Month: July 2016

The Mayor and City Council recently endorsed a bond proposal for $720 million addressing mobility concerns across the city.  The mix of funding in question follows the chart below:

Category	Amounts	Notes
Regional Highways	$101,000,000	Loop 360, Spicewood Springs, Parmer, et. al.
Corridor Plans	$477,500,000	N. Lamar, Burnet, Riverside, Airport, FM 969, S. Lamar, Guadalupe
New Corridor Planning	$4,500,000
Sidewalk Master Plan	$55,000,000
Urban Trails	$30,000,000	Trails for both cycling & pedestrians
Bicycle Master Plan	$20,000,000
Vision Zero Safety	$15,000,000
Substandard Roads	$17,000,000	Falwell Ln, Meadow Lake Blvd, William Cannon Bridge, et. al.

Although this includes money for the Sidewalk Master Plan, it fall far short of the proposals of the plan itself, and far short of what advocates were asking.  The Sidewalk Master Plan itself proposed $25 million per year for new sidewalks, enough to fund most high priority sidewalks over a period of 10 years.  This plan would fund only two years and a bit of that amount.  Since most bonds are anticipated to be spent over a period of at least 3-5 years, this plan starts out with undervaluing the importance of sidewalks to safety and to a vibrant city life.  It sells short the promise of the Americans with Disability Act, under which more than one city has been successfully sued because of a lack of sidewalks.  In short, this proposal does not do enough to tackle one of the most significant mobility needs we have – lack of accessible sidewalks.

Unfortunately, an already underfunded plan was further gutted by an amendment offered by Councilmember Sherri Gallo and adopted by the council, splitting that $55,000,000, half to the priorities laid out in the Sidewalk Master Plan and half split evenly between districts.  To get into why this is such a bad idea, a little more about how the Sidewalk Master Plan makes its priorities is necessary.  

The Sidewalk Master Plan first mapped all of the “absent” sidewalks throughout the city. It found more than $1 billion worth of need. It then used a matrix to score each sidewalk segment, using a complex mix of factors including number of people nearby, proximity to schools, grocery stores, safety issues for pedestrians, income, and many more factors (for the full list, go to page 10 of the pdf).  This plan received extensive public vetting – in community meetings across the city, at various boards and commissions, and at city council itself.  While no weighting system can please everyone about everything, the scoring does a good job of prioritizing low-income areas, areas around schools, areas with significant pedestrian safety issues, and areas around transit.  Historically neglected neighborhoods in East and North Austin would receive a large portion, and areas with large numbers of people, schools, and often used buildings in Central Austin also receive priority.  

Apparently, this stride towards equity and helping the most in need was not good enough for the city council. By taking half of the funding and spending it geographically, regardless of need, regardless of historic disinvestment, they have struck yet another blow against inclusivity and justice. For one example, District 1 in East Austin, which had many of the high priority sidewalks, will see $4 million less under Councilmember Gallo’s amendment than it otherwise would have received.  Yet again, relatively well-off west Austin neighborhoods will receive more than their share of public funding and investment, and historically neglected areas of Austin will continue to languish for years more without safe routes to schools, unsafe roads, and inaccessible transit.  

 This post is part of a series on Imagine Austin’s priority programs, in light of Austin’s current CodeNEXT rewrite process. View the entire series here.

What is a zoning code, or land development code? It is a set of rules determined by a city that says what can be built, and what categories different pieces of land fall into. Many zoning codes restrict what types of uses each category can have. For example, “LI” means “Light Industrial” and can be used for various industrial purposes but cannot be used for commercial purposes (like a store). Zoning came about to protect people from living next to smelting plants and uses that might impact health.

CodeNEXT is the new form-based code (more focused on the looks than the uses) zoning program initiated by the approval of the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan currently being developed by city-hired consultants (Opticos Design) and Planning and Zoning Review city staff, led by Program Manager, Jim Robertson. The goal is to simplify the current zoning code with tools (for example: missing middle housing, small area plans, and transects) to better fit form, texture, and context while suiting the needs of residents, neighborhoods, and businesses alike. To ensure the public’s participation in this process, Austin City Council approved a public feedback process which is currently ongoing.

The City of Austin’s Land Development Code Advisory Group (CAG) is composed of Austinites from all 10 Districts tasked to review and make recommendations to Austin City Council regarding the initial release of CodeNEXT in January 2017. Currently, the CAG is discussing code prescriptions regarding some of the community’s most pressing concerns including (recently released) Household Affordability, Natural and Built Environment, and (coming soon) Mobility, and Fiscal Health.

For the new form based code to be successful, CodeNEXT must incorporate such actions as zoning mapping that is city-wide with the implementation of new zoning tools applied to all neighborhoods. To reserve household affordability, the minimum lot size must be narrowed along the street width to accommodate greater population. New neighborhoods and infill developments must be designed for pedestrian traffic as the priority over automobiles. These goals are also in alignment with the city’s transit goals, including COA’s Vision Zero program for greater pedestrian safety. Not only that but they are key to implementing the other 7 priority programs of Imagine Austin, described in the rest of our series.

