Hey all,
I am a member at Friends of Hyde Park. Over there, we’re fast-tracking a vote on resolution about the proposed guadalupe rail ballot measure.
I propose the FAN and FAN organizations try to get similar votes on the record before the counsil reconvenes on August 2nd. Another option is (of course to take the long game, continuing to show support for the rail on Guadalupe).
The resolution we’re voting on at FOHP reads:
"Friends of Hyde Park supports the Central Austin CDC proposal to place a bond on the November ballot intended to fund the construction of a light rail starter line on Lamar and Guadalupe. The prospective line would start at the intersection of Lamar and Airport, head down Lamar to the Triangle, down Guadalupe to Republic Square. This line would be funded locally, but it’s possible the FTA would give Austin retroactive credit later on by increasing funding levels of future extensions, as was done in Houston (who also built their own first short line with 100% local funds). The proposed cost is roughly $400M. For more details, a map, and presentation, please see this link in the Friends of Hyde Park forum: https://forum.friendsofhydepark.com/t/light-rail-on-guadalupe/303
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All, what criteria should we use to judge whether a rail or other transit proposal is worthy of our support?
The FAN vision calls for transit-accessible neighborhoods and for not placing the needs of individual neighborhoods above the needs of the citywide community.
When we evaluate a proposal for a starter rail line - which inevitably will NOT serve every neighborhood in the city - what are the overall impacts on the citywide community we should consider? How do we know the extent to which a transit proposal will positively impact these factors?
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Hey @igor.holas, I’m inclined to say - Let’s go bigger! We will need a bunch of stops on the map between Crestview and Republic Park. Limitations on accessing the Mopac toll lane show the devil is in the details…
@rcauvin, if FAN wants to vote on this I’ll poll the JHCC Board, anticipating overwhelming support to put it on the ballot so it can be scrutinized and debated. For me the bar on supporting a debate is much lower than supporting adoption of a resolution, which is why I also supported getting $720M on the ballot.
As a starter line this makes sense because it will be used, it was not obvious the same could be said for the last proposal put in front of voters, and if that happened voters would not support extensions. If you can somehow quantify the impact using the complete community indicators - all the better!
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This passed Friends of Hyde Park. If it comes to a vote in FAN, then we’ll definitely support it.
The resolution passed with 83% support with 58 people voting.
Resolution passes with 58 votes cast.
Support - 48 (83%)
Oppose - 10 (17%)
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