Subject: BIKE: CAMPO meeting this Monday; Business as usual Date: 2/8/01 3:12 PM Received: 2/8/01 3:20 PM From: Roger Baker [In addition, with regard to CAMPO, it might be added that the federal certification team heard public testimony about the planning process a few weeks ago. Most of the testimony was critical of the process, in regard to the current user-friendlyness of CAMPO's public input opportunities (their public involvement process web page is way out of date and the actual public input document, once you track it down elsewhere, is merely an outline of little practical use except telling you to show up ant CAMPO meetings and speak). With regard to whether CAMPO was living up to their existing policy of putting bike and ped facilities near new highways, Tommy Eden, who is very knowledgeable on this issue, claims they are in technical violation of federal law. The DOT feds should issue CAMPO's report card on this overall process in mid-March]. As usual the Feb. 12 CAMPO meeting will be at 6 PM at the J.C. Thompson Center near 26th (Keeton) and Red River and anyone can speak on any item. Much of what I see on the agenda looks questionable to terrible, from my own transportation policy point of view. (I can't make most of this one meeting). -- Roger CAMPO agenda items: 1. Minutes 2. CAMPO Executive Committee. This group of ten is a subcommittee of CAMPO that meets before the CAMPO meeting to recommend policy. But why should the Chair of the larger body, Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, also get to appoint all those on this policy sub-committee, who then suggest policy to the larger body? On Friday they will meet to choose new officers like their Chairman (who is nearly sure to be Gonzalo if he wants it, and who. in such ways as this. appears to have de facto control of nearly all CAMPO policy; under current policy TxDOT's desires nearly always seem to prevail). 3. Status report on Central Texas Clean Air Coalition Project (founded and chaired by Austin Mayor "Dotcom" Watson and including the group of counties and mayors surrounding Austin). Due to impending air quality non-attainment status expected in mid-2001 from the Feds, advocates a "common sense strategy" designed to meet the clean air needs by emphasizing mobility, and reducing emissions while preserving current economics. Since cars stalled in congestion mean more pollution, the thinking goes, (assuming travel patterns do not change) this means it is good to build new roads to increase mobility and speed, while reducing air pollution at the same time. Of course this whole approach to reducing air pollution is undocumented wishful thinking, but satisfies the local politics of roads and growth; an area like Austin cannot reduce air pollution by building more roads so the cars travel faster -- as this policy group wants the feds to agree to this concept. Instead, changing land use is the key to reducing car trips and improving air quality; what small gains are initially made by faster travel will be overwhelmed by new trips attracted by the new road capacity. 4. This is on the Public Opinion Survey. (If CAMPO has public hearings history has shown that a bunch of reformers and environmentalists will show up to suggest policy and skew the results, so CAMPO decided years ago to poll the public directly. So who will choose the questions to ask? CAMPO director Aulick recommends to CAMPO that CAMPO Chairman Barrientos appoint a Public Involvement Committee to suggest what questions to ask on the survey. Hmmh..., it will probably be questions like "would you like more roads?" with no mention of cost. 5. Discussion of Peer Review Consultant recommendations. A coalition of powerful local interests like Austin's business think tank (AARO) and the publisher of the Statesman, Mike Laosa, lobbied for a consultant to come in and analyze CAMPO from the outside, and to make policy recommendations. The consultant referred to CAMPO as "dysfunctional" at one point and suggested a number of changes, more or less in the direction of less bureaucracy (i.e.-- less dominated from the top down by TxDOT and more internally harmonious) and toward better long-range planning with better citizen and technical input, more financially realistic, etc. Not really a progressive agenda, but just better management of the whole process Result: Don't hold your breath waiting on quick reform of CAMPO, even though CAMPO spent about $200,000 for this advice -- consisting of about 20 policy recommendations. The tip-off that reform will be slow are the fact that these policies are being referred to the CAMPO Executive Committee for consideration before coming back down to the main body of CAMPO for approval. An even clearer tip -off that change will be slow is that in his memo to CAMPO, CAMPO director Aulick quotes a passage out of the Peer Review document that in the the Dallas area it took a whole decade to straighten out their MPO. 6. This is a TIP item relating to finding money for cost over-runs on Koenig lane, etc. (It really boils down to squabbling over federal funds, like transit and STP funds, that are far short of perceived needs in terms of funds available). With regard to Koenig it states "It is essential to widen the street to the minimum size of a four lane divided arterial to improve safety and reduce congestion". Of course the truth is that this road's traffic will increase to meet the road capacity at rush hour and that the plausible way to increase safety is definitely not by widening roads by by road designs specifically geared to safety and calming traffic. According to CAMPO, and according to the traffic models supplied by TxDOT, it can only prove that Austin needs to build as many roads as TxDOT wants to decrease congestion, improve air quality, and relieve congestion all at one time. Also, apparently smelling blood from the recent light rail defeat, TxDOT and CARTS are suggesting a shift in regional federal transit money from Cap Metro to Pflugerville and Cedar Park to do transit planning. Meanwhile, Leander feels they got short-changed by the recent CAMPO TIP vote and wants to put in a new project, arguing that Austin has not approved the currently adopted CAMPO plan, which is thus subject to revision. 7. The only one I see that deals with bikes and sidewalks, removes a Ross road hike and bike trail from east Austin, while favoring a sidewalk near Westlake High school (and a few more things suggested by Travis County). --------------------------------------------------- CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE! http://BicycleAustin.info