Key regional public transit players have nailed down the framework for a long-term plan designed to give residents a variety of options for traveling throughout Central Texas.

Dubbed Project Connect, the $4 billion plan would include urban, commuter and regional rail as well as a variety of bus services such as the Metro

Rapid high-capacity service that transit agency Capital Metro is rolling out in early 2014. The goal of Project Connect is to provide residents with choices when traveling regionally while improving mobility.

Todd Hemingson, Capital Metro's vice president of strategic planning and development, said one of the reasons Project Connect came about was to build a consensus around a single vision for transit rather than implementing plans piecemeal.

"To the degree that the whole region can unite behind a common plan, we're all much better off," he said.

System-level plan

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization—which is responsible for coordinating regional transportation planning in Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties—created the Transit Working Group in 2007 to evaluate and provide input on Project Connect and other regional transportation plans.

The TWG consists of Central Texas stakeholders such as elected officials and representatives from cities and organizations. Its members include TWG Chairman and Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell, Round Rock Mayor Alan McGraw and Travis County Commissioner Bruce Todd. Jesus Garza, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Seton Healthcare, and Sid Covington, chairman of the Lone Star Rail District executive committee are also members.

On June 7, the TWG approved the framework for funding, organizing and mapping out the vision of Project Connect. The plan ultimately will go to CAMPO for approval and inclusion in its 2040 long-range plan.

North Corridor

Hemingson said Project Connect is the bird's-eye view of adding regional transit services, but within it are five corridors that will provide a more detailed picture into the needs of specific parts of the region. The North Corridor, which includes the area from downtown Austin to Georgetown and is bounded by MoPac and I-35 on the west and SH 130 on the east, was deemed the highest priority for the area.

During several community engagement events June 24–26, the North Corridor team unveiled three proposed transit maps outlining the different types of service that could run through the area.

Capital Metro, the city of Austin and the Lone Star Rail District, a regional rail group, signed interlocal agreements this spring to formalize their partnership for overseeing Project Connect. Funding will come from the agencies as well as the partner communities that sign on to bring service to their area.

"One of the unique things about this project is—unlike when we do studies within Capital Metro—this one really can't go forward unless the communities are on board," Hemingson said.

Creating the maps

Transportation planners, elected officials and other stakeholders from cities and organizations in the North Corridor region were involved in the corridor's planning.

The North Corridor team, of which McGraw chairs one of the two subcommittees, used travel patterns and employment, population and land-use data to create three maps that outline possible options for new bus or rail service. The maps include three types of bus service—Express, Rapid and Connect—plus commuter and regional rail to connect downtown Austin with Round Rock, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Hutto, Manor and Webberville.

"[Project Connect] is more regional in nature," McGraw said. "We have an entire citywide transportation plan that's dealing more with local issues. What this whole group has not been trying to do is solve local transportation issues."

Pflugerville Assistant City Manager Trey Fletcher, who has been involved in the planning of the North Corridor segment of Project Connect, said the plan does not just address north-south mobility issues but also emphasizes an east-west connection.

"While many of our residents in the region commute to downtown or near downtown to [The University of Texas] or the Capitol Complex, there's a whole lot of other people who go from node to node, suburb to suburb, and don't rely on those major points of infrastructure," he said. "They need good secondary connectivity and reliability."

In addition to MetroRapid, the North Corridor plan includes expanding Capital Metro's Express bus service, which is designed to operate on highways and to travel between suburbs and downtown Austin. Service could be extended north from the Tech Ridge Park & Ride and provide connections to the Stone Hill Town Center in Pflugerville, the intersection of SH 130 and Hwy. 79 in Hutto and to Round Rock via I-35.

The Express bus service could also use a portion of the MoKan right of way, which is an abandoned rail line now owned by the Texas Department of Transportation that runs near Dessau Road and parallel to I-35 and SH 130 through Round Rock. Service, however, would not run on MoKan through Pflugerville because of community concerns that doing so would disrupt existing streets and run too close to schools and neighborhoods, Fletcher said.

Hemingson said the North Corridor team also included the possibility of Express bus service on I-35 using future toll lanes. Using toll lanes would give the Express service a speed and reliability advantage superior to other vehicles on the road.

The North Corridor maps also indicate additional Park & Ride facilities could be built at the Stone Hill Town Center, the intersection of SH 130 and Hwy. 79 in Hutto, and on University Boulevard and A.W. Grimes Boulevard in Round Rock.

The North Corridor maps introduce a new bus service called Connect, designed for shorter trips with more frequent stops on arterial roads such as Pecan Street in Pflugerville, Old Settlers Boulevard and Mays Street in Round Rock and SH 45. Many of the bus services could connect to MetroRail at the Howard Lane station in North Austin and move people in and out of downtown Austin.

In cases where more high-capacity bus service or rail did not necessarily make sense, Hemingson said the plan is to start with Connect, which requires less capital and less intensive operations. As demand builds over time, he said more high-capacity forms of transportation such as Rapid or rail could be implemented.

During the summer, the North Corridor team will hone the details of the project's cost, ridership, economic effect and environmental issues as well as compare the three alternatives.

In the fall, the team will come back to the community with a locally preferred alternative that could be one of the three maps or features from each, Hemingson said.

"What each jurisdiction is going to have to decide on its own is to what extent it wants to be involved, what's the cost benefit of that," McGraw said.

The final map could receive approval by late fall or winter, and it would also be incorporated into CAMPO's 2040 long-range plan, which is a requirement for federally funded or regionally significant projects, Hemingson said.

Land use

The North Corridor team also considered the growth centers developed by CAMPO for its long-range plan. These centers are areas of growth that would connect to public transit. Part of the analysis included reviewing each city in the North Corridor for its comprehensive land-use plan and how land has been zoned for development.

David Taylor, senior vice president with HDR Engineering Inc., which is providing technical assistance for planning the North Corridor, said the goal is to see how land use and development would line up with the placement of Project Connect services.

"Transit can do two things: It can chase land use, or transit can change land use," Taylor said.

Fletcher said the maps articulate mobility needs of travelers moving in and out of Pflugerville's growing east side near the Stone Hill Town Center and the proposed 130 Commerce Center at the intersection of SH 130 and Pecan Street. At full build out, the Pflugerville Community Development Corp. predicts the 130 Commerce Center will include 1,000 employees.

"If they were to come to fruition at all, I think all three of the alternatives provide some level of enhanced mobility for our region to the various communities that benefit. How and when, I think, are the ultimate questions," he said.