A transformative urban design and placemaking vision for Congress Avenue—a vibrant and walkable civic and cultural stage for Downtown Austin

Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative

Illustrated plan drawing with callouts for key destinations in the area. The project site area is outlined with a red dashed line.

Congress Avenue serves as the Civic Spine of Austin, connecting the Texas State Capitol with Lady Bird Lake and South Austin

Client: City of Austin
Location: Austin, TX
Size: 1.25 miles

Services: Planning and Urban Design
Additional Services: Community Engagement; Landscape Architecture
Status: Completed 2017

While Austin has grown and evolved as a global hub for culture and technology, the streetscape of Congress Avenue has remained relatively static since the 1980s. Congress Avenue, often called the “Main Street of Texas,” is one of the most iconic and lively streets in Austin. From the Texas Capitol to Lady Bird Lake, the Avenue serves as the spine of Downtown Austin’s cultural, economic, and civic heart.

The Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (CAUDI) envisions a transformative urban design, placemaking, and implementation strategy for a 1.25 mile stretch of Congress Avenue between Riverside Drive and 11th Street. The goal of this effort is to create a complete multimodal street with a dynamic public realm that contributes to Downtown Austin’s evolution as a vibrant, walkable cultural mecca.

Aerial axon diagram of avenue that calls out major landmarks and notes the zones as the street moves from the state capitol down to Lady Bird Lake

As Congress Avenue moves south from the state capitol it transitions from the city’s civic stage to the a green gateway along Lady Bird Lake that connects to a regional system of creeks and ecological corridors

Placemaking & Identity

The design of Congress Avenue is intended to reflect the vibrant culture, history, and landscapes of Central Texas. The context and function of Congress Avenue changes along its length from the Capitol grounds to Riverside Drive. To reflect and enhance the unique qualities of each zone, the vision includes four distinct character areas:

The Civic Stage
The Heart of Austin
The Green Gateways
The Bridge

Rendering of proposed street design intervention. A bike lane appears on the right of the screen with a sandwich board sign that reads

The Civic Stage is a threshold to the Capitol and a backdrop for festivals and civic events

Rendering of proposed street design intervention. On the right people sit at red cafe tables. On the left a group holds a rainbow banner.

The Heart of Austin is where cafés, shops, museums, and theaters showcase the beating heart of Austin

Rendering of proposed street design during a rainstorm. In the foreground a woman in an orange jumpsuit and red umbrella looks at a child in a yellow rain jacket playing in the rain. A woman rides a bike in the designated lane on the right side.

The Green Gateways are where the environmental and recreational assets of Lady Bird Lake extend into the city

Rendering of proposed bridge intervention. In the foreground two woman look out across the lake. People walk and bike in designated lanes.

The Bridge is the iconic entry to downtown and a destination where pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles, and bats coexist

Engagement

Beginning with the project launch in 2017, CAUDI engaged over 500 stakeholders and members of the public through a series of meetings and discussions. In parallel with this series of public meetings, the project team engaged with over a dozen city departments and committees to provide technical input and build consensus around the project. The overall reception was overwhelmingly positive and received significant coverage in the media.

photo of a woman in a blue dress taking a selfie on a yellow phone with a bald man in a suit jacket and tie. They are standing in front of a rendered print out of the Texas State Capitol building.

The project team worked closely with the City of Austin and the Downtown Austin Alliance to gather input and build consensus around the project through a series of public meetings

Photo of a man and a woman looking at a board that has pictures and sections of similar streets in other major cities. The woman is crouched down and pointing to a street section and the man looks down at it. He is wearing a green plaid shirt.

The first meeting demonstrated the existing conditions, challenges, and opportunities of the corridor today

photo of a man with gray hair in a teal polo shirt holding a print out of the proposed lanes for the avenue. He stands in front of a board with inspiration photos that says

The second event included activations and pop-up displays along the Avenue and demonstrated potential streetscape design elements

A detail photo of a resident's hand filling out a comment card at a public engagement session. Sunglasses sit on top of a stack of cards.

The third public event invited Austin residents to discuss and evaluate different concepts for Congress Avenue

photo of four children wearing white t-shirts that say

The engagement campaign generated excitement and reached a multigenerational audience

The second event included activations and pop-up displays along the Avenue and demonstrated potential streetscape design elements

The third public event invited Austin residents to discuss and evaluate different concepts for Congress Avenue

The engagement campaign generated excitement and reached a multigenerational audience

Balancing the Avenue

Creating space for people, events, and culture is a guiding principle of the CAUDI vision and a major achievement of this project. The Avenue’s existing conﬁguration heavily favors vehicles and through-traffic at the expense of pedestrian activity and placemaking. This study, in close coordination with the City of Austin’s Transportation Department, paved the way for converting six lanes of traffic into a multimodal street with above-grade bike lanes and a generous pedestrian realm.

Street section drawing that labels the proposed zones across the street. The image title reads:

A collective vision that established the desire of residents and city government to create an Avenue for people

section perspective drawing cut through the middle of the street. the lanes are labeled with their use. Image title reads

A gateway into Downtown Austin for all people, bikes, and vehicles

aerial diagram of intersection condition. Features are called out in orange boxes. Image title reads

A multimodal avenue that supports equitable access and sustainable transportation

Streetscape Design

In addition to a transformative mobility strategy and placemaking vision, CAUDI involved a full-depth reconstruction of the Avenue in order to address fundamental challenges, from equity to sustainability. This effort included the following components:

Congress Avenue For All: From cross-slopes to accessible parking spaces, the CAUDI design guidelines fully upholds federal ADA standards in order to ensure a welcoming and comfortable environment for all.
Keeping Austin Weird: The public realm plays a vital role as support for local businesses, a public space for gathering and relaxation, and a venue for local art and culture. In order to reinforce the multifunctional nature of Congress Avenue, the pedestrian realm is organized into generous sidewalk areas for retail displays and cafe seating; a clear space for walking; and a public amenity area with seating, space for art and music, trees and rain gardens.
Greening the Avenue: Creating a lasting canopy of healthy trees along Congress Avenue is among the highest priorities of the CAUDI vision. A series of underground rain gardens proposed along Congress Avenue features a suspended paving system and structural soil. This innovative strategy facilitates stormwater treatment and provides the space and soil quality needed for healthy mature trees, while minimizing O&M costs and creating more space for seating and amenities.

Composite image of five different street conditions. Each has an axon diagram and supported photos to demonstrate the condition.

The design guidelines included a series of recommendations to improve the public realm along the avenue

Aerial axon drawing of avenue. Image title reads:

As it crosses Lady Bird Lake, the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge is home to one of the world’s largest bat colonies, and the Ann and Roy Butler hike and bike trail connects to a regional system of creeks and ecological corridors

Axon drawing of bridge with callouts of design features. Image title reads

The project team also developed guidelines specific to the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge to improve the pedestrian experience

Section perspective drawing through the street highlighting stormwater management features. Image title reads:

A series of underground rain gardens proposed along Congress Avenue features a suspended paving system and structural soil. This innovative strategy facilitates stormwater treatment and provides the space and soil quality needed for healthy mature trees.

Impact

The process of envisioning this bright future for Congress Avenue built a sense of momentum that translated into immediate action. During the early stages of the COVID pandemic, CAUDI served as the inspiration for creating temporary bike-lanes along Congress Avenue to meet the heightened need for open space amenities. The vision and design guidelines were adopted by Austin’s City Council and incorporated into the 2020 citywide mobility bond, securing $30 million of funding towards implementation. The City is working with a nationally recognized bridge engineer to realize the redesign of the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge.

For more information contact Martin Zogran.

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