The Solution

Several plans to improve mobility downtown, ranging from commuter rail to circulators to street cars to improved bus routes are in the works. All will be important to downtown in the long-term.

We need a quicker connection solution.

Two major issues confront us today: a deficit of 2,500 parking spaces, growing to 7,500 over the next five years; and serious congestion resulting at this moment in having as many as 10 ‘failing’ intersections in the downtown area.

The Real Estate Council of Austin’s Downtown Austin Park and Ride (DAPR) is a proposal to quickly alleviate parking issues, reduce traffic, and move people around downtown efficiently.

The DAPR plan is simple: construct five parking garages around the perimeter of downtown capable of holding an average of 1,000 vehicles each, coupled with a rail-like, green technology, rubber-tire vehicle system to get parkers to their downtown destinations.

DAPR stations would incorporate GPS technology to provide real-time transit information to riders, who would wait about 5 minutes on average.

DAPR is the quick connection. In less than two years and for a total cost of around $100 million, we can have DAPR up and running. It can serve as an important connector for people and to other long-term transit plans.