By Diane Jane Morrison
The long wait is finally over.
Despite Mayor Carole McClellan's claim that there is no "strong consensus" in Austin for any downtown revitalization plan, the city council ended more than 12 years of debate on the issue on Aug. 20, when it committed itself and the city to a specific program for the remodeling of Congress Avenue.
McClellan aligned herself with what she believed to be Austinites' lack of commitment on the project when she, along with Councilman John Trevino, abstained from voting; but the project won unanimous approval from the other five council members.
The recommendations they adopted came from the Congress Avenue Task Force, a citizens' advisory group appointed by the council to study the idea, which had long received enthusiastic support in theory, but was almost always less popular when it came down to specifics.
The plan finally approved by the council retains both the six driving lanes on the avenue and the angle parking familiar to downtowners. The changes will come with the placement of four 20-foot sidewalk peninsulas per block and the planting of nearly 100 trees to line the avenue from Second Street to the Capitol. The plan will also eliminate almost 100 parking spaces on the avenue itself, while providing new spaces on the side streets, a move which should appease not only downtown businessmen worried about losing customers for renovation's sake, but also frustrated would-be parkers who often spend nearly as much time circling blocks as they do attending business.
Two million dollars had already been allocated in past bond elections for the project, which should be completed in 1983. Last week's bond election (see accompanying story) included $800,000 more earmarked for Congress Avenue, and that election was seen in some circles as a referendum on the council's decision on the renovation proposal.