Stories by Ryan Thornton
CTRMA cuts expenses to deal with drop in toll system transactions
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is slashing expenses across the board and deferring several initiatives and projects in order to keep spending on track with a 60 percent decrease in systemwide toll transactions resulting from local stay-at-home orders. Executive…
Transportation • By Ryan Thornton • Apr 30, 2020
Community calls for 'slow streets' to take pressure off city parks and trails
Streets are closing to car traffic in cities from Salt Lake and Kansas City to Boston and Berlin to give people on foot and bicycle more room to get outdoors while keeping their distance from others during the Covid-19 health…
Transportation • By Ryan Thornton • Apr 29, 2020
I-35 expansion divides public opinion during economic downturn
The Texas Transportation Commission will vote Thursday to advance the state’s multibillion-dollar Capital Express Interstate 35 project despite the economic turmoil of Covid-19 and public concerns over the project’s financial viability. “Given the current economic situation and the collapse in…
Transportation • By Ryan Thornton • Apr 28, 2020
'Pork chop' included in updated list of quarter-cent fund projects
District 4’s “pork chop,” a controversial traffic island at the intersection of Morrow Street and North Lamar Boulevard, is finally slated for removal after City Council adopted an updated list of projects approved for Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s quarter-cent fund…
Transportation • By Ryan Thornton • Apr 24, 2020
Council to address transit-related displacement in anticipation of Project Connect
Amidst the uncertainty of the pandemic, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority has indefinitely deferred $7.7 million in capital projects and another $11.9 million in operating projects, yet work on Project Connect, the region’s first mass transit system, may soon continue.…
Transportation • By Ryan Thornton • Apr 22, 2020
CAMPO commits $633 million to I-35 without a final list of cut projects
In the last week alone, hundreds of people from across the six-county region have contacted the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization requesting more time and analysis before it decides on the list of projects to defer in order to free…
Transportation • By Ryan Thornton • Apr 21, 2020
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City aims to fast-track displacement prevention program as Covid-19 destabilizes residents
The Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department is attempting to accelerate progress on the first effort of its Displacement Prevention programs as more households find themselves unable to pay monthly rent or home mortgages due to Covid-19. Erica Leak, policy…
Housing • By Ryan Thornton • Apr 14, 2020
City declares broad equity goals for pretrial services
In the middle of a pandemic that has led to a sharp decrease in the Travis County Jail population, Austin City Council plans to leverage its influence to keep the jail population low by reserving use of pretrial detention for…
Courts • By Ryan Thornton • Apr 10, 2020
Judicial Committee members call for efficient quick release process at county jail
On any given day, the majority of individuals held in the Travis County Jail have not yet had a trial or been convicted of the crime that landed them there, yet they cannot afford to pay the bondsman’s fee or…
City Council • By Ryan Thornton • Apr 8, 2020
CAMPO mulls project cuts to free up dollars for I-35
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization will hold a special called meeting Monday, April 13, to consider cutting $600 million from planned transportation projects across the six-county region to help the Texas Department of Transportation reconstruct the central segment of…
Roads • By Ryan Thornton • Apr 7, 2020
Federal relief package includes $104 million for public transit in Austin
The Federal Transit Administration has announced $25 billion in recovery funds for public transportation systems across the nation, including $104 million to help keep the city of Austin’s transit system afloat. “We know that many of our nation’s public transportation…
Transit • By Ryan Thornton • Apr 3, 2020
County considers asking CAMPO for delayed Regional Transportation Plan adoption
Plummeting oil prices and sales tax revenue have prompted the Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources Department to request a delay in the scheduled adoption of the 2045 Regional Transportation Plan. Scheleen Walker, long-range planning manager with the department, says a…
