Round Rock considers stop on Austin-San Antonio rail
News
With lines in the works from Leander to Austin and Georgetown to San Antonio, passenger rail may soon become a very real alternative for travelers in Central Texas. But officials in Round Rock are not on board yet, and those in the rail district say the city needs to make a decision soon if it wants a stop along the Austin-San Antonio line.
Research While Capital Metro is preparing for rail from Leander to Austin this fall, the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District, or ASA, is working with communities along the IH 35 corridor to create what may be the longest stretch of commuter rail in the south, a 112-mile line from San Antonio to Georgetown. Ultimately, the railway may branch out farther, connecting to established lines across the country, but interim service in Central Texas could begin as early as 2011.
A seat at the table
ASA ridership studies estimate that 3.2 million people would use its rail by 2030, but without a decision from the city, Round Rock may be left without a station.
“We’re not planning on building a station there; we’re not going to even do any more studies there if they don’t indicate they want to join,” said Alison Schulze, ASA senior planner. “Now, we’re at the point where if you want a station, you need to be at the table; you need to buy into this, at least while we’re doing the planning.”
Supporters of the district believe that passenger rail would ease traffic congestion on IH 35 and prompt economic growth along the route, but some in Round Rock say the proposed station would offer no chance for growth to help cover the district’s hefty capital cost.
“Of course, there’s interest: our citizens are interested in the rail district, our council members are interested, but it’s got to be doable financially,” said David Bartels, public works planning and programs administrator. “The entire area is already developed, and for a rail station to really do well, it needs to have a high density of employers and residential.”
The district’s proposed station would be located in downtown Round Rock, just south of city hall. While the ASA district does not require costs to be collected by the city in any particular way, it does present a menu of options that have proven successful in other regions with rail.
One of the more common approaches for funding rail is tax increment financing, or TIF. The concept is that as property values rise around the newly created station, the city will see an increase in tax revenue. This increase would go to cover the cost of joining the district, but with downtown already developed, Bartels said there would be little chance to recoup the city’s investment.
Bartels said a more advantageous option for Round Rock may be a station in a less-developed area, such as farther north near University Boulevard. Open land for new properties and proximity to the hub of higher education campuses and hospitals would offer more potential for growth and a productive TIF district.
Schulze said the preliminary station location was selected with input from city staff, but that as the time for station construction approaches, the district would allow Round Rock to select a more pleasing piece of real estate or to build a second station elsewhere.
Mayor Alan McGraw said he believes the city will join the ASA district for planning within the next few months, but that a final decision about building a rail station will have to wait until the costs and benefits are weighed more carefully.
“The overall problem with rail is just the sheer magnitude of the cost you’re looking at,” he said. “Rail sounds good and rail can provide a useful service, but it also has to be compared to the cost of that service to see if it makes sense or to see if there are other ways to do it that make more sense.”
Round Rock could join the district for a yearly cost of $49,500 with no obligation to pay for construction costs when the time comes. Once construction begins, each member of the ASA district that still wishes to participate will split the estimated capital cost of $613 million. Other expenses would include operation and maintenance — $28 million a year during the startup period and $40 million for full service.
“It’s very difficult to do a step-by-step approach to rail,” McGraw said. “You’re either in it or you’re not.”
Board of directors
Representing the entities along the ASA rail district is a 20-member board that a representative from Round Rock will sit on if the city joins the district.
Williamson County Commissioner Lisa Birkman represents her county on the board. She said she is keeping an open mind about rail and that more public education is needed so that voters can decide if they feel rail is worth the price.
“I would want to put it in a bond election and let the voters vote on it before we, the county, commit to any capital costs,” Birkman said.
Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, who represents his county on the board, said he is still waiting to see numbers that show rail ridership would be high enough to warrant the millions of dollars required to begin service.
“Bottom line: How are we going to justify this expense unless we can really come up with realistic ridership numbers?” he said. “If we can’t find the cost-benefit for what something is, then I think we need to look harder.”
