County Judge: Congestion Won’t Get Better, Your Experience With it Might

Posted on 11/10/2015 by Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce

Amid torrential rains October 30, the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council gathered a dedicated group of business and transportation leaders to discuss approaches to managing the region’s explosive employment and population growth. In her keynote, Travis County Judge and Chief Emergency Officer Sarah Eckhardt reframed the conversation on traffic.

“We are growing so fast in this corridor, it is not a realistic goal to reduce congestion,” said Eckhardt. “But your experience with congestion may improve if we are visionary.”

The visionary idea to which Judge Eckhardt was alluding is the Lone Star Rail District. It’s an intergovernmental agency whose main focus is bringing high-speed passenger rail service (dubbed the LSTAR) to the Austin-San Antonio corridor - providing a safe, convenient, cost-effective alternative to gridlocked IH-35. Eckhardt acknowledged the challenge of drawing people out of their cars, but affirmed that “giving over the steering wheel” with autonomous vehicles or transit, is the surest way to improve the commute experience.

She briefly discussed the opportunities to leverage revenue from toll roads before the weather and her role as the county's chief emergency officer cut her comments short. Policymakers have been quietly discussing how to reinvest potential future surplus toll revenue from the proposed MoPac South express lanes. Over 25 years, the fund could potentially channel $230 million to region-wide transit improvements.

The Austin Chamber supports the effort to make LSTAR a reality and looks forward to working with Judge Eckhardt, Travis County and other local stakeholders in exploring innovative ways to expand mobility options across Central Texas.


Related Categories: Chamber, Economic Development, Public Policy, Transportation