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NO I-35 expansion! YES to studying alternatives, including rerouting non-local traffic around town and rethinking I-35 as a boulevard!

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Texas Transportation Commission, Austin City Council

The Texas Dept. of Transportation has terrible plans to widen I-35 through Austin.

Instead, we should study community-driven alternatives, including rerouting non-local traffic around town and replacing I-35 with an urban boulevard.

Sign the Rethink35 petition to help make this happen.

(Note: This is not Reconnect Austin, which proposes burying and covering I-35 with a boulevard.)

I-35 through Austin has harmed countless Texans for decades. Noise, pollution, fatal crashes, blocking access to opportunities for low-income communities of color, and overall unpleasantness are just some of I-35 immense impacts. And yet, TxDOT plans to widen I-35 to 20+ lanes

We deserve community-created alternatives to expansion

That includes considering this common-sense option:

1. Reroute non-local traffic around town

Let's get the non-local traffic out of town! I-35 goes around, not through, downtown in at least 14 other Texas towns and cities. It could do that in Austin. In fact, SH-130 was explicitly built for this purpose!

Once that happens...

2. Turn I-35 into a boulevard

Converting I-35 through Austin into a boulevard would create more transportation choices, shorter commutes, more housing and local businesses, and a new world-class public space.

Imagine:

A BEAUTIFUL, world-class promenade in the heart of Austin with wide sidewalks, outdoor cafes, and local businesses
A HIGHER quality of life with cleaner air, less noise, increased safety, and a real response to climate change
Transportation CHOICE and SHORTER commute times with dedicated space for congestion-free mobility such as walking, bicycling, buses, and trains
PERMANENTLY affordable housing and PREVENTING gentrification with new housing put into community land trusts and tax revenues channeled into anti-displacement programs
Those who still want to drive could still do so or travel at other times

Highway removals greatly improve quality of life

San Francisco before removing the Embarcadero freeway

For decades, cities including San Francisco, Portland, and Rochester have removed their central city freeways. And people have loved the results every time. And yes, congestion actually improved. That's why there are currently over 30 grassroots highway removal campaigns nationwide, including in Dallas. Look out for more highway-to-boulevard projects across the US in the near future.

Sign this petition and make this happen in Austin.

This will require a BIG community push. Please sign this petition and then ask at least 10 friends to do the same. Spread the word as far as you can. We can and WILL win this!

For more information, visit the Rethink35 website.

Click here to make a donation to Rethink35.

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Rethink35

To: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Texas Transportation Commission, Austin City Council
From: [Your Name]

I call on you to oppose the expansion of I-35 and to support a study into community-driven alternatives. One alternative that I ask you to study is the Rethink35 proposal, which reroutes I-35 onto existing roadways and converts the right of way through Austin into an urban boulevard. A boulevard could provide space for local businesses, affordable housing, wide sidewalks, protected bicycle lanes, and transit. This would result in a significant quality of life increase for Austin and central Texas.

By providing congestion-free transportation options such as walking, bicycling, and public transportation and by restoring east-west street connections, the boulevard could actually improve travel times. In contrast, expanding the highway would encourage more people to drive, therefore having no or even harmful impacts on travel times.

Highway to boulevard conversions have happened in many other cities, including San Francisco, Portland, and Rochester, and over 30 grassroots highway removal campaigns exist nationwide. This is a sensible idea that deserves to be properly studied.

We know highway expansions are both ineffective and detrimental. Please reject the expansion of I-35 and support a study into the Rethink35 proposal.