U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett this week urged the Federal Aviation Administration to respond to a string of near misses at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport with increased air traffic controller staffing levels. In a letter to acting FAA Administrator Polly Trottenberg, Doggett expressed his concern regarding “continued air traffic control safety lapses at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport […]
Transportation
Posted inRoads
Austin Chronicle’s historic headquarters to be paved over for I-35
After years of skewering the state’s political elite, The Austin Chronicle is slated to be swallowed whole by the jaws of a state-sponsored highway project. Wheels are in motion to expand Interstate 35 from Ben White Boulevard to U.S. Highway 290 East. Work is scheduled to start next summer to add four lanes, rebuild bridges, lower the main […]
Posted inRoads
I-35 expansion will force out Spanish-immersion day care, scrambling plans for 200 kids
Child care in Austin is expensive and hard to find. Parents sign up on day care waiting lists long before their kids are even born. And the shortage is getting worse. Escuelita del Alma offers something even harder to find: a chance for children to learn a second language. “We’re like any other child care center, except […]
Posted inTransportation
City Council to consider facility management and labor services contract for airport’s South Terminal
On Thursday, City Council will consider a $9 million contract with ClearedDirect LLC for facility management and labor services for the South Terminal at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The contract, if approved, will run from Nov. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2025. The contract is needed as the city’s aviation department takes over operation of […]
Posted inRoads
Austinites in the path of wider I-35 prepare to be pushed out
Along Interstate 35, the notices have arrived. The highway expansion has been off and on for years. But now it’s actually happening. People who received letters or phone calls will have to leave. They have a few months, maybe more. “It’s hard,” said Dina Flores, the owner of Spanish-immersion day care Escuelita del Alma. She […]
Posted inRoads
Rethink35 plans what it hopes will be largest anti-highway protest in Texas history
Rethink35, the organization fighting the Interstate 35 Capital Express Project slated to begin next year, is organizing what it hopes to be the largest anti-highway protest in Texas history. The rally is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Nov. 5 at the Sanchez Elementary, which is located at 73 San Marcos Street. According to a Wednesday […]
Posted inTransit
Report suggests Austin reach net-zero climate goals via housing density and increased transit
The Environmental Commission heard a presentation last week on a research paper that discusses how Austin can reach its net-zero carbon emission goals via increased housing density. The report is the result of nonprofit Transit Forward, which is dedicated to educating and engaging the public regarding transit projects, particularly Project Connect. One of the nonprofit’s […]
Posted inBicycles
Bike parking gets support in Urban Transportation Commission’s call to end parking requirements
City Council may add changes to bike parking requirements to a November resolution that will finalize the removal of parking minimums from the Land Development Code. The Urban Transportation Commission recently voted to recommend Council adopt the ordinance changes on parking minimums called for in a May resolution, while also in most cases requiring bicycle […]
Posted inTransportation
Mobility Committee airs financial, environmental concerns over I-35 expansion
City Council members expressed a variety of concerns about the Interstate 35 expansion through downtown Austin, including a desire that the state and Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization delay funding approvals on the $4.5 billion project until concerns over construction-related greenhouse gas emissions can be addressed. Last week, Council’s Mobility Committee approved a recommendation that […]
Posted inTransportation
Airport unveils first-ever Environmental, Social and Governance Report
The Airport Advisory Commission heard a briefing on the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s first-ever Environmental, Social and Governance Report at its regular meeting Sept. 13. The report, which was published in May, is a review of the organization’s impact and performance with regard to environmental impacts, social responsibility and corporate governance. The report is an important […]
Posted inRoads
TxDOT ignored I-35 expansion health concerns, county says
The Travis County Commissioners Court says the Texas Department of Transportation has ignored their concerns about the impact of Interstate 35 expansion on the health of Austin residents. “We specifically asked TxDOT to do a number of important studies – environmental and air-quality studies – affecting public health. And they didn’t. They ignored them, basically,” […]
Posted inTransit
Capital Metro Board of Directors approves Fiscal Year 2024 budget
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors voted unanimously Monday to approve the Fiscal Year 2023-24 Operating and Capital Budget, as well as its Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan. The approved budget is $871,033,690 in operating and capital expenses. It includes $427.5 million in operating expenses, $12 million for commitments under interlocal agreements for mobility […]