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Last Day for the Imagine Austin Survey


If you haven't already weighed in on how you'd like to see Austin grow, today  – Friday, December 10th – is the last day the survey will be available.

Your input on this survey will be the final component of Austin's new comprehensive plan. The survey takes about 15 minutes.

Visit ImagineAustin.net to learn more about the plan, development scenarios, and take the survey.
 

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Cap Metro Closes Downtown Bus Stops (Congress Avenue)

by Amber Gugino


A little late writing about this, but thought it important to the Downtown Austin community that I post anyway.  On November 6, 2010, Cap Metro closed down several of the bus stops on Congress Avenue, citing traffic and safety issues under the old system, which had a bus stop at every block of one of Downtown Austin’s main downtown thoroughfares.

I talked with John-Michael Cortez, the Interim Manager of Community Involvement at Cap Metro.  He explained that these changes have been discussed for years, but the recent construction on Brazos Street and the subsequent detours routing extra busses to Congress stops have exacerbated congestion and traffic accident issues and has pushed the Agency to close some stops on Congress now.

He says these stop closures are the short-term solution, and that next steps will include gathering feedback, giving a preliminary report to Cap Metro Planning and Operations committee in early December, then giving a detailed, quantitative report on the outcomes to the Cap Metro Board in January.  If the bus stop closures are deemed to be successful in decreasing congestion / traffic problems while maintaining customer and stakeholder satisfaction, Cap Metro will most likely decide to close additional stops on Congress to have only 3 NB and 3 SB stops total.  THEN, if all goes according to service plan 2020 (which Mr. Cortez was quick to say was not set in stone), all Congress bus stops will be relocated to Lavaca / Guadalupe “transit corridors.”

Mr. Cortez said that, to his knowledge, the changes have only received a positive response.  However, some stakeholders may have the concern that by closing down bus stops will only increase the crowds at the remaining stops, thereby inhibiting pedestrian traffic to and from their space.  Also, at least at 6th and Congress, there seems to be an awful lot of people hanging out at that bus stop that have no intention of riding the bus – to where will that element relocate?  (I bet you that Keepers is pumped about the closure there.)  And lastly, those that use the Congress Avenue bus stops as transfer points may be seriously affected, to the tune of perhaps missing a tight transfer because they have to walk 1 or 2 blocks further.  Which means serious delays.

Mr. Cortez says that Cap Metro will actively be reaching out to the community to get feedback regarding these concerns, among others.  While he says they will be proactive in their attempt to talk with stakeholders about the impact of these closures, it never hurts to reach out to them if you have an opinion.  You can contact Community Involvement Coordinator Alissa Schram at Alissa.Schram@capmetro.org or John-Michael Cortez directly at John-Michael.Cortez@capmetro.org with your thoughts on this decision.

Click here for the original article from the DAB.

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Holiday Stroll

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DANA Day at Caritas this Friday 12/3


Hello Friends –
 
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Holiday!  Please join DANA at the Caritas Community Kitchen this Friday to help prepare and serve lunches to few tummies that might not be as stuffed as ours from last week!
 
DANA is a proud supporter of Caritas of Austin.  We look forward to your help and support this holiday season as we help spread a little cheer!
 
Convenient shifts:  9am-11am or 11am-1pm.  Please RSVP and let me know if you will be able to attend.  Now that the weather is cooling down, we need lots of hands to help!  Please let me know if you have any family or friends that would like to come with you!
 
Have a great day!
 
Lindsay Wiebrand
lindsay@txsunandshade.com

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DANA Board of Directors — Call for Nominations


The DANA Board of Directors will be transitioning this coming January, at which time a number of Board positions will become available.

If you or someone you know is interested in getting involved in what 's going on in downtown Austin, becoming a member of the DANA Board is a great way have a real impact on the future of downtown.

Feel free to speak with any DANA Board Member about your interest, or contact Jamie Lagarde at jlagarde@gmail.com.

Click here for an application.

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