ADD A SAFE MOBILITY BOND TO THE NOVEMBER BALLOT
The Safe Mobility Bond would pay for critically needed sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, and other infrastructure that would empower all Austinites to get around safely without a car. The allocation of these funds will be up to the City Council, with input from staff and the public. Here’s an overview of the identified needs:
Sidewalks: The City’s Sidewalk Master Plan identifies over 2,500 miles of absent sidewalks across the city. Of those, 252 miles are considered very high priority, and another 328 miles are considered high priority. Based on cost estimates in the plan, building out the very high priority sidewalks would cost about $160 million, and the high priority sidewalks would cost another $208 million.
Bike lanes: The City’s 2014 Bicycle Master Plan envisions a core network of safe facilities suitable for people of all ages and abilities. By the end of 2020, about half of this network should be implemented. Building out the remainder of the network – as the plan calls for doing by 2025 – will cost about $170 million. Of that amount, $47 million would go toward on-street facilities (mainly protected bike lanes). The other $123 million is needed for the Tier 1 urban trails described in the Urban Trails Master Plan.
Vision Zero: The City’s Vision Zero Plan calls for intersection improvements, raised crosswalks, signal upgrades, design modifications to major streets and other measures aimed at ending the needless deaths and injuries occurring on Austin roads every year.
Safe Routes to School: The 2016 Mobility Bond included $27.5 million for this vital program, divided evenly among the 10 Council Districts, but that amount will soon be depleted. The program has identified needs for improvements across the city.
Based on the cost of general obligation bonds passed by Austin voters in the last 20 years, our estimate is that the cost of the Safe Mobility Bond to the owner of a median value home in Austin would be less than $4-$5/month or $48-$60/year starting no sooner than 2022 when these bonds would begin to be sold. These estimates would be clarified once City of Austin staff determines Austin’s bonding capacity.
It’s crucial that we all sign this petition. Your support will help transform how Austinites get around for decades to come.
FAQs
Why do we need ANOTHER bond?
The City has already accomplished a lot with funding from the 2016 Mobility Bond. BUT that funding is about to run out, potentially as soon as 2022. To continue implementing the Sidewalk, Bicycle, and Urban Trails Plans, and Vision Zero goals, the City needs additional funding.
Where did the $750 million figure come from?
This proposed amount is based on the cost estimates for the high and highest priorities identified in the 3 master plans: Sidewalk Plan, Bicycle Plan, Urban Trails Plan. The final decision on the amount of the bond proposal and the fund allocation will be made by Austin City Council with input from City staff and the public.
One detailed breakdown has been provided by https://wheeldeal.org/ It’s summarized here:
550 miles of new sidewalks at $350 million
300+ miles of bikes lanes and trails at $350 million
Vision Zero - $35 million to fix the 10 most dangerous road intersections and other identified safety projects
How will the money be divided between priorities?
Ultimately, funding allocations will be up to the City Council, with input from staff and the public and based on the priorities identified in each of these existing Plans: Sidewalk Plan, Bicycle Plan, Urban Trails Plan, and Vision Zero goals.
Austin Outside is advocating that this funding go to support the highest priority needs identified in each of these approved plans.
If this Safe Mobility bond proposition gets on the ballot and passes, the Mayor and Council will decide annually how much of this $750 million in ‘bonding authority’ will be appropriated in that year’s budget. It is a measured and careful way to get voter authorization to fund the Sidewalk, Bicycle, and Trail plans with elected officials controlling how quickly and where it is spent.
Who is in charge of each bucket of money if the bond passes?
Ultimately, the allocation of these funds will be up to City Council with input from staff and the public. These City departments that will be tasked with implementing the funds:
Transportation Department: On-street bicycle lanes, Vision Zero Program
Public Works Department: Sidewalks and urban trails
Will equity be a factor in deciding which projects are priority if the bond passes? How?
Yes. The City of Austin Equity Office provides oversight to City staff as they allocate capital to the 3 plans. Austin Outside is advocating for these funds to be spent on the high and highest priorities, relying on City staff to spend the funds on “high” and “highest” sidewalk, bicycle, and trail plans priorities. We expect the equity lens to drive the ‘high and highest’ priority lists.
The 3 existing plans establish priorities through a detailed matrix which was created through a robust community process. The needs identified in the plans are concentrated on the east side of Austin for a number of reasons, including historic disinvestment.
Funding these active transportation plans is critical to creating a more equitable transportation system in Austin since not everyone can or wants to drive a car.
How much will this increase taxes?
Austin Outside’s estimate is $4-5/month or $48-$60/year starting no sooner than 2022 to the owner of a median value home. City staff will provide its estimated cost when the Mayor & City Council ask for it in the process of deciding to put the Safe Mobility Bond proposal on the ballot.
Tax increases to pay for bonds are not in perpetuity. Once the City pays off a bond, the tax obligation associated with it goes away. The city pays off some older bonds each year. This results in any tax increase associated with the issuance of the Safe Mobility Bonds being less than it would be otherwise.
Will the Safe Mobility Bond be in conflict with the Cap Metro Project Connect Transit Bond?
Austinites have a history of approving multiple bond packages in a single election. For example, 2018 saw the approval of 7 bonds, including Prop A: Affordable Housing, Prop B: Libraries, Museums and Cultural Arts Facilities, Prop C: Parks and Recreation, Prop D: Flood Mitigation, Open Space, and Water Quality Protection, Prop E: Health and Human Services, Prop F: Public Safety, Prop G: Transportation Infrastructure. In 2017, Travis County voters passed 2 bonds; one for roads and one for parks.
Additionally, the two systems go hand in hand to alleviate vehicular congestion in our city. Improving the infrastructure of our city's bike lanes, urban trails and sidewalks allows better access to public transit across the city as a whole.
When can we expect to see projects funded if this bond passes?
We anticipate the first Safe Mobility bonds would be issued in September 2021, which would provide the first projects funds at the start of the city’s 2022 fiscal year, October 1, 2021.
When can we expect to see projects built if this bond passes?
This is dependent on each department’s implementation process.
How will all this impact traffic congestion?
As economic activity picks up, we’re bound to return to higher volumes of car traffic. Before the shutdown, parts of the city would often become gridlocked during the afternoon rush hour. A large part of the problem is that Austin doesn’t offer much in terms of safe alternatives to driving. Over 75 percent of Austinites drive to work alone; a higher share than Los Angeles. If we continue to offer no alternatives, congestion will only get worse.
Many Austinites have indicated that they would be open to biking short distances if it were safe to do so. A 2013 survey found that protected bicycle lanes would attract 55 percent of Austin’s population. A key concept underlying the Bicycle Plan is that if we provide a core network of facilities designed for people of all ages and abilities, it will attract some significant number of people from this “interested but concerned” crowd – people who are interested in biking, but concerned for their safety. Most trips in Austin are under three miles, distances for which a bicycle offers a good alternative to the car. And every person who is enabled to travel by bike could mean one less car competing for space with other drivers.
What else will this bond offer for people driving cars?
Safer, less congested streets benefit everyone, including drivers.