Austin News

District 10 Austin City Council Member Alison Alter voted for a $7.1 billion transit plan on the ballot in November and the subsequent tax hike that would fund the system even though the service will not significantly benefit her district.

On Aug. 13, the Austin City Council unanimously approved placing Project Connect on the ballot and expressed support for the project, Community Impact newspaper reported.

According to the proposed Project Connect map, there will be no significant improvements in District 10 even though a CapMetro survey found that addressing traffic congestion is the top issue for Austin residents.

“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 multibillion 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 85% while transit ridership has dropped 16%, the group said. It argues that the project will 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 oppose 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.”