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.)

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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

Widening I-35 through Austin would be a disaster. It would waste over $7 billion of public money to worsen noise and air pollution, increase crashes, and hasten climate change, while doing little or nothing to improve alternatives to driving.

And it wouldn't even fix congestion! Any short term congestion gains would encourage more people to drive until congestion was as bad or worse before. When TxDOT widened Houston's Katy Freeway to 23 lanes, average peak congestion times rose by 40%. Expect a similar result in Austin.

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

What would happen to all the traffic that's on today's I-35? It's simple:

• Many people would gladly take alternatives to driving, including the 55% of Austinites who don't want to drive and would prefer to walk, bike, or take the bus or train
• Non-local traffic could take other highways, such as SH-130 to the East, which was explicitly designed for this very purpose; in many other Texas cities, I-35 does exactly that: It goes around town and the road through town becomes a boulevard or business route
• Those who still want to drive could still do so or travel at other times

Other cities have removed their highways.
And people have loved the results every time.

For decades, cities including San Francisco, Portland, and Rochester have removed their central city freeways. EVERY highway removal has greatly improved quality of life. 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.