In the race among the growing list of proposals for a November bond referendum, City Council’s Mobility Committee jockeyed into the lead on Tuesday evening a dark-horse recommendation. With a vote of 4-0, the committee endorsed Council Member Ann Kitchen’s $300 million proposal, which she unveiled to little fanfare on Council’s online bulletin board on […]
Transportation
Posted inTransportation
Council members float mobility bond alternatives
Three members of City Council have floated two separate alternatives to Mayor Steve Adler’s $720 million mobility bond proposal. On Monday, Council Member Ann Kitchen’s office posted on the Council Message Board a draft resolution for a significantly pared-down vision of Adler’s plan to fund projects on several of the city’s significant corridors and regional […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
Uber and Lyft swing by the Legislature
Uber and Lyft were back in Austin on Wednesday afternoon for a rambling hearing at the State Capitol that also featured several upstart competitors, representatives from friendly and not-so-friendly cities and at least one NFL Hall of Famer. The State House of Representatives Business and Industry Committee met at 10 a.m. Wednesday and officially kicked […]
Posted inTransportation
How an Austin taxi co-op would work
At Black Star Co-op in North Austin, workers take food and drink orders, doling out burgers and beers on a recent weekday. Ask who owns the place, and the response might confound you: the members, or a select number of customers. “We’re a member-owned business,” said employee Nicole Renaux. “So any customer can come in […]
Posted inTransportation
Lonesome whistle blows for Lone Star Rail
An ailing effort to run passenger rail from the Austin area to San Antonio might only have two months left to live. On Monday night, the head of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation Policy Board suggested that he would soon seek to take formal steps that would essentially shut down the Lone Star […]
Posted inTransportation
Planning Commission wants bond to focus on car alternatives
It’s far from clear if Austin voters will end up approving any mobility bond, let alone the $720 million measure floated by Mayor Steve Adler. But if the city does get the nod from voters for a once-in-a-generation increase in transportation spending, it should be prepared to spend a big chunk of that money on […]
Posted inTransportation
Lone Star Rail pulls into CAMPO meeting tonight
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is once again putting the Lone Star Rail District, or LSTAR, under the microscope on Monday evening. CAMPO’s Transportation Policy Board is set to discuss recent moves that have been made to get the dream of passenger rail service between Georgetown and San Antonio back on track. The board […]
Posted inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: Smart City challenge
LBJ School professor Sherri Greenberg joins Austin Monitor publisher Mike Kanin to chat about the City of Austin’s Smart City challenge application. This show is sponsored by Austin Water. It is embedded below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/267663855″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inTransportation
Light rail proposal joins mobility bond discussion
As City Council members careen toward their first chat with the public over a potentially massive mobility bond, a new proposal for light rail investment has risen up from the grassroots. On Thursday, the nonprofit Central Austin Community Development Corporation announced that it had shared with Council members its vision for a 5.3 mile, $397.5 […]
Posted inTransportation
Mobility bond discussion occupies Council
Austin City Council treated itself to its first look at the political and financial conditions framing a fast-tracked transportation bond decision on Wednesday. At a special work session, Council members heard a lengthy briefing on the Mobility Talks public engagement process, bonding capacity and several potential options for bond packages. The five-hour discussion ended with […]
Posted inTransportation
Corridor studies offer potpourri of proposals along arterials
On Wednesday, City Council will formally hear the results of a monthslong assessment of public opinion on transportation priorities, which is aimed at providing guidance for crafting a bond proposal this November. However, Mayor Steve Adler jumped the gun last week by offering his own vision for a referendum he wants to put before voters. […]
Posted inTransportation
Adler drops surprise $720M mobility bond proposal
Mayor Steve Adler has blasted into the middle of the ongoing conversation about a November mobility bond election by proposing an estimated $720 million package of projects along Austin’s most vital arterials. In a closed-door speech before the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Adler called for the city to “focus on our major streets.” He […]