Capital Metro is seeking participants for an online survey to help the agency craft its Transit Plan 2035, which is intended to identify the area’s transit needs through the next decade. The survey is open until Oct. 18, and there is a community open house scheduled for 4-8 p.m. Oct. 10 at Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex. Online survey participants are eligible to win a $100 HEB gift card. The public participation process is scheduled to run through next spring, followed by final recommendations. Adoption by relevant local bodies is expected by fall 2025.

The city is encouraging local schools to participate in Wednesday’s National Walk and Roll to School Day, which invites students, teachers and staff to use pedestrian-friendly options to start the school day. Organizers tout the health benefits of walking as well as its role in reducing traffic and air pollution from vehicle exhaust fumes. The city’s Safe Routes to School Program will provide the standard crossing guards and other resources to help participants navigate safely to their neighborhood school. As of Monday, 36 schools in Austin had registered to participate in the effort.

Austin is ready for its first-ever poet laureate, and applications are now open through Nov. 30. The selected poet will serve a two-year term starting April 2025. Applicants for the position must be published, at least 21 years old and must have worked or lived in the city for at least three years, with plans to continue living here throughout their poet laureate term. They will receive an annual salary of $25,000, plus $10,000 for program expenses associated with establishing and leading poetry- and literacy-related programming at Austin Public Library. More information about the program, application process and selection criteria can be found here.

Austin’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will host its last emergency preparedness training of the year on Thursday, Oct. 10, at the Hampton Branch at Oak Hill Austin Public Library. The session, which will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., is free and open to the community, with a required RSVP available here. According to a press release from the city about the training, “Participants will receive expert guidance on the four steps of emergency preparedness: creating a plan, building an emergency kit, knowing your neighbors, and staying informed. The course is designed to equip attendees with knowledge and strategies to prepare their households and communities for a range of potential hazards. As part of HSEM’s all-hazards approach, this installment will focus on flood safety. Flooding is a major hazard in Central Texas, and this course will help community members head into flood season with the knowledge to stay safe. The course will also cover fire prevention basics for the home, and a CPR demonstration.” Participants that complete the course will receive an emergency preparedness starter kit, in addition to the new knowledge.

As part of an effort to raise awareness about transportation challenges, a Week Without Driving is now underway. The week, which runs from Sept. 30 until Oct. 6, asks Austinites to experience what getting around the city is like for those without access to cars due to age, disability or cost. The city’s Transportation Department explains, “The challenge is to make all your trips – not just your work commute – without driving yourself. The point is education and awareness – seeing our transportation landscape from a different perspective. And if you encounter a situation where you are forced to drive, don’t consider it a failure, but rather a chance to reflect on how someone without that option would have coped, and what choices they might have made. The goal is to remind everyone that mobility is a human right and we must improve transportation options for all, regardless of circumstances.” To participate, visit weekwithoutdriving.org.

The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition’s annual Point in Time Count will take place on the night of Jan. 25, 2025, and the effort to find at least 1,200 volunteers is already underway. Volunteers count the area’s homeless population and distribute care kits as part of an effort to better understand the community. Anyone interested in volunteering can sign up on the volunteer interest list now, with more details and updates to come. Points of contact for groups are encouraged to sign up early. The count surveys those who are experiencing homelessness to get an accurate count of the population as part of a requirement to receive federal Continuum of Care dollars. Insights from the 2023 count, which was conducted by more than 700 volunteers, can be found here.

Art From the Streets’ 32nd annual art show will take place at the Blue Genie Art Bazaar on Oct. 12 and 13 this year. The show and sale is composed of art from unhoused artists, with 95 percent of each purchase going directly back to the artist. “For 31 years, Art From the Streets has been a beacon of creativity and hope for Austin’s unhoused and at-risk community,” Kelley Worden, executive director of Art From the Streets, said in a statement to the press. “Our Annual Show and Sale is more than just an art exhibition – it’s a powerful demonstration of how artistic expression can transform lives. By providing a platform for these talented individuals to showcase and sell their work, we’re not just supporting artists; we’re fostering dignity, self-determination, and meaningful connections within our community.” Those unable to attend the show can donate, volunteer or purchase items for the organization’s art studio from the Art From the Streets Amazon wish list.

Thanks to Austin Animal Center and Good Fix, a program of Greater Good Charities, Travis County and Austin residents will have the chance to get their pets spayed and neutered, free of cost, today and Saturday at the Travis County Expo Center. Registration and drop-off will take place from 7:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis and is expected to fill up fast.

According to a press release from the county, proof of residency is required, and:

• Pets must be at least two pounds and two months old.
• Cats must be in a secure carrier.
• Only one cat per carrier.
• Alert staff if your pet is nursing.
• If your pet was vaccinated in the last year, bring proof of vaccine.
• All cats in traps will be ear tipped to indicate sterility status.

On Tuesday, the Save Our Springs Alliance is headed to the Texas Supreme Court to fight the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality over a permit to release 800,000 gallons of treated sewage into Onion Creek each day. The fight, which started in 2019, is headed to the supreme court where the Court of Appeals’ decision to allow the permit to go through could be overturned and the Travis County ruling, which rejected the permit, could be reinstated. SOS has asked supporters to join them in court at 9 a.m. Oct. 1 at the Supreme Court Building at the corner of 14th Street and Colorado Avenue.

Austinites are invited to share their opinions on the focus of local housing programs as part of a bid for $7 million in federal funding. The city’s Housing Department is applying for a Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) grant
offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. If selected, the money would “be used to further develop, evaluate, and implement housing policy plans, improve housing strategies, remove regulatory barriers, and facilitate affordable housing production and preservation,” according to a press release from the city. This is the second year the city will apply for the grant, after not being selected in 2023. As part of the process, the city Housing Department is asking for feedback on how potential funds should be used, with public comment open now through Oct. 10 at SpeakUpAustin or through public hearings scheduled:

• Housing & Planning Committee Meeting –  2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1
• Community Development Commission Meeting – at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8
• Community Advisory Committee Meeting – 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10

The annual Zilker Tree Art Contest is lighting up again this year, and artists between the ages of 5 and 10 years old are invited to submit their artistic representations of the moontower-mounted holiday tree by Nov. 1. The top three selected artwork winners from each age category, Junior and Senior, will be publicly recognized in the tree lighting ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 1. The impressive Gallery of Previous Art Winners is available to view online. For contest details and more information from the Parks and Recreation Department, visit AustinTexas.Gov/ZilkerHolidayTree.