Transportation

Quoted: Cheyenne Krause, City of Austin and Gene Burd, Associate Professor of Journalism at UT 

Austin has some of the worst traffic in the nation. An INRIX study put Austin traffic at fourth worst in the nation in 2013, beating New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. Austin's growth rate complicated the city's efforts to keep up with public transportation and highway systems that accommodate its sizable population.

What are the city’s main issues?

The most substantial issue the city faces reflects a broader national issue: Austin is a city of cars. Because most destinations are incredibly spread out and suburbs cannot be accessed by public transportation, residents must commute by car, which in turn causes congestion. The city's population distribution is not advantageous for public transportation as the main mode of transit - there are not well defined areas of living and areas of work. Without these boundaries, instituting public transit as the main mode of transportation is not feasible. Parking downtown and around UT, the city's main job hubs and transportation destinations, is few and far between.

The bus system also causes controversy: "bus stacking," or buses off schedule run behind each other, cause problems at stoplights when oftentimes only one bus can make it through the light. The newest rapid transit line, the 801, is usually empty except at peak hours and conflicts with the shorter 1 line.

How is the city combating these issues?

The MoPac Improvement Project aims to improve congestion on Loop 1 by adding express lanes between Cesar Chavez Street and Parmer Lane. The city has expanded use of car share companies like Car2Go and Zipcar, and launched a bike share system in time for 2014 South by Southwest. City Council Member Chris Riley hopes to work on an extensive bike network to ease congestion caused by short trips through the city. A new rapid bus line, the 803, will launch August 2014 and run from the Domain to Westgate.

Project Connect will connect cities in Central Texas by either Rapid Bus Transit or rail. Project Connect is based on studies conducted on the North Corridor, the fastest growing corridor that includes Georgetown, Round Rock and Pflugerville, and the Central Corridor in central Austin. Citizens will vote whether to fund the project on the November 2014 ballot.