Austin Mobility News For November 15

Press release from the City of Austin:

November 16, 2021

Project Connect, the multibillion-dollar investment in public transportation approved by Austin voters in November 2020, will be about more than just the new rail and bus lines coming to the city.

The development surrounding Austin’s new stations is also an important piece of creating a transit lifestyle. Transit-oriented development, or TOD, manages what can get built in neighborhoods close to transit stops and encourages walkable neighborhoods for residents to get around, whether walking, biking or riding transit.

TOD brings significant community benefits but the growth around these developments could cause new investment to drive up rent and displace nearby vulnerable communities.

Recognizing this potential challenge, Austin City Council approved an investment of $300 million in anti-displacement funds to support projects and programs that will help low-income families avoid getting priced out of their neighborhoods and assist others who could be negatively affected by impacts of the transit investment.

The Equitable Transit Oriented Development (ETOD) Planning Program will build on those investments and bring together community members to create and implement plans for future development along Project Connect corridors.

Capital Metro and the City are hosting community discussions to develop equitable TOD policies and principles, listening to residents, small businesses and organizations to explore how to not just protect against displacement but create more economic opportunities.

To learn more about ETOD, and to get involved, join one of the following online meetings:

Tuesday, November 16, 5:00 – 6:30 PM, Register for virtual meeting

Wednesday, November 17, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM, Register for virtual meeting

Additional ETOD meetings will be held in 2022 and dates will be shared on the Project Connect Get Involved web page when available.

Leaders from electric vehicle (EV), micro-mobility, and energy technology industries convened at Circuit of the Americas on November 12 at the Electrify Expo to discuss the future of EVs and opportunities for clean transportation, utilities and multimodal and shared mobility.

Representatives from EV purchase and sharing companies joined staff from Austin Energy to discuss transportation behavior changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health challenges for shared transportation actually proved to be a silver lining for another clean transit option: electric bikes.

“Even though we saw some ridership on our public transit go down, we saw people getting on e-bikes with our electric bike share system from the City of Austin,” said Amy Atchley, senior lead, EV Equity Program with Austin Energy. “We think this is the year of e-bikes and it's been exciting to see them take off.”

Other panelists pointed to the importance of services that let people learn about and test drive EVs before a purchase, such as EV subscription apps for potential buyers or demo events such as the Electrify Expo.

The expo, which had an estimated attendance of 20,000, featured test-drive options for new electric vehicles, e-bikes, e-skateboards and one-wheelers.

Electric vehicle adoption is a key component of Austin's 2040 net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goals. Electric vehicle users can find more than 1,200 Level 2 charging ports citywide as well as 29 fast chargers.

Austin Transportation's Smart Mobility Office is actively working with electric vehicle partners to deploy emerging technologies and expand the network in an equitable manner.

Texas Department of Transportation is holding a virtual public meeting to receive public comments on the November 2021 Quarterly Revision to the 2021-2024 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. (https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/division/transportation-planning/stips.html). Following the meeting, the public can provide comments until 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, to be a part of the official record.

This press release was produced by the City of Austin. The views expressed here are the author’s own.