Voters to decide on $720M mobility bond in November

A $720 million ballot measure is going before voters Nov. 8, Austin City Council decided at its regular meeting Aug. 18.

The bond program contains various projects to improve mobility throughout the city, such as sidewalk construction, bus pullout lanes and regional roadwork.

After a unanimous Aug. 11 vote, the measure passed with District 1 Council Member Ora Houston voting against the measure and abstentions from council members Delia Garza, Don Zimmerman and Ellen Troxclair.

“Today the council took an important step to address traffic congestion and our other mobility challenges,” Mayor Steve Adler said in a statement.

During the August meetings council amended the “local mobility” portion of the proposal by moving $4 million from urban trails and $6 million from improving substandard streets to sidewalk.

A late push for light rail to be included on the ballot failed to generate enough support among council members because of a lack of success passing such proposals in the past. In November 2014, voters defeated a $1 billion bond that included light rail.

Voters will decide whether to approve the bond as one ballot measure, not separate propositions.