Seriously...please tell me. I am consolidating input for the downtown austin plan so I'm primarily concerned with downtown.....but I'll take whatever you've got. What don't you like down here and what would you like to see? Nothing is off limits.
Also...no need to deliver the solution - just the symptom and, if you have it, the cause.
I make zero promises on what happens to these suggestions after we pass them on....but I'm very serious in capturing more peoples' input. The group I'm in is trying to listen to more diverse input than just our own. It's unconventional to request comment on an improv forum, but I value your opinions.
Thank you in advance,
Michael
What ails this city? / What could it be?
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Moderators: arclight, happywaffle
What ails this city? / What could it be?
Last edited by Miggy on November 8th, 2007, 9:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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- Mo Daviau Offline
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I'm pissed that their putting in an ugly, useless Walgreens on the corner of Burnet and Koenig, and their knocking down the Frisco Shop to do it. Bob and I went to Frisco last night and I talked to the lady behind the cash register about it and they're happy about it--Walgreens is giving them a nice payout and their new building is going to be nice. But why does it have to be Walgreens? I mean, fuck Walgreens. They have a nasty habit of forcing out old, interesting businesses in favor of their cookie-cutter, depressing, must-have-a-store-every-2.2 miles shit. They're just as bad as Wal-Mart.
Not downtown, but in my neighborhood.
Not downtown, but in my neighborhood.
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- nadine Offline
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- HerrHerr Offline
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- Mark Snacker Offline
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I was walking downtown last night, poor guy asks me for a dollar. I says nope. Poor guy starts hollering "What has happened to Austin! What ever happened to this town?!"
What has happened to Austin, indeed. Maybe it's just me, but seems like there are a lot more panhandlers than in years past. Used to be the only people asking for money were endearing, crazy characters who tried to entertain you with their insane mathematical theories or their bucket playing. That was value for your dollar.
What has happened to Austin, indeed. Maybe it's just me, but seems like there are a lot more panhandlers than in years past. Used to be the only people asking for money were endearing, crazy characters who tried to entertain you with their insane mathematical theories or their bucket playing. That was value for your dollar.
Lack of strong leadership and too much pandering to polls and special interest?
How about a lack of an overall, cohesive plan?
We have initiatives for rail, plans for toll roads, zoning for condo high-rises, but it seems to me that none of them are really talking to one another. There is no one overall master development plan. It's bandaids and pieces-parts, not a comprehensive, ground-up solutions package.
Also, why don't our leaders target common problem areas? All these toll roads are nice and pretty and I'm sure they do relieve some traffic out to Cedar Park, but I get in the car and hear the SAME traffic report EVERY morning. (I really just want to record it every day for 30 days and play it for the city council.)
EVERY morning it is:
"Northbound MoPac is backed up from 360 to the river. Sounthbound MoPac is standing still from 183 to 45th street. etc etc"
The toll road is nice, but it does not alleviate the backup between 360 and the river, which is where the traffic is at its worst.
Also, none of these plans that are being proposed have any sense of transparency or guarantee. Will building a rail system and the resulting push to get people onto rail deplete funds taht could be used to widen and maintain roads or will the roads age faster because funds are being diverted to a plan that many people may not want anyway?
I guess I just want less feel-goodism, pandering, and business as usual and more tough, honest, and actual leadership.
How about a lack of an overall, cohesive plan?
We have initiatives for rail, plans for toll roads, zoning for condo high-rises, but it seems to me that none of them are really talking to one another. There is no one overall master development plan. It's bandaids and pieces-parts, not a comprehensive, ground-up solutions package.
Also, why don't our leaders target common problem areas? All these toll roads are nice and pretty and I'm sure they do relieve some traffic out to Cedar Park, but I get in the car and hear the SAME traffic report EVERY morning. (I really just want to record it every day for 30 days and play it for the city council.)
EVERY morning it is:
"Northbound MoPac is backed up from 360 to the river. Sounthbound MoPac is standing still from 183 to 45th street. etc etc"
The toll road is nice, but it does not alleviate the backup between 360 and the river, which is where the traffic is at its worst.
Also, none of these plans that are being proposed have any sense of transparency or guarantee. Will building a rail system and the resulting push to get people onto rail deplete funds taht could be used to widen and maintain roads or will the roads age faster because funds are being diverted to a plan that many people may not want anyway?
I guess I just want less feel-goodism, pandering, and business as usual and more tough, honest, and actual leadership.
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- Brian Boyko Offline
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- Joined: March 18th, 2006, 1:48 am
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The street names are confusing. Pick one and stick with it! I can't tell you how many times I've been going on Riverside and end up getting lost because I didn't know to make a left hand turn onto Barton Springs. Make that all Riverside or ALL Barton Springs!
