In April 2022, Project Connect shared updated draft designs for the Orange Line project along North Lamar, including sections serving the North Loop neighborhood. The project will provide new or improved transportation amenities, including light rail, bike lanes, and better sidewalks. The Orange Line will become an essential transit corridor from North Austin to UT, downtown, south Austin, and Blue Line connections to the airport. Light rail transit and transportation corridor development will help address the city’s growing transportation needs, housing shortages, and greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Koenig Station, a light rail stop on north Lamar Boulevard near Half-Price Books, will serve our area. The draft design for the station provides for dedicated sidewalks, bike lanes, and urban tree zones on both sides of the boulevard; four vehicle traffic lanes and a left-turn lane approaching Koenig Lane; and, a center-located station platform. The crosswalk on Lamar on the northside of Houston Street will provide pedestrian access to the south side of the station platform. A new crosswalk and traffic beacon to be placed across Lamar near Dan’s Hamburgers and KFC will provide station access on the northside.
District 4 Council Member Jose “Chito” Vela told North Loop Neighborhood Association members on June 1 that he is asking the city to bury the utilities currently suspended adjacent to North Lamar. This change would allow the new space to more closely resemble a tree-lined urban boulevard, as well as removing potential obstacles on sidewalks and bike lanes.
The Orange Line project is progressing through the engineering and design phases, which include incorporating input from the community as well as addressing technical and budgetary issues. This process involves analysis and trade-off decisions on goals such as maximizing project benefits, while minimizing the impacts on adjacent private property, and controlling costs. This approach is important for sections where the existing roadway and public easements are not wide enough to accommodate the full range of planned features.
In their April 18, 2022, update, project officials identified multiple design issues found in our area as well as proposed solutions to address them. To manage space constraints in some areas, the design would eliminate tree zones and/or combine the bicycle and pedestrian facilities into a shared path. More significantly, to avoid impacting a large residential building like the Camden Lamar Heights Apartments, the design would shift project lanes beyond the current east roadway curb on Lamar. As a result, the design would impact space currently used by North Loop businesses from the Texaco Station to the KFC. The impacts in most cases would be limited to areas currently used for driveways, parking, and sidewalks. However, in a few cases, the design drawings reveal possible impacts with a building or other structures.
Project officials said that they have discussed the project’s potential impacts on businesses located along the route. However, they also said that if any properties along the route have not been contacted, they would like to hear from them. Project plans and designs are subject to changes during the design and approval processes. Project Connect is scheduled to release its 30% design plans and environmental impact statement this summer.
NLNA will continue to monitor and share information on the Orange Line throughout the project. For additional information on project plans and schedules, upcoming public meetings, and contact information, visit https://projectconnect.com. To share information or concerns about the Orange Line with NLNA, or to volunteer to participate in monitoring the project, contact us. The Orange Line is not projected to begin service before 2028.
North Loop Neighborhood Association 