Austin’s mayor and members of City Council tried to allay fears about the city’s revised rules on homelessness and its push to expand shelter space, at a forum hosted by the Downtown Austin Alliance. The brunt of Wednesday’s discussion focused on the rhetoric surrounding Austinites living on the street and city efforts to address the […]
Downtown Austin Alliance
A nonprofit, membership-based organization focused, according to its website, on “preserving and enhancing the value and vitality of downtown Austin.”
Posted inAustin
Camping rules continue to stoke arguments
City Council’s decision to revise ordinances related to where homeless people may camp, sit or lie down continues to cause controversy in the city, with some claiming the changes are making things worse for everyone, particularly law enforcement. Mayor Steve Adler has been a major target of ire on the Austin Police Association Facebook page. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Sparks fly over proposed changes to camping laws
Representatives of the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition and the Downtown Austin Alliance continue to stress that they are working together to end homelessness in Austin. But their conflicting messages to City Council on Thursday about proposed changes to ordinances that target the homeless population were definitely not on the same page. Council Member Greg Casar […]
Posted inAustin
DAA launches annual report and new nonprofit
Amidst a multitude of rosy economic statistics on Tuesday, the Downtown Austin Alliance released its first State of Downtown report at the inaugural Future of Downtown event. The report seeks to be “a market snapshot illustrating the central role downtown plays as Austin’s economic, governmental and cultural center.” The taxable property value for downtown property […]
Posted inTransportation
Affordable Parking Program expands
Downtown parking may have just gotten a bit easier, thanks to a public-private partnership aimed at downtown service industry workers. The city of Austin and the Downtown Austin Alliance announced yesterday that, after a partnership with Premier Parking, the Affordable Parking Program is now 2,000 spaces bigger. It’s the second expansion this year, and the […]
Posted inAustin
Program expansion more than doubles cheap nighttime parking downtown
The city is more than doubling the amount of affordable parking spaces available for evening-hours workers in downtown Austin businesses, building on the success of a pilot program that started in 2016. The expansion of the Affordable Parking Program will see it opened up to two new parking garages – at the City Hall garage […]
Posted inCourts
Groups criticize Paxton for suing commissioners
The people who urged Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to file suit to remove eight members of the Austin Planning Commission on Monday have nothing but praise for Paxton; however, other more business-oriented groups are not pleased with the legal action, expressing the opinion that the attorney general has waded into a local issue. So, […]
Posted inAustin
Possible changes to panhandling ordinance draw concern from business leaders
A possible revision of the city’s ordinance regulating panhandling is drawing concern from downtown business leaders who say the proposed changes would allow aggressive requests for money and could create safety issues in areas with heavy foot traffic. The amendments to the city’s solicitation ordinance had been on the agenda for Thursday’s City Council meeting, […]
Posted inAustin
Ciclovia on hold while parking proposal creates controversy on Congress Avenue
The dream of shutting down Congress Avenue for a daylong bicycle festival is in a state of suspended animation. City Council made a step toward the idea just over a year ago when it voted on a resolution directing the city manager to explore the potential costs related to the event known as a Ciclovia. […]
Posted inAustin
Business leaders raise concerns about homelessness
It’s not just advocates for the homeless who have serious concerns about homelessness downtown. Businesses say that the mass of misery on the streets is a threat to downtown commerce and the city’s ability to attract visitors. The effects of the homeless population on business came up in a discussion at the Public Safety Commission […]
Posted inAustin
Downtown 2039: New vision anticipates growth, mobility changes, cultural preservation
Improved mobility, preservation of at-risk cultural assets and public space, and a dramatic expansion of residential and commercial activity are some of the biggest components of a new 21-year vision created for downtown Austin. The Downtown Austin Alliance has started to roll out the results of a two-year process to create its first-ever visioning strategy […]
Posted inTransportation
Downtown leaders eye busing changes to manage traffic growth
Downtown Austin leaders are hoping that proposed changes in downtown routes and frequency for Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus service will increase the number of employers in the city’s core willing to offer alternative transportation plans for their employees in coming years. At a recent meeting of the city’s Downtown Commission, a pair of presentations […]