The University of Texas has yet to articulate its plans to mitigate traffic issues while Red River Street is closed through campus for roughly two years to make way for replacement of the Frank Erwin Center. However, City Council demonstrated its faith in the university by approving an agreement with the UT Board of Regents […]
Roads
Posted inRoads
Lower speed limits coming to some Austin roadways
Austin City Council approved a round of speed limit changes Thursday, the latest tangible sign of the city’s efforts to make streets safer. “We know that it’s much more likely for a severe crash to happen when speeds go up even just five miles per hour,” said Lewis Leff, transportation safety officer for the city […]
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You’ll soon be able to drive faster in MoPac’s express lanes
Drivers using the MoPac Expressway express lanes may get where they’re going a little faster with new speed limits. The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority board voted yesterday to raise the top speed from 65 to 70 mph in its express lanes. The board also raised minimum speed limits on the variable toll lanes to […]
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Advocates continue fighting for alternative solution to Oak Hill Parkway
While the Texas Department of Transportation prepares to initiate a request for proposals for the Oak Hill Parkway project at the intersection of U.S. Highway 290 and State Highway 71, local advocacy groups are still aiming to stop the project from moving ahead in its current form. On July 9, the Save Barton Creek Association, […]
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Mayor Adler says more lanes on I-35 won’t solve Austin’s traffic woes – but it’s a start
Austin Mayor Steve Adler wants you to know something. “I do not believe that adding lanes to I-35 … is the answer to congestion,” Adler said in an interview with KUT, saying that merely adding lanes will make traffic worse on the notoriously congested highway. Adler was responding to criticism of his vote in support […]
Posted inTravis County
More than just a toll roads agency: CTRMA touts transit, bike and walking infrastructure
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority’s ability to build new toll roads may be temporarily stymied by opposition from state leaders, but the agency is keeping busy with major ongoing projects. While the great majority of its spending is on expanding roadway capacity for cars, CTRMA Executive Director Mike Heiligenstein emphasized the millions the agency […]
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The idea to bury I-35 has risen from the dead
“Cut and cap” – the idea for burying Interstate 35 in the downtown corridor and paving over that chasm to create green spaces or mixed-use development – is no longer in the rearview mirror. Congress for the New Urbanism, a nonprofit transportation advocacy group, highlights the idea in a new study (grimly) titled “Freeways Without […]
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Council: TxDOT should pay for underpass cleanup
Several members of the Austin City Council expressed anger at the Texas Department of Transportation after learning at Tuesday’s work session that the city would have to pick up the cost of cleaning up the state’s property at city underpasses. Council Member Leslie Pool was the only one, however, who argued that perhaps the city […]
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City reluctantly fulfills legal obligation for Oak Hill Parkway
When the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization approved the Oak Hill Parkway Project on Jan. 14, Austin Mayor Steve Adler’s only regret was the loss of a good opportunity to use tolls to cover maintenance costs. Austin City Council members Jimmy Flannigan, Ann Kitchen and Alison Alter also contributed “ayes” at the time. So it’s […]
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Oak Hill Parkway project approved for construction
The Oak Hill Parkway project was added to the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s 2019-2022 Transportation Improvement Program by unanimous vote at the Transportation Policy Board meeting Monday evening. The decision places the 12-lane elevated highway at the congested intersection of U.S. Highway 290 and State Highway 71 on track to begin construction in the […]
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Another downtown Austin street goes two-way. Studies tell us that’s good.
For 68 years, drivers on Colorado Street in downtown Austin could go only one way: south. But as of today, that one-directional road officially goes two ways for cars. It’s the hip thing to do. “This is absolutely a trend,” said Billy Riggs, assistant professor of management at the University of San Francisco. Riggs said […]
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‘Speed cushions’ hit Health and Human Services Committee
Though the program that brings new speed cushions to Austin is currently in a holding pattern, the City Council Health and Human Services Committee received an update regarding traffic calming devices at its meeting last Wednesday afternoon. Chair Ora Houston said the need for the such a discussion arose after several people testified at Council […]