1. Invest in a compact and connected Austin. Transportation congestion consistently ranks as a major concern to Austinites. Addressing this concern requires the City of Austin and its partners to look for solutions beyond how we travel – automobiles, transit (bus and rail), walking, and bicycling – and begin dealing with underlying conditions that make it difficult for Austinites to move around the city. To do so, we need to coordinate the physical form of Austin – how it’s organized and how it is built with our transportation network. Long-term strategies to reduce dependence on driving include improving rail and bus service, creating better bicycling routes, expanding our network of sidewalks and trails, and implementing travel demand management. Increased transportation options also allow young people, the elderly, and people with disabilities greater access to the city. In addition to designating an enhanced transit network, the growth concept map (Fig. 4.5) identifies areas where roadway capacity can be enhanced. This new capacity takes the form of managed lanes to improve mobility for cars and transit along congested freeways and a complete arterial network to better serve areas on the city’s edge where future growth is expected. Imagine Austin envisions establishing complete communities across the city and accommodating most future residents and jobs in centers and corridors identified on the growth concept map. Compact centers and corridors allow daily necessities (such as work,
LEAD City of Austin Transportation Department; Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office; Capitol Planning Office PARTNERS Capital Metro; CAMPO; State and Federal agencies; City of Austin Planning and Development Review; Chambers of Commerce; Advocates for people with disabilities, transit users, bicyclists, and affordable housing RELATED VISION COMPONENTS Mobile and Interconnected Livable
shopping, dining, and school) to be located closer together, resulting in shorter, more convenient trips and less time spent on the road. Shorter distances between people’s homes, workplaces, and other daily destinations increase opportunities for walking and bicycling instead of driving. Walkable destinations can enable greater transit use. For
Prosperous RELATED POLICIES
those Austinites who choose to drive, it gives them the ability to park once and walk.
LUT P1-P5, P7, P9-P12, P14-P20,
When viewed as a coordinated planning framework, the growth concept map, com-
P4, P7, P10, P12, P13; E P14,
plete communities concept, Capital Improvement Program, small area and transporta-
P15; CE P3, P10; CFS P34, P36,
tion master plans, and incentives for business attraction, retention, and expansion can
P42; S P3, P11, P25.
work together to achieve the goal of a compact, connected Austin. This coordination
RELATED ACTIONS
will ensure the City of Austin’s capital expenditures work toward the goal of compact
LUT A1, A5, A13, A14, A16-A18,
and connected communities, particularly in the City’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, where
LUT A21-A25, LUT A27, LUT A31;
infrastructure spending is one of the few tools available for shaping growth. As implemen-
HN A5; E A5; CFS A25, A34; C
tation of Imagine Austin continues, a coordinated approach will direct investments by
A14.
P29, P32, P33, P36; HN P1, P3,
the City of Austin, Travis County, and its partners to improve and expand transportation options to serve and connect centers and corridors, and to create human-scaled and inviting places. WORK PROGRAM SHORT TERM (1-3 YEARS)
The application of strategies and
1. Continue to implement the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, Bicycle Master Plan, and
policies to reduce travel demand (par-
Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s 2035 Regional Transportation Plan in support of the growth concept map.
ticularly single-occupancy vehicles) or to redistribute this demand in space or time, thus reducing traffic congestion.
CHAPTER 5 Implementation and measuring success | 169