Sw 45

[eepstein]

Won't happen. As the city of Austin's general rule. If it doesn't directly effect rich people, it isn't a high priority. And adjustments that are made to the Oak Hill/Y area will almost certainly be "half-assed" and cheap just to shut up "them poor people" (as the city sees it). Nothing they do will have any effect on traffic in south austin because the city never does any analysis or planning on anything. If you move to South Austin, you need to REALIZE that traffic will continue to be horrible for decades to come. You are probably better off moving to the suburbs where cities like Round Rock and Cedar Park actually care about middle income families quality of life.

Another classic "only in Austin" half ass traffic "fix" would be the hairbrained idea to widen Mopac by squeezing a fourth lane in each direction and tolling it!! OMG, this should be posted worldwide for all transportation agencies to see!!

KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD!!!!

Originally Posted by LI2Texas

Does anyone know if there are any updates on plans to build/extend the 45 toll road connecting existing Hwy 45 by Mopac to 1626 and if so, when this is expected to start?

[jobert]

Eepstein, think about it for a moment, and put yourself in the City of Austin's shoes. Would you want to pave a 5 lane highway out to the suburbs so your tax base could flee? There's a reason the city "caters" to the rich people downtown, because if they don't, the tax base will flee to the hill country, if not other counties altogether (Blanco, Hays, Johnson, etc.) This has happened to other rust belt cities and is happening in Dallas right now with Collin and Denton counties - affluent families have been fleeing Dallas County in droves, and it's only accellerated from 2000-2010. The attraction of Austin is the city itself and the critical mass it has finally achieved downtown after trying for decades. Why do you want the freeway system "fixed"? If anything, create a local light rail, and ditch the exurban red line. The problem with sprawl in Austin is not because it's easy to live further out, the problem is that people are moving here with the pre-concieved notion that it is easier - it's not. People are moving here from Plano, and settling in Round Rock and working downtown with the notion that's is no big deal because it wasn't a big deal in Dallas - only to find out that I-35 and Mopac are only half to 1/4 the size of Central Expressway. It's not our responsibility to fix this problem because transplants are not performing their due-diligence, and are arriving with the premeditated intentions of fleeing to the suburbs like they had to in their previous cities. If anything, Austin will be a harbinger of what's to come in the american landscape as the european style banlieues become more evident.

[achtungpv]

jobert, another issue is that far flung subdivisions are not sustainable. There's been plenty of evidence showing that they will become the new ghettos after 20-30 years. Even though I would currently benefit from SW45, I definitely don't think I'd encourage its construction.

[jobert]

Originally Posted by achtungpv

jobert, another issue is that far flung subdivisions are not sustainable. There's been plenty of evidence showing that they will become the new ghettos after 20-30 years. Even though I would currently benefit from SW45, I definitely don't think I'd encourage its construction.

The benefit is that we at least know what the political inclinations are in this town. No one here is going to be caught off-guard by the declining exurban house prices and inaccessability of the suburbs to the urban core. The only people who are going to be caught off guard are transplants who see this paradigm as a temporary inconvenience that will be "fixed" soon. If anything, the 90 million dollar mobility bond package that focused primarily on bike lanes, sidewalks, and urban improvements should have been a clue.

[jobert]

Originally Posted by achtungpv

Even though I would currently benefit from SW45, I definitely don't think I'd encourage its construction.

That's my sentiment as well. I don't have an express lane out to the hill country, and I don't need one. 1626 and 969 do just fine. If we start paving now, pretty soon we will lose what we've come to love.

One aspect that makes sense about the lack of highways (in the hill country especially) as that it's a way to protect land without having to purchase it. Pretty clever if you ask me. Make it inconvenient to access, deny permits, impose strict impermeable covering requirements, and voila: you've avoided a multibillion dollar buyout program as you have with a national park or nature preserve.

[verybadgnome]

"District 47 State Representative Paul Workman, who represents Oak Hill, said he continues to work to get SH 45 SW completed, but he believes it can be completed as a non-tolled road."

SH 45 SW still on representative's radar (http://oakhillgazette.com/sh-sw-still-on-representatives-radar-p2988-73.htm - broken link)

Put the merits of SH 45 aside for a moment and let's talk about funding. A toll road is the best choice for this particular road given the limitations of the gas tax and the other alternative, a county bond package. The toll road would be directly financed by the users of that road and allows consumer choice. In this scenario the road would be financed through the private bond market and those investors would calculate the financial viability of the road and build that risk into what they will charge. That in turn will dictate what the cost of the tolls on this road need to be in order to pay off the bond. I, on the other hand, will not pony up my tax dollars for something that will allow Hays County residents get to work in DT Austin faster. Instead I would advise them to leave earlier in the morning to avoid the traffic on IH-35 or push for the Austin-SA commuter rail line.


I don't agree with a number of Tovo's positions but I do here:

"I understand the traffic problems on Brodie Lane south of Slaughter. However, with funding for new road projects at a premium, my responsibility must be on the major traffic problems within the City of Austin. The 'Y' at Oak Hill is a much bigger problem for Austinites, and my priority would be solve that problem first before attempting to fund an additional road almost entirely outside the City."

[gpurcell]

I feel pretty confident in saying the section from FM 1826 to US 290 is never being built, considering all the construction that is currently in development at the 45/1826 intersection.

[tfresca]

I love how Perry and the like talk about not raising taxes but continue to build toll roads at the expense of improving existing roads, if that ain't a "tax" what is?