Austin News

District 2 City Council candidates David Chincanchan and Vanessa Fuentes are supporting a $7 billion transit plan on the ballot in November and the tax hike that would fund the system.

“I believe public transportation is a matter of social justice and access to opportunity,” Chincanchan wrote on Facebook.

“Transformative change is one step closer to being on the ballot this November,” Fuentes posted. “Austin City Council is moving forward with an 8.75% tax rate election to build out Cap Metro’s Project Connect. Best part: the proposal includes $300 million for a transit-supportive anti-displacement program, helping Austinites stay in their homes.”

But opponents of Project Connect say it is too expensive and will serve too few people to make a dent in traffic congestion.

“Most of (Project Connect)’s cost is dedicated to a central Austin light rail system that would serve less than 1% of our regional mobility,” said the opposition group Our Mobility Our Future. “This will significantly increase congestion and degrade the mobility of those traveling 99% of the non-rail, transit passenger miles.”

The plan would impose a hefty burden on taxpayers, the group says.

“This multi-billion dollar train transit system must be funded by increasing property/citizen’s taxes, resulting in major tax and rent increases for generations and continuing to make Austin less affordable,” it said. “The total proposed transit system would increase taxes by thousands of dollars per year for the average home.”

Over the last two decades, Austin’s population has increased by 85% while transit ridership has dropped 16%, the group said. It argues that the project would cost $200 million per mile and is not cost effective.

“People have made these choices for their best quality-of-life and trying to force them to change due to city leaders who think they know better will fail, resulting in a highly degraded Austin community,” it said.

Even some progressives are opposing the transit plan.

Members of a group called Progressives Against Project Connect say it would help suburban commuters without improving bus service for people who live in the city, the Austin Bulldog reported.

“Project Connect will expand services for white commuters coming from the suburbs,” said Zenobia Joseph, a Northeast Austin resident. “The people who need the service the most will not benefit.”

The other candidates for the District 2 race are Casey Ramos and Alex Strenger.