Austin Strategic Mobility Plan

Executive Summary and Introduction

Purpose of the Plan

The Austin Strategic Mobility Plan is a comprehensive multimodal transportation plan for the future of our transportation network — and it is needed for us to achieve the mobility outcomes that will help to improve and sustain the quality of life for all community members. Austinites want our city, and our transportation network to be safe, accessible, and inclusive for all members of our community. And we all want to be able to get where we want to go, when we want to get there. This plan presents the policies needed to guide us and the actions necessary to achieve our common goals as identified in the Imagine Austin transportation vision.

Imagine Austin Transportation Vision

Our comprehensive plan calls for Austin to be mobile and interconnected. We envision a transportation network that is accessible and reliable, provides choices, and serves the diverse needs of our community.

AUSTIN IS MOBILE AND INTERCONNECTED

Austin is accessible. Our transportation network provides a wide variety of options that are efficient, reliable, and cost-effective to serve the diverse needs and capabilities of our citizens. Public and private sectors work together to improve our air quality and reduce congestion in a collaborative and creative manner. - Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan

Mobility Goals

In reviewing past public engagement efforts, eight mobility goals emerged as recurring themes raised by Austin residents that serve as the goals for the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan: Commuter Delay, Travel Choice, Health & Safety, Affordability, Sustainability, Placemaking, Economic Prosperity,  and Innovation.

Commuter Delay: Reduce the amount of time workers spend traveling between home and work.

Placemaking: Build a transportation network that encourages social interaction through quality urban design, and connects users to the many places that make Austin unique.

Travel Choice: Promote a balanced transportation network and the ability to make informed choices based on personal needs and preferences.

Economic Prosperity: Promote economic growth for individuals and the city through strategic investments in transportation networks that meet the needs of the 21st century.

Affordability: Lower the cost of traveling in Austin by providing affordable travel options.

Sustainability: Promote integrated designs and quality additions to the built environment while reducing impacts and promoting efficient use of public resources.

Health and Safety: Protect Austinites by lowering the risk of travel-related injury and promoting public health. Innovation Draw inspiration from forward-looking cities around the world, change the way we think about what’s possible, and set an example for the rest of the country.

The Process

These goals were the starting point for the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan engagement efforts, which began in early 2017 and occurred over four phases. In phase one, we asked the community to prioritize the plan goals. In phase two, we wanted to get input on future transportation scenarios and what mobility strategies the community wants to pursue to achieve the goals of the plan. In the third phase of engagement, we asked for feedback on draft policies and maps that make up the future transportation network. Together, these priorities and preferences informed the development of the plan. The last phase of engagement is the adoption process where the plan is reviewed by the community. Feedback will be heard through boards and commissions, public hearings, and ultimately City Council action.

We connected with the community during events and activities throughout these phases, specifically focused on elevating the voices of populations that have historically been underrepresented in planning processes: youth, seniors, people of color, and people with disabilities. Throughout the ASMP process, we worked to create deeper and better relationships with communities across Austin.

Motivation behind the Plan and  Primary Plan Objective

There are many factors that motivated the recommendations contained within this plan including past policy direction, what we heard from the community, our challenges, and our analysis of our projected growth and what it means for mobility.

Since our last transportation plan was adopted in 1995, Austin has added over 450,000 people and our region’s population is slated to double in the next 30 years.

This growth trend is important when we consider our mode share. Our current mode share is 74%  drive-alone to work, meaning 26% of working age members of our community are traveling by some other mode of transportation (taking transit, riding a bicycle, walking, carpooling, or teleworking). This measure is an important indicator of our congestion, transportation choices, and access to those choices, and it is a proxy for other community goals, such as air quality and affordability.

We conducted an analysis to understand what would happen if our mode share was maintained or if it shifted. In our most progressive multimodal scenario with a 50/50 mode share (50% drive-alone, 50% all other options combined) we can manage congestion based on our forecasted growth by 2039. This means that we could maintain approximately the same number of cars as we have on the road today, while almost doubling in population. By aggressively shifting the growth of total trips to other modes and strategically expanding roadway system capacity, where feasible, we responsibly manage congestion into the future.

There are many ways to arrive at our 50/50 mode share goal. Below is one of what could be several different transit-intensive pathways to get there. Our primary objective is to track reducing our dependence on driving alone while keeping an eye on the trends of individual modes, allowing us to adjust as new solutions and options emerge during the life of the ASMP. This analysis was critical motivation for the development of the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan.

