Transportation region's highest priority

Transportation region's highest priority

Written by Tiffany Young Friday, 22 August 2008

Study shows Central Texas’ five-year progress on goals

New toll roads and retail developments have increased transportation and shopping choices for Northwest Austin residents. However, despite increasing choices, a study released by Envision Central Texas, a nonprofit organization that plans for concentrated regional growth, shows that residents are still concerned about the same major issues as five years ago.

The study, conducted by TIP Strategies, Inc., showed transportation is still the most important issue needing to be addressed in the region, just as it was in 2004 when ECT launched “A Vision for Central Texas,” a plan created with community input to accommodate the 1.25 million new residents expected to populate the area in the next 20 to 40 years. Land use, cost of living, water availability, air/water quality, open space, public education and jobs all ranked as less important than transportation, but still regional priorities.

“The issues of how do we use land, do we have enough water, what we are doing to our climate, are we competitive as a region — those are regional issues, not local issues,” said Travis Froehlich, ECT vice chair and vice president of strategic planning for Seton Family of Hospitals. “So when people look at do we move to Central Texas, and do we locate a plant there, do we go there to get a job or are there more jobs coming here, they don’t just look at a block or a neighborhood, they really look at what the transportation and quality of life issues are for the region as a whole.”

A “Vision” for Central Texas

Austin’s population is expected to double in the next 20 years, and ECT’s mission is to implement a regional vision to address the growth of Central Texas, emphasizing land use, transportation and the environment.

ECT encourages concentrated growth, which means planning development in specific areas while leaving other locations as open space and public parks.

Last year, ECT awarded the Community Steward Award for public planning and policy to the North Burnet/Gateway Neighborhood plan for incorporating qualities ECT values, such as a mix of housing and retail and walkable communities.

While improved mobility, diverse businesses, affordable housing and environmental preservation are key elements ECT hopes communities will incorporate during planning, it also believes each community is unique and should preserve its character.

“ECT is not pushing a singular answer — ECT’s role is to make sure leaders are engaged deeply so we know something will come of it,” ECT chairman Jim Walker said.

Transportation

The opening of Toll 183A and Toll 1 in fall 2006 brought more transportation options to North Austin, and this fall the region’s first urban commuter rail, Capital Metro’s Red Line, will run through Northwest Austin with two rail stations, one at Kramer and Braker lanes near The Domain and another at Howard Lane and MoPac.

However, according to the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce’s “Take on Traffic” campaign, 70 cars are added to Central Texas roadways every day, adding about 25,000 cars annually.

Many surveyed expressed concerns over traffic congestion negatively influencing the region’s economic growth.

“We’ve had, in the last five years, some fairly significant improvements in roadway infrastructure, although it continues to be a lingering problem,” said Gary Farmer, GACC’s vice chair for economic development. “Companies want to ensure that they can move their employees and their products safely and efficiently.”

Regional planning

“ECT plays, I think, a very much needed and, frankly, a unique role than any other organization in the region in that we are looking at the long-term planning for the region and are convening both public and private leaders to talk about the conversations around those issues,” ECT’s executive director, Sally Campbell, said.

Of the nearly 700 local residents who took the survey, 92 percent felt that communities could do a better job of coordinating their planning efforts, with three-quarters of respondents in agreement that “ensuring collaboration among jurisdictions” is the best way to implement the Vision.

Campbell said a major finding in the study is that most of the people generally support ECT’s vision of concentrated growth.

“People still believe that regional Vision is pretty much on track,” Froelich said. “But, in addition to working on transportation and land use … it really has added water, climate and regional coordination to the list of topics that people think are important.”

Water quality and availability

According to ECT, concerns about water quality and availability dominated environmental discussions. In 2006, ECT and The Trust for Public Land developed a “Greenprint for Growth” for Travis County. In 2000, TPL, a national, nonprofit, land conservation organization, assisted Travis County in getting federal funding to acquire 580 acres of land as part of the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation plan. The Travis County Greenprint for Growth identified approximately 22,000 acres of priority lands that needed to be acquired and protected, including areas providing connectivity between city of Austin-owned water quality lands, water quality lands within the Colorado River corridor along Walnut Creek, and water quality lands within the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve and the Balcones National Wildlife Refuge areas.

