Let's race, Austin!

Austin will soon be home to a lot more high-speed driving.  That's right--they're finally widening I-35!

Yeah, right.

Okay, back on Planet Reality, I-35 may never be widened, but there will be some high-speed driving in the form of the Formula One United States Grand Prix:

“We are extremely honoured and proud to reach an agreement with the F1 Commercial Rights Holder. We have been diligently working together for several years to bring this great event to Austin, the State of Texas and back to the United States. All parties involved have a great amount of trust and confidence in each other and are committed to establishing the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™ in Austin, Texas as a prestigious global event,” stated Tavo Hellmund, Managing Partner of Full Throttle Productions, LP.

Bernie Ecclestone, President and CEO of the Formula One Group stated: “For the first time in the history of Formula One in the United States, a world-class facility will be purpose-built to host the event. It was thirty years ago that the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™ was last held on a purpose-built permanent road course circuit in Watkins Glen, NY (1961-1980), which enjoyed great success. Since then, Formula One has been hosted by Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix all on temporary street circuits. Indianapolis joined the ranks of host cities in 2000 when they added a road course inside the famed oval. Lewis Hamilton won the last Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™ in 2007, signalling the end to eight years at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This however, will be the first time a facility is constructed from the ground up specifically for Formula One in the US.”

Mr. Hellmund added: “This is a case of the right timing in the right place. As many Americans know, Austin has earned a reputation as one of the ‘it’ cities in the United States. Austin features that rare combination of ideal geographic location and beauty. Its fine dining, world-renowned hospitality and excellent transportation infrastructure make Austin ideally suited to host and manage an event of this magnitude. Few cities if any in America could rival the connectivity of all the key elements needed for hosting a Formula 1 event as well as Austin. Now, many people around the world will have the opportunity to experience a world-class event, facility and city.”

An agreement has been signed that will make Austin the host of the race from 2012 to 2021.  No word yet on where a ground-up racing location might be built.  Let me take the opportunity to make the first prediction:  east of I-35.

Just plan to take some extra time if you want to drive over there to see the race.

How NOT to make people sympathetic to bicyclists' causes

Want to make people unsympathetic to the cause of bicyclists on the streets?  Only follow the rules when it suits you.

Anyone who drives on never-to-be-widened-ever-ever-ever Manchaca Road (see page 142 here for details) knows that it has the tendency to get backed up going southbound during afternoon rush.  So, it was no surprise the other day when I noticed a long line for the Stassney light.  However, in this case, there was an extra backup in the right lane.  (Thankfully, I was not in the right lane.)  As it turned out, there was a bicycle in the right lane, and cars were waiting to get a chance to move to the left lane to get around it.  That's all well and good.

However, as I sat at the Stassney light (the backup was enough that I did not make the light), I was rather surprised to see the same bicyclist riding up the sidewalk, but only until the light turned green.  At this point, he jumped right back into the right lane of traffic, cutting off several vehicles that, I assume, had just gone through the trouble of trying to pass him earlier.  I can only guess that at that point several of the drivers affected were not too happy about this situation, and about the bicyclist in general.

But Snowed, I hear you cry, it's legal to bike on the sidewalk!  Yes it is, per Austin City Code Section 12-2-13:  "Except as provided in Subsection (B) [a section that lists specific exceptions, not including any portion of Manchaca Road], a person may ride a bicycle on a sidewalk." Again, that's fine.  However, the bicyclist in question ignored Section 12-2-14:  "A bicyclist exiting from an alley, driveway, or building shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian on a sidewalk or sidewalk area, or to a vehicle on a roadway."  The drivers I mentioned earlier were cut off by the bicyclist, in total violation of this section.  I myself have almost hit a bicyclist who jumped onto Manchaca Road without even looking, about two feet in front of my car.

So, Snowed, isn't it legal for him to simply ride between the cars at a light anyway?  No, it isn't, per Section 12-2-16 (B):  "A bicyclist may not ride a bicycle between vehicles traveling or standing in the same direction within marked lanes of a roadway."  The proper thing to do would have been for the bicyclist to wait in line at the red light with the rest of us.

Again, I have nothing about bicycles on Austin streets; I simply think more people would be inclined to treat bikes nicely if their occupants know and follow the law.

Austin Traffic's Most Costly Delays

So which roads in the Austin area rank as the most congested? According to TxDOT, they're probably the ones you expect. 590 KLBJ is reporting that the Texas Department of Transportation has released a list (available here) of the 100 most congested roadway segments in Texas, based on the annual weekday hours of delay per mile. As might be expected, the Houston and Dallas areas take the top spots, but Austin, of course, has its fair share of roads on the list. All of these roads have a "Texas Congestion Index" of well over 1.0; this is an index of travel times during congestion versus travel times at, say, four in the morning. (If you ask me, most of the Texas Congestion Index values for these roads are woefully low; unfortunately, TxDOT didn't ask me.)

