Two Park & Ride centersone each in the Four Points and Bee Cave areaswere among the public transit projects approved Dec. 8 for a draft long-range plan by Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organizations transportation policy board. The meeting resolved which projects the board would recommend for approval in May. Although there is no bus service to the areas currently, Capital Metro routes may be added in the next 5 to 6 years. If everything falls into place and funding is available, [Capital Metro] bus service to Four Points will happen by 2020 and to Bee Cave by 2021, said Todd Hemingson, Capital Metro vice president for strategic planning and development.

Bee Cave

Both Park & Ride centers were submitted for approval by Austin regional public transit provider Capital Metro, CAMPO Deputy Executive Director Phillip Tindall said. Bee Cave City Manager Travis Askey said he was unaware that Capital Metro had submitted a Park & Ride proposal in the city. He said Bee Cave did not request the facility, but he had received emails from businesses requesting the bus service. Ive had business owners who have inquired about transit services for their employees, Askey said. Because we are growing, its a fairly common question. The Bee Cave project is listed on the CAMPO 2040 draft plan at an estimated cost of about $3.8 million to be funded in 2021 but does not specify a location. It was first proposed in CAMPOs 2035 plan after the city was identified as an activity centera high-priority area where future growth is expected, said Cathy Stephens, CAMPO planning and environmental program manager. Bee Cave is not a member of Capital Metro. Askey said the issue to adopt its transit service has never been before Bee Cave voters or City Council, which is needed before Capital Metro can add routes to an area outside its jurisdiction. Some kind of partnership [with Bee Cave] would be needed, Hemingson said. We intend to have those discussions with the city.

Four Points

The Four Points project in the vicinity of the intersection of RR 2222 and RR 620 is listed on CAMPOs 2040 draft plan of committed projects, or projects for which funding has already been determined, at an estimated cost of about $6 million. The project is slated to be funded in 2020. Capital Metro originally identified the Four Points Park & Ride project in its 2040 long-range plan, Hemingson said. It has not moved forward because of a lack of funding, and other projects had priority, including MetroRapid and MetroRail. Hemingson said commuters travel primarily from the suburbs to three Austin areas: the University of Texas campus, the Capitol Complex and downtown. There are at least two different types of service available local service with stops every 3/4 to 1/2 mile and express service in which people board a bus at a Park & Ride and travel directly to Central Austin, he said. In Four Points an express service along RR 620 to Hwy. 183 and then onto MoPacs express lanes may be one option once those lanes are in place, he said. Another option would be a bus service along RR 2222, Hemingson said. We need to analyze which of those two paths provide the best benefits and shortest travel time, he said. If we build a Park & Ride in Four Points and a bus comes down RR 2222, will it have the same travel time and congestion as a car?

Future plans

Hemingson said although the Park & Ride projects are enumerated in a draft of CAMPOs 2040 plan, a lot must happen before the facilities are funded. Given where the projects sit in the timeline, were stating an intent to fund [the projects] in the year we project, but realistically we cant make a rock-solid guarantee it will happen in that year, he said. Thats the nature of long-range planning. Hemingson said the projects will remain on CAMPOs draft plan list until they become viable. It doesn't make sense to build a Park & Ride [center] if there is no service, he said. Its not just building a Park & Ride. Do we have buses to serve the Park & Ride? The capital costs of building a Park & Ride pales in comparison to providing service to the Park & Ride. However, Hemingson said adding transit service to these areas would be conditioned upon completion of the Park & Ride projects first. It all works together, he said. We would not add service until the Park & Rides are ready. Hemingson said Capital Metro will update its service plan including its routes in 2015. Five years ago Bee Cave and Four Points may have been at a lower priority level, he said. Now, with the explosion of growth, the areas may have moved up to a higher level. Hemingson said once its service plan is updated, Capital Metro will perform site assessments, feasibility analysis and land acquisition for identified projects.