Loop 360 improvements (from sheri gallo) (Austin, Spring: 2015, apartments, new house)

[Austin97]

got this in an email from sherri gallo about 360 improvement community input

Public Input Leads to Three New Loop 360 Options

Three additional options for Loop 360 have been developed based on public input and and will now undergo the same study the various other options for traffic improvements have previously gone through. Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) owns this roadway and said these three additional options will attempt to achieve a more ideal balance between local and regional mobility improvements, preservation of environmental resources and aesthetics and cost and feasibility.

The three new options that will now undergo further study are:
• Grade-separating the existing four lanes and adding flyovers and improved connections at US 183 and south MoPac.
• Grade-separating the existing four lanes, adding flyovers at US 183 and south MoPac, and adding one grade-separated tolled/HOV/transit lane in each direction.
• Grade-separating the existing four lanes, adding flyovers at US 183 and south MoPac, and adding one grade-separated non-tolled lane in each direction.
The original seven options that are still under consideration are:
• No build (do nothing)
• Intersection improvements
• Two additional lanes, keep existing traffic signals
• Grade-separated existing four lanes
• Add four grade-separated toll/HOV/transit lanes
• Add four grade-separated, non-tolled lanes
• Grade separate existing four lanes, add two grade-separated variably tolled/HOV/transit lanes
The preliminary analysis for the original seven Loop 360 traffic improvement options was completed in late 2015. Click here to learn more about those options for traffic improvement.
TxDOT has also decided to conduct further environmental constraint mapping to provide a clearer picture of potential environmental impacts. To allow enough time for this mapping as well as the study of the three improvement options gleaned from public input, TxDOT extended the consultant contract and pushed back the project timeline. All analyses should be complete by early summer and will be provided to the public for comment. The final study report is tentatively scheduled for completion in fall of this year.

Loop 360 provides primary access to far west Austin. The current study is an effort by TxDOT to develop better communication with the community and more favorable options. For more information regarding the study click here.

[CarnivalGal]

They need to overpass all of the lights on 360. MoPac and 183 are a good start, but if it takes 45 minutes of sitting at stoplights just to get to 183 or MoPac, then it won't help much. I think this was the original plan for 360, which is why the median is so big, but all the big money living in the area has managed to keep them from actually doing that.

Also, the lights on 360 are very poorly timed. I can't tell you how many times I've sat at the Spicewood Springs light when it turns green, only to still sit there going nowhere because the next light up is still red, and traffic is backed up all the way to Spicewood Springs.

[Westerner92]

Grade separation at all lights is a no-brainer, but as a civil engineer who thinks Barton Creek is one of the crown jewels of Austin, I'd organize a street protest myself before I let flyovers be constructed at South Mopac and 360, and there's nowhere to put them at 183 either. I could see continuous flow intersections helping those intersections though.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

Grade separation at all lights is a no-brainer, but as a civil engineer who thinks Barton Creek is one of the crown jewels of Austin, I'd organize a street protest myself before I let flyovers be constructed at South Mopac and 360, and there's nowhere to put them at 183 either. I could see continuous flow intersections helping those intersections though.

Thank you. Let me know when the protest begins and I'll be there with bells on.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

Grade separation at all lights is a no-brainer, but as a civil engineer who thinks Barton Creek is one of the crown jewels of Austin, I'd organize a street protest myself before I let flyovers be constructed at South Mopac and 360, and there's nowhere to put them at 183 either. I could see continuous flow intersections helping those intersections though.

Why didn't you protest the "flyover" foot/bike bridge over 360 then? The one soon to open, crossing 360 as well as Barton Creek. Or did you? If not, is it a matter of scale? Small and non-car is ok, but anything benefitting traffic is not?

Just curious.

Steve

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Why didn't you protest the "flyover" foot/bike bridge over 360 then? The one soon to open, crossing 360 as well as Barton Creek. Or did you? If not, is it a matter of scale? Small and non-car is ok, but anything benefitting traffic is not?

Just curious.

Steve

I wasn't around for the planning stages of that bridge, but even then, I'm a big supporter of bike commuting. That bridge has a very small footprint, but there's absolutely no way you can put in a full freeway interchange without decimating that hillside, creating an eyesore in one of the prettiest places in Texas, and affecting the water quality of one of the cleanest urban waterways in the world. That's not worth bypassing a stoplight that gets backed up at rush hour because it's poorly timed.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

I wasn't around for the planning stages of that bridge, but even then, I'm a big supporter of bike commuting. That bridge has a very small footprint, but there's absolutely no way you can put in a full freeway interchange without decimating that hillside, creating an eyesore in one of the prettiest places in Texas, and affecting the water quality of one of the cleanest urban waterways in the world. That's not worth bypassing a stoplight that gets backed up at rush hour because it's poorly timed.

Until we see the design, we don't know the impact, aesthetically or otherwise. I too wish what we had in place worked, but it doesn't. 360 is way below grade there, as it was cut out through the rock, so maybe there is a solution that doesn't have 40ft high flyovers.

I've said this before, but a LOT of Austin's congestion could be fixed with some paint. I don't know why the people in charge are too stupid to notice that, but there are many backed up logjams that could be fixed with longer queue turn lanes. Multiple examples of this exist along 360.

Steve

[CarnivalGal]

I'd also like to point out that there is absolutely no alternative to driving on 360. Even though it's in the City of Austin, and it lined with offices and apartments, there is not one single mode of public transportation for any area of 360.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

I wasn't around for the planning stages of that bridge, but even then, I'm a big supporter of bike commuting. That bridge has a very small footprint, but there's absolutely no way you can put in a full freeway interchange without decimating that hillside, creating an eyesore in one of the prettiest places in Texas, and affecting the water quality of one of the cleanest urban waterways in the world. That's not worth bypassing a stoplight that gets backed up at rush hour because it's poorly timed.

The same could be said for every, single solitary road built in Austin. I'm sure the whole area was beautiful before we started building houses and laying asphalt. If you weren't here during the planning of the bridge, it means you are relatively new to Austin. People moving here (like yourself) are the reason we need to expand all the roads in the first place. I get what you're saying, I really do, but I can help but notice a bit of hypocrisy. People get upset when new houses or roads are built seemingly ignoring the fact that a few folks were probably upset when their house/apartment and the roads leading up to it were built.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

The same could be said for every, single solitary road built in Austin. I'm sure the whole area was beautiful before we started building houses and laying asphalt. If you weren't here during the planning of the bridge, it means you are relatively new to Austin. People moving here (like yourself) are the reason we need to expand all the roads in the first place. I get what you're saying, I really do, but I can help but notice a bit of hypocrisy. People get upset when new houses or roads are built seemingly ignoring the fact that a few folks were probably upset when their house/apartment and the roads leading up to it were built.

I'm all for well-managed growth, and the topography and environmentally sensitive nature of the Balcones Escarpment means that growth in that part of town can't be managed well. That part of town is a mess because it turns out rugged hills don't make for organized roads, shocker. I feel bad for the people whose workplaces felt the status symbol of a glass box on a hilltop was more important than a reasonable commute for their employees.

I realize my impact on the quality of life here, and I chose my home and workplace based off of how little I could be on the roads. I'm almost never caught in the infamous Austin traffic despite the fact that I work hard to improve it. I realize that Barton Creek is one of the most special things about Austin and should be protected at all costs, as I'm sure most long-time residents would agree. I actually design projects like the one this thread is about for a living, so I know way more about this kind of thing than you. So you actually don't know a thing about me and aren't in a place to call me a hypocrite. Have any other comments that aren't ad hominem?