Standards for street design are critical to ensuring safe streets for all modes of transportation. Street standards assist City staff and private sector design professionals in applying a consistent approach to street design. Austin Transportation is working on several initiatives related to updating street design standards.
Transportation Criteria Manual Update
The City of Austin's Transportation Criteria Manual (TCM) is one of nine technical criteria manuals cited in Austin's Land Development Code (LDC). The TCM defines the rules, requirements, and technical guidelines for building mobility infrastructure in Austin. For the past two years, Austin Transportation staff worked with multiple City departments, partner agencies, and design professionals to update and modernize Austin's TCM.
The current draft of the revised TCM is available for public review now through Nov. 1, 2021. This version will be reviewed and approved through the Land Development Rule Posting Process, which formally began Sept. 29, 2021.
Transportation Criteria Manual Drafts
Sept. 2021 Draft
View the 2021 draft TCM update
Comments accepted via email Sept. 29 – Nov. 1, 2021
Nov. 2020 Draft
View the 2020 draft TCM update
View the archive of the online open house
Comments accepted Nov. 3 – Dec. 31, 2020.
Stakeholder Meetings
Sept. 21, 2021
Jan. 28, 2021
Sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on the TCM rewrite.
Have questions for the project team? Email TransportationCM@austintexas.gov.
Optimizing Street Design and Fire Response Access
The Austin Transportation and Austin Fire departments have been actively coordinating on a variety of public and private sector street design projects and standards. Our goal is to achieve the optimal balance of protection for multimodal traffic and fire emergencies that results in the fewest total deaths from all causes. Staff provided a memo to City Council on March 4, 2019, recommending strategies to optimize a shared vision for public safety. Below are several resources that provide more information on this initiative.
Resources:
- Memo to Mayor and Council: Final Update on 2015 International Fire Code Local Amendments and Street Design - March 4, 2019
- Memo to Mayor and Council - Nov. 8, 2018
- Questions and Answers from Sept. 17 Public Meeting
- Presentation - Sept. 17, 2018, Public Meeting on Fire Response Access and Transportation Safety
- Memo to Mayor and Council - June 25, 2018
- Ordinance No. 20171207-098 - Adopting the 2015 International Fire Code and Local Amendments
- Memo to Mayor and Council - Nov. 27, 2017
- Presentation - Oct. 2, 2017, Pedestrian Advisory Council meeting
Austin Street Design Guide
Released June 20, 2017, the Austin Street Design Guide contains modern street cross-sections that consider street function, land use context, and all transportation modes. The guide serves as a precursor to updates to the City’s Transportation Criteria Manual. Feedback received from staff, private sector design professionals, and the community on the Austin Street Design Guide will inform the Transportation Criteria Manual update. This guide was developed by the Austin Transportation Department in coordination with other City Departments and Capital Metro.