HANCOCK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
Meeting, Wednesday, September 21, 2016
7:00pm -8:30 pm
The meeting will be held at the Hancock Recreation Center, 811 East 41st Street.
*** Possible Voting Item - Please Attend ***
Agenda:
- Jim Rankin will provide members with an update on TXDOT's plans for IH –35. Possible voting item. (See letter below)
- Committee Reports: treasurer, zoning, parks; CANPAC rep reports, ANC rep reports
- Open for Discussion
James M. Bass
Executive Director
Texas Department of Transportation
125 East 11th Street
Austin, Texas 78701
Karen Lorenzini, P.E., AICP
I-35 Program Manager
Texas Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 15426
Austin, Texas 78761-5426
Brandon Marshall, P.E.
Project Manager
Texas Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 15426
Austin, Texas 78761-5426
Terry McCoy, P.E.
North Austin Area Engineer
Texas Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 15426
Austin, Texas 78761-5425
20 September 2016
Dear Mr. Bass, Ms. Lorenzini and Messrs. Marshall and McCoy,
On June 18, 2016, the North Central I-35 Neighborhood Coalition 2 (NCINC2) heard a presentation from TxDOT consultants outlining the NEPA process and timeline and two build options—Modified Existing and—currently under study for the Mobility35 Central 7-mile Comprehensive Project (the “Project”).
NCINC2 actively opposes any option that would include an elevated urban freeway such as that proposed in the Modified Existing option. We support lowering IH35 main lanes through downtown to accommodate future capping of the main lanes, repair east-west connectivity across the corridor and provide improved access, safety and comfort for pedestrians, transit users and bicyclists.
However, our full support of the Lowered option remains conditioned on the recognition and resolution of concerns of our organization and Member Neighborhoods that remain unaddressed by TxDOT and its consultants. We ask that TxDOT immediately begin work with the City of Austin to take the following actions to properly address these concerns:
- Align the Project with Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan, Neighborhood Plans and Corridor Plans. The Project should clearly reference Imagine Austin and Neighborhood Plan priority programs, goals and action items as well as City initiatives like the African American Quality of Life Initiative and existing corridor plans such as the Airport Boulevard Corridor plan, and eliminate conflicts with these local efforts. Imagine Austin principles of a Healthy, Sustainable and Compact & Connected City should guide the Project, specifically regarding pedestrian and bicycle access, east-west connectivity, residential and commercial development and the effects of noise and air pollution on human health and quality of life.[i]
- Provide a comprehensive, long-term vision for the IH35 corridor. TxDOT should comprehensively address the highway system through Austin’s urban core in a holistic manner that verifiably measures issues of access, equity, human health, quality of life and economic development in addition to congestion, capacity and mobility. We ask the Austin District to use an approach similar to that of the 2016 CityMAP report from the Dallas District for a long-range vision for the IH35 corridor, including an assessment of social, environmental and economic benefits of the removal of the upper decks and lowering main lanes through 51st Street.[ii]
- Initiate a full Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for the Project. Given the concentration of residential populations along the Project and the proximity to the Boggy Creek and Waller Creek urban watersheds, the Project should require a more stringent review process than the current Environmental Assessment. The EIS should quantify human health impacts due to exposure to particulate matter and pollutants including premature deaths, cardiovascular disease, asthma and any other known health conditions associated with proximity to freeways.
- Ensure that the public input process meaningfully engages north central stakeholders. Finally, we reiterate our request and that of the City of Austin for TxDOT to convene a true I-35 North Central Stakeholder Working Group, which should include representatives of affected Neighborhood Associations, businesses, institutions along with City officials and should submit a report of design recommendations similar to that produced by the 2014 I-35 Downtown Stakeholder Working Group.[iii]
As representatives of Member Neighborhoods to NCINC2, we endeavor to be active, informed, open-minded and critical when necessary to ensure that TxDOT and its consultants—along with our regional transportation planning authorities—conceive of a future for IH35 that supports the City of Austin and the health, well-being and mobility of its residents. We hereby formally oppose the Modified Existing option and conditionally support the Lowered option, asking that TxDOT and City leadership work together on the actions outlined above to build a comprehensive, community-driven vision for the future of the IH35 corridor through Central Austin.
Sincerely yours,
Brendan Wittstruck, Chair
North Central I-35 Neighborhood Coalition 2 (NCINC2)
att:NCINC2 Meeting Notes, June 18, 2016
TxDOT Mobility35 Central 7-mile Comprehensive Project presentation, June 18, 2016
