UTC backs Austin Core Transportation Plan with amendments to preserve Red River bicycle connection and add short-term fixes

The Urban Transportation Commission on March 4 recommended that City Council adopt the draft Austin Core Transportation (ACT) Plan, with amendments focused on maintaining an on-street protected bicycle connection on Red River Street, adding short-term "quick-build" improvements, more street trees and a coordinated parking-management strategy.

The UTC’s recommendation, passed unanimously, endorses the ACT Plan’s goal of creating an integrated downtown mobility network that supports transit, bicycles, pedestrians and freight while coordinating with Project Connect light rail, the I-35 Capital Express project and other major projects. Cole Kitten, division manager for systems development at the City’s Transportation & Public Works, briefed the commission on the plan and its public engagement.

"This is a continuation of our series of presenting the draft plan to boards and commissions as we make our way to council, this spring," Kitten said. He told the commission the ACT Plan is intended to be adopted by council as a small-area mobility plan attached to the ASMP and that it focuses on streets not already governed by other large projects.

Why UTC amended the plan: Commissioners supported ACT’s emphasis on transit priority lanes, an east–west protected bicycle network and a complete set of system strategies, but several members raised concerns about a gap in the ACT Plan’s proposed bicycle network on the east side of downtown along Red River. That corridor serves the Red River Cultural District and connects to bike facilities such as Robert Dedman Drive and the Lance Armstrong Bikeway.

Commissioner discussion and the amendment: Commissioners asked TPW staff whether near-term bicycle improvements could be implemented on Red River despite long-term cross-section choices in ACT. Kitten said interim investments are possible and that the plan’s system strategies explicitly show Red River as a near-term bicycle improvement. Commissioners nonetheless pressed for explicit plan language to avoid a future gap. The UTC adopted an amendment directing that the ACT Plan "continue the protected bicycle lane on Red River Street from Seventh Street to Twelfth Street as contemplated by the 2023 bicycle plan and the active project listed in the 2025 local mobility annual plan, to ensure a continuous protected bicycle facility that connects with the protected bike lanes on Robert Dedman Drive."

Other amendments the commission added to the recommendation included: - Add a preamble that the commission recommends that City Council adopt the ACT Plan, as amended. - Encourage additional one-way-to-two-way street conversions "as feasible," with specific reference to Fifth and Sixth streets among candidates for conversion; and - Request that the ACT Plan emphasize short-term, low-cost "quick-build" interventions to speed delivery of safety and connectivity improvements while larger capital projects are designed and funded.

Community input: Adam Greenfield of Safe Streets Austin addressed the commission during public comment, urging more aggressive two-way conversions downtown and saying, "Downtown should exist for downtown. It should be a destination." Greenfield said two-way streets consistently improve walkability, safety and economic activity in other cities.

Parking and curb management: Commissioners also asked for a stronger curb-management and parking strategy to accompany the ACT Plan. TPW staff said a curb-management study is under contract and results should be available in roughly a year; staff told commissioners they will coordinate the curb-management work with the ACT Plan’s project-development phase and the city’s broader parking-management goals.

Vote and next steps: The commission approved the recommendation as amended and asked staff to forward the UTC recommendation to Planning Commission and to City Council’s Mobility Committee. Kitten said the ACT Plan will go before the Planning Commission and the Mobility Committee in March and April and that staff expect to present final materials to City Council thereafter.

Ending: With the UTC recommendation in hand, staff said they will incorporate the commission’s Red River language and quick-build emphasis into the final ACT packet that staff will take to Planning Commission and council in the coming weeks.