Economic development

ECT found employers believe Central Texas is doing better regarding economic development than five years ago, and the competitive position and relative affordability of Central Texas compared to other technology centers was a theme in interviews.

ECT pointed to the GACC’s Opportunity Austin for its regional economic development plan, but pointed out there is still a perception that GACC’s impact is felt mostly in Travis County.

GACC said it wants to attract companies to any of its five county area. It recently launched www.AustinHumanCapital.com to attract new mid-management employees to Central Texas for existing technology and life science companies.

“Retention and expansion are perhaps more important than recruitment attraction,” Farmer said, “because it doesn’t matter what economy you’re talking about — Austin or Denver or San Francisco or Detroit — approximately 80 percent of all new jobs in any one of those cities will come from existing companies.”

Quality of life

A frequent topic of public workshop participants and survey respondents was quality of life, according to ECT. While the study showed some changes were a source of frustration, such as the growing level of traffic congestion, there was general agreement that other areas, such as access and quality of health care, have increased substantially.

ECT believes neighborhoods should have a plan in place to ensure local values are kept and residents contribute in planning.

“The challenge is that the smaller communities are most at risk for losing their quality of life but don’t have as many resources to get that done,” Campbell said. “The question is, ‘Do you have a local plan?’”

Often communities do not plan for the future until something threatens their status quo, such as the 50,000 sq. ft. community health center proposed by the Travis Healthcare District on Braker Lane. The two adjacent neighborhoods, Gracywoods and North Park Estates, have contacted Austin’s Neighborhood Planning and Zoning department to help them create a combined neighborhood plan.

With data ECT collected through its study, board members will attend a planning retreat to set goals for the future.

The Vision Progress Assessment, a five-month study to see whether the region is moving towards Envision Central Texas’ Vision, was published in July. As part of the study, an online survey posed the above question to Central Texans.

Occurrences since ECT’s inception

Major regional events that have changed Austin

• January 2002 — IBM, Austin’s first LEED building complete
  • TOD: Transit-oriented development facilitates compact, walkable, mixed-use development near public transportation centers
• Fall 2004 — Commuter rail passed

• May 2005 — Austin adopts TOD
• 2006 — Greenprint for Growth released
• Fall 2006 — Toll 1, 45 and 130 open
• Winter 2007 — The Domain Phase 1 complete
• Fall 2008 — The Red Line begins service

Northwest Austin residents respond:

What is the most important issue to address to ensure a positive future for Central Texas?

“I'd say quality of life. Studies show employers considering relocating to a new area, city or region put a premium on the quality of life they'll find in their new home. Of course, many things make up quality of life, including good transportation, responsible urban planning, an engaged and fair-minded community, a high standard of schools and other education resources for both our youth and adult populations, a clean environment, a thriving arts community and, of course, a healthy local economy. “ Julie Tereshchuk, Freelance writer and editor

“The most important issue for Central Texas is people mobility. Mobile people prosper better. Since 99 percent of us have chosen personal vehicles, we must provide that infrastructure. The problem is 30 percent of federal transportation dollars and 50 percent of Texas dollars go elsewhere. Public transportation should concentrate on serving those who depend on it. Capital Metro service needs improvement and should implement a locally invented transit breakthrough called Cellular Mass Transit (www.CMT4Austin.org).” Skip Cameron, president Bull Creek Foundation

The study

The Vision Progress Assessment, a five-month study to see whether the region is moving toward ECT’s Vision, was published in July. According to ECT, the goal of the Vision Progress Assessment was to help the region understand where it is today relative to the vision ECT set in 2004.

