Bury+Partners

Blog

Posts Tagged: traffic

Spotlight / Traffic — No Comments
10
Apr 13

Project Spotlight: Decker Lake Road Extension

On March 27, Bury+Partners joined representatives from Travis County, the City of Austin, Taurus of Texas and many others for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Decker Lake Road Extension in Austin.

 

Ribbon Cutting 1

 

Travis County Precinct 1 Commissioner Ron Davis began the ceremony by addressing the crowd on-hand to highlight design aspects of the project and praise the design team, City, County, and Developer representatives for their partnership efforts throughout the project design and construction.  Mr. Douglas Gilliland (Taurus of Texas) echoed this praise, prior to gathering with Commissioner Davis, Mr. Guenther Reibling (Taurus Investment Holdings, LLC), and Mr. Gary Sheffield (Sheffield Asset Management) in the ceremonial ribbon-cutting.

 

Ribbon Cutting 2

From left to right: Guenther Reibling, Ron Davis, Gary Sheffield, and Douglas Gilliland

The project was developed as a Public/Private Partnership (PPP) between Travis County, the City of Austin, and Taurus of Texas.  The extension of Decker Lake Road serves as a direct link between existing Decker Lake Road (which previously terminated at FM 973) and State Highway SH 130 – noted as Project # 115 on the CAMPO 2035 plan.  The 4-lane median-divided roadway features 6’ sidewalks and 5’ bike lanes to facilitate future multi-modal transportation modes.  An experimental pavement section designed by the City of Austin was constructed and is intended to limit the amount of pavement heaving and cracking due to the highly expansive clay soils in the area.

 

Ribbon Cutting 3

 

Decker Lake Road Extension will also serve as the backbone of Indian Hills – a future multi-use development of residential, retail and office space.

 

Congratulations to the Bury team!

 

Bury provided traffic impact analysis for the Indian Hills development, as well as several other design services including: roadway and intersection, storm sewer drainage, erosion control, SWPPP, water quality, pond, sidewalk and bike lane, turn lane, and the traffic control plan.

 

Take a look back at Decker Lake Road’s ground breaking: SH 130, Decker Lake Road project begins

 

Community — No Comments
25
May 12

Three Tips for Memorial Day Travel

Memorial Day is finally here, the beloved three-day weekend that marks the unofficial start to summer. Whether you’re firing up the BBQ with family and friends or high-tailing it to your favorite body of water, chances are you’ll find yourself on the road for some period of time this weekend.

 

Hoping for sunny weather, this year 35 million Americans “plan to escape at least 50 miles or more away from home.” Like with any holiday weekend, traffic delays are inevitable, but there are several ways to manage your travel stress as you navigate busy roads.

 

1. Plan your route before leaving home, and allow yourself plenty of time to reach your destination.
As creatures of habit, many of us will hit the road and allow our GPS to do all the thinking. Taking the route you know may seem like a no-brainer, but think of all the other drivers doing the same thing. Plan ahead. Be aware of back roads you can take or alternate routes off the beaten path. TxDOT offers many travel resources on their website including highway conditions, road closures, rest stop locations and live traffic cameras. Most importantly, leave early enough to minimize your anxiety.

 

2. Download a traffic app to your smart phone or tablet.
While planning ahead is great, you’ll run into unexpected delays. That’s where traffic apps come into play. One of the most recommended apps is called Waze, a social community with user-generated traffic updates.

 

“Waze has the right idea. Integrate the buddy system and the rest will follow.” –AppAdvice.com

 

Fellow Waze users alert you to accidents and traffic jams. View photos of what’s going on ahead of you, or inform other drivers to the traffic woes you’re experiencing. Check out the video below for an in-depth look at how it works. Best of all, the app is free!

 

3. Watch your Twitter Feed.
Of course, safety first. If you’re the driver, have a passenger check it for you, and keep your eyes on the road ahead. Follow these Twitter accounts and you’ll stay on top of the latest traffic news. @AusTraffic is managed by the Austin-American Statesman, and is linked to the Statesman group on Waze. Any local updates on Waze will be tweeted from the @AusTraffic account. Other traffic Twitter accounts for Texas cities include @dmntraffic, @houstontranstar and @TxDOTSanAntonio.

 

Happy Memorial Day from all of us at Bury+Partners, and safe travels!

Community / Traffic — No Comments
11
Apr 12

MetroRapid Comes to Austin in 2014

MetroRapid

Just a few weeks after celebrating MetroRail’s two-year anniversary, Capital Metro made public their latest transportation initiative. So, what’s on the horizon for the City of Austin?

 

On Tuesday, April 10, the general public was invited to downtown’s Republic Square to hear from Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff about the next big thing in Austin transportation.

 

Capital Metro President and CEO Linda Watson, Capital Metro Chairman and Council Member Mike Martinez, and Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell were present for the event, during which Peter Rogoff announced the $38 Million Federal grant to provide MetroRapid service.

