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Originally Posted by Myomi
Northcross, I am trying to stay on topic as much as possible, so...
I totally agree with you about wasting city blocks on low rise city buildings. I definitely think the federal courthouse and especially the library should be relocated. But that doesn't change the fact that we need a new library. The fact of the matter is that it is woefully inadequate right now. The only reason I see that we wouldn't need a new one is that there is an incredible one north of the current one. Frankly though, if you take into account UT's library, the only reason for Austin to have a library is for Austin residents to get a library card and then participate in TexShare. If you want to make that arguement, then I would actually agree with you. I frankly have no idea why people use Austin's libraries when you could use the 8th largest library in the country.
But if that argument doesn't work for you (why should a city be reliant on an outside institution for something as basic as its library), then the current library has lived out its usefulness. Both it and the police headquarters were built when Austin were less than 1/2 of it's current size. And it is not like these buildings are going to just disappear. The current library will be used for the Austin History Center. These also need a new building because they too are quickly running out of space. Adaptive reuse is already used in Austin. But that doesn't change the fact that Austin has grown very quickly and much of its old infustructure was not designed to cope with today's populations.
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Austin's downtown library sucks. I use it periodically and it's a very sad situation there. Small, cramped, lame parking, stinks! (smells like a putrid mixture of urine and sweat), and quite fugly inside/out. We already voted for a new one a couple of years ago but apparently it's taking forever to get built. It's ridiculous that Austin has such a substandard "main" library considering it's supposed to be known for it's embracement of the arts, public services, education, etc.
In contrast, Irving TX, which is just a small Dallas suburb, has a nicer main library than Austin's!!
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