Project Connect’s ubiquitous summer media spots about its proposed urban rail project have drawn fire from the transit activist group AURA, which calls the ads unethical. The group says the ads are a political advertising campaign funded by taxpayer dollars. Project Connect officials say they are educational. The radio, television, print and digital ads in […]
Transportation
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Local Government, Transportation
Aquifer district staff critical of SH45 SW environmental study
The staff of the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District is expressing strong doubts about the science and data behind a proposed environmental impact statement for State Highway 45 Southwest. In their review, district staff calls the information in the draft document “incomplete and deficient,” and recommend that state officials go back to the drawing […]
Posted inLocal Government, Transportation
City asks TxDOT to stop SH45SW environmental impact statement
City Manager Marc Ott has asked the Texas Department of Transportation to withdraw its current draft environmental impact statement of State Highway 45 Southwest and suspend its technical review. In making the request, Ott cited three “pending critical environmental studies,” which the city believes must be considered in the evaluation of the impact the road […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Transportation
Neighborhood group considers opposition to city transportation bonds
Some members of the politically powerful Austin Neighborhoods Council are threatening to withhold support for Austin’s $1 billion Strategic Mobility Plan unless it is significantly changed. Those behind the plan want the U.S. Department of Transportation to freeze federal matching funds for major Central Texas transportation projects if they do not get their way. At […]
Posted inLocal Government, Transportation
Travis County Commissioners scold Capital Metro for lack of services
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is seeking $160,000 annually in Travis County money to establish a flex bus route in East Austin, Vice President Todd Hemingson told Travis County Commissioners Tuesday. However, County Commissioners did not receive the news, or a briefing of current transit options, with open arms. Commissioners Margaret Gómez and Ron Davis […]
Posted inLocal Government, Transportation
Travis County approves accessible parking awareness campaign
In an attempt to cut back on the 2,100 citations issued for violating parking reserved for the disabled by the Pct. 5 Constable’s Office last year, the Travis County Commissioner’s Court unanimously gave the go-ahead for a countywide accessible parking awareness campaign. Precinct 5 includes downtown and surrounding areas as well as West Austin. The […]
Posted inTransportation
Austin Monitor Radio, Show 6
The Monitor’s Mike Kanin, Council Member Bill Spelman, AURA Co-Founder and Austin Urban Transportation Commissioner Jace Deloney, and CapMetro’s Javier Arguello talk Urban Rail. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/158002848″ 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
Fix 290 calls CTRMA, TxDOT evaluation of Oak Hill Y plan ‘biased’
A representative of an Oak Hill community group is calling the criteria used to evaluate the Oak Hill Parkway Project – designed to improve the junction of SH 71 and US 290 – “subjective and biased.” Most Austinites know the area as the Oak Hill Y, an intersection with a long and tortured history of […]
Posted inDevelopment, Transportation
Short-handed Planning Commission fails to endorse bicycle, trails plans
A depleted city Planning Commission was unable to approve either a new city Bicycle Master Plan or an Urban Trails Master Plan last month. Though a majority of commissioners present (four) voted to approve the Bicycle Master Plan, a no vote from Commissioner Brian Roark sank the idea. Because the Planning Commission consists of nine […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Transportation
City Finance Committee compares notes with CapMetro on rail costs
With an upcoming rail bond election almost certainly on the horizon, the city continues to take a closer look at what a new urban rail system might mean. A special called meeting gave the Austin City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee a chance to meet with the Capital Metro Finance Committee Monday and go over […]
Posted inTransportation
Under fire, Council approves $1 billion Strategic Mobility Plan
Austin City Council members unanimously approved what city staff is calling the Strategic Mobility Plan Thursday. The plan, which contains roughly $1 billion in various transportation projects, includes $600 million for a potential urban rail line. The approval of the plan marks a direct step toward what is shaping up to be a massive […]
Posted inTransportation
Council to vote on mobility plan that includes road projects
A recommendation from City Manager Marc Ott means that City Council members will vote Thursday on what Mayor Lee Leffingwell calls “a strategic mobility plan” that ultimately could lead to a $1 billion November transportation bond election. The numbers, hinted at for some time, include $400 million in road projects and $600 million for […]