A panel at the Urban Land Institute of Austin’s monthly breakfast on Wednesday discussed the cap-and-stitch model for Interstate 35. Groups like ULI and the Downtown Austin Alliance are behind an I-35 redesign that would cap the highway with parks and open space and provide amenities like bike lanes and wider sidewalks to stitch the […]
Roads
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TxDOT opens I-35 scoping phase
Mobility advocates are calling on the Texas Department of Transportation to reimagine its plans for the Interstate 35 corridor through Central Austin as the agency prepares to open the public scoping phase of the project this week. The Capital Express Central virtual open house will begin Thursday afternoon and continue through Dec. 12, offering residents […]
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TxDOT to reconsider U.S. 183 South route
After a series of stakeholder meetings beginning last November, the Texas Department of Transportation is considering rerouting its planned U.S. Highway 183 South expansion to avoid impacting a historic African American family farm and cemetery in southeastern Travis County. According to Rosalind Alexander-Kasparik, the farm is the county’s oldest Black-owned farm, founded by her great-great-grandfather, […]
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New changes to Congress Avenue mark step toward permanent street redesign
Austin Transportation is installing the first of many temporary safety and mobility additions to Congress Avenue this week as the interim step toward the city’s complete redesign project launched in 2017. During the four- to six-week phased installation process, the city plans to add dedicated right-turn lanes, shorter pedestrian crosswalks, protected pedestrian intersections, simplified lanes […]
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City forms team to ensure equity with I-35 cap-and-stitch
As the Texas Department of Transportation moves ahead with plans to expand Interstate 35 under the Capital Express project, the city has joined the effort to use the giant construction project as an opportunity to help minority communities recover from the damage the interstate has done to East Austin since the 1950s. The city has […]
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TxDOT anticipates ‘meaningful alternatives’ to I-35 expansion in upcoming public input process
Despite the sharp drop in local traffic, renewed interest in teleworking policies, and major upsets to transportation revenue streams, the Texas Department of Transportation has no intention of rethinking the need for a $6.6 billion expansion of Interstate 35 through Central Austin between U.S Highway 290 East and Ben White Boulevard. “When we plan projects […]
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Ultimate vision for Burnet loses center-running dedicated transitways, gains two traffic lanes
The Austin Transportation Department’s 2013 Corridor Development Program for Burnet Road envisions a future of cycle tracks, bus stop pullouts, shade trees, and for the roadway section between U.S. Highway 183 and MoPac Expressway, “two exclusive (bus rapid transit) lanes in the middle of the corridor.” Instead, the department is currently seeking environmental clearance on […]
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CAMPO mulls project cuts to free up dollars for I-35
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization will hold a special called meeting Monday, April 13, to consider cutting $600 million from planned transportation projects across the six-county region to help the Texas Department of Transportation reconstruct the central segment of its $7.5 billion I-35 Capital Express project. The Capital Express project is a three-part plan […]
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Planning nonprofit suggests stitching Austin back together over I-35
With last week’s announcement of funding to improve Interstate 35 through Central Austin, the Downtown Austin Alliance is inviting the community to gather around a vision for a more ambitious plan. Dewitt Peart, president and CEO of Downtown Austin Alliance, said the organization aims to take advantage of the state’s investments in infrastructure for I-35, […]
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Austin Transportation updates citation process to change driver behavior
In an effort to address the city’s road safety crisis, the Austin Transportation Department has come up with a way to make drivers understand the consequences of violating traffic laws. As of yesterday, drivers charged with failure to yield will now be required to appear in court if the violation causes a crash resulting in […]
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Panel will look at future of development and displacement along I-35
A panel of national experts convened by the Urban Land Institute will look at ideas next week for how Austin could steer development plans for the land surrounding – and possibly covering – Interstate 35 in the years to come. The nine-member panel will spend the week touring the area along I-35 from Cesar Chavez […]
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Traffic deaths went up in Austin last year. Safety advocates ask: Where’s the moral outrage?
Billy Brewster loved lawnmowers. The 15-year-old, who was autistic and nonverbal, would just admire them from afar. “Billy sometimes wouldn’t even want to use the lawnmower,” his mother, Mia Brown, said. “He just wanted to stand there and look at it.” He also liked to leave his house in Northeast Austin and wander the neighborhood. […]