRIPS, LESS THAN THREE MILES AND 7% OF TRIPS, UH, LESS THAN NINE MILES, WE LOOKED AT ALL THE TRIPS THAT COME INTO THIS CHRONICALLY CONGESTED DOWNTOWN AREA, UNIVERSITY, DOWNTOWN AND STATE COMPLEX.
UM, WE, UH, FOUND THAT WE WOULD CATCH 7%.
WE WOULD REDUCE MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC ENTERING THIS AREA BY 7%, IF WE, IF WE ATTAIN THOSE TRIP CAPTURE TARGETS.
UM, AND IF, IF YOU TRAVEL IN OTHER COUNTRIES THAT HAVE TAKEN, UH, THIS TYPE OF INFRASTRUCTURE, SERIOUSLY, YOU START TO REALIZE THAT YOU'RE NOT PLAYING WITH A TOY.
AND IT'S REALLY A PART OF, KIND OF THE FABRIC OF URBAN MOBILITY.
AND IN 2014, WE ALSO PUT, UM, AND AGAIN, OUR STRATEGY WAS BUILDING A FULL NETWORK.
IT WAS NOT BUILDING KIND OF, UH, A PROJECT HERE AND A PROJECT THERE.
WE WERE REALLY TRYING TO CONNECT, TRAVEL DEMAND TO MAKE IT SAFE, TO TRAVEL FROM A TO B.
SO WE PUT THE COST ESTIMATE OF THE ENTIRE NETWORK, UM, NOT TO SAY ONE WAS BETTER THAN THE OTHER, BUT AGAINST THE MOPAC IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, WHICH THE REGION WAS SPENDING, UH, $200 MILLION ON.
AND WE, UH, AND THAT PROJECT DOESN'T ACTUALLY GET ALL OF ITS TRIPS INTO DOWNTOWN.
THEY HAVE TO PASS THROUGH INTERSECTIONS LIKE FIFTH, SIXTH, AND LAMAR.
UH, SO WE FOUND THAT THE COST BENEFIT OF OUT THE ENTIRE NETWORK WAS VERY COMPARABLE TO WHAT WE WERE DOING AND, YOU KNOW, LARGE HIGHWAY PROJECTS, UM, AND VERY SIMILAR IN TERMS OF NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WE'RE BRINGING TO AN AREA LIKE THE CBD.
THIS IS ONLY A TRAFFIC, UM, KIND OF ANALYSIS THAT, THAT ISN'T GETTING INTO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
MANY OTHER BENEFITS THAT COME ALONG WITH IT, UH, DIRECT COST SAVINGS TO PEOPLE, UH, THAT LIVE IN AUSTIN, UH, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY NEEDS THAT WOULD BE MET, UH, REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS, UM, AND EVEN, UH, LIKE WE WERE FOCUSING ON THE DOWNTOWN, BUT IT, IT WOULD EVEN REDUCE TRAFFIC ON
SO THIS IS GETTING, UM, THAT WAS KIND OF A CATCH UP ON THE 2014 PLANNING STRATEGY.
SO WE HAVE, UM, THAT LINK RIGHT HERE, AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV/AA BIKE NETWORK, UM, IS A TOOL THAT TRACKS, UH, WHERE ARE WE BUILDING OUT THE ALL AGES AND ABILITIES, BICYCLE NETWORK, UH, ESTIMATED DATES FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
UH, IF YOU'VE SEEN THESE ONLINE STORY MAP TOOLS, UH, IT'S ONE OF THOSE.
SO IT KIND OF EXPLAINS WHAT THE ALL AGES AND ABILITIES NETWORK IS THE WHY.
AND THEN ALSO, WHAT ARE THE COUNCIL, UH, ADOPTED GOALS ON, ON RATES OF BUILD-OUT? SO, UM, JUST FOR QUICK, UH, EXPLANATION, UH, THE PURPLE ARE PROJECTS THAT ARE IN DEVELOPMENT AND THEN THE GREEN OR PROJECTS THAT, UM, WELL THEN I'LL SWITCH TO THE KIND OF DARK GRAY OR COMPLETED PROJECTS, SO YOU CAN SEE LIKE SOUTHERN WALNUT.
CAN YOU ALL SEE MY POINTER? NO.
MAYBE THAT'S SOMEBODY ELSE'S POINTING TO ACTUALLY, UH, YOU CAN, YOU, YOU PROBABLY ARE FAMILIAR WITH SOME, UH, YOU KNOW, TRAILS AND PROTECTED BIKE LANES THAT ARE BUILT OUT.
THOSE ARE IN DARK GRAY, THE DARK GREEN LINES ARE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN RECENTLY BUILT OUT.
AND THEN THE ONES THAT ARE KIND OF OUTLINED, UM, WHERE IN THE LEGEND, IT SAYS PROJECTS WITH ESTIMATED TIMELINES, THE DARKER GREEN OR SOONER, AND THE KIND OF FAINT GREEN MIGHT BE LIKE,
UH, THAT'LL HAVE SHARED USE PATHS OR CORRIDOR
[00:20:01]
PROGRAM PROJECTS, UH, THAT ARE IN THE 2223, UH, 20, 24, UH, TIME HORIZON.SO THAT, THAT'S HOW TO KIND OF SEE THIS MAP.
YOU CAN LOOK AT IT ONLINE AND GET A CLICK ON THINGS AND GET INFORMATION YOU NEED.
SO WITH THIS TOOL AND THE GIS INFORMATION BEHIND IT, WE'RE ABLE TO REALLY, UH, ACCURATELY TRACK HOW WE'RE MEETING, UM, THE COUNCIL APPROVED TARGETS.
SO IN 2014, UM, I THINK WE HAD 17% BUILD OUT.
WE HAD A 2017 TARGET FOR 20% BUILD-OUT AND THEN AN AGGRESSIVE KIND OF RAMP UP, WHICH COINCIDED REALLY FORTUITOUSLY WITH THE 2016 BOND, UH, TO A 50% BICYCLE NETWORK BUILD OUT BY THE YEAR 2020.
UM, SO WE ARE STILL WE'RE A LITTLE BEHIND LAST YEAR WAS A DISRUPTIVE YEAR WITH, UH, COVID AND SUPPLY DISRUPTIONS AND ALL THAT.
BUT WE ARE ESTIMATING THAT WE'RE GOING TO HIT OUR 50% BICYCLE NETWORK BUILD OUT, NOT IN TIME FOR BIKE MONTH, BUT WE THINK AT THE END OF JUNE, WHICH IS REALLY EXCITING.
UM, SO WE'RE BENCHMARKING AGAINST THOSE PLAN GOALS AND YOU CAN SEE THE DARK GREEN IS OUR ACTUAL COMPLETIONS.
UH, UH, THE NEXT KIND OF LIGHTER GREEN IS ONES THAT WE HAVE PRETTY SOLID, COMPLETE DATES, UM, BUT THEY'RE FORECASTING IN THE FUTURE.
AND THEN, UH, AND THOSE ARE IN CONSTRUCTION AND THEN WE HAVE OTHERS THAT ARE STILL IN DESIGN, BUT ALSO HAVE A PRETTY ACCURATE, COMPLETE DATA ESTIMATES.
AND THEN THE PURPLE, UH, AS Y'ALL KNOW, WITH MANY OF OUR PROJECTS, WE HAVE PUBLIC PROCESSES TO SUPPORT AND TALK ABOUT THE CHANGES.
SO THE, THE PROJECTS IN THE PURPLE ARE, ARE USUALLY ONES THAT ARE JUST EARLY IN THEIR DESIGN, OR THEY'RE STILL GOING THROUGH A PUBLIC PROCESS.
AND WE'RE NOT SAYING THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HAPPEN THERE.
WE'RE JUST SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, UH, ACTIVITY THERE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITY FOR ENGAGEMENT.
UM, WE DO THIS ANNUAL PROCESS, UM, TO SUPPORT THE 2016 BOND AND WE'LL CONTINUE IT WITH THE 2020 BOND CALLED THE ANNUAL, UH, UH, MOBILITY ANNUAL PLAN, THE MAP PROCESS, AND, UH, IT'S ACROSS ALL THOSE, UH, BOND PROGRAMS. AND WE TALK ABOUT THE WORK PROGRAMS AHEAD.
SO FROM, I THINK 2017 WAS THE FIRST MOBILITY ANNUAL PLAN.
UH, AND NOW THE CURRENT ITERATION IS 2021.
THERE'VE BEEN A NUMBER OF PROJECTS NAMES.
SO FOR THE BIKEWAYS PROGRAM, THERE'S BEEN 192.
SO THIS WAS JUST A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF, WE'VE GOT 152 THAT ARE COMPLETE NINE THAT ARE IN CONSTRUCTION SEVEN THAT ARE STILL IN PUBLIC PROCESS, 54, THAT ARE IN ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT, AND THEN 70 OTHERS THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY STARTED MOVING FORWARD YET THAT ARE IN THOSE LISTS.
AND THEN SOME QUICK EXCITING, UM, KIND OF VISUALS, UH, IS WHAT I'LL WALK YOU THROUGH.
SO, UM, NOT ALL OF THE WORK IS WORK THAT WE FUND.
WE DO A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, DESIGN REVIEW SUPPORT WORK WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE COUNTIES, TXDOT CTRS.
THIS ONE IS THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
SO THEY MAY HAVE THE BEST BIKE LANE IN AUSTIN VERY SOON.
THIS IS THE RED RIVER REALIGNMENT.
THAT'S GOING TO GO BY, UH, NOT THE ERWIN CENTER, BUT THE NEW ARENA, UH, AN EVENT CENTER THAT'S, THAT'S GOING TO BE ON RED RIVER THROUGH CAMPUS.
UM, THIS IS OAK SPRINGS DRIVE BEFORE AND AFTER.
UM, THIS IS IN DISTRICT ONE AND WE ADDED, UH, THIS, THIS PROJECT HAPPENED WITH, UH, THE EXTENSION OF THE PINELLAS, UH, PROTECTED TO A PARTICULAR BIKE LANE.
THAT'S PART OF THE BOGGY CREEK TRAIL NETWORK.
UM, AND WE ADDED PHYSICAL PROTECTION ON THIS PROJECT, UH, MAYBE A YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF AGO.
UH, AND MANY OF OUR PROJECTS, I SHOULD SAY, LIKE THAT OAK SPRINGS PROJECT, UM, UH, WE LOOK AT A KIND OF COMPLETE STREETS APPROACH.
SO WE MIGHT BE ADDING MOTOR VEHICLE, TURN LANES, ADDING PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS.
WE TRY TO MEET KIND OF UP AND COMING TCM GUIDANCE ON, UM, WHAT, WHAT THE KIND OF RIGHT CROSSING DENSITY IS LIKE, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR SAFE PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS, YOU KNOW, EVERY QUARTER MILE OR SO.
THIS IS THE CONGRESS AVENUE, UM, PROTECTED BICYCLE LANES, UM, IN HOUSTON HAS BEEN A REALLY EXCITING PROJECT.
AND, UM, I PERSONALLY USE THIS A LOT AND THERE'S JUST AN AMAZING NUMBER OF, UH, PEOPLE, BIKING, SCOOTERING, UM, AND A NOTABLE DROP OF PEOPLE.
SCOOTERING ON SIDEWALKS IS, IS WHAT I'VE ANECDOTALLY SEEN ON THE CORRIDOR.
UM, THE, THIS IS, UH, ANOTHER STRATEGY THAT WE HAVE IS PROTECTED INTERSECTION.
SO WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PROJECTS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THAT HAVE STARTED USING THIS STRATEGY.
SO YOU CAN SEE, UM, THIS IS AN AREA ON THE LEFT, UH, THE INTERSECTION BEFORE AERIAL ON THE RIGHT, THAT SHOWS THESE COLORED PROTECTED, CONCRETE BIKE LANES COMING UP TO THE INTERSECTION.
THEY CREATE MUCH SHORTER PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS, MUCH SHORTER BICYCLE CROSSING, SAFE PLACES TO WAIT, UM, AND, UH, NACTA, WHICH IS, DOES NATIONAL GUIDANCE FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, COMPLETE STREETS AND FOR ALL MODES AND ALL AGES AND ABILITIES REALLY RECOMMENDS THESE TREATMENTS.
UM, AND, AND THEY HAVE A FUNNY WAY OF SAYING IT.
THEY SAY, DON'T GIVE UP AT THE INTERSECTION.
[00:25:01]
SO REALLY, YOU KNOW, DROPPING BIKE LANES AND THAT SORT OF THING IS, IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AS A STRATEGY MORE, AND MAYBE SOMETHING WE USED TO DO 10 YEARS AGO.SO PICTURE OF IT IN THE CENTER.
UM, YEAH, AND, AND WE'RE, UH, THIS IS SHOWING SOME PROTECTED INTERSECTION DESIGNS AROUND TOWN, BUT YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY BOTH SHOAL CREEK AND TERRY LANE ARE, ARE LARGE PROTECTED BICYCLE LANE PROJECTS AND HAVE, UM, I THINK EACH OF THEM HAVE FIVE TO 10 PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS THROUGHOUT, UH, THEIR PROJECT MINUTES AS WELL.
UH, RAIN GARDENS ON BOTH OF THESE PROJECTS, UM, UH, INTEGRATING GREEN STREET INFRASTRUCTURE AS WELL.
UH, THIS IS A SCAR MINT AND LACROSSE.
SO, UM, WE WILL BE, UM, BRINGING PROTECTED BICYCLE LANES TO THIS STREET, BUT, UH, THIS INTERSECTION WAS BUILT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL.
ANOTHER THING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT WITH THE ALL THE LOCAL MOBILITY PROGRAMS IS PARTNERING TO GET TO HIGHER OUTCOMES AND BUILD ONCE OPPORTUNITIES.
UH, SO THE PROTECTED BIKE LANES THAT WILL BE ON THE STREET IN THE FUTURE WILL KIND OF BRING YOU INTO KIND OF A SHARED USE PATH ENVIRONMENT AND, AND THE SAME ADVANTAGES OF PROTECTED INTERSECTIONS, BUT SHORTER CROSSING DISTANCES AND BETTER CONFLICT MANAGEMENT.
UH, I MENTIONED GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO THIS IS ON THE SHOAL CREEK PROJECT.
WE'VE BEEN PARTNERING, PARTNERING WITH THE WATERSHED AND THEY HAVE, UM, A GROUP THAT DOES RAIN GARDENS, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM TO DO INFILTRATION TESTING AND ASSESSING, YOU KNOW, THE SLIP LANE IS, YOU KNOW, HIGH-SPEED MOTOR VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT DOESN'T REALLY SERVE A PURPOSE AND DOESN'T FIT INTO A NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT.
AND INSTEAD WE'RE ABLE TO INFILTRATE WATER, UH, AND TREAT WATER LOCAL RUNOFF FROM STREETS BEFORE IT ENTERS THE STORM SYSTEM.
SO REALLY EXCITING PARTNERSHIPS THERE.
THIS IS THE DOWNTOWN STATION, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, UH, ON THE LEFT, UH, KENITRA DID A GREAT JOB, UH, IN THE BUILD-OUT OF THAT AND, UH, BUILDING IN THE BIKE LANE.
UM, AND THIS IS THE CROSS TOWN, UH, BIKEWAY OR THE LAB, UH, EVEN BETTER THAN IT WAS BEFORE.
AND THEN ON THE RIGHT, THIS IS THE ENDEAVOR BUILT, UH, PLAZA, SALT TIO, UM, REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT THAT, UH, IS ON LEASED CAP METRO LAND AND, UH, THROUGH OUR DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS AND BIG SHOUT OUT TO OUR, UH, ATD AND OTHERS HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, VERY ROBUST DEVELOPMENT REVIEW TEAMS. SO THIS WAS, UM, DANGEROUS TO SAY, I THINK THIS WAS JUST THEIR COMMITMENT, BUT SOMETIMES THESE COME THROUGH PARKLAND, DEDICATION COMMITMENTS.
SOMETIMES THEY COME THROUGH TRAFFIC MITIGATION COMMITMENTS, BUT OUR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY IS DOING A LOT OF THE BUILD-OUT, UH, AS THEY, AS THEY DO PROJECTS, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AND THEN THIS MIGHT BE ABOUT IT.
THIS MIGHT BE THE FINALE, BUT LONGHORN DAM IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
SO THIS IS A, UH, EARLY SNEAK PEAK.
YOU CAN SEE THE FIRST SECTION OF, UM, THE ENTIRE PATH IS GOING TO BE BEHIND CRASH RAIL AND GUARDRAIL.
UM, SO WE'RE REBUILDING THOSE OLD NARROW JERSEY BARRIERS.
THIS IS THE FAR WESTERN SIDE OF THE BUTLER TRAIL LOOP IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR.
SO THIS IS ACTUALLY THE EAST SIDE, WHICH IS THE FIRST SIDE THAT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
SO IT'S GOING TO HAVE A NICE WAY TO EIGHT FOOT WIDE PATH, UH, EIGHT FOOT WIDE SHARED USE PATHS AS YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT ON THE APPROACHES TO THE NORTH AND SOUTH.
AND THEN ON THE WEST SIDE, WE'LL HAVE AN EVEN WIDER, UH, SHARED USE PATH TO SUPPORT THE BUTLER TRAIL.
