Bill Bunch, spokesperson for the Keep MoPac Local Coalition and executive director of the Save Our Springs Alliance, speaks at a Nov. 9 news conference.[/caption]
An environmental study that reviewed potential expansion impacts on the MoPac south corridor in Austin from Cesar Chavez Street to Slaughter Lane was the focus of a news conference hosted Nov. 9 by the Keep MoPac Local Coalition, which is opposing current project proposals outlined in The MoPac South Environmental Study.
An estimated 300 people gathered in the Austin High School cafeteria for the news conference led in part by Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea. Shea said the plans being evaluated as part of the study would divert cars from I-35 to MoPac and add to traffic congestion for everyone not using the toll lanes, turning the road into a bypass for I-35.
“If you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If you’re a toll road authority, every solution is a toll road," she said. "So that’s part of our concern with this. … There are better, cheaper, non-tolled options that would benefit everyone.”
Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea speaks Nov. 9 at a Keep MoPac Local Coalition news conference.[/caption]
Shea noted voters recently approved substantial
new funding for transportation projects.
The MoPac South project team has evaluated
six configurations, including one with two express lanes in each direction and one-lane elevated direct connection ramps in each direction to and from Cesar Chavez Street.
Bill Bunch, spokesperson for Keep MoPac Local Coalition and executive director of the Save Our Springs Alliance, said it is too soon in the process to choose one of the configurations to move forward.
“They really just want us to choose between one toll road or another, and we’re really encouraging folks to not get pulled into that,” he said. “We have better solutions.”
The coalition said MoPac South is the first phase in a major freeway and toll road plan that eventually aims to connect MoPac with I-35 via the proposed SH 45 SW project, which is undergoing
further study.
Bunch said new and expanded roads being built in Austin are encouraging people to live farther away from where they work and take their children to school, thus increasing traffic.
One of the most inexpensive alternatives to the proposals, according to the coalition, is to restripe South MoPac to establish HOV lanes and encourage carpooling and ridesharing, he said. Another option would be to remove tolls from SH 130.
Austin Council Member Kathie Tovo noted council passed a resolution in 2014 supporting a comprehensive study of the overall MoPac South project as well as a careful analysis of potential alternatives. Tovo said she is concerned about traffic the project could add to Cesar Chavez Street and resulting congestion, as well as the potential aesthetic “blight” of double-decker lanes above MoPac.
Local resident Hill Abell, who owns a bicycle and sporting goods store in Austin, said transportation authorities should look at every aspect of what is being proposed and the potential impact on neighborhoods.
“We all recognize that adding more lanes to our city transportation system will not solve our problem. My business is on Lamar Boulevard, and it is gridlocked today,” he said. “Fixing MoPac will not change Lamar. We have to look at our systems holistically.”
Residents listen to elected officials during a Keep MoPac Local Coalition news conference Nov. 9 at Austin High School.[/caption]
North Central Austin resident Roy Waley, who serves as conservation chair for the Austin chapter of the Sierra Club, said he rides his bicycle around Austin and uses mass transit. He said those forms of transportation have not been considered enough as part of the study.
“Not only will [MoPac South plans] not work well for my generation but for future generations that are looking and begging for mass transit options,” he said.
Austin High School principal Amy Taylor said she is trying to sort out the proposals’ potential effects on students, families, faculty and staff. Three of the six proposals would take land away from Austin High School’s campus, she said.
“My take is that the best of these proposals don’t provide a direct benefit to Austin High or the community," she said. "They were not planned with our needs or our problems in mind. They are primarily for commuters traveling from far south into downtown or to north Austin.”
She agreed something needs to be done to help alleviate the gridlock.
“We are all tired of sitting on MoPac and are desperate for a solution,” she said.
Members of the public can examine exhibits, watch informational videos, and submit their questions and input on proposals at a Nov. 10 open house hosted by the Texas Department of Transportation and the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. The event takes place from 3-7 p.m. at the Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road. More information about the study is available at
www.mopacsouth.com.