ECT hired TIP Strategies to conduct one-on-one interviews with management at 26 public and private entities representing key industries, such as health care, technology and education, throughout the region to find out their connection with the vision and to understand future plans that may affect Central Texas. ECT also solicited feedback from residents through online surveys, public workshops and TIP-facilitated focus groups. Many participants believe Central Texas made progress toward the Vision’s goals, but also feel more must be done.

About Envision Central Texas

Made up of 67 board members from business representatives, environmental organizations, neighborhoods and policy makers, ECT is funded through public and private contributions. The organization was created in 2001 to serve Travis, Williamson, Bastrop, Caldwell and Hays counties.

Board of Directors

• Chairman: Jim Walker*, Central Texas Sustainablility Indicators Project
• Vice Chairman: Travis Froehlich*, Seton Family of Hospitals
• Immediate Past Chair: Dean Fritz Steiner*, University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture
• Secretary: Betty Voights*, Capital Area Council of Governments
• Treasurer: Cid Galindo*, The Galindo Group

   

• Frances Allen, MoPac Neighborhood Associations Coalition
• Rob Baxter, The Friendship Alliance
• Jon Beall, Save Barton Creek Association
• Carole Belver, Community Action, Inc. of Hays, Caldwell, and Blanco Counties
• Judge Samuel Biscoe*, Travis County
• Steve Box, Environmental Stewardship
• Valarie Bristol*, The Nature Conservancy
• Joe Cantalupo, Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
• Wade Cooper, Downtown Austin Alliance
• William Cryer, Samsung Austin Semiconductor
• Ashton Cumberbatch, Seton Family of Hospitals
• Stephen Drenner, Drenner & Golden Stuart Wolff, LLP
• Pete Dwyer*, The Real Estate Council of Austin
• Mayor Pro-Tem Frank Estrada, City of Lockhart
• David Foster, Clean Water Action
• Peter French, Plum Creek Development
• Mayor George Garver, City of Georgetown
• Judge Dan A. Gattis*, Williamson County
• Jackie Goodman, Consultant
• Steve Groseclose, AMD
• Jay Hailey, Urban Land Institute - Austin District Council
• Senator Glenn Hegar, Texas Senate, District 18
• Mike Heiligenstein, Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority
• Gerald Hill, Austin Area Research Organization
• Councilmember Rufus Honeycutt, City of Round Rock
• Dick Kallerman, Sierra Club
• Jeff King, The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce
• Amy Kirwin, San Marcos Council of Neighborhoods
• Representative Mike Krusee, Texas House of Representatives, District 52
• Sherri Kuhl, Lower Colorado River Authority
• John Langmore*, Transportation and Land Use Consultant
• Kirk London, Hays Consolidated School District
• Richard Maier, Home Builders Association of Greater Austin
• Gilbert Martinez, Texas State University
• Bill McLellan, One Earth Bank Holding Co.
• Judge Ronnie McDonald*, Bastrop County
• Susan Darr Merrick, AT&T
• Ross Milloy*, The Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council
• Barbara Mink, Austin Community College
• John Moman, Moman Architects Inc.
• Walter Moreau, Foundation Communities
• Mayor Susan Clifford Narvaiz, City of San Marcos
• Robin Rather, Liveable City; Hill Country Conservancy
• Rod Reyna, Pflugerville Council of Neighborhoods Association
• John Rosato, Vision Austin
• Mayor Pro Tem David Salazar, City of Kyle
• Vanessa Sarria, Community Action Network
• Mayor Tom Scott, City of Bastrop
• Councilmember David Siebold, City of Leander
• Jim Skaggs, Austin-Area Citizens for Mobility Excellence
• Craig Smith, Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District
• Channy Soeur, Texas Federation of Asian American Chambers of Commerce
• Ann Stafford, Spansion
• Robin Stallings, Texas Bicycle Coalition
• Judge Elizabeth Sumter*, Hays County Judge
• Charles Urdy*, LCRA (Retired)
• Gregory Vincent, The University of Texas at Austin
• Mark Williams, Austin Independent School District
• Judge H.T. Wright*, Caldwell County
• Mayor Will Wynn, City of Austin

*Member of Executive Committee

 

ECT 2007-2008 contributors

The following individuals, businesses, cities, counties, foundations and organizations have contributed financially to the work of Envision Central Texas in 2007-2008.