UH, AND THIS IS ALL IN THE FIVE-YEAR INTERIM, UM, BEFORE THE, UM, WHAT, WHAT HAS BEEN FUNDED WITH THE 2020 BOND, THE WISHBONE BRIDGE, UM, WHICH WILL BE A, PFLUEGER LIKE A BRIDGE, UH, IS IN PLACE.
SO FIVE YEARS IS A LONG TIME TO WAIT WITH, UH, SIDEWALKS THAT AREN'T CURRENTLY ADA ACCESSIBLE AND HAND RAILS.
YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT, THAT'S THE OLD SECTION OF HANDRAIL, UH, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, AT MY WAISTLINE AND MAKES YOU FEEL A LITTLE SCARY.
UM, AND THEN THE NEWER TALLER HANDRAIL THAT WE'LL BE UPGRADING IS FOR THAT PROJECT.
WELL, THANKS SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME, AND I'M HAPPY TO TURN IT OVER TO KATIE OR, UH, TAKE QUESTIONS, HOWEVER YOU ALL WANT TO HANDLE IT.
UM, FOR THE SAKE OF THESE TWO PRESENTATIONS BEING ONE ITEM, I MIGHT SUGGEST WE GO ON TO KATIE'S PRESENTATION OF URBAN TRAILS, AND THEN WE CAN PAUSE FOR QUESTIONS AFTER THAT.
UM, I DID WANT TO NOTE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR HAS JOINED US AND THE MAYOR PRO TEM HAS JOINED US AS WELL FOR THE RECORD.
UM, SO IF YOU CAN MOVE KATIE, WEDIKO OVER, WE'LL HEAR ABOUT THE URBAN TRAILS UPDATES.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
UM, I AM KATIE WEBTECH, I'M THE URBAN TRAILS PROGRAM MANAGER IN PUBLIC WORKS.
SO NATHAN ALREADY DID A GREAT OVERVIEW ABOUT ALL THAT THEY'RE DOING WITH BIKING AROUND AUSTIN AND THE ALL AGES AND ABILITIES NETWORK.
AND THEN AS YOU NOTED, THE URBAN TRAILS ARE A BIG PIECE OF THIS NETWORK,
[00:30:01]
SO THEY'RE ALL OFF STREET INFRASTRUCTURE.UM, SO I'M JUST GONNA TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT OUR PLANNING AND POLICY AND THEN GO INTO OUR EXISTING NETWORK AND ACTIVE PROJECTS NEXT.
SO AS MANY OF YOU ALREADY KNOW WE HAVE THE 2014 URBAN SALES PLAN.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING TO IMPLEMENT, AND IT DEFINED AN URBAN TAIL AS A HARD SURFACE TRAIL.
THAT'S ADA ACCESSIBLE TYPICALLY 12 TO 15 FEET IN WIDTH, AND THEN IDENTIFIED 47 MILES OF TIER ONE ARE HIGH PRIORITY TRAILS AND 360 MILES OF TIER TWO OR LOWER PRIORITY TRAILS.
SO YOU SEE THAT WHOLE NETWORK MAP PICTURED HERE THEN IN 2019, THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN OR THE ASM KEY ESTABLISHED MORE INDICATORS AND TARGETS FOR TRAILS, TRYING TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF HIGH PRIORITY TRAILS, ADD WAYFINDING AND LIGHTING FOR EXISTING TRAILS, OVERALL INCREASED TRAIL USAGE AND DEUCE RESPONSE TIME TO ADDRESS TAIL DAMAGE.
SO IN PART TO BE BETTER IN LINE WITH THE ASM GOALS, AND ALSO TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE CHANGING DEVELOPMENT WITHIN AUSTIN, AND ALSO IMPORTANTLY, TO ADDRESS EQUITY, WE ARE UNDERTAKING AN URBAN TRAIL PLAN UPDATE, WHICH NATHAN ALREADY TOUCHED ON.
UM, AND THIS IS ALL PART OF ATX WALK, BIKE WOOL.
SO FOR NOW WE'RE IMPLEMENTING WHAT YOU SEE HERE, BUT THEN WE GUESS THAT KIND OF HOW WE LOOK AT OUR NETWORK IS GOING TO BE CHANGING AT LEAST SLIGHTLY MOVING FORWARD.
SO FROM THE POLICY SIDE OF THINGS, AS A REMINDER COUNCIL TASK STAFF, TO CREATE THE URBAN TRAILS STAKEHOLDER GROUP TO RECOMMEND CODE CHANGES OR PROCESS CHANGES WITH THE GOAL OF MAKING DESIGN AND PERMANENT TRAILS MORE EFFICIENT.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING A LOT ON THIS OVER THE PAST YEAR, UM, OR YOUR PLUS, AND WE PROVIDED SOME RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL LAST JANUARY, WHICH INCLUDE, UM, FORMALIZING THE PROCESS FOR WATERSHED TO PROVIDE A PRIEST, A MENTAL REVIEW, TO WORK WITH DSD AND BE SURE WHAT PROJECTS DO REQUIRE A SITE PLAN THAT THEY CAN BE REVIEWED AS A SMALL PROJECT TO MAKE FOR A QUICKER TIMELINE.
AND THEN WE HAD SOME SPECIFIC CODE CHANGES THAT WERE RECOMMENDED.
SO WE'RE STILL WORKING TO MOVE ALL OF THESE FORWARD.
AND ONE PIECE THAT'S PRETTY EXCITING IS WITH 2020 BOND FUNDING, WE'RE ABLE TO BRING ON A NEW TRAIL STAFF.
UM, SO IT'S GOING TO BE FUNDED BY BOND PROJECTS, BUT MANAGED THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT TO AID IN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.
SO THIS IS HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO HAVE BETTER COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE TWO DEPARTMENTS.
SO THERE'LL BE A TRAILS PERSON WHO IS HOUSED WITHIN WATERSHED, SO THAT THEY'LL HAVE ALL OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTISE THAT WE ARE NORMALLY LOOKING FOR.
SO THEN GOING INTO OUR EXISTING URBAN TRAIL NETWORK, THE MAP YOU SEE HERE SHOWS ALL OF OUR EXISTING TRAILS IN SOLID LINES, AND THEN THE DASHER ACTIVE PROJECTS.
SO WE HAD ABOUT 60 MILES OF URBAN TRAILS IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND SINCE THE 2016 BOND FUNDING, WE'VE COMPLETED THREE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORTS, ONE PLANNING STUDY, A SEGMENT OF COUNTRY CLUB CREEK TRAIL, AND SEVEN TRAIL CONNECTORS.
AND THEN WE HAVE EIGHT MILES OF TRAIL IN DESIGN.
SO THEN NATHAN ALREADY TOUCHED ON SOME OF THIS, BUT WE WORK REALLY CLOSELY WITH A LOT OF PARTNERS IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT OUR TAILS AND EXPAND OUR CAPACITY.
UM, SO WE HAVE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PARTNERS.
NATHAN SHOWED THIS SAME PICTURE OF SHOAL CREEK BOULEVARD.
SO VERY CLEARLY SHOWING THIS IS ONE OF OUR PARTNER PROJECTS I'M WORKING WITH ATD VIS EXTENDS THE SHOAL CREEK TRAIL.
UM, THEN THE PICTURE BELOW THIS IS SOUTHERN WALNUT CREEK TRAIL CONNECTION AND ALSO TRAILHEAD ANOTHER PLACE WHERE THE PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY WAS ABLE TO BUILD OUT A PORTION OF OUR TRAIL.
AGAIN, SAME CONCEPT THAT NATHAN SAID IT PLAZA LTO.
AND THEN WE WORK A LOT WITH CCMA AND TXDOT TO HAVE THE SHARED USE PLANS KIND OF ACT AS TRAILS ALONG THEIR BIGGER PROJECTS, WHICH HELPED PUT A LOT OF MILES IN THE GROUND UP NEXT SIDE.
SO THEN OUR CURRENT ACTIVE PROJECTS, THE FOUR SHOWN HERE, WE'RE ALL EXPECTING TO GO INTO CONSTRUCTION FOR THE END OF CALENDAR YEAR 2021.
SO COPPERFIELD CONNECTOR IS IN DISTRICT ONE AND IT CONNECTS A COUPLE DEAD-END CUL-DE-SACS AND PROVIDES A SAFE CONNECTION TO COPPERFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
SO THIS IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL.
THEN WE HAVE WALNUT NORTHERN WALNUT CREEK TRAIL TO A, WHICH CONNECTS OUR EXISTING NORTHERN WALNUT CREEK
[00:35:01]
TRAIL AT WALNUT CREEK METRO PARK TO NORTH LAMAR BOULEVARD, CREATING A SAFE CONNECTION UNDER NORTH LAMAR AND EXTENDING EAST TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AT OAKBROOK DRIVE FINANCIAL CREEK UNDERPASS AT 2222.YOU KNOW WHAT NATHAN'S SAYING HAS GOT TO HAVE SAFER INTERSECTIONS.
SO THIS TAKES THE BIKES COMPLETELY AWAY FROM THE INTERSECTIONS, ALLOWS THEM ALONG SHOAL CREEK BOULEVARD TO CROSS UNDER 2222.
UM, AND THEN VIOLET CROWN TRAIL NORTH.
THIS EXTENDS VIOLET CROWN TRAIL SOUTH FROM HOME DEPOT BOULEVARD, WILLIAM CANNON DRIVE.
AND WE'RE WORKING HERE WITH THE CORRIDOR OFFICE TO CONNECT TO THEIR PROJECTS.
SO AGAIN, WORKING TOGETHER TO CREATE THIS INTEGRATED NETWORK.
SO ALL OF THESE WE EXPECT TO BEGIN WITHIN THIS YEAR, NEXT SLIDE.
AND THEN A FEW OF OUR BIGGER PROJECTS THAT ARE STILL A LITTLE FURTHER OUT, WE'RE WORKING ON AUSTIN TO MAINER.
AND SO THIS CONNECTS SOUTHERN WALNUT CREEK TRAIL AND THE EXISTING AUSTIN TO MAINER TRAIL ALL THE WAY OUT TO BENNY FISHER PARK AND MANER, THEN COUNTRY CLUB CREEK TRAIL.
OUR LAST SEGMENT OF COUNTRY CLUB CREEK TRAILS FROM ELMONT DRIVE EAST OLTORF STREET AND EAST AUSTIN.
AND THEN WE'RE WORKING ON REDLINE TRAIL FROM NORTHERN WALNUT CREEK TRAIL TO BREAKER.
SO THIS WILL CONNECT ALONG CAPITOL METRO'S RED LINE CONNECTING THE EXISTING NORTHERN WALNUT CREEK TRAIL SYSTEM TO BREAKER LANE TO THE NEW SOCCER STADIUM AND TO CAPITAL METRO TRANSIT STATIONS.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE ALL OF THESE MOVING NEXT SLIDE.
AND THEN KIND OF LOOKING AT WHAT'S UPCOMING WITH 2020 BONDS, WE'RE BEGINNING TO HIRE CONSULTANTS FOR DESIGN OF TWO OF OUR BIGGEST PROJECTS.
AND THESE ARE NORTHERN WALNUT CREEK TRAIL PHASE THREE, AND THE BERGSTROM SPUR TRAIL.
SO NORTHERN WALNUT CREEK TRAIL PHASE THREE WILL CONNECT TO THE TRAIL.
I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT NORTHERN WALNUT CREEK TRAIL AT KIND OF WHERE IT ENDS AT I 35 AND IT'LL CONNECT TO THE SOUTHERN WALNUT CREEK TRAIL.
SO THIS WILL BE AN EIGHT MILE PROJECT, ULTIMATELY PART OF A 19 MILE TRAIL SYSTEM ONCE COMPLETE.
SO WE'RE WORKING ON AN RFQ TO HIRE CONSULTANTS FOR THE DESIGN OF THIS, AND THEN BERGSTROM SPUR TRAIL IN SOUTH AUSTIN.
WE JUST COMPLETED THE CORRIDOR STUDY LAST YEAR.
THIS IS A SIX MILE RAIL TO TRAIL PROJECT FROM VINCENT DRIVE TO US, ONE 83 AND THE AIRPORT.
AND SO FOR THIS ONE, WE'RE BRINGING ON THREE DIFFERENT CONSULTANT TEAMS AND HAVING THEM DESIGN THE WESTERN CENTRAL AND EASTERN SEGMENTS.
SO THESE ARE ALL DESIGNED CONCURRENTLY AND WE CAN MOVE QUICKER.
AND WITH BOTH OF THESE PROJECTS, WE EXPECT THEY'RE GOING TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN PHASES.
SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND DETERMINE WHERE TO ALLOCATE ALL OF THE FUNDING WE RECEIVED WILL DETERMINE HOW MUCH OF THEM GET BUILT OUT NEXT SLIDE.
SO THEN THE NEXT STEPS, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A CONTINUED EQUITY REVIEW FOR PROJECT SELECTION.
AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH 2020 BOND FUNDS.
AND FOR THIS, WE'LL BE USING THE EQUITY FRAMEWORK, THAT'S GOING TO BE DEVELOPED AS PART OF THE URBAN SCALE PLAN UPDATE AND THE EQUITY ANALYSIS ZONES THAT ATD IS WORKING ON.
WE'RE CURRENTLY HIRING TWO PROJECT COORDINATORS FOR EXPANDED STAFF CAPACITY, WHICH IS REALLY EXCITING.
UM, A FEW YEARS AGO, URBAN TRAILS WAS ONLY A STAFF OF ONE.
SO IT'S STILL A SMALL, BUT VERY EXCITING FOR US.
AND WE'LL BE DOING PUBLIC OUTREACH AS PART OF OUR PROJECTS.
AND AS WE ALLOCATE FUNDING AND THEN FOR A LOT OF THESE, FOR A LOT OF THESE PROJECTS TO BE SUCCESSFUL, WE NEED TO BUILD ON PARTNERSHIPS WITH AGENCIES, SUCH AS AUSTIN, ENERGY AND CAPITAL NATURAL.
SO WE'LL BE WORKING ON THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND THAT'S ALL I HAD FOR YOU TODAY.
I KNOW THAT WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION, SO I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS OR THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP SEPARATELY.
IT'S CLEAR THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAMS ARE DOING A LOT OF WORK, SO IT'S VERY EXCITING TO SEE THESE UPDATES TAKING PLACE.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN? YES.
THIS IS A VERY, VERY EXCITING, UM, I WANTED TO JUST, UM, UH, ASK SOMETHING ABOUT THE BIRCH FROM SPUR OR JUST, UH, POINT TO HOW EXCITED I AM ABOUT THE BROOKS FROM SPERM.
I WAS THINKING THOUGH THAT IT IS THAT IT IS FULLY FUNDED, UM, ALREADY THAT IT'S A TIER ONE TRAIL AS FULLY FUNDED, PARTICULARLY WITH THE ASSISTANCE THAT WE ARE RECENTLY RECEIVED FROM CONGRESSMAN, UH, DOGGIT.
UH, SO I JUST WANTED TO AFFIRM, I DON'T I'M YOU STILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH DESIGN OBVIOUSLY.
AND THERE'S QUESTION ABOUT WHEN CONSTRUCTION WILL START, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE HAVE THE FUNDS FOR IT.
IS, AM I UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY
[00:40:01]
OR YES, WE HAVEN'T, YOU KNOW, CONFIRMED, WE'RE HONORED 20, 20 FUNDS ARE GOING TO GO, BUT THAT'S VERY LIKELY.AND IF WE GET THE FEDERAL FUNDING, UM, WHICH ALSO HAS SEEMING PROMISING, BUT IT'S NOT CONFIRMED, THEN WE'RE DEFINITELY FULLY FUNDED.
UM, BUT SO I WOULD SAY LIKELY TO POSITIVE, BUT NOT YET CONFIRMED.
IT'S JUST, WE PASSED A RESOLUTION RECENTLY THAT, UH, THE LANGUAGE OF THAT RE RESOLUTION SPOKE TO THE FACT THAT PERSON STORE SPURS FULLY FUNDED.
SO I, YOU KNOW, WE CAN FOLLOW UP AFTERWARDS, BUT I, I, I UNDERSTAND, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT I THINK THAT'S BEEN DECIDED.
IT'S JUST, I WAS WAITING ON THE EQUITY REVIEW, BUT WITH THE FEDERAL FUNDING, IT WOULD ABSOLUTELY BE FULLY FUNDED.
ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT ITEM COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO, MORE TO THE COORDINATION WITH WATERSHED AND WHAT THAT'S LOOKING LIKE IS EXCITED TO SEE THAT? YEAH.
UM, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE RAIN GARDEN WORK, UM, COUNSELOR.
UM, YEAH, SO THEY WATERSHED HAS, UH, YOU KNOW, A ROBUST, UH, PROGRAM AND, AND JUST KIND OF STAFFING CAPACITIES AROUND GRAY INFRASTRUCTURE.
YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY HAVE A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE TO MANAGE, UM, YOU KNOW, STORM WATER, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, AS WELL AS CREEKS CREEK BAY STABILIZATIONS, UH, LIKE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH.
