Published: 6:43 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010

Though you might not agree with every project included in Proposition 1 on the Nov. 2 ballot, the overall package is good for Austin and we’re recommending approval. The proposition would authorize the city to issue $90 million in bonds to improve roads and build sidewalks, bike lanes and trails without raising taxes.

The money won’t fix every traffic problem, but it offers relief from the congestion commuters battle at the “Y” intersection in Oak Hill. And the bonds would finance the design and construction of sidewalks with trees, crosswalks and bicycle lanes along the East Riverside Drive corridor between Interstate 35 and Ben White Boulevard.

Doing those projects now permits the city to take advantage of recession pricing, when construction costs are lower than usual — about 30 percent lower, city officials say.

Another project included in the bond package would complete the Lady Bird Lake hike-and-bike trail by extending it 1.1 miles from just east of the Congress Avenue Bridge to Lakeshore Park. A private group pledged to raise $3 million of the $17.4 million cost of this long overdue project, which includes a boardwalk over the water.

The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce has endorsed the bond package. Those opposing the bond package include the Real Estate Council of Austin, which says it does not do enough to relieve road congestion and lumps roadway projects with quality-of-life projects, such as the bikeways, trails and the boardwalk. Instead of one take-it-or-leave-it ballot proposition, opponents say the City Council should have offered at least two ballot initiatives — one for road projects and another for pedestrian and bike projects.

Point taken. But in combining those projects, the city council decided to appeal to voters with various interests and, therefore, improve chances for passage of all projects. So those who are regularly caught in congestion in Oak Hill have an incentive to approve the bonds, as do those who want more bike lanes or a connecting hike-and-bike trail along the lake.

The Real Estate Council said that Austin should not be borrowing for other than critical needs during an economic downturn. That would be a better argument if the projects raised taxes. They don’t. Nor will taxes go down if it fails. It is true that the city’s overall bonding capacity would shrink if Prop. 1 passes. But that is a small price to pay for big improvements that are needed to ease some traffic congestion and make roadways safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

If passed, the projects will create as many as 200 jobs over the two to three years it takes to design and complete the projects, according to city estimates. Those jobs are needed. In the future, city officials should do more to explain why biking lanes should be bundled with traffic improvement projects and whether it is appropriate to include a boardwalk with road projects. Perhaps they should be combined in one deal, but city officials should make that case.

Our view is that even with its blemishes, the bond package is an economic bump that invests in Austin’s infrastructure to improve the quality of life for people who drive, bike or walk. That is the Austin way.

Early voting for the Nov. 2 election ends on Oct. 29.

For a complete list of projects go to 
www.cityofaustin.org/news/bond_projects.htm.

Find this article at: http://www.statesman.com/opinion/proposition-1-is-good-for-austin-983477.html