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Old 08-02-2009, 08:59 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16,787 posts, read 49,073,910 times
Reputation: 9478

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The Community Impact newspaper has had some interesting articles about the future of rail in the Central Texas area.

May 2009 Special Report: Tomorrow’s Transportation (http://www.impactnews.com/round-rock-pflugerville/inside-information/135-inside-information/4210-special-report-tomorrows-transportation - broken link) This article has a really good map of the improvements. http://impactnews.com/images/stories/RPF/2009/05/30-map.jpg (broken link)

Feb. 2009 Proposed urban rail could relieve road congestion (http://impactnews.com/leander-cedar-park/inside-information/3361-proposed-urban-rail-could-relieve-road-congestion - broken link)

Sept 2008 Inter-city rail planned to run by 2012 (http://impactnews.com/southwest-austin/news/1921-inter-city-rail-planned-to-run-by-2012 - broken link)
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Old 08-03-2009, 07:10 AM
 
Location: Broomfield, CO
1,445 posts, read 3,268,510 times
Reputation: 913
OMG, you are joking?? Austin's transit system is pretty much the laughing stock of the nation. The new "light rail" system will be run primarily by junior high and high school students who are looking for some minimum wage work outside of school. The light rail will almost certainly be a death trap for anyone brave enough to venture on it. Im pretty confident that it will have accidents with other motorists on a daily basis. Just another unbelievable waste of money by the city of austin who doesn't give a damn about it's citizens. They have and continue to ignore the "horse and buggy" road system in this city. The congestion is among the worst in the nation, but the City of Austin just continues to keep there head burried dead in the sand and pretend that it isn't a problem!!

Nice work City of Austin!! Lets not only have people sitting in their giant SUV's and Pickups in bumper to bumper traffic, but lets also have a death trap light rail system to kill off riders!!.

No city that I have ever been to in this country cares less about it's citizens quality of life than Austin. Ok, maybe all citizens EXPECT the really rich who can live downtown!



Quote:
Originally Posted by ladyfree View Post
Hello everyone,

I wanted to know about Austin's downtown and transit system. The tourism site, austintx.org, is great. I was considering Charlotte, Indy, Atlanta and maybe Raleigh, but Austin seems amazing. I even like San Antonio but Austin seems to offer the cultural scene I love, plus the University. San Antonio is so romantic but I'm going through a separation so not into that right now. I'm focused on our daughter right now.

Can anyone give some info on your downtown? Can you walk to shops, dining and entertainment? Do you have downtown apartments/lofts ($$-$$$?), and how is the transit when it comes to getting to all the attractions? My search for a walkable and affordable community has been tough.

Thanks for any help you can offer.
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Old 08-03-2009, 07:51 AM
 
Location: 78747
3,202 posts, read 6,020,875 times
Reputation: 915
Austin isn't responsible for the traffic problem, it's the people who commute 20+ miles a day into Austin that are responsble. If they would pull their heads out, we wouldn't have the traffic problem. Alot of people moving here are from larger cities (Dallas, LA) and they are use to living far out and have no problem with it because the trans system is adequate from where they came from. The problem in Austin is the freeway system here is half the size it needs to be to serve the metro region. I think it's Austin's way of combating sprawl, and I feel sorry for the suburbanites in this region who commute into town. I really wish people would realize what they are getting into when they plan to "move to Austin" but settle for the exurbs. I would recommend anyone moving here to spend one day in traffic from where they plan to live to see what they are getting into before it's too late, cause guess what, it isn't getting any better, and if it does, it will be a tollroad.

Last edited by jobert; 08-03-2009 at 08:02 AM..
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Old 08-03-2009, 08:03 AM
 
Location: 78747
3,202 posts, read 6,020,875 times
Reputation: 915
Austin does not want its potential tax base commuting from another county. The lack of roads is no accident, this city is getting dense, and self-sustaining. The construction of condos downtown is the city's attempt to detach itself from the necessity of suburbs, and I think it's a beautiful thing.
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Old 08-03-2009, 09:30 AM
 
Location: Austin
2,522 posts, read 6,037,405 times
Reputation: 707
I would say that, with the severe city budget constraints(basic city services struggling), and the lack of a strong overarching metro alliance, you can say that the chance Austin had to go mass transit is lost for many years to come......they had a chance when everything was flush, and decided not to...now, the money is not there, and all the city can do is struggle with updating the road infrastructure. What impact gridlock could have on future metro growth remains to be seen.
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