Discussion at Thursday’s City Council Mobility Committee meeting showed both the Texas Department of Transportation’s intent to accommodate caps over Interstate 35 and city leaders’ will to make it happen. TxDOT said all three of the design alternatives for the proposed multibillion-dollar I-35 Capital Express Central project will allow caps – though TxDOT will not […]
Austin City Council Mobility Committee
A City Council committee that reviews matters related to all modes of transportation.
Posted inTransportation
Big changes coming to Airport and North Lamar with reallocation of 2016 bond funds
Complete makeovers to two prominent streets have moved up the city’s to-do list. North Lamar Boulevard between U.S. Highway 183 and Rundberg Lane and Airport Boulevard between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and U.S. 183 are slated for reconstruction by 2024 – earlier than expected – through a $65 million reallocation of 2016 mobility bond […]
Posted inTransportation
A long time coming, Red Line Parkway could be completed by decade’s end
The City Council Mobility Committee heard an update on the Red Line Parkway last week, one of the city’s most anticipated urban trail projects. Austinites can look for significant progress on the trail this year with new segments under development and the Red Line Parkway Initiative beginning its Parkway Plan process. “It’s a pretty ambitious […]
Posted inRoads
Mobility Commission hears plea not to widen I-35
“BE IT RESOLVED,” read Urban Transportation Commission Chair Mario Champion, “the UTC urges TxDOT in the strongest possible way not to widen I-35.” This recommendation, along with many others from the Urban Transportation Commission, amounts to the city’s first official rebuke of the Texas Department of Transportation’s plans to widen Interstate 35 through Austin. At […]
Posted inTransportation
Mobility Committee hears update on Proposition B plans
At Thursday’s City Council Mobility Committee meeting, city staffers described what 2021 has in store for the numerous projects funded by Proposition B, the $460 million active mobility bond that voters passed overwhelmingly in November. Staff members across several city departments will spend most of the year prioritizing and planning the projects, a huge task […]
Posted inTransportation
Mobility Committee to receive annual update on bond fund plan
At today’s meeting, the City Council Mobility Committee will discuss the Mobility Annual Plan, a document that explains how mobility bond funds are used citywide. The meeting is part of a larger annual effort to incorporate public feedback into the city’s mobility efforts. The Mobility Committee does not vote on a new MAP each year; […]
Posted inBicycles
City prepares next steps for Bergstrom Spur trail
After holding a virtual open house on the Bergstrom Spur this summer, the city’s Urban Trails Program, in collaboration with the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is finalizing planning concepts for converting the abandoned rail line into a six-mile trail and transit corridor. For next steps, Urban Trails has […]
Posted inTransportation
City revises street impact fee plan
After years in the making, the city has proposed a modification to the street impact fee program out of a desire to simplify the process and maximize benefits in the city’s eastern crescent. Instead of calculating impact fees individually based on the needs within 17 service zones, the city would now prefer to set different […]
Posted inTransportation
Mobility Committee aims to protect streets from parking demand
Parking has been “right-sized” in the draft Land Development Code, though some members of City Council are concerned that could have the wrong effect in some parts of the city. The code rewrite team told Council’s Mobility Committee last Tuesday that reduced parking requirements can help lower development and housing costs, grow transit ridership and […]
Posted inTransportation
Downtown mobility plan reaches next stage of development
The Austin Transportation Department has kicked off the second and final phase of development for its Austin Core Transportation Plan, a document that will serve as a comprehensive guide for downtown right of way management into the future. Leading up to next summer, the department will continue the data collection work of the first phase […]
Posted inTransportation
Pilot program will clear cars from Rainey Street on weekend nights
On weekend nights, Rainey Street can be crowded with cars, scooters and pedestrians. Pretty soon, only one of those groups will be allowed on the street. The city of Austin is getting ready to shut down Rainey Street to vehicle traffic on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights as part of a pilot program that will […]
Posted inTransportation
Mobility Committee advances push for safe railroad crossings
A long-standing concern with pedestrian and bicycle safety at railroad crossings has earned support from some City Council members, but questions about equity and process may temper hopes of swift improvements. Since October 2018, both the Bicycle Advisory Council and Pedestrian Advisory Council have passed resolutions calling for safer conditions for bicyclists, pedestrians and wheelchair […]