30 Apr Video: Balancing Austin’s Exploding Growth and Transportation Needs

Community leaders gathered in Austin this week to discuss the transportation problems brought on by the city's growth. The discussion marked the very first MobilityATX livestream event, designed to increase community awareness and education surrounding the city's transportation issues. 

MobilityATX is an online public forum designed to solicit opinions and solutions about Austin's traffic problems.

The guest speakers at the livestream event included Austin City Council Member Ellen Troxclair (District 8), RideScout CEO Joseph Kopser, Downtown Austin Alliance CEO DeWitt Peart, and AURA Board Member Brennan Griffin. You can watch a full recording of their conversation below:

And if you don't have time to watch the whole discussion, we've pulled out some of the key points for you:

The panelists talked about the good news and bad news surrounding Austin’s growth. The good news is that Austin is a great place to live and everyone wants to move here. The bad news is that there is no easy solution or overnight quick fix to our traffic problems, and that people do not understand the hidden costs of growth.

The panelists offered up several short term solutions to Austin’s traffic problems that they would like to see implemented in the next six months:

• better utilization of existing bus lines
• increasing the frequency of bus service in neighborhoods where it already exists
• encouraging flex hours for employees 
• just experimenting with different short term traffic solutions, like temporary bus or HOV lanes, to see what works and what doesn’t 
• getting trucks off of I-35

Downtown Austin Alliance CEO DeWitt Peart suggested using shopping mall parking lots to serve as park and ride locations for public transportation. This is something that could be implemented fairly quickly, Peart said.

RideScout CEO Joseph Kopser said that these minor/short term changes can make a significant impact on the ground (just look at days when the state government offices are closed).

Density is another thing that most be looked at. If people live closer to where they work and play, they will have less of a reason to drive, and traffic will be reduced. 

There are different density solutions for different neighborhoods and parts of Austin, said council member Ellen Troxclair. High density doesn’t work in northwest Austin, but it does work in the downtown core.

“I think that people are willing to pay for a true traffic solution if they feel like they’re investing in something that’s going to help them,” Troxclair said. “I think until you present a plan that suburban voters can understand the benefit to them, it’s going to be an uphill battle.”

Our transportation solutions must be data-driven, but we can’t get the data until we try some traffic-reduction experiments. 

One possible solution is bringing back the Dillo, a downtown circulator. But before we do that, Kopser suggested that we work with the owner of Electric Cab and try to get them to operate during daytime hours as a sort of mini downtown circulator for commuters. 

Let’s not forget the power of sidewalk improvements and the Bicycle Master Plan to get people off the road!

We have to connect transportation mobility to upward mobility. We are leaving whole parts of this city without access to good transportation, preventing them from getting to good jobs and schools.

Council Member Troxclair said that she will continue to be an advocate for moving forward with road projects in south Austin like the Y at Oak Hill and South MoPac. 

Future transportation infrastructure projects need to be public/private partnerships.