Why Highway Expansion Threatens Austin, Texas (& Your City Too)

[@siamimam2109]

If the SH-130 Toll rates were slashed for 18 wheelers, that would elevate some of the congestion. Another factor is the easy access to On and off ramps. People use them as shortcuts and clog up the exits.

[@REAL-UNKNOWN-SHINOBI]

I'm wondering if at the end of the entrance ramp, should they block through traffic by forcing the car's exiting to turn either left or right? I'm wondering if it's because in my town we have an highway exit that is set up to force you to turn either left or right, but unfortunately it doesn't get a lot of traffic anyway to see if traffic patterns would change from before preventing them from driving through the exit vs after preventing them from driving through the exit.

[@siamimam2109]

@@REAL-UNKNOWN-SHINOBI Great point. It would probably help.

[@rickrandazzo]

Or force all trucks to stay in the left lane - make it a truck only lane. I think about this every time I drive to Austin - twice a week! It's miserable!

[@jhnsls978]

​@rickrandazzo blame trucks how about people learn to drive .

[@rickrandazzo]

@@jhnsls978 I'm just saying there is a lot of truck traffic on top of it all. Yes- it's the idiots driving like it's a racetrack that mucks things up. But there are also a lot of really aggressive truck drivers too. I'm looking for solutions - not to place the blame. Whether I'm driving 60 mph or 80 someone will be on my ass and hate my driving.

[@darianescorza9762]

I am a project engineer for bridges in Austin tx. I would love to speak with you to provide some insight and facts you are missing. It’s a much bigger picture than what you are painting. Also I love some of the pictures you got of my bridge structures I would love to connect further !

[@shelleydelayne4195]

oh, I’d love to see this followup conversation! I hope y’all do connect!

[@budrobrother]

Damn, sounds like somebody is making some serious bank. I’m sure everyone would love to hear from Austin’s petite bourgeoisie class. 😅

[@RenatoRegalado]

What are your thoughts on public transportation and do you believe Austin needs more of it?

[@thzene4967]

@@RenatoRegalado The real questions lol

[@adbenjamin25]

Personally, I don’t think the answer is more lanes… have you ever seen a picture of Chinese highways with like 10 lanes of fully congested traffic? This is proof it doesn’t work. I think the answer lies in the design. For example, not many people think of how design plays a part in how traffic flows. When you have narrow lanes people tend to drive slower, and brake more as opposed to wider lanes. We need to design lanes for people to drive without slowing down traffic so that everyone can get where they need to get more efficiently. On another note of course shoulder of the road matters for those who break down too, but breaking down in the middle of the road is something I always wonder could be avoidable? Taking vehicle inspections away as lax as some may have been doesn’t help this case. My overall thoughts are we need to work with what we have and think outside the box rather than take barely working concepts and upscale them.

[@hairypotter259]

Still expanding highways in 2024 and not transit networks or bike networks is something else

[@juanmacias5922]

Capitalism go Brrrrrrrrrrr.

[@nikolaknezevic2772]

TXDOT has no brains

[@ripem1417]

Well project connect is still a thing (I think) fortunately…

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

Bible Belt shenanigans

[@GamingBren]

That's America for ya

[@juanmacias5922]

We need more public transportation and to make cycling safer, so less people have to use their cars, which leads to less traffic.

[@GamingBren]

In Milton, FL they want to widen US-90 through the historic downtown to a _four-lane divided highway._ Yes, you heard me right. They wanted to build *A STROAD* through a historic downtown. People were *NOT* happy and they are thankfully discussing alternatives such as a second bridge across the Blackwater River.

[@midcenturymoldy]

Why does the thumbnail image ask if Congress Avenue can be fixed?

[@alideees]

Bc they’re derps.

[@scottmelons]

Thank you for mentioning sh-130. It seems so clear to me that the solution needed to retire i-35 is already in place and prime for the task of redirecting that non native traffic around Austin. Not sure why the decision was made to turn it into a toll road that only north austin residents use to get to the airport and tesla employees get to work.

[@colormedubious4747]

Money laundering.

[@Mytruckingtravels]

Excuse me, but we pay a significant portion of taxes on that road. I definitely pay more in taxes for the roads in Texas annually then you do over a decade. And I'm not going to take a 50 mi detour and pay a hefty toll to make your life more comfortable. I'm sorry that the local governments have mismanaged this entire problem. They should have made 130 free, and they should have made it connect to Interstate 35 south of San Antonio. But since it didn't, you got to go east on Interstate 10 through all that nonsense, I'm not going that way. I'm tired of four wheelers always blaming us truck drivers for your problems. We're not the problem. The problem is the mismanagement of the highway system through the Austin area. It is way behind the curve and has been for several decades. The only people you have to blame on this one is TexDot as well as your own local government for not putting in rapid transit such as light rail.

