The dawn of the robot car future is just around the corner but the full obsolescence of human drivers is still decades away, according to Austin Transportation Director Robert Spillar. More specifically, Spillar told the Mobility Transformation Advisory Council earlier this month that a complete conversion to automated vehicles will likely be 40 years down […]
Transportation
Posted inTransit
Capital Metro’s newest board member Travillion talks transit
The newest member of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors on Tuesday expressed his concern for transit-dependent residents who have been pushed out of Central Austin, a sentiment that could spell trouble ahead for the transit agency’s planned realignment of its fixed route network. In a one-on-one chat, Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion […]
Posted inBicycles
Upper Boggy Creek Trail one step closer to reality
After a contentious debate among the commissioners, the Environmental Commission approved a variance request submitted by the Public Works Department to widen the design of a concrete trail from 12 feet to 14 feet on Sept. 20 with only Vice Chair Peggy Maceo dissenting. Currently, the Public Works Department and the Urban Trails Program are […]
Posted inTransit
Capital Metro takes its bus network realignment to the riders
The largest overhaul of Austin’s bus network in recent memory is about to go before the court of public opinion. Next week, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority will hold three feedback sessions to hear residents’ opinions on proposed service changes that are set to take effect next June. The changes represent the most sweeping element […]
Posted inTransit
Capital Metro: No stopgap plan for fill-in-the-gap stops
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is taking a slow approach to the eight pairs of stations destined to fill in key gaps along its two MetroRapid routes. “The long story short is we expect to have them in service by this time next year,” Ken Cartwright, vice president of capital projects, told the Austin Monitor […]
Posted inBicycles
One small trail for North Austin, one giant loop for the whole city
Last year, Mayor Steve Adler declared in his State of the City address that great cities do big things, a message that the Shoal Creek Conservancy apparently took to heart. On Wednesday evening at a community workshop in Central Austin, the group officially debuted its vision for the Big Loop, a 30-mile circular system of […]
Posted inTransportation
Group keeps gondola hopes alive
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s firm disinterest in aerial gondolas is not discouraging one group from working toward a vision of cable car transit in Austin. John McCready of Look Up Austin told the Austin Monitor last week that he has plans in the works to publicly push the concept popularized by designer Jared Ficklin, […]
Posted inRoads
As MoPac work winds down, another CTRMA project faces potential peril
The end of the road for the MoPac Improvement Project appears to finally be coming into sight just as potential problems loom for another Austin toll road project. On Wednesday morning, Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority Director of Community Relations Steve Pustelnyk told his board of directors that two new managed toll lanes on MoPac […]
Posted inTransportation
Vision Zero reports detail progress; crash data mostly unchanged
A pair of documents delivered to city officials last week show that the plan to eliminate all Austin traffic deaths and serious accidents by 2025 is proceeding, and this year’s accident data suggests the effort hasn’t moved the needle in terms of reducing fatal accidents. The two reports – the Vision Zero Report Card and […]
Posted inTransit
Capital Metro greenlights millions more for MetroRail
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority will spend $65.7 million to install federally mandated safety upgrades along its commuter rail line. The agency’s board of directors voted unanimously on Monday to hire Modern Railway Systems to augment the 32-mile Red Line with a positive train control system. Capital Metro President and CEO Linda Watson told the […]
Posted inTransit
Capital Metro arrives in Round Rock
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority has extended its service to another Austin suburb. On Thursday, representatives from Capital Metro, Williamson County, Austin Community College and the city of Round Rock gathered in that community to officially cut the ribbon on four new bus routes that will expand access for its residents. “It’s another new day […]
Posted inTransportation
Urban Transportation Commission endorses electric pedicab pilot
The Urban Transportation Commission gave its blessing last week to a plan that could give pedicab operators an extra, electric boost. The commissioners voted nearly unanimously on Aug. 8 in support of a pilot program that would allow companies to outfit some of their bikes with electric motors that would make pedaling up steep hills […]