Sidewalk Construction Equity

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Sheri Gallo
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 2:47 pm

Sidewalk Construction Equity

Post by Sheri Gallo »

I want to clarify my reason for supporting the allocation of half of the sidewalk funding equally between Council Districts. Based on the current Sidewalk Master Plan prioritization matrix, the construction of new District 10 sidewalks will find it difficult to ever hit the top of the priority list. This is especially concerning given that D10 is missing 332 miles of sidewalks, more than any other District, but would only receive 3% of the $55 million in the upcoming Mobility Bond.

Because of the priority ranking system of the Sidewalk Master Plan, very few of the sidewalks in District 10 make the “high/very high” priority list because those sidewalks are not within 1/8 or ¼ quarter mile of government buildings and/or rail transit even though the missing sidewalks may be close to schools. This is probably also true for many other schools throughout the Austin community. The Absent Sidewalk Map (link below) will visually demonstrate my concern.

Placing a priority on our children’s safety is important to me, and I am concerned that based on the current Sidewalk Master Plan priority matrix, schools throughout our community will find it difficult to reach the top of the priority list when it comes to sidewalk funding. That is why I will continue to advocate for allocating half of the sidewalk funding in the Mobility Bond equally between Council Districts.

Link to Sidewalk Master Plan (Prioritization Scoring Matrix can be found on page 14) http://austintexas.gov/department/pedestrian-program
Link to Absent Sidewalk Map - http://austintexas.gov/sites/default/fi ... 071816.pdf



D10 Missing: 332 Funded: 19
D1 Missing: 317 Funded: 149
D7 Missing: 272 Funded 85
D8 Missing: 211 Funded: 3
D5 Missing: 207 Funded: 15
D6 Missing: 198 Funded: 5
D9 Missing: 197 Funded: 116
D2 Missing: 176 Funded: 22
D3 Missing: 153 Funded: 81
D4 Missing: 146 Funded: 85
Sheri Gallo, Council Member District 10