Last week, Austin City Council approved funding to begin construction of the I-35 caps and stitches proposal that includes both crossings of the Red Line Parkway. This is a huge victory for the Red Line Parkway and urban trails connectivity. We are grateful to those who made it possible, including city council members, city staff, TxDOT staff, community leaders, and our supporters.

What this means for the Red Line Parkway

For both Red Line Parkway crossings, users won't encounter street traffic at all as they cross I-35. Near the bottom in the above nighttime illustration is what the Red Line Parkway could look like as it crosses I-35 at 4th Street. Below is a very rough schematic of how the Red Line Parkway and 41st Street could each have a "stitch", or land bridge over I-35. (The Parkway and adjacent Red Line railroad extend from the lower left toward the upper right, and 41st is up and down on the right side.) The general design of the stitches will be refined over this year, and we encourage you to stay tuned to be involved.

Our primary goal for both of these crossings is to create urban trails that are welcoming and minimally impacted by motor vehicle traffic. Once these are implemented over the next 10-20 years, we anticipate that most Red Line Parkway users won't sense the highway below at all.

In addition, the Red Line Parkway will be complemented by an entirely new urban trail—the East Avenue Trail—that benefits from both the city-approved caps and those funded by the University of Texas at Austin between 15th Street and Dean Keeton Street. Together, the East Avenue Trail and Red Line Parkway will create a new 7-mile loop in one of the most densely populated areas of our region.

The long road to this victory for the Red Line Parkway

A few years ago, Red Line Parkway Initiative successfully made the case for car-free crossings of I-35—over both mainlanes and frontage road lanes—at both Red Line Parkway crossings as part of the I-35 CapEx Central highway expansion project. This helped set the stage for which caps locations are now moving forward. Though the Cesar Chavez to 4th cap (with the Red Line Parkway) was perhaps the most likely cap to move forward, the northern caps (with the other Red Line Parkway crossing) were the most in doubt.

Support our work for the Red Line Parkway

With the support of our donors, we were a key player alongside groups such as the Downtown Austin Alliance, Reconnect Austin, North Central I-35 Neighborhood Coalition, and other community leaders in helping organize a broad community to make the case to decision makers to secure approval of two stiches at the northern Red Line Parkway crossing, and affirm the downtown caps. We can't do this advocacy alone. Please make a donation today to help us continue our efforts to realize a fully built Red Line Parkway for everyone to enjoy.

Sincerely,

Tom Wald
Red Line Parkway Initiative