Georgetown Edition | June 2023

TRANSPORTATION UPDATES Georgetown to plan expansion to transit services

COMPILED BY GRANT CRAWFORD

UPCOMING PROJECTS

SOUTHWESTERN BLVD.

The city of Georgetown is weighing the future of its public transit services and exploring what options are avail- able to expand or improve them. Georgetown City Council directed sta May 9 to develop a new Transit Development Plan, which would go into eect scal year 2025-26. Paratransit services—transpor- tation available to people with disabilities—have been in place since 2021, and Georgetown has also been oering rides for seniors for roughly six months. Based on data about the total number of rides given in recent months—more than 2,100 trips between October 2022-March 2023— council members decided those services should continue. Georgetown systems engineer Nathaniel Waggoner said roughly 10-20 seniors are signing up for services each month. While stores, multifamily housing and health care centers are among the highest destinations for the public, the city has also found individual

GETTING AROUND GEORGETOWN Between Oct. 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, Georgetown’s public transit services made 2,155 trips. Compared to the previous year, the city has seen an increase in monthly trips after it began oering rides for seniors within the community.

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Rockride Lane expansion Design work is underway for a project to widen Rockride Lane to be a two-lane road with a center turn lane, on-street bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides. Taking place near Mitchell Elementary School, Wagner Middle School and Ride On Center for Kids, the project’s bound- aries are from SE Inner Loop to Sam Houston Avenue. The design, utility relocations and right-of-way work is expected to be done in late 2023 or early 2024 prior to construction. Timeline: mid-2024-early 2026 Cost: $5.8 million Funding source: city of Georgetown 2021 transportation bond

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SOURCE: CITY OF GEORGETOWNCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

a Lyft pilot program as well as explored options for micro-transit services, which often use virtual bus stops—created instantaneously based on convenience and safety—to pick up and drop o passengers. District 5 Council Member Kevin Pitts said he believes a rideshare option, such as a voucher program in which the city would pay for a portion of people’s rides, would be more ecient and scally responsible.

addresses to be frequent users of the transit program. “We do have riders who rely on the service for their weekly needs, if not daily,” Waggoner said. So [residential addresses] are some of our top origins and places people are coming and going from.” At $54 a trip in costs to the city, council members discussed how to lower the city’s expenses. Between 2017-21, the city conducted

ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF MAY 16. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT GEONEWSCOMMUNITYIMPACT.COM.

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GEORGETOWN EDITION • JUNE 2023