The Austin Transit Partnership began working on an environmental review earlier this year to qualify its Project Connect light rail development — including the potential transformation of Guadalupe Street from 21st to 29th streets into a transit mall — for federal funding from the Federal Transit Administration. 

Peter Mullan, ATP’s executive vice president for architecture and urban design, said the federal funds, if approved, would fund 50% of the design’s first construction phase. He said the project’s budget currently sits at $5 billion for the first phase. The city of Austin expected the entire project to initially cost $7.1 billion when voters approved it in 2020.

Mullan said that ATP began preliminary analysis of the route along Guadalupe Street about two years ago. ATP’s current plan for a light rail line down Guadalupe Street would directly impact the University and West Campus. Mullan said the Guadalupe Street redesign hopes to accommodate high amounts of pedestrians, transit riders and cyclists. 

“One of the things we were studying is how you accommodate all of the different mobility modes in this section of the city,” Mullan said. “(The University) is one of the highest pedestrian activity areas of the entire city, if not the highest, as well as the areas of highest ridership for transit currently with our existing bus system.”

Mullan said most car traffic on the street isn’t local traffic, just commuters using the road to travel north-south throughout the city. He said ATP and the city are considering converting Nueces Street into a two-way street north of 24th Street to serve local traffic from West Campus.

“(Closing Guadalupe Street is) going to change traffic patterns, and not just in the vicinity of the University,” Mullan said. “We expect a lot of that volume of throughput to move elsewhere. It will move to MoPac, (Interstate) 35, North Lamar.”

Mullan said developers are studying traffic models to see how these changes would affect West Campus traffic. He said the neighborhood’s density would keep drivers from seeing it as an alternative for north-south travel.

However, some campus community members are concerned about implementing traffic changes near the University, said Mike McHone, the vice president of University Area Partners, a neighborhood association representing West Campus. McHone said his organization is in favor of the light rail project and the increased mobility it will bring to West Campus residents.

“We support light rail, but you’ve got to realize we got a high-density pedestrian neighborhood,” McHone said. “(University Area Partners has) always thought about designating the area a pedestrian-dominant zone. Pedestrians rule over here.”

McHone said the proposed design for the Guadalupe Street alignment could impact businesses and churches along the street. He said his organization would like a well-thought-out design allowing deliveries to institutions along Guadalupe and Nueces streets. 

Mullan said ATP is hosting open houses during the environmental review process to hear the community’s thoughts on the design. The partnership will host a virtual open house on Feb. 22. ATP expects to begin the first phase of construction in 2027, though there is no information about the line’s projected completion date.