A recent luncheon hosted by the Austin Chamber drew an animated crowd of business executives, transportation officials and dignitaries eager to discuss innovative ways to address traffic on Austin’s most congested corridors. State Senator Kirk Watson moderated a panel discussion focused on the seven options that the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) is weighing to remake MoPac South. The four main criteria for the selection process includes improving efficiency, making travel times more reliable, creating a consistent route for transit, and facilitating dependable emergency response.

Panel Discussion

The panel at the Hyatt Regency featured Ginger Goodin, Senior Research Engineer at the Texas Transportation Institute; Chris Tomlinson, chief of two of Georgia’s state transportation authorities; and Mike Heiligenstein, Executive Director of CTRMA. Before the full panel took to the stage, Heiligenstein took the opportunity to outline the seven alternatives under consideration as part of the MoPac South Environmental Study. The proposals differ in terms of the number of tolled express lanes (either one or two in each direction) and whether they provide a direct connection to Downtown. CTRMA is also obliged to vet a “no-build” scenario which would freeze MoPac’s capacity at current levels despite expectations of surging demand.

Without construction, noted Heiligenstein, roundtrip commute times between Cesar Chavez and Slaughter Lane will increase by approximately 60 minutes by 2035. He is interested in maximizing the project’s value to users of both the express lanes as well as the general purpose lanes. Added express lane capacity will shift users from the free lanes and hopefully create a better commute experience for all.

“If the Mobility Authority only builds one lane in each direction, the cost to use that one lane will be much higher than if we build two lanes,” Heiligenstein said.

Goodin explained how the new express lanes would employ a dynamic pricing model to manage demand. Also known as variable pricing, the cost of the toll would fluctuate in real time based on the number of vehicles entering and exiting – the price would increase during periods of peak demand in order to maintain a consistent speed even if traffic in the general purpose lanes slows to a crawl. Free access for high-capacity vehicles would benefit transit users and induce greater demand for bus and carpool services, drawing additional single-occupant vehicles off of the road. Goodin remarked that other cities that have incorporated variably-priced lanes have seen a 30-40% increase in transit ridership along express routes because riders found value in commute time predictability.

With his extensive experience managing similar projects across the Greater Atlanta region, Tomlinson supported Goodin’s analysis with on-the-ground evidence.

“If I could go back and change one thing, I would build two express lanes in each direction instead of just one,” said Tomlinson.

Phil Wilson, Austin Chamber Chair of Economic Development, called for MoPac South to provide:

• Direct access from express lanes to Austin’s Downtown
• Two express lanes in either direction

This alternative would have the greatest bang for the buck, he noted, with average one-way commute times for express lane users falling to approximately 10 minutes.

Public Comment Period for MoPac South

CTRMA extended the public comment period for the environmental study and hopes to make a decision on the final configuration shortly after that process wraps up at the end of November. Various interest groups have vowed to stall the proposal, however, by asking the Mobility Authority for additional impact studies and more concessions. After the event, Drew Scheberle, Austin Chamber Senior Vice President, highlighted the need for supporters of MoPac South to make their voices heard.

“We can’t let those who don’t use MoPac and who will never support additional capacity to obstruct any action by calling for endless studies and information requests," said Scheberle.

“Reducing congestion has no perfect answers; but if there are, we will run with them,” said Senator Watson.

You can learn more about MoPac South and provide your feedback through November 20 as part of CTRMA’s Virtual Open House at http://www.mopacsouth.com/voh/. Experts will be on-hand for an in-person public information session and review on November 10, 2015 at the Palmer Event Center from 3 - 7 p.m.