Friday, March 28, 2008
Getting Ready for the AIA Austin City Council Candidate Forum
During our Committee on Wednesday, we reviewed possible questions for the upcoming City Council Candidate forum on April 11th. We will narrowing our list down to try to get to the most appropriate and compelling questions for the evening. If you would like a list of these questions, please feel free to email me at soliver@designopa.com. I hope to see all of you at the event (4/11/08, 5:00pm at the Center).
Monday, March 3, 2008
Comprehensive Transit Planning Coming Together
Making Connections: Conceptual Streetcar Route, with Central Texas Rail
It's a come-to-transit moment.
Before standing-room-only crowds, a historical brokering of a regional Central Texas transit system – focused on rail, not roads – has been taking fascinating shape at a series of Monday morning work sessions at City Hall. The Transit Working Group convened by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is going boldly where the region has never gone before. For the first time, all of the many transportation and governmental powers-that-be are talking collaboratively about partnering to create a comprehensive system of appealing rail (and rapid bus) alternatives to cars and congestion.
"We are in a time of landmark change when it comes to transportation," observed Hays Co. Commissioner Jeff Barton, one of the group's 15 members. Assembled by CAMPO board chair and state Sen. Kirk Watson, the transit workers represent diverse political leanings, jurisdictions, public piggy banks, and transportation priorities. Equally broad-spectrum are the plans, funding sources, and authorized service areas of the cities and transit entities presenting: Capital Metro, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, and the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District.
What's most striking thus far is how close Austin and the region could be to a collaborative solution, if – and it's a big if – the money can be cobbled together. An impressive amount of planning for passenger-rail transit already has been done, albeit in a fragmented fashion. Continued Barton, "Timing is everything, and I have a sense that we might be at a place in the region's history, and in the zeitgeist, where we are all ready to sing 'Kumbaya,' or maybe 'Happy Trails,' together."
"This is a historical moment, a remarkable moment!" celebrated Brewster McCracken, vice chair of the group, at its Jan. 14 meeting. At working group sessions, McCracken has emerged as an eager facilitator who regularly frames ideas and data under consideration to emphasize common interests and to push toward unity of vision. Citing recent endorsements of transit and density (and their progeny, transit-oriented development) from diverse groups – the Real Estate Council of Austin, the Austin Neighborhoods Council, the city of Austin, the Downtown Austin Alliance, Clean Water Action – he stressed: "We've come together! These groups came at it from opposite ends, but they've reached the same conclusion."
For more information...see the rest of Katherine Gregor's article in the Feb. 22nd Austin Chronicle. http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A594751
It's a come-to-transit moment.
Before standing-room-only crowds, a historical brokering of a regional Central Texas transit system – focused on rail, not roads – has been taking fascinating shape at a series of Monday morning work sessions at City Hall. The Transit Working Group convened by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is going boldly where the region has never gone before. For the first time, all of the many transportation and governmental powers-that-be are talking collaboratively about partnering to create a comprehensive system of appealing rail (and rapid bus) alternatives to cars and congestion.
"We are in a time of landmark change when it comes to transportation," observed Hays Co. Commissioner Jeff Barton, one of the group's 15 members. Assembled by CAMPO board chair and state Sen. Kirk Watson, the transit workers represent diverse political leanings, jurisdictions, public piggy banks, and transportation priorities. Equally broad-spectrum are the plans, funding sources, and authorized service areas of the cities and transit entities presenting: Capital Metro, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, and the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District.
What's most striking thus far is how close Austin and the region could be to a collaborative solution, if – and it's a big if – the money can be cobbled together. An impressive amount of planning for passenger-rail transit already has been done, albeit in a fragmented fashion. Continued Barton, "Timing is everything, and I have a sense that we might be at a place in the region's history, and in the zeitgeist, where we are all ready to sing 'Kumbaya,' or maybe 'Happy Trails,' together."
"This is a historical moment, a remarkable moment!" celebrated Brewster McCracken, vice chair of the group, at its Jan. 14 meeting. At working group sessions, McCracken has emerged as an eager facilitator who regularly frames ideas and data under consideration to emphasize common interests and to push toward unity of vision. Citing recent endorsements of transit and density (and their progeny, transit-oriented development) from diverse groups – the Real Estate Council of Austin, the Austin Neighborhoods Council, the city of Austin, the Downtown Austin Alliance, Clean Water Action – he stressed: "We've come together! These groups came at it from opposite ends, but they've reached the same conclusion."
For more information...see the rest of Katherine Gregor's article in the Feb. 22nd Austin Chronicle. http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A594751
Thursday, January 31, 2008
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