Bill Bunch, spokesperson for the Keep MoPac Local Coalition and executive director of the Save Our Springs Alliance, speaks at a Nov. 9 news conference.[/caption]
An environmental study that reviewed potential expansion impacts on the MoPac south corridor in Austin from Cesar Chavez Street to Slaughter Lane was the focus of a news conference hosted Nov. 9 by the Keep MoPac Local Coalition, which is opposing current project proposals outlined in The MoPac South Environmental Study.
An estimated 300 people gathered in the Austin High School cafeteria for the news conference led in part by Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea. Shea said the plans being evaluated as part of the study would divert cars from I-35 to MoPac and add to traffic congestion for everyone not using the toll lanes, turning the road into a bypass for I-35.
“If you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If you’re a toll road authority, every solution is a toll road," she said. "So that’s part of our concern with this. … There are better, cheaper, non-tolled options that would benefit everyone.”
Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea speaks Nov. 9 at a Keep MoPac Local Coalition news conference.[/caption]
Shea noted voters recently approved substantial new funding for transportation projects.
The MoPac South project team has evaluated six configurations, including one with two express lanes in each direction and one-lane elevated direct connection ramps in each direction to and from Cesar Chavez Street.
Bill Bunch, spokesperson for Keep MoPac Local Coalition and executive director of the Save Our Springs Alliance, said it is too soon in the process to choose one of the configurations to move forward.
“They really just want us to choose between one toll road or another, and we’re really encouraging folks to not get pulled into that,” he said. “We have better solutions.”
The coalition said MoPac South is the first phase in a major freeway and toll road plan that eventually aims to connect MoPac with I-35 via the proposed SH 45 SW project, which is undergoing further study.
Bunch said new and expanded roads being built in Austin are encouraging people to live farther away from where they work and take their children to school, thus increasing traffic.
One of the most inexpensive alternatives to the proposals, according to the coalition, is to restripe South MoPac to establish HOV lanes and encourage carpooling and ridesharing, he said. Another option would be to remove tolls from SH 130.
Austin Council Member Kathie Tovo noted council passed a resolution in 2014 supporting a comprehensive study of the overall MoPac South project as well as a careful analysis of potential alternatives. Tovo said she is concerned about traffic the project could add to Cesar Chavez Street and resulting congestion, as well as the potential aesthetic “blight” of double-decker lanes above MoPac.
Local resident Hill Abell, who owns a bicycle and sporting goods store in Austin, said transportation authorities should look at every aspect of what is being proposed and the potential impact on neighborhoods.
“We all recognize that adding more lanes to our city transportation system will not solve our problem. My business is on Lamar Boulevard, and it is gridlocked today,” he said. “Fixing MoPac will not change Lamar. We have to look at our systems holistically.”
Residents listen to elected officials during a Keep MoPac Local Coalition news conference Nov. 9 at Austin High School.[/caption]
North Central Austin resident Roy Waley, who serves as conservation chair for the Austin chapter of the Sierra Club, said he rides his bicycle around Austin and uses mass transit. He said those forms of transportation have not been considered enough as part of the study.
“Not only will [MoPac South plans] not work well for my generation but for future generations that are looking and begging for mass transit options,” he said.
Austin High School principal Amy Taylor said she is trying to sort out the proposals’ potential effects on students, families, faculty and staff. Three of the six proposals would take land away from Austin High School’s campus, she said.
“My take is that the best of these proposals don’t provide a direct benefit to Austin High or the community," she said. "They were not planned with our needs or our problems in mind. They are primarily for commuters traveling from far south into downtown or to north Austin.”
She agreed something needs to be done to help alleviate the gridlock.
“We are all tired of sitting on MoPac and are desperate for a solution,” she said.
Members of the public can examine exhibits, watch informational videos, and submit their questions and input on proposals at a Nov. 10 open house hosted by the Texas Department of Transportation and the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. The event takes place from 3-7 p.m. at the Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road. More information about the study is available at www.mopacsouth.com.