Though the idea of public transportation seems popular, Daugherty points out that few commuters actually commit to use it. With a vast majority of travelers still relying on highways, he believes creating a more comprehensive road system may be a more sensible investment.
“If you don’t have a comprehensive road system, public transit doesn’t even work very well,” Daugherty said.
Prohibitive cost is cited by many as rail’s biggest drawback, but Schulze said rail has its benefits as well.
Passenger rail has long been a major source of public transportation along the West Coast and in the Northeast. Schulze said the Dallas Area Rapid Transit rail system has also been a success and a model for how she would like the ASA rail line to run.
Capital Metro’s 32 miles of rail will allow for transfer points to the ASA line in two locations: McNeil Road and in downtown Austin. Riders will be able to transfer from Capital Metro’s line to the ASA’s at those points. At stations along both lines, shuttles and buses will take riders from stations to major employers, shopping centers and other popular destinations. Schulze said the idea is to create a smooth transition for riders, transferring between rail and bus with one ticket.
“We have to make it seamless so the traveling public doesn’t care who is operating the system. All they care about is getting from point A to point B and making their connections,” Schulze said. “That’s our goal, that we all work cooperatively to make sure that this works for everybody.”
The ASA district’s commuter trains would travel at speeds of up to 79 miles per hour, with trip times being equal to or less than traveling the same distance by car. And with traffic and weather not impeding service, no matter the time of day or season of the year, Schulze said rail sticks to a tight schedule.
The fast track
Originally, the rail district planned to reroute Union Pacific freight that runs along MoPac to new track to be constructed east of Austin with funds from the state, but the 2008 Legislature chose not to finance the relocation.
Despite the funding setback for the ASA, teaming up with Amtrak — which by law has access to all freight lines in the county — should keep things on schedule as the two work to find a way to share the right-of-way with UP.
At the earliest, rerouting will be delayed until the rail relocation fund is presented before the Legislature next year, but the cooperative feasibility study with Amtrak will identify what improvements are needed to start interim service. The ASA line will travel along the UP right-of-way north from San Antonio to Round Rock, where it would switch to the MoKan right-of-way. Four miles of new track would be built to reach Georgetown, and upgrades would be made along the line to improve safety.
Optional automobiles
If public transportation takes off across the state, Schulze said it might only be a matter of time before travelers could trade in their automobiles for bus and train passes.
“If you worked downtown, it would be a piece of cake — you wouldn’t need a car. If you were a student, it wouldn’t be a problem,” she said. “If people embraced developments around the station with living, working, shopping, then a car would be unnecessary.”
Those living in the suburbs may need a car to get from their house to a train line, but Schulze said the days of sitting in traffic on IH 35 may eventually be a thing of the past.
“I would love to see the day when having a car would be a choice and not something you have to do. We’re just not there yet.”
Off The Rails, On The Road
Round Rock will begin commuter and reverse-commuter service to tie into Capital Metro’s bus system this fall at the Tech Ridge Park and Ride. Though the city will not be paying the 1-cent sales tax required to join Capital Metro, transportation to Tech Ridge will give riders access to bus lines throughout Austin.
The bus service will be a two-year trial with a cost of approximately $500,000 a year, half of which would come from federal funds. The city is currently trying to get commuter feedback from travelers who may use the service about the routes offered and the times they will run.
If the project proves popular with commuters, the city could opt to continue it and may eventually upgrade to a fixed-route bus system as the population density grows. While the city will initially focus on transportation to and from major employers in Round Rock, routes to train stations would be considered when rail comes through, said David Bartels, Round Rock public works planning and programs administrator.
What about Pflugerville?
Pflugerville will not have a stop along the rail from San Antonio to Georgetown because none of the right-of-ways in the ASA district’s plans are within the city. But future expansions of Capital Metro’s rail from Leander to Austin may give Pflugerville access to the entire line through the abandoned MoKan right-of-way, which runs through downtown Pflugerville.
“It’s something that we’re looking at, as well as some of the other transportation entities in the area,” said Adam Shaivitz, spokesperson for Capital Metro.
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July 03, 2008
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