The train tracks on 4th street are not clearly marked at night and people can easily end up driving onto them by accident. Put up a barrier of some sort that lets trains go through but tells cars that that's not a continuation of the street (as 4th street does have you driving on the train tracks for a while.)
The street lanes change pretty quickly and it traffic you can't always see the markings that show "left turn only." Make the streets more uniform.
Other than 6th street, just -how- do I get to Mopac from downtown? other than 11th street, how can I get to 35? Why aren't there signs which show you how to get to Mopac or 35?
As it stands now, the only way to get to the bars on 6th street is to drive to them. Can you begin to see the dilemma here?
Bars should be allowed to stay open till 3. I have no problem with them not being allowed to serve alcohol after 2, I just want the traffic to stagger instead of every drunk son of a gun clamoring out of the bars and into their cars at 2am sharp.
The train tracks on 4th street are not clearly marked at night and people can easily end up driving onto them by accident. Put up a barrier of some sort that lets trains go through but tells cars that that's not a continuation of the street (as 4th street does have you driving on the train tracks for a while.)
The street lanes change pretty quickly and it traffic you can't always see the markings that show "left turn only." Make the streets more uniform.
Other than 6th street, just -how- do I get to Mopac from downtown? other than 11th street, how can I get to 35? Why aren't there signs which show you how to get to Mopac or 35?
As it stands now, the only way to get to the bars on 6th street is to drive to them. Can you begin to see the dilemma here?
Bars should be allowed to stay open till 3. I have no problem with them not being allowed to serve alcohol after 2, I just want the traffic to stagger instead of every drunk son of a gun clamoring out of the bars and into their cars at 2am sharp.
Public transportation.
Light Rail.
Bike Lanes. Austin is so easy to do via bike. The most famous cyclist in the world trains/works/lives here. Where's our $3billion biking initiative?
Pedestrian zones! Nobody needs to drive anywhere downtown.
Where is the love for the inner-city? Why are we beholden to Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Buda? Make it affordable and easy to live downtown. Rent control, or sub-$40,000 places to live inside the circle.
Stop going down on every big business that fans our face with money/jobs.
Keep my beautiful Capital Building and Goddess of Liberty visible from the river and MoPac.
Light Rail.
Bike Lanes. Austin is so easy to do via bike. The most famous cyclist in the world trains/works/lives here. Where's our $3billion biking initiative?
Pedestrian zones! Nobody needs to drive anywhere downtown.
Where is the love for the inner-city? Why are we beholden to Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Buda? Make it affordable and easy to live downtown. Rent control, or sub-$40,000 places to live inside the circle.
Stop going down on every big business that fans our face with money/jobs.
Keep my beautiful Capital Building and Goddess of Liberty visible from the river and MoPac.
I would like one street that went from i-35-mopac down town - that isn't closed down several Saturdays a month. Seriously, if you live down here, it is very difficult to get from east to west. I really don't think 2nd should be 2 way - it worked much better when it was just east to west. Parking is difficult. I'd be willing to park and ride, but the places to ride from are dark and scary at night.
But, in general, I really like downtown. It has come a long way from the eighties when it was pretty much dying. There is life and commerce and fun stuff. I think the new push to have more residence downtown will only make it better.
But, in general, I really like downtown. It has come a long way from the eighties when it was pretty much dying. There is life and commerce and fun stuff. I think the new push to have more residence downtown will only make it better.
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- James Snacker Offline
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- slappywhite Offline
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This isn't so much a problem I've noticed downtown, but in the rest of the city: The traffic lights are waaaay too long. They need to study traffic patterns at various places at various times of day. I've often been at a light for long periods and no traffic going with the green. Downtown might actually be the only part of the city that I've noticed that DOESN'T have that problem.
Obviously this is a traffic (and responsible city growth) issue, but it's also an environmental issue. I spend a lot of time needlessly idling, wasting gas and polluting.
Obviously this is a traffic (and responsible city growth) issue, but it's also an environmental issue. I spend a lot of time needlessly idling, wasting gas and polluting.
"Every cat dies 9 times, but every cat does not truly live 9 lives."
-Bravecat
-Bravecat
To echo this sentiment, a BIG draw of Austin is the local flavor and, in the name of progress, the city is killing the goose that laid the golden egg.nadine wrote:Too corporatized. Everything is becoming way too slick. metallic and uniform.
The (unofficial?) city motto is "Keep Austin Weird" [remember that the origin is for support of local businesses] and it's becoming less and less weird and more and more homogenized. I remember how disappointed I was when I moved here and saw a Starbucks on Congress built into a building, like a minimall. Made me sad.
In Athens, GA they have an ordinance that no big chains can be within a certain radius of the center of downtown. That was something that made Athens pretty special to me going to school at UGA.
"Every cat dies 9 times, but every cat does not truly live 9 lives."
-Bravecat
-Bravecat