Austin growth will absolutely overwhelm roads and highways starting in 2011 - new study (Georgetown: loans, school)

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by contramundum

What?! That **** better not be happening.

Ah, but it is and has been for some time.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

I don't have a problem with the freeways, I have a problem with them being toll roads. (And I cut my driving teeth on the Tollway between Dallas and Fort Worth.

If the toll roads were of the kind where, at a certain point, they would no longer be toll roads because they would be paid for, and if they didn't turn roads into toll roads that had already been paid for with money we voted in, theoretically, and if they didn't make it harder for people to use regular roads rather than toll roads than it was before the toll roads were built, just in an attempt to force people onto the toll roads, and if they didn't have rules against building non-toll roads or improving/maintaining the roads near the toll roads because the folks getting the money from the toll roads want to force people to use them, I probably wouldn't have so much of a problem with them.

Especially the part about, okay, it's costing X much to build this toll road, we'll collect tolls until that's done and then it will revert to a regular freeway. That's a really important part of toll roads being okay, in my book.

... And I've never understood why the toll roads in this state can't be this way. Instead, the toll fees just go up and up!

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

Originally Posted by contramundum

What?! That **** better not be happening.

The Amazon Road: Paving Paradise For Progress? : NPR

[artsyguy]

LOL pretty soon it will look like the gaza strip minus the lovely beach due to the influx of people and the road problems

[eepstein]

This is actually a good thing. There are no plans for any road work in Austin for at least the next 10 years. The horse and buggy road system will remain in it's 1960's look for the forseeable future. The gridlock will become so bad in Austin that people will relocate elsewhere because the quality of life will continue to decrease (similar to what is happening now). Austin has far too many people and a train wreck city council that couldn't care less about Austin growth patterns. SPRAWL SPRAWL SPRAWL!!! Austin will probably eventually become one of the biggest polluter cities in the nation as well. It's already the capital of the biggest polluting state!!! Oh Austin, the good times are nearly done!

Originally Posted by inthecut

According to the study, monies to build out road infrastructure in central Texas, centered on Austin, will be far short of what is needed. 27% of the monies will come short, from 2011-2035, which will lead to quite horrendous gridlock on Austin's local roads and freeways. It's already a foregone conclusion that the pace cannot keep up even with the population we have now. Whatever added population in the years 2011-2035 will add to that gridlock 100%. End result.....a metro that will quickly have such a overcongestion problem that the Quality of Life of the same will drop markedly. Only question is when the overwhelming gridlock will take place. If shortly after 2011, it could be absolutely insufferable by 2015, becoming a mini - Southern California of sorts......

If I am reading today's Austin American article right...

Planners see dip in money for new roads (http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/09/15/0915transpo.html - broken link)

....then could we be seeing the end of Austin's "growth" as we know it?
Have we reached a finite carrying capacity of roads, per a wall in financial resources to maintain the same?.......Have we just seen the "Glory Days" of Austin's growth pass by from "1985-present day", only to be eclipsed by overcrowding and poor rapid transit planning.....in short, stupidity, myopia, and greed?

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Per the article..

"In any case, transit advocates say key arteries Interstate 35 and MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1), confined by development, can't be expanded enough to accommodate what CAMPO expects to be a near doubling of the Central Texas population to 3.2 million in 2035. Public transit — buses and rail — will have to take up the slack, they say. The CAMPO estimates, which officials with the planning agency say are still subject to refinements, paint a gloomy picture of the area's ability to respond to the presence of all those people."

"CAMPO principal planner Stevie Greathouse said the greater emphasis on maintenance of existing systems reflects a growing awareness in the transportation industry that infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate. Given projected inflation in construction costs, Greathouse said the actual ability to build road and rail capacity would fall by as much as 50 percent."

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Note I did not mention the probability of a large spike in gas prices in the next 5-10 years, which would compound the congestion, with the nightmare scenario of no funding available for public transportation even if wanted, not enough roads for cars, and no alternative to unaffordable mobility........overcrowded roads would just be a PART of that scenario....

And thank California for giving the nation the "living in your car" cultural meme of urban sprawl, which they seem to be predestined to spread in turn across much of the Western US, as they migrate their unsustainable lifestyles to more "affordable" pastures, after turing their state real estate market into a giant Ponzi scheme and bankrupting the statehouse......

[austin-steve]

Few two story homes

Just to correct this statement, More than half the homes in Austin are 2 story or multi-story homes.

Steve

[Trainwreck20]

Is that true? I would not have guessed that, since there are so few in the older north-central part of Austin, and I would guess 1/2 or less in our area of VOWO are 2-story. My old neighborhood up north was probably more like 1/4 or less. These are all just visible observations, though, and I guess the new developments are more 2-story? Are you talking Austin proper or the surrounding area, as well?

[TexasHorseLady]

I'd have to back Steve up on this one. In fact, in some neighborhoods, one-stories are at a premium because there are so many more two-stories than one stories and that needs to be considered when doing a Comparative Market Analysis for a seller or buyer. Now, right down near downtown Austin, there are more one-stories, but the areas I'm thinking of have been here for quite a while.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Is that true? I would not have guessed that, since there are so few in the older north-central part of Austin, and I would guess 1/2 or less in our area of VOWO are 2-story. My old neighborhood up north was probably more like 1/4 or less. These are all just visible observations, though, and I guess the new developments are more 2-story? Are you talking Austin proper or the surrounding area, as well?

Just a quick look in the Austin MLS, so it includes all areas. I suppose MLS listings could technically not be entirely representative, but nonetheless, there are 4761 multi-story houses listed for sale out of 9317 total. That's 51% that are 2+ stories. I only pulled single family homes.

Steve

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Just a quick look in the Austin MLS, so it includes all areas. I suppose MLS listings could technically not be entirely representative, but nonetheless, there are 4761 multi-story houses listed for sale out of 9317 total. That's 51% that are 2+ stories. I only pulled single family homes.

Steve

I don't know that you can rely on the MLS because those are only the houses for sale. Maybe there are areas that don't turn over as much that are predominantly single story.