Included in Austin City Council's unanimous approval June 26 of its 2014 Strategic Mobility Plan is the 9.5-mile urban rail project that would connect East Riverside Drive with Austin Community College's Highland campus.



The vote comes three days after the Capital Metro board of directors approved the plan at its June 23. Both entities needed to approve it because the city would serve as the owner of the route, and Capital Metro would serve as the operator.



The route is estimated to cost $1.38 billion and is part of the Project Connection regional transit plan. The city will seek half of the urban rail cost from the Federal Transit Agency. Receiving federal dollars, however, will be contingent upon the city producing the remainder of the funds.



City Council is scheduled to vote Aug. 7 on whether to put a $1 billion bond on the Nov. 4 ballot to fund the plan. The bond would include $600 million for rail, which is less than half of the rail capital cost, and $400 million for roads and corridor studies.



Councilwoman Kathie Tovo said she would like to see more detail about the operations and maintenance, or O&M, costs, which are estimated to be $22 million per year.



"It's critical for the public to determine what the O&M costs will be and where funding will come from because it likely will come from city sources," she said.



Councilman Chris Riley said council needs to have further discussion on which road projects would be included in the bond. Mayor Lee Leffingwell said council was not setting those projects in stone June 26 because they could change before the election.



City Attorney Karen Kennard said she is working on having the specific ballot language prepared for the Aug. 7 meeting.



Public feedback



Council heard about one hour of public comment, with 30 minutes dedicated for each side. Many of the proposal's opponents said they felt silenced by this limitation.



"You need to listen to the citizens of Austin," said Scott Morris from the Our Rail PAC, which opposes the proposed urban rail route. "This process you're engaged in is a federal process that has prescribed public involvement, and this is jeopardizing that and the future of mass transit."



Other opponents of the rail proposal said the project will not solve congestion problems and does not serve riders that need more transit options now.



"The first line needs to be successful or else we're risking making it more difficult to expand in the future, and obtaining capital and political will will be much more difficult," said Mike Gorse, a member of grass-roots organization Austinites for Urban Rail Action, which does not support the rail proposal. Gorse added he relies on public transit.



Roy Waley, vice chairman of the Sierra Club's Austin chapter, said the group does not believe the urban rail plan is ideal but supports it anyway.



"It's been 14 years [since the last rail bond], and the city needs to move forward," he said.



Thirty-year resident Jeff Howard said there is no universal solution to improving traffic congestion. He said traffic problems are not just in downtown but throughout Austin. He supports the proposal for both rail and road projects.



"In this plan you have touched on all corners," he said.



The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce's board of directors also voted June 26 to endorse the $1 billion Strategic Mobility Plan, which outlines $600 million for urban rail and $400 million for road projects and corridor studies.



"This plan will fund regionally significant road improvements and provide design and engineering funds to accelerate start dates for priority corridors," chamber Chairman Jack McDonald said in a statement.



In a statement, the board indicated the endorsement was contingent upon a 60/40 split for rail and roads. During a June 10 City Council work session, city staff had presented a proposed Strategic Mobility Plan with 70 percent of the costs going toward urban rail.



The chamber would like to see the Strategic Mobility Plan further tweaked to reduce the overall cost of the urban rail route to $1.2 billion.



2014 Strategic Mobility Plan



  • $600 million: Build a 9.5-mile urban rail route from East Riverside to ACC Highland. The plan indicates the city would need to seek alternative funding for the $100 million difference from the initial $700 million in the proposed plan.

  • $120 million: Improve I-35 ramp access at Riverside Drive and reconstruct the Riverside overpass as part of the urban rail plan

  • $90 million: Reconstruct the I-35 frontage road access and interchanges at Oltorf Street, Stassney Lane and William Cannon Drive

  • $81.5 million: Build SH 71 direct connectors to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and accelerate a feasibility study for expanding urban rail to the airport

  • $44.5 million: Conduct corridor studies on regionally significant roadways of Loop 360, RM 620, RM 2222, Parmer Lane, Lamar Boulevard and RM 1826 and on future roadways to expand urban rail to Lamar Boulevard, the Mueller development, the Seaholm development and to South and Southwest Austin

  • $34 million: Construct a grade-separated overpass and interchange at US 183 and Riverside Drive in preparation of expanding urban rail to the airport

  • $30 million: Implement an I-35 regional Transportation Management Center for multi-agency response to construction or traffic travel delays

View the full 2014 Strategic Mobility Plan here.