Process
2015–2016 Set Project Direction
2016–2017
Community Engagement
Urban Design Analysis
“What We Heard”
“What We Found”
Select & Contract Consultant
Thanks to the active participation of many Austinites like you, we are moving full speed ahead towards defining the future of Congress Avenue. In this document, you will find a sample of what we’ve discovered and what you have told us about Congress Avenue. You will also see how we are beginning to transform your thoughts and ideas into goals and potential strategies.
SPRING 2017 Project Survey
SUMMER 2017 Stakeholder Focus Groups FALL 2017 Alternatives
L ATE 2017 Draft Project Report
EARLY 2018
http://www.austintexas.gov/congressavenue
Final Project Report
Public Event 1 “Launch!”
Confirmed Vision Goals
The vision guides the development of the plan.
Goals set out what we hope to achieve, and reflect the community’s vision.
Public Event 2 “Transform!” We are here
Public Event 3 “Imagine!” (Coming soon)
Potential Strategies
Strategies describe specific actions to achieve the goals.
Public Event 4
Alternatives Public Event 5
Alternatives will be unveiled at Public Event 3.
What We Heard & What We Found Through your input and our urban design analysis, we developed a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and
opportunities facing Congress Avenue around the themes of social equity, mobility & connectivity, culture & history, economics, and environment.
State Capitol E 11th
What We Heard & What We Found
Social Equity
11th 10th 9th
Brazos
7th
Sample community input
Do you or someone you know ever experience difficulties physically navigating Congress Avenue? (1 = never, 5 = very frequently)
Do you think Congress Avenue can be made more welcoming to racial and other minorities?
2.5
3.8
Average of 113 responses
6th
E 10th
San Jacinto
Congress Ave.
Lavaca
Colorado
8th
5th 4th
(1 = no, 5 = yes)
3rd E 9th
2nd
Average of 137 responses
Cesar Chavez
Get in ADA compliance and install benches every block so folks can have a resting spot
ADA Accessibility Issues* Sample (above)
Ensure that there are public spaces that are free, accessible, and welcoming to ALL...
LADY BIRD LAKE
*Issues to resolve in order to achive wheelchair-accessible and walkable sidewalks for all Cross-slope exceeds 2%
Accessible parking is non-compliant
Curb ramp slope exceeds 8.3%
Push button reach range or level clear floor is non-compliant
Horizontal opening on walking surface exceeds 1/2� s
ng
rt Ba
o
pri nS
South Central Waterfront ER ive
rsi
de
Our Congress Avenue Survey (left) Places where respondents go to exercise freedom of speech
What We Heard & What We Found
Mobility & Connectivity
Samples from “Build Your Avenue”
Existing Conditions
120’ ROW
Section 1
Circulator
4’ Café Seating
8’ Pedestrian Path
18’ Parking & Landscape Buffer
Sample community input
Fully connected sidewalks and bike lanes with no breaks, better directional signage, and beautification along the entire corridor...widen the sidewalks to allow for more street cafes and public events...
For one thing, I think we need to move toward incentivizing the usage of mass transit (plus adding mass transit to get people around town)...and charge for the [parking] spots we do have.
1
2
3
Section 2
120’ ROW
10’ Restaurant Seating
20’ Active Pedestrian Path
Bicycle median
Section 3 0’ 5’ 10’
Shared lanes
120’ ROW
10’ Landscape Zone
5’ 15’ Drive Pedestrian and Bike Path Lane
20’
Pedestrian Right-of-way (above right) Pedestrian path
Not accessible to pedestrians
Red River District
le x mp Co o l s t in pit Au Ca T To & U
State Capitol
What We Heard & What We Found
Culture & History
1th
E1
0th E1
Old Bakery & Emporium W
W
Wooldridge Square
th
E9
th
State Theatre 9th
3.2 Average of 163 responses
th
E7
The Contemporary W
th
E6
8th
W
th
Mexic-Arte Museum W
What is the most memorable civic event you’ve attended on Congress Avenue?
46%
20%
th E4
6th
W
nd
E2
4th
W
ez
hav ar C
Waller Creek
es EC
3rd
W
and t St istric d n 2 lm D o eah
ail tR h g Li rd
W
Republic Square
To
and ike H tler Trail Bu To Bike
d 2n
ez
W
hav ar C
s Ce
Congress Ave Bridge
LADY BIRD LAKE
S
Seaholm District ‘Nightwing’ Bat Sculpture
Key Destinations
Auditorium Shores
Butler Park
uth e So Av To ress ng Co
Key Destinations Nodes of activity Key Districts
Palm Park
E3
5th
March / Protest Parade Out of 150 responses
Identify the history and make it more visible and obvious to the public. Incorporate building signage, incorporate elements of diverse culture that funded and developed and contributed to Austin history.
