The agency primarily known for building toll roads in the Austin region is spitballing some new ideas as state policy keeps its activities largely in a holding pattern. Last week, board members of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority briefly discussed the effective prohibition mandated by the Texas Transportation Commission against building new toll projects. […]
Caleb Pritchard
Posted inWhispers
Bus fares for kids go on summer vacation
Kids in Austin will ride the bus for free this summer under a new pilot program announced Wednesday morning by Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority President and CEO Randy Clarke. The program is one of three the agency is branding together as its Summer Sun, Late Nights and Family Fun initiative set to run from June […]
Posted inParks
It’s lit: Project brings long-awaited improvements to Shoal Creek Trail
It took nearly 37 years, but the Shoal Creek Trail Gap Project is finally complete. On Tuesday, the Public Works Department lifted the barricades on the short section of the trail that traces the creek on its bend from West Fifth Street to West Avenue. It allows hikers and bikers to easily traverse the section […]
Posted inWhispers
Process begins to honor trailblazing tax assessor-collector
County Tax Assessor-Collector Bruce Elfant on Tuesday proposed to the Travis County Commissioners Court to rename the office he works in after his predecessor, Nelda Wells Spears. The first African-American in Texas to serve as a tax assessor-collector, Spears spent 20 years in that role before stepping down in 2011. She died in March at […]
Posted inWater
Purple pipe to save water, Travis County tax dollars
Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea gathered members of the media at the Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon to tout a water conservation program that will save millions of gallons of drinking water per year. Those savings are courtesy of a new connection to a so-called purple pipe that will pump treated sewage water […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County, 5.1.18
The Travis County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda here. The County Clerk’s Office hosts a copy at its website. 1. Receive comments regarding the issuance of a mass gathering and outdoor music festival permit for Finding Euphoria to be held […]
Posted inTransportation
Dockless companies suspend operations after Council approves regulations
Traffic-burdened Austin has one fewer mobility option after this weekend. On Sunday, both LimeBike and Bird appeared to have removed their shared-use electric scooters from the city’s streets in response to City Council’s vote on early Friday morning that created a governing framework for so-called dockless mobility services. Users of the LimeBike app were greeted […]
Posted inWhispers
Finding Euphoria finds trouble at Commissioners Court
The organizers of the festival formerly known as Euphoria have had their highs and lows at Travis County Commissioners Court in recent years, but since the revision of the county’s mass gathering permitting process, everything seemed like smooth sailing. On Tuesday, that changed. Now known as Finding Euphoria, the music and camping event at Carson […]
Posted inTravis County
Lingering senior staff vacancy vexes Commissioners Court
Not only can Travis County not find someone to fill its open county executive of operations management position, it can’t even find a recruiting firm to help with the search. That was how Tracey Calloway, director of the county’s Human Resources Management Department, began a briefing she gave to the Commissioners Court on Tuesday. Calloway […]
Posted inTransit
Capital Metro votes on paratransit provider contracts
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board of directors voted Monday afternoon to put the agency’s paratransit operations in the hands of a single contractor. The pair of votes to authorize agency CEO and President Randy Clarke to negotiate agreements with Ride Right to run MetroAccess from the service’s north and south hubs marks a change […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County, 4.24.18
The Travis County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda here. The County Clerk’s Office hosts a copy at its website. 7. Set a public hearing on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, to receive comments regarding the issuance of a mass gathering permit […]
Posted inTravis County
Commissioners Court delays action on worker safety recommendations
The Travis County Commissioners Court will put off for several weeks a decision on a package of proposals aimed at strengthening protections for construction workers on county projects. Last Tuesday, the court discussed 10 recommendations set forth by Purchasing Office staff in collaboration with the Workers Defense Project. The proposals would gird the county’s Better […]