• Regional Steward: Capital Metro- $125,000
• Regional Partner: Travis County- $25,000
• Regional Sponsor:
  • City of Cedar Park- $10,000
  • City of Georgetown- $10,000
  • City of Round Rock-$10,000
  • Hays County-$15,000
  • University of Texas at Austin-$10,000
• Regional Advocates:
  • AMD-$5000
  • AT&T-$5000
  • Bastrop County-$5000
  • City of Leander-$5000
  • City of Pflugerville-$5000
  • City of San Marcos-$5000
  • DLA Piper US LLP-$5000
  • Samsung Austin Semiconductor-$5000
  • Seton Family of Hospitals-$5000
• Patrons:
  • Austin Community College District -$2500
  • Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority-$2500
  • City of Lockhart-$2500
  • Loomis-Austin, Inc.- $2500
  • Lower Colorado River Authority-$2500
• Contributors (Range from $50-$2000):
  • Frances Allen
  • Jon Beall
  • Carole Belver
  • David Braun
  • Valarie Bristol
  • CAPCOG
  • CAS Consulting and Services, Inc.
  • Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
  • Community Action, Inc. of Hays, Caldwell and Blanco Counties
  • Community Action Network
  • Wade Cooper
  • Downtown Austin Alliance
  • Drenner & Golden Stuart Wolff LLP
  • Pete Dwyer
  • David Foster
  • The Friendship Alliance
  • Travis Froehlich
  • The Galindo Group
  • Jackie Goodman
  • Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce
  • Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council
  • Greater San Marcos Council of Neighborhood Associations
  • John Hall
  • Haynes and Boone, LLP
  • Hays Consolidated I.S.D.
  • Home Builders Association of Greater Austin
  • Dick Kallerman
  • Amy Kirwin
  • Jeff King
  • John Langmore
  • Gilbert Martinez
  • Bill McLellan
  • Barbara Mink
  • Moman Architects, Inc.
  • Walter Moreau
  • Real Estate Council of Austin
  • Rod Reyna
  • Southwest Strategies Group, Inc.
  • Jim Skaggs
  • Craig Smith
  • Channy Soeur
  • Spansion
  • Ann Stafford
  • Fritz Steiner
  • Texas Bicycle Coalition
  • Jim Walker
  • Mark Williams
  • H.T. Wright
• Event Sponsors:
  • Advanced Micro Devices
  • AT&T
  • Andrews Urban
  • Anti-Defamation League of Austin
  • Austin Area Research Organization
  • Austin Area Revitalization Authority
  • Austin-Bastrop River Corridor Partnership
  • Austin Community College District
  • Austin Energy
  • Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative
  • Capital Area Council of Governments
  • CAMPO
  • Capital Metro
  • Carter & Burgess, Inc.
  • Catellus/Tate Austin
  • Central Austin Combined Neighborhood Planning Area
  • Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority
  • City of Austin
  • City of Georgetown
  • City of Leander
  • City of Pflugerville
  • City of Round Rock
  • City of San Marcos
  • Cypress Real Estate Advisors
  • DLA Piper US LLP
  • Doucet & Associates
  • Downtown Austin Alliance
  • Endeavor Real Estate Group and The Domain
  • Enviromedia Social Marketing
  • Gateway Planning Group
  • Greater Leander Chamber of Commerce
  • Hays Community Action Network
  • Hill Country Alliance
  • Hill Country Conservancy
  • Homebuilders Association of Greater Austin
  • Jewish Community Association of Austin
  • Jewish Community Center
  • LAN Engineering
  • Liveable City
  • Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP
  • Loomis Austin
  • Lower Colorado River Authority
  • Papalote Homes, Ltd.
  • Pape-Dawson Engineers, Inc.
  • PeopleFund
  • Pflugerville Community Development Corporation
  • Plum Creek Development Partners, Ltd.
  • Real Estate Council of Austin
  • Rural Capital Area Workforce Development Board, Inc.
  • RVI Planning + Landscape Architecture