AND THEY ALSO HAVE, UH, A GREEN STREETS KIND OF TEAM, UH, THAT PURSUES KIND OF LIKE WHAT WE DO.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN KATIE AND I TALK ABOUT PARTNER PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE OUT THERE TRYING TO FIND AND GET PEOPLE TO DO THE RIGHT THING.
SO, UM, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE FUNDING IN THEIR OWN RIGHTS.
SO WE ARE LOOKING TO KIND OF RIGHT SIZE THE CASE WE'RE MAKING TO THEM IS THAT WE ARE OUT IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, YOU KNOW, ON STREETS, ALL ACROSS THE CITY, BUILDINGS, SIDEWALKS, BIKEWAYS URBAN TRAILS AND SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, NOT TO MENTION ALL THE CORRIDOR STUFF, UM, BUT KIND OF IN THAT SMALLER LOCAL MOBILITY PORTFOLIOS, IF WE CAN GET TO THE RIGHT ARRANGEMENTS AND JUST GET ROUTINE ABOUT, UM, BEING ABLE TO, UH, SIZE UP GOOD OPPORTUNITIES, UH, WORK WITH THEM SO THAT THEY CAN TEST AND CONFIRM THAT WATER SOAKS INTO THE GROUND, AS OPPOSED TO, YOU KNOW, PONDS AND CREATES MOSQUITO BREEDING AREAS.
IF WE CAN DO THAT DUE DILIGENCE REALLY QUICKLY, THEN WE HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES.
SO THEY'VE BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE.
AND, AND THEN I'D SAY THAT THE, THOSE PARTNERSHIP CONVERSATIONS ARE KIND OF IN PILOT PHASE, UH, UH, WE'VE DONE THREE LOCATIONS ON SHOAL CREEK BOULEVARD, A NUMBER OF SAFE ROUTES LOCATION.
SOME OF THEM ARE DRIVEN BY A DRAINAGE NECESSITY, UH, BUT MORE AND MORE I'M HOPEFUL, UH, OF THOSE THREE KIND OF PILOT LOCATIONS.
WE'VE GOT A LIST OF 60 THAT WE THINK ARE GREAT CANDIDATES TO ENHANCE, UH, PROJECTS THAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING.
LIKE WE HAVE, UM, Y'ALL MIGHT KNOW THAT LIKE SLIP LANES GENERALLY ARE HIGH-SPEED AND NOT GREAT.
SO WE HAVE SLIP LANES THAT LEAD INTO SCHOOL ZONES AND THINGS LIKE THAT WHERE WE DON'T NEED THAT PAVEMENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF IT'S JUST SAFE ROUTES FUNDING, OR IF IT'S JUST SIDEWALK FUNDING, WE MIGHT NOT REMOVE THAT PAVEMENT.
BUT IF WE CAN ALSO PIGGYBACK WITH, WITH WATERSHED AND, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVE THEIR OBJECTIVE AT THE TABLE TO INFILTRATE WATER AND TREAT WATER, THEN MAYBE WE CAN REMOVE THAT, THAT PAVEMENT.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN KIND OF PILOTING AND WORKING FOR KIND OF A SYSTEMIC PARTNERSHIP, UH, WHERE, YOU KNOW, THOSE FUNDING AGREEMENTS CAN BE QUICK TO DEVELOP AND THAT THEY CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, JUMP ON OUR PROJECTS AS THEY HAPPEN.
BECAUSE, UH, A LOT OF THESE PROJECTS THERE HAVE BEEN TRAILS LIKE KATIE WAS SAYING TAKE LONGER TO DEVELOP, BUT A LOT OF THE SIDEWALKS SAFE ROUTES AND BIKEWAYS PROJECTS ARE DEVELOPED IN UNDER A YEAR.
SO WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO WAIT ON LENGTHY PROCESSES.
AND I JUST WANT TO ENCOURAGE THAT.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES WHEN WE'RE OUT IN OUR STREETS DOING THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, JUST MORE BROADLY SPEAKING, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE OTHER DIRECTIONS WITH WATERSHED OR WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH RESPECT TO STORM EQUIPMENT.
I KNOW THAT'S BEING REDONE AND IN MY DISTRICT WHERE THERE ARE SIDEWALKS SEEN IN QUESTION OR SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL KINDS OF THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE AS COORDINATED AS POSSIBLE ON ALL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE'RE NOT RIPPING UP STUFF THAT WAS JUST DONE AND, UM, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THOSE SYNERGIES.
SO I JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AND SAY, WE NEED TO BE DOING MORE OF THAT AND FINDING WAYS TO MAKE IT AS COST-EFFECTIVE, UM, SO THAT WE DON'T END UP IN SITUATIONS WHERE WE'RE RIPPING UP SOMETHING WE JUST CREATED.
AND, AND I SHOULD, UH, IN, IN THE KIND OF GREEN STREET INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE, YOU KNOW, TREE PLANTINGS, OR MAYBE ANOTHER THING
[00:45:01]
TO CALL OUT, UM, TRICKIER, WE HAVE, UH, IT'S COMPLICATED ON THESE SMALL PROJECTS AND THE CONTRACTS THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH TO HAVE, UH, LIKE WE'VE HAD, UM, LIKE ON SOME OF THOSE RAIN GARDENS THAT WE DID AT 38TH AND CRAWFORD, WE WERE GOING TO PUT TREES IN THOSE RAIN GARDENS.WE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE CONTRACTOR HAVING ACCESS TO A FIRE HYDRANT TO BE ABLE TO WATER AND ESTABLISH.
SO, UH, SO WE'RE NOT PLANTING THE TREES RIGHT NOW IS THE CURRENT STATE OF THINGS.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAD TO TEST FOR UTILITY CONFLICTS BELOW GROUND AND ABOVE GROUND, AND IT WAS REALLY WATERING THE TREES AND ESTABLISHING THAT KIND OF FOR THE TIME BEING KICKED IT OUT.
AND I THINK AS WE LOOK IN, AND THERE'S THE GREEN STREETS, UH, PROVISION IN THE 2020 BOND, UM, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GET INTO OTHER TYPES OF PARTNERSHIPS, MAYBE WITH NONPROFITS, MAYBE WITH THREE FOLKS OR, OR OTHERS THAT CAN PLANT KIND OF LOWER RISK TREES, NOT HAVE CONCRETE CONTRACTORS, PLANTING TREES AND HAVING A WARRANTY FOR A YEAR.
SO THERE MAY BE OTHER STRATEGIES THAT WE CAN USE TO KIND OF WORK SMARTER.
AND, UM, SO I WILL JUST FLAG THAT.
UM, YOU, WE, WE DID HAVE OUR PROGRAM WITH, UM, THREE FOLKS WORKING WITH PART AND WATERING TREES THERE.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S A MODEL AND THERE'S, THERE IS A WATERING TRUCK THAT'S AVAILABLE, UM, TO DO THAT, UM, AND WOULD LOVE TO SEE US PARTNERING WITH A GROUP LIKE TREE FOLKS OR SOMEBODY ELSE TO BE ABLE TO, UM, TO DO THAT.
UM, I WILL ALSO JUST MAKE A PLUG FOR THE ESSENCE MILLION CONSERVATION CORPS, BECAUSE IF YOU KNEW YOU NEEDED TO DO THAT, YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CREWS FROM THAT, UM, DOING THAT.
AND THOSE WOULD BE FOLKS FROM AMERICAN YOUTH WORKS OR THE OTHER ONE'S FOUNDATION WHO ARE, UM, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THEY'RE FOCUSED ON AND BEING ABLE TO DO.
AND THEY COULD DO THAT IN CONJUNCTION WITH TREE FOLKS, IF, IF YOU'RE ABLE, YEAH, THAT SOUNDS GREAT.
WE'VE HAD EARLY CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM ON THE CONTEXT OF, IF WE PLAN A PEDESTRIAN CROSSING ISLAND, IT'LL LOOK A LOT BETTER, IT'LL FEEL BETTER IF IT HAS A TREE IN IT THAT HAS LANDSCAPING AND, YOU KNOW, CAN WE WORK WITH THEM, UH, TO DO, YOU KNOW, WORK FORCE DEVELOPMENT AND, AND GREEN STREET OUTCOMES? UM, THEY'RE KIND OF COMPLEX THINGS, BUT YEAH, VERY IMPORTANT.
I'VE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH DANIEL PALETTA, WHO'S LEADING UP THE SPELLING CONSERVATION CORPS.
THAT'S ACTUALLY WHEN IT'S DESIGNED TO HELP US FACILITATE.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
I THINK THAT MIGHT BE ALL FOR THAT ITEM.
REALLY APPRECIATE THOSE PRESENTATIONS IN THE WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING.
UM, AND CAN YOU, UH, TELL ME IF WE HAVE OUR SPEAKER ON THE LINE OR IF WE SHOULD KEEP MOVING, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SYNOVIA, JOSEPH.
I DON'T SEE A CALL-IN NUMBER, SO I DON'T, I STILL DON'T THINK SHE'S WITH US.
UM, WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, UPDATE ON THE HEALTHY STREETS INITIATIVE.
I DIDN'T RAISE MY HAND IN TIME.
I ACTUALLY HAD SOME QUESTIONS ON ITEM.
IS IT SAFE TO ASSUME THAT THE TIME HAS PASSED FOR OUR PRESENTERS? AND I COULD JUST SEND THEM MY QUESTIONS THEY MAY BE ON, BUT WE ARE RUNNING QUITE A BIT BEHIND SCHEDULE.
I CAN JUST SEND THEM THE QUESTIONS.
WE CAN ALWAYS HAVE THEM COME BACK AT ANOTHER MEETING.
WELL, UM, THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO KEEP THE PRESENTATION THERE.
[3. Update on the Healthy Streets Initiative. (20 minutes).]
AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS, UH, AND MEMBERS OF THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRIEF YOU ON THE HEALTHY STREETS INITIATIVE.UM, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THAT, UM, OVER THE YEAR PLUS THAT THIS INITIATIVE HAS BEEN IN PLACE AND ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE CHANCE TO, TO TOUCH BASES ABOUT HOW IT'S EVOLVED.
UM, MY NAME IS LAURA DARREN FIELD.
I'M THE DIVISION MANAGER IN AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, UH, OVER THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND STREET DESIGN DIVISION.
AND, UH, THE HEALTHY STREETS INITIATIVE WAS, UM, A COUNCIL INITIATED, UM, UH, COVID-19 RISK-BASED STRATEGY, UH, SPEARHEADED BY I COME FROM MEMBER ELLIS AND, AND SUPPORTED BY MANY OTHERS IN, UM, ADDRESSING THE ACUTE NEED FOR A SPACE REALLY IN LIGHT OF PHYSICAL DISTANCING RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, AS WE, AS, AS A COMMUNITY, WE'RE JUST STARTING TO, UM, GET USED TO IN STRUGGLE WITH THOSE EARLY WEEKS OF THE PANDEMIC, UM, AND, AND HELPING TO, UH, FLATTEN THE CURVE, UM, AND, AND HELP TO SUPPORT OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN IT AND ITS ABILITY TO RESPOND TO THE EMERGENCY.
UM, AND SO TODAY WE WANT TO OFFER A QUICK UPDATE ON THE YEAR THAT THIS HAS BEEN IN PLACE, UH, WHAT WE'VE LEARNED AND WHERE WE'RE AT NOW AND WHERE WE'RE HEADED IN THE FUTURE.
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COUNCIL, UH, AT THE OUTSET WAS TO BOTH, YOU KNOW, QUICKLY, UH, TEST INNOVATE AND THEN LOOK FOR LEGACY BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES AND LESSONS LEARNED GOING FORWARD.AND WITH THAT, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO TO RECAP, SORT OF, UH, WHERE WE, WHERE WE WERE, IT WAS ALMOST TO THE DAY, UM, THE DATE, UH, RE UH, REQUIRED BY COUNCIL TO INITIATE THE PROGRAM MAY MAY 21ST, 2020, WHICH DOES SEEM LIKE A LIFETIME AGO IN TERMS OF ALL THAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH AS A COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT THOSE EARLY EFFORTS WERE PRECIPITATED BY THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION THAT ASKED US TO IMMEDIATELY, UH, GET OUT AND, AND OPEN UP THE STREET SPACE FOR PEOPLE WALKING AND BIKING, AS YOU'LL RECALL BACK IN THOSE EARLY DAYS, MANY, UM, PLACES WHERE PEOPLE WOULD RE RELIABLY GO TO GET PHYSICAL EXERCISE.
UM, EVEN SOME OF OUR PARKS WERE CLOSED, UM, FOR THINGS LIKE TENNIS OR OTHER ACTIVITIES, AND, UH, GYMS OF COURSE WERE CLOSED.
AND THEN EVEN WITH GETTING TO ESSENTIAL PLACES, UH, THAT WAS DIFFICULT WITH, UM, CURTAIL TRANSIT SYSTEMS AND, UH, OTHER, UM, OTHER DISRUPTIONS TO OUR OVERALL MOBILITY SYSTEM AS, AS WELL.
WE HAD VERY, UM, VERY MUCH REDUCED VOLUMES OF TRAFFIC, UM, AS PEOPLE WERE STAYING HOME MORE, AND THOSE COMMUTE PATTERNS WERE VERY DISRUPTED.
UH, SO IT, IT ESSENTIALLY GAVE US, UH, YOU KNOW, THE LAID THE GROUNDWORK, IF YOU WILL, TO TRY AND FIND OTHER WAYS TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY FROM A PHYSICAL HEALTH AND CONNECTIVITY AND SAFETY PERSPECTIVE.
AND SO THOSE EARLY EFFORTS, AS YOU'LL RECALL, WERE, UM, TO ESTABLISH, UH, QUICKLY ABOUT FIVE MILES OF HEALTHY STREETS USING DEVICES LIKE YOU SEE ON THAT FAR LEFT, UM, TRAFFIC DEVICES, LIKE THAT TYPE ONE BARRICADE, WHICH IS THE SAW HORSES AND THE CROSS PIECE, AND THEN THE BARREL.
SO THE THICKER ORANGE AND WHITE DEVICE, UM, TO ESSENTIALLY CREATE BASICALLY AN EXTENSION OF THE CURB SO THAT SOMEONE, UM, DRIVING THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD COULD STILL ACCESS THE NEIGHBORHOOD, WHETHER THEY WERE THERE TO VISIT A FRIEND OR, OR GO HOME OR, UH, GET GET ABOUT.
BUT, UH, IT WOULD BE DONE IN A MUCH SLOWER, UH, WAY SUCH THAT THAT STREET SPACE WOULD OPEN UP TO INVITE, UH, USE BY PEOPLE WALKING, WALKING WITH THE CHILD, FEELING COMFORTABLE TO ALLOW A CHILD TO, YOU KNOW, RUN AHEAD A LITTLE BIT IN THE STREET, UM, AS FOLKS WERE NEEDING PLACES TO GET OUTSIDE, UH, WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW IS IN SORT OF WHAT I WOULD CALL A REFINEMENT ADAPTATION PHASE.
SO WITH THE INEVITABLE, UM, CHANGES TO THE TIME AND ATTENTION OF CITY STAFF, WE HAD, I THINK ABOUT, UH, WELL, CERTAINLY TWO DEPARTMENTS AND THEN SIX DIVISIONS, UM, AND, AND SEVERAL DOZEN STAFF, UM, OVERALL WORKING ON THIS, UM, MANY OF THEM HAD TO GO BACK TO THEIR SORT OF PRE COVID, UM, UH, ROLES WE HAD, UM, THE BENEFIT OF OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WITH THEIR PAVEMENT RESURFACING PROGRAM, KIND OF GOING ON HIATUS WERE ABLE TO HELP US, BUT SINCE THEN, THEY'VE BEEN RE-ESTABLISHING THAT MAINTENANCE REGIME.
AND SO WERE A LOT OF, A LOT OF FOLKS ARE BACK TO THEIR NORMAL DUTIES, UM, WHICH IS IMPORTANT FOR US AS A CITY, BUT IT ALSO NECESSITATED A LITTLE BIT OF SCALING BACK OF WHAT WE HAD, BUT WE DIDN'T WANT TO NECESSARILY LOSE, UH, THE STREET SPACE AND THE LESSONS AND THE EXPERIENCE THAT I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE REALLY BENEFITING FROM AND ENJOYING.
AND SO WE HAVE A COUPLE OF STREETS STILL OUT THERE, A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THREE MILES, 3.4 MILES OF STREETS RIGHT NOW ON, UM, I THINK ABOUT SIX SEGMENTS OF STREETS.
AND SO, UH, THAT, UH, IS IN, UH, KIND OF A NEW APPROACH TO THE STREET SPACE.
SO AS YOU CAN KIND OF SEE IN THE PICTURE, IT'S A DIFFERENT TYPE OF DEVICE.
IT'S ACTUALLY WHAT WE CALL A WATER CHANNELIZER THAT IS A BIT EASIER TO MAINTAIN.
THERE'S LESS SORT OF A DISCRETE PARTS.
WE DON'T HAVE TO RAISE MUCH ABOUT SANDBAGS, AND WE'RE NOW CURRENTLY ADDING THE SIGNAGE, ADAPTING OUR SIGNAGE TO FIT THESE NEW DEVICES THAT ARE OUT THERE NOW TO HOLD THAT SPACE.
