This week the city presented at a public hearing preliminary findings and visuals of the Downtown Access and Mobility Plan — known by its delightful acronym, D.A.M.P. The transportation study, executed by consultants at Wilbur Smith Associates, is supposed to examine all modes of transportation used by a diverse population of downtown users and visitors. The study also will raise questions regarding transportation and traffic, such as the pluses and minuses of turning one-way downtown streets back to two-way, prohibiting peak-hour left turns off of Congress and Lamar, or closing Riverside Drive between Lamar and South First.
As its name suggests, D.A.M.P.’s definition of “Downtown” stretches south of the river, much to the presumed chagrin of Southsiders. Many have fought over the years to prevent large-scale developments from going up on Barton Springs Road, Riverside Drive, and the shores of Town Lake.
D.A.M.P. goes hand-in-hand with the Great Streets planning project (which handles individual street segments from an urban-design/land-use standpoint), several other transportation studies tied to projects around the downtown periphery, seemingly perennial attacks on the parking “prob-lem,” and of course real live work on the downtown-Jammin’ streets. The final report will include action items to be implemented — the Good Lord and Austin’s ability to pay willin’ — by 2005.
This article appears in September 21 • 2001.