A Look Back at 2022 

Austin Transit Partnership 

Over the past year, Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) has focused on building trust with the community and moving the Project Connect program forward through its partnerships with the City of Austin and CapMetro. This year was another crucial step in transforming the future of Austin together through Project Connect’s transit initiatives. Even when faced with challenges, ATP is committed to fulfilling the contract with voters to ensure we have a positive impact on the community. 

Awards - This September, Project Connect was recognized by The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2), with the Core Values Award for the different ways the team engaged, listened to and incorporated the community’s vision into the Project Connect program. Each year, IAP2 affiliates around the world celebrate excellence in the profession through the IAP2 Core Values Awards. The awards go to projects and organizations that best demonstrate IAP2’s Core Values and help to raise the bar in the field of public engagement. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but this award reflects the hard work of so many community partners. 

The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce awarded AECOM the 2022 Mobility Champion award for their work with the Project Connect Summer Internship Program. Led by AECOM's Isis Hernandez, they were proud to partner with ATP, CapMetro, City of Austin and HNTB to introduce Austin Independent School District students to diverse professional STEM careers including planning, architecture, designing, engineering, science, and program and construction management. AECOM believes inclusive infrastructure creates opportunities for everyone and is committed to cultivating the next generation of transportation professionals.  

Community Engagement 

Over the past three years, significant work has been done to progress the light rail program as part of Project Connect. To support this process, dedicated community Working Groups were established along the light rail corridors with regular meetings. These focused conversations continued through 2022 and, most recently, included workshops to dig into more detail for design at the neighborhood level. 

In spring and summer 2022, ATP’s Community Engagement (CE) team mounted a significant outreach and information campaign, using a wide variety of outreach methods. A total of 16 neighborhood level working groups, public meetings and community design workshops were held from March–July 2022. The March public meetings covered topics including environmental considerations, connectivity, traffic and transportation impacts, and anti-displacement investments.  

These virtual meetings focused on how the light rail lines will interact with communities along the corridors. Participants had a chance to provide feedback regarding access to stations and preferred amenities, such as bike and pedestrian pathways. The input from these groups was used by the design teams to further develop design preferences for the light rail program.   

Project Connect has held 79 in-person meetings, 56 virtual meetings, and one hybrid meeting with a total of 25,000 interactions with community members since the start of the program.  

CapMetro 

MetroRapid - Exciting progress has been made on two new MetroRapid routes: the Expo Center line and the Pleasant Valley line. These will be the first MetroRapid routes to begin service as a part of Project Connect. These routes will bring additional high-capacity transit options to critical areas of the Austin region, featuring a zero-emission fleet of new electric vehicles. 

• Expo Center Line - A rousing performance from the LBJ Early College High School Band greeted State dignitaries, community members, CapMetro and ATP Board Members and staff, City Council Members, and students from LBJ ECHS at the Expo Center MetroRapid groundbreaking, held on Dec. 15, 2021.  
• Pleasant Valley Line - In February, CapMetro also broke ground on the Pleasant Valley MetroRapid line. State dignitaries, CapMetro and ATP Board Members and staff, City Council Members, and other elected officials and community members spoke about the importance of the Pleasant Valley line in addressing historically underserved areas in Austin.  

MetroRail - MetroRail Red Line improvements filled 2021–22 with groundbreakings and project kickoffs. The regional rail service operates from downtown Austin through Central and Northwest Austin, up to the city of Leander. The Red Line enhancements, funded through Project Connect, will support increased commuter rail service, bolstering ridership and mobility options to support continued population growth. The Red Line will provide connections to the larger light rail transit system, as well as MetroRapid and MetroBus routes. 

• Lakeline and Leander Station - Double-tracking construction kicked off in 2022, a significant improvement to key segments of the Red Line route. This additional track enables increased service frequency and on-time reliability by allowing trains to move in either direction at the same time rather than sharing a single track. Double-tracking is currently underway between Lakeline and Leander Stations and achieved substantial completion in fall 2022. 
• McKalla Station - On July 18, the Project Connect team, soccer fans, elected officials, ATP and CapMetro Board members, City of Austin staff and members of the public celebrated to kick off the new Red Line McKalla Station, being built adjacent to Austin FC Q2 Stadium. Funded as part of Project Connect, McKalla Station will provide increased mobility and transit options for the vibrant, growing North Burnet area. Scheduled for completion in late fall 2023, the station is located along the east side of Q2 Stadium, near Delta Drive, on the MetroRail Red Line between Braker Lane and Rutland Drive.  
• Broadmoor Station - In January 2022, CapMetro, City of Austin dignitaries, and representatives from Charles Schwab gathered to celebrate the public/private partnership formed to develop the Broadmoor Station, which will be a key multimodal hub  on the Red Line. Broadmoor will be located about a half-mile north of the existing Kramer Station (Kramer will close when Broadmoor opens) on the Red Line. Broadmoor will provide multimodal transit options for people to get to the Domain and will feature two double-length, covered platforms, over half a mile of new track, more than 400 shared parking spaces for transit users, pedestrian and bike-friendly pathways, and safety and security enhancements.  

City of Austin 

In November 2022, City Council approved an ordinance that lays an initial foundation to support the permitting and construction of Project Connect. This work was initiated through a resolution that directed staff to review City Code, Criteria Manuals and permitting procedures to identify impediments to Project Connect implementation.  

Anti-Displacement Investments and Strategies - In addition to the transit system investment, voters approved $300 million in funding to mitigate indirect displacement of existing residents near Project Connect corridors. The main goals of the investment are to protect those most vulnerable to displacement, preserve existing affordable housing, and produce opportunities to expand housing options. The City of Austin’s Housing and Planning Department is leading implementation of the $300 million investment over a 13 year period.  $100 million is being distributed over the first three years, with $23 million for FY 2020-21, $42 million for FY 2021-22 and $35 million for FY 2022- 23. $20 million will be available each year for the remaining 10 years. The $65 million investment for the first two years has been allocated to three focus areas: land acquisition, community-initiated solutions, and land development.  

The Equity Tool - The City is pushing the boundaries beyond mere innovation, and is centering community innovation as the focal point of the anti-displacement investments. The Equity Tool has helped to establish community priorities. The “Nothing About Us Without Us” Report & Equity Tool, which were released to the public on Feb. 1, 2022, allows decision-makers and community members to evaluate how to spend the anti-displacement dollars, prioritizing community-generated solutions and projects that help those most at-risk of displacement near transit lines. The Equity Tool can also be used to assess how transit investments may impact vulnerable communities. 

Joint Partnership Recap

On Nov. 30, the ATP Board of Directors, Austin City Council, and CapMetro Board of Directors convened for the Annual Joint Partnership Meeting to present progress on the work across the multiple facets of Project Connect, including MetroRapid, MetroRail (Red Line), the Light Rail Implementation Plan, and anti-displacement efforts. The joint meeting demonstrated how our focus on transparency and building trust with the community has been crucial in keeping our informative transit vision on track.