During the July 19 meeting of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors, members fielded a discussion and presentation regarding Project Connect. The presentation covered prominent dates; Blue, Orange and Red rail line updates; and MetroRapid bus line updates. The Orange Line will run north and south through the center of the city, sharing […]
Transit
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Austin’s downtown rail plans shifted after bill allowing transit under parks failed to pass
The crown jewel of Austin’s $7 billion transit expansion is the city’s first-ever underground light rail system through the middle of downtown, a state-of-the-art transit corridor down Fourth Street bookended by Republic Square Park on the west and Brush Square Park on the east. But local officials, who this week are outlining the most detailed vision […]
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How Cap Metro’s multibillion-dollar transit expansion hinges on federal racial equity standards
The largest expansion of public transit in Austin’s history is built on an expectation the federal government will pick up almost half of the $7 billion tab. To qualify for those billions, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority first must demonstrate it’s not discriminating on the basis of race, national origin or income through a range of […]
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Cap Metro proceeds with vision of sustainability
At the June 28 Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority board meeting, board members fielded discussion on a yearslong sustainability and planning effort put forward by Capital Metro staffers. Most of the presentation centered around the structure and vision of the plan, but did not yet address many specific, measurable goals. “So we’ve been doing a lot […]
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Transit partnership fields Orange Line updates for Project Connect
At the June 16 Austin Transit Partnership Board meeting, board members reviewed updates on the Project Connect Orange Line alignment. The Orange Line, which shares several stops with the Blue Line, runs north and south through the center of the city. The north section covers Tech Ridge to the Drag, while the south section covers […]
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Brand refresh ushers Cap Metro into coming decade
At the May 24 meeting of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors, Brian Carter, whose title is chief experience and engagement officer, presented the transit agency’s brand refresh proposal to board members. “Over the last couple of years, several years, we’ve been noticing that there’s a need for us to take another look […]
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Council to adopt Project Connect TOD plans by next summer, early code fixes by year’s end
City Council on Thursday laid out its land use planning priorities for areas near Project Connect stations, passing a resolution directing city staff to help with the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (eTOD) studies. The studies will lead to station-area plans for Project Connect’s Orange and Blue light rail lines, Gold Line bus […]
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Cap Metro board fields updates on Project Connect
At the May 24 Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors meeting, board members heard updates on the progress of Project Connect. Presenters displayed images of partial plans for the Blue Line – called “15 percent design drawings” – and said that they would soon receive similar plans for the Orange Line. “We’ve been working […]
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Capital Metro considers in-house police force
Last year, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Randy Clarke asked the American Public Transportation Association to convene a peer review of Capital Metro’s public safety program, one of a variety of services provided by APTA. The methodology of the review included interviews with board members, committee members, committee chairs, union members, and an acting chief […]
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Early work happening now to build Austin’s first modern light rail lines
Austin has never had modern light rail before. It won’t for a while. The Orange and Blue lines are projected to open to the public in 2029. The rail lines are just part of a multibillion-dollar plan approved by voters in November called Project Connect. Crews already finished taking soil samples under Lady Bird Lake […]
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Cap Metro details early TOD planning for areas near Project Connect stations
At last Thursday’s Mobility Committee meeting, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials previewed a key part of Project Connect – creating land-use plans for areas near stations. By guiding the development of affordable and market-rate housing, the plans aim to ensure robust ridership on the new mass transit lines while also allowing people of all means […]
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Capital Metro shifts from ‘surviving to thriving’ in 2021
At the April 14 meeting of Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors, members reviewed operations performance statistics over the last year, covering topics ranging from total ridership to vehicle collision rates to promptness of Capital Metro vehicles. (Performance metrics are also accessible via a public dashboard found on the Capital Metro website.) Dottie Watkins, […]