Inner City Rail
Inner City Rail
Capital Metro Proposal - Streetcars
As a component of a future connections study for the All Systems Go long-range plan, Parsons Brinkerhoff completed an Alternatives Evaluation in November, 2006 as required by federal law to determine the most cost effective and efficient means to connect the commuter rail project to other key areas to include the Mueller Redevelopment project, the Seaholm redevelopment, Manor and other areas of interest. Capital Metro staff's recommendation for a Central Austin Circulator, based on consultant work and community input, is an electric streetcar system that would connect the Leander commuter line terminus on 4th Street with extensions to Seaholm via 4th Street and to downtown, the Capitol complex and UT on a northbound route on Congress Avenue shifting to the east along 9th or 10th to San Jacinto Boulevard. Capital Metro s taff and consultants also reviewed other methods to serve this need, including buses, but have determined at staff level that streetcars are the best approach to meet the Goals and Objectives developed as part of the community involvement process.
As envisioned, the streetcar would proceed northbound through the UT campus (San Jacinto alignment must be approved by the Board of Regents) and then proceed east bound along Dean Keeton and Manor Road to the Mueller redevelopment area up to 51st Street. Initial estimates for capital construction costs are $233 million with annual operations and maintenance costs of $3-5 million.
Capital Metro, which reports that its 1-cent sales tax is largely committed for operations of its bus system and the commuter line from Leander to the Convention Center, will require funding partners to fund some of the cost of construction. Likely partners include the City of Austin, Travis County, University of Texas, State of Texas and/or developers along the route.
The Congress Avenue streetcars will be placed on rail lines constructed in the center lanes of the three lanes traversing north and south. Cars could travel in the middle lanes along with streetcars. The north and south-bound streetcar lines would both run in San Jacinto Boulevard along with south bound car traffic. Most of the buses currently operating on Congress would be removed from Congress, probably to Brazos Street, running north bound and south bound on Brazos.
The streetcars would be operated by overhead electric wires and would run frequently; (6-10 minute headways have been analyzed) dependant on demand for service and time of day.
If the Board selects the streetcar system as the "locally preferred alternative" for the circulator, Capital Metro would be required to hold a referendum to get voters' permission to operate the system. For a map of the proposed alignment, click here.
In August 2006, Charles Heimsath presented a report titled "Downtown Circulator Service Economic Impact Assessment" to Austin Assistant City Manager Laura Huffman. The report assumes a fixed rail solution ("fixed guideway") for the downtown streetcar system, but does not address or compare the economics of the same kind of system by bus. In May 2007, WHM/HDR in association with PB Americas, Inc. presented its final report Austin Streetcar Financing Study.
For more information about the All Systems Go Future Connections Study, i.e., how to connect the current commuter rail starter line to other destinations by rail or bus, visit www.allsystemsgoconnections.org. To review completed reports related to the streetcar proposal, go to http://www.allsystemsgoconnections.org/get_more_info/library/.
In February 2008, the Austin City Council approved the expansion of ROMA Design Group's original scope of work for the Downtown Austin Plan to include additional transit planning services in an amount not to exceed $250,000. Seven weeks later, ROMA presented a rail plan to the public on April 22, 2008 and will present it to the Council in May. Additionally, the rail proposal will be considered by the CAMPO Transit Working Group (TWG) and the full CAMPO Board. Mayor Will Wynn and Council Member Brewster McCracken, who lead the TWG, have both expressed their desire for a November 2008 rail election, which could ask voters to consider approving long-term city debt to fund new, inner city rail.
ROMA's proposal calls for a 14-mile light rail or "ultra" light rail route to run from Austin Bergstrom International Airport traveling toward downtown on Riverside Drive, crossing the Congress Avenue Bridge up to Fourth or Ninth Streets and over to San Jacinto Boulevard. The rail would continue through downtown on San Jacinto Boulevard through the University of Texas campus, turning east on Dean Keaton and running along Manor Road to the Mueller Airport redevelopment. The proposal calls for double tracks, allowing travel in both directions simultaneously, in dedicated lanes. These lanes would likely be where there is current parking or sidewalks, but would be segregated from cars.
The cost of the proposal is uncertain, with estimates from $70 - $420 million, depending mostly on how many underground utility lines will be relocated, and this estimate does not include the cost of rail cars. The city would take the lead in financing and building the rail lines, and Capital Metro would likely operate the system. The city will likely look to other entities to partner with it on financing, like Travis County and Capital Metro.
On Thursday, July 24, 2008, ROMA presented a report on the transit portion of the Downtown Austin Plan to the Austin City Council. Go to RECA's Downtown Austin Plan web page for more on this streetcar proposal.
The CAMPO Transit Working Group will apply the decision tree process to the ROMA light rail proposal and the Transit Working Group will then make a recommendation to the CAMPO Policy Board.
CAMPO DECISION TREE
On Monday, May 5, 2008, the CAMPO Transit Working Group approved a final version of an analytic framework called a decision tree to use when evaluating transit proposals. The decision tree is designed to evaluate proposals in terms of cost, financing mechanisms, governance, purpose, and benefits.
