Commpact & Wintegrity
The Richard Moya Eastside Bus Plaza Provides Residents of Austin's East Side with Access to Transportation
Impact
- The plaza connects nine surrounding counties to East Austin
- The plaza serves six hundred daily riders in Austin and surrounding counties
- The project has SITES Silver Certification and has funding through Power Connect, Austin's first ever transit bond
Project Overview
The Richard Moya Eastside Bus Plaza, located on E. Cesar Chavez, was built in partnership with Capital Metro and the Capital Area Rural Transportation System (CARTS). CARTS is the entity responsible for transit services in Austin's surrounding counties including the non-urbanized areas of Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Travis and Williamson counties. The project made history by becoming the first to use funds from Austin's first transit bond, 'Power Connect,' and is also the first major multi-modal transportation hub in Central Texas that connects regional and local transit all around the Austin area.
Problem Overview
Residents in East Austin and surrounding areas, especially those without cars, lacked transportation to travel within their community and access city resources. Without an easily accessible transportation hub, Capital Metro and CARTS sought to provide an inviting plaza to accommodate the needs of travelers and add value to the neighborhood. However, the plaza's location proved to be a challenge - viewed from a bird's eye, the 1.7 acre flat site is the shape of an acute triangle bordered by three roadways going different directions, leaving no room to expand. While difficult, the project presented the exciting task of determining how to make the space functional.
Solution
Civilitude Engineers & Planners was brought onto the project because of its experience in creating functional solutions for the most challenging problems. The strategy was to optimize land utilization, while working with water quality and detention. The team mapped out how to most effectively fit cars in the plaza and worked with Austin energy to move power poles to better utilize the space. They also used several storm water management techniques, including rain gardens, vegetated detention ponds and permeable paving to increase water retention. These features conserve water and reduce downstream flooding issues. Important considerations included ADA compliance, and TxDOT and Austin Right of Way divisions. The Civilitude Engineers & Planners team leveraged its relationships and consulted the city of Austin on compliance. They proved ADA compliance by looking at the nearest CARTS plaza and estimating the number of people who now have easy access to transportation that didn't before.
Results
The Richard Moya Eastside Bus Plaza officially opened in June 2021 and is
responsible for transit services in a 7200 square mile, nine-county area surrounding
Austin. The project enriches the community with an inviting ecosystem of 265 caliper
inches of trees, over 3,600 rooted plants and soil restoration for over 30% of the
area. It also includes a space for small farmers markets and events in the future.
The plaza achieved SITES Silver Certification and the Austin Energy Green Building
(AEGB) 3-Star-Rating. Unlike other private developments, the project is less
concerned with profitability than offering equitable and functional access to
transportation in the previously underserved East Austin community.