[@scottmelons]

@@Mytruckingtravels I think you may have replied to the wrong comment. I never blamed truck drivers nor semis for this issue. I would have to agree with everything you said besides the routes you take because I’m not as familiar with them as you.

[@hettfield]

So frustrating to see how this project is going through despite so much opposition and the fact that it won't even solve the problem.

[@loganc7646]

Your analogy to the roller skating rink was so well done! I hope your content continues to gain popularity

[@itshard2spell]

SH 130 was such a failure. It was supposed to eliminate freight lines on i35, but clearly that didn't work out.

[@jhnsls978]

It's expensive about 100 bucks if I take Georgetown to i 10 in my semi

[@epicemmalee2000]

The bypass around Austin should be free. Through traffic should not be going through downtown.

[@davestewart2067]

The area didn’t plan. There should have been a greater freeway network to disperse traffic. The 130 toll road was a mistake. Getting a true beltway is now impossible due to costs and infill of wealth on the west and north sides.

[@pacerrailfanning]

The only true way to decrease traffic is more public transit in that has been proven successfully in Europe More public transit equals less cars on the road

[@highway2heaven91]

Lowering or eliminating the toll on SH-130 would help to bring traffic through/around Austin. A big problem that needs to be addressed by activists is the SA-Austin plan that wants to add more highways to alleviate traffic on 35. There’s little to no talk of rail or other alternative methods.

[@kjhuang]

Why does the thumbnail show Congress Avenue?

[@diarian]

exactly

[@Waderader]

Exactly

[@qjtvaddict]

Add elevated rail at high frequencies to the highway add a pedestrian skyway link the walkways to the stations and directly to buildings as car traffic drops slowly claim the road space to build new places near the stations I call it highway capture downscaling.

[@mariusfacktor3597]

This video is beautifully made. The infuriating thing is that highway 183 was built precisely to route traffic AROUND Austin rather than THROUGH Austin. 183 can take traffic from i35 around Austin and back onto i35, and as of today 183 is tremendously UNDERutilized. Meaning they could get rid of i35 through Austin and just about nothing would change since an alternate high-capacity freeway route is already in place. So why they heck is TxDOT doubling down on i35 through the middle of downtown Austin then? i35 through Austin was designed explicitly to be a segregation wall. And it still serves this purpose to this day. It's wrong to not get rid of i35 through downtown since it was built for racist reasons and there is an alternate route ready to go. It's straight up despicable to make i35 through downtown even wider. TxDOT are criminals.

[@colormedubious4747]

Don't be "Conspiracy Theory Guy." Everyone finds that guy annoying. Like everywhere else, the segregation/disconnect of minority neighborhoods was a SIDE EFFECT of the adjacent land being cheaper to acquire. Robert Moses demonstrated how to do it with no serious political consequences in the 1920s through the 50s and his methods have been widely copied ever since. He even plowed expressways through parklands (especially those he was Commissioner of) to save money.

[@jw77019]

@@colormedubious4747you are wrong. That was a beautiful nice neighborhood when it was destroyed to build the road. It was normal for the black communities to be near the nice neighborhoods because people wanted their maids there in time to cook breakfast. There is lots of right of way on the toll roads, They could widen those toll roads and move I-35 there and leave what is there now for local access. It would need to be rebuilt for safety improvements and structural obsolescence. It absolutely will not help the traffic to widen that road. Over and over in every large metro when these roads are widened there ends up with 16 lanes of congestion instead of six or eight. And regarded Moses, have you seen the mess that is all those six lane expressways in NYC, especially the Cross Bronx where he destroyed enormous numbers of spacious affordable apartments? He was wrong about nearly everything. And he has nothing to do with anything ever done in Austin. There are many photographs available on of the nice neighborhood that existed where I-35 is today. www.texasfreeway.com/Austin/historic/photos/i35/images/east_avenue_low_to_ground_undated.jpg.

[@colormedubious4747]

@@jw77019 Please cite where I said it WASN'T a pleasant neighborhood. I SAID the land was CHEAPER, not uglier. Moses' destruction of East Tremont to build the Cross Bronx is the debacle to which I referred. He was hired as a consultant by cities across the USA and around the world. His methods were copied by politicians and his filthy fingerprints linger on EVERY city gutted by expressways. Neither he nor anyone who copied his methods have been held accountable for the physical and economic blight they imposed on our built environment in their furtherance of political power.

