It was the sort of event where a former road warrior would propose a 2006
election on new commuter train lines and downtown streetcars.
Or a developer would demand more governmental intervention.
Or an Austin City Council member would preach aggressive utility investments
to encourage development.
More than 500 people trekked Saturday to a six-hour symposium on Texas 130,
the planned highway east of Austin and Round Rock that will open in two years.
There were no answers about how Central Texas will negotiate growth
pressures along the 49-mile, $1.5 billion toll road. But the questions,
opportunities and ideas ranged from ambitious to revolutionary.
The biggest bombshell--albeit one that is lots of work and many months short
of exploding--came from Rep. Mike Krusee, a Williamson County Republican who
heads the Texas House Transportation Committee.
Krusee proposed an election on a new transit system that could include
commuter rail lines to the suburbs and a streetcar circulator in downtown
Austin. Such a notion has been discussed quietly for months, but Krusee's comments
gave some shape and considerable clout to the idea. Krusee has been known
throughout his career for supporting new roads, particularly ones with tolls,
but in the past two years he has become a vocal supporter of rail transit.
After stepping from the podium at a South Austin conference center, Krusee
said he would like to see an election next November.
"I don't want to wait two more years," he said. "If you build a system
of over 100 miles, it's going to be expensive. But it's not going to be as
expensive as 130, and it will do as much, if not more, for economic
development."
Many of the envisioned rail lines would run in to the Texas 130 corridor,
Krusee said, encouraging developers to build more compact neighborhoods where
residents don't always need cars.
"It's going to be built one way if there's rail, and another way if there's
not rail," Krusee said.
Dozens of cities, counties, and utility providers lie in the road's path.
All need to work together, the roughly three dozen speakers and panelists
concurred, to get ready for the boom 130 will bring.
Several speakers bemoaned the lack of development controls along the toll
road, the vast majority of which is outside the limits of any city.
In such areas, no one has the ability to set aside land for office buildings
or industrial plants, which generate more tax revenue than the ubiquitous
subdivisions now multiplying along the toll road.
Some said the Legislature should give counties land-use powers that cities
now have. Others said the state should create a new agency that can manage
and coordinate growth in hot zones along 130.
Developer Sandy Rae warned that allowing the market to run rampant along the
highway could create a future of used-car lots and cinder block facades.
"If we don't have patience," Rae warned, "we will not be happy 20 years from
now."
