Travis County voters threw their support behind the largest bond package in the county's history. The funds will pay for roads and parks throughout the county.
Final, but unofficial, results showed 75.78% of voters were in favor of Proposition A, which would fund road projects, and 77.11% of voters supported Proposition B, which would fund parks.
The bond package totals more than $509 million. The average homeowner with a home valued at $475,289 will pay $4.78 more a month or $57 more a year to cover it.
County Judge Andy Brown said this was a testament to voters wanting to make investments in county roads and parks for years to come.
"Its a great day for Travis County, for people who live here today, but it's an even better day for our kids and grandkids, who will live here in the future because of these investments we are making," he said.
Brown said the money comes at a crucial time as land prices soar and the region grows.
"Prices of land are only going up in Travis County, and it's only going to get more and more scarce," he said. "So, our ability to continue doing what Travis County has done of preserving green spaces for parks, without the voters of Travis County approving this bond, we wouldn't have been able to do that."
Proposition A would use $233 million to pay for improvements, construction and acquisition of land for roads, bike lanes, sidewalks and bridges.
Some of the projects include:
- Northeast Travis County: Widening Cameron Road east of SH 130 from Pecan Street to Fuchs Grove Road from a two-lane road without shoulders to a four-lane divided road with a shared-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians.
- North Travis County: Adding a shared-use path on the south side of Howard Lane from McNeil Drive to McNeil-Merriltown Road.
- Southeast Travis County: Expanding Turnersville Road from a two-lane undivided road to a four-lane divided road with a median, bike lanes and sidewalks from City of Austin to SH 45.
Proposition B allocates more than $276 million to improve county parks and buy land to build future parks. The largest expense in this proposition would be to buy land on the East and West sides of the county estimated at $100 million each.
Other park projects include:
- West Travis County: Completing the Bee Creek Sports Complex by adding fields and a pavilion.
- Northeast Travis County: The Gilleland Creek Greenway project, which would build trails and amenities from Northeast Metro Park to Ben E. Fisher Park.
- Southeast Travis County: Adding synthetic turf on four soccer fields and four baseball fields at Southeast Metro Park and building a new maintenance facility.
This is Travis County’s largest bond package in history. In 2015, the county went out for a $287 million bond, then the largest, but it failed. The most recent bond election was in 2017, also for roads and parks.
