Discontent over a landmark transportation plan drove Travis County Commissioners to draw distinct battle lines Tuesday between two competing visions. The hour-long discussion on the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s developing 2040 Regional Transportation Plan featured a rare crack in the court’s usual comity. In the end, the court voted 3-1-1 to ask CAMPO to […]
Roads
Posted inLocal Government, Roads, Transportation
CTRMA stalls proposal to double-deck MoPac
A plan that could transform MoPac Boulevard now appears to be trudging rather than speeding along, though it still may reach its destination in due time. The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority announced Monday that it is delaying its proposal to add four tolled express lanes to a stretch of MoPac between Cesar Chavez Street […]
Posted inRoads, Transportation
Critics say CAMPO 2040 Plan doomed to fail
Those wondering what Austin-area roads might look like in 25 years need look no further than the 2040 Regional Transportation Plan. Many of those who have, it seems, do not like what they see. The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Policy Board heard mostly frustration from residents at a March 9 public hearing about […]
Posted inRoads, Transportation, Travis County
TravCo to study Hamilton Pool Road improvements
Travis County Commissioners took the first step Tuesday toward potentially adding big changes to a section of Hamilton Pool Road, despite some opposition from area residents. At the end of their regular voting session, commissioners unanimously agreed to award $530,000 to the engineering firm Binkley & Barfield Inc. to begin researching possible improvements to Hamilton […]
Posted inDevelopment, Roads
Gated neighbors ask Crestview for a change
Neighborhoods and developers strike deals all the time. But what happens when people move into those compromises? One group of Crestview residents says that the time has come for the newcomers to be seen as neighbors, and they are asking that a gate barring access from their development to the neighborhood be removed. Brian Gannon, […]
Posted inRoads, Travis County
County Commissioners maintain toll appointment
An ordinary appointment to the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority Board of Directors during Monday’s Travis County Commissioner Court meeting turned into a debate over transparency and the economic burden of toll roads. Commissioners voted 4-0, with one abstention, to reappoint Nikelle Meade to the seven-member board that oversees the agency in charge of building […]
Posted inAustin, Environment, Roads, Transportation, Travis County
Conservation District delays vote on SH45 SW agreement
Representatives of the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District voted to put off a decision on an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation that is intended to provide greater environmental protection for the construction of State Highway 45 Southwest. District residents, civic organizations and representatives of Austin and Travis County urged the aquifer district board […]
Posted inEnvironment, Roads, Transportation
Aquifer district cancels SH45 meeting with TxDOT
The Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District postponed a planned meeting Thursday at which the district’s board planned to consider a controversial agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation regarding construction of State Highway 45 Southwest. Aquifer board officials said they called off the meeting because of a posting error and rescheduled it for next […]
Posted inAustin, Environment, Roads, Transportation, Travis County
County seeks federal guidance on SH45 SW project
Travis County is asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for “guidance” on how to avoid environmental damage to the sensitive Flint Ridge Cave during the construction and operation of the proposed State Highway 45 Southwest toll road. County officials are requesting that representatives from Fish and Wildlife meet in January with the parties responsible […]
Posted inAustin, Roads, Transportation
City switches downtown streets to slow traffic
Plans to convert downtown’s Seventh, Eighth, Brazos and Colorado streets from one-way to two-way streets are underway. On Monday, City Council’s Comprehensive Planning and Transportation Committee heard a presentation on a timeline for the change from acting Transportation Department Assistant Director Jim Dale. “A lot of cities have gone through this process, of being two-way […]