In the 20^th Century, Austin’s zoning history has been one of runaway suburban-style growth to the present day where the city now resides in Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties. This exponential growth now threatens to endanger the city’s balance of community and connection as suburban texture negates social interactions for homestead isolation. It threatens our precious natural resources by forcing people to drive further distances to get to work or do daily errands. In the 21^st Century, reinforcing and reintroducing urbanist principles through CodeNEXT is the only way to preserve Austin’s character expressed in our culture, people, and businesses.

In order for CodeNEXT to fully embrace the growing and affordability challenges facing Austin, the CAG must hear from you. Land Development Code Advisory Group meetings are scheduled for the first Monday of the month at 6:00PM. Please give ideas, feedback, and suggestions on their forum sponsored by the City of Austin at Speak Up Austin.Imagine Austin priority programs series

IMAGINE AUSTIN PRIORITY PROGRAM 6: CREATE A HEALTHY AUSTIN

 This post is part of a series on Imagine Austin’s priority programs, in light of Austin’s current CodeNEXT rewrite process. View the entire serieshere.

There is increasing evidence that moderate exercise, like walking, can extend life expectancy and reduce chronic disease.  In many places around the world people get their recommended 10,000 steps, or 30 minutes of walking, simply by going about their daily lives.  That might include walking to the bus, running errands by bike, strolling to the park, etc.

What would Austin look like if we could get our daily exercise simply by going about our daily lives?

Most of Austin was built around the assumption that people would be driving.  To image a more connected Austin look at our older neighborhoods, where we still have the smaller, connected streets and a mix of uses that make walking, biking, scootering, etc. a safe and easy way to get around.  

Think about Hyde Park, where I grew up, with its tree-lined streets, compact blocks, and destinations within the neighborhood. Long before I was old enough to drive I could get myself to the post office, grocery store, coffee shop, video rental (yes, pre-NetFlix), park, swimming pool, museum, bus stops, and a variety of restaurants.  That is not possible in most neighborhoods.  Newer neighborhoods typically have sidewalks along every street, but non-residential uses like shops, restaurants, and community services tend to be located far away, surrounded by parking lots.  And bus service is very difficult to provide when housing is spread out along streets that do not connect.

We have the opportunity to improve public health by creating a city that is compact and connected, where people can walk, ride bikes, or roll to the places they want to go.  In the recent Mobility Talks survey 76% of Austinites said they travel alone in their car, but almost the same number (74%) said they wished they had better options to bike, walk, or ride public transportation.  Can you imagine what it would be like to walk to dinner with your family?

All Austinites should have easy access to healthy food, medical care, and services.

To do that we need to connect neighborhoods to amenities and transportation options.  The City of Austin has made progress putting sidewalks, ADA accommodations, and bike lanes on the ground, while planning for more. We have a Sidewalk Master Plan, which shows we have $1 billion in missing sidewalks and $15 million/year needed to repair existing ones.  We have some Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons, but many roads still do not have safe places to cross, sometimes for more than a mile!  

Our current sidewalk program is out of money.  We can build sidewalks around every school, park, and transit stop, but only if we make that vision a priority.

We have a Bicycle Master Plan, which envisions a connected network of on and off-street (urban trail) bike facilities, but we need $150 million to build it.  We have some transit, but people often note they want more frequent transit to get where they are going reliably.

Many Austinites are already walking, biking, rolling to their destinations, but without a connected network (sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit all working together) those trips are difficult and often dangerous.  In 2015, 102 family members, friends, and co-workers died on Austin’s streets, 1/3 of them were pedestrians.  2015 was our most dangerous year to date on Austin’s roads, but 2016 is shaping up to be just as heartbreaking.  Recently a 3 year old child was run over and killed while crossing Cameron Road (in a crosswalk) with his family.  A week later, a 14 year old boy was hit and killed while riding his bike on Spicewood Springs Road.  

Our children should not be dying on our streets.  

Our City Council has adopted a Vision Zero policy which notes that traffic crashes are preventable and any death on our streets is too many.  It’s an adopted goal of Imagine Austin and needs to be implemented.

We can continue to encourage people to make transportation choices that improve their health, but as long as people are dying on our streets that is a hard sell.  Imagine Austin envisions a healthy Austin where all community members have safe and healthy ways to get to services, healthy food sources, and medical care.  

Our transportation network should be built for all ages and abilities in a way that promotes healthy living and provides equitable access for all. While Austin has made much progress in adopting policies, we still have a long way to go until we see results.

To learn more about livable, safe cities for all people, check out Livable Cities.Imagine Austin priority programs series