Parking has been at the center of discussions around the equitable transit-oriented development policy plan, a document City Council plans to vote on this week that will guide future housing and land use policies around Project Connect stations. Elected officials and community leaders who spoke last Thursday at a special joint meeting on eTODs at […]
Austin City Council Mobility Committee
A City Council committee that reviews matters related to all modes of transportation.
Posted inRoads
City looks for silver lining in TxDOT’s I-35 expansion
With the Texas Department of Transportation circling in on finalized plans for Interstate 35, city staffers are racing to seize opportunity of a number of cap-and-stitch projects that could come to be a silver lining in the largely unpopular interstate expansion. In a biannual update Jan. 19, Corridor Program Office Director Mike Trimble caught City […]
Posted inRoads
Replacement could be in the cards for historic Barton Springs Road bridge
Barton Springs Road bridge could get upgrades that include a widened bridge deck, two new bicycle lanes and pedestrian paths. “It needs to be rehabilitated or replaced to ensure the safety and longevity as well as improved circulation in this area for vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, all the modes of transportation,” said Eric Bailey, assistant director […]
Posted inFire
City departments continue refining wildfire evacuation plan
Last week, City Council’s Mobility Committee learned about the regional response and evacuation plan that would go into effect in the event of a wildfire. “Wildfires know no boundaries and looking at what we’re doing in terms of coordination, we’re working across those jurisdictional boundaries,” said Jim Dale, assistant director of the Transportation Department. “The […]
Posted inRoads
City seeks federal transit funds to improve east-west connections along I-35
The city has hopes of securing federal transportation funds intended to reconnect communities severed from economic and other opportunities by transit infrastructure, specifically Interstate 35. Last week City Council approved a resolution to submit the Our Future 35: Connecting Equitably Study to the U.S. Department of Transportation for funding consideration as part of the new […]
Posted inBicycles
Mobility Committee hears the case for preventing cars from blocking bike lanes
Members of the Mobility Committee heard an argument Thursday for implementing a program that would increase enforcement of vehicles blocking bike lanes in hopes of making the streets safer for cyclists. Though the committee made no action regarding the future of the “bike lane bounty” program, City Council members who sit on the committee appeared to […]
Posted inTransportation
Mobility committee hears the case for remotely piloted delivery robots
The colorful little robots roaming the streets of Austin, delivering burritos and fried chicken, are likely not going anywhere soon. If anything, this might only be the beginning of the era of robotic delivery. At least that was the sentiment at the City Council Mobility Committee meeting Thursday when the Transportation Department gave a presentation […]
Posted inBicycles
Car blocking a bike lane? You might be able to report it and make some money soon.
In an effort to help city employees cite vehicles for illegally blocking bike lanes, the Urban Transportation Commission unanimously approved a “bike lane bounty” program at its meeting Tuesday night. The program, inspired by one in New York City, would allow Austinites to use the 311 mobile application to report photo evidence of cars obstructing […]
Posted inTransportation
Plan to update urban trails, sidewalks and bike lanes prioritizes equity
At the City Council Mobility Committee meeting last month, representatives from the ATX Walk Bike Roll program spoke about their commitment to achieving equitable outcomes when updating Austin’s urban trails, bike lanes and sidewalks. ATX Walk Bike Roll, a joint planning effort led by the Public Works and Transportation departments, began in 2021 with the […]
Posted inPlanning
In time for spring, Living Streets initiative making it easier to throw a block party
Just in time for spring, the Transportation Department stopped by the City Council Mobility Committee meeting to share progress on the Living Streets initiative passed by Council last October. The Living Streets program encourages the use of city streets as recreational space by closing residential blocks to car traffic. Once implemented, residents will be able […]
Posted inTransportation
Transportation Department reveals plans for federal infrastructure grant
Transportation Department Director Robert Spillar stopped by the City Council Mobility Committee meeting last Thursday to share how the department aspires to use the first round of funding from the federal bipartisan infrastructure law. The infrastructure law, passed last November, allocates money for national infrastructure investments to be released over a five-year period. Spillar told the […]
Posted inTransportation
Homeowners concerned about implications of updates to Austin Strategic Mobility Plan
The city’s Transportation Department has begun updating Austin’s Strategic Mobility Plan for the first time since its inception in 2019, but not before encountering a few snags in community feedback. “I think one of the issues we’re having is that the street level classifications are not clear about what they mean in real-life application,” Urban […]