[@kilovwdude6457]

Yo wtf

[@FlyingOverTr0ut]

Great video, Rachel and everyone involved. It feels like a hidden revolution is happening in transportation. I think so many people don't even have the vocabulary to understand why their cities are so depressing, expensive, and transportation is so dysfunctional, and are just waiting to be activated for good transit policy by videos like yours. Keep it up!

[@disneyplay4]

I’m from Vancouver, Canada. Back in the ‘60s the province tried to bulldoze some of the historic parts of the city to build a freeway system, but enough popular resistance stopped them from doing so. Nowadays I think we’re the only major city in North America that doesn’t have a freeway cutting through its downtown and we’re proud of that. Not only that but because they couldn’t build highways cutting through the city, as it grew they were “forced” to build rapid transit to address the also growing traffic problems :)

[@treyp]

great video! really tragic to think about the other ways that money could be spent, even when limited to transportation infrastructure

[@Ashinle]

Absurdly well made video especially the part about how highways and stroads force people to act a certain way. Subscribed

[@deez8769]

Wonder why dey cant just tear down I-35 and make a blvd which can let interstate traffic go through the blvd or even the city streets oh wait nvm that will just make inner austin nyc like traffic 😐

[@Ashinle]

@@deez8769 You mean the city that moves the most amount of people in America? Why don't you learn about the things you're talking about before writing something?

[@deez8769]

@@Ashinle let me just rewrite it rq my fault

[@deez8769]

@@Ashinle just imagine a blvd that replaced a interstate with interstate traffic 💀

[@deez8769]

@@Ashinle Nyc has a lot of transit stuff but overall doesnt change the fact it got 8 million ppl and has a lot of traffic despite the amount of ppl taking transportation

[@zekealmeida4453]

The swinging jersey barrier cover should paint a clear picture, theyre doing this work for theyre own benefit not of others. Thats a huge safety violation but doing things right and safely isnt their priority (CLEARLY SHOWN IF YOU DRIVE 35)

[@zekealmeida4453]

U got random traffic congestion’s becus of a single blind turn or a blind crest.. how did anyone designing these highways imagine ppl would feel driving 80mph not knowing whats 20ft infront of them.. or the lanes that seamingly all merge when entering and exiting and slowing down to exit while speeding up to enter.. where did this idea make any sense at all

[@zekealmeida4453]

God forbid they made me a road engineer someone who can apy practical working knowledge and actually theoretical solutions rather than just experimenting and using what ppl think works

[@siamimam2109]

I think if there was a way to run a train line parallel to IH35, that would be a game changer. Thousands of people travel from North - downtown-South Austin all day.

[@egomez44]

You cannot fix problems like this worrying about emotions. A majority of Austin citizens don't live or work downtown. Quit being selfish in your thinking about solutions.

[@M.A.Kaminski]

Very well made video about serious issues. Glad there are people opposing the expansion.

[@platonique]

The highway is federal priority. It's not the feds problem that Austin had city planning that prefers tree huggers over logistics and the greater good. They knew 20 years ago the interstate would be redesigned and expanded, they still built up around it. They should worry about crime instead.

[@AntSol13]

She has no idea what she is talking about

[@fadedtimes]

You can do both, we need to expand 35 and do more local transit project for public or non car transportation. Blocking 35 expansion is not going to solve any problems and just make it worse. the frogger game does not do a good job to convey anything, unless you want people crossing i35 on foot.

[@MrMountainchris]

So annoying that city planners are even considering highway expansions. Mass transit! Walkable cities!

[@citrustaco]

People prefer to drive than to take a bus. Mass transit won't work as people won't use them and they will complain about transit stops and not want "all the noise" in their backyard. Walkable cities? Where? I thought the narrator said Austinites are being priced out from downtown, so you would just have a walkable area in the suburbs?

[@deez8769]

@@MrMountainchris ig u can blame ppl that live in the suburbs that work there idk 😭

[@legendarygodzilla3577]

@@citrustaco price regulations, beat it.

[@ix830]

Its not city planners. Its TXDOT and politicians.

[@WakandaleezaRazz]

Austin is not walkable. It’s hot as hell. Cope

[@snakeplissken3063]

Roads and highways will all be obsolete when we start riding unicorns to work.

[@highway2heaven91]

Happy to see you in Strong Towns shorts as well!

