I-35 is not just an interstate highway.  For better or worse, it is an integral part of our city’s fabric.  TxDOT is tasked with maximizing throughput for highway users.  This singular focus means myriad missed opportunities to transform the corridor into a space that meets the needs of TxDOT while providing assets to our local communities.  It is up to our city leadership to advocate for design solutions that are best for the City.

Please take a moment and consider sending a letter to your council member asking that the city of Austin lead an I-35 corridor study, which would explore pathways towards achieving a safe, economically productive, and multi-modal corridor for Austin residents.  

Below you will find a sample letter and email addresses for every member of the Austin City Council.  Please feel free to use any or all of the letter in crafting your own message to your council member.  To see which council district you reside in, click here. 

DISTRICT 1 – Council Member Ora Houston – ora.houston@austintexas.gov

DISTRICT 2 – Council Member Delia Garza – delia.garza@austintexas.gov

DISTRICT 3 – Council Member Sabino “Pio” Renteria – sabino.renteria@austintexas.gov

DISTRICT 4 – Council Member Greg Casar – gregorio.casar@austintexas.gov

DISTRICT 5 – Council Member Ann Kitchen – ann.kitchen@austintexas.gov

DISTRICT 6 – Council Member Jimmy Flannigan – jimmy.flannigan@austintexas.gov

DISTRICT 7 – Council Member Leslie Pool – leslie.pool@austintexas.gov

DISTRICT 8 – Council Member Ellen Troxclair – ellen.troxclair@austintexas.gov

DISTRICT 9 – Council Member Kathie Tovo – kathie.tovo@austintexas.gov

DISTRICT 10 – Council Member Alison Alter – alison.alter@austintexas.gov

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SAMPLE LETTER 

Dear Council Member                              ,

 

I am writing to express my concern about the I-35 corridor through Austin.  The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars over the next several years to rebuild segments of the highway that cut right through our central Austin neighborhoods, pollute the air next our schools, and limit safe access to our local networks for all modes.  It is one of the most significant corridors for the city of Austin, not just for the users that seek high-speed passage through, but for the communities and businesses that have grown up around it.

As a constituent in your district, I am asking that our city leadership consider what is best for the residents of Austin.  There is significant and feasible potential to reimagine the I-35 corridor as an economically productive, safe, and multi-modal artery that functions better for through traffic on the main lanes, and for the more complex needs of our urban residents.  Many other cities in the US and around the world have taken this approach to their urban highways and realized tremendous benefit to local economies, transportation network efficiency, and overall quality of life.

I fear that if the city of Austin does not begin to advocate for a more productive design for the corridor, we will be limited by the singular focus of TxDOT to improve infrastructure for maximizing throughput and speed at the expense of all the untapped opportunity for a healthier, safer, and better integrated urban corridor.

I urge you and your colleagues on council to push for a city-led study of the corridor.

Thank you for your service and representation of my community.

Sincerely,