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Take Action Today to Ensure that Project Connect
Will Deliver On Its Promises to the Voters

<<First Name>>,

Project Connect’s “Joint Powers Agreement” (JPA) is a cornerstone document for how Project Connect will live up to promises made to Austin’s voters concerning equity, labor justice, independence, and critical engagement with the community moving forward. The final JPA will be discussed and signed by The City of Austin, CapMetro, and the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) on Friday, October 29th

You can help us right now to ensure that these changes are made and that Project Connect will deliver on the promises made to Austin’s voters!

Email Austin City Council, The Cap Metro Board of Directors, and ATP Board before Friday 10/19 and tell them:

*You support Independent Executive Leadership for all parties involved in the JPA.

*You support Strong worker protections and safe working conditions for all workers involved in building the project. This means that the commitment to the Better Builder® Program outlined must provide clarity and specificity in alignment with the intent in the contract with the voters.

*You urge a clear process for community review and feedback for all future supplemental agreements between the three parties, including review by the Community Advisory Committee.

*To support an Equity Analysis matrix, co‐created with the Project Connect Community Advisory Committee, so as to evaluates the design, construction, and operation of all Project Connect transit projects, including, but not limited to, assessing wider community impacts, and helping to guide station planning, eminent domain, accessibility planning.

*That the Joint Commitments must include a clear commitment to supporting an equitable transit system to benefit the whole community, including equity in considerations of design, accessibility, implementation, operations, station location, and project timelines.

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The final JPA will be discussed and signed by The City of Austin, CapMetro, and the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) on Friday, October 29th. This document will set forth roles and responsibilities in overseeing the once-in-a-generation investment in Austin’s public transit that will impact the city for decades to come.

As it stands, the proposed draft of the JPA does not give us confidence that Project Connect will fully live up to the spirit and intent of the promises made to the voters. This is why the ATX Mobility Coalition, formed by Austin Justice Coalition (AJC), People United for Mobility Action (PUMA), Planning Our Communities (POC), Workers Defense Action Fund (WDAF), and Austin Area Urban League (AAUL), has submitted recommendations and edits for the Joint Powers Agreement to City Council, CapMetro, and the Austin Transit Partnership.

In Solidarity,

João Paulo M. Connolly