AUSTIN, Texas — Project Connect teams from Capital Metro provided an update on the Orange Line section servicing The Drag near the University of Texas in a 5:30 p.m. virtual meeting on Tuesday.
The Orange Line is planned to run along North Lamar Boulevard and Congress Avenue and, according to a Project Connect description of the meeting, "will offer new ways for people to travel just west of UT and will create a new signature public space for Austin."
Tuesday night's meeting provided insight into design and traffic planning ideas.
The proposed light rail transit line would stretch for 20 miles from Tech Ridge to Slaughter Lane and assist with congestion and population growth. CapMetro's MetroRapid 801 currently covers the 20-mile route.
An updated design calls for removing cars from The Drag. That plan would created a light rail line in the middle of the road, with space for pedestrians, bikes and buses on the sides.
The goal of the new design, leader say, is to make The Drag a destination.
Project Connect labeled the Orange Line as a dedicated-pathway high-capacity transit corridor, and it will act as the regional HCT network's foundation.
The Orange Line likely won't run until 2030.
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