[@rickrandazzo]

I lived in Guangzhou, China from 2005 to 2012. Never needed a car. From time to time - rarely - I would take a taxie. The Subway system and busses were mostly all I ever needed. There were several years I even used a bicycle to commute. I now have to drive to Austin twice a week. Wednesday mornings are guaranteed to take 2 hours for a 60 mile drive. Worse than this - we are planning to move to Houston.... though of the traffic scares me to death! I lived in Atlanta from 1996 to 2005. Traffic was horrid! I lived in LA in 1978 - traffic was horrid.... The answer is not more highways....

[@tyleralberico9340]

This video was such an experience, I loved it

[@studio.leonardo]

Thanks for your support, Tyler!

[@ButterNutter37]

The SH-130 alternative is one ive been interested in for some time. Here's to hoping we don't have a Houston version of I-10 going straight through downtown Austin in the future.

[@ellekim2617]

An unfortunate thing about project connect is that state government keeps meddling. State AG and accused criminal Ken Paxton continuously fights this project and it’s extremely frustrating since it was approved with ballot measures!

[@Kyle-hy7fd]

Why not just make the Hwy 130 and 45 toll roads into I-35 and force all the cars and trucks that are passing through go around downtown Austin and turn the original I-35 into the toll road? That would reduce the congestion without building new or expanding existing highways.

[@tyleranderson4852]

Its so hard to comprehend that a city like Austin that has such high levels of community engagement and high technical skills and an top tier university is acting like it has none of those things at all. Its not hard to imagine a realignment of the I35 corridor to existing infrastructure on the east side of the city and remove almost all the through traffic congestion completely. Leaving only local traffic and destination traffic entering the downtown area through a spur . The options would be endless for the regained area. And would be perfect for adding back the many homes and businesses that were lost when the corridor was built originally. Austin has the perfect opportunity for it! It fits the city image and the community at large and would only benefit everyone.

[@thejusmar]

130 is already impassable with the number of trucks on it.

[@SalFilippelli]

Very well made video! I'm hoping that Austin continues to make great urban planning decisions instead of going with the standard Texas-style road expansions. Been almost 12 years since I've been to Austin but I would be very interested in visiting again to see everything that's changed!

[@studio.leonardo]

I hope they are able to align on the innovative people-oriented/ mixed-use/ accessible transit options too!

[@christothefer]

Time is everyone's most valuable asset, doesn't matter who you are. Wasting time for no reason, waiting for transit, or sitting if traffic is not ever a good option.

[@JasonDoege]

The, “larger roads makes traffic worse”, story is a myth. Larger roads move more traffic than smaller roads. They may still have congestion but, congestion and cars per hour are two very different things. Moving vehicles is the purpose of roads and a prerequisite for economic prosperity.

[@MyCoolFish]

As an Austinite, born and raised here, this argument seems very ego centric. I-35 is for ALL Texans. How much of the traffic is just going through Austin? That’s extremely important for commerce. This episode was about local local local, but that’s not looking at the big picture of statewide needs. Sure, traffic sucks. Always has. This episode’s argument is the same argument made in the ‘60s and ‘70s, just with a different spin. Back then, the argument was the Austin City Council wanted to keep Austin small, and if they expanded 35, then that will bring more people and ruin the charm of the city. Well guess what, the charm of the city is now ruined by their inaction to expand. Oh, and also, the plan didn’t work, people STILL continued to move here. So much for keeping Austin small. Now this episode is trying to make the argument about the impact on local economy and small business. Ummm, small business here and traffic affects me too. The problem is the toll roads. Those are paid for by the people and now we’re having to pay again. Take away the tolls and you’ll find all the thoroughfares using the toll highway instead of 35. The cronyism that embodies the toll highways is a whole other topic, but allowing people FREE access to use the tolls would make an immediate impact in reducing the traffic on 35.

[@alideees]

💯

[@kurtphilly]

We go through this same problem in every city in the country. How much political impact do businesses related to road construction have? Car ownership is expensive too.

[@kurtphilly]

We often calculate the cost of public transit with similar metrics or ideals to roads and drivers. When the savings is far greater when you include time, usage and additional trips. And this doesn’t include DUIs and other traffic related injuries/deaths.

[@KobaCrawls]

I think a big fact that a lot of people miss is that The Texas Constitution requires TxDOT to use 75% of all non federal monies on public roadways. They're legally barred from using it for other transportation modes. This is why whenever TxDOT does get involved with local Transit projects, it's always some sort of BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) where its portion of funding must be used for road expansion or redevelopment. On top of that it must be maintained by the local transit authority or transportation district.

