The Hancock Neighborhood Association (HNA) at a Special Meeting held on October 8, 2014, voted overwhelming that:
The Hancock Neighborhood Association is opposed to the proposed urban rail.
Prior to the Special Meeting the HNA had invited speakers from both Project Connect and TxDot to present at its regular July meeting. This was followed by designation of an HNA Urban Rail Working Group comprised of the HNA Executive Committee, HNA Parks and Green Spaces Committee, and Chair of HNA Transportation Committee, which met with Kyle Keahey, Project Connect, and Mike Trimble, City of Austin Capital Projects Office, held September 11, 2014, to gather information on design aspects of the rail coming through Hancock neighborhood starting from its boundary at 45th Street to the proposed station at Hancock Center and down Red River Street. A report of findings from this meeting, supporting documents and links to relevant sites are posted to the HNA website at: https://www.hancockna.org/www/content/hna-urban-rail-working-group-report. At the regular HNA meeting in September these finding were reported to the membership for discussion and a vote was taken to hold a Special Meeting for HNA to take a position on the proposed Central Corridor urban rail. It is from an informed perspective with full consideration given to the impact on the integrity and quality of the Hancock Neighborhood that the membership puts forward these reasons for its opposition to the proposed urban rail.
Land Use
- Light rail needs to work well with land use. The City has engaged in advance with development planning along Airport Blvd and in Mueller, however the route along Red River was decided without engaging the Hancock neighborhood on potential development along our segment of the route and anticipated impacts.
- Historically, property fronting rail lines turns commercial and/or suffers degradation of single-family residences along the route.
