TipSheet: This week’s Council committee

City Council decided to keep it simple this week and will hold only one committee meeting. Nonetheless, we bring you this (shorter than normal) tip sheet with what we are keeping our eye on this week.

Mobility Committee

Wednesday, Feb.3, 3 p.m.

5. Briefing on Capital Metro’s Central Corridor Study and general discussion of rail planning process.

Monitor’s take: As we reported last week, Cap Metro is moving forward with a central corridor study, bringing Project Connect back on the table. Now it’s the city’s chance to weigh in on that and, apparently, the rail-planning process in general, which should be interesting.

6. Staff briefing on recommendations from the Vision Zero action report, the traffic safety concept that aims to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on roadways to zero.

Monitor’s take: Last week, despite some recent controversy, Austin officially joined the Vision Zero program. And what is the controversy in eliminating all traffic fatalities, exactly? Well, it’s (unsurprisingly) political. On the eve of the release of the Vision Zero draft report, the process moved from the Planning and Zoning Department to the Transportation Department. Now, according to Mike Levy, the Public Safety Commission’s representative on the Vision Zero Task Force, the draft is heading to committee without comments from that task force or from the Public Safety Commission, and he (for one) isn’t happy about it. With Austin coming out of a year that saw more than 100 traffic fatalities, this plan is worth keeping an eye on, regardless.

8. Staff briefing with discussion and possible action on public process options for funding of transportation projects.

Monitor’s take:Here it is: the official discussion about an upcoming transportation bond election. Although Mayor Steve Adler has made it clear that he would like to see a transportation bond, and Bike Austin has spearheaded a petition drive to include bicycle and sidewalk projects, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered before November. Members of City Council that do not sit on the Mobility Committee are expected to join in this discussion about the community process for the bond and, potentially, its scope.