The Capital Metro Transportation Authority’s board of directors on Monday approved the terms of its partnership with private developers to bring a massive urban infill project to the eastern gate of downtown Austin. At its monthly meeting, the board voted 7-0 on the master agreement between Capital Metro and Endeavor Real Estate Group to redevelop […]
Capital Metro
The city’s urban transportation system.
Posted inDevelopment
Travis Dems target Capital Metro with labor resolution
The Travis County Democratic Party has thrown its weight behind the effort to provide rigorous protections for construction workers hired to build a massive infill project on land owned by the Capital Metro Transportation Authority. At the party’s annual convention on Saturday, delegates approved a resolution calling on all elected officials to insist that all […]
Posted inTransit
Plaza Saltillo project draws fire from labor advocates
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plan to redevelop 10 acres of largely empty land near downtown Austin has drawn criticism from labor advocates. The Workers Defense Project organized a rally of dozens of activists at the front door of Cap Metro’s headquarters on Thursday morning to pressure the board of directors to include stronger allowances […]
Posted inTransit
Updated: Raise for Watson as Cap Metro ridership declines
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority President Linda Watson is getting a raise despite the agency’s falling ridership. Cap Metro’s board of directors voted on Monday to award Watson with a 5 percent bump in pay. According to the agency’s website, Watson’s current annual salary is $271,637, although that sum does not include deferred compensation. In previous […]
Posted inTransit
LSTAR troubles present another snag for Project Connect
Project Connect, the ambitious vision of a multimodal transportation future in Central Texas, hit a major pothole last week with Union Pacific’s decision to walk away from negotiations with the Lone Star Rail District. In a letter to the district, also known as LSTAR, Union Pacific canceled its agreements to continue exploring the feasibility of […]
Posted inTransit
Cap Metro board greenlights central corridor study
Project Connect is returning to Central Austin. The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors unanimously approved on Monday a contract with the engineering firm AECOM to guide a new study of transportation in the urban core dubbed the Central Corridor Comprehensive Transit Analysis, or CCCTA. The eight-member board voted 7-0 on the measure, after […]
Posted inTransit, Transportation
Cap Metro CEO: Austin “not ready” for light rail
The head of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday put a wet sponge on the feverish hopes that light rail transit in Austin could become a reality sooner rather than later. “I probably echo what I’ve read (Mayor Steve Adler) has said about it recently: that we’re gonna grow to the point where it’s […]
Posted inCity Council
Politics clash with process over quarter-cent fund
The idea of dividing Capital Metro’s quarter-cent fund among Austin’s districts based on community recommendations has strong support from City Council. But just how to go about doing that raised some serious questions about process on Thursday. In June, Council passed a resolution directing staff to identify projects eligible for funding in each district. Since […]
Posted inTransportation
Council debates concerns about “ward politics”
Inspired by a vote set for today on how to spend the $21.8 million in transportation dollars remaining in the “quarter-cent fund,” City Council debated at a Tuesday work session about whether the proposed approach sets a precedent that could lead to a system in which funds are often divided up evenly among districts. “I […]
Posted inTransportation
Cap Metro asks for more transit in spending plan
As City Council considers a plan to disperse the “quarter-cent fund” among transportation projects around the city, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority – the agency that initially contributed the funding to the city – is asking Council to prioritize more of its spending in a way that emphasizes public transit. “If those funds were general […]
Posted inTransit, Transportation
Cap Metro approves budget for next fiscal year
The rubber will continue to hit the road for Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses and transit services for another year, according to the $357 million Fiscal Year 2015-16 budget that the agency’s board of directors unanimously adopted on Monday. The budget, which goes into effect Thursday, covers $246 million in operating expenses and $111 million […]
Posted inTransit
Cap Metro hires plan consultant despite confusion
Following a discussion that shed some light on how the organization functions, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors voted unanimously at a special called meeting Monday to hire a consultant for its 10-year service plan in spite of conflicting requests. California consultant Transportation Management & Design Inc. and Pflugerville subconsultant Nancy Ledbetter & […]