After more than a year of negotiations with property owners over how to repair a landslide along Shoal Creek, the city of Austin is moving ahead with the project – but it could cost millions more than initially thought. In May 2018, a landslide sent earth, trees and debris into Shoal Creek, near Lamar Boulevard […]
Mose Buchele, KUT
Posted inRoads
Mayor Adler says more lanes on I-35 won’t solve Austin’s traffic woes – but it’s a start
Austin Mayor Steve Adler wants you to know something. “I do not believe that adding lanes to I-35 … is the answer to congestion,” Adler said in an interview with KUT, saying that merely adding lanes will make traffic worse on the notoriously congested highway. Adler was responding to criticism of his vote in support […]
Posted inEnvironment
That storm last Friday was bad, but it could have been much worse
A powerful storm dumped up to 7 inches of rain in parts of Central Texas on Friday and could be responsible for up to four deaths in the region. But in one sense, Austin “got lucky,” the city’s flood plain administrator says: The storm caused much less neighborhood flooding than other recent heavy rainfalls. “This […]
Posted inEnvironment
Scientists discover three new species of salamander in Central Texas
A team of biologists announced this week they’d found three new species of rare salamanders in Central Texas. The discovery of any new species is big news in science, but in Texas – where the fate of salamanders and people are often linked – it could also set up a new fight over endangered species […]
Posted inWater
Austin Water report shows big impact of boil order was conservation
Austin Water delivered an “after action” report to City Council yesterday on the weeklong boil-water order enacted during severe flooding in October. The presentation shed more light on what happened to bring about the emergency and what the city might do to avoid future water-boil mandates. When it issued the order Oct. 22, Austin Water […]
Posted inPlanning
Austin explores options for new pedestrian bridge over Lady Bird Lake
There are enjoyable ways to walk or bike across Lady Bird Lake, but the Pleasant Valley Bridge is not one of them. A narrow sidewalk, a chain-link fence and low guardrails are all features that make the East Austin crossing unsafe. For years, the city has floated ideas to improve the crossing, with no results. […]
Posted inAustin
Here’s what to expect when eight floodgates open on the Mansfield Dam
It’s never happened before, but the Lower Colorado River Authority will likely open eight floodgates on the Mansfield Dam above Lake Austin by noon Thursday. So, what can you expect if you live in Austin? Flooding On Some Streets When eight gates are open, 50,000 cubic feet of water per second will flow from the […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Prop J initiative exposes rift among Austin environmentalists
Environmentalists in Austin worry about methane emissions from Texas oilfields, plastic pollution clogging up creeks and rivers or nuclear waste being shipped through the state. But one thing they rarely worry about is each other – at least until recently, when an initiative called Proposition J landed on the ballot. Prop J would require that […]
Posted inEnvironment
Austin spent millions taking them out of the flood plain. A new map puts them back in.
A massive update to Austin’s flood plain map shows about 3,000 properties are at higher risk of flooding than previously thought. But a review of the map shows the new threat is most concentrated in some neighborhoods where the city has already spent millions to mitigate flood risk. One of those places is the Las […]
Posted inEnvironment
A massive change in Austin’s flood map says thousands more homes are at high risk
Around 3,000 more Austin properties will find themselves in high-risk flood-plains thanks to a new National Weather Service study called Atlas 14. Those new flood designations could impact everything from what you pay for insurance to how you build your home. With Atlas 14, the National Weather Service added about a quarter-century worth of data […]
Posted inEnvironment
Zebra mussels found in Austin Water intake pipes
Divers have found large amounts of invasive zebra mussels at intake pipes that feed Austin’s water supply, opening up a costly new challenge for the city’s water utility. Austin Water had seen evidence of the small, rectangular mussels in water samples and around intake pipes earlier this summer, but that was nothing compared to what […]
Posted inCity Council
Council will try a new tactic to rid Austin of plastic bags. Asking nicely.
City Council is taking up a resolution Thursday encouraging local stores to keep honoring the city’s “bag ban.” It’s the latest response to a state Supreme Court ruling this year that found Texas cities and towns could not enforce regulations of single-use plastic bags. After the ruling, a lot of people in Austin wondered if […]