 

MetroRapid is Capital Metro’s bus rapid transit (BRT) with service scheduled to begin operating 40 buses in 2014.  BRT is a positive addition to Austin’s transportation infrastructure in many ways. Signal prioritization hardware is included in each MetroRapid bus, allowing for fewer delays at signal lights while driving on city roads. In some areas, the buses will likely have dedicated lanes. The buses are large and comfortable, and oftentimes have amenities that are attractive to business commuters, such as small tabletops and Wi-Fi.

 

Other cities, such as Houston, allow BRT vehicles to travel in HOV/HOT (high occupancy vehicle/ high occupancy toll) lanes to make trips in and out of the City core faster. When these lanes eventually do come to Austin, we can likely expect the same.

 

BRT focuses on commuter travel in and out of the City core and keeping connections available to other modes of transportation, including local bus service, rail, car rentals (such as Car to Go), or bike rental stations.

 

Valerie KaiserEngineer Associate Valerie Kaiser and Project Engineer Tony Estes, two of Bury’s transportation team members, attended Tuesday morning’s announcement and even had the opportunity to board one of the model buses. Valerie said, “As a traffic engineer, I am excited to see Austin take this next step. MetroRapid offers a convenient and affordable solution to what is too often a long and difficult commute to and from home and work.”

 

One viable solution to traffic woes would be to incorporate additional rail lines in Austin. However, the taxpayer benefit of the MetroRapid service is that more vehicles will be off the road as they choose to ride the BRT, without the expenses associated with purchasing and building on additional right of way.

 

On Tuesday, Administrator Rogoff also awarded Capital Metro a $3 Million grant to upgrade the existing local bus fleet, which has an average age of 15 years. Capital Metro was founded in January of 1985 and has the highest per capita ridership in Texas.

 

Read more from local news coverage of the event, or check out photos from the event on our Bury Facebook page.

 

KXAN – MetroRapid gets $38M federal grant
Austin Business Journal – MetroRapid bus project gets $38M grant
Community Impact News – Federal agency green-lights rapid transit bus routes

Community — No Comments
28
Oct 11

Austin’s Traffic Trouble

Waiting in Austin Traffic

Valuable time is lost sitting behind the wheel, money is wasted on gas, and frustration on the road is at an all-time high. It’s no surprise that traffic in Austin is a nightmare. The Greater Austin area is home to 10 of the most congested roads in the State of Texas, and our current infrastructure is not enough to support the growing population.

 

So what exactly is being done to ease the local commute?

 

On Wednesday night, the city’s brightest decision makers gathered at Huston-Tillotson University to discuss Austin’s traffic issues and focus on solutions. KXAN partnered with Leadership Austin and Community Impact newspaper to broadcast this live town hall meeting. The community was invited to attend and ask questions of the panel, and viewers at home could join the online discussion at KXAN.com.

 

Many possible solutions were addressed, including managed or HOV lanes for 183, Mopac and Interstate 35. Public transportation was another key topic, with discussions focused on improving mass transit and increasing ridership on existing commuter rails. However, one thing was clear by the end of the evening: Austin’s traffic trouble will not be solved quickly.

 

  • Austin’s population growth has been and will continue to be astronomical. From 2000 to 2010, Austin saw a 37 percent increase in population, from 1.2 Million to 1.7 Million. Nearby communities are also booming, like the City of Kyle, whose population increased by an astounding 437 percent (yes, you read that right!) from the year 2000 to 2009.
  • “The region has grown, not just the city of Austin,” said Mike Heiligenstein, Executive Director of CTRMA. Mike Martinez of Austin City Council agreed, saying that we must think regionally and work cooperatively to solve traffic problems in the Greater Austin area with a comprehensive approach. There’s not just one, simple solution.
  • The biggest challenge in improving traffic conditions is finding the finances to support it. Cynthia Long, Williamson County Commissioner, explained that we’ve seen a decrease in state and federal funding for transportation and an increase in state and federal regulations. Easing congestion will not be cheap.
  • “Our success in Austin is driving the demand, and people don’t have a lot of alternatives right now,” said Rob Spillar, Transportation Director for the City of Austin. He went on to say, “I don’t think when Forbes magazine listed us as the number one boom town in the next 10 years that they took a look at our traffic situation. People are moving here regardless of the traffic problems, and we need to find a way to meet the demand while still maintaining our current, successful atmosphere.”
  • As the city looks to make improvements in the next several years, it is important to keep citizens informed, especially as the roads will be funded largely through taxes and bonds. “We need clear communication to the public so they know how it will benefit them as a driver,” said Ginger Goodin of the Texas Transportation Institute.

 

To learn more about exciting plans in the works, check out the ATXpansion website. A similar town hall meeting will be held in the spring to follow-up on ideas discussed at Wednesday’s event.

 

 Video of ATXpansion forum online: kxan.com