Transportation and Public Works has a six-month update on changes to the Micromobility Program, which regulates scooter rentals in the city, reporting positive results stemming from changes that were implemented in May 2024. A cap was set on new micromobility vendor licenses, setting a limit of two vendors. The two current licensed operators are not […]
Transportation
Posted inRoads
Council calls for revisions for proposed MoPac South expansion
City Council is pushing for changes to the proposed MoPac South expansion to make the project fit with the city’s mobility, environmental and sustainability goals. Last week, Council passed a resolution that emphasizes refining the project, overseen by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, to integrate transit-oriented features such as express bus services, park-and-ride facilities, […]
Posted inTransportation
Austin’s airport has a critical shortage of air traffic controllers approaching the holidays
Retired librarian Carolyn Foote was craving an easy, three-hour flight home to Austin on Sunday after a weekend library conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. Instead, she found herself stuck in a cramped terminal at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, surrounded by crowds of tired high school students fresh from college tours. Seating was scarce, lines for bathrooms […]
Posted inRoads
TxDOT wants to keep approving its own federal environmental reviews
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is asking the federal government to let the state continue to approve its own environmental reviews – a delegated authority intended to fast-track highway projects. The public has until Monday night to weigh in on the arrangement that critics have long skewered as “the fox guarding the hen house.” Since 2014, TxDOT […]
Posted inRoads
I-35 caps plan reconsidered as cost estimates soar by 61%
Austin’s transformational plan to cover parts of Interstate 35 with parks and public spaces, intended to bridge the divide between east and west neighborhoods, is facing a financial reckoning as estimated costs soar and city staff warn the project could drain cash from other priorities. Refined plans show the estimated price tag of the full 26-acre […]
Posted inTransit
Cap Metro to shelve 46 new electric buses for a year after manufacturer bankruptcy
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority will put 46 brand-new electric buses in storage for at least a year, the latest fallout from an electrification goal the transit agency now admits was overly ambitious. The main problem, Capital Metro’s leadership says, has been the slow rollout of e-bus chargers at the end of routes to keep vehicles […]
Posted inRoads
Mobility Committee hears public concern regarding expansion of MoPac
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) has proposed multiple plans to alleviate traffic along the 8-mile stretch of MoPac Expressway South from Cesar Chavez Street to Slaughter Lane. This decadelong project is nearing the end of the development process and will be entering the implementation phase in the near future. Members of the public […]
Posted inTransportation
Auditor identifies safety, contract management among areas of risk for airport
A special report from the Office of the City Auditor has identified three areas of risk at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport as the facility moved forward with a $4 billion expansion. The three risk areas – contract and vendor management, asset management and maintenance, and emergency management and safety – will be examined beginning in 2025 […]
Posted inTransportation
Thousands of Austin’s bats will be displaced by I-35 expansion
The expansion of Interstate 35 through Austin is set to displace more than 100 homes and businesses. But an even larger community is being forced to relocate: thousands of bats that roost in the highway’s bridges. While the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has taken steps to protect bats, some conservationists argue more could be done […]
Posted inTransit
Cap Metro to build second set of train tracks in East Austin
Capital Metro is planning to build a second set of train tracks along the Red Line in East Austin along with new sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and another platform at Plaza Saltillo Station. A second set of tracks – known as a double-track – can improve the frequency and reliability of train service by allowing trains […]
Posted inTransportation
Transportation and Public Works Department gears up for mobility projects with EPA funding
The city’s Transportation and Public Works Department is teeing up a series of mobility hub projects and educational programs to combat greenhouse gas emissions with funding from a $48 million federal grant. Today, City Council will formally amend the department’s special revenue fund to accommodate the windfall from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the administrator […]
Posted inRoads
Ambitious proposal for Congress Avenue includes pedestrian plazas, bike lanes
At its meeting last week, City Council’s Mobility Committee learned the details of a proposed ambitious redesign and reconstruction plan for Congress Avenue, which would convert the avenue into a more pedestrian-focused area over a number of possible phases. The project could fully transform Congress Avenue from Riverside Drive to 11th Street, creating pedestrian plazas, […]