During a Dec. 15 ATP board meeting, officials presented options for Guadalupe Street near The University of Texas campus, also known as The Drag; West Fourth Street; and the North Lamar Transit Center, which it shared at community workshops earlier in December. Designs are progressing toward 30% completion by summer 2022.
The Drag with no cars
Peter Mullan, the ATP chief of architecture and urban design, presented two options to the public for how The Drag might look with the MetroRail’s Blue and Orange lines cutting through it.
In one option, traffic would be reduced to one lane, which could be for cars and buses or buses only. In the other option, car traffic would be eliminated from the stretch with the exception of possible lanes for buses, creating a “transit mall.”
“This may be the busiest pedestrian area in the entire city,” Mullan said.
During the meeting, some board members requested more information about the options' impact on local businesses but noted examples of carless streets having a positive impact in other cities.
“I think what would be helpful when we go to the community with these types of things that we be proactive, and we have the studies; we have the information and the ammunition to be able to go to the community and say, ‘We've done some analysis, and this is what the impact’s going to be,’” board member Tony Elkins said. “In other cities like Denver where they’ve found this has worked very well.”
‘A New Great Street’
West Fourth Street is another stretch that ATP officials see as an opportunity to create more spaces for pedestrians and bicyclists by removing car traffic.
The street stretches nine blocks through downtown and could be dotted with MetroRail stops at Republic Square and Congress Avenue, as well as the existing stop at Austin Convention Center.
Mullan said because the street is so short, traffic is already light on the street.
“The more you study it, the more interesting it becomes,” Mullan said. “It’s one of the unique streets in the city of Austin. It’s very short.”
During a July 14 meeting, Mullan said the ATP was considering three levels for West Fourth, including the street level, a concourse one level below ground and the light rail two levels below ground.
North Lamar pedestrian bridge
Mullan said the ATP is considering building a light rail station in the middle of North Lamar Boulevard.
Officials will need to determine if the final design includes a pedestrian crossing over North Lamar or a bridge that requires crossing the North Lamar frontage road.
According to ATP documents, both options would include ground-level access to Powell Lane.
