Austin City Council in Texas has approved the release of $460 million which will go towards local mobility projects.
Austin Transportation and Austin Public Works can now hire staff, and engineers and planners can begin designing new projects: these include pavements ($80m), safety/Vision Zero ($65m), cycleways ($40m), safe routes to school ($20m) and local transit enhancement ($19m).
Other projects include major capital improvements ($102m), urban trials ($80m), substandard streets ($53m) and a neighbourhood partnering programme ($1m).
The $460m is in the 2020 Active Transportation and Safety Bond and adds to $160m approved in November 2018 and $720m which voters approved in November 2016.
The Austin government says all three rounds of funding work to ensure connectivity improvements from the busiest roads to neighbourhood streets.
Gina Fiandaca, assistant city manager over mobility, says: “Throughout the next six years, we will ensure projects are designed to meet current and future mobility needs, and they are delivered in an equitable manner across the city."
Austin Public Works director Richard Mendoza says his department is ready to ensure all projects are completed within the six-year timeline.
"It's hard to miss the projects underway now across the city from the last three rounds of voter-approved mobility bonds," Mendoza adds.
The bond construction is anticipated to begin in late 2021 to early 2022.
