Here’s some examples to back up the previous post about the ACM. I’m picking major intersections near some neighborhoods in the news the last couple of years. I am granting the Mueller Town Center a stop at Aldrich and Airport – which isn’t really IN the Town Center, sale for sale but as close as you can get today (and, viagra 100mg I believe, implant the closest you’ll get in the future except perhaps on the streetcar). Using times of 11:00 AM arrivals on a weekday.
Note: I had to use Capital Metro’s Trip Planner instead of Google – since the Google planner defaults to “closest time” rather than “minimize transfers” or “minimize walking”. This actually didn’t make any difference for trips to Mueller, but it did lead CM to propose trips with transfers to downtown which arrived 5 minutes closer to the desired time than a much shorter non-stop would do (most parents would choose the non-stop that arrived at 11:05 over the longer trip-with-transfers that arrived at 11:00 on the dot). The irritating thing about CM’s planner is that each and every time, you have to say “yes, I meant Congress, not South Congress” – it still won’t let you say “North Congress” to avoid this. Guh.
I also had to limit walk to 1/2 mile to avoid some ridiculous options like dropping off at Hancock Center. No parent with child, not even ME, is going to walk that far to go to the ACM. Sorry.
Those who will blithely reply that buses will be rerouted to run past or through Mueller should please reconsider. The major bus routes in this city have run on essentially their current paths for decades now – none of the major N/S routes are going to move miles out of their way to run down Airport Boulevard. The most likely transit improvements as Mueller builds out are the streetcar (just improves access to downtown and the UT area, which already have a direct bus to/from Mueller) and improved frequency on the routes that currently serve Mueller – like the #350; meaning you’ll still see options like the ones Capital Metro gives you below, just more often.
Remember, the point of this exercise is to think about whether this is a good long-term move for the ACM. If you are confident that gas will be cheap 10 years from now, then this is clearly a good move, except for those who don’t own cars, but if you think gas might be 8 or 10 bucks a gallon by then, maybe it’s worthwhile to think about how realistic it will be to get there by other means, wouldn’t you say?
Additional suggestions welcome.
1. From Burnet/Koenig:
| To downtown: | Direct, 32 minutes on the #3; 39 minutes on the #5 |
| To Mueller: | 49-73 minutes, with 2 of the 3 transferring at Northcross; the other up on St. Johns |
2. Lamar/Bluebonnet
| To downtown: | Direct, 13 minutes on the #3; 16 minutes on the #29 |
| To Mueller: | 2 75-minuteish 2 bus options; one 3-bus suggestion at 54 minutes |
3. Stassney/S 1st (had to use “700 W Stassney Lane”; once again CM’s Trip Planner barfs on common intersection)
| To downtown: | Direct, 21 minutes on the #10 |
| To Mueller: | 3 3-bus options, all stink: about an hour to almost two hours |
4. Pavillion Park and Ride (NW Austin – Pavillion @ US 183)
| To downtown: | Direct, Express, 40 minutes on a nice cushy touring bus |
| To Mueller: | 2 or 3 buses, 74-140 minutes |
5. Pleasant Valley @ E 7th Street
| To downtown: | 8-15 minutes on one of 3 direct routes |
| To Mueller: | 2 buses, 28-50 minutes |
6. Burnet @ Anderson (this is farther away from most places people actually live in Allandale than Burnet @ Koenig, but I thought I should throw in one direct-to-Mueller to be fair).
| To downtown: | 37-40 minutes, direct, either #3 or #5 |
| To Mueller: | 24 minutes, direct on the #350 |
