The days of driving straight from the Congress Avenue Bridge to the Capitol might become an old Austin experience if a proposed plan to make a portion of the street a destination for walking, biking and dining becomes reality. People can give feedback on the proposal until Nov. 24.
The city’s Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative is one of four major capital improvement projects receiving funding from the 2020 safety and active transportation bond. The design concepts can be viewed online and feedback can be given through a survey on the vision plan website or by attending two open houses. The first is on Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. and the second is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The completed project, estimated to cost $130 million, envisions the revitalization of Congress Avenue from Riverside Drive to 11th Street as a pedestrian-friendly zone. The plan proposes the creation of public plazas on the blocks from 11th to Seventh streets and the building of larger zones for pedestrians and cyclists from Seventh Street to Cesar Chavez, continuing to the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge.
Austin Department of Transportation and Public Works
The city has secured $22 million to fund the first phase of the project. The phase would include the complete reconstruction of the blocks from Ninth Street to 11th Street into plazas closed off to motor vehicles, except for east and westbound through traffic between the blocks. The plazas would completely reconfigure the street’s surface and include a new lawn across the street from the Capitol. The blocks from Seventh Street to Ninth Street will feature ground murals and wooden decks that extend the sidewalks. Eventually, these blocks will be transformed into finished plazas.
Austin Department of Transportation and Public Works
This phase also includes wooden decks, wider bike lanes and increased tree coverage instead of the present angled parking from Cesar Chavez to Seventh Street. However, disability parking, parking for business deliveries and some general parking will still be available.
Austin Department of Transportation and Public Works
Laura Dierenfield, a division manager in Austin’s Transportation and Public Works Department, said the initiative makes the experience of walking, biking or using alternative transportation modes more feasible.
“We can really upgrade the quality of the bike way and make that much more attractive and much more consistent for people on bikes and scooters, so we get more use there and less conflicts with parked cars in particular,” Dierenfield said.
The initiative would also open up shops and restaurants to the street and create more space for outdoor dining. This would allow businesses to bring in more customers, Dierenfield said.
Renderings shared by the city show extended decks and a protected bike lane on the bridge. However, bridge improvements are not part of the first phase and funding for this has not been secured.
Austin Department of Transportation and Public Works
Dierenfield said after updating the plan with community feedback, construction on the first phase could begin as soon as late 2025.
“We’re grateful to have something to begin the process with,” Dierenfield said. “After all of the great work that the community has done, to envision what Congress Avenue could be.”
