Mayor highlights change in state of the city address

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Whether it’s the swelling population, increased traffic, or the growing popularity surrounding events such as ACL, SXSW and Formula 1, things around Austin are always changing.

“During my lifetime here in Austin, I can tell you that there have been only two constants; Change, and people complaining about change,” Mayor Lee Leffingwell said Tuesday in his annual state of the city address.

Austin and its surrounding communities grew by 37 percent in the last decade, and the city’s population increased by 20 percent in that same time span.

“Austin, Texas is today, I think without question, one of the most widely admired and most emulated cities in America,” the mayor said.

The mayor attributes part of the increase in population and popularity to the geographical setting, but even more to being well positioned.

“That, my friends, has everything to do with the decisions we’ve made as a community, and the ones that we continue to make about the direction we want to go, and the city we still want to become,” he said.

The mayor highlighted the new medical school and what it will mean for Austin’s future, including more jobs and better healthcare.

“The university will gain a medical school, and our community will gain 15,000 new permanent jobs, and nearly $2 billion annually in new economic activity,” the mayor said.

Leffingwell also addressed the city’s traffic problem head-on.

“Austin’s traffic crisis isn’t just some kind of annoyance,” he said. “It is a deadly serious threat to our quality of life, in a dozen different ways.” 

“It threatens our economy.  It threatens our environment. It threatens our safety. It threatens the livability of our city and entire region. It’s a very big problem.  And perhaps more than any other problem we face today, it demands our most creative solutions.”

The mayor pointed out voters have approved $170 million in bond funds for city road projects since 2000 and more than $550 million is currently devoted to road construction in Travis County through county and state funds.

He said further investment is needed in public transportation, mentioning the need for bus express lanes on MoPac and an increased rail system in and around the city.

“The real challenge we face isn’t just to stop complaining about change, or even just to start accepting change,” he said. “Our challenge, and our responsibility, if we want to protect Austin for the next generation and beyond, is to desire change.  To seek it out.  To work for it.”