Capital Metro staff wants MetroRail’s downtown station on Fourth Street to become a staple in the area’s transportation corridor, and on Monday, board members were shown two proposed ways to expand the terminal’s platform. Javier Arguello, CapMetro’s director of long-range planning, said the downtown expansion project is about 10 percent complete. Staff kicked off the […]
CapMetro
Capital Metro provides bus and MetroRail (Red Line) service for the Austin region. It’s governed by a seven-member board appointed by various governing entities, including City Council members. CapMetro is also governed by a President and CEO.
Posted inTransportation
AURA accuses Project Connect of funding political ads for urban rail
Project Connect’s ubiquitous summer media spots about its proposed urban rail project have drawn fire from the transit activist group AURA, which calls the ads unethical. The group says the ads are a political advertising campaign funded by taxpayer dollars. Project Connect officials say they are educational. The radio, television, print and digital ads in […]
Posted inLocal Government, Transportation
Travis County Commissioners scold Capital Metro for lack of services
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is seeking $160,000 annually in Travis County money to establish a flex bus route in East Austin, Vice President Todd Hemingson told Travis County Commissioners Tuesday. However, County Commissioners did not receive the news, or a briefing of current transit options, with open arms. Commissioners Margaret Gómez and Ron Davis […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Transportation
City Finance Committee compares notes with CapMetro on rail costs
With an upcoming rail bond election almost certainly on the horizon, the city continues to take a closer look at what a new urban rail system might mean. A special called meeting gave the Austin City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee a chance to meet with the Capital Metro Finance Committee Monday and go over […]
Posted inDevelopment, Transportation
Capital Metro picks Endeavor Group for Plaza Saltillo development
The choice of a Plaza Saltillo developer came down to a nail-biter in the final minutes of the Capital Metro Transportation Authority board meeting Monday. In the end, the board chose Endeavor Real Estate Group and Columbus Realty Partners in a 5-3 vote. The board’s other option, Saltillo Collaborative, will not continue negotiations with Capital […]
Posted inDevelopment
Capital Metro board chooses two finalists for Plaza Saltillo project
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority selected two finalists Monday in the competition to develop the East Side’s Plaza Saltillo. They were Endeavor Real Estate Group and Saltillo Collaborative. The board plans to announce a final choice at its June 23 meeting. The other two developers the board considered, Riverside Resources and Argyle Residential, a […]
Posted inTransportation
Study prefers Urban Rail, Lady Bird Lake bridge for Central Corridor project
The Project Connect: Central Corridor study team says Austin should use Urban Rail as the preferred local mode of transportation for the central portion of its proposed $1.4 billion transit project. The Central Corridor project’s 9.5 mile alignment will run from the Highland Mall/ACC area south through the University of Texas and Downtown areas, across […]
Posted inDevelopment, Transportation
Capital Metro hears proposals to redevelop Plaza Saltillo area
It’s a familiar headline at this point, but more change is coming to East Austin. After years of planning and discussion, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is on the verge of selecting a development plan for the Plaza Saltillo area. Currently, the land is mostly vacant, but that’s set to change as soon as the […]
Posted inLocal Government, Transportation
Capital Metro endorses Highland-East Riverside rail alignment
The Capital Metro board officially backed the first phase planned by Project Connect Wednesday. The board voted 7-0 on the resolution with Frank Fernandez off the dais. The plan is the same one Project Connect finalized late last year that would connect the Highland Mall area of Austin with downtown and East Riverside by rail. […]
Posted inTransportation
City plans ‘tight enforcement’ of violations in new bus transit lanes
Austin Transportation Department Director Rob Spillar told Austin City Council members Tuesday that city prohibitions on parking and driving in the dedicated downtown transit lanes would be “patrolled very tightly” until parking in those lanes “starts to switch over.” “The violations, I anticipate, will be from a new driver that doesn’t fully understand what […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Transportation
Council to consider upping fine for blocking new priority bus lanes
Austin City Council members will consider whether to implement significantly increased fines for vehicles parked illegally in designated transit priority lanes Thursday. The measure would allow traffic officials to impose up to a $500 fine on vehicles left in lanes set aside for Capital Metro’s soon-to-be-unveiled MetroRapid Transit system. The move is aimed squarely at […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government, Transportation
Watson: Shorting Texas transportation needs hurts state’s future
State Senator Kirk Watson offered attendees at Wednesday’s Austin Chamber of Commerce’s State of Transportation lunch a steady diet of road talk. Though Watson did briefly mention the importance of other regional transportation modes during the course of a roughly 30-minute speech, his focus stayed firmly on pavement. Watson framed the issue in terms […]