City seeks public input on Seaholm multimodal plaza options; closing Power Plant Drive would cut parking

Austin Transportation and Public Works presented four design alternatives on Feb. 19 for multimodal improvements in the Seaholm area centered on Third Street and Power Plant Drive, and opened a public comment period on the options.

Transportation staff said the effort — funded in part by a $12.5 million reallocation from a closed Seaholm tax increment reinvestment zone — is intended to increase safety, improve comfort for people walking and biking, and make vehicle movements more predictable in the area around Shoal Creek and the Third Street trestle.

Alex Payson, capital improvement program manager for Transportation and Public Works, told the Downtown Commission that staff is proposing a plaza-focused concept that would close Power Plant Drive to through traffic so pedestrians, cyclists and micromobility users could move east–west across an open plaza while vehicles would use Third Street. Payson said emergency access for fire and medical providers would be retained and that parallel parking along Third Street could be preserved under several alternatives.

Payson outlined four public design alternatives: Alternative 1 would close Power Plant Drive and retain parallel parking on Third Street, a change staff said would remove 29 existing parking spaces along Power Plant Drive; Alternative 2 would also close Power Plant Drive but introduce back-in angle parking on the south curb of Third Street to recapture 10 spaces for a net loss of 19 spaces; Alternative 3 would keep Power Plant Drive open and add a shared-use path and green space between the two streets; and Alternative 4 would close Power Plant Drive while creating a commercial delivery zone by converting four south-curb spaces into a loading area and adding an ADA-accessible curb space on the south side.

Payson said two other Seaholm-area projects funded from the same reallocation are already under construction: a shared-use path (sidewalk/trail) along Cesar Chavez from Sandro Moraide to San Antonio Street and dynamic signage at Cesar Chavez intersections that will alert turning drivers to the presence of cyclists and pedestrians. He said the reallocation came after City Council closed TIRZ 18 in December 2023 and directed roughly $12.5 million to Transportation and Public Works to implement five projects intended to achieve goals originally tied to a Bowie Underpass concept.

Commissioners asked for further detail on the funding breakdown. Payson said a December 2023 memo provides a rough allocation: about $200,000 for dynamic signs, approximately $1 million for Third and West improvements, about $1.3 million for Cesar Chavez improvements, and roughly $9.5–$10 million for the trestle and related improvements. He also said the city is engaged in conversations with Union Pacific about property interests tied to the trestle but declined to discuss details because of the nature of those negotiations.

Commissioners pressed staff about parking impacts and alternatives not currently in the four-option package, such as widening Third Street within existing right-of-way to restore more surface parking; Payson said that option had not been heavily considered but that the public survey is open-ended and staff will review additional ideas submitted by the community.

Payson said the project team is taking public feedback via an online survey (linked in the project materials) and will host an in-person pop-up on March 1 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Third and West. Staff will incorporate community feedback into final design and move toward construction after design is completed.

Commissioners expressed differing preferences: some favored closing Power Plant Drive to reduce the area’s confusing dual-street traffic pattern, while others emphasized minimizing net parking loss and preserving retail access. Several commissioners urged staff to preserve existing bike-share and other multimodal facilities in the design.

Staff said existing parking losses cited in the presentation are estimates based on current curb space and design assumptions; final counts will be determined during detailed design and environmental review.

The Downtown Commission received the briefing; no formal action or vote was taken by the commission on the alternatives.