Most of these roads are projected to get a lot worse (TCI readings of up to 3.00, meaning a trip during rush hour would take three times as long as during non-rush hours) by the year 2028. Luckily, TxDOT's page very helpfully also points out what plans it has for each of those roads to improve them, hopefully to prevent a whole lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth by frustrated Texas commuters.

Unluckily, a lot of the Travis/Williamson County roads listed do not have a lot of improvements scheduled anytime soon, or even at all, for some of them. Let's take a look:

• I-35 between Ben White and US 183 (#26): TCI of 1.41, projected to be 2.25 by 2028. Projected improvements: none. That's right, TxDOT, CAMPO, and whoever else is responsible for this mess are going to do nothing about it. There's a reason I use TX 130 to skip this mess whenever possible between 3 and 7.
• Mopac between US 183 and US 290 (#44): TCI of 1.31, 2.01 by 2028. Projected improvements: building of managed lanes (that means HOV or HOT lanes). Find a carpooling buddy, commuters. The first projected bid date for this is December 2013. (Aside: it really bugs me when people call US 290 "Ben White" in that area. Ben White Blvd. officially ends at Lamar. Yeah, I suppose I am a roadgeek.)
  
• I-35 between US 183 and Howard Ln. (#45): TCI of 1.30, 1.97 by 2028. Projected improvements: 1) widen the frontage road in one area; and 2) reconstruct the Parmer interchange. From experience, I know that the Parmer/I-35 interchange is nasty. It used to take me 15 minutes just to get through there going westbound at 5:30pm. So, I'm sure any improvement would be appreciated by thousands of people (well, once it's done, I guess).
• Mopac between TX 45 and Parmer Ln. (#48): TCI of 1.27, 1.44 by 2028. First of all, I find this hard to believe, as Mopac north of Parmer is a toll road, and I have never seen it congested. (Feel free to correct me on this point, Mopac commuters.) Projected improvements: none.
• US 183 between Mopac and I-35 (#49): TCI of 1.28, 2.08 by 2028. Again, I don't normally see this road backed up during rush hour (though it certainly is north of Mopac). Projected improvements: managed lanes, bidding in 2013.
• I-35 between Howard Ln. and the north edge of Round Rock (#53): TCI of 1.27, 1.99 by 2028. Projected improvements: the rest of the direct connectors to TX 45, bidding in 2012.
• Southwest Pkwy between Vega and Mopac (#54): TCI of 1.29, not projected to 2028. Well, this makes sense, given that you have a six-lane road ending at a traffic light where everyone is forced into one lane if they want onto Mopac. Not really the best plan, if you ask me. Projected improvements: none. I suppose you could always use Boston Ln. to cut over to US 290 and skip the lights, but that has its own problems.
• Loop 360 from US 183 to RM 2222 (#55): TCI of 1.35, 1.50 by 2028. Obviously there are no projected improvements to 360, given that CAMPO is still trying to figure out what they'll do with the road. Till then, find a good radio station, I guess.
• Loop 360 from RM 2222 to RM 2244 (#61): TCI of 1.33, 1.50 by 2028. Apparently it gets better if you are going southbound. Projected improvements: see above.
• US 183 from RM 1431 to the Travis/Williamson county line (#64): TCI of 1.33, 1.48 by 2028. Projected improvements: the aforementioned managed lanes, starting at Lakeline Blvd. (Aside: seriously, 183 from the county line to Mopac isn't on here? Something's gotta be wrong with that.)
  
• RM 620 from US 183 to RM 2222 (#70): TCI of 1.37, 1.86 by 2028. I suppose the much worse congestion in twenty years is to be expected; I wouldn't think any of those traffic lights will go away. Projected improvements: extend the Texas 45 freeway west to El Salido Pkwy. (Yet another aside: I'm sure 45 will be tolled, but it's still a "freeway"...traffic moves freely, or at least w/out traffic signals or cross streets.)
• US 290 from "Oak" (I think this means Oak Hill) to RM 1826 (#72): TCI of 1.32, 1.44 by 2028. No projected improvements shown, but I think CAMPO and TxDOT are still figuring out how to make that part of 290 into a freeway, so something's going to be different by then (we can only hope).
• FM 1325 from I-35 to Merrilltown Dr. (#78): TCI of 1.31, 1.56 by 2028. Really? Why is this here? Why aren't commuters using Mopac, which is, at most, a half-mile away? Yeah, I know, it's a toll road. Wouldn't you be saving time, and, therefore, money by using it anyway?
  