AND THEN GOING FORWARD INTO THE, THE FUTURE, UH, WITH THE DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL TO BUILD A LEGACY PROGRAM, WE ARE PILOTING HEALTHY STREETS IN THE, UH, SIDEWALK URBAN TRAILS AND BIKEWAYS PLAN UPDATE AS KATIE AND NATHAN MENTIONED, UH, THAT'S CALLED THE ATX WALK, BIKE ROLL INITIATIVE.
AND WE REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO BRINGING A FULL UPDATE TO THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE AS THAT PROCESS REALLY KICKS OFF, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY OVER THE SUMMER, UM, TO TALK MORE ABOUT WHAT THOSE PLAN UPDATES REALLY CONSIST OF AND CIRCLE BACK ON THIS PILOT, UH, THAT WILL BE A PART OF THE PROCESS TO TAKE THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM HEALTHY STREETS AND APPLY IT TO ESSENTIALLY A WHOLE NEW TYPOLOGY THAT, UH, OPENS UP STREET SPACE WITH A PRIORITY FOR PEDESTRIANS IN TERMS OF SLOWING, UM, MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC AND, UM, CREATING REALLY COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENTS WHERE FAMILIES FEEL COMFORTABLE, UH, BEING IN THE STREET WITH, UH, WITH EACH OTHER AND BEING ABLE TO USE STREET SPACE VERY DIFFERENTLY, UM,
[00:55:01]
WITH THE DISTINCTION THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN VOLUME AND SPEED IS LOW AMONG MOTOR VEHICLE USERS, WE CAN SHARE SPACE.WHEREAS WHEN, WHEN VOLUMES OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND SPEED OF MATERIALS ARE HIGH, WE NEED TO SEPARATE.
SO THAT FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE IN HOW WE HANDLE COMFORT AND SAFETY WITH MORE VULNERABLE USERS COMES INTO PLAY HERE, UH, ON THE, ON THE SIDE OF LOWER SPEEDS, LOWER VOLUMES EQUALS SHARED SPACE.
AND I THINK A LOT MORE FLEXIBILITY IN HOW WE CAN USE ESSENTIALLY CITY, UM, CITY SPACE, UM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, LION'S SHARE IS IN OUR STREETS.
I WOULDN'T GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
CERTAINLY ALONG THE WAY, THERE'S BEEN AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY ENTHUSIASM FOR THIS, FOR THIS WORK.
UM, YEAH, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SIDE DESK AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND AT, AT MOMENTS WHEN, UH, YOU KNOW, THE TRENDS WERE LOOKING POSITIVE IN TERMS OF OUR HOSPITALIZATIONS GOING DOWN AND, AND PERHAPS SOME OF OUR, UM, UH, GENERAL HABITS AROUND TRAVEL, WE'RE STARTING TO PICK UP AGAIN.
WE, WE, WE LOOK TO WIND DOWN THE PROGRAM HERE AND THERE, AND THAT, THAT GENERALLY PROMPTED, UH, AN OUTCRY, UH, OF DON'T PLEASE DON'T TAKE THESE AWAY.
SO THAT WAS REALLY CERTAINLY AN INDICATION THAT THERE IS A LOT OF ENTHUSIASM FOR, UH, FOR THE SUBSET OF A PLURALITY OF, OF PERSPECTIVE, IF YOU WILL, IF YOU WILL, ON S ON HEALTHY STREETS, BUT GENERALLY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THREE QUARTERS OF FOLKS WERE VERY, VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THESE AND THAT YOU SEE SORT OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN STREET SPACE SORT OF GETS REPURPOSED.
UH, SOMEHOW FOLKS FEEL, UH, AN INVITATION TO BE IN THE STREET IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
AND, UM, THAT CREATES A WHOLE ANOTHER SET OF CHALLENGES FROM A CITY PERSPECTIVE, BUT IT, I THINK IT'S AN INDICATION OF HOW HUMAN BEINGS ARE SORT OF ATTRACTED TO, UM, CREATING PLACE WITHIN NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND SO I THINK TO THE EXTENT WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD, UM, CONNECTIONS AMONGST, WITHIN NEIGHBORHOODS AND, AND THROUGHOUT THE CITY, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT STREET SPACE IN THIS WAY IS, IS, IS REALLY FASCINATING.
AND I THINK THE HEALTHY STREETS INITIATIVE HELPED US TO SEE SORT OF WHAT COMES ABOUT ORGANICALLY IN THAT WAY, WHEN STREET SPACE SORT OF OPENED UP IN DIFFERENT WAYS, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT NEXT SLIDE.
UM, AS I SAID, WE'VE BEEN REALLY TRYING TO, UM, FIND WAYS TO HOLD ON TO WHAT WE HAVE WHILE ALSO RESPECTING THE, THE DEMANDS OF STAFF TIME AND, AND THE NEED TO KIND OF CREATE A HIGH QUALITY SPACES WITH TEMPORARY DEVICES.
SO THAT'S, WHAT'S LED US TO THESE, UH, THE DEVICES YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT, UM, WHICH ARE THE WATERTOWN ANALYZERS PAIRED WITH THE BARRELS TO TRY TO HOLD THAT SPACE, WHEREAS ON THE LEFT, THOSE TYPE ONE BARRICADES AND, AND SANDBAGS WERE, UM, OFTEN, YOU KNOW, BURSTING AND FAILING OVER TIME.
UM, AND SO WE'VE, THAT'S THE PHASE WE'RE IN NOW IS JUST TRYING OUT THESE NEW MATERIALS, WHICH SEEM TO BE, UH, VERY WELL-RECEIVED AND WORKING, WORKING WELL, JUST AS WELL AS THE OTHER DEVICES.
UM, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND THEN, THEN THE OTHER PIECE TO THIS WHOLE PUZZLE IS TO REALLY BUILD A LEGACY.
UM, AND THAT HAS CONSISTED OF, OF SOME REALLY QUICK, UM, UH, ADAPTATION.
SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS, IS THE ADAPTATION FROM, YOU KNOW, THE CURRENT CONDITION OR THE CONDITION BEFORE COVID, WHICH IS THE PHOTO IN THE MIDDLE, WHERE REALLY SUBSTANDARD SIDEWALKS W RAILINGS TOO LOW, UH, REALLY NOT THE KIND OF TRAIL CONNECTION THAT WE NEED ACROSS THE LONGHORN DAM BRIDGE ON PLEASANT VALLEY ROAD.
UH, AND THE PHOTOS THAT NATHAN SHARED, UH, ALSO, UH, SPOKE TO THIS WORK, BUT WERE, UM, DURING THE HEALTHY STREETS INITIATIVE, WE WERE ABLE TO OPEN UP THAT OUTSIDE LANE TO OFFER SOME PHYSICAL DISTANCING FOR PEOPLE WALKING AND BIKING ACROSS THAT CRITICAL BARRIER OF THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL.
AND IT WAS REALLY ASTOUNDING JUST HOW QUICKLY PEOPLE, UM, UH, ADAPTED TO THAT CHANGE.
AND, UM, NOW WHAT WE HAVE IS THE SHARED USE PATHWAYS BEING BUILT AS A PERMANENT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL SUPPORT, UM, THAT TRAVEL ACROSS THE BRIDGE.
AND WE'RE ALSO DOING, UM, WORK IN THE STREET TO ADDRESS CRASH PATTERNS FROM OUR VISION ZERO ANALYTICS, UH, TO, TO CURB THE, UM, UH, THE COMPREHENSIVE CRASH COSTS THAT WE'VE, UH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DOCUMENT OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS ALONG THE STREET.
SO IT'S HOLISTICALLY ADDRESSING SAFETY AND MOBILITY, CONNECTIVITY, COMFORT FOR EVERYONE, AND REALLY WAS, UM, UH, CERTAINLY DEVELOPING PRIOR TO COVID, BUT WITH THE, UH, HEALTHY STREETS, UM, IN PLACE FOR ABOUT A YEAR, UH, IT WAS, WE WERE ABLE TO HELP ESTABLISH SOME TRAVEL PATTERNS.
I THINK HELPED PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE BENEFITS TO COME WITH THE WORK UNDERWAY.
NOW WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
HERE'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A WORK THAT WE'RE DOING TO ADAPT QUICKLY TO THE LESSONS LEARNED WITH HEALTHY STREETS.
UH, THIS IS THE CHERRYWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD BIKE RATE, UH, PROJECT IN DISTRICT ONE.
[01:00:01]
WILL BE GOING INTO CONSTRUCTION HERE IN THE NEXT, UH, ACTUALLY A COUPLE OF WEEKS, WE HAVE OUR INITIAL SIGNS ARE GOING OUT, UH, AS WE SPEAK.AND WHAT THIS WILL DO WITH WILL BE TO OFFER CONNECTIONS ON THE STREETS YOU SEE HERE USING TRAFFIC CALMING.
UM, THE PHOTO THAT IS A LITTLE GIRL IN THE PINK SHIRT IS ON ROMANIA, ROMANIA DRIVE, AND DISTRICT SEVEN.
THAT'S ONE OF OUR FIRST, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD BIKE WAYS.
BUT WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IS, IS CALMING THE, UH, TRAFFIC SPEEDS TO CREATE THAT SHARED SPACE, UM, AND USING, UH, UH, PINCH POINT TECHNIQUE.
WOULD YOU SEE IN THE LOWER, LOWER RIGHT THERE TO OFFER, UM, SOME TRAFFIC COMBING THAT WAS, UH, INSPIRED BY HEALTHY STREETS, WHERE WE HAD A CONFIGURATION OF BARRELS THAT HELPED TO SORT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, CREATE BASICALLY A YIELD FLOW.
SO MEANING THAT, UH, MOTOR VEHICLES HAVE TO DRIVERS HAVE TO YIELD TO ONE ANOTHER, AND THAT KIND OF CREATES A, UH, UH, A TRAFFIC CALMING EFFECT.
UM, SO THAT'S ANOTHER, ANOTHER LESSONS LEARNED AND APPLICATION IN THIS REFINEMENT ADAPTATION PHASE THAT WE'RE IN.
WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND I'LL, I'LL WRAP UP HERE BY JUST, UM, UH, OFFERING THAT WE LOOK FORWARD TO COMING BACK TO THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE WITH OUR ATX WALK, BIKE ROLL, UM, OVERVIEW, AND WITHIN THAT WILL BE A ROBUST PILOT PROGRAM FOR HEALTHY STREETS, UH, WHERE WE WILL BE DEVELOPING CRITERIA AND 10, AT LEAST 10 SEGMENTS AROUND THE CITY, UH, TO, UM, TO TEST THE, THE APPLICATION OF, OF OUR HEALTHY STREETS SORT OF PRINCIPLES.
SO COMBING TRAFFIC OPENING UP STREETS SPACE TO PEOPLE, WALKING, BIKING, DRIVING PARKING, UM, AND GENERALLY JUST INTERACTING SAFELY IN SHARED STREET SPACE.
UM, AND THAT IS TO FURTHER OUR PEDESTRIAN NETWORK, YOU KNOW, TO RECOGNIZE THAT NOT EVERY STREET WILL BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE A SIDEWALK, A BIKE LANE AND, AND NOR SHOULD IT THERE'S WAYS THAT WE CAN USE STREET SPACE DIFFERENTLY, UM, TO HELP BRING ABOUT COMFORT, SAFETY, CONNECTIVITY, UM, AND OVERALL OPERATIONS OF THE STREET, UM, WITH THE RIGHT TOOLS.
AND WITH THAT I'LL, I'LL, UH, END IN, OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK.
UM, AND WE MIGHT EVEN HAVE JOHN EASTMAN WHO IS A PARTNER WITH US OVER ON THE PUBLIC WORKS SIDE HERE AS WELL FOR QUESTIONS.
UM, I KNOW WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS OVER THE LAST YEAR ABOUT WHAT IS A HEALTHY STREET, HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE CREATE SOMETHING THAT'S SUSTAINABLE AND, UM, DOESN'T REQUIRE YOU TO RENT MATERIALS FOREVER.
AND DOESN'T HAVE THE SITUATIONS THAT WE WERE SEEING WHERE PEOPLE WERE RUNNING INTO BARRIERS.
PEOPLE WERE, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD FALL OVER AND SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO GO PUT THEM BACK TOGETHER.
AND SO I KNOW THAT WAS, UM, SOMETHING THAT THE, THAT YOUR DEPARTMENT REALLY STEPPED UP TO TRY TO WORK THROUGH.
UM, THAT THAT IS VERY EXCITING TO SEE NOW THAT WE'RE KIND OF TRYING TO SHIFT THE CONVERSATION INTO, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE SLOWER STREETS, WHAT ARE SAFER STREETS? HOW DO WE WORK WITH A LOT OF STREETS, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR TO WHAT I SEE IN MY DISTRICT WHERE A LOT OF THE, THE THOROUGHFARE THEY'RE WIDE STREETS, BUT THEY'RE IN NEIGHBORHOODS AND PEOPLE TREAT THEM LIKE THOROUGHFARES AND THEY'RE DRIVING EXTREMELY FAST AND IT'S VERY DANGEROUS.
UM, AND WE'RE SEEING THAT SITUATION ALL OVER MY DISTRICT.
AND SO I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO KEEP, KEEP HAVING THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW, HOW DO WE MAKE THIS WORK WITH THE CITY? HOW CAN WE BLEND WHAT THE DEPARTMENTS ARE WORKING ON? UM, I KNOW YOU'RE ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT THAT.
UM, BUT WE'RE GOING TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD WITH IT.
UM, I HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT BARRIERS AND JUST PILOTING THEM, THEN I'LL, I'LL SHARE WITH YOU OFFLINE.
UM, BUT I DID SEE A STRUCTURE THAT WAS ACTUALLY A METAL BIN, BUT IT HAD THE ABILITY TO BE MOVED BY FORKLIFT AND IT HAD PLANTS IN IT.
AND I JUST LOVED THIS IDEA OF SOMETHING THAT ISN'T GOING TO REQUIRE STAFF TIME OR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO GO OUT AND CHECK, CHECK ON THEM ALL THE TIME, WHICH I KNOW WE HAD A NUMBER OF AMAZING BLOCK CAPTAINS THAT WERE OUT THERE TRYING TO DO THIS WORK ON THEIR OWN BECAUSE THEY REALLY BELIEVED IN IT AND REALLY WANTED TO BUILD SOMETHING THEIR COMMUNITY COULD GET BEHIND.
UM, AND I ALSO HAVE TO SAY THANKS TO ADAM GREENFIELD OVER AT WALK AUSTIN, CAUSE HE'S DONE A LOT ON THE NON-CITY SIDE TO ADVOCATE, HELP PEOPLE ADVOCATE FOR THEIR, THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS.
UM, AND HE'S ALWAYS STAYED IN CONTACT WITH US SO WE CAN TRY TO KEEP HEALTHY STREETS ALIVE IN THE PLACES WHERE PEOPLE WANT THEM AND TO LET THAT INFORM HOW, HOW WE CAN BETTER STRUCTURE OUR CITY FOR A STREET SAFETY AND BIKE SAFETY.
LOOKING FORWARD TO ANY, ANY, AND ALL IDEAS.
WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, VICE CHAIR, KELLY, THANK YOU.
UM, YOU KNOW, BEING IN FAR NORTHWEST AUSTIN, I DON'T REALLY KNOW MUCH ABOUT PROTECTED BIKE LANES BECAUSE I DIDN'T REALLY USE THEM MUCH.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE DRIVING IN THE ROAD AND IT'S A LITTLE DANGEROUS AND IT MADE ME UNEASY.
SO HAVING THAT TRANSITION TO WORKING DOWNTOWN
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AND UTILIZING PROTECTED BIKE LANES, ESPECIALLY WHEN ON A SCOOTER IS SO MUCH SAFER THAN JUST BEING IN THE ROAD.AND SO I DEFINITELY SEE THE BENEFIT OF IT AND I AM APPRECIATIVE OF IT.
AND THE INFORMATION THAT YOU PRESENTED HERE GAVE A BIGGER PICTURE OF WHAT THE PLAN IS.
AND I AM SO THANKFUL THAT IT WAS SO THOUGHTFUL.
THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER KELLY.
I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO OFFER THOSE BENEFITS CITYWIDE.
SO, UH, YEAH, WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO OFFERING, UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN FOR ANYONE HERE, A BRIEFING ON WORK THAT WE ARE PURSUING AT ANY DISTRICT AND THERE IS A LOT GOING ON SIMULTANEOUSLY, SO YEAH.
UM, APPRECIATE THAT, THAT FEEDBACK.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT ITEM? ALL RIGHT.
[4. Update on the MetroBike Program. (20 minutes).]
NEXT ITEM WE WILL TAKE UP IS AN UPDATE ON THE METRO BIKE PROGRAM.UH, GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, COMMITTEE CHAIR ELLIS.
UH, MY NAME IS CHAD BALLANTINE.
I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF DEMAND RESPONSE AND INNOVATIVE MOBILITY.
AND I THINK MY PRESENTATION IS PROBABLY COMING UP HERE SOON.
