The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) is conducting a survey online to gauge the sentiments of Austin area residents about future growth and transportation planning. After reading Mike Dahmus’s post on consensus and data collection, I don’t know how CAMPO uses this data, but I’d encourage Austin readers to fill out the survey. (Unless, of course, you’re in favor of more sprawl and banning bikes from the streets.) The survey has only eight questions, so it shouldn’t take up too much of your time.
Much of the survey asks about “mixed-use activity centers” or hot zones around the region where mixed development is taking place. While I support the idea in theory, the existing locations they cite are hardly green. In the comments, I wrote, “Many of these activity centers such as Tech Ridge and Round Rock are not bike- or bus-friendly. Although they centralize development, activity centers should emphasize non-automobile traffic and promote transportation via bicycle and bus.” As Nigel points out, the “post-Ballardian nightmare” Tech Ridge requires “a Tahoe to get from one end of the SuperTarget to the other.” It’s difficult to park at one store in that “mixed-use activity center” and walk to another, not only because of the scale of the store, but because of the reckless drivers in the parking lot and the architecture of the parking lot itself. It hardly seems like a “mixed-used” development if you need a car to go from one store to the next in the same shopping center. I certainly hope that Tech Ridge is not a model for future Austin development.
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