Item #2 Austin Core Transportation Plan Presentation — original pdf

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Austin Core Transportation (ACT) Plan Small Area Mobility Plan of the ASMP: Downtown Austin Downtown Commission - October 16, 2024 Cole Kitten, TPW, Division Manager Agenda • ACT Plan Purpose and Background • Planning Process • ACT Plan Project Recommendations • Implementation Plan • Next Steps 2 ACT Plan Purpose • The ACT Plan is a Small Area Mobility Plan covering Downtown Austin and will be adopted by Council as an attachment to the ASMP. • It is an update to previous transportation focused efforts Downtown – dating back to 2000 • Why are we updating the transportation plan for Downtown? • changes in transit and bicycle planning, • changes in highway improvements serving Downtown, • changes in national best practices on urban street design, and • disruptions to traditional mobility • The ACT Plan will create a unified vision for transportation Downtown and align the many projects and initiatives under one actionable plan to help accomplish the goals in the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan. 3 Background • Great Streets Master Plan, 2001 • The goal of the Great Streets program is to pursue the vision of streets for people • Downtown Access and Mobility Plan, 2002 • The emphasis of the access and mobility study was on modeling and simulating intersection traffic operations and determining existing and future levels-of- service and operational needs • Downtown Transportation Framework, 2008 • The Downtown Transportation Framework Plan builds on the Great Streets Master Plan, further developing the system of “priority streets by mode”, and developing more detailed streetscape cross sections of all of the different street types and variations • Downtown Austin Plan, 2011 • Established the vision to develop a multimodal transportation system that improves access to and mobility within Downtown 2001 2002 2008 2011 4 Background • New policy • The Austin Strategic Mobility Plan (ASMP) aspires to achieve a 50/50 mode share where 50% of commuters use means other than driving alone to get to work in 2039 • Transit planning • The Project Connect Long Term Vision Plan established a High-Capacity Transit System and was adopted as an element of the ASMP – an initial investment was funded in 2020 • Managing demand • Transportation Demand Management programming, parking policy, and curb management are becoming critical strategies to manage congestion • New street design • The Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative shows how to reimagine the allocation of space • Many new projects serving downtown • Mobility Bonds, transit improvements, highway 5 improvements… 2019 2018 2018 2018 2019 ACT Plan Process • Phase 1 started in 2018 with a data collection effort • Phase 2 began in late 2019 to develop the plan • Planning was put on hold in mid-2020 and restarted in early 2022 • Data Review – Early 2022 • Public Engagement Phase 1 – August-October 2022 • Project Development – September 2022-December 2023 • Public Engagement Phase 2 – November 2022-March 2023 • Plan Development – December 2023-September 2024 • Boards & Commissions, Council Mobility Committee – October/November 2024 • City Council adoption – anticipated early 2025 6 ACT Plan Process - Public Engagement • Worked with Downtown Austin Alliance to form a Working Group • Identified more than 80 Downtown stakeholders • Held public events, pop-ups, community meetings, and online surveys throughout downtown and outside of downtown • Integrated with other Downtown focused projects and programs (e.g., Palm District, Project Connect, etc.) • Identified more than 20 different focus populations to ensure diverse feedback 7 Public Engagement – August-October 2022 Phase 1 Survey Mobility Preferences Survey • Helped staff learn more about the different transportation elements people would like to see in downtown streets, how they travel to and within downtown, and how they would like to do so in the future. 8 Public Engagement – November 2022-March 2023 Phase 2 Survey Street Cross-Sections and Tradeoffs Survey • Built off preferences expressed in Phase 1 • Presented options about potential tradeoffs of downtown street space in order to potentially accommodate protected bicycle/micromobility lanes and transit- priority lanes. • Asked for opinions on converting one-way streets to two-way. 9 ACT Plan Project Recommendations • Address ASMP goals and major outcomes • Manage Growth & Increased Demand • Coordinate with Major Transportation Improvements • Support Emerging Transportation Options • Prioritize Safety, Climate, and Mode Share Goals • Based on analysis of Modal Networks • Integrated with Planned Projects (such as I-35 Capital Express Central and Project Connect) • Priority Projects, Supporting Projects, and System Improvements and Strategies 10 8th Street 7th Street 6th Street 5th Street Project Recommendation Process Identify needs Determine right- of-way/ curb-to- curb space Establish feasible modal networks Review TCM and Great Streets Develop feasible project options Review w/stakeholders and community Refine project options based on comments Compile full draft plan for review Complete cost estimates Final plan with implementation strategies Needs Assessment Project Development Plan Development 5 12 13 14 15 16 Implementation Plan • Focused on feasible design solutions that have broad community consensus • Identifies a range of project costs, funding sources, and barriers to implementation • Calls for coordination with Project Connect and I-35 Capital Express Central construction phasing • Considerations: 17 • Requires coordination with the Great Streets Update to integrate ACT Plan Projects • This is a long-term vision with large-scale projects, we need to identify quick wins, leveraging opportunities, and complements to other on-going mobility projects and programs • Provides hypothetical implementation scenarios to estimate costs • Accounts for cost increases by Year of Expenditure based on implementation timelines • Projects will be considered for potential 2026 Bond package 18 ACT Plan Next Steps • Draft Plan published to Speak Up Austin – October 14, 2024 • Boards & Commissions, Council Mobility Committee – Presentations • Downtown Commission: October 16, 2024 • Planning Commission (Briefing): October 21, 2024 • Joint Sustainability Committee: October 23, 2024 • Design Commission: October 28, 2024 • Urban Transportation Commission: November 12, 2024 • Council Mobility Committee: November 14, 2024 • Small Area Planning Joint Committee: date TBD • Comprehensive Plan Joint Committee: date TBD • Planning Commission (Recommendation): date TBD • City Council adoption – anticipated early 2025 19 Thank you Review the Draft ACT Plan on Speak Up Austin and provide comments Send questions or comments to ACTPlan@AustinTexas.gov 20