By the end of the month, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority will have received all 12 battery-electric buses that make up its initial investment in what will become a zero-emission public transportation fleet. With two of those already in service and eight others now being tested at the North Ops bus yard, Chief Operating Officer […]
Ryan Thornton
Posted inElections
City Council candidates discuss growth, segregation and the land use code
The Nov. 3 election is set to shape the future of transportation in Austin, but it could also shift City Council’s 7-4 divide on housing and density in the Land Development Code rewrite. While the effort is now tied up in a legal battle over the right to protest specific rezonings in the context of […]
Posted inRoads
City forms team to ensure equity with I-35 cap-and-stitch
As the Texas Department of Transportation moves ahead with plans to expand Interstate 35 under the Capital Express project, the city has joined the effort to use the giant construction project as an opportunity to help minority communities recover from the damage the interstate has done to East Austin since the 1950s. The city has […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy price on coal energy reduces emissions 20 percent since March
In a little over four months, Austin Energy’s carbon pricing program, REACH (Reduce Emissions Affordably for Climate Health) has cut the utility’s carbon emissions by roughly 20 percent, saving more than 480,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere since the end of March. Looking ahead to the end of 2020, Charles Dickerson, chief operating officer […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Integral Care set to address most mental health emergency calls without involving APD
Last week, City Council approved an additional $1.3 million for the Integral Care-EMCOT program next fiscal year, increasing the budget for the Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team by about 75 percent. With those extra dollars, Integral Care, the mental health authority for Travis County, plans to hire enough trained professionals to answer and respond to […]
Posted inTransportation
Council orders transit election, $460M active transportation bond for November ballot
City Council is giving voters an opportunity to transform the city’s mobility infrastructure on Nov. 3 with a tax rate election for a $7.1 billion investment in a mass transit rail system, and a $460 million active mobility bond. Voters will decide whether to approve the $0.5335 per $100 valuation property tax rate to fund […]
Posted inTransportation
Council floats competing active transportation bond options
Between the transportation portion of the 2018 bond and the $720 million 2016 mobility bond, the city has over $200 million allocated for planned safe mobility projects like protected bike lanes, sidewalks and urban trails. Almost all of that money, however, will be spent by the end of 2024, leaving the city with numerous gaps […]
Posted inTransportation
City, Capital Metro agree on Austin Transit Partnership ahead of transit election
After approving an interlocal agreement with the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority to create an Austin Transit Partnership – the local government corporation that would guide administrative, financial and some technical components of Project Connect – City Council posted a draft ordinance and ballot language for a Nov. 3 transit tax rate election to Wednesday’s budget hearing […]
Posted inBudget
Council seeks $5 million for park facilities and trails
As it heads into next week’s budget hearings, City Council is searching for ways to add millions in programs and services to a proposed budget that is already nudging up against the 3.5 percent property tax increase cap Council committed to last month. Council members have identified four areas of need for the Parks and […]
Posted inBudget
Council talks six-month delay for bulk of police budget reform
As City Council struggles to comprehend what it would mean to cut approximately $100 million from the Austin Police Department’s budget for Fiscal Year 2020-21, Council members are floating a temporary fix: approve half of the department’s budget during next week’s budget adoption process and return in six months to consider a revised budget for […]
Posted inCity Council
City to loosen enforcement on food donation charities
Covid-19 has increased food insecurity across Travis County while creating further operational complications for local food banks, soup kitchens and other charitable feeding organizations. To help meet the rising demand, the city is looking to remove some of its structural barriers that may limit the flexibility and reach of local food pantries. Allen Schroeder, founder […]
Posted inDevelopment
Council advances St. Johns site redevelopment
After over a decade of holding on to the vacant St. Johns site in Northeast Austin, City Council has moved to rezone and open bids for redeveloping the 19-acre property into a mixed-use, mixed-income residential neighborhood and community space. The property was purchased by the city with bonds totaling $12.4 million with plans for a […]