UM, IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU ALL, UH, FUN TO SEE SOME FAMILIAR FACES THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN IN AWHILE.
UM, WANTED TO JUST START OFF BY ACKNOWLEDGING IT'S KIND OF AN AWESOME TIME TO BE A BICYCLIST IN AUSTIN.
I'M VERY INSPIRED BY THOSE LAST PRESENTATIONS AND, UM, IT'S PRETTY COOL TO BE IN A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY WORKING ON OUR BIKES THERE.
SO I'M VERY HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT THAT TODAY.
UM, SO I'M, I'M HERE TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THIS RELATIVELY NEW ISH, UM, UH, AN EXCITING PARTNERSHIP CALLED METRO BIKE.
IT IS, AS YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER, IT WAS CALLED THE AUSTIN B CYCLE.
WE JUST REBRANDED IT AS WE ENTERED INTO A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND SO, UM, I WANTED TO JUST GIVE YOU A BRIEF ONE AND I'LL TRY TO KEEP IT SHORT.
UM, I DO HAVE SOME OF OUR, UH, MY COLLEAGUES FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN, I BELIEVE ARE ALSO HERE TODAY.
SO THEY'LL BE ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR HAVE ANY DISCUSSION IF YOU WANT AFTER THIS PRESENTATION.
SO, UM, MANY OF YOU ON THE DIOCESE ARE AWARE OF THE PARTNERSHIP THAT BEGAN LAST AUGUST, BUT FOR THE WIDER AUDIENCE IN CASE THERE ARE FOLKS OUT THERE, UM, WHO AREN'T, I JUST QUICKLY WANTED TO BRIEFLY EXPLAIN WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT.
SO, UM, BUT FIRST I DO WANT TO KIND OF GIVE SOME CONTEXT CAUSE, UM, AT CAP METRO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE THE BUS AND RAIL PROVIDER WE'RE TRANSIT, RIGHT? SO, UM, WE KNOW, SO IT'S ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT TO START THINKING BEYOND THE BUS.
I MEAN, THAT'S REALLY A BIG TREND.
WE'VE BEEN SEEING A LOT IN THE PAST FEW YEARS.
UM, JUST GOING BEYOND, BEYOND THE BUS, BEYOND THE TRAIN, BEYOND THE PARATRANSIT, BECAUSE MOVING PEOPLE AROUND THE COMMUNITY IS REALLY COMPLEX AND IT'S VERY INTERCONNECTED.
AND SO IT HAS A LOT OF MOVING PARTS.
AND SO THE COOL THING ABOUT THIS PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE IS IT REALLY EMBODIES THAT CONCEPT OF INTERCONNECT INTERCONNECTEDNESS, BECAUSE IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT REALLY WITH ALL THREE OF US AS PARTNERS, IT REALLY OFFERS A UNIQUE INGREDIENTS TO KIND OF MAKING A BIKE SHARE PROGRAM.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THE, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN CAPITAL METRO AND THEN BIKE SHARE OF AUSTIN, WHICH IS A NONPROFIT WHO OPERATES THE SERVICE, UM, CITY OF BOSTON, OBVIOUSLY IN CHARGE OF A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE, THE RIGHT OF WAY AND THE RULES AND THE LAWS AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.
AND WEARING I'M VERY INTERESTED IN MULTIMODAL MAKING SEAMLESS, UH, TRANSIT TRIPS, SEAMLESS PAYMENTS, THAT KIND OF STUFF, AND THEN BIKE SHARE OF AUSTIN, THE OPERATIONS.
AND THEY'RE REALLY THE DEEP ROOTS WITHIN THE BIKE SHARE AND THE BIKING COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, THE STRUCTURE OF THIS REALLY INVOLVES, UH, SHARED OVERSIGHT BETWEEN CAPITAL METRO AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, WE OVERSEES A REBRANDED METRO BIKE SYSTEM THAT BIKE SHARE OF AUSTIN RUNS AND OPERATES.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE HERE, THIS IS, UM, DONE THROUGH AN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
SO IT'S SORT OF A SHARED, UM, PROCESSES, HOW WE OVERSEE IT.
WE HAVE TWO CITY OF AUSTIN MEMBERS ON THIS COMMITTEE, UH, TO CAPITAL METRO MEMBERS.
AND THEN WE HAVE ONE NON-VOTING MEMBER OF THE BIKE SHARE OF AUSTIN GROUP, BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE'S AT THE TABLE AND WE'RE HAVING GOOD FRANK, HONEST CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UM, THE DIRECTION AND ALL OF THAT.
SO, UM, THAT'S SORT OF THE GENERAL SETUP OF, OF, UM, ALL THAT, BUT REALLY THE GOALS OF THIS PARTNERSHIP WERE TO, UM, ENSURE THAT CAP METRO AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WE COME TOGETHER AND WE HAVE SOME SHARED FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS TO HELP ENSURE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROGRAM AND KEEP IT RUNNING FOR A, FOR A WHILE FOR A LONG TIME INTO THE FUTURE.
THAT'S THE ONE THAT INTEGRATED INTO THE CAPITAL METRO SERVICES SO THAT YOU CAN GO ONLINE AND SCHEDULE A TRIP THAT STARTS WITH A METRO BIKE THAT THEN GOES TO A BUS AND THEN TO A TRAIN AND THEN MAYBE WALKING AND GETS YOU TO YOUR FINAL DESTINATION.
SO IT'S SORT OF A ONE-STOP SHOP, REALLY MORE REFLECTIVE OF HOW PEOPLE ACTUALLY TRAVEL.
AND THEN, UM, WE ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR, YOU KNOW, A BIGGER SYSTEM EXPANSION THAT'S GOING TO COORDINATE
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WITH THE BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE TRANSIT EXPANSION.WE'VE GOT A LOT OF, AS WE ALREADY SAW A LOT OF REALLY COOL STUFF IN THE WORKS.
AND SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE REALLY COORDINATING ANY OF THAT GROWTH OF THIS PROGRAM ALONG ALONGSIDE THAT.
SO SINCE OUR PARTNERSHIP LAST, UH, AUGUST, UH, WE'VE BEEN DOING A FEW THINGS WE'VE OBVIOUSLY REBRANDED.
THAT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE LARGER THINGS THAT WE'VE DID.
UM, YOU CAN SEE HERE A PICTURE OF ONE OF THESE PRETTY NEW ESS ASSIST BIKES THAT I LOVE SO MUCH.
AND IF Y'ALL HAVE NOT WRITTEN THEM YET, YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY GIVE THEM A TRY.
UM, WE JUST REBRANDED THEM, METRO BIKES.
UM, AND, UM, WE'VE ALSO, YOU CAN SEE HERE, THIS IS A 3.0 DOCK IS WHAT WE CALL IT.
IT'S THE NEWEST, LATEST THING THAT WE'VE GOT GOING OUT THERE.
WE'RE TESTING THEM AROUND THE CITY TO PROVIDE SOME FLEXIBILITY.
UM, SO YOU'LL START SEEING THOSE AROUND THERE, A SINGLE DOCK, SO THEY CAN REALLY FIT INTO PLACES WHERE A TRADITIONAL, UM, DOC WOULD NOT EVER REALLY WORK.
WE'VE ALSO BEEN, UH, WE'VE INTEGRATED OUR ATHLETES CAP METRICS.
SO YOU CAN GO ONTO CAP METRO NOW, AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY BUY ONE TICKET FOR A BUS AND A BIKE ALL AT ONCE.
UM, AND SO THAT'S, UH, SOUNDS VERY SIMPLE, BUT IT ACTUALLY HAS INVOLVED A LOT OF WORK FROM THE, UH, ON THE TECHNOLOGY SIDE.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UM, WE'RE JUST SORT OF A PHASE, ONE OF THAT.
WE WANT IT TO BE A LOT MORE INTUITIVE AND A LOT MORE USER-FRIENDLY BECAUSE YOU STILL DO HAVE TO HAVE THE, UM, THE METRO BIKE APP IN ORDER TO UNLOCK THE BIKE, UM, IN MOST CASES.
SO, UM, SO WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH BETTER INTEGRATION OF THAT, BUT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE PAST SALES HAPPEN.
WE HAVE NOT ADVERTISED IT VERY MUCH BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE IT WORKED VERY WELL AND THAT IT WAS USER-FRIENDLY.
SO THAT WILL BE IN OUR FEATURE PLANS TO START REALLY PROMOTING THAT, UH, NEXT.
AND, OKAY, SO THIS IS A GRAPH THAT IS PROBABLY VERY HARD TO IT'S TO SEE IT.
UH, YOU CAN PROBABLY SEE HERE, BUT THIS IS, UH, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS RIDERSHIP.
UM, 2019 IS THE YELLOW BAR, UM, AND THEN 2020, OUR FAVORITE WEIRD YEAR EVER, UM, IS THIS PURPLE ONE GETS IN PURPLE FOR PANDEMIC THAT'S THE, UM, 2020 YEAR.
AND THEN, UM, THE LITTLE PINK ONE IS OBVIOUSLY THESE LAST FEW MONTHS HERE IN 2021.
SO PROBABLY THAT THE QUICK AND EASY, UH, OF THIS IS, UM, YOU CAN SEE IN, IN 2019 WHEN WE HAD SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, THAT WAS MARCH, 2019 WHEN HE STARTED SEEING THE SCOOTERS COMING INTO AUSTIN, AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT THAT DID TO OUR RIDERSHIP.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE YELLOW LINE, WE PEAK THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS HIGH NUMBER AND THE 15,000 FOR TRIPS FOR THAT ONE MONTH, AND IT JUST KEPT PRECIPITOUSLY FALLING.
AND MONTH AFTER MONTH, THE, UM, BIKE CARE FOLKS SAW THAT AND THEY REALLY WANTED TO TRY NEW, UM, A NEW THING, WHICH WAS TO TRY E-BIKES.
SO WE HAD NOT HAD ANY E-BIKES IN AUSTIN UNTIL THIS, UH, PAST MARCH IN 2020, THEY'RE GEARING UP TO, WE GOT A PILOT, 200 OF THESE, THE BIKES.
WE WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT GETTING, RELEASING THEM FOR SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST AND TRYING IT ALL OUT.
I DON'T THINK WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED IN SOUTH BY IT ACTUALLY GOT CANCELED AND AS IT SHOULD HAVE.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS OBVIOUSLY A LITTLE BIT OF DISAPPOINTMENT, BUT IT WASN'T VERY LONG UNTIL AFTER THAT WEEK, WE STARTED REALIZING THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WERE ACTUALLY STARTING TO USE THESE BIKES AND IT'S WEIRD BECAUSE WE'RE ALL LOCKED IN.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOCKING OURSELVES IN OUR HOMES AND WE'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
AND THE PHENOMENON WITH ALL AROUND THE WORLD, OBVIOUSLY THAT PEOPLE WERE USING THEIR BIKES AND AUSTIN WAS NO DIFFERENT.
SO THAT PHENOMENON TIED WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF THESE 200 NEW E ASSIST BIKES.
YOU CAN START SEEING THE PURPLE WHERE WE'VE REALLY STARTED INCREASING RIDERSHIP SO MUCH SO THAT WE EVEN BEAT OUT THE RIDERSHIP NUMBERS FOR ACL WEEKEND OVER 2019 WHEN WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE ACO.
UM, AND THEN FAST FORWARD TO, UH, THIS LITTLE PINK LINE, WE ADDED ANOTHER 147.
SO WE'RE AT, UH, UM, ALMOST 350.
E-BIKES NOW ESS BIKES, UM, IN AUSTIN.
AND, UM, WE'VE NOW HITTING RECORD NUMBERS EVEN WITHOUT A SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST THIS YEAR, WE HIT A RECORD NUMBER THERE FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, AND APRIL ALSO IMPROVED UPON THAT.
SO THE FUTURE OF THE BIKE SHARES REALLY A POSITIVE FUTURE.
I THINK WE'VE GOT A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY.
THE BIKES ARE OBVIOUSLY A VERY IMPORTANT ELEMENT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM, AND WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE WHERE THIS WILL GO.
SO WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW? UM, WE ARE REALLY LOOKING AT, UH, THE GOAL OF A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE ASSIST FLEET.
WE DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY BIKE WE BUY FROM HERE ON OUT WILL BE ASSESSED.
UM, THE ESS BIKES GET THREE TO FOUR TIMES MORE RIDERSHIP THAN THOSE REGULAR HUMAN POWERED ONES.
SO, UM, WE KNOW THAT THAT IS OBVIOUSLY A HUGE IMPACT ON PEOPLE'S USING THE SYSTEM.
AND IT ALSO INCREASES USABILITY FOR PEOPLE WHO MAYBE HAVE MOBILITY, UM,
[01:15:01]
CONCERNS, UM, THAT KIND OF THING.SO IT REALLY HELPS YOU ALSO HAVE LONGER TRIPS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF BRIGHT THINGS THAT COME WITH, UH, YES, THIS FLEET.
UM, WE'RE ALSO CONTINUING TO FURTHER INTEGRATE, LIKE I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY INTO THE TRANSIT ECOSYSTEM.
WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DEEPLY INTEGRATING THESE AND MAKING THEM A REALLY INTUITIVE NATIVE PART OF TRAVELING AROUND TOWN, WHETHER IT'S BUS OR BIKE, WALK, ALL THOSE THINGS.
RUSSELL RAMPING UP THE PROMOTION OF THE SYSTEM.
UM, WE WANT TO PROMOTE IT TO NEW WRITERS, BUT ALSO EXISTING WRITERS REMIND PEOPLE THAT THIS IS THE SAME BIKE SHARE SYSTEM THAT YOU'VE ALWAYS LOVED HAVING TO GET BACK OUT THERE AND USE IT AGAIN.
UM, SO WE'LL BE DOING A LITTLE MORE PROMOTION ON THAT SIDE OF THINGS AS WELL.
UM, WE'LL BE TESTING, LIKE I MENTIONED THOSE 3.0 DOCS FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY, WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT.
SO THAT'S PRETTY COOL TO SEE HOW THAT MIGHT IMPACT WHAT OUR, UM, SYSTEM, HOW WE CAN ENHANCE OUR SYSTEM.
AND THEN, UM, LET'S SEE, WE ARE, UH, WE ARE ENGAGING WITH, UM, YEAH, THE BIKE AND TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE EXPANSIONS.
OBVIOUSLY WE'VE GOT A LOT THAT YOU SAW PREVIOUSLY TODAY.
WE HAVE PROJECT CONNECT FOR CAPITAL METRO.
SO THERE'S A LOT GOING ON AND THERE'S A LOT OF BUILD OUTS THAT ARE HAPPENING.
SO WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT BIKES ARE A PIECE OF THAT.
THE BIKE SHARE PROGRAM IS A PIECE OF ALL OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND, AND IT FOLLOWS ALONG WHERE THE TRAILS ARE GOING AND ALL OF THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO, SO THAT THEY'RE PRESENT AS WELL AS THESE NEW THINGS ARE ROLLED OUT.
AND THEN, UM, WE ARE ALSO WORKING TO DO, UH, AN OPERATIONAL REVIEW TO HELP IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES, SORT OF, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE REALLY IMPROVED OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS OPERATING AT TOP NOTCH.
SO WE'LL, WE'RE DOING SOME OPERATIONAL REVIEWS.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME BEST PRACTICES AS WELL.
SO WE'RE KIND OF LOOKING THROUGH MAKING SURE THAT THIS PROGRAM IS AS, UM, AS READY AS IT POSSIBLY CAN FOR WHAT WE HOPE WILL BE, UM, FUTURE GROWTH OF THE PROGRAM.
WE HOPE IT'LL BE A SIGNIFICANT GROWTH.
UM, SO WE'RE GETTING IT READY SO THAT IT'S, EVERYTHING'S IN PLACE FOR, FOR IT TO GROW AND GROW SUSTAINABLY AND, AND GROW WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE PROGRAM LATER IN THE FUTURE.
AND SO FINALLY, I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE, AN EFFORT THAT WE'RE COLLABORATIVELY WORKING, UM, WITH, UM, TO UNDERTAKE, UH, TO DEVELOP THIS VISUAL GEOGRAPHIC TOOL, SEE IT A LITTLE BIT OF A SNIPPET OF IT ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN.
IT'S A, IT'S A TOOL THAT WE'RE, WE'RE HAVING.
UM, WE'RE PUTTING TOGETHER THAT IS INTENDED TO HELP ASSESS THE FUTURE GROWTH AREAS FOR METRO BIKE EXPANSION BASED ON 10 INDICATORS.
UM, AND SO YOU CAN SEE THESE INDICATORS ON THE LEFT.
SO THERE'S INDICATORS ARE THREE GROUPS, REALLY EXISTING CONDITIONS, FUTURE CONDITIONS, AND THEN, UM, REALLY THE DEMAND FOR THE SERVICE.
SO OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE INDICATORS WOULD BE LIKE THE BICYCLE NETWORK ACCESS.
THAT'S GOING TO BE A VERY IMPORTANT THING FOR US.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE CRASHING AND SAFETY DATA.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE INCORPORATING VISION ZERO INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE KINDS OF SAFETY LOOKING AT, UM, DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, INCLUDING THAT AS PART OF OUR EVALUATION, UM, THINGS LIKE TRANSIT SUPPORTIVENESS.
