AUSTIN, Texas — It was a chance to ask any question you have directly to the City of Austin, who conducted an "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit on Wednesday.
The City made the post and then people commented with questions about the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan. That's the overall plan for how we will move and commute in Austin over the next several years.
One of the main points City Hall brought up in its answers is the idea of 50-50 commuting. That would mean 50% in personal vehicles and 50% on other forms of transit, such as bikes or public transportation.
Some of the questions had to do with texting-while-driving laws. The City said it identified it as one of four fatal behaviors, and is moving forward with a better relationship between APD and the City to enforce the laws.
Others talked about increased mobility between South and North Austin, specifically The Domain. While that falls more on the shoulders of Capital Metro, the transportation department works hand-in-hand with it, even describing the two as "besties." But officials also pointed out the proposed blue and orange lines will increase that through project connect.
Many other questions also talked about cyclists. Many Redditors mentioned not feeling safe or areas not designed with cyclist safety in mind.
Sometimes the City isn't the only agency in charge of these roads, but it wants to get more people out of their cars and onto public transport or bikes. That's why they say increasing safety fits with what they're doing.
As for the City, this form of a "digital town hall" gets them quite a bit of engagement – so much they aren't able to answer everything right away.
"I mean, we want more engagement," said Aly Van Dyke with the City. "We post it there to get questions, so the more questions the better. We answer as many as we possibly can in that two-hour window, but we do make the commitment afterward to try and get to those questions that we weren't able to in that time over the next couple days."
This was also a way for the City to help answer as many questions as possible, because the plan itself is nearly 350 pages of all the things it would like to get to as the city grows.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: