Keep Wilco Moving 2000 2015 Presented by Cynthia Long County Commissioner, Williamson County, Texas September 21, 2015
Historic County Population, Texas 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, decennial censuses 3
Commuters to Travis County from Texas counties, 2003-2013 Legend tl_2010_48_county10 Travis County 1-500 501-5,000 5,001-25,000 25,001-50,000 50,001-493,119 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Dallas Howard Foard Floyd Brewster Franklin Hunt Newton Starr Kinney Collingsworth Tom Green Coleman Brazoria Leon Duval Lamb Morris Smith Jackson Medina Wheeler Dallam Callahan Lamar Coryell Gaines Kendall Nacogdoches Milam Hays Willacy Johnson Reagan Webb Shackelford Bowie Scurry Kenedy Somervell Oldham Taylor King Borden Walker Stephens Deaf Smith Roberts Tyler Val Verde Brown Parker Harris Zapata Red River Karnes Palo Pinto Glasscock Shelby Wood Crosby Refugio Burnet Sterling Montgomery San Augustine Rains Nueces Jack Swisher Camp Brazos Orange Colorado Pecos Cochran Parmer Freestone Winkler Wichita Gray Schleicher Hardeman Travis Gillespie Yoakum Fayette Uvalde Grimes Van Zandt Throckmorton Falls Grayson Ellis Hall Dickens Trinity Reeves Marion Terrell Lynn La Salle Jasper Jones Castro Victoria Kleberg Briscoe Clay Matagorda Brooks Runnels Carson Liberty Lee Hale Bexar Garza Montague Upton Hamilton Fisher Dawson Dimmit Hutchinson Llano Presidio Eastland Sabine Wharton Rusk Tarrant Lavaca Childress Hidalgo Kaufman Moore Menard Edwards San Patricio Terry Crockett Houston Waller Coke Ward Titus Lampasas Haskell Martin Atascosa Hemphill Hartley Young Burleson Hardin Gonzales McMullen Erath Galveston Hopkins McLennan Madison McCulloch Donley Kent Real Sutton Midland Hudspeth Zavala Harrison Comanche Mitchell Navarro Crane Lubbock Wise Washington Jeff Davis El Paso Gregg Williamson Lipscomb Mason Henderson Hansford Chambers Hill Potter Jim Wells Delta Stonewall Ector Cameron Maverick Collin Baylor Panola Guadalupe Bastrop Austin Andrews Anderson Blanco DeWitt Bandera Bell Aransas Archer Armstrong Bee Angelina Bailey Jefferson Frio Fannin Goliad Loving Cass Fort Bend Bosque Hockley San Saba Kerr Mills Cooke Wilbarger Irion Caldwell Jim Hogg Culberson Upshur Cherokee Denton Concho Randall Kimble Knox Polk Hood San Jacinto Robertson Wilson Nolan Cottle Calhoun Rockwall Live Oak Motley Sherman Ochiltree Comal
Catalyst for Change Austin (your Nashville) and Travis County (your Davidson) had taken the ostrich approach to transportation planning Population growth starting to hit double digits More commuters Congestion was increasing Money from the State DOT was drying up Unhealthy dependence on rooftops vs. business for tax base
What Did We Do? Two Key Focus Areas Aggressive Transportation Improvement Program Partnering with cities Leveraging local dollars on state roadways Participated in toll road development Economic Development County participating with cities on ED deals Reduced, then eliminated, certain taxes on manufacturing businesses
Transportation Program Developed 1 st County Transportation Plan Voters approved bonds for roadway construction & improvement projects Totaling $828 Million Aggressively implementing plan Partnering cities, state, MPO, Regional Mobility Authority
Economic Development Teaming with cities to attract businesses/employers to county Lower than market rate fees on new development Reduced, then eliminated, Freeport tax on manufacturing businesses worked with school district to do same Low government regulation reputation
Other Lobbied legislature to streamline processes at state DOT Changed composition/membership of MPO Worked with state DOT to get NEPA process delegated to state
Return on Investment 298 new lane miles of roadway constructed Leveraged $160 Million in local dollars to build $2 Billion in toll roads Wilco home of 3 of top 10 fastest growing cities with 50,000 + population in Texas since 2010 Growing by about 16,000 people/year; 30 net movers per day Population more than doubled YET the average commute time stayed the same
Return on Investment (cont d) At height of recent national recession Manufacturing businesses increased in assessed value by $80 M Round Rock & Cedar Park (2 biggest cities) Added over 6,000 new jobs Retained over 2,000 direct jobs Added 3,600 indirect/induced jobs 10 year job growth in Austin metro 2.14% compared to 10% in 2 biggest cities Housing units up 85% since 2000 (34% in Travis County) Assessed property value in Wilco more than tripled $14 Billion in 2000 to $50 Billion in 2015
Williamson County, TX 2000
Williamson County, TX - 2014
Can t Build Enough Roads 2014 Transportation to Employment Carpooled 25,086.00 10.4% Other 24,634.00 10.2% Worked at Home 16,612.00 6.9% Drove alone, 191,359.00, 79.4% Public Transportation (excluding taxicabs) 1,922.00 0.8% Other means 4,165.00 1.7% Walked 1,935.00 0.8% Source: American Community Survey
Williamson County, TX The Future Updating transportation plan What will we look like at build-out? What modes do we need to include? How do we plan for what we don t know? Action plan to get there Accelerate Economic Development efforts Keep pressing forward
Lessons Learned Partner Educate Public, Business, Elected Officials Consistency, Commitment Plan, Do, Check, Act