Texas remains one of the most dangerous states for people being killed in traffic crashes. In 2023, 105 people died while riding bicycles statewide. In response, the volunteer group Austin Ghost Bike Project installs white memorial bikes near the scenes of fatality crashes. The organization – along with Safe Streets Austin and Farm&City – is calling upon Austin, Travis County and Texas elected officials to reduce vehicular fatalities and serious injuries across the state to zero. All three groups urge government officials to:

1) Increase efforts to solve these and many other unresolved cold cases;
2) Increase the scope and speed of installing protected bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure; and
3) Commit to eliminating deaths and serious injuries on our roadways.

“Enough is enough,” said Adam Greenfield, advocacy director at Safe Streets Austin. “People should not be dying while moving around on Austin’s streets. It’s time for elected leaders at all levels to take the fight against the epidemic of vehicle-related deaths and serious injuries in Austin to the next level. We must take action to rapidly eliminate these tragedies on our streets.” The International Ride of Silence is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 15 at City Hall, where Austinites will join thousands of cyclists around the world to bike silently in honor of victims of traffic violence. Cyclists are welcome to join the short, slow and silent ride that will stop by several ghost bikes.

The Great North American Eclipse drops next Monday, April 8, and in preparation the city’s parks department has teamed up with UT Austin to provide eclipse glasses and telescopes with solar filters in all 10 City Council districts. The telescopes will be available for independent and guided viewing from noon to 3 p.m. at Colony Park, Onion Creek Soccer Complex, Roy G. Guerrero Metropolitan Park, Gus Garcia District Park, Mary Moore Searight Park, Pickfair Pocket Park, Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park, Zilker Metropolitan Park and Conley-Guerrero Senior Activity Center , which will also offer a livestream of the eclipse for people who want to remain indoors. “We are excited to partner with the City of Austin to enable eclipse viewing in our neighborhoods and Council districts,” UT’s president, Jay Hartzell, said in a statement to the press. “The scientists, researchers and other experts at UT are neighbors to the residents of Austin. We want to make sure that the entire city and its visitors benefit from having one of the top astronomy departments and research universities in the world right down the street.” Because of an expected influx of visitors and traffic, officials are advising everyone to stick close to home. Austin won’t be in the path of totality again for more than 319 years.

The 23rd annual ¡Sí Se Puede! César Chávez March & Celebration will take place this Saturday, March 30, to honor the life and legacy of César Chávez on his birthday. The celebration will take place at Parque Zaragoza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with sign-making and gathering for the march to start at 9 a.m. The march itself is a short one around the park. The celebration will feature speakers, community vendors, artists and nonprofits, and performances from Ballet Folklorico, high school drumlines and music from DJ Chris “Tejano Man” Tristan and Mariachi Sin Fronteras. The event is hosted by the United by Our Roots coalition of: HABLA; Amigos de Parque Zaragoza; PODER; East Austin Conservancy; Council Member José Velásquez, Austin City Council, District 3; George Morales, Travis Co. Constable Pct. 4; Del Valle Community Coalition; Fiesta Austin; HABLA y VOTA Action Fund; Muertos Clothing Co.; Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, Austin City Council, District 2; Austin Latino Coalition; LULAC 4221 & 650; Mexicanos 2070; MAS Cultura; La Voz Newspaper; HOT Tejano; Council Member Chito Vela, Austin City Council, District 4; Latino HealthCare Forum; and AFSCME Local 1624.

As the April 8 total solar eclipse draws closer, the Bullock Museum will host two programs exploring the science of eclipses and how to view them safely. Next Wednesday at noon, the museum will hold a discussion about the nature of eclipses and how to properly photograph them, featuring Rob Pettengill, NASA JPL solar system ambassador and Astronomy in Chile education ambassador. A similar program will take place beginning at 10 a.m. April 7, with NASA ambassador Sophie Gairo and representatives from the McDonald Observatory talking about the solar eclipse. Families may also participate in science, technology and engineering demonstrations with Girlstart. More information on museum programming is available at www.thestoryoftexas.com.