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY THE EXAMPLE YOU'LL SEE ON THE RIGHT, THAT, THAT THAT'S THE LAYER OF TRANSIT SUPPORTIVENESS THAT WE ARE EVALUATING IT.
SO YOU WERE OVERLAYING, YOU KNOW, FREQUENCY OF HIGH-FREQUENCY NETWORK ACCESS TO THAT, TO RAIL, TO ALL THESE OTHER FACILITIES.
AND SO THAT'S JUST ONE OF THE 10 PIECES THAT WE OVERLAY TO IDENTIFY WHERE GROWTH MAKES SENSE.
UM, AND THAT KIND OF THING, ROUGHLY LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE DISPLACEMENT RISK.
SO WE KNOW THERE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THAT IS A CONCERN.
AND SO THAT'S GOING TO BE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, BOTH FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, ALL KINDS OF THINGS, AND, AND OBVIOUSLY JUST RIDERSHIP AND WHERE, WHERE THE ACTUAL RIDERSHIP IS, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, ANY FUTURE EXPANSION IS REALLY BALANCED.
SO IT'S LOOKING AT EQUITY AS WELL AS, AS YOU KNOW, RIDERSHIP, UM, BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY IMPORTANT THING TO, UM, EQUITABLY EXPAND ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.
SO THE TOOL IS BEING DEVELOPED WITH OUR PARTNERS AND WITH, UH, ADVOCACY GROUPS AND THEN THROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS.
BUT I DO WANT TO MENTION THAT THERE IS NO CURRENT FUNDING IDENTIFIED FOR A LARGE, MASSIVE METRO BIKE EXPANSION.
SO, UM, BUT THIS TOOL IS FLEXIBLE ENOUGH SO THAT IT CAN BE SCALED UP OR DOWN BASED ON, YOU KNOW, FUTURE FUNDING OF, OF, OF THE PROGRAM.
AND SO, UM, WE REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S FLEXIBLE, BUT IT ALSO HELPS GUIDE GROWTH.
AND SO IT'S NOT BODY AND KIND OF ERRATIC, UM, BECAUSE THAT REALLY IS GOING TO BE THE, THE IMPORTANT PIECE OF THIS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS WHOLE PROGRAM IS, UM, IT'S COHESIVE AND IT WORKS WELL AND IT'S WELL THOUGHT OUT.
SO THAT IS MY VERY QUICK UPDATE, UH, CONCLUDES MY, MY COMMENTS.
[01:20:01]
YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, YOU CAN TAKE THAT NOW.AND I DON'T KNOW IF I'VE GOT MY COLLEAGUES ON HERE, BUT THEY CAN ALSO PROBABLY CHIME IN AS WELL.
THAT'S REALLY IMPRESSIVE WORK GOING ON.
I'VE ALWAYS BEEN EXCITED TO HEAR THESE UPDATES ALONG THE WAY.
CAUSE I KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOMETIMES THERE'S THINGS YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR A LONG TIME THAT WE DON'T SEE AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT ROLLS OUT AND IT JUST MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, LET'S GO WITH VICE CHAIR, KELLY AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.
I'M WONDERING IF YOU ALL WORK CLOSELY WITH THE AUSTIN SPECIAL EVENTS DEPARTMENT TO HELP PROMOTE METRO BIKE AND OTHER OPTIONS TO VISITORS WHO COME TO TOWN FOR EVENTS LIKE ACL OR SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, IF THAT'S PART OF THE PLANNING PROCESS, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, JUST SINCE WE'RE GETTING BACK TO WHERE WE CAN HAVE THESE EVENTS, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT THESE GREAT OPTIONS.
WE ARE COORDINATING, WE DO A LOT OF COORDINATION, UM, ESPECIALLY ON THE BUS SIDE.
UM, WE HAVE DONE TONS OF COORDINATION FOR SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST ACL, ALL OF THE MAJOR EVENTS F1.
AND SO WHAT WE'LL BE DOING IS ROLLING THIS INTO, WHEREAS IN THE PAST IT WAS, UH, YOU WERE PROMOTING THE BIKE SHARE, THEN WE'LL PROMOTE TRANSIT, BUT WE'RE REALLY ACTUALLY NOW MOVING FORWARD, WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING TOWARDS ACTUALLY PROMOTING THESE AS A WHOLE WEALTH OF OPTIONS FOR FOLKS TO DO THESE, UH, TO DO ALL OF THESE KINDS OF TRIPS.
AND SO, UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH, UM, A TON OF FOLKS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS OBVIOUSLY WONDERFUL AS, UH, AS WE PLAN THESE EVENTS, THEY WORK WITH US VERY CLOSELY ON, YOU KNOW, RIGHT OF WAYS AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
I KNOW FOR ME, WHEN I WENT TO ACL SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I USED ONE OF THE BIKES AND IT WAS JUST SO MUCH EASIER TO GET AROUND GIVEN ALL THE TRAFFIC AND THE ROAD CLOSURES.
AND IT WAS JUST AN AWESOME USE OF THAT SERVICE THAT YOU ALL PROVIDE.
SO THANK YOU FOR LETTING US KNOW THAT.
AND THANKS FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTION.
I LOVE THE NEW, NEW BRAND LOGO.
SO, UM, SO, SO THANKS FOR THAT.
UM, I THINK YOU, THE, THE, THE, UH, I WANT TO JUST CONFIRM THAT THE MAC YOU WERE SHOWING US THE POTENTIAL AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE FOR NEW STATIONS, IS THAT, UM, UP NOW AND IS IT SOMETHING PEOPLE CAN LOOK AT? UM, I GUESS WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS THERE USED TO BE AN INTERACTIVE MAP THAT THE BCYCLE HAD THAT PEOPLE COULD SORT OF INPUT IF THEY WERE INTERESTED IN SEEING SOMETHING WOULD SHOW UP ON THAT OR YOU'RE CONTINUING TO TAKE INPUT SOMEHOW WE ARE.
SO, UM, SO THIS MAP IS GOING TO BE A DECISION TOOL FOR LOOKING AT FUTURE DEVELOPMENT AND FEATURE EXPANSION.
UM, UH, IT'S SORT OF A LENS FOR US TO BE LOOKING THROUGH.
IT'S NOT, IT'S REALLY JUST A HELPFUL TOOL.
UM, THE MAP YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT DOES STILL EXIST AND WE STILL DO TAKE THAT INFORMATION OF PEOPLE'S, UH, WHERE THEY WOULD LIKE TO STATIONS TO GO FUTURE STATIONS.
UM, WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF FEEDBACK AND, UM, IF WE DO END UP GETTING FUNDING AND, AND FIND AND FUNDING A LARGER EXPANSION OF THIS PROGRAM DOWN THE ROAD, THEN THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER HUGE PUSH THAT WE WOULD DO.
WE WOULD DO A LOT OF, WE WOULD ALSO ADD THE EXISTING INFORMATION WE HAVE, BUT GO OUT AND GET BRAND NEW INFORMATION AND REQUEST PEOPLE, TELL US WHAT THEY THINK, WHERE THEY THINK THAT THEY WANT TO SEE A STATION, THAT KIND OF THING.
THEN MY LAST QUICK QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, THEY, THE BIKE SHARE WAS PART OF THE, UH, OVERARCHING PLAN FOR, UM, PROJECT CONNECT.
AND I HAVEN'T DUG INTO THE DETAILS ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS IN TERMS OF WHICH ASPECTS OF THE FUNDING OR PROJECT CONNECT MIGHT BE AVAILABLE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT'S ON THE, ON THE WEBSITE, IT WAS PART OF THE DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT WAS INVOLVED IN THE WHOLE SYSTEM PLAN.
SO IS THAT A QUESTION STILL TO BE ANSWERED OR DO YOU, OR HAS THAT BEEN EXPLORED ALREADY THE EXTENT TO WHICH, UM, A, UM, PROJECT CONNECT FUNDING CAN BE USED? YEAH, SO I, UM, SO I NEED TO PROBABLY GET BACK WITH YOU ON THE SPECIFICS OF THAT.
UH, I THINK IT WAS, IT WAS NOT, I DON'T BELIEVE IT WAS ACTUALLY FUNDED THROUGH THERE.
I THINK IT WAS MENTIONED AS POTENTIAL, BUT I DON'T THINK WE DID ACTUALLY ALLOCATE ANY FUNDING TOWARDS IT, BUT I WILL, I WILL DEFINITELY HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT JUST TO CONFIRM.
I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT I KNOW IT WAS PART OF THE SYSTEM PLAN AND I, BUT, BUT THERE ARE LIMITATIONS ON WHAT THOSE FUNDS CAN BE USED FOR JUST IN TERMS OF, UM, DIFFERENT ASS ASPECTS OF BIKE SHARE, SO THAT HAVE TO BE FUNDED.
SO, UM, SO YES, I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND THAT BETTER.
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, YOU KNOW, WE SOLD PROJECT CONNECT AS A WHOLE SYSTEM PLAN, WHICH INCLUDED BIKES HERE.
AND SO I'D JUST LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT PIECE OF THE FUNDING
[01:25:01]
THAT MIGHT BE.CERTAINLY I WILL GET BACK WITH YOU ON THAT.
I MOSTLY JUST WANTED TO SAY HI TO YOU.
SO JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, WE CAN, WE FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE, UM, UH, ABOUT THE DOTS YOU GOT ON THEIR TESTING.
UM, THAT IS, I DON'T THINK WE'VE REALLY PUT MUCH OUT THERE.
UM, CAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CELLULAR NETWORK CARDS ARE CONNECTING.
UM, LET ME SEE IF I CAN GET YOU SOME INFORMATION, BUT I THINK WE ARE ALSO PLANNING ON HIGHLIGHTING THAT SOON, VERY SOON AS, UH, SORT OF A WHAT'S COMING SOON KIND OF THING.
WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THEY WORK AND WE'RE REALLY COMFORTABLE WITH HOW THEY OPERATE.
UM, CAUSE WE'RE IN THE TESTING PHASE RIGHT NOW, BUT I WILL GET BACK WITH YOU ON THAT BECAUSE, UH, I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY A PRETTY FUN STORY.
SO WE WILL, WE WILL WANT TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THAT TOO.
AND ONE OTHER QUESTION ABOUT THOSE, IT JUST FROM THE IMAGE, IT LOOKS LIKE THEY DON'T HAVE KIOSK.
IN WHICH CASE DO YOU HAVE TO BE A SMART FROM A SMARTPHONE USER IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE BIKES? AS IN THAT IS ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I WAS HOPING TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER FOR MYSELF, UM, WHEN WE CAN FIND OUT, FIND WHERE MORE INFORMATION IS COMPILED, THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION.
AND THAT'S, UH, THAT IS THAT'S ACCURATE.
SO, UM, THESE DO NOT HAVE THE KIOSKS.
YOU DON'T HAVE ANY OF THE SCREENS AND THE COMPUTER EQUIPMENT.
SO THESE ARE THE ONES THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO HAVE, UM, A SMARTPHONE.
YOU DO NOT NEED A SMART PHONE TO DOCKET.
YOU WOULD JUST NEED IT TO CHECK OUT.
SO THIS WOULD BE A GOOD FOR A TERMINUS.
THIS ALSO ALLOWS US IF WE, UH, POTENTIALLY HAVE LIKE A DOCK ON ONE CORNER, BUT WE WANT TO DO IT JUST CATTY-CORNER.
WE WANT TO DO IT VERY NEAR IN PROXIMITY.
IT WOULD ACT IN THE APP AS ONE STATION.
SO YOU COULD USE THE KIOSK OR YOU CAN USE THESE MORE CONVENIENT, SMALLER ONES THAT WE CAN KIND OF TUCK IN A LITTLE CORNERS.
CAUSE THOSE PATIENTS CAN REALLY TAKE UP A LOT OF SPACE.
AND SO THIS ALLOWS US TO, WE CAN INTERMIX THEM.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING, WE'RE TESTING IT IN AN AREA WHERE WE ALREADY HAVE HIGH APP USAGE, LIKE AROUND THE UNIVERSITY.
WE HAVE A MOST, MOST BARELY ANY, IF ANY KIOSK USAGE THERE.
SO THOSE ARE THE AREAS WHERE WE'RE PUTTING SOME OF THESE JUST TO TEST THEM OUT FOR RIGHT NOW.
BUT, UM, BUT THEY DO, UM, THERE IS AN OPTION TO ADD THE KIOSK, UH, DOWN THE ROAD.
SO WE'RE, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE DEFINITELY TESTING OUT CAUSE OBVIOUSLY AN EQUITY, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY AN EQUITY ISSUE THERE THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UH, CONSIDERING.
UM, I AM CURIOUS ABOUT HOW SOMEONE MIGHT GET AN ALERT OR BE AWARE WHEN SOMETHING IS BEING TESTED OR PILOTED IN THEIR AREA.
JUST BECAUSE I KNOW THERE MAY BE FOLKS THAT KNOW WHERE THE ONES THEY USE ARE RIGHT NOW, BUT AS YOU FIND NEW LOCATIONS THAT WORK, IF THERE'S A WAY FOR PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR ALERTS OR, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE YOU HAVE NEWSLETTERS TOO, BUT I JUST, THIS APP IS WAY OVER MY HEAD.
I JUST DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IT CAN DO.
UH, WE'RE DEALING WITH METRO ALERTS WITH CAPITAL METRO.
YOU CAN DO ALERTS THAT YOU CAN DO ALERTS BASED ON YOUR PREFERRED ROUTE.
YOU CAN DO A LARGE ON ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF THINGS.
AND SO WE'RE WORKING TO INTEGRATE THAT IN OUR METRO ALERTS, BUT WITH THIS PARTICULAR APP, I, UM, I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE, WE HAVEN'T DONE A LOT OF EXPANSION AND IN A LONG, LONG TIME.
SO WE HAVE, WE HAVEN'T REALLY ACTIVATED THAT OR LOOKED INTO IT TOO MUCH YET, BUT, UM, THAT'S A GOOD, GOOD QUESTION THAT WE CAN LOOK AND SEE IF, UH, THE APP PROVIDER, WHICH HAS BEEN CYCLED THEY'RE BASED OUT OF, UH, WISCONSIN AND SEE IF THAT'S A FUNCTIONALITY THAT THAT IS WITHIN THE APP THAT WE CAN ACTIVATE.
AND THEN I'M SURE THERE'S TYPICAL COMMUNITY OUTREACH YOU DO.
CAUSE I KNOW CAP, METRO DOES A LOT OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
SO DO YOU GO INTO PLACES AND SEE WHERE REQUESTS HAVE BEEN MADE AND TRY TO GET COMMUNITY INPUT? WE DO.
UM, SO THAT'S WHAT WE'VE, UH, GOTTEN.
UM, WE'VE ACTUALLY HIRED A THIRD PARTY, UM, GROUP CONSULTANT TO COME FOR THE FIRST ROUND TO DO THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT BECAUSE THEY HAD A REALLY GOOD IN-DEPTH PLAN.
AND I, THE NAME TOTALLY ESCAPES ME RIGHT NOW, BUT, UM, IT WAS, IT'S A REALLY BIG EFFORT, INCLUDING, UM, WE JUST DID, UM, FOCUS GROUPS LAST WEEK ON VARIOUS DIFFERENT GROUPS OF WRITERS TOO, FROM DIFFERENT AREAS.
SO WRITERS, WHO'VE NEVER TOUCHED A BIKE AND HAVE NEVER VERY, YOU KNOW, FEEL.
IT'S VERY STRANGE, UM, REGULAR WRITERS WHO ARE REALLY, YOU KNOW, USED TO THE SYSTEM AND VARIOUS, UH, FOLKS, UM, WE'VE EVEN HAD SOME ABOUT DISPLACEMENT AND GENTRIFICATION AND HOW WE CAN MITIGATE THOSE KINDS OF IMPACTS.
AND SO WE'VE DONE A LOT OF THOSE KINDS OF THINGS JUST AS WE'RE BUILDING THIS FRAMEWORK.
THAT BEING SAID, ONCE WE IDENTIFY THAT WE GET A REVENUE STREAM AND THEY'RE RESPONDING FOR AN EXPANSION, WE IDENTIFY WHAT SIZE OF EXPANSION THAT WOULD BE.
THAT'S WHEN WE WOULD THEN START OVER WITH A WHOLE NEW ROUND OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE A MUCH WIDER REACH, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF BIKE GROUPS IN THIS TOWN.
IT'S JUST ACTUALLY PRETTY COOL.
THERE'S SO MANY SOCIAL RIDE GROUPS WE'VE BEEN CONNECTING WITH.
UM, JUST SOME REALLY, REALLY FUN FOLKS.
[01:30:01]
UM, VERY, UH, VERY BIKE FRIENDLY.IT REALLY ISN'T, AS WE CAN TELL, IT'S BECOMING MORE AND MORE BIKE-FRIENDLY EVERY DAY.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS FOR CHAD COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR? THANK YOU.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY, UM, IN TERMS OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE GET OUR CAP METRO BUS PASS.
DO WE ALSO HAVE ACCESS TO THIS AND HOW DO WE DO THAT? UM, YES, I BELIEVE HAVE ACCESS THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS WELL AS THROUGH CAPITAL METRO.
