Austin Should Say No to Project Connect

The official web site of the City of Austin places the current population of Travis County at 1.13 million with a growth rate of close to 3% a year. The Travis County population projection for the year 2045 is predicted to be 2.32 million. These figures mean that the traffic problems in Travis County will only get worse as time goes on unless solutions are implemented now. Project Connect is the newest solution being proposed for our current and future traffic problems. Project Connect proposes to use a mix of bus, urban rail and regional rail to accomplish the goal of reducing the number of cars on Austin streets and highways. The urban rail part of the solution would be the first to be implemented with a 9.5 mile line connecting East Riverside Drive and the Austin Community College Highland campus. This line is projected to handle between 16,000 and 20,000 passengers a day with future expansions to other parts of Austin. The proposed cost of the project is around $1.4 billion with half of the funding coming through City of Austin bonds and the other half from federal matching funds.

However, there are those opposed to Project Connect including Austin Rail Now. They argue that Project Connect has disregarded the decades of work and millions of dollars already spent identifying the Lamar-Guadalupe corridor as the best location for urban rail in Austin. Furthermore, the supporters of Austin Rail Now want voters to know that a vote for Project Connect would include the installation of dedicated bus lanes on the Lamar-Guadalupe corridor which would block future urban rail in that area. Austin Rail Now supporters believe the urban rail starter line should serve the high ridership Lamar-Guadalupe corridor and the West campus side of the University of Texas. In their opinion, the low ridership location of Project Connect would waste tax payer money and erode local support for future transportation improvements. Finally, Austin Rail Now argues that real estate developers who stand to profit are the people that will benefit the most if Project Connect is approved. I agree with Austin Rail Now’s opposition to Project Connect. The average citizen will see no relief from traffic congestion, but they will be stuck with paying back the bonds issued to fund Project Connect. If Austin wants to continue to grow and attract businesses, the traffic congestion problem has to be addressed, but any bond money must be spent wisely.