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Council action puts $39 million of 2016 bond funding to mobility, safety improvements
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Austin City Council approved $39 million of funding on Thursday, May 4, for the next phase of the 2016 Mobility Bond. This money will go to developing, designing and constructing improvements that enhance mobility and safety for Austin residents.
Thursday’s funding continues the delivery of the bond program per the 2016 Mobility Bond Overview and Implementation Plan, which breaks down how the City will deliver the $720 million in bond-funded improvements.
When voters approve a bond proposition, they authorize the City to issue bonds up to a certain amount to fund the public purpose of the proposition. For the funding to be available for the improvement projects and programs, City Council must appropriate the money.
The $39 million made available Thursday builds upon the $28 million of 2016 Mobility Bond funding appropriated by the Council in December 2016. The December appropriation allows projects to start construction this spring.
The $39 million is divided as follows:
- Regional Mobility:
- $9 million for preliminary engineering on Spicewood Springs Road east of Loop 360, and funding for a partnership project with the Texas Department of Transportation at RM 620 and RM 2222
- Corridor Mobility:
- $12 million for development of the Corridor Construction Program and the development of new Corridor Mobility Reports
- Local Mobility:
- $3 million for Bikeways
- $2.5 million for Safety/Vision Zero
- $4 million for Substandard Streets
- $2 million for Sidewalks
- $1.5 million for Safe Routes to School
- $5 million for Urban Trails
Learn more here.
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City of Austin to host Bike to School Day ride on Wednesday
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The City of Austin’s Safe Routes to School Program is gearing up to join thousands of families across the nation to celebrate National Bike to School Day this Wednesday, May 10. In partnership with Safe Kids Austin, the Safe Routes to School team will host a commemorative bicycle ride for Casis Elementary School parents, students and staff. Participants will meet at the Howson Public Library at 7 a.m. and begin the ride along Exposition Boulevard at 7:15 a.m., ending at Casis Elementary School at 7:30 a.m., where students can receive free giveaways.
Bike to School Day events raise awareness of the need to create safer routes for bicycling and walking and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, reducing traffic congestion and protecting the environment. Not only is biking to school fun, it also helps build connections between families, schools and the broader community. This event is just one of many ways the Safe Routes to School team encourages students to use their human power to safely get to and from school. So get pumped and get moving!
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Residents turn pedestrian refuge island into unofficial pocket park
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These photos were taken by Gary Schumann, creator of the BEPI Park Facebook group. Bottom left: Pedestrians using the new crossing. Bottom right: City of Austin crews installing the pedestrian refuge island in April.
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The intersection of Baylor Street, Enfield Road and Parkway has seen a couple of upgrades recently - one from the City of Austin and one from neighborhood residents! Now known affectionately by neighbors as BEPI (Baylor, Enfield, Parkway Intersection) Park, the intersection features sidewalk improvements, a pedestrian crossing, traffic calming measures and a pedestrian refuge island adorned with a flower bed surrounded by a small white picket fence.
It all started when the Public Works Department began planning sidewalk improvements on Parkway and consulted ATD about simultaneously constructing street crossing safety improvements. ATD designed the crossing, pedestrian island and traffic calming measures, and the two departments shared costs on these improvements.
Once the sidewalk and crossing improvements were completed in April, neighborhood resident Gary Schumann completed the landscaping and formed a group called the BEPI Park Conservancy with his neighbors. "All of my neighbors have been expressing very enthusiastic support for the project," Schumann told ATD in an email. "BEPI Park will soon have a reputation as Austin’s 'tiniest' and most beautiful park."
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Reminder: Cycling for Cities Film Festival and lead-up events
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As National Bike Month continues, we'd like to remind you that the City of Austin is holding a series of events this Thursday, May 11, to mark the launch of the Big Jump Project, a 2017-2020 initiative of the national organization PeopleforBikes.
Bicycle Infrastructure Tour
Begins and ends at Alamo Drafthouse, 1911 Aldrich Street. Meet curbside.
Time: 6-7 p.m.
Bike route can be found here.
A guided ride on some of the best bicycle infrastructure in Mueller. Wheels down at 6 p.m. Bicycles are available by request on a limited, first-come, first-served basis. Please email Doug Ballew at Austin Public Health by the end of today to confirm your interest in joining the bike ride and whether you will need a bicycle for the ride.
Film Festival Reception
Alamo Drafthouse, 1911 Aldrich Street
Time: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Open to any film festival ticket holder. Appetizers and beverages will be served.
Cycling for Cities Film Festival
Alamo Drafthouse, 1911 Aldrich Street
Time: 7:30-9:00 p.m.
Join us for a program of inspiring and lively short films about how bicycling improves cities and the lives of the people who live in them. Tickets available here.
Austin, one of 10 cities selected for the Big Jump Project, will work with PeopleforBikes and nine peer cities across the country in an effort to double the number of people traveling by bicycle in the city’s central core. See below for details about each event and learn more about the Big Jump here.
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Urban Transportation Commission meeting tomorrow
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The City of Austin Urban Transportation Commission will meet this Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the City Hall Boards and Commissions Room, located at 301 West Second Street. Topics to be discussed include the 2016 Mobility Bond Program, the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan and Project Connect. More information about the Urban Transportation Commission and tomorrow’s meeting can be found here.
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