UM, WE'RE JUST NOW ROLLING OUT THE, UM, ACTUALLY NEXT WEEK, WE'RE ROLLING IT OUT FOR CAPITAL METRO, BUT, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN IS, SHOULD ALREADY BE ROLLED OUT, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE, UM, GATEWAY THAT WE TAKE CARE OF THAT FOR ALL CITY OF AUSTIN EMPLOYEES AS WELL.
UM, I KNOW THAT MY STAFF WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN THAT AND NOW THAT WE'RE COMING BACK FROM THE PANDEMIC AND GETTING OUR BUS PASSES AND OTHER STUFF, UM, THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
AND YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO TRY THAT ESS BIKES, THEY CHANGE THEIR GAME CHANGERS.
I FOUND THE FIRST VERSION WAS A LITTLE HEAVY AND THE HANDLEBARS WERE A LITTLE HARD TO GRIP THAT WE'RE KIND OF SHORT AND UH, AND I'VE TRIED THE NEW E-BIKES AND THEY'RE JUST SEAMLESS.
YOU CAN JUMP ON THEM AND YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BE FIT TO DO IT.
THERE'S NO MORE QUESTIONS FOR CHAD.
[5. Briefing on the Austin Energy Electric Bicycle Rebate Program. (20 minutes).]
AUSTIN ENERGY ELECTRIC BICYCLE REBATE PROGRAM.SO STILL ON E-BIKES JUST ON REBATES, UH, TO START, UH, BY, UH, VIDEO WORK AND THE TECHNICAL ISSUES.
UM, HELLO, UH, GOOD AFTER NOON MAYOR PRO TEM COUNCIL MEMBERS, STAFF, UH, I'M CARL POPPIN WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, THE MANAGER OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.
AND I THINK IF WE CAN GET THE PRESENTATION, UH, AND IT WAS JUST NICE AS A PARTICIPANT TO JUST HEAR ALL THE GREAT WORK AND WE ARE PARTNERING VERY CLOSELY WITH CAP METRO AND AUSTIN TRANSIT AND TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT OTHERS.
AND HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT THAT PART OF THE OVERALL PROGRAM.
UH, UM, SO HERE IS THE, UH, THE GROWTH OF THE E-BIKE, UH, ELECTRIC BIKE REBATE PROGRAM FROM AUSTIN ENERGY.
UH, WE DO OFFER UP TO 300 PER BIKE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND 400 FOR FLEET APPLICATIONS OF ELECTRIFYING A BIKE FLEET HERE IN AUSTIN.
UH, THIS PROGRAM DOES SUPPORT LOCAL E-BIKE DEALERS.
UH, WE HAVE OVER 20 LOCAL BUSINESSES WHO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM TO THEIR CUSTOMERS.
AND IF YOU LOOK VERSUS, YOU KNOW, DURING THE PANDEMIC AND 20, UH, LAST YEAR, WE HAD OUR HIGHEST NUMBERS OF ALL OF ALL TIME AND CONTINUE TO SEE VERY STRONG NUMBERS MOVING FORWARD.
SO WE DO SEE A VERY STRONG MOMENTUM AND POTENTIAL SHIFT, UH, AND INTEREST, UH, CUSTOMERS CAN, UM, UH, ONLINE, SEE ALL THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE E-BIKE PROGRAMS AT PLUG-IN AUSTIN.
UM, SO A LOT OF OUR, UH, PROGRAMS AND TO INCLUDE THE E-BIKE PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON EQUITY AND INCLUSION, OR, UH, DEFINITELY THAT'S A MAJOR PART OF ANY OF OUR PROGRAMS. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT, UH, EQUITY INCLUSION ON THE E-BIKE PROGRAM.
UM, SO WE HAVE, UH, CONDUCTED BACK WHEN YOU USED TO BE ABLE TO CONDUCT IN PERSON EVENTS, HUNDREDS OF E-BIKE ACCESS AND SAFETY TRAININGS FOR HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
UH, I HEARD EARLIER ABOUT ISSUES AROUND CENTRIFICATION, UM, AND WE'VE HEARD THAT AS WELL.
SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND BIKE LANE INFRASTRUCTURE IS REALLY FOR EVERYONE AND NOT A SIGN OF GENTRIFICATION.
AND SO JUST, YOU KNOW, BOOTS ON THE GROUND ONE-ON-ONE INTERACTIONS OF CHANGING HEARTS AND MINDS OF HOW THIS INFRASTRUCTURE CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO YOUR DAY INTO YOUR DAILY LIFE.
UM, TRANSPORTATION, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY IS THE NUMBER ONE FOR A TYPICAL HOUSEHOLD, THE NUMBER TWO, THE NUMBER TWO EXPENSE FOR A TYPICAL HOUSEHOLD, NUMBER ONE, BEING HOUSING, UH, AND LOW-INCOME FAMILY INCOMES.
WE ESTIMATE THAT TO BE YOUR RESEARCH SHOWS IT'S COULD BE UP TO THE 32%.
SO THE UTILITY AS A GOAL IS ABOUT SAFE, RELIABLE, AND AFFORDABLE ENERGY.
AND SO THIS GIVES US A BIGGER, UH, EVEN A LARGER WAY TO IMPACT
[01:35:01]
A RURAL POCKET BOOKS.IF WE CAN ALSO HELP REDUCE, UH, THE COST OF MOBILITY AND INCREASE, UH, ACCESS TO, UH, RELIABLE, UM, AFFORDABLE MOBILITY OPTIONS.
UH, YOU MAY ALSO HAVE NOTICED THE ELECTRIC DRIVE SHOWCASE, WHICH IS ON SECOND STREET.
UM, NOT FAR FROM CITY HALL DOES HAVE A SOLAR POWER KIOSK, WHICH INCLUDES ELECTRIC BIKE CHARGING STATION, UH, PLUGGED INTO A RETROFITTED, UH, SIXTIES ERA, YOU KNOW, GASOLINE, UH, PUMP JUST KIND OF AS A, AS A, AS A DEMONSTRATION ASPECT, UH, NEXT LINE.
SO, UH, SO REALLY DOUBLE DOWN, UH, OUTREACH IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US.
SO WE HAVE A CAMPAIGN CALLED E-BIKES FROM, FOR EVERYONE, UH, BACK A SLIDE THERE.
UM, SO HERE YOU CAN SEE, UH, A VIDEO SHOOT THAT WAS DONE TO REALLY HELP WITH THE INCLUSION AND ACCESS, UH, TO THE ACTORS OF THE VIDEO SHOOT OR OUR PARTNERS AND FRIENDS OVER AT HAKA.
UH, ONE IS A PROPERTY MANAGER AT A, UH, HAKA LOW-INCOME FACILITY.
AND THEN ONE IS A SUPPORT SPECIALIST THAT GOES AND HELPS TRAIN PEOPLE ON NEW TECHNOLOGIES, UH, IN LMI COMMUNITIES.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE SOME CITY STAFF, UH, AS, AS WELL.
SO WHEN I THINK OUR PARTNERS THERE TO INCLUDE CAP METRO, UH, WITH THE METRO BIKES SOLUTION HAKA, ET CETERA, UH, AND THEN THIS TRAINING WILL ALSO INCLUDE GENERAL PUBLIC TRAINING AS WELL WITH A FOCUS ON SAFETY AND ACCESSIBILITY, UH, NEXT SLIDE AND SOMETHING ELSE.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR YOU, BIKES IS AVAILABLE AND MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING.
SO WE ARE JUST LAUNCHING A PILOT OF A BIKE RACKS THAT HAVE INTEGRATED CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, WE ARE USING A SMALL BUSINESS TO FABRICATE AND POTENTIALLY COMMERCIALIZE THIS DESIGNS AND MODULAR.
UH, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO DO A STUDY TO INCLUDE FOCUS GROUPS IN THE PARTICIPANTS, UH, THE PILOT PROGRAM, UH, ISN'T A PROPERTY WITH 20% OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, IN THAT PARTICULARLY UNIT AND IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR OWN GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM.
AND NEXT SLIDE, AND JUST WANT TO END ON STAFF RECOGNITION.
WHO'S VERY CUSTOMER DRIVEN, SPECIFICALLY HIGHLIGHT OUR ED AND OPERATIONS AND REBATES TEAM.
YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT LINDSAY, NATHAN AND KAITLIN, WHO WORK WITH ALL OUR CUSTOMERS ON A DAILY BASIS AND ARE VERY, UH, COMMITTED AND JUST WONDERFUL FOLKS TO REPRESENTING ALL OF US IN THESE PROGRAMS. AND SO THAT IS MY FORMAL PRESENTATION.
IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS THAT THEY HAPPY TO ANSWER.
UM, IS PLUG IN AUSTIN.COM WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO TO FIND MORE INFORMATION OR TO APPLY A REBATE.
IS THAT WHERE THEY SHOULD LOOK FIRST? CORRECT.
IT'S A ONE-STOP SHOP, A PLUGIN AUSTIN.COM.
WE ALSO HAVE ONE OTHER URL E V DOT AUSTIN ENERGY.COM.
THAT IS THE ONLINE BUYERS GUIDE, UH, FOR, UH, BUYING ELECTRIC VEHICLES THAT IS VERY POPULAR GETTING OVER 10,000 UNIQUE VISITORS A MONTH TO HELP DRIVE THE EVIE MARKET, BUT PLUG AN AUSTIN.COM IS ALL THINGS PROGRAM-RELATED WE'VE MADE BY.
DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.
SORRY IF I MISSED THIS, UM, WHAT, WHAT IS THE AMOUNT OF THE REBATE OR CERTAINLY, UH, IT'S 300, UH, UP TO $300 FOR INDIVIDUALS UP TO $400.
IF SOMEONE IS ELECTRIFYING A FLEET, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN RIGHT TEXAS DID THEIR FLEET, UH, WE ALSO HAVE A FLEET OF COMPOST BIKES, UH, FIVE OR MORE SO UP TO $400 FOR COMMERCIAL UP TO 300 PER BIKE OR BIKE.
AND BY THE WAY, THANK YOU FOR THE, UM, RECENT UPDATES TO ELECTRIC DRIVE.
THAT IS THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY A SPECIAL AREA IS REALLY VERY HELPFUL, UM, AREA FOR PLUGGING.
WELL, WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT SHOWCASE.
SO IT CONSTANTLY KEEPS REFERRING TO, WE ARE EXPANDING IT TO EIGHT STATIONS.
IT'S OUR, LIKE WE DID GET SUPPORT FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS ON SOME OF THOSE STATIONS.
THOSE ARE VERY POPULAR, UH, STATIONS, HIGH USAGE STATION, UH, W WE WERE, WE WERE MORE THAN EXCITED TO THAT AS, AS PART OF THAT PROGRAM, I'LL SEND YOU SOME INFORMATION, CARL, BUT I THINK IT'S STILL A PRETTY TIGHT FIT IN WITH TWO OF THOSE STATIONS, IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE PULLING INTO BOTH OF THEM.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL CAN BE DONE, BUT, UM, CAUSE THEY'RE ALREADY IN PLACE, BUT, UM, IT, IT
[01:40:01]
MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO USE THE TWO THAT ARE LIKE, YOU CAN SEE WHAT I'M SAYING LIKE THAT.AND IF YOU HAVE THE SPECIFICS HAVE TO PASS UP TO THE SPECIFICS, WE DID KNOW PARALLEL PARKING FRANKLY, IS NOT A PRACTICE FOR DC FACETS.
REALLY POLLING IS SUCH A ABOVE AND BEYOND SITE BECAUSE IF THE ECO DISTRICT IT'S BOTH PACE AND THE FEELING STATION AT THE ASD PARKING LOT RIGHT NEXT TO HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL IS FOR POLLEN SLOTS AS WELL.
AND SO TYPICALLY OUR DESIGN CRITERIA LOOKS FOR POLLING, BUT JUST DUE TO THE NATURE, I MEAN, YOU WERE HAVING AN OPEN ELECTRIC DRIVE.
SO I KNOW YOU'RE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THAT PROJECT.
WE THOUGHT IT WAS OKAY TO EXPAND IT.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT.
MORE QUESTIONS, MAYOR PRO TEM.
UM, MY QUESTIONS ARE ALONG THE LINES OF, UM, SORRY.
IT, SOMETHING TO MY SOUND IS THAT ECHO, SO YOU, OKAY.
I THINK THERE MAY BE A LITTLE BIT, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT WENT AWAY.
SO JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, IS THERE, UM, I'M HEARING ON MY END, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I NEED TO DO.
UM, IS THERE A BREAKDOWN OF THE TOTAL REBATES, UM, IN TERMS OF THE FOUR LEVELS OF INCENTIVES SOMEWHERE THAT, THAT ONE-STOP SHOP YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT IS THAT WHERE WE FIND THAT, UH, UH, CORRECT PLUGIN AUSTIN.COM HAS KIND OF ALL THE RULES, NOT ONLY FOR HE RIDES, BUT ELECTRIC VEHICLES, UH, FOR REALLY ALL OUR, UH, ED OR TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION PROGRAMS. AND THEN IF SOMEONE'S INTERESTED IN BUYING AN EEV, IT'S BOTH NOT ONLY THE LOCAL UTILITY AND CITY OF AUSTIN PROGRAMS, BUT STATE AND FEDERAL AND REAL-TIME DEALERSHIP INVENTORY, WHICH WAS A BIG PART OF THE UPGRADE@VTOAUSTINENERGY.COM.
SO IF SOMEONE'S LOOKING FOR A CAR EVIE TO AUSTIN, ENERGY.COM IS A GREAT, AND THAT WAS IN COLLABORATION WITH THE DEALERSHIPS TO INCLUDE PROGRAM INFORMATION, BUT REAL-TIME INVENTORY.
THERE ARE USED EVS ON THAT MARKET AS WELL, UNDER $7,000.
SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING, THAT WAS IMPORTANT ON THE PLATFORM TO INCLUDE USED EVS FROM AFFORDABILITY LENS PERSPECTIVE, UH, BUT ALL THE OTHER PROGRAM INFORMATION PLUG IN AUSTIN DUCK.
UM, SO HOW DOES, HOW DOES THE NUMBER OF E-BIKES COMPARED TO THE NUMBER OF CHARGING STATION REBATES THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS GIVEN OUT? GREAT, JEN, AND I CAN PULL UP THAT INFORMATION RIGHT HERE AND GIVE IT TO YOU REAL TIME.
AND WHEN I ASK THE SECOND HALF OF THAT QUESTION, I'D ALSO LIKE TO KNOW HOW DOES THAT, UM, COMPARE AND TOTAL DOLLARS CERTAINLY.
AND SOME OF THE LEVEL OF DETAIL I MAY HAVE TO GET BACK IF I'M PULLING IT UP RIGHT NOW, HERE IT IS.
SO, UM, ELECTRIC BIKES, UM, PER THE SCREEN WE HAD SHOWN UP EARLIER IS, OKAY, SORRY, TODAY, 1,735 ELECTRIC BIKE REBATES.
UH, THE MEDIAN AVERAGE IS DEFINITELY GOING TO BE 300.
I MEAN, IT'S 300 OR 400, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY ARE CONSUMER REBATES.
SO THE ACTUAL, UH, MEANING, WHICH JUST PROBABLY GOING TO BE LIKE 310 PER, BUT ROUGHLY 300, UH, THE HOME CHARGING LEVEL TO REBATES SINCE PROJECT INCEPTION IS 1,579.
THE AVERAGE DEBATE RIGHT NOW IS ABOUT $780.
SO JUST GIVE YOU AHLERS VERSUS NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS AND IT'S ON THOSE TWO PROGRAMS. THANK YOU.
AND IF IT'S HELPFUL, UM, BY WAY OF RATIONALE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE E-BIKE INCENTIVE IS $300 WHILE THE CHARGING STATION INCENTIVE IS, GOES UP TO LIKE $1,200.
SO I'M JUST TRYING TO GAUGE WHERE WE ARE THERE IN TERMS OF THINGS BEING, UM, FAIR.
YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT IS AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
UH, I WOULD SAY PART OF THE DESIGN PHILOSOPHY IS ONE IS KIND OF LOOKING AT THE ONE THAT'S AN OVERALL COST, BUT TWO IS THE, UH, TRADITIONAL VALUE OF ELECTRIFYING A, UM, A FULL ROW VEHICLE IS A LOT MORE ENERGY THAN ELECTRIFYING A BIKE.
[01:45:01]
SO THERE IS A CERTAIN, YOU KNOW, REBATE ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, I WOULD SAY HIGHER, UH, ENERGY DEMANDS, BUT THAT IS AN EXCELLENT POINT.UM, AS FAR AS, UH, WHAT'S FAIR AND PARTICIPATION, AND OVER THE YEARS WE DO, UM, TAKE A LOOK AND EVOLVE THOSE.
SO THOSE RATES ON THE EBY HOME CHARGING STATIONS, CAP HAS GONE DOWN AND THAT EVEN PER COUNCIL, UH, DIRECTION THAT WAS AS PART OF OUR GENERATION PLAN, IT'S ALSO TIERED WHERE YOU HAVE A HIGHER REBATE CAP.
