20211012-03E: Recommend_TXDOT_IH35_consider historical context and community preferences — original pdf

Recommendation

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 20211012-03E Date: October 12, 2021 Recommendation: Subject: Recommend TXDOT consider historical context and defer to community preferences on I-35 Expansion Project Motioned By: Vice Chair Paup Seconded By: Commissioner Garrett 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 Austin Community Development Commission recommends that Austin City Council do everything within its scope of authority and influence to support and demonstrate commitment to the following: 1. 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 2. 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. Date of Approval: October 12, 2021 Record of the Vote: Approved by the Community Development Commission on a unanimous vote of 9-0. Against: None Absent: Bertha Delgado, Fisayo Fadelu, Miriam Garcia, Shakita Hawthorne-Plair, Michael Tolliver Attest: [Staff or board member can sign] Commissioner Joe Deshotel