[@Dwafiz]

Thank you for bringing up SH-130 and the local vs long-distance travel on I-35!

[@txquartz]

It's absolutely disingenuous of you to pretend the affordable areas would not also disappear through land developer acquisitions even if you prevail and remove the road. It only benefits real estate companies. Your new "mixed use" development will not be affordable, and who cares when the working class get pushed beyond even bicycle range, at least the bike lanes are there for the rich transplants.

[@shelleydelayne4195]

Correct: the desirable locations near town lake and downtown will likely end up being super expensive. And: the more density/availability there is in the core, the closer in affordable areas can be. And if the 35 corridor included rail and bus options, it would benefit those who do live in more affordable outlying areas. I live in way south Austin, almost to Buda, and I really *have* to drive in order to get anywhere. I love the idea of being able to choose something else, or to have a backup option if my car’s in the shop. 🤷‍♀️

[@haroldhechinger5850]

If SH 130 is not an option, you can expand Mopac 1 and/or Capital of Texas Highway. As one not living in Austin, but has been to and through Auston, SR 130 would be the best option to reroute I 35.

[@soal159]

Expanding the road isn't the answer. It is providing a second route that will reduce traffic. Routing algorithms will pour traffic to the quickest route but this can be mitigated by eliminating the choke points.

[@FGH9G]

If there's any city in America that desperately needs to expand and improve their mass transit systems, especially the light rail, it's Austin. Austin has been doing a fantastic job allowing for higher density housing, as well as reforming zoning and land use regulations, YIMBYism, and generally being very (relatively) pro-housing. Now all that needs to happen is, as stated before, the expansion of rail transit, as well as pedestrian and cycling infrastructure to go hand and hand with good urbanism.

[@Mytruckingtravels]

Well TexDot kind of screwed up with 130. There's no easy access from I-35 to it. You have to exit off in San Antonio over to Interstate 10 and go east for like 50 miles which is ridiculous and nobody's going to do it. And I hate to tell you this, the majority of traffic going down I-35 do not live in the Austin area. They're just traveling through. Even if Texas did away with the tolls on 183, their decision to start the expressway on Interstate 10 was a colossal and disastrous mistake. And it can't be fixed. You might have to suck it up and expect a 22 lane highway on Interstate 35. Rapid Transit buses and all this other stuff is not going to work. Why? Because the majority of the people going down Interstate 35 do not live in Austin or even around Austin, but only are commuting through it. It is a major commercial corridor brought on by the NAFTA agreement. And this will never change.

[@asrr62]

We in Austin Texas actually use the 130 toll road to get around the city on the eastern side. It's not useless and was very necessary.

[@teeandRndmpacman]

I agree with a lot of commenters that sh-130 is a primary solution to moving intercity traffic away from i-35 but the way of doing this is probably not lowering the toll cost of sh-130 as that toll is designed to pay for the maintenance of sh-130, but instead to make the cost of travelling on i-35 more expensive especially to to intercity travelers. This can be done in varying ways including axle based tolls, limits on trucks potentially based on time of day, and smarter tolls that can differentiate between intracity traffic and intercity traffic. Obviously in the long term this needs to involve also expanding intercity passenger and freight rail to get more trucks off the road.

[@mi12no]

Make the far left lanes dedicated for people going from 1 mile into the city to 1 mile before the other end of the city, then allow the others to filter the rest. Make the speed limit 65 and it's all good. Anybody who wants to pass others can use the local lanes of traffic.

[@mikelherrasti2697]

What TxDOT needs to do is to look at how other developed countries (like Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden) handle car-traffic, because the car-traffic on these countries isn’t bad. People in other developed countries have many different ways to get around, not just the car. (I live in Spain)

[@azulaquaza4916]

Most of Austin’s and Texas city population lives OUTSIDE the major city center where the jobs are. Most of them would slam the door in your face if you proposed them to try and bike in Texas weather to work lol, to add trains would take a long time and they already are doing it.

[@siamimam2109]

Great video. Wishing you the best. Hopefully you hit 1M subscribers some day

[@ttopero]

Denver already lost the same battle for the I-70 expansion directly north of downtown, similar to how I-35 is east of downtown Austin. We also had an option to shift traffic to a stretch of interstate that needed expansion anyway, with less devastation to a previously destroyed neighborhood by the original freeway. CDOT got its way and now they are ALSO planning to expand the other interstates too, as they should have done first!

