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Public commenter urges Environmental Commission to press CAMPO for environmental mitigation and better modeling
Summary
A representative of Save Our Springs Alliance urged commissioners to weigh in on the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s regional transportation plan, saying the CAMPO plan lacks required environmental mitigation and relies on dated traffic modeling.
At the start of the April 2 meeting the Environmental Commission heard public comment from Bobby Levinsky of the Save Our Springs Alliance, who urged commissioners to act on regional transportation planning at the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO).
Levinsky told commissioners the CAMPO open‑house and public comment period (closing April 15) and CAMPO’s April 14 public hearing require community engagement and stronger environmental protections. He said the current draft plan lacks the type of environmental mitigation language required under federal statute and highlighted projects of concern including Mopac South, expansion of U.S. 620 and RM 1826. Levinsky urged the commission to join the Urban Transportation Commission’s recent resolution calling for model changes and a return to scenario‑based planning rather than project lists driven only by baseline projections.
Why it matters: regional transportation plans guide project selection and federal funding in the Austin area. Public commenters asked the Environmental Commission to weigh in because transportation choices affect water quality, habitat and greenhouse‑gas emissions. The commission did not take a formal action on the CAMPO plan during the meeting; Levinsky offered to follow up with commissioners outside the meeting.
Ending: Commissioners thanked Levinsky for the information and discussion moved to the meeting’s agenda items.
