The Mobility Georgetown Citizen Advisory Committee has completed developing its recommendations for a General Obligation Bond Program for consideration by the City Council for a bond election tentatively planned for May 2021. The recommendations are based on identified capital projects that will advance the vision of the Georgetown community.
The purpose of Mobility Georgetown 2021 is to advance Georgetown’s connectivity and safety by upgrading streets, bridges, bike network, and sidewalks delivering projects consistent with community expectations to manage accelerated growth by:
Increasing capacity of roadway network with high traffic volume.
Improving intersections and build sidewalks throughout Georgetown to create new connections within and among neighborhoods.
Coordinating with other planned transportation work to accelerate delivery to Georgetown residents.
In July 2020, the Georgetown City Council created a sixteen(16) member Citizen Advisory Committee with the following charge:
Review and vet criteria for projects
Prioritize and rank staff-proposed streets and sidewalks improvement projects
Review financial feasibility of proposed program
Provide opportunities for community input
Serve as community educators for the bond program
Develop and submit report to the City Council of final project list for proposed bond program
Following the commitment of six months of Committee deliberation in the review and evaluation of 23 possible bond projects with an estimated total cost of over $400 million, the Citizen Advisory Committee is pleased to provide Council with rankings of the top 10 roadway projects and allocations for sidewalks, bicycle facilities, intersections, and transportation technology. The Citizen Advisory Committee concluded that the need for transportation projects in Georgetown far exceeds the targeted $50 million bond. The top 10 roadway projects are ranked in order of importance and include:
1. SE Inner Loop from SH 29 to FM 1460 - $42.1 Million
2. Shell Road from Williams Drive to North of Sycamore Drive - $14.2 Million
3. Williams Drive from DB Wood to IH 35 - $10.2 Million
4. DB Wood from 1300’ South of Williams Drive to Oakridge Road - $19.0 Million
5. Leander Rd from Southwest Bypass to Norwood Drive West - $7.7 Million
6. SH 29 from Haven Ln to Inner Loop - $22.4 Million
7. NE Inner Loop from IH-35 to FM 971 - $18.1 Million
8. Austin Avenue Bridges from Second Street to Morrow Street - $11.5 Million
9. Williams Drive from Jim Hogg to DB Wood - $8.6 Million
10. Southwestern from SH 29 to Raintree Drive - $11.5 Million
On January 12, 2021, staff presented the Citizen Advisory Committee recommendations to Council and tax rate capacity for 5-year and 10-year bond programs. Council provided direction to staff to provide scope options for the top projects and options for a 7-year bond term.
On January 26, 2021, staff presented project scope options and a recommendation for a 7-year bond term. Council provided direction to staff to pursue the 7-year bond term for $117 million at a tax rate increase of $.03. Further clarification on Austin Avenue Bridges project was requested for the Council Workshop on February 9, 2021.