According to recent U.S. Census data, the population boom in the Austin region shows no signs of slowing – so it’s no wonder that traffic woes continue to dominate the conversation among Austin residents. In response, the Central Austin Community Development Corp. (CACDC) is proposing a plan for a rail starter-line, which will go up for vote this November.
This won’t be the first time such a plan has been put before Austin voters. They’ve narrowly defeated light rail ballot measures twice since 2000 – most recently in 2014. If the new measure passes this time around, it would provide a 5.3-mile light-rail option along Guadalupe Street and North Lamar Boulevard between Capital Metro’s Red Line Crestview Station in North Austin, and downtown’s Republic Square.
The CACDC estimates that the new line would attract a weekday ridership of 37,400, at an estimated project cost of $397.5 million. That cost might be easier for Austin voters to swallow than the billion-plus proposal for 9.5 miles of urban rail that the majority of voters rejected in 2014. According to the CACDC, that seems to be the case: the 2015 Zandan Poll found 66 percent of responding Austinites to be in support of a new tax to pay for surface-level rail projects.
The proposed light-rail plan is an alternative to Austin Mayor Steve Adler’s mobility bond package – estimated at $720 million – that overwhelmingly (about 83%) focuses on roadway projects, with a few “alternative mobility” pedestrian and bicycle projects and virtually no significant public transportation improvements.
For details on the plan, including maps of the proposed route, visit Austin Rail Now.
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