A 98-year-old hamburger restaurant wouldn’t be flipped off the map to make space for Austin’s new light-rail system under conceptual plans revealed by the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP), the local government corporation building the 10-mile transit system. But the owner of Dirty Martin’s Place, established in 1926, isn’t toasting buns in celebration just yet. “There was […]
Project Connect
This project brought together a series of Central Texas transportation agencies looking to build high-capacity transit options in the region in the wake of CAMPO’s 2035 regional transportation plan. The City of Austin’s much-discussed 2014 Urban Rail plan was part of Project Connect’s efforts.
Posted inPlanning
Council takes next step toward new density bonus plan along rail line
City Council last week approved a resolution designed to increase Austin’s chances of winning federal money to assist in building the first phase of Project Connect with an emphasis on development of housing for low- and middle-income residents along the rail line. In addition, the resolution directs staff to modify downtown parking regulations and amend […]
Posted inTransit
Fresh details on Austin’s light-rail plans emerge as officials chase federal cash
Lee esta historia en español Austinites curious about the city’s light-rail future are being offered fresh details as the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) launches an in-depth environmental review in a bid to qualify for billions in federal cash. The new information on the electrically powered 9.8-mile system isn’t nearly as revealing as the block-by-block maps and subway […]
Posted inTransit
Austin confronts legal challenge to 10-mile light-rail plan
City Council and the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) are firing back against a lawsuit aiming to terminate the vision for a 10-mile light-rail network – the single most ambitious public transit project in the city’s history. In legal filings in Travis County civil court, Council and ATP don’t cede any ground. They deny all claims in the lawsuit […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Council seeks financial assistance for homeowners looking to add units to properties
City Council intends to help homeowners at risk of displacement with a program that will provide down payment assistance to those wishing to add more residential units to their properties. At last Thursday’s meeting, Council approved a resolution directing the city manager to research and gather options for the program, which would be targeted at […]
Posted inCourts
Aggrieved citizens sue over funding Project Connect
A group of prominent citizens has filed suit against all members of City Council and members of the Austin Transit Partnership Board of Directors, claiming that ATP may not legally spend city property taxes or issue debt needed to build Project Connect because what is being built is drastically different from what was promised to […]
Posted inTransit
Application period still open for Project Connect anti-displacement Community Advisory Committee
There is still time to apply to join the citizen committee that will advise the city of Austin, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Austin Transit Partnership on anti-displacement and equity matters related to Project Connect. The city’s $7 billion investment in Project Connect included $300 million for anti-displacement measures that will go toward […]
Posted inTransit
Cap Metro board hears results of first post-pandemic Origin & Destination survey
Besides interrupting Capital Metro’s transportation services, the pandemic also interfered with its process of measuring its ridership, typically done every five years. On Monday, for the first time since 2015, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors heard a presentation on the Origin & Destination Survey. “We came back around in 2020 in hopes […]
Posted inAustin
Hiring headache: $25B in mobility projects will require 10,000 new workers every year through 2040
With $25 billion in infrastructure and mobility projects on tap over the next two decades, the Austin area will have 10,000 new jobs in those sectors per year for the next 17 years. That total is one of the findings of an analysis shared last week with local political and business leaders during a summit […]
Posted inPlanning
Commissioners want action, precision on overlays for equitable transit-oriented developments
As planning and zoning strategies for areas around transit corridors are developed over the next year, members of the Urban Transportation Commission want the city to make the density of in-process transit-oriented developments one of the highest priorities. At last week’s meeting, the commission received an update from Warner Cook, a planner with the Transportation […]
Posted inTransit
Report suggests Austin reach net-zero climate goals via housing density and increased transit
The Environmental Commission heard a presentation last week on a research paper that discusses how Austin can reach its net-zero carbon emission goals via increased housing density. The report is the result of nonprofit Transit Forward, which is dedicated to educating and engaging the public regarding transit projects, particularly Project Connect. One of the nonprofit’s […]
Posted inTransit
Austin Transit Partnership seeks federal grant funding for light rail
Leaders of the Austin Transit Partnership are expected today to give the OK to petition the federal government for transportation grants needed to cover half the cost of the planned light rail system through downtown Austin. That step, which will come during the ATP Board of Directors meeting, will be the most significant public move […]