Convention Center
Brush Square E5
7th
City Hall
We should be very ambitious to create a great avenue worthy of a world class city. We should be looking towards the great avenues of the world for inspiration and example
6t
Paramount Theatre
Sample community input
(1 = disagree, 5 = agree)
I-35
et
tre hS
E8
h 10t
W
Do you consider Congress Avenue an arts and culture destination?
6th Street District
h 11t
State Capitol
0th E1
Old Bakery & Emporium
What We Heard & What We Found
Economics
W
11th
h 10t th
E9
10th W
9th
9th th
E8
Brazos
7th
Sample community input
How important is it that local and small businesses can afford to stay on Congress Avenue? (1 = not at all, 5 = very)
4.1
Average of 146 responses
How do you rate the quality of Congress Avenue as a working environment?
6th
Paramount Theatre
San Jacinto
Congress Ave.
Lavaca
Colorado
8th
W
8th
Publicly Accessible Ground Floor Use on Congress, north of Lady Bird Lake
5th 4th
(1 = not good, 5 = very good)
3rd
3.1
YETI Store
2nd
Average of 50 responses
nS prin
Offer rent subsidies or other financial incentives, including free or low cost business training for local entrepreneurs.
LADY BIRD LAKE
Bar to
...Build walking traffic on Ave. Activate abandoned buildings for more synergy and less holes in the landscape.
gs R d
Cesar Chavez
Publicly Accessible Ground Floor Use on Congress, south of Lady Bird Lake
Ground Floor Use (left) on
rt Ba
s
Sp
g rin
South Central Waterfront ER ive
rsi
de
Publicly Accessible Ground Floor Use (above)
Study Area Office/Commercial Lobby Retail/Hotel Cultural Vacant/Construction
What We Heard & What We Found
E 11th
11th
Environment
10th
9th
Wounds on trunk
8th
E 10th
7th
6th
Sample community input
How important is it to control flooding and use rainwater wisely?
How important is it to protect the bats?
4.4
4.6
(1 = not at all, 5 = very)
Average of 153 responses
The bridge is SO HOT and we were almost run over by cyclists on the sidewalk
Bluejay spotted in this area
5th
(1 = not at all, 5 = very)
Average of 150 responses
Would love to have more nature integrated and more of Austin’s history reflected
I wish South Congress could have more green space or pocket parks. The North Congress re-design from the state looks awesome.
E 9th
4th 3rd
2nd
Seven grackle nests in this tree! E 8th
Cesar Chavez
Sample Tree Survey (above) LADY BIRD LAKE
Quercus fusiformis Live Oak Quercus virginiana Southern Live Oak
Fraxinus velutina Arizona Ash Quercus polymorpha Monterrey Oak
Taxodium distichum Bald Cypress
Quercus muehlenbergii Chinquapin Oak Quercus shumardii Shumard Oak
Ilex Vomitoria Yaupon Ulmus Crassifolia Cedar Elm
Condition - Fair
Condition - Good
Condition - Bad
Summer Shadow Analysis (left) Average amount of shade during the longest days of the year Sunny
Shady
Comfortable Uncomfortable
These goals reflect the issues and challenges that we uncovered during the community engagement process and urban design analysis, and represent tangible outcomes of this process.
Goals
Strategies These are examples of potential specific actions to achieve the goals. Come help us imagine other possibilities at our next public event on September 27!
Are these the right goals? Tell us what you think!
SOCIAL EQUITY
MOBILIT Y & CONNECTIVIT Y
CULTURE & HISTORY
ECONOMICS
ENVIRONMENT
Ensure a welcoming, accessible, and representative space for all
Re-balance mobility options along Congress Avenue
Enhance Congress Avenue as a destination
Amplify the economic strength and diversity of Congress Avenue
Celebrate biodiversity and urban habitat in a functional, resilient streetscape design
• • • •
• Bike lanes • Pedestrian zones and crosswalks • Circulator • Accessibility • Parking management • Signalization • Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge improvements • Right sizing vehicular right-ofway
• Lighting • Public art • Wayfinding and signage • Place branding • Interpretative markers • Events and performances • Cultural anchors (north and south of Lady Bird Lake) • Great design
• Ground floor activation • Diversity of retail options • Pop-up food & beverage / retail opportunities • Enhanced café zones
• Shade and thermal comfort • Street trees • Stormwater management • Permeable paving • Connection to Lady Bird Lake ecology • Habitat diversity
Accessibility Telling the stories Diverse programming Connectivity to neighborhoods • Civic engagement (protest and representation)
Strategies
These are some initial ideas...do you have others?
