About the ASMP

Austin has some of the worst transportation challenges in the nation. How should we make smart investments that offer Austinites a full range of real, practical mobility choices that suit their lifestyles and improve their lives? And how do we design a transportation system that not only helps us get around, but also creates jobs and prosperity, protects the environment and neighborhoods, and accommodates regional growth?

That's the mission and purpose of the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, which also includes the city's Urban Rail program, implementation of the 2010 Mobility Bond program, and other initiatives of the City of Austin Transportation Department. Working with local and national experts, the City of Austin is focusing on short- and long-term transportation needs and new and improved alternatives to driving alone.  The ASMP will also help support and inform the ongoing Imagine Austin comprehensive planning effort.

The ASMP is built around substantial public involvement. The program includes public forums and presentations, meetings with neighborhood and community groups, and online and social media outreach, tailored to the needs of Austin's diverse communities.  We're also building upon Austin's previous planning efforts and initiatives to provide the information and tools we need for action.

What’s the problem?

• Transportation is Austin’s biggest problem. It’s what people and businesses consistently rank No. 1 among their concerns in study after study. Our metro area is the most congested of its size in America.

• Traffic congestion is only going to get worse if we don’t act now. The gap between our needs and our resources is growing wider, and Austin is growing faster than we can build.  We can't keep up with demand by building roads. We need to implement new solutions  — including transit, pedestrian/bicycle projects, car and ride sharing, and travel demand management — to increase capacity and better manage this trend. 

• Central Austin is facing gridlock. Downtown, the Capitol Complex, the UT campus area, and the adjoining neighborhoods are running out of room for the cars of all the people who want to be there — and the thousands who now or will soon live there.

• It’s about more than just getting around.  People move around to work, live, learn and enjoy life.  The lack of transportation choices in Austin does real damage to the city’s treasured quality of life, its economic competitiveness, its environmental stewardship, and its ability to grow responsibly in the future.

The ASMP's Vision, Mission and Goals

The ASMP will guide both near- and long-term coordinated investments that will further the City’s mobility goals in the context of a shared community vision.

An Austin with an integrated mobility network for the entire community that provides safe and efficient alternatives to driving alone, supports connected development around activity centers and corridors, and respects the limitations of our natural resources as we respond to the region’s rapid growth.

Key questions the ASMP aims to address include:

·      How can we best bring near-term relief for the most critical mobility problems facing Autin today?

·      How do we best invest our limited resources in transportation projects to make our system more functional, efficient and sustainable?

·      How can the City best work together with all the other public and private sector participants in Austin’s transportation network?

The Work of the ASMP

Gap Analysis

The City has already collected more than 2,000 potential transportation projects from public meetings, online surveys, stakeholder groups, technical experts and the general public. The SMP will continue to collect project ideas to resolve both gaps and bottlenecks in our current transportation network.

The ASMP team has evaluated candidate projects derived from this gap list, based on criteria (“measures of effectiveness”) that reflect key community objectives and that have been weighted based on community input.

As projects are prioritized they will be brought before the City Council, and funding requests will be brought before voters for their approval. The city's 2010 Mobility Bond program, developed using the ASMP's project prioritization process, includes $90 million in investments in Austin's roads and bicycle, pedestrian and transit facilities. These include projects being built in partnership with other agencies and jurisdictions.

Corridor Planning   

The ASMP will review Austin’s key transportation corridors to identify strategic needs for coordinated projects that integrate bus, rail, pedestrians, bicycles, and cars. This will bring Austin’s planning and investment decisions in line with the best practices adopted in other communities by transportation experts and the federal government.

More Strategic Mobility Plan resources>

Urban Rail

The Urban Rail program will directly address the growing mobility challenges facing Central Austin — Downtown, the Capitol Complex, the UT campus area and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Central Austin is home to more than 100,000 people and 100,000 jobs — with more being added every day. It's the economic and cultural engine that helps power all of Central Texas. Without more and better mobility options to serve the area, we'll only see more and more gridlock that clogs up the entire regional transportation network and reduces vitality and livability for all of us.

Widening roads and building more parking spaces can no longer be the only option. As Austin's core becomes more dense, rail is most likely the best option to add travel capacity and mobility choices. Urban Rail is envisioned to connect major activity centers within Central Austin and link to regional rail and bus service — including Capital Metro's Red Line.  This would not only create a real alternative to driving for hundreds of thousands of Central Texans, but also provide the needed hub of a region-wide rail and transit network.

This isn't a new idea. The city’s history of planning rail transit dates back to 1973 and the Austin Tomorrow Plan. As part of the ASMP, the Urban Rail program will complete a basic system plan, defining routes, costs, technology, and funding strategies. The project will identify a starter system (known as a First Investment Segment or FIS).  This information is needed so that the City Council and the voters can make informed choices about an investment in Urban Rail.

More Urban Rail resources>