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More commuter choices

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Written by Mandy Hobby Sunday, 07 May 2006

Round Rock - San Antonio commuter rail district in preliminary planning

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, IH 35 would have to expand from six to 18 lanes in the future to serve everyone traveling between San Antonio and Georgetown. With Round Rock’s

population expected to double in 20 years and IH 35 not getting any wider, transportation choices must also expand.

“A 112-mile commuter rail will give people an added choice for transportation,” Alison Schulze, senior planner and administrator for the Austin San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District, said. “During our feasibility study conducted in 1998, we held nine public meetings, and people said they just wanted a choice.”

Schulze is part of a 17-member board of elected officials, business owners and public citizens that have been working since 1995 on a commuter rail line to run along the current Union Pacific railway from San Antonio to Round Rock.

The rail currently consists of 15 preliminary stations, three of which are located in Williamson County. Schulze said it would look like an Amtrack train; a heavy rail with three cars in each section and could open as soon as 2010.

“I knew I needed to get involved in this project because of the three stations that are in my precinct,” Precinct 1 Commissioner Lisa Birkman said. “Commuter rails work well in densely populated areas and this area is the densest in the county.”

Schulze said the main reason a rail is beneficial and necessary is to alleviate traffic and improve safety. According to the ASA study, IH 35 has the slowest speeds and highest congestion in the area between San Antonio and Austin. Seventy-five percent of Mexico’s trade with Canada and the United States passes through Texas by truck using IH 35.

“We need to provide alternatives to IH 35,” Schulze said. “We can do this by getting a better use of the Union Pacific corridor.”

History

The Union Pacific Railroad contacted Austin’s Metropolitan Planning Organization in 1995, and asked if they would be interested in the extra capacity on the lines that currently haul freight on heavy freight trains.

The MPOs from Austin and San Antonio started the project soon after taking a demonstration train ride and met for the first time in 1996. So far, a feasibility study, an alternatives analysis and an origin and destination

study has been completed. The board is currently doing preliminary engineering studies for the stations.

“With each step, we make sure the staff is comfortable with the project,” Schulze said. “They make sure all ideas are good ideas and good for the public. We won’t go forward if everyone isn’t confident.”

Funding

According to Birkman, funding is secured before any step of the process is completed. The board will be applying for a federal grant called New Starts this summer and, if approved, will receive 50 percent of funds. The board is then responsible for the other 50 percent that they are planning to get from private or public partnerships. These partnerships happen when a developer joins forces with the rail district to develop passenger rail stations.

The projected $613 million rail could also be done a portion at a time to lessen expenses. This would mean building a station or a collection of stations at different times versus completing the entire 112-mile rail with stations all at the same time.

Community Feedback Wanted

Birkman joined the board last December and is concerned with getting all of the information to the public and hearing feedback.

Even though the project is in its early stages, the board is eager to get the community more involved and plans to host public meetings this summer. The board meetings are also open to the public and are held the first Friday of every month in either San Antonio or Austin. Birkman said they will also be holding a meeting this summer in Round Rock. For more information and to provide feedback, visit www.asarail.org.