[@timothychartier]

The entire video I was waiting for an explanation of the proposed highway expansion. A map of it... A description of what 8 mile stretch they wanted to work on.. anything. I was left hanging. The only construction I'm aware of is from Slaughter to Buda, South of the city. That's miles and miles from downtown but you mentioned downtown multiple times in the video as being impacted and related to the expansion. And the exit infrastructure there (South) is terrible right now. The overpasses and other exit changes they are making are very welcome because they actually are designed properly to alleviate congestion by reducing conflict points. If there's another proposed expansion near downtown, I'm not aware of it and from your video I'm still not lol. I think this video was an attempt at journalistic activism but you can't assume people know what you are talking about before giving your opinion on it. I've not been moved to do anything nor have I been educated, I'm just confused.

[@davestewart2067]

The presenter even admits in the video that’s she’s “not an engineer “. The progressive left believes a magic wand can be waved, and that traffic, and it’s primary drivers, such as population growth will simply go away.

[@christothefer]

Parking mandates are important to help middle class and working people that don't live downtown access the city. Wealthy folks don't care, they can afford $30+ a day for parking.

[@stewartrobertson1224]

I am not sure what the definition of through traffic actually means, but there are a large number of folk that live North of Austin (in the suburbs-Roundrock, Georgetown, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Leander) that work South of the river and vice versa (Live in circle c , Kyle, Buda etc. but work in Arboretum, Cedar Park, round rock etc). There are only three main arteries over the river of which I-35 is the major one. For the most part, I do not know many who work in the actual "city" it is merely in the way and something to be navigated (i.e. downtown is not their destination). The corridor expansion is not for those in the city but those who need to cross it. IH130 is not a realistic substitute for the majority of this class of commuter (who don't seem adequately described as Local traffic either). For better or worse Austin is historically a city with a double decker freeway through the center of it, that is something which cannot be undone by wishful thinking and good intentions. Many arguments present here seem very naive, As a European living in the area, I'd love to be able to take the light rail into Austin for nights out or at the weekend, however its is unbelievably slow and has an abominable timetable. I cannot for a minute believe that Cap Metro can run an efficient transit system that gets commuting folks across the city efficiently on daily basis, when evidence suggest they can't even get people in and out of the city today.

[@vellum806]

The Trans Texas Corridor could have solved this. 130 is a piece of that plan. By the way, people say you have to go 50 miles east from San Antonio to get on 130 toll. I'd encourage you to look at a map and see that I-35 follows a same eastward direction since Austin is east of San Antonio. I know it is more miles to drive to downtown SA but for Laredo to north of Austin distance truckers, 130 should be used.

[@memesthatmakeyouwannadie3133]

Texas cities are hurt so much by the lack of transit. TxDOT and the "one more lane" mindset make them sprawling messes.

[@notaavegotchi]

I dont like the fact I35 is going straight through Austin Downtown and that there are so many entry and exit to the highway, making it more like a city road and less highway

[@tmacman0418]

What this video fails recognize the traffic that goes THROUGH Austin not TO it. I often drive from San Marcos to Dallas regularly and for me the highway expansion would help me. What they need to argue is for removing tolls from 130 and pressuring the state to complete the Texas Triangle railway so I wouldn't even have to put my car on the road and drive through Austin to get to my destination.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yay! Well done. Thanks for this profile. 🙌

[@TheJamieRamone]

Always a good day when u drop a new video, especially after so long! Glad to see u in all those StrongTowns videos in the meantime. Keep up the good work! 😊 It's great to hear that about the parking minimums being scrapped, and hopefully this highway expansion goes the same way. I seen on other urbanist KZbinr's videos how Austin does urban planning much different than the rest of the US, in some ways worse (or just as bad) but in others so much better. They seem to be on track so becoming a south west Portland.

[@highway2heaven91]

They do. The rest of TX should take note.

[@victorangeles655]

I-35 is a daily hell for me

[@bloodbane93]

I’m still pissed that old rail vote failed a decade ago. Even if it was just from Riverside to West Campus, it could have removed a ton of South Austin student, downtown/congress visitors from the highway. More lanes is not the answer. Mopac Express didn’t do shit for congestion and this won’t either.

[@SavageScientist]

I love Austin and im a fan for Light rail, Im in New Orleans, one of the slowest growing cities in the south. The freeway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is still only 4 lanes. If it was Texas the freeway would be 8 lanes.

[@SavageScientist]

i also just subscribed

[@sohiskylines]

Awesome job on this video. Really well done 🤩

[@studio.leonardo]

Really glad you liked it!