  • Samsung Austin Semiconductor
  • Seaholm Power LLP
  • Seton Family of Hospitals
  • Spansion
  • TBG Partners
  • TCB
  • Texas Disposal Systems
  • Texas Gas Service
  • Texas State University - San Marcos
  • TIP Strategies, Inc.
  • Travis County
  • Trust for Public Land
  • United Way Capital Area
  • Urban Design Group
  • URS Corporation
  • Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
• Contributor History
• The following individuals, businesses, cities, counties foundations and organizations have contributed to the work of Envision Central Texas since its inception in 2001.
  • 3M
  • Anti-Defamation League of Austin
  • Frances Allen
  • Advanced Micro Devices
  • Austin Business Journal
  • Austin Area Research Organization
  • Carol Barrett
  • Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District
  • Bastrop County
  • Bosse & Turner Associates
  • Braun & Associates
  • Caldwell County
  • Capital Area Council of Governments
  • Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
  • Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
  • Carter & Burgess, Inc.
  • Catellus Development Group
  • Central Austin Combined Neighborhood Planning Area
  • Centro Development, LLC
  • City of Austin
  • City of Georgetown
  • City of Leander
  • City of Lockhart
  • City of Pflugerville
  • City of Round Rock
  • City of San Marcos
  • Carol C. Clark
  • Community Action, Inc. of Hays, Caldwell and Blanco Counties
  • Community Action Network
  • Wade Cooper
  • Cypress Real Estate Advisors
  • Doucet & Associates
  • Downtown Austin Alliance
  • Drenner Stuart Wolff Metcalfe von Kreisler, LLP
  • Dwyer Realty Companies
  • Edelman
  • First Texas Bank
  • The Friendship Alliance
  • Travis Froehlich
  • David Foster
  • The Galindo Group
  • Gateway Planning Group
  • Graves, Dougherty, Hearon and Moody
  • Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce
  • Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council
  • Greater Leander Chamber of Commerce
  • The Greater San Marcos Area Council of Neighborhood Associations
  • Hays Community Action Network
  • Hill Country Alliance
  • Hill Country Conservancy
  • Hobby Family Foundation
  • Home Builders Association of Greater Austin
  • Jackson Walker L.L.P.
  • Jewish Community Association of Austin
  • Jewish Community Center
  • JP Morgan Chase
  • Jeffrey King
  • Amy Kirwin
  • Raba-Kistner Consultants Inc.
  • LAN Engineering
  • John Langmore
  • Liveable City
  • Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP
  • Lower Colorado River Authority
  • Lockwood Andrews & Newnam, Inc.
  • Lone Star Infrastructure
  • Gilbert Martinez
  • Bill McLellan
  • Barbara Mink
  • David Newberber
  • Papalote Homes, Ltd.
  • Pflugerville Community Development Corp.
  • Plum Creek Development
  • Robin Rather
  • The Real Estate Council of Austin
  • Rod Reyna
  • Ruby Roa
  • Alice Romberg
  • Rural Capital Area Workforce Development Board
  • Samsung
  • Save Barton Creek Association
  • Seaholm Power LLP
  • Seton Healthcare Network
  • Jim Skaggs
  • Craig Smith
  • Sheril Smith
  • Channy Soeur
  • Spansion
  • St. David's Health Care System
  • LaVada Jackson Steed
  • Fritz Steiner
  • TCB
  • Texas Disposal Systems
  • Texas Gas Service
  • Texas State University-San Marcos
  • TIP Strategies
  • Travis County
  • Trust for Public Land
  • United Way Capital Area
  • The University of Texas at Austin
  • The Urban Land Institute
  • Urban Design Group
  • Charles Urdy
  • URS Corporation
  • Vision 2010
  • Jim Walker
  • Williamson County
  • H.T. Wright