Item3e_DRAFT_CDC_recommendation_on_I-35Expansion — original pdf

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DRAFT - CDC Recommendation on I-35 Capital Express Project WHEREAS, The City of Austin’s Community Development Commission’s core mission is centered on serving the poor and community at large; and WHEREAS, I-35, previously known as East Avenue, has historically been used as a barrier segregating the city by race and denying opportunity to black and brown Austinites; and WHEREAS, Austin’s eastern crescent is still economically segregated from West Austin with poorer healthcare options and outcomes; and WHEREAS, an expanded I-35 would increase air and noise pollution for neighborhoods adjacent to the highway; and WHEREAS, the widening of I-35 would require the destruction of nearly 150 homes and local businesses; and WHEREAS, in 2020 Austinites passed a $7 billion transit proposal to connect the city’s neighborhoods with transit and provide better alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle traffic; and WHEREAS, studies have shown that widening highways does not reduce congestion but increase overall car traffic; and WHEREAS, TxDOT has prioritized 2 proposals, neither of which are one of the three community-drawn proposals that limit the height and width of the expanded highway; NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Community Development Commission recommends that TXDOT consider the historical context and negative impacts on health, quality of life, and opportunity that have been expressed by residents and community leaders of Austin. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Austin’s CDC recommends that TXDOT defer to community preferences and that the final draft of the I-35 Capital Express Central project is no wider and no higher than its current form.