Proposition One (City of Austin): $720 Million Mobility Bond

Proposition 1 (City of Austin): $720 Million Mobility Bond

On Thursday, Aug. 18, City Council gave final approval to the content and ballot language of the proposed Mobility Bond, a $720 million proposition in three large categories: $482 million for major city corridors; $101 million for regional highway projects; and $137 million for local/neighborhood mobility projects. (See a more complete breakdown in "What Would $720 Million for Transportation Buy?," Aug. 5.) The campaign for the bond, led by Mayor Steve Adler and promoted by a coalition of local multimodal transportation advocates, has just begun, although it stumbled a bit at Council last week. After an initial, unanimous Aug. 11 vote, the vote on final passage was 7-1-3, with District 1 Council Member Ora Houston saying she will oppose the bond, and (for various reasons) CMs Delia Garza, Don Zimmerman, and Ellen Troxclair abstaining. Whether that division on the dais will instigate or reflect a wider division among Austin voters remains to be seen.