Austin reports on Vison Zero progress

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Quote of the Day

“We need TxDOT spending hundreds of millions of dollars making busy streets like North Lamar safe and comfortable to drive, walk, bike and use frequent transit. Regional decision making must get serious. Austin has shown what’s possible. We must have the political will to work with our state, our region and our people to fund the work that saves Texans’ lives.”

— Jay Crossley, executive director of Farm & City from “A decade of Vision Zero shows progress on crashes and injuries, not on deaths.”

A decade of Vision Zero shows progress on crashes and injuries, not on deaths

From Lina Fisher:

On Monday afternoon, city leaders and transportation policymakers gathered to celebrate the unveiling of Vision Zero’s 10 Year Report on Austin’s progress toward making traffic deaths a thing of the past.

“Traffic crashes aren’t accidents. They are preventable,” said Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes during the press conference Monday. “They are a public health crisis, and like any health crisis, they require direct, holistic response.”

That response has yielded results. Out of the six largest Texas cities (Austin, Dallas, Houston, Ft. Worth, El Paso, San Antonio), Austin continues to have the lowest per capita serious injury and fatality rate. However, there is more work to be done. Though 2024 saw the fewest serious injuries recorded since the beginning of Vision Zero in 2015, crash fatalities have remained flat.

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City streamlines processes to support small business

The Development Services Department has given a final update on an effort initiated last year to simplify permitting and reduce barriers for small businesses.

According to a recent memo, several reforms are now being implemented, including a new “change of use” review that is set to launch this month. The goal is to reduce permitting review steps from 11 to three and shorten approval timelines from two months to about two weeks. Austin Water is introducing permit fee changes tied to a new grease-trap risk classification system, with a broader relief program scheduled for 2026. Austin Public Health’s proposal to add a fourth “Risk 0” food-permit category to eliminate plan reviews and certain fees for low-risk businesses remains on hold while city legal staff assess alignment with new state law, specifically Senate Bill 1008.

Additional measures include a marketing campaign to raise awareness of the city’s small-business services, an ongoing monthly educational series, and work by the Economic Development Department to launch a program in 2026 to help offset high-interest costs for business expansion.

City departments also plan to improve internal communication and consistency across permitting divisions.

— Chad Swiatecki

Homeless Strategy Office gets strategic

The Homeless Strategy Office is testing a new policy designed to help residents with significant needs move more easily from rapid rehousing into permanent supportive housing, according to a recent update to City Council.

The “Bridge to PSH” transfer policy, developed with the regional Continuum of Care’s Permanent Housing Committee, is going through a pilot phase as a tool to ensure clients are matched with programs that provide the right level of support. Once evaluated, the framework could be made available to local homelessness service providers.

The memo also explains that Continuum of Care implemented new prioritization criteria for rapid-rehousing participants in June to improve how clients are referred within the homelessness response system.

City staff are holding meetings with Travis County, Central Health and the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition to better coordinate funding and services. Those discussions, which began last year, will culminate in partners sharing data on their current investments and aligning strategies around common goals in the coming year. The update fulfills a 2024 City Council directive to expand Austin’s permanent supportive housing capacity and strengthen coordination among local agencies working to address homelessness.

— Chad Swiatecki

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ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS

Cheer Up Charlies continues its tradition of attention-getting business moves with the announcement that it has been sold to a Florida investment firm.

UT Austin students are protesting a compact between the Trump Administration and their school.

Meanwhile, a review of gender studies classes at UT has students and faculty concerned about the future.

And, in further concerning education news, a Texas State professor has been officially terminated over “inciting violence” by talking about political organizing.