The Urban Transportation Commission has signaled it wants the city to take a more ongoing approach to evaluating how and when to add trail segments that had been long planned but were removed from the 2023 Urban Trails Plan. Commissioners opted Tuesday to postpone a recommendation related to updating the map of the 2023 plan, […]
Transportation
Posted inTransportation
American Airlines cuts five Austin flights as options shrink at ABIA
Lee esta historia en español American Airlines plans to eliminate five nonstop flights from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport this fall. The Fort Worth-based company, which has the second-largest presence at ABIA after Southwest, had already slashed 21 routes from its Austin schedule in January. Starting in October, American will no longer fly to Reno, Nevada; Palm […]
Posted inTransportation
Cap Metro stops shift to all-electric bus fleet
Capital Metro is slamming the brakes on an ambitious goal of transitioning to an all-electric bus fleet, citing problems with the range of battery-electric buses. Austin voters were promised a transit system with exclusively electric vehicles when they authorized a tax increase in 2020 to fund Project Connect, the largest transit expansion in the city’s […]
Posted inRoads
Mobility councils support extensive lane conversions despite concerns
A proposal to convert a lane on every city-owned main road into a bus or bike lane within five years has received support from mobility advocates, who passed a recommendation calling on City Council to consider the plan. Backed by Safe Streets Austin, the CityLeap plan looks to decrease the number of cars on the […]
Posted inTransportation
Council to consider nearly $2B in airport expansion contracts through late September
This week, City Council is expected to consider four items related to the expansion of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, with nearly $2 billion in spending up for approval by the end of September. The four contracts on Thursday’s agenda total $190 million in potential spending, with the largest being up to $120 million for a contract […]
Posted inTransportation
Seat capacity is down at AUS, but new federal rule entitles travelers to refunds for canceled flights
During the Airport Advisory Commission meeting July 10, Deputy Chief of Air Service Jamy Kazanoff updated commissioners on a slight drop in seat capacity for August – so maybe start booking those late summer vacations now. Plus, when a new federal rule goes into effect in October, travelers will be entitled to full refunds for […]
Posted inTransportation
Work to build ‘wishbone’ bridge begins, 18-month detour ahead
Construction starts today on a pedestrian bridge that will stitch together the biggest gap in the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail around Lady Bird Lake. Dubbed the “wishbone” bridge – the first of its kind in Austin – the $25 million project will complete a missing link in the city’s most popular trail. But it […]
Posted inTransportation
Parks Board recommends approval of Violet Crown trail funding
Anyone who tuned in last week to watch the Parks and Recreation Board deliberate a $900,000 contract agreement with a nonprofit may have been surprised by the rare absence of a live broadcast of the meeting. And they may have been equally surprised there was no archived recording of the meeting available on the city’s […]
Posted inRoads
Traffic headaches to get worse before they get better
The city’s Capital Delivery Services Division is getting ready to start two major construction projects that are designed to make it easier to get around in South Austin and Southeast Austin. But there will be considerable disruption of traffic while they work on the two projects. The first project is construction of the new wishbone […]
Posted inBicycles
Bike Advisory Council urges city to protect ghost bikes
The Bicycle Advisory Council is calling on the city to protect ghost bike installations after a cycling safety group reported four bikes they put up in the last few months were removed. Volunteers with the Austin Ghost Bike Project have placed at least 10 ghost bikes – painted white and attached to a nearby sign […]
Posted inTransit
Project Connect lawsuit likely headed to appeal before trial
The Project Connect lawsuit expected to go to trial Monday appears destined for appeal instead. Assistant Attorney General Alyssa Bixby-Lawson, whose office opposes efforts by the city of Austin and the Austin Transit Partnership to validate voter-approved bonds for constructing Project Connect, has indicated that the attorney general’s office will not move forward with the […]
Posted inTransportation
Airport Advisory Commission accepts FAA grants for airport expansion
On June 12, the Airport Advisory Commission heard a slew of good news from Austin’s Department of Aviation staff. For one of the fastest-growing airports in the nation, a series of improvements are on their way – chief among them, up to $500 million in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration over the next three […]