Austin Can't Wait to be Big
For those of us who have been in Austin since the 70's the chaos that is currently presenting itself in Austin, Tx seems excessive but inevitable. The Developers, it seems, have been given full autonomy to accommodate explosive growth throughout the booming metroplex. God Save the Armadillo!!
The overwhelming concern for all who live in the Austin area is TRAFFIC. Major throughfares in and out of Austin are going through complete makeovers. We travel SH 183, Mopac, and IH 35 when we have to. 183 is about 1/2 way through expanding the freeway to 5-6 lanes both ways. The intersection of Mopac and 183 are going through complete interchange do overs. This several years project pales in comparison to the IH 35 Downtown corridor rebuild that will take Six or more years to completion. Just like in Seattle if even one artery is closed due to traffic accident construction or whatever, then every other freeway and surface streets are impacted by spill over traffic looking for a way out.
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The 183 North Mobility Project aims to improve mobility, reduce congestion and provide more reliable travel times for transit and emergency responders along the nine-mile stretch of US 183 between SH 45 North and MoPac. The project includes the construction of two express lanes in each direction and the addition of a general-purpose lane to bring the number of non-tolled lanes to four in each direction. Express lane direct connectors will be constructed with MoPac to the south. The project also includes operational improvements to southbound MoPac, new shared use path connections, new sidewalks and cross-street connections for bicycles/pedestrians. When completed, those looking to bypass traffic congestion have a choice to use the 183 North Express Lanes. Drivers who prefer not to pay a toll will still have the option to use the improved non-tolled general-purpose lanes. See: https://www.183north.com/
Well for maybe 6 months or so it will be a little bit better, but if you build it they will come and just fill all the lanes up again beyond capacity. |
Now for the DOOZY:
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- The I-35 Capital Express Central project is located in the central region of the Austin metropolitan area at a length of approximately 8 miles along I-35 between US 290 East and SH 71/Ben White Boulevard.
- Improvements include removing the existing I-35 decks, lowering the roadway, and adding two non-tolled high-occupancy vehicle managed lanes in each direction along I-35 from US 290 East to SH 71/Ben White Boulevard. The project will also reconstruct east-west cross-street bridges, add pedestrian and bicycle paths, and make additional safety and mobility improvements within the project limits.
- Project development funded by TxDOT and Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization See: https://www.txdot.gov/mymobility35/projects/capex-central.html
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In order to do all the above, the city condemned broad swaths of land on either side of the 9 miles of downtown corridor I35. They have already been knocking down all the commercial buildings that lined the freeway. The dust level in Austin is so bad that they can't get reliable pollen readings for the daily weather reports! We live in Windsor Park, what used to be just a 5-10 minute drive into Downtown. Now you are taking your and others life at risk to turn left at an uncontrolled intersection. If you are going to turn right you better be in the right hand lane at least two blocks before your turn.
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They plan to Cap the portion that runs immediately through the Downtown area.
This is a rendering of what the cap would look like at 6th Street. The I35 would be under the green space. So tearing everything that exist now, replacing it with more lanes and then putting a cap on it will be a 6 year venture at least. |
What about Mass Transit Projects?? Well occasionally there are mentions of Capital Metro projects and a couple of years ago voters passed a $330 Million project to improve light rail and surface bus transit. "The City of Austin’s Project Connect Office collaborates with other City departments to implement the Project Connect program. The City also leads the management and investment of $300 million in funding for the Project Connect Displacement Prevention program and partners with CapMetro to implement Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD)."
Well $300 Million does sound like a lot of money but unfortunately it is not enough to pay for the vision created nearly 5 years ago. To bad they could not use perhaps $1 Billion of the several billion these two highway Projects combined cost taxpayers.
When your not Driving in Texas:
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| Our son Graeme picked us up for lunch at Mr. Natural, one of the few remaining spots from Old Austin, New Austin is known as ATX. We got hang out with our Grandaughter Liv and her Bo Joshua. |
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| A huge Mural at Mr. Natural, how many can you name? |
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| Act Naturally |
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| My sister Mama GinGin, said she was going to put all her Christmas stuff away, I said no not yet, let us come over and see it first. |
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| Man I remember these little Santa Clauses from the 50's |
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| Windsor Park is built on Black Gumbo, it has a lot of clay so when it rains, the whole neighborhood expands, when it is dry, the whole neighborhood shrinks, Google is learning the hard way after they buried their fiber cable throughout the whole neighborhood. Now they are coming through the neighborhood and digging us large sections where the fiber broke. |
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| Out with the old in with the new, the Postman is thankful. |
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| I asked a neighbor if he thought this guy would move in, in 2025 after three years of constructing his Bali abode, He said yes he thinks he will move in this year. |
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| We go to UT Health and this is the 7th floor, they planted the right thing to grow in the New Desert. |
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| We decided to take a walk through the University of Texas Campus and you have to cross Waller Creek that winds through Downtown to LadyBird Lake |
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| Well you could drive down this lane when the Admiral and I attended UT, now it is a promenade. |
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| George Washington with his back to the UT's Main building and facing the Capitol of Texas Building |
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| Another technological advancement at UT |
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| Blanton Art Museum |
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| This was cool, you could hear lots of different birds singing in the trees here at this small park by the Blanton Museum, but there were few birds around. |
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| I remember learning to play Speed Ball in one of my Physical Education classes here. |
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| These spineless Cacti is increasing in popularity for landscaping around here. |
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| The Lakes are still miserably low. |
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| We said a prayer with St. Francis. |
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| We walked down to Knox Ln to see if they had moved this Historic Home, nope, it is still here. |
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| Jake and Elroy in the Hood! |
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| A Windsor Park Sunset |
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| Does Not mater to me, I want more Guitars. |
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| I was recently experimenting with this mini Amp and found that by increasing the Ambiant knob I could create an Echo reverb affect. That led directly to my recent recording named for Sunset Park in Seattle and you can hear it here: Sunset Park https://sites.google.com/view/just-happy-to-be-here-tour/home
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| Big Dave recently moved into some new digs and there is a restaurant in his new neighborhood that has fun entertainment. This evening a very realistic Dolly Parton Impersonator was on the floor. If you closed your eyes you would have thought Dolly was really there, she was awesome and sang many of your favorite Dolly songs. |
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| She gave Dave a butt Bump |
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| Everybody Loves Dolly Parton. |
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| Seabiscuit visiting the homestead for a week. |
