Transportation wonks: is there something different about the conceptual urban rail alignment depicted in the latest flyer from Project Connect?
The portion of the rail system south of 4th Street is showing that the preferred alignment (solid orange lines) is not Congress Ave, rather it’s humble ol’ Trinity Street.
On previous maps, I recall Congress Ave having the bold lines and Trinity Street relegated to a hypothetical dashed line. This is a subtle change on paper, but a potentially big improvement to ridership and economic impact.
I presume a Trinity alignment would have a stop at/near Waller Creek. Imagine connecting businesses and visitors to the Rainey Street district, Waller Creek, the Boat House, the MACC, the Convention Center. There’s greater density of residential and recreational use. There’s more [taxable] development opportunity along the Trinity alignment.
It is my humble opinion that there should be a 4th street line that keeps one or two cars seperate from the Mueller-Airport track. Let it run 4th street from Convention Center to Amtrak continuously. Obviously though, build this with the first phase. I also think the Mueller-Airport route should use only Trinity/San Jacinto with the Convention Center being the major hub. Keep cars and buses on Congress/Lavaca/Guadalupe and let light rail move people to and through downtown rather than move people in downtown. Much easier sel to the entore public of Austin.