• Loop 360 from RM 2244 to Mopac (#81): TCI of 1.30, 1.47 by 2028. Previous 360 comments apply.

Like I said, there aren't too many surprises here, although I think this congestion index is understating the delays present in some of these routes today, let alone 2028.

Obviously, TxDOT has its fair share of funding issues at present. Are more toll roads the answer? (Yes, I see you, Mike Dahmus.) How about raising the gas tax? (That's probably a non-starter in Texas at the moment.) How about mass transit? (Oh, right, we have Capital Metro.)

Or, is a paradigm shift in order? Is it possible that we'll see a majority of people shifting to telecommuting? (I'd like to; unfortunately, my home computer is older than my children combined.)

I don't know. All I know is that my Manchaca Road commute that used to be 15 minutes each way now averages 22-23 minutes as more and more structures go up in south Austin. That, and I know that we need to start this discussion now if we don't want to be seething in traffic in 2028.

Cap Metro board member wants to cut Red Line funding

590 KLBJ reports today that Capital Metro board member Mike Manor has proposed a massive cut to the Red Line's 2010 operating budget, affecting jobs and rail schedules. (KLBJ reports that the proposed cut is 48%, but the numbers on its site don't add up at present.) This proposal is due to the massive shortfall that Capital Metro appears to be facing in the coming year.

Given the Red Line's interminable delays, low ridership projections, and now this opposition from its own board members, the Red Line is seriously looking like one of the biggest failures in mass transit, well, ever. It does not appear at present that the huge amounts of money thrown at this commuter rail project (as local blogger M1EK will tell you, it is NOT a light rail project, or anything resembling one) will ever be recovered. Meanwhile, traffic continues to get worse.

Final thought: given Austin's reluctance to build a decent road/highway system and Cap Metro's seeming inability to run a working transit system, can our transportation policy be summarized as "Keep Austin Congested"? I say yes.

What Did the Mopac SWAT Standoff Teach Us?

If you live in Austin and weren't aware of yesterday's SWAT standoff involving the man threatening suicide on the Barton Creek greenbelt, and the fallout from said standoff, including the shutting down of Mopac in both directions, consider yourself lucky. But here's the Statesman's article, if you're interested.

Anyway, speaking as someone who was unfortunately caught in it (heard the warning on KLBJ at 4:25 or so, got off Mopac, and then immediately spent the next hour and change stuck on Lamar) I noticed several things about how things were handled, good and bad:

• There are no alternate routes in Austin. Whoever designed the freeway and street systems here ought to be ashamed of themselves. (Aside: one local blogger said here that this should be an incentive to get people onto buses or bikes. That would be great, if I weren't coming back from a client's office in Georgetown. Some of us need our cars, and there's no getting around it. (Aside to the aside: the link I just posted invited comments from people who couldn't switch to buses or bikes, but there was no way to leave comments.))
• It takes very little to make a lot of people lose their patience. Both the blogger I just mentioned and I heard people on the radio wondering whether it would have been better to let the man--I think this was the phrase used on KLBJ--"off himself" and get the roads open again. Yikes. (I heard someone a little more humane as well, who said they should have used a tranquilizer such as for large animals, but I don't think that was on the radio.)
  
• I can understand the closing of Mopac...if the highway hadn't been closed and, God forbid, something had happened, the cops would have been excoriated for it. But come on, guys, why in the world was there no one directing traffic at Mopac and 360? Reports were that ten cars got through at a time, and that particular light is not a quick cycle.

Some of these issues, of course, have no quick solution (at this point, there are no solutions on the table for traffic, as far as I can tell), but I think there needs to be some evaluation of the way police handled the freeway shutdown process.

Or they could just make 360/Mopac into a full freeway interchange and finish the 290/360/Lamar and 290/Mopac interchanges already.

CAMPO wants to hear from you

As stated in this KXAN story, CAMPO (the local transportation planning organization) is seeking input for its 2035 transportation plan. In addition, CAMPO's main page has a link to a survey on proposed amendments to the 2008-2011 Transportation Improvement Plan (there are four; the biggest one for most people will be the completion of the Ben White/I-35 interchange). Go check into these and give CAMPO your feedback.

Dear Crockett HS Parents...

I think the family members of most Crockett High School students are pretty good drivers. However, with that said, there are definitely exceptions, and to those people, I offer this free advice:

Manchaca Road is a really bad place to stop to let off your kid. This is especially true when the school zone is not in operation. You may have noticed that there are convenient parking lots located directly off Manchaca into which you may turn. Please avail yourself of the opportunity to do so.

Your fellow drivers would appreciate it.

