Cities look at funding, phasing options as next steps

By 2035 demographers estimate about 55 percent of the Central Texas region's jobs are expected to be located within the Project Connect North Corridor stretching from downtown Austin to cities in Williamson County.

This growth is one reason area transportation and elected officials have been working the last several years to create a regional transportation plan. Hutto Mayor Debbie Holland said the city is doing what it can to contribute solutions and reduce regional trips.

"Part of our responsibility for [reducing trips is] to provide more jobs out in our area," she said.

Achieving better regional mobility is part of the overarching Project Connect vision that will connect four counties and 13 cities, including Hutto, Pflugerville and Round Rock. In that vision are five corridors emanating from downtown Austin, and each corridor has its own plan. Project Connect officials have deemed the North Corridor as the highest-priority corridor.

On April 16, North Corridor planners—consisting of mayors and other elected and transportation officials—unveiled their locally preferred alternative, or LPA, map of proposed transit options to connect those cities via bus and rail services.

"If we want to maintain prosperity, preserve the natural beauty and our quality of life, we've got to do something about our [traffic] congestion," said Linda Watson, president and CEO of Capital Metro, the city of Austin's transit agency. "We need it all—roads, but as importantly, transit."

The proposed services would link to existing services such as MetroRail in Austin and provide an estimated 19,000 additional daily transit trips that could remove 10,000 vehicles from the region's roadways each weekday, said Todd Hemingson, Capital Metro's vice president of strategic planning and development.

"We think this plan will ... maximize our land-use opportunities and build something that's expandable," he said.

Bus, rail services

The final LPA involves expanding Capital Metro's existing services past its membership border, which ends roughly in northern Travis County. Some services would use existing toll roads, including SH 130 and SH 45 N as well as the MoPac express lanes that will open in late 2015.

In January, Capital Metro launched its newest bus system, MetroRapid. This system could be extended an additional 29 miles north to Pflugerville as well as to Round Rock and Georgetown.

Capital Metro's Express bus, which primarily serves commuters to downtown Austin via Park & Ride facilities, could also be expanded to Round Rock and Georgetown using I-35, SH 45 N and MoPac. This service could be one of the first to launch in the North Corridor, Hemingson said.

"The timing is about the same as the MoPac [express lane] project opening, which is looking at the end of next year," he said.

Fifty-three new miles of Express bus service are planned for the North Corridor, including a second route from downtown Austin to Hutto using part of the abandoned MoKan railroad right of way that passes through East Austin and southern Pflugerville. Because part of that right of way is in close proximity to schools and neighborhoods in Pflugerville, the Express bus would use FM 685 and SH 130.

"We were pleased to see the plan include the transit system along FM 685 and SH 130 instead of the MoKan right of way," Pflugerville Mayor Jeff Coleman said. "The city expressed concern about our community being cut in half if additional transit was placed in that right of way."

Round Rock Mayor Alan McGraw, who chaired the North Corridor planning team, said the goal is offering efficient alternatives.

"If you're going to ask people to get out of their cars and get into some form of transit ... the only way they're going to do that is if you provide a true alternative to their automobile," he said.

Holland believes Hutto residents would be willing to give up driving and use these transit services.

"We have so many people moving into the area who have lived in metropolitan areas that have mass transit," Holland said. "They already get the importance of mass transit. People that are native Texans, it's hard to make that transition from your own vehicle or your truck."

Funding and organization

Ultimately it is up to each municipality benefiting from Project Connect services to determine a financial plan.

Coleman said Pflugerville City Council will be briefed during its May 27 work session about the plan and costs to residents.

"We're going to have to weigh ... the potential benefit our citizens would receive," he said.

Hemingson said Capital Metro likely would finance the system that is in its service area while outside jurisdictions would fund their areas. Capital Metro will pursue federal funding through the Federal Transit Administration.

Each municipality will need to create an agreement or contract for services and develop ways to finance and implement the services. Hemingson said the preferred option is for a jurisdiction to join Capital Metro's service area. However, this requires dedicating 1 percent of a city's sales tax income to the agency—a scenario Hemingson said is unlikely.

More realistic options would involve creating an interlocal agreement or a local government corporation, Hemingson said. The jurisdictions could also choose to be an FTA fund recipient and receive federal funding for services. In all scenarios, jurisdictions could access their portion of the region's federal funding for eligible expenses.

Having these options reinforces the North Corridor team's goal of not enforcing a one-size-fits-all solution.

"The density in downtown Austin is obviously completely different from density you're going to see in Hutto, Pflugerville, Round Rock or Georgetown," McGraw said. "We still have to come up with a regional plan and regional solution, but we need to recognize there are differences in the region."

Phasing and implementation

To implement the LPA, McGraw said it is key that the region stays united on seeing it to fruition.

"You've got to keep the region together and members of the region actively engaged and working," he said. "This can't be some plan you take and just put on a shelf."

The planning team will come up with recommendations for the first and subsequent phases and indicate associated capital costs and operations and maintenance expectations. Although phasing is up to each jurisdiction, Hemingson said he is optimistic about seeing the plan come to fruition.

"As we've recognized, some of them are more ready than others, and some have more growing to do in terms of development to become transit-ready," he said. "Over time we'll see transit in all of these communities."