Improving Traffic and Air Quality in Austin
As a leading employer in Austin for 27 years and a recognized community leader, AMD recognizes that the Austin metro area faces challenges commonly associated with population growth, including congested traffic and diminished air quality.
In 2007, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce launched “Take on Traffic”, an initiative to address Austin’s growing traffic problem. According to the campaign’s website, Austin is the most congested city of its size in America.
Central Texas doubles in population about every 20 years. Today Austin is home to approximately 1.5 million people. By 2011 — five years from now — it’ll be closer to 1.8 million.
Right now, there are about 4 cars for every 5 people in Central Texas. In five years, there will be at least another 130,000 cars on the road.
Further, Austin is classified as an "early action compact" area by the EPA, meaning it is on course for non-attainment status with the EPA's Clean Air Act. If air quality continues to degrade:
- the region could lose billions of dollars in federal highway funding, and traffic congestion problems will grow worse.
- the costs of treating lung disease — the fastest-growing cause of death in the U.S. — will grow higher than ever.
- health and mobility challenges will constrain efforts to bring new business to Central Texas and ensure the city's continued prosperity.
AMD's presence in Austin has grown considerably over time and is operates 12 separate buildings in southeast and northwest Austin. AMD recognized that this was inefficient and not conducive to employee collaboration and decided to create a campus which brings employees closer to their homes and closer to each other.
After an exhaustive three-year search and a detailed analysis of how many miles employees would have to drive to and from each prospective location, AMD chose the Lone Star site in Oak Hill.
The numbers speak for themselves. By choosing Oak Hill, AMD employees will drive 2 million vehicle miles per year less than if AMD had chosen Colorado Crossing and 1.3 million fewer miles than Mueller.
Fewer cars on Austin's crowded highways means less congestion, better air quality and decreased fuel consumption. And less time in a car means AMD employees can spend more time with their families and achieve a more manageable work-life balance.
In addition, AMD was named to the Top 20 Best Workplace for Commuters list by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation. AMD plans to expand this award-winning "Commute Solutions" program, which encourages employees to use car and van pools, mass transit, bicycling and telecommuting, to a goal of 10 percent of the employee population at Lone Star.
According to traffic research conducted by WHM Traffic Engineering, AMD's traffic will have a minimal impact on Southwest Parkway as new traffic volume from the campus plus forecasted traffic volumes will be well below the capacity of Southwest Parkway. Upon AMD's occupancy of the site, AMD-related traffic will only account for 2.5 percent of traffic on Southwest Parkway west of William Cannon and 7.7 percent of traffic east of William Cannon.
AMD traffic will be primarily counter cyclical and flow in the opposite direction of the majority of traffic during peak periods on Southwest Parkway. The majority of AMD traffic will be headed west on Southwest Parkway in the morning and east on Southwest Parkway in the evening. This traffic flow is directly opposite of most motorists who currently live near Southwest Parkway and drive into Austin in the morning and return home in the evening.
AMD will generate 30 percent less traffic in the area than a shopping center on the same site. Upon occupancy, AMD will generate approximately 9,370 two-way trips per day. A 287,000 sq. ft. shopping center on the site would generate approximately 13,476 two-way trips per day.