IF YOU'RE LEVEL TWO, HOME ED CHARGING STATION IS WIFI ENABLED.
SO THAT MAKES IT READY TO DO THINGS LIKE DEMAND, CHARGE REDUCTION, AND OTHER UTILITY PROGRAMS, WHICH WE'VE RUN PILOTS ON WHERE THERE ISN'T ENOUGH LOAD, FOR EXAMPLE, ON AN E-BIKE TO DO A DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM.
IT'S JUST A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, UH, LOAD OF HOW YOU WOULD SHAPE IT.
SO A LEVEL TWO IS ABOUT SEVEN KW OF LOAD AND THE E-BIKE IS MUCH SHORTER AND LESS THAN ONE K.
SO IT'S ALSO ABOUT ENROLLMENT IN CURRENT PILOTS AND POTENTIAL DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM.
THAT'S ACTUALLY REALLY HELPFUL.
SO WITH MY NEXT QUESTION, I THINK IT'S, IT'S ALONG THE SAME LINES, AND I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT ARE THE OBSTACLES, IF ANY, TO USING VOUCHERS INSTEAD OF USING REBATES FOR INCENTIVES, JUST THINKING, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME FOLKS GETTING $300 IN SIX WEEKS, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAVING IT TODAY AND GETTING IT LATER IS SIGNIFICANT.
I WILL HAVE TO ASK MY TEAM ON THAT.
UH, TYPICALLY AUSTIN ENERGY JUST ACROSS THE PORTFOLIO, UH, VERY INTO REBATES.
SO I PERSONALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE DESIGN PHILOSOPHY, UH, BUT THAT'S JUST US PART OF BEING ONE OF MANY REBATE PROGRAMS WITHIN UTILITY, BUT YEAH, IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU COULD FOLLOW UP WITH MY COLLEAGUES AND I, YOU KNOW, TO, TO DETERMINE IF THERE ARE ANY OBSTACLES ASIDE FROM THIS IS JUST HOW WE NORMALLY DO IT.
I MEAN, IF WE COULD JUST CHANGE HOW WE NORMALLY DO IT, I DO VOUCHERS FOR SOME FOLKS INSTEAD OF REBATES.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE A VERY HELPFUL CONSIDERATION.
UH, DEFINITELY JUST FROM A PROCESS PERSPECTIVE.
ONE THING THAT REBATES DOES ALLOW, AND I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR MY COLLEAGUES WHO MANAGE THOSE PROGRAMS. THERE'S GENERALLY A LOT OF RULES IN THE RELEASE OF PUBLIC FUNDS AND CITY FUNDS.
FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THE HOME LEVEL TWO, WE HAVE TO VALIDATE THAT, UH, AN INSPECTOR SAFE, YOU KNOW, INSPECTED IT FOR SAFETY AND QUALITY.
SO PASSED A CITY PERMIT AND A CITY INSPECTION, UH, PART OF THE PROBLEM WITH VOUCHERS UP FRONT, THERE'S REALLY, ISN'T AN INCENTIVE FOR THE PARTICIPANTS TO FOLLOW ALL THE RULES AND TO DOCUMENT THAT SO THEY CAN, THEN WE CAN RELEASE THE FUNDS.
UM, SO THAT MIGHT BE PART OF THE THOUGHT PROCESS.
THERE IS TO HELP GIVE THE INCENTIVE TO, UH, FOLLOW ALL THE PROGRAM RULES AND TO VALIDATE THE DIFFERENT, THE DIFFERENT RULES AND REQUIREMENTS AS SET FOR I, UM, I, I WILL STILL ORD THE QUESTION AND MAKE NOTE, YOU'D ASK THEM TO SEE WHAT OUR PROGRAM DESIGN FOLKS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, ALONG THOSE SAME LINES, I'D BE INTERESTED IN CONTINUING A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT RECALIBRATE OUR E-BIKE INCENTIVES TO BETTER REFLECT OUR 50 50 MODE SHARE GOALS.
UM, AND THEN WHETHER THAT MEANS INCREASING, UM, REBATES OR EVEN, YOU KNOW, FINDING A WAY TO DO THOSE VOUCHERS AND HAVE PEOPLE FOLLOW ALL THE NECESSARY PROTOCOLS.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING I'M, I'M INTERESTED IN CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION ON, AND THEN, UM, WAYS THAT WE CAN SUBSIDIZE EQUIPMENT THAT, UM, FOLKS NEED LIKE HIGH QUALITY LOCKS AND OTHER ACCESSORIES THAT ARE REALLY ESSENTIAL TO MAKING A BICYCLE, A FUNCTIONAL VEHICLE FOR ALL KINDS OF TRIPS.
I'D BE INTERESTED IN CONTINUING THAT CONVERSATION AS WELL.
DO WE HAVE ANY MORE, JUST A REMINDER.
WE HAVE A UTC UPDATE AND A BRIEF UPDATE FROM ACM VIA DACA TO COMPLETE.
WE MIGHT GO A LITTLE BIT PAST THREE O'CLOCK IF ANYONE'S AVAILABLE AND THEN YOU STILL HAVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM ITEM ONE THAT WE HAD DELAYED.
UM, ANY MORE QUESTIONS FOR CARL? THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
IT'S FUN TO HAVE AUSTIN ENERGY INVOLVED IN OUR MOBILITY TALKS.
THE NEXT ITEM IS GOING TO BE AN UPDATE FROM THE UTC CHAIR AND THEY DID EVER GET OUR COLOR IN SYNOVIA.
JOSEPH, WAS SHE EVER ABLE TO GET CONNECTED AND THEY NEVER SHOWED UP, ACTUALLY.
[01:50:01]
HER COMMENTS, UM, SO I CAN MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE ON THE COMMITTEE HAS THOSE.UM, SHE DID SEND A PDF AND, AND SOME, SOME OF HER THOUGHTS TO US.
SO JUST SO YOU KNOW, THAT'S IN YOUR INBOX MAYBE
[1. Approve the minutes of the Mobility Committee meeting of April 15, 2021.]
WHILE WE ARE WAITING FOR MARIO TO GET MOVED OVER.UM, WE COULD GO AHEAD AND APPROVE THE MINUTES.
SO I DON'T FORGET AT THE VERY END OF THE MEETING.
UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION FOR ITEM ONE TO APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES, UH, MADE BY MAYOR PRO TEM HARPER, MADISON SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER, ALTAR AND KELLY? I THINK WE CAN LIST IT THAT WAY.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THOSE MINUTES.
SO UNANIMOUS ON THE COMMITTEE DYESS.
MARIO CHAMPION IS ACTUALLY NOT AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW.
I AM, I'M HAPPY TO MOVE SOMEONE ELSE OVER, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHO ELSE THAT WOULD BE.
UM, MAYBE IN THE MEANTIME, WE WILL HEAR FROM ACM IN DACA, SHE'S PROVIDED A GREAT, UM, DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF THESE STRATEGIC OUTCOME UPDATES.
UM, SO IF YOU WANT TO LOOK THROUGH THOSE IN GREAT DETAIL, UM, SHE'S PROVIDED A GOOD LEVEL OF DETAIL IN THE BACKUP TO WELCOME ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
WELCOME CHAIR, WELCOME, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I THINK WE'VE GOT YOUR, YOUR OUTCOME REPORT UP.
[7. Update from Assistant City Manager Gina Fiandaca on the City's Strategic Mobility Outcome. (5 minutes).]
THANK YOU.I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S BEEN A BUSY MONTH FOR, UM, THE MOBILITY OUTCOME.
AND I WANT TO JUST FIRST THANK YOU FOR INVITING CITY STAFF THAT WERE HERE WITH YOU THIS AFTERNOON TO GIVE YOU ALL THE UPDATES ON, UM, WHAT THE MOBILITY OUTCOME IS DOING TO SUPPORT OUR BICYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY.
UM, AND I ENJOYED THE UPDATES MYSELF FROM AUSTIN ENERGY AND CAPITAL METRO.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, PUBLIC WORKS WEEK WAS LAST WEEK, UM, AND THEY WERE HARD AT WORK, UH, AND THEY, UH, GREATLY DESERVE THE RECOGNITION AND THANKS ALL YEAR LONG, BUT IT WAS NICE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HONOR THEM.
LAST WEEK, WE'VE SEEN THE PASSENGER TRAFFIC, UM, CONTINUE THE UPWARD TREND AT, UH, AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
WE'VE ADDED SOME MORE DIRECT DESTINATIONS.
UM, AND THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THEY AUSTIN, UM, AVIATION DIVISION FOR THEIR GREAT WORK SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT THIS PANDEMIC.
UH, THE FLEET WAS ALSO RECOGNIZED IS A 100 BEST FLEETS DESIGNATION.
SO WE WERE PROUD OF THE WORK THAT, THAT WE CONTINUED TO DO TO SUPPORT OUR CITY.
AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, UM, REGARDING THE REPORT.
AND I, I MAY HAVE MISSPOKEN THAT IT MADE IT INTO BACKUP, BUT I WILL REQUEST AND GET IT, UH, GET IT INTO BACKUP FOR PEOPLE PAYING ATTENTION AT HOME TO BE ABLE TO FOLLOW UP ON.
UM, BUT THERE IS A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION IN IT.
UM, I DIDN'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OUT OF IT, BUT IT DID SHOW THAT YOU AND EVERYONE UNDER YOUR GUIDANCE IS WORKING EXTREMELY HARD AND DOING REALLY GOOD THINGS AS WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE HERE TODAY.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR TINA? SORRY, VICE CHAIR, KELLY.
I DIDN'T SEE YOU ON MY SCREEN.
I'M GLAD I SQUIRRELED THAT'S OKAY.
I'M JUST WONDERING, I KNOW OUR REGION IS SEEING SOME LARGER EMPLOYERS ESTABLISHING THEMSELVES HERE AND CONSIDERING AUSTIN TO BE HERE.
UM, ARE WE ENGAGING THEM ON THE FRONT END ABOUT OUR MOBILITY GOALS, EVEN IF THEY'RE SLIGHTLY OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS SO THAT WE CAN ENCOURAGE DIALOGUE ABOUT WHAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL FOR THEIR WORKFORCE.
SO WE'RE NOT ADDING TO CONGESTION.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT AUSTIN IS A, AN APPEALING DESTINATION FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.
AND CERTAINLY OUR MOBILITY OPTIONS SUPPORT THAT.
UM, THE EASE OF, UH, GETTING IN AND OUT OF THE AUSTIN AIRPORT, I THINK IS
[01:55:01]
CERTAINLY APPEALING.AND THE ADDITIONAL NONSTOP DESTINATIONS THAT THEY'VE ADDED THROUGHOUT THE REGION MAKE THIS AN APPEALING, UH, SORT OF PART OF THE COUNTRY IS CENTRAL.
TEXAS IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING REGIONS.
AND IT CERTAINLY IS NOW, UM, PROJECT CONNECT, REAFFIRMED OUR COMMITMENT TO BRINGING TRANSIT, YOU KNOW, REAL TRANSIT, VIABLE TRANSIT SYSTEM HERE.
AND WE'VE HEARD THAT THROUGH THE SUPPORT OF OUR MOBILITY BONDS, THAT ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
AND YOU'VE HEARD TODAY HOW, UH, THAT IS REACHING INTO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND IN MANY WAYS IT'S CONNECTING OUR COMMUNITY BEYOND STAR WARS.
WELL, THANK FOR MENTIONING THAT, BUT I THINK MAYBE IF I COULD CLARIFY, WHAT ARE WE DOING WHEN WE REACH OUT TO PEOPLE WHEN THEY SAY, OR BUSINESSES SPECIFICALLY LIKE THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY? I MEAN, WE'VE GOT TESLA HERE, THEY'RE BUILDING JUST OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS.
AND WONDERING IF THERE'S ANY ENGAGEMENT WITH THOSE TYPES OF LARGER EMPLOYERS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING AS THEY'RE TRANSITIONING HERE.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? THAT CERTAINLY MAKES SENSE.
IT'S LIKELY SOMETHING THAT'S COORDINATED ON THE FRONT END, BUT OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERFORMANCE I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH THEM THEN.
HOW'S THE OTHER KITCHEN? DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION TOO? I'M MORE INTO THE CATEGORY OF A, YOU KNOW, A FUTURE TOPIC, BUT, UM, UH, CAUSE I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO, TO BRING IT TO, UH, UH, ACM FEEDBACK, UH, ATTENTION BEFORE.
SO IT MIGHT JUST BE GOOD FOR REGULAR UPDATES, BUT MY QUESTION REALLY IS I'M WANTING TO, UH, UNDERSTAND A COUPLE OF THINGS AS WE MOVE INTO THE BUDGET.
UH, I'M WANTING TO UNDERSTAND BETTER HOW WE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT OUR ROLE IS FROM THE CITY SIDE, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF COLLABORATING WITH, UM, PROJECT CONNECT AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, I KNOW WE HAVE A, UM, A MULTI OR INNER DEPARTMENTAL, UH, TEAM.
I BELIEVE THAT IS LIKE A PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE, IF I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY.
UM, I'M WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT AS WE, UM, THAT WE HAVE THAT, UM, STAFFING THAT WE NEED OF FULLY STAFFED, UH, FOR ALL ASPECTS OF, YOU KNOW, THE CITY'S ROLE IN PROJECT CONNECT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ASPECTS RELATED TO THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT FUNDS, UM, AS WELL AS OTHER ASPECTS OF, YOU KNOW, THE CITIES, THE CITIES PART OF, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION IS OCCURRING ON THE ADP SIDE, BUT THERE ARE, THERE ARE, UM, ACTIVITIES THAT THE CITY IS ENGAGED IN.
AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, HAVE THE STAFFING LEVEL THAT WE NEED FOR THAT.
WE ALSO HAVE LAND USE ISSUES RELATED TO PROJECT CONNECT.
AND AGAIN, JUST WANTING TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE STAFFING, UH, SET UP FOR THAT.
SO CHAIR, MAYBE THAT'S, MAYBE THAT'S JUST AN UPDATE, UH, AT A FUTURE TIME, UNLESS YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO IT NOW.
I KNOW WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN A PROPOSED BUDGET YET, SO, UM, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE STAFFING THAT WE NEED TO STAY.
YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE MOVING VERY FAST.
UM, AND THE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION ON THE ATP SIDE IN TERMS OF THE PLANNING THAT'S GOING ON FOR THE ORANGE LINE AND THE BLUE LINE ARE GOING VERY QUICKLY AS THEY SHOULD BE.
UM, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, OUR S OUR PIECE OF THAT, THE CITY'S PIECE OF THAT WITH PIECE OF THAT, WITH REGARD TO LAND USE PLANNING, UM, AS WELL AS WITH REGARD TO, UH, THE PLANNING AND ACTIVITIES THAT NEED TO OCCUR AS PART OF, UH, THE USE OF THE ANTIFA ANTI-DISPLACEMENT DOLLARS, JUST WANTING TO MAKE SURE ALL OF THAT'S ALIGNED, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF THE TIMELINE.
SO THAT'S A LOT TO ASK RIGHT NOW.
AND SO MAYBE I'M JUST, UM, IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SAY RIGHT NOW, OR MAYBE WE JUST FLAG IT FOR A FUTURE MEETING, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, I CAN PUT A FOCUS ON THIS FOR MY OUTCOME REPORT FOR NEXT MONTH.
UM, UM, I'M HAPPY TO WORK WITH THE CHAIR FOR AN AGENDA ITEM FOR A MORE COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE AS WELL WITH, UM, UH, NIQUE PER DAY IN, IN HER TEAM, AS WE BUILD OUT THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE AND, UH, GIVE YOU A MORE COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE ON EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
BUT AGAIN, MY CONCERN, I THINK I'M REALLY PLEASED WITH WHAT'S BEEN BEING DONE, YOU KNOW, THE WAY THINGS ARE BEING SET UP.
I JUST WANT LOOKING FOR SOME REASSURANCE ABOUT OUR TIMELINE AND ALSO OUR STAFFING LEVEL.
THANK YOU FOR THAT GREAT QUESTIONS.
ANY, ANY LAST QUESTIONS FOR OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER? ALL RIGHT.
[02:00:01]
THANKS FOR JOINING US AS ALWAYS.I THINK WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE REVIEWED ALL OF OUR ITEMS IF I'M CORRECT.
I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW, IT LOOKS LIKE SYNOVIA JOSEPH.
THEY JUST, UH, I LOOK LIKE A COLLAR WAS ON THE LINE AND THEN WE'LL LET YOU KNOW, BUT THEY DROPPED OFF.
SO I KNOW, UM, I'LL LET YOU KNOW IF THEY COME BACK, BUT, UM, I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW.
AND I DID GET WORD, UM, THAT THE CHAIR OF THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION WAS, WAS NOT ABLE TO JOIN US.
SO SINCE THAT ITEM IS A STANDING ITEM, IT WILL COME BACK AT THE NEXT MEETING AS WELL.
UM, WELL, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT Y'ALL, BUT I'M READY TO WALK AND STROLL AND BIKE AND ROLL ALL OVER TOWN.
UM, FOR MAY BIKE MONTH AT THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, I WILL NOW ADJOURN THE MEETING.