Capital Metro: Dumber than Advertised

Yes, I know Capital Metro's new flyer concerns rail safety, but somehow I don't think it's a great idea for them to say, "Use your brains! Stay away from trains!"

Because Austinites will. In droves.

Capital Metro: All Systems Reverse!

Capital Metro, our not-so-venerable public transit system, seems determined to make everything it does into a public relations nightmare. This may be because almost every decision made in recent years by Cap Metro has worked out worse for riders.

For example:

1. The Commuter Rail boondoggle - I don't even want to start with how bad an idea this was. And I don't have to...Mike Dahmus has explained it so much better than I could anyway. (Though I will take exception to his thoughts that light rail would work better...if memory serves, it did nothing for south Austin except what Cap Metro is doing now anyway: rapid bus service. That way commuters can get nowhere faster.)

2. Losing riders? Let's raise fares! - Per the American-Statesman, 44% of people polled think raising fares is a good idea. I'd be willing to bet that 100% of those 44% are not regular riders. (There is no confirmation that they are the same people as responded to this poll, however.) Anyone who rides knows that now is not the time to raise fares, especially since they are not worried about not meeting their budget until 2011.

Here are some ideas of how to expand services first and maybe even make it worthwhile for people to ride before raising fares:

a. Try actually covering all of Austin - hey, we're paying for this thing, why not expand some routes to cover the whole city! As it presently stands, Capital Metro seems to think the city magically ends at Slaughter Lane going south, unless you're west of Mopac...then it ends further north, at Convict Hill.

b. More routes, more often - Anyone wishing to take the 338 (West Gate) south and transfer to the 333 (Wm Cannon) westbound during the 5:00 hour should probably bring a book, since you will be waiting over 30 minutes for your bus. When it's 100 degrees outside, that's not fun. And that's just one example. Perhaps Cap Metro might consider running more buses along those routes to reduce waiting times, so that 15-minute commutes don't become 90-minute ones, courtesy Capital Metro.

3. Pure indifference to riders' concerns/needs - The Manchaca and South 1st "flyer" routes have now been changed such that afternoon riders are not allowed to board south of Lady Bird Lake, presumably to reduce stops. It was related anecdotally to me (but corroborated by several others) that kids wishing to board the 103 (Manchaca Flyer) at Crockett HS were yelled at by the driver, who then shut the door in their faces. The bus was already stopped to let someone off at this location. One student told the driver that this was the only route to use to get home (as the 103 does not exactly parallel the 3, which also travels on Manchaca Rd), but the driver showed no concern whatsoever.

(It should be noted that Capital Metro's website trip planner still shows that it is permissible to board the flyers south of the river. Just be prepared for a cranky driver.)

I could go on about the tendency of some of Cap Metro's drivers to mash whichever pedal they are using to the floor, resulting in bumpy, jerky rides and uncomfortable riders, but I won't.

If you listen to Capital Metro, you won't hear any of these concerns addressed anywhere. Per their "All Systems Go!" webpage, they say the following:

Could it be a dream? You go to work, but you’re not stuck in traffic. You don’t check your watch, wondering if you’ll be late. Instead, you read the sports section or choose a song on your iPod. You arrive early for a change and are remarkably stress free.

Could it be a dream? Absolutely, unless you like getting to your bus stop a good hour before you would have left your home normally. If you think you can leave your home at the same time you did when you drove, expect a nightmare.

Soon, sleek new trains and buses will make this dream a reality.

Unless, of course, you live anywhere in south Austin. If you do, get used to the same old traffic, 'cos Cap Metro won't help you.

Thanks to the All Systems Go plan that you helped create, you might make Capital Metro your second car.

It would have to be my second car, as Capital Metro certainly hasn't proven itself a worthy replacement for my daily commute.

Austin Traffic Enforcement, Part II

I'm sure it's a coincidence that right after I posted this, the Austin Police Department stopped supplying the media with locations where the police will be actively monitoring for speeders.

So, with that vital piece of information gone, I supply this as a public service. The following is true on almost any weekday morning from now until the end of time.

The Austin Police Department will be watching for speeders in one of the following locations:
1. 7400 block, Manchaca Rd (Strickland Christian School zone)
2. 5600-6000 block, Manchaca Rd. (Crockett HS zone)
3. 3800-4000 block, Manchaca Rd. (Ann Richards School zone)

Basically, don't speed on Manchaca in school zones. Ever.

Austin Traffic Enforcement

Dear American-Statesman and every TV station that indicates where Austin police will be watching for speeders every day,

Why don't you just make things easier (and more accurate) for everyone by placing Manchaca Road as a permanent entry?

Just a friendly suggestion!