RELATED NEWS:
'Dillo bus system downtown is changing. Beginning Sunday, August 24, 2008, service will be eliminated for the orange, silver, red, gold, and blue 'Dillos. With service every five minutes on weekdays and every 11 minutes on weekends, the new routes will be known as the Congress 'Dillo and the 6th Street 'Dillo. The first will focus on a single north-south route and the latter will focus on east-west access through downtown. A map of the proposed routes is available by clicking here.
On November, 6, 2008, City of Austin Transportation Director Rob Spillar conducted a briefing for the Austin City Council on the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) Transit Working Group (TWG) urban rail submittal.
Spillar used the CAMPO Transportation Investment Decision Tree as a guide for his presentation. The report, prepared by Capital Metro (Cap Metro) and the City of Austin staff, will be advanced through the TWG as a Phase I submittal without a detailed funding model, but will include a checklist of possible funding mechanisms.
Using 2008 costs, construction of the full 15.3 mile system is expected to be $625 million with operating costs of $20 to $23 million. The city hopes to minimize indirect costs of construction impacts to businesses and mobility through block-by-block construction, synching utility reconstruction, and by phasing the project. The project is proposed to be completed in four phases:
- Phase 1 – "Backbone" route from the new Manor Road Station to the University of Texas along San Jacinto Boulevard through the Capitol complex to Seaholm and Downtown/the Convention Center plus a new or improved bridge across Lady Bird Lake (approximately 4.4 miles at $290 million)
- Phase 2 – Lady Bird Lake segment from Long/Palmer Center with a stop on the East Riverside corridor and ending at Pleasant Valley ($120 million)
- Phase 3 – Manor Road Station to Mueller with stops at Mueller Town Center and Dell Medical Center ($80 million)
- Phase 4 – Pleasant Valley Station to ABIA with stops at Montopolis Metro Center, outer ABIA, and the ABIA terminal ($135 million)
Phase One at $290 million is the most expensive as its cost includes the purchase of rail cars, the construction of a maintenance facility, construction through the most densely developed portion of town, and the reinforcement of the tracks across the river. Phase One must be constructed first, but the remaining phases may be built in any order, either sequentially or simultaneously. Current estimates believe construction of all phases may take 10 years, but with policy changes and secure funding to build Phases Two through Four simultaneously, the timeline for construction could be reduced to five or six years.
Possible funding scenarios include seeking federal funding for approximately 50 percent of the costs. If Phase One is funded with local resources, it is possible that the remaining portions could be funded almost entirely with federal money. While it would require a federal legislative correction and a claim of local payment for Phase One construction as the required federal match, precedent exists in Miami, Salt Lake City, Houston, and San Francisco for utilizing federal resources in this manner. Proposed sources of local revenue to fund Phase One include a multi-modal local bond, public-private partnerships, transit-oriented development and value capture, and money from other local jurisdictions.
Submission to CAMPO without a detailed funding model is planned for December 2008 or January 2009. CAMPO staff will review and provide feedback before submitting to the TWG. The TWG will be meeting at Austin City Hall from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Monday, December 8, and December 15, 2008 and January 5, and January 12, 2009. Meeting dates, agendas, and supplemental materials may be found on CAMPO's web site.
The charge for CAMPO's TWG is to analyze and evaluate the potential for rail in Central Texas, and discern the optimal role for rail as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan that includes new roads, toll roads, rapid buses, traditional bus service, and other modes of transportation. TWG members coordinate with City of Austin staff, CAMPO, Capital Metro, appropriate Central Texas counties or cities, the University of Texas, the State of Texas, the Austin/San Antonio Corridor Council, and the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority to identify options for routes, modes, financing mechanisms, and operating strategies. Financing options must be considered and evaluated and the TWG may choose to recommend specific routes and modal alternatives.
Regardless of the TWG timeline, it is proposed that the City of Austin and Cap Metro initiate a local financing plan and federal strategy in January 2009, and begin efforts to include the project in the CAMPO 2035 Plan. Depending on the response from the TWG and resolution of remaining system questions, preliminary engineering and environmental documentation could begin as early as February 2009.
Urban Rail TWG Submittal Briefing to the Austin City Council (November 6, 2008)
DRAFT Potential Urban Rail Project Map by ROMA Austin, April 2008
NEWS: New commuter rail plan to be unveiled Tuesday - KVUE
It’s baaack: A proposal for light rail - Austin Business Journal
ROMA to recommend 14 miles of light rail in Central Austin - Austin American-Statesman
Light Rail Route Outlined - Austin Business Journal
New light-rail plan rolls into Austin - Austin American-Statesman
Final Report: Austin Streetcar Financing Study by WHM/HDR in association with PB Americas, Inc., May 2007
Final Report Central Austin Circulator Alternatives Evaluation by Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc., November 20, 2006
Downtown Circulator Service Economic Impact Assessment by Capitol Market Research, Inc., August 16, 2006
Capital Metro Web site (Click on "All Systems Go!" to see additional information regarding the Capital Metro staff-proposed transit vision)
