People have asked me what do the Domain and North Burnet Gateway have in common that affects the neighborhood. At the end of the day, it all really boils down to the impact on Duval, and reasonable access to our homes. I don't consider our neighborhood to be particularly interested in being heavy activists, but I have never had more people mention an issue to me as often as during the Domain launch when the big TxDOT marker was blinking “Domain, exit Duval.”
I expressed concern a year ago about the northmost entrance/exit to the Domain being too close to both the on and off ramp of the freeway, and the weaving it was (and is) going to cause. But it is very difficult to make traction on expressing concern when you have at least 3 players in the game – the city, TxDOT, and the developer (which itself is split between two companies and multiple teams within those companies).
The North Burnet Gateway plan both accentuates the traffic concern, and gives a clearer venue to express that concern, so potentially now we can have a bigger voice in shaping how traffic related to this “second downtown” flows. Also we can get involved in issues such as looking at commuter bus lines closer to the neighborhood and bike access to downtown from North Austin.
In my opinion, Parmer is basically unpassable at the end of the workday, and if Duval is not well planned, and is set up to be one of the main mouths to the “second downtown,” it will reduce the value of our properties, and raise the daily agitation level of everyone trying to get home. Conversely, if it is planned for, and we can still get home without waiting and waiting and waiting at the last leg, we have a lot to look forward to in what Domain and North Burnet Gateway will bring.
Your chance to be involved is our general meeting on the 24th at 7:00 at the Milwood Library. Andy Pastor from the Domain will attend, and Molly Scarborough from the city is going to try to attend. I've also mentioned the meeting to Brewster McCracken and Mark Strama. Please come out and give us a good showing and get involved in an issue that affects you.