[@pcongre]

Thanks for the brilliant video! ...and this is applicable to any city imo - why expand or even keep urban highways instead of just making sustainable corridors out of them? (As well as diverting through traffic to outer ringroads, as proposed in the video💯)

[@studio.leonardo]

You’re completely right and sadly is still a messy process to get alternatives introduced in many cities because its still so “new” in north america

[@pcongre]

@@studio.leonardo agreed! (although by "any city" I meant any city in the world, not only in NA... us Swedes are almost as car-brained tbh, cheers from Sthlm! :_) )

[@mattbowdenuh]

I'd hate to inform you, but as someone who lives in San Antonio and drives through Austin all the time to get to Killeen, it's the trucks that cause most of the backup on I-35. The middle lane is just trucks all the way from San Marcos to Georgetown. I-35 needs a couple of through lanes that go straight from 71 all the way to 45 in Round Rock with the only connection being 183 for all the through traffic, so it doesn't interact with local traffic. I-35 in Austin has always been a pain to drive through and the city has refused to do anything about it. If you want to improve rail, improve freight rail from Houston, San Antonio, Mexico to Dallas.

[@Phil9874]

frieght rail being bad is entirely the fault of de regulating the railroads we need a regulated limit on how long freight trains can be which would improve rail traffic a lot. We also really need a regional rail transit that travels to all the major cities in texas as well as an increase in local rail in cities. Basically we need to Increase everything else except car transit if we want to make things better.

[@sleepy-salamander2000]

Amazing video!!

[@christothefer]

Wasting billions of hours due to ignorant folks not adding lanes and bridges is insane. Taking a block of land along the Interstate corridor isn't going to hurt the city. It will help. More people accessing Austin helps Austin. Making it a total disaster to travel in and out of causes everyone around to avoid it.

[@pinkiepingas]

When all people do is say that they want to build roads, they're just saying that they want Austin to be a traffic stop, not a destination.

[@oberthewhat]

Austin was has basically never been people-friendly. It has always been a car-dominated city as much as that is awful. So "keep Austin people friendly" is not really an option. I think there are certainly districts of the city that we should focus on a less car-centric approach.

[@Official_Mr_Lex]

I live in Austin. I heard that they’re planning on building a park over i35

[@Ars_Fabula_TTRPG]

Follow the money- someone is giving these road construction contracts to their buddies and getting a nice chunk off the top for themselves. I say build trains over the highway medians. When people stuck in traffic see the train zipping by overhead, they might stop and think, "hey that could be me."

[@GabeDubbs]

I’m and engineer and without a doubt any engineer that would seal the plans for this highway should lose their license. It’s absolutely insane that there’s even a possibility that this will be built.

[@Mr._Papagiorgio]

Please explain why

[@ehwick8175]

Isn't that cute..."affordable housing". A basic necessity needs to be govt. grant financed to exist. How did this country become like this. All the ppl that provide service to the city need to commute hrs to do this. Its embarrassing honestly.

[@gungauser9020]

Currently working on I-35 expansion design here AMA

[@shelleydelayne4195]

What are your thoughts on the video, and the idea of *not* expanding it to simply be more car lanes?

[@gungauser9020]

I agree with the video that adding more lanes does not improve congestion. But if that is the direction, there are a few things that can work, such as adding toll lanes.

[@Austintwo3]

so i will add, its not that the funding isn't there, cause it is, states just know getting it takes work. they also have to want change

[@C_LT_Classic]

The cinematography is very good!

[@studio.leonardo]

Thanks to Josh Bowlin! An incredible cinematographer and great to work with 😊

[@startek119]

So these are the hippies who hate our highways. Austin’s got plenty of parks and places for houses. The highway should be widened. Ideally we should add some tunnels too.

[@davestewart2067]

Exactly. Due to the growth-35 should be at least 4 x 4 GP lanes all the way through. A 5 x 5 cross section would be even better. By depressing and trenching, the main lanes can be “decked” over in places.

[@agbook2007]

The fact that the tollway around this congested route is still a tollway baffles my mind. That is the first problem with any plan on I-35.

[@buyaj7693]

Yeah I don't take toll roads because they are a scam

[@BlackSheepEvents]

You know a lot of this is just Greg Abbott pain back the construction companies that donated to his campaign

[@tannerblake7745]

I'm living in San Marcos, and I hate I-35. But this video had no strong arguments and just felt like complaints. I think a highway parallel to 35 from San Antonio to Austin in combination with completing 45 through Bear Creek would solve SO MUCH issues. A huge amount of traffic is people from Kyle, Buda, San Marcos, NB etc. commuting to work in Austin. Another highway (oh no... expansion booo), and building through the creek would solve so much of it.

