Will Light Rail Solve Downtown Austin Transit Woes?
Texas State Senator Kirk Watson and Austin City CouncilMember Brewster McCracken have led the charge to change how we commute to within Central Austin.
After struggling with congestion from our population growth, Mayor Will Wynn charged various groups, community leaders, transit experts and other residents to come up plans for a final vote in November.
Roma Design Group was hired as a consultant to the city to evaluate the dire situation and make a proposal. Roma’s final solution: place 14 miles of light rail line through Central Austin.
Top concerns for Central Austin light rail were:
1. Cost.
2. Whether light railcan actually solve our traffic problems.
3. Could light rail make the problems worse?
Cost. According to the Austin Statesman, Councilmember McCrackien sad, "We think it is possible to build this with no new taxes." He outlines a potential option in the plan. Rail would be paid for by revenue from Capital Metro’s 1 percent sales tax, government contributions, property taxes and, potentially, from airport bonds.
Will light rail work? I was involved in some of McCracken’s transit feedback sessions. After evaluating all of the options, I believed light rail to be the most viable long-term. Trolley’s, faster buses, and other modes of transit were cheaper alternatives, but they felt like bandaids that we’d outgrow within the next decade.
READ MORE ABOUT THIS TOPIC
Capmetro’s Transit Working Group (TWG) charge by Mayor Wynn
The Transit Working Group’s research, options and proposals.
Read the Full Story in the Statesman
Capmetro’s All Systems Go Plan Outlined
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Tags: austin, capmetro, central, commuter, downtown, rail, transit
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April 29th, 2008 (3 weeks ago) at 1:49 pm
Hey, this is Mike Dahmus - did I see you at any of the meetings? (Not sure which person this is).
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April 29th, 2008 (3 weeks ago) at 2:27 pm
Hi Mike!
I attended the transit chats that Brewster held at City Hall in February and March. I think he held at least 4, but I was only able to make a few because of meeting conflicts. They were pretty productive. The editor of the Austinist was there and we had some other folks, but I honestly don’t remember their names.
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May 7th, 2008 (2 weeks ago) at 10:30 am
My name is Betty Saenz. I am a REALTOR® GRI, SRES® for Sky Realty. I work all over Austin and the surrounding areas. I live in and own a home in Leander and am a Commissioner Place 6 on the Planning and Zoning Commission for the City of Leander. Having been around Austin purt near 50 years (geez, am I getting that old!!!) and having relatives here since the 1870’s, I have seen it go from a great town with open roads to a great town with congested “parking lots” that will try the most patient person’s patience. We need ANSWERS, not empty talk. I personally can’t wait to take the new commuter rail downtown to Esther’s Follies. I love the Hill Country and my great state of Texas- we need to be able to get from here to there in the best way without abnormal traffic problems. We are the “talk of Texas” and perhaps the nation for UT, Charles Whitman, GREEN, etc. but ALSO BAD TRAFFIC. Let’s get something done!! There will always be those who complain and keep needed things from happening. Thank-you Mayor Cowman of Leander and Mayor Will Wynn of Austin for planning ahead for Central Texas! We are growing, have a great economy- lets have great transportation in the Austin area to match.
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