Top Strategies to Reach 50/50 Mode Share by 2039

Reduce traffic fatalities, serious injuries by focusing on safety culture, behaviors

We must strategically promote a culture of safety by emphasizing education and encouragement focused on behaviors that contribute the most to traffic injuries and fatalities, while continuing to incorporate safe design principles into our multimodal infrastructure.

Move more people by investing in public transportation

We should invest in a complete public transportation system, with high-capacity vehicles in dedicated transit pathways, because it has the ability to move the most people in the region and through the core of Austin.

Manage congestion by managing demand

Transportation demand management (TDM) is an approach to tackling congestion through strategies that more quickly reduce our impact on the transportation network rather than adding costly capacity.

Build active transportation access for all ages and abilities on sidewalk, bicycle, and Urban Trail systems

Expand multimodal transportation choices by completing the sidewalk, bicycle, and Urban Trail systems, with a focus on completing the highest priority projects in the near-term.

Strategically add roadway capacity to improve travel efficiency

We should strategically add capacity for vehicles and multimodal travel and improve connectivity in our street grid to better distribute trips across the community in a way that preserves safety in the public right of way. Working with partners to improve intersection operations and reduce bottlenecks in the roadway system will help smooth traffic flow.

Connect people to services and opportunities for better health

Our transportation network should increase access to healthy food, including community amenities such as grocery stores, healthcare, workforce assistance, and childcare. By increasing choices for how we travel, we can provide the community with improved opportunities to meet these needs.

Address affordability by linking housing and transportation investments

We must coordinate housing and transportation investments to maximize affordability and minimize displacement knowing that mobility is a key component of household affordability.

Right-size and manage parking supply to manage demand

We should dynamically manage parking demand and supply to balance the needs of people and goods delivery. Dynamic parking management includes innovative curb space management and pricing as a tool to manage congestion.

Develop shared mobility options with data and emerging technology

Focus on shared mobility capabilities in the piloting of emerging technology. From public transportation to shared and on-demand mobility services, technology and data can connect our vehicles and infrastructure with people.

Build and expand community relationships with plan implementation

Recognizing the impact our transportation network has on our community, where we choose to live, and how we interact with each other, it is vital that all voices in our community are heard and are sought out to participate in the development of transportation projects and programs.

Key Action Items:

To implement the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan there are some key actions items that should be completed in the near-term. These are:

• Establish benchmarks and targets for all ASMP indicators
• Advance public transportation initiatives, including Project Connect
• Advance active transportation initiatives
• Update the transportation elements of the Land Development Code
• Expand the reach of TDM programming to more parts of the community
• Design and build improvements funded by the 2016 and 2018 bond programs
• Complete the Street Impact Fee and Non-Radioactive Hazardous Material Route Designation programs
• Participate in the CAMPO 2045 Plan
• Complete the Transportation Criteria Manual update

 

What's in this Plan?

Indicators + Targets: More specific measures of our goals which help us know how well we are achieving them; some indicators have identified targets necessary to make ambitious yet reasonable progress toward a goal within a specified timeline

Policies: A definite course or method of action to guide and determine present and future decisions

Actions: Steps necessary to support policies, programs, and projects

Priority Networks: Designated for the roadway, public transportation, and bicycle systems to show where modes are prioritized to improve operations

Transportation Network Maps: Identify possible projects the City may pursue in the next 20 years based on a variety of factors, including the evolving needs of the transportation network, engineering analysis, public input, and available funding

Street Network Table: Inventory of our streets and their future conditions, which will be used to identify right of way requirements

Chapter 1: Prioritizing Our Safety

• Safety Culture | Designing for Safety | Safe Behaviors

Chapter 2: Managing Our Demand

• Land Use | Parking | Curb Management | Transportation Demand Management Programming | Shared Mobility

Chapter 3: Supplying Our Transportation Infrastructure

• Pedestrian Network | Roadway System | Public Transportation System | Bicycle System | Urban Trail System | Condition of Infrastructure | Emerging Mobility Solutions | Aviation

Chapter 4: Operating Our Transportation Network

• Transportation Operations | Closures and Detours | Goods Movement

Chapter 5: Protecting Our Health and Environment

• Public Health | Air and Climate | Water and Stormwater | Land and Ecology

Chapter 6: Supporting Our Community

• Equity | Affordability | Accessibility | Public Interaction

Chapter 7: Implementing Our Plan

• Data | Collaboration | Financial Strategies | Action Table

Appendices