Although there is no funding for the Lone Star Regional Rail Project in the proposed city budget, the Georgetown-to-San-Antonio passenger rail plan can still get up to speed in due time. Lone Star Rail District Rail Director Joe Black told the Austin Monitor on Monday that his organization is not overly concerned about the omission. […]
Transportation
Posted inRoads
Alternative to MoPac “double-deck” being studied
In the wake of public outcry against a proposal to add elevated lanes to MoPac Expressway over Lady Bird Lake and Zilker Park, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is considering an alternative that the Austin Transportation Department first put forward in May. The staff alternative cuts out a “double-deck” design and a southbound flyover […]
Posted inTransportation
Updated: City staff asks for more Uber, Lyft accountability
Uber and Lyft drivers are operating all over Austin, but there is no way, sans app, to point out their cars, and the city can’t keep track of who has signed up. Transportation Department staff, however, are hoping that will change soon. Gordon Derr, an assistant director with the department, recommended to the City Council […]
Posted inTransportation
CTRMA announces MoPac project delay, again
Mike Heiligenstein, the executive director for the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, told board members Wednesday that the MoPac Improvement Project is expected to be fully operational sometime in the second half of 2016, a far cry from its originally stated Sept. 17, 2015, completion date. Lead contractor CH2M Hill is responsible for the design and construction […]
Posted inTransit
MetroRail downtown station expansion plans underway
Capital Metro staff wants MetroRail’s downtown station on Fourth Street to become a staple in the area’s transportation corridor, and on Monday, board members were shown two proposed ways to expand the terminal’s platform. Javier Arguello, CapMetro’s director of long-range planning, said the downtown expansion project is about 10 percent complete. Staff kicked off the […]
Posted inTransportation
CTRMA hears mixed legislative review
Mike Heiligenstein, the executive director of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, told CTRMA board members at their most recent meeting that staff met a great deal with state representatives during the recent 84th legislative session – and they think it paid off. Jerry Valdez, a lobbyist who worked with CTRMA, said it was the […]
Posted inBicycles, Transit, Transportation
Capital Metro to consider bikes on last-ride buses
The Bicycle Advisory Council on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution asking Capital Metro to consider allowing bicycles on city buses for the final ride of the night. This would allow a bus with a full bike rack to still accept those riders carrying home bicycles. While some members and attendees called for bikes on buses […]
Posted inTransit
CapMetro introduces FY 2016 budget
The Capital Metro Transportation Authority’s sales tax revenue stream is expected to reach historic heights in Fiscal Year 2016, which is a plus since the entity’s services are also slated for a hefty expansion as well. On Monday, Chief Financial Officer Leslie Browder unveiled CapMetro’s proposed FY 2016 budget to board members at the Operations […]
Posted inBicycles, Radio
Audio: Whitson talks bike theft on KUT
KUT’s Nathan Bernier interviews the Austin Monitor’s Tyler Whitson about his bike theft story. Audio is embedded below: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/214582980″ 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 inBicycles
Bicycle theft reports, registrations on the rise
Bicycle theft is an issue in every city, and Austin, with its enthusiastic cycling community, is no exception. Data that the Austin Monitor obtained from the Austin Police Department show that the number of reported bicycle thefts has increased slightly in the past year, though that corresponds with a spike in the average number of […]
Posted inTransportation
Google self-driving car now in Austin, policy not
A young man steered Google’s white Lexus RX – outfitted with a small sensor full of lasers, radars and cameras on its roof – down Riverside Drive on Tuesday. Arguably, the driver’s presence was a redundancy: The car that left the Long Center just before noon drives itself, and is now being tested by Google on the […]
Posted inRoads
CTRMA approves plush FY 2016 budget
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority board of directors unanimously accepted the 2016 fiscal year budget Wednesday, and it is expecting to have about 123 percent of operating expenditures in reserves by June 30 next year. Chief Financial Officer Bill Chapman said CTRMA is projecting about a 21 percent increase in total revenue compared to […]