Austin transit users share frustrations over delayed trial proceedings

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Amid news of the Project Connect trial's delayed court proceedings and the case's punt over to the Third Court of Appeals, some transit users in Austin are sharing their frustrations over the hold up.

Contested viewpoints over delayed court proceedings

Bill McCamley, executive director of Transit Forward, spoke with KXAN Monday evening after the trial's halt earlier that day. He said he's frustrated by the back-and-forth surrounding the case, adding Project Connect received strong voter support when the ballot initiative passed nearly four years ago.

He said expanded transit access in Austin will not only aid existing users within the system but will help entice newcomers to include public transit as part of their transportation toolbox. Diversity of travel options and more energy-efficient transit systems will help minimize pollution, aiding the city in its climate equity plan initiatives, he said.

"People overwhelmingly voted for this in 2020," he said. "And any delay is gonna really hurt our ability to get the new buses and trains and housing that we need to make Austin more connected."

His stance is at odds with legal counsel representing a group of plaintiffs who sued Project Connect leaders back in November. Bill Aleshire, co-counsel for those plaintiffs, told media Monday that "the current plan for Project Connect is doomed one way or the other."

"It is time for leaders to rethink Project Connect, and to consider putting a bond election on the November ballot, where it is legal and logical and honest," Aleshire said. "Voters were not given an honest price. They were not given an honest deal. And it's time to rethink that."

Existing transit users share concerns over possible trial speed bumps

Transit user Spencer Schumacher said he thinks city voters' overwhelming support for the initiative on the November 2020 ballot is a clear indication of residents' desire for improved transit access. If legal proceedings halt Project Connect's existing funding mechanism, he said he's confident officials will find another way to bring it to life -- albeit, at a literal cost.

"The difference [if the city has to pursue a different funding model] is it's going to be much more expensive. We're going to lose billions of dollars in federal funding," he said. "We're not going to have the operations and maintenance built in to run the system....and that's the real pain."

While a City of Austin spokesperson told KXAN Monday they were "disappointed" by current proceedings, they stressed alongside Austin Transit Partnership officials that light rail development work will continue. However, not all city council members echoed the same sentiment.

Council Member Mackenzie Kelly said in a statement that 2020 city leadership made an "overpromise" on the deliveries behind Project Connect, particularly by tapping into "a legally questionable funding mechanism."

"As the Council begins deliberations on the City’s annual budget, I will be working to provide Austinites tax relief on Project Connect until the dispute over its financing structure is resolved through the court system,” Kelly's statement read in part.

Renee Lopez is a born-and-raised Austinite and said she's disappointed by the lawsuit's proceedings, but is hopeful project officials will carry forward with light rail development work.

She's dependent on the city's bus system to navigate around town -- most notably, via the MetroRapid 801 and 803 routes. She said she's eager to see expanded transit options in town as a means of cutting down on traffic fossil fuel use but stressed it's also a savings measure for anyone not wanting the hassle of driving into downtown and dealing with parking.

"I really think we have to look to the future and we need to stop driving so many cars and start getting around using mass transit," she said.

Incoming grad school student Lela Lerner co-signed on Lopez's views, sharing the stresses she's navigated during the past two years living in Austin without a car. She said she'll be moving closer to the University of Texas at Austin's campus to minimize commute headaches, but said she looks forward to a more robust transit system down the road.

"It's very limiting, figuring out where to live in Austin without a car," Lerner said. "So expanding routes and adding light rail widens the circle, the radius of where transit users could live comfortably."

Despite the delayed trial process, Austin Transit Partnership's executive director Greg Canally -- leader of the local government corporation that oversees the creation and construction of the Project Connect system -- said Monday staff will continue working on light rail design and engineering work.