The city’s transit agency has received about $61.3 million in state and federal funding to expand its MetroRail operations, including building a permanent rail station location on Fourth Street near the Austin Convention Center. Of that amount, $50 million came from the Texas Department of Transportation to build the new station and buy new rail cars.
The downtown station is mainly just a platform, and the temporary station has more than served its original purpose, said Rhonda Toming, chair of the ULI panel tasked with reviewing the proposed project and making recommendations to Capital Metro.
Capital Metro came up with five concepts for redeveloping the downtown MetroRail station into a multimodal station. The third concept was selected as the preferred design. It would eliminate vehicular traffic on Fourth Street between Red River and Trinity streets and change Fifth Street to a two-way street.[/caption]“We support the plan for several reasons and believe the time has come to replace the station with a multimodal station,” Toming told members of Capital Metro’s board of directors April 25. “We look at [the new station] really as an exciting opportunity to create something more given the proximity of where the station exists today and the surrounding land uses that provide potential benefits.”
ULI is a 75-year-old real estate nonprofit that seeks to maximize and preserve land use. The group has about 650 members in the Austin area, Executive Director David Steinwedell said. He added that ULI members have been present during the planning for the permanent downtown rail station.
In February, Toming said members of the ULI panel visited the existing downtown station and surrounding area. Based on that visit and interviews with nearby supporters and opponents of the project, landowners, stakeholders and consultants, the committee came up with a formal review.
The purpose of ULI’s report is to provide an objective view of the project and ensure all sides are heard, ULI Manager Ariel Romell said.
Panel member Brian Ott, also a managing principal at urban design and planning firm TBG, said the review includes four recommendations:
• focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety;
• create a gateway experience, including the use of placemaking;
• address potential conflicts between pedestrians and traffic at Fourth and Red River streets; and
• continue communications with affected partners, such as the convention center.
Ott said Capital Metro should also consider partnering with another group, such as the Austin Parks Foundation, to help jointly manage Brush Square Park. He added Capital Metro also should consider having a work session on providing other amenities such as restrooms and food services.
Toming said Brush Square Park could be used to create a gateway experience and sense of arrival for the number of different users in the area.
“By creating a functioning intersection of regional transportation modes—pedestrian, vehicular and bike traffic—we think given [the] location of [the] rail station today and plan to redevelop it, it creates a lot more benefits than what it was presently serving,” Toming said.
Beyond the scope of the panel’s task, Ott said the members made three other suggestions: designate a point person from the city of Austin to facilitate city actions; support changing Fifth Street into a two-way street; and collaborate with adjacent properties for additional opportunities.