Social Equity Ensuring a welcoming, accessible, and representative space for all
• • • •
Accessibility Telling the stories Diverse programming Connectivity to neighborhoods • Civic engagement (protest and representation)
2013 Day of the Dead Parade
Celebrate arts and culture
ADA-friendly walkway, 2nd Street, Austin
Accessibility
Women’s March, Austin
Civic engagement
Mademoiselle Maurice origami installation, France
Cultural events / installations
6th Street Yoga, Austin
Diverse programming
Tell the stories
Strategies
These are some initial ideas...do you have others?
Mobility & Connectivity Re-balance mobility options along Congress Avenue
• Bike lanes • Pedestrian zones and crosswalks • Circulator • Accessibility • Parking management • Signalization • Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge improvements • Right sizing vehicular rightof-way
Bike Bridge, Copenhagen
Bicycle or pedestrian bridge
The Avenue, Washington DC
Wider sidewalks
Street Color, Chicago
Pedestrian-focused intersections
Circulator, Bethesda
Circulator
SFPark
Parking Management
Prospect Park West, New York
Bike Lanes
Strategies
These are some initial ideas...do you have others?
Culture & History
Enhance Congress Avenue as a destination
• • • • • • •
Lighting Public art Wayfinding and signage Place branding Interpretative markers Events and performances Cultural anchors (north and south of Lady Bird Lake) • Great design
Legible London wayfinding system
Wayfinding
18 Nuances de Gai, Montreal
Distinctive lighting
Pitt Street, Taiwan
Interpretative markers
Engaging public art
Parklet, WMB Studio
Interesting design
Market Street, San Francisco
Walk signs, Raleigh
Connection to cultural anchors
Strategies
These are some initial ideas...do you have others?
Economics Amplify the economic strength and diversity of Congress Avenue
• Support small, local businesses • Ground floor activation • Diversity of retail options • Pop-up food & beverage / retail opportunities • Enhanced café zones
Klyde Warren Park, Dallas
Food truck space
South Street Spring Festival, Philadelphia
Street festivals
Market Street, Philadelphia
Enhanced café zones
Temporary plazas
Le Fashion truck, Los Angeles
Temporary retail
Lawn on D, Boston
Royal Blue parklet, Congress Avenue, Austin
Support small, local businesses
Strategies
These are some initial ideas...do you have others?
Environment Celebrate biodiversity and urban habitat in a functional, resilient streetscape design
• • • • •
Shade and thermal comfort Street trees Stormwater management Permeable paving Connection to Lady Bird Lake ecology • Habitat diversity
Passeig de Saint Joan, Barcelona
Pollinator garden, Portland
Plant diverse, native species
Use permeable pavers
Harbor Pavilion, Boston
Rainwater sculptures
Houtan Park, Shanghai
Shade structures
Uptown Circle, Illinois
Tell the water story
Las Ramblas, Barcelona
Shade trees
Vision Our Congress Avenue is a great Texas people place – the cultural, historic and commercial spine of downtown Austin where people come to share, celebrate and create a bright future.
Values The Vision will be achieved and maintained through loyalty to a set of Values related to Character, Function and Management. A great street needs to do many things well but a street asked to perform too many tasks is likely to perform none of them well. Our efforts to achieve the Congress Avenue Vision will adhere to these Values that will guide what we ask of the Avenue and how we direct our work.
2015–2016 Set Project Direction
2016–2017 Select & Contract Consultant
SPRING 2017 Project Survey
SUMMER 2017 Stakeholder Focus Groups FALL 2017 Alternatives
L ATE 2017 Draft Project Report
EARLY 2018 Final Project Report
Public Event 1 “Launch!”
Public Event 2 “Transform!”
Public Event 3 “Imagine!” (Coming soon)
Public Event 4
IMAGINE! Save the Date: September 27
Join us in late September as we continue to imagine and shape the future of Congress Avenue! Stay tuned for further details on Public Event 3 “Imagine!” where we will explore different design alternatives. And in the meantime, please see the full results of our Analysis and Public Outreach, which will be posted to the project web site:
Public Event 5
http://www.austintexas.gov/congressavenue