By CLARKE HEIDRICK and CARL RICHIE When transportation works, our lives work. We can get to work on time, get our kids to school safely and enjoy all this region has to offer. We can cheer the Longhorns on to victory; squeeze in a few laps at Barton Spring pool on the way to work; eat some of the best barbecue in Texas; and get to class on time at Texas State with less stress in our lives. When congestion strikes, when our kids can’t get to school safely, and when bikes and cars compete for right of way, we all lose and we start our days under stress and in a bad mood. Austin’s $720-million transportation bond proposal is a solid step toward addressing the mobility needs of the city and contains a good balance of regional mobility projects, corridor mobility projects and local projects like sidewalk, bicycle and urban trail improvements. The proposed improvements are designed to relieve congestion and increase flow on major corridors, build pedestrian infrastructure and create safe routes to school, and improve some of …

Austin Area Research Organization (AARO) believes that investment in mobility infrastructure is critical to the economic and social well-being of the citizens of Central Texas and supports decisions that will increase the capacity of our mobility systems using approaches that are effective, cost-efficient, protect the environment, and maximize mobility throughout the region. It is noteworthy that: Traffic congestion and affordability are the top concerns for Austin residents. Efficient mobility is essential to the movement of goods, delivery of public safety and other services, and the ability of residents to go to work. Austin’s travel time index outpaces peer communities and constitutes one of the worst traffic congestion situations in the U.S. Congestion costs commuters lost time, wasted fuel, and increased maintenance and adversely affects air quality and the environment. The population of Central Texas is growing and is expected to continue to grow, meaning congestion will only worsen, unless we do something now. Today, our community stands on the threshold of major transportation decisions.  We invite local and regional elected leaders to embrace the following values in their decision-making: Sustainable …

On Monday, September 15, 2014, AARO members approved the following public statement in support of the City of Austin’s Proposition 1 Bond Proposal: The Austin Area Research Organization (AARO) urges Austin voters to support the City of Austin’s Proposition 1 Bond Proposal in this November’s Election. AARO is a member-driven, non-partisan Central Texas business and civic leader organization with its members drawn from the highest levels of business, community, and civic leadership. Our regional leaders work together around strategic long-term issues to seek out information and facts, and recommend decisions that will shape the destiny of the Central Texas region and advance the long-term economic and social well-being of Central Texas. Today, our community stands on the threshold of a making a major investment that will require both our courage and our best strategic thinking. The proposed transportation bond initiative, Proposition 1, is the essential next step in a regional multimodal system of roads and rail that our families and future generations will depend on. Simply stated, it is an investment we must make. Citizens of every generation must take …

In September, AARO’s membership approved a public statement in support of the regional vision for high capacity transit. The statement lends AARO’s support to the Transit Working Group Vision Map.