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The $ 7 billion voter-approved plan to expand Austin public transportation involves tunneling two light rail lines through the core of downtown to move people faster than traffic through the densest part of the city.
This week, traffic planners offered the most detailed vision yet of how the orange and blue lines could take shape underground. The plans are only 15% complete, so a lot could still change. The public will have an opportunity to weigh up this summer.
Station locations
The Blue Line, which begins at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, would cross a bridge over Lady Bird Lake and board the subway before arriving at a station on Trinity Street south of Cesar Chavez Street.
Austin Transit Partnership
An illustration of a planned light rail station near East Cesar Chavez and Rainey Streets.
Rainey Street / Mexican American Cultural Center Station could provide easy access to the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail and the Waterloo Greenway, a 1.5 mile park planned from 15th Street to Lady Bird Lake.
Austin Transit Partnership
Illustrations of the planned Waterloo Greenway, a 1.5 mile park planned from 15th Street to Lady Bird Lake.
The Blue Line would continue north and arrive at a subway station near the Austin Convention Center / Brush Square Park. This location would be connected to the Red Line S-Bahn and a future Green Line that would go to Colony Park and eventually Elgin.
Austin Transit Partnership
An illustration of the light rail station located below the Austin Convention Center.
From the Austin Convention Center, the Blue Line would turn west on Fourth Street and make the next stop on Congress Avenue.
Austin Transit Partnership
An illustration of the proposed light rail station that would be under Congress Avenue and Fourth Street.
An early concept for Congress Avenue Station is a multi-story building that includes amenities like a public market with retail and office space.
Austin Transit Partnership
An illustration of the planned Congress Avenue light rail station.
If the Blue Line continued west, it would next stop at Republic Square Park and meet the Orange Line. Republic Square is already a major hub for Capital Metro buses.
Austin Transit Partnership
An illustration of the planned light rail station that would be under Republic Square.
Capital Metro asked state lawmakers for permission to build directly under Republic Square and Brush Square parks. A bill was passed in the House of Representatives but never put to a vote by the entire Senate. This forced a change in the plans of Austin Transit Partnership, a local government company formed by Capital Metro and the City of Austin, to implement Project Connect. So the redesigned Republic Square Station wouldn’t touch the park at all; it would be on an adjacent sidewalk extension.
ATP planners are speaking to the companies behind two developments under construction between Fifth and Sixth Streets to see if they could incorporate additional station entrances near Republic Square.
The Orange Line, which would begin at Stassney Lane and eventually extend south to Southpark Meadows, would enter a tunnel either before or after South Congress Avenue Station. Both options are being examined.
Austin Transit Partnership
An illustration of the proposed Orange Line that would partially pass through a tunnel near Auditorium Shores. Traffic planners made two suggestions as to what the underground part of the route might look like.
Austin Transit Partnership
An illustration of the proposed Orange Line that would partially pass through a tunnel near Auditorium Shores. Traffic planners made two suggestions as to what the underground part of the route might look like.
The Orange Line would travel north from South Congress Station to get under the subway to Auditorium Shores. Original plans were for the Auditorium Shores Station to be above ground, but factors such as utility placement and flooding concerns convinced engineers that the tunnel entrance should be farther south.
Austin Transit Partnership
An illustration of the planned light rail station at the Shores Auditorium.
From there the Orange Line would go under Lady Bird Lake. The tunnel would be dug west of the First Street Bridge and headed towards Republic Square Station to mate with the Blue Line and create one of the major transportation hubs in central Texas.
The Orange Line would then travel north to a subway station located west of the Texas State Capitol. Original plans included two stations in this area, but they were merged into one. Three station placement options are being explored with two possible “tunnel portal” locations where the train would exit underground.
Austin Transit Partnership
An illustration of three options for a light rail station west of the Capitol.
Station design
Project Connect planners are looking for inspiration for train station designs around the world, including in the Dutch cities of Delft and Sydney, Australia.
Austin Transit Partnership
Austin traffic planners working on a proposal for light rail lines in the city take inspiration from various train stations around the world, including Deft, the Netherlands.
Austin Transit Partnership
Austin traffic planners working on a proposal for light rail lines in the city take inspiration from various train stations around the world, including Sydney, Australia.
“Essentially, one of the advantages of designing a light rail system from scratch is that we don’t upgrade any type of legacy system,” said Peter Mullan, ATP’s chief of architecture and urban design. “We can look at the best examples around the world and then build them up here in Austin.”
Some of the features ATP wants to include in subway stations include:
- Escalators
- Natural light
- Lines of sight from multiple levels to the platform
- Clear orientation
- High ceilings
- Platform screen doors to prevent people from falling on the tracks
All downtown stations, with the exception of those west of the Texas Capitol, would be connected to shopping by a walk-in subway hall.
A cross-section through Fourth Street shows how planners want to turn the corridor into a three-tier system. Below street level, the pedestrian zone would allow access to the city platforms below.
Austin Transit Partnership
This illustration of a cross-section of Fourth Street shows how traffic planners want to create a corridor between three light rail stations in the city center.
“The whole goal of the system and above all that [downtown section], is how we make the transit as easy and smooth as possible, “said Mullan.” So that it becomes just an integral part of the daily life of the community. “
Mullan said a key goal of the system is to make it accessible to people with mobility issues, the elderly, parents pushing strollers, travelers with suitcases to the airport, or people with bicycles.
Fourth street as a public space
Planners say Fourth Street would form the “backbone” of the downtown system, with Brush Square Park to the east and Republic Square Park to the west serving as bookends for a pedestrian-friendly corridor crowned by a level public space, similar to Denver’s 16th Street Mall or Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade.
Austin Transit Partnership
Transportation planners say a corridor between light rail stations in downtown Austin could also become a ground floor public space, like the 16th Street Mall in Denver.
Austin Transit Partnership
Transportation planners say a corridor between light rail stations in downtown Austin could also become a ground floor public space, like Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade.
“We don’t have a design yet. We’d have to work with it [Austin’s Transportation Department] and stakeholders downtown to see what the design would look like, “said Mullan.” But we think it could be really awesome. “
Public submission
At virtual community meetings at the end of July and beginning of August, everyone can participate in the design plans. A self-guided online meeting will be available for one month starting July 27th on ProjectConnect.com. A personal open house is planned for July 31 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the central library.
Corrected: July 16, 2021 at 5:48 p.m. CDT
Correction: This story has been updated to correct inaccurate information from the Austin Transit Partnership. ATP initially misidentified where the Blue Line station would be near the Austin Convention Center / Brush Square area. A spokesman for Capital Metro said Friday that the station will be underground. This story has also been corrected to describe the Rainey / MACC station arriving on Trinity Street, not Rainey Street.
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