[@jimbojugg709]

I think the point is that building public transportation would ultimately get more cars off of the highway as more people opt to take light rail or bikes. Cars take up so much space per person compared to trains and bikes. The other argument is that simply expanding the highway will not solve the traffic issue. Since most people are coming in for work, there will still be a major bottle neck that creates congestion at the exits everyone needs to take to get to their office. A parallel highway might help a little, but I dont think it would come close to solving the bigger issue.

[@shakarussanders9911]

Austin is so unrecognizable now! I'm the Dallas/Ft Worth area i used to love driving down to Austin! 2016 was the last time I've been there

[@benito0111]

just turn 130 into a truck route no more 18 wheelers on i 35 unless they have a permit to be delivering through out area drop the toll's on both 130 and 1 and more drivers will use 130 if just driving through more drivers will use 1 as an alternative. So many drivers avoid the tolls and use 35 due to no tolls. The answer is already built but greed is the reason of the congestion. The decision makers don't care because they use the solution to the problem already and we the people pay for them using the solution. Try an experiment and make the toll roads free for a period of time.

[@gbp2]

Maybe it's time for you Texans start paying STATE TAXES and CITY TAXES. Transit is a great idea, too. (Instead of buying more Lexises and Escalades with room for those damn hats!) (Dang, no cowboy hat emojis)

[@jw77019]

That road should never have been there. It plowed through a nice neighborhood when it was built,

[@ericsibul4772]

There's no such thing as a traffic engineer - they're people with sometype of dubious social science degree.

[@statwizard]

85MPH is both dangerous and stupid. Austin like the State itself is poorly managed and operated. You cannot fit square peg in a round hole. More simply put, you cannot bring 300k+ additional people to Austin and expect that an already overburdened roadway is going to suffice. Something will have to give. IMHO.

[@davestewart2067]

Texdot has squandered billions since the beginning of the Rick Perry regime. Architectural and landscape frills, Clearview and other waste. They should have upheld design standards and concentrated on needed corridor upgrades. And skipped the frills.

[@diarian]

the thumbnail is misleading. that’s congress not 35

[@TomP-nw4wu]

Everybody gets a canoe, brilliant. Follow the $.

[@maus0292]

Austin is no longer weird. We need a real metro or subway system, not an adaptation to the rail lines. Bike lanes have made traffic worse. I hate driving in Austin now. I live north of austin and it takes me almost an hour to get to the other side of town depending on when i travel. 130 was built to elevate traffic on I -35 but its a toll road and people don’t want to pay. The on real fix is to go underground rail or elevated rail systems, likely above or under surface streets or parks. Think larger versions of Elon musks boring projects. Not impossible but costly. Due to soil being limestone and high water tables and lakes and rivers. Geology and landscape make solving the traffic issues a problem in Austin. Also the fact the city council wastes millions on impractical solutions like some California cities and refuses to listen to experts. Like buying failing hotels for over market pice to put homeless in. They need one secure area. Large housing units and building for onsite services and rooms for volunteer organizations to work out of. Rehab, Christian ministries that feed people, job placement and training, and possibly onsite employment. No longer allowing homeless in parks or under bridges. Which cause costly clean up and crime. Most neighboring community and counties don’t put up with that stuff and constantly fight overflow from Austin. Austin is now a winter destination for Homeless from cold northern states. Austin spends millions on pointless studies to get a solution to an issue but that never get implemented for are out of date by the time the study is finished. They look at California as solution leaders but California has failed its citizens and there are more homeless and care homeless in their cities.

[@MadCapMoto]

You’re burying it so it’s fine. It’ll provide areas above the highway for people to congregate downtown

[@r2jeri691]

My fyp getting a bit too local

[@bossK78]

Cool video. Frogger made it even better.

[@connorgibson4528]

hey ! i was at that campo meeting

[@isaacng123456789]

What you missed is that we just need one more lane to solve traffic.

[@ginyilee6538]

lol.... no worry, keep building highway!! it`s going to work

[@harrygoesgaming]

I think they should build a freeway with 2 lanes on each side over I35 to go from one side of downtown to the other without stopping so the bottom is just for downtown and the top is to get through it. They did it in San Antonio

[@Whoo711]

"Just one more lane, bro!"