Downtown plan outlines Austin's future
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
For three years, the City of Austin has been working on a plan to build, spruce up, and invest in the downtown area. On Wednesday, Austin City Council held an open house to unveil its
Downtown Austin Plan to the public.
The plan includes diversified activities for visitors and residents to enjoy on 6th street along with permanent supportive housing for the homeless, a proposal the city council approved this year in a resolution. The first phase of an urban rail system, which would link downtown with UT and East Riverside and other nearby locations, is to be completed in ten years.
The city is giving the community another opportunity to look through the plan and offer suggestions before it heads to the city council next year.
"We have a lot to be proud of downtown, but I also think we have a lot that we can roll up our sleeves and get to work on in making downtown even better than it is today," co-project manager Jim Robinson said.
The area the plan affects spans North-South from MLK Blvd. to Lady Bird Lake, and East-West from I-35 to Lamar Blvd. It's an area Robinson said needs a mode of transportation besides cars.
"Mobility downtown will not be achieved through automobile improvements. We only have so many streets downtown and they can only handle so many cars," Robinson said.
Another aspect of the plan focuses on the creation of new Austin parks, as well as better maintenance of those the city already has. While passing the most recent budget, city council members elected to reallocate funding for the Trail of Lights toward developing a new maintenance team for downtown parks.
However, during a time when the city finds itself making tight financial decisions, funding may prove to be a challenge. The city envisions turning to capital funds for physical improvements, along with relying on some private partnerships. A public vote to authorize funding for some of the projects is also in the works.
"Downtown Austin occupies a tiny piece of the overall real estate of the city and yet it generates, in tax revenue, many times its share of the geographic scope of the city," Robinson said.