Urban is Core - Austin Super Forum: David Buttross

City Life

2. What is the city's role in creating jobs?

Provide the heavy lifting and short term aid in getting new business going providing contracts to consume start up services short term

3. What should the city do to address conflicts between music lovers and neighborhood residents? Should the city implement any recommendations of the Live Music Task Force that have not already been implemented?

Work it out if zone for music they should have music but it should not be to loud after a certain amount of time

yes

4. What role do you think public art plays in the creation of the built environment? Do you consider public art an important part of urban development? If so, what are some ways to include and finance art in development?

Public art is great we should continue to provide venues for artists

Yes but cost is important

Most artist are looking for a venue and will work for free this helps develop artiste we should have more concerts and be happy to pay artests

5. Sixth Street is arguably Austin's best-known brand, a National Registered Historic District, and the gateway between the Waller Creek District and the heart of downtown. Sixth Street is also primarily a nightlife district - crowded most nights, but quiet during the day. Are those in conflict? How should Sixth Street change?

6th st should be used 24 hours a day and encourage more breakfast and lunch servce. We need to clean up 6th street more

6. The Waller Creek revitalization project could dramatically improve a sizable portion of downtown. As it stands today, which aspects of the plan are you for and which are you against?

I need more info on the project

Transportation

7. Access to downtown is difficult, and bound to become more difficult, due to congestion on our highways and arterial streets. What strategies would you support to make it easier for people to get downtown? How should those strategies be funded?

What about a park and ride. Or open more parking garages

8. Part of the Envision Central Texas "Vision"; is more transportation choices, including transit options such as commuter rail, light rail, and rapid bus. Will you support planning for and implementing transportation choices, both as connectors of towns and activity centers and as a tool to guide future land-use? Do you support the streetcar system proposed as part of the Downtown Plan?

maybe if thy would be used not at this time I think buses are fine

9. Bicycles are a cheap, effective way to meet many of our transportation, environmental and fitness goals. What are three things the City should do to encourage biking? Are you a cyclist? If so, how do you use your bike?

Yes I have done the 100 mile ride for the roses

3 mountain binks and 1 road bike I love all of the trails and think we need to creat a safe bike lane for long rides not every where but a few real nice lanes that are safe for biker and cars

10. Most Austin residents pay about $5 a month for a transportation user fee on their utility bill to support transportation projects, but automobile projects get far more funding than bicycle projects. Would you support allowing bicyclists to opt for their user fee to go toward bike projects?

sure

11. The Great Streets program has shown promise on many streets downtown, but other streets have not seen any improvements years after implementation of the program. How should we speed up progress improving the walkability of Austin's streets?

Density the more density the more walkers and riders also create a scooter ln and moped under 75 cc with a speed limit on it

Parks

12. What are the elements of great urban parks? How should the City, or the City and private-sector partners, create and maintain quality parks and open space downtown and around transit centers?

They are great the more they are used the more we should spend on them budget should be based on uses maybe combine out door café to subsidise the cost

13. In light of tight budgets, how can the City conserve, restore, and improve our parks and fulfill long-standing objectives like the Boardwalk Trail at Lady Bird Lake?

private donations sell some advertising and get people using them the more they are used the more we spend on the trail have more venders cano and bike rentals ect

Crime

14. Do you think Art Acevedo has done a good job so far as Police Chief? What changes do you think should be made to the ways Austin deals with crime?

yes

grafite task force and swifter prosecution more comuint involve ment and private public partner ship have police work with neighborhoods and help them protect them selves

15. Many downtown businesses and visitors complain about panhandling. Should steps be taken to curb panhandling? Would you support adjusting current panhandling ordinances?

Yes street vending with out a permit is ilegal get them off the street clean up the streets

Have dress codes ect we need to help the homeless and get them off the streets cleaned up and on the right tract

Urban Development

16. Will Wynn estimated that 80% of the taxes generated by downtown are used to subsidize city services and maintenance in other parts of the city. Should more of the property taxes generated downtown be used to help downtown? How would you improve city services and maintenance services downtown?

Yes you can not rob peter to pay paul

let them keep more of the revenue they genertate

17. If you agree that sprawl is not a desirable development pattern and that a strong core is necessary for a strong city, what are some ways you would discourage sprawl, but encourage urban density and good urban design?

Encourage urban density

18. There have been problems implementing some neighborhood plans. What will you do to ensure consistent and fair implementation of the comprehensive plan? How would you engage the public in the development of a comprehensive plan?

All evideance needs to be made public and the neighbor hoods should have lots of imput and there imput should be make public so if some one makes a bad dicision we have proof they had all information at the time and hold them accountable.

I belive in protecting property rights if the city takes away property rights they need to compensate the land owner

19. Most social services in Austin are concentrated downtown. How are the social service providers, their clients, downtown businesses, our community and visitors affected by the location of these services downtown? Would you change the existing conditions?

We need to move the homeless from down town

Yes. this is valuble land and with the extra revenue we can help more people and clean up down town

20. Are you committed to the concept of nodal (also referred to as activity centers) growth, as an alternative to sprawl development, as found in the Envision Central Texas "Vision"; and the CAMPO 2035 Draft Growth Concept?

[ed note: no answer]

21. Do you think tearing down an existing 100-unit apartment complex and replacing it with a 200-unit complex increases or decreases overall housing costs? What other relevant effects does this type of redevelopment have?

depents on the condition of the 100 unit complex let private developer make that dicision

great for density but we need to be able to take cars off the roads so we need to have offices or a bus so people do not have to drive to work

22. Do you think Austin is better now than it was 10 years ago? Do you think it will be better in 10 years than it is now?

Different much more opportunity but it is larger

yes

Yes austin has a bright future we just need to make good financial decisions