[UPDATED Aug. 8]Austin City Council on Aug. 7 unanimously agreed to place the $600 million rail bond on November's ballot provided that the city secures an additional $400 million for road projects.
Nineteen residents addressed council regarding the proposed bond, with 11 voicing their support for the bond, which, if approved in November. Eight community members voiced disapproval for the bond and asked that it not be put on the upcoming ballot.
"I chose to move into my neighborhood because there was a master plan in the community to have rail," said James Norte, an Austin resident. "I think sometimes we get caught up in the interests of just our neighborhoods we sometimes fail to see the forest through the trees. We need to consider the needs of here, now and the future."
The line will not serve those that do not have transportation or have a low income, said Austin resident Angelica Noyola. She said the project will instead mostly serve Austin "newcomers."
Prior to the council meeting, Mayor Lee Leffingwell held a press conference during which he emphasized the impact the bond would have on Austin's traffic congestion problem.
"We all know that Austin is a thriving city, and a city of growth in both its economy and its population," Leffingwell said. "Austin has consistently been named one of the top performing economies in the entire country. We have 110 people net moving here every day, but we do not have a transportation system to sustain that growth."
When divided out, the cost of the bond per household would be equivalent to about $15 a month, Leffingwell said.
"The city's share of the cost is $600 million. There are a lot of folks moving here and when you spread that cost out over the households it averages out to about the same per household as going to one movie a month, maybe with popcorn."
Some community members have expressed concern that putting road projects and rail projects in the same package could prevent voters from passing the bond—and then no improvement will be made.
"It's absolutely the best plan I have seen put forward to help alleviate congestion, to offer Austinites an alternative to getting around in their cars and to give us back the quality of life that we all cherish, but that congestion has been eroding for the last several decades," ," said Capital Metro board member John Langmore, who also spoke at the morning press conference. "No single mode is going to solve all of our problems, and that's why the strategic mobility plan has both roads and transit in the plan."
Most Austinites would trade a visit to the movie theater each month for less congestion on the road, Langmore said.
Other concerns have arisen regarding where the rail would go. Some residents argue it would be best to install the urban rail line along the Lamar Boulevard and Guadalupe Street corridors. However, project proponents respond by reminding the public that millions were just spent to install MetroRapid routes in those areas.
Putting the rail in those corridors would reduce the roads to two lanes based on how the rail would be incorporated, and that is unacceptable, Leffingwell said.
"The trains would run in mainly dedicate lanes," he said. "This means the trains would not run into traffic, but has its own lanes."