The Joint Sustainability Committee will hold a public hearing today to help develop a new Environmental Investment Plan. In February, City Council approved a resolution asking city staff to look at a number of climate initiatives already approved in order to help prioritize and fund those that reduce carbon emissions, decrease water use, advance sustainability and improve community resilience. Today’s hearing, which will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at City Hall, seeks public help in identifying what should be prioritized moving forward. Those unable to attend tonight’s meeting can fill out this online form with ideas and suggestions: bit.ly/JSCPublicForm.

Capital Metro is (kind of) joining in on the solar eclipse fun. First, the fun part: The transportation authority is hosting an eclipse viewing picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Leander Station Park & Ride. On the less-fun side of things, Capital Metro is anticipating severe delays in the time surrounding the eclipse, due to an excess of traffic. In addition, the agency warns that its operators may choose to pull over vehicles during the two or so minutes of the full eclipse, due to total darkness and possible cosmic weirdness. Nonetheless, regular bus service and special rail service will remain up and running on April 8.

Today through April 19, people with active warrants can have fees waived if they take part in the 2024 Warrant Amnesty Program. During this period, no officers will be sent to take defendants into custody, and those who voluntarily go to an Austin municipal or community court location will not face arrest. Instead, the Austin Municipal Court and Downtown Austin Community Court are offering options to those who can’t pay right away. Those options include payment plans, community service and waivers for people experiencing financial hardship. During a series of walk-in dockets (listed here) no appointments are necessary. Under last year’s Warrant Amnesty Program, more than 2,300 outstanding warrants and delinquent citations were cleared.

Waterloo Park will soon host a free festival celebrating Texas parks, wildlife and the people that help preserve them. Called the “Our Texas, Our Future Wildlife & Environmental Festival,” the event is being held by HEB and the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy. It will feature a screening of HEB’s environmental docuseries “Our Texas, Our Future,” interactive exhibits, STEM and art workshops and guided garden tours. Visitors who bring plastic bags (to recycle) will be entered to win prizes from sponsors. The fest will take place noon to 4 p.m. April 21.

Adoption fees are currently waived at the city’s animal shelter, which is dealing with extreme overcrowding. Animal Services officials are asking for help finding fosters and adopters to deal with the crisis. “Our capacity limit takes into account doubling up dogs in the larger kennels, and half of our nonpublic building that should really be used for court cases, quarantines, owner incarcerations and hospitalizations, etc.,” Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland said in a statement to the press on Wednesday afternoon. “Currently we have zero open kennels for any incoming dogs, including emergencies. We just received notification that 12 dogs from a cruelty case are on their way and we need space for them.” According to that press release, staff will be on hand to process fostering from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day this week. Those fostering medium and large dogs are being asked to foster for a minimum of two weeks. In addition, area rescues that can take on medium and large dogs could receive a monetary incentive if they have the capacity. Those rescue centers can email animal.rescue@austintexas.gov for more information.

The Austin Police Association (APA) and the city meet at 10 a.m. today to continue negotiations on the terms of the Austin Police Department meet and confer agreement. In negotiating a long-term contract, their goal is to address community concerns, navigate current legal challenges and earn City Council approval.  The meeting will be livestreamed here.

A ribbon-cutting at Duncan Neighborhood Park, 900 W. Ninth St., is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday, April 13, when enhancements to the park will be unveiled, including a wetland feature with an overlook area created by the removal of 420 cubic yards of soil, which was later added to the BMX section of the park. Additional improvements include an ADA-accessible path from Ninth Street to 10th Street, an enhanced connection to the Shoal Creek Hike and Bike Trail, new picnic tables, a drinking fountain, park benches and new trees. Two meadow planting areas were also added to the grounds to enhance the natural setting and provide biodiversity. Wildflower areas were established to reintroduce native ecosystems, and native landscape plant materials were used to improve water quality. The 2012 Prop 14 Park Bond and the 2018 Prop C Park Bond funded the projects. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is open to the public. Visit the the Duncan Park Improvements page for more information.

This week, Austinites will have two more opportunities to weigh in on changes to how Austin’s South Central Waterfront will be developed. Today at 6 p.m., the city will host an in-person meeting at Austin Central Library to gather feedback on a draft regulations. Then, on Wednesday, the city will host a virtual meeting at 10 a.m. (would-be participants can register here). Anyone who can’t make those meetings is also welcome to offer up opinions via the SpeakUp Austin survey. The draft changes, which can be found here, are expected to be taken up by City Council this May.