Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative

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Thank you for visiting the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (CAUDI) virtual open house. Learn more about the project and to stay in touch with updates, please email  MobilityBonds@austintexas.gov  or call (512) 974-2300.  

Thank you to everyone who participated in the community conversation about changes to Congress Avenue from Cesar Chavez Street to 11th Street as part of the first funded phase of the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative. Feedback was collected through November 24, 2024, resulting in more than 20,000 comments from the community.

The City heard from many different constituencies, including many individuals who live and work on Congress Avenue as well as those who drive, walk, bike and visit Congress Avenue day to day. The City also heard from several community-based organizations, property and business owners and the Downtown Austin Alliance. As a result, the City is currently developing alternate design concepts to the blocks north of 7th that provides for the opportunity to program the space for specific, special events but otherwise maintains motor vehicle access to 11th Street.

Changes south of 7th Street to Cesar Chavez Street remain generally as proposed, though the project team expects to work more closely with business owners along these frontages to ensure needs are met with respect to construction schedules, impacts and other considerations.

A full report reflecting all feedback will be published here as these concepts are more fully developed. To receive a copy of the report as well as updates on the project as it moves forward, please email mobilitybonds@austintexas.gov or call (512) 974-2300.

The Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (CAUDI) Vision Plan envisions Congress Avenue as a more human-centered, multimodal, complete street with a clear and attractive identity. For more information on the origin and development of the CAUDI Vision Plan that informs this proposal,  visit the CAUDI webpage .

The estimated cost for the full build of the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (CAUDI) on Congress Avenue between Riverside Drive and 11th Street is $130M. The funded initial phase of the project is estimated at $23M. Funding for this first phase of construction primarily comes from the 2020 Mobility Bond.

The proposed funded improvements described here were selected to best catalyze the CAUDI Vision Plan, given the resources available. While there was strong interest from the community in improving the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, given the complexities and cost of modifying the bridge, it would have consumed the majority of the available budget and precluded the other proposed changes. At this time, no changes have been proposed for the segment between Riverside Drive and Cesar Chavez Street, given the available resources. Additional detail on bridge costs is found below.

The proposed first phase of improvements of the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative focused on investments between Cesar Chavez Street and 11th Street to open up additional space for people to enjoy walking, dining, shopping, and other street life, upgrading the physical protection of the bikeway and proposing a public plaza from 7th Street and 11th Street, as shown in the drawing below.

More information on the section between Cesar Chavez Street and 7th Street is described below. Design concepts north of 7th Street are under further development based on community feedback. A full report reflecting all feedback will be published here as these concepts are more fully developed.

Improving pedestrian space by repurposing angled parking bays and upgrading bikeway

In alignment with the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (CAUDI) Vision Plan, all parking along Congress Avenue is proposed to generally be converted to useable pedestrian space to support adjacent businesses and street life, including walking, dining, shopping and other activities. Existing Americans with Disabilities (ADA) accessible parking spaces would either be maintained in place or relocated nearby. Depending on the context of adjacent business use, some parking could be maintained on a case-by-case basis. Permitted street patios would be retained.

Repurposing angled parking bays would significantly increase the pedestrian, tree and amenity zone space, as shown in the graphic below. Where angled parking bays are converted to pedestrian space, the bicycle lane barrier can also be upgraded to a concrete curb, both improving the comfort and safety of the bicycle lane and preventing motor vehicles from blocking it.

The downtown area has approximately 71,500 parking spaces managed by the City of Austin, the State of Texas, Travis County and other private entities, according to a study done by Nelson Nygaard for the City of Austin in 2018. Of these approximately 34,000 are available to the public at all times a day and an additional 15,000 for a portion of the day.

The proposed conversion of on-street parking to pedestrian space along Congress Avenue between Cesar Chavez Street and 11th Street would result in a reduction of approximately 94 parking spaces or a reduction of 0.27% of all publicly available parking spaces and 1.5% of all on-street parking spaces. All existing ADA parking spaces will be kept in place or relocated nearby. 

The city has implemented a signage-based wayfinding program to help direct downtown visitors to publicly available off-street parking garages, side streets and lots to encourage more consistent use of on and off-street public parking resources.    

View the changes block by block below to review the proposed funded improvements on Congress Avenue between Cesar Chavez Street and 7th Street.

Options between 7th and 11th Streets are being further studied based on community feedback.

The blocks between 7th Street and 11th Street were initially proposed as a public plaza in alignment with the vision and values expressed in the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (CAUDI) Vision Plan and based on community feedback heard through the ongoing public engagement process that followed. In this initial proposal, cross traffic would have still flowed east and west on 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th Streets.

Based on feedback received in the most recent community engagement effort, options for how to improve Congress Avenue north of 7th Street are currently under further study and will be shared here as those concepts emerge.

Enhancing the experience of crossing the bridge and accessing the trail system below.

As stated in the CAUDI Vision Plan, the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge functions as an iconic gateway into downtown Austin and a destination in its own right. Bridge analysis and design have progressed to confirm an approach to improve the experience of crossing the bridge for people walking, bicycling and rolling and providing additional pedestrian space to dwell on the bridge, whether that be for taking in the views of the city or watching bats emerge to feed at twilight.

However, due to limitations preventing any increase of bridge loading on any given pier (as the bridge has already been widened before), interim improvements are not possible. The raised sidewalk will need to be removed and replaced with lighter-weight decking, enabling other pedestrian amenities such as an improved barrier for people walking and bicycling, pedestrian overlooks, shade structures, benches, improved lighting and a pedestrian handrail.

Given available funding resources, the costs for the bridge elements would have precluded other priority improvements along the avenue. The minimum possible investment in the bridge would be $10 million, including the improved barrier and new pedestrian decking. The addition of shade structures, pedestrian overlooks, lighting, benches, and upgraded handrails would add another $7M, for a total of $17 million, including the four expanded pedestrian overlooks. 

View the future investments in the bridge in the slides below.

The CAUDI Vision Plan described green gateways as improvements to trail accessibility on all four corners of the Congress Avenue Bridge. Future opportunities to improve these connections on the south side of the river will come with the redevelopment of the South Central Waterfront District. Future opportunities to consider improvements to the northern trail connections will require further study and funding, which has not yet been identified.

A report will be shared as design concepts further develop. The report will reflect all feedback received as well as next steps in the implementation schedule.

To receive that report via email, please email  mobilitybonds@austintexas.gov  or call 512-974-2300 to request to be added to the stakeholder list.