The pilot blocked vehicular traffic from Rainey Street on weekend nights. The feedback will be used to help inform next steps for mobility in the area.

AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin's "Rainey Shared Streets" pilot program blocked vehicular traffic from Rainey Street between Davis and River streets on weekend nights for several months.

That pilot ended on March 8. March 11 is the deadline for the community to give the City feedback about the program. You can take the survey here.

The idea to close Rainey to traffic on weekend nights was first proposed in June 2018, to analyze the effects of traffic mobility and pedestrian safety, as well as the closure's impact on residents and businesses in the area.

The City said the feedback will be used to help inform the next steps for mobility in the Rainey area.

“Rainey has experienced a lot of growth quickly and, you know, this is all types of development, you know, everything’s going vertical there," Eric Bollich told KVUE back in January.

Bollich is the acting assistant director for the Austin Transportation Department.

“[We're] looking towards the future in seeing what can we do as a city to accommodate with the anticipated growth," Bollich said.

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In December 2019, the transportation department and Planning and Zoning Department released a massive 744-page report called the "Rainey Mobility Study." It includes 11 "what if" scenarios that were formed to help think of more ways to improve safety and mobility on the popular street.

Of the 11 scenarios, seven include the characteristic "Rainey Street closed to vehicular traffic." The scenarios include that emergency vehicles would still be allowed onto the road.

“It looks at the future growth, looking at existing conditions but really saying, ‘OK, if we are going to anticipate this growth, you know what do we need as a city to invest in this area in terms of infrastructure,’" Bollich said. "Everything from new sidewalks, looking at all accommodations all modes to potentially extensions of streets and so these 11 options kind of document all those possibilities.”

Other characteristics include connecting Rainey Street to Cesar Chavez, a traffic signal at River and Rainey streets, extension roads and more.

One example of a scenario where Rainey Street is closed off to vehicular traffic except for emergency vehicles would be scenario 2A.

"Rainey Street closed to vehicular traffic except for emergency vehicles, with a one-way northbound Red River alley reconfigured to reflect the new east-west alley south of 70 Rainey Street and maintaining one-way southbound East Avenue north of River Street," the report reads. "This scenario presents the possibility to add pedestrian, bicycle and micromobility facilities on Rainey Street while maintaining a north-south vehicular connection via the Red River alley."

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As of right now, there is no known timeline of any actual immediate changes coming to the street.

“The next step would be to participate with the upcoming ACT plan," Bollich said.

The ACT Plan is the Austin Core Transportation Plan, which could include the changes to Rainey Street.

Planning will continue over the next few months, according to the department.