UrbanizeAustin

The City is seeking input on turning Congress Ave on the south side of the Capitol building into a pedestrian plaza. This would be between 7th St. & 11th St. From the Austin Business Journal: "Public input is being sought regarding the so-called Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative, which would make Austin's main street a “more human centered, multimodal, complete street with a clear and attractive identity," according to an Oct. 9 announcement from the city. The biggest change to Congress Avenue in the proposal would be to convert the blocks between Seventh and 11th streets into pedestrian plazas — blocking vehicles from traveling north and south starting at Seventh. The proposed pedestrian plazas would still allow vehicles traveling east and west to cross Congress Avenue between those two streets." "Other changes between Congress Avenue and Cesar Chavez Street would include converting existing parking spaces to pedestrian uses and improving bike paths. It's possible some retailers on Congress Avenue could claim some of the newly created space. According to a study previously commissioned by the city, 94 parking spaces on Congress Avenue would be eliminated by the initiative, which equates to a reduction of 0.27% of publicly available spaces in the area. About $22 million in funding for the first phase of the project — which city officials said was inspired by the transformation of the Texas Capitol Mall — would come from a 2020 mobility bond initiative." "The initial phase would include street reconstruction and two of four pedestrian plazas, according to the city's Transportation and Public Works website. They would be between Ninth and 11th Streets, and the project would include the addition of trees, street lights and expanded cafe zones. The blocks between Seventh and Ninth streets also would become pedestrian zones, but the streets wouldn't be reconstructed and trees wouldn't be added until additional funding is identified." bizjournals.com/austin/news/…