DALLAS - The Austin City Council gave unanimous endorsement to a $1 billion project that would combine urban rail and major street redevelopment to ease congestion in the rapidly growing Texas capital.
The approval is a step toward a bond proposal expected to appear on the November ballot after several years of discussion and previous thwarted efforts to develop rail transit.
The council will consider funding in August to determine what could be included in a bond proposal for the November ballot.
"We understand we have got to use every tool in the transportation toolbox to better manage congestion in Austin, and this plan does just that," said Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell, a longtime advocate of urban rail. "Today's City Council endorsement of the 2014 Strategic Mobility Plan reflects the priorities and desires we've heard repeated continuously throughout our community."
Part of the plan includes a 9.5-mile urban rail route that was endorsed by the Project Connect Central Corridor Citizens Advisory Group and the Capital Metro board of directors June 23.
The proposed rail route includes 16 stations connecting the East Riverside Drive and former Highland Mall redevelopment areas to downtown Austin, the State Capitol Complex, Lady Bird Lake, the Convention Center, the University of Texas campus and stadium, and the new Dell Medical School and Hancock Center.
The project is expected to take about 10,000 cars off the roadway every weekday, according to city staffers.
The plan also identifies projects aimed at addressing congestion in the Interstate 35 Corridor, including a series of frontage road and interchange improvements.
Other elements include a feasibility analysis on extending rail to Austin Bergstrom International Airport, and multi-modal corridor development in west Austin.
The 2014 Austin Strategic Mobility Plan recommends funding up to $1 billion in total projects.
The Capital Metro Transportation Authority was established by a referendum on Jan. 19, 1985, to provide mass transportation service to the greater Austin metropolitan area. Voters in Austin and the surrounding area approved the creation of the agency, to be funded in part by a 1% sales tax.
"Securing the endorsement of the Capital Metro Board is a significant milestone for the Project Connect: Central Corridor team," said Kyle Keahey, the Central Corridor Study project lead. "Their support for the partnership between Capital Metro and the City of Austin shows we are on the right track to address Austin's transportation challenges."
