Austin would effectively emit zero greenhouse gases 10 years earlier than previously planned if a new proposal from city staff comes to fruition – but the goal would require a dramatic acceleration of the progress the city has already made toward its climate targets. The draft for the city’s Climate Equity Plan says the more […]
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 inTransit
Mobility Committee hears displacement concerns
At the Mobility Committee meeting on Friday, City Council members fielded discussion about both Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Project Connect and the Texas Department of Transportation’s involvement in the Interstate 35 expansion plan. Meanwhile, community members calling in to the committee expressed their concerns about the two plans’ potential to displace low-income residents living adjacent […]
Posted inTransit
Underground light-rail tunnel could be more than a mile longer than expected
Austin’s multibillion-dollar transit expansion will require extending an underground light-rail tunnel from Auditorium Shores to as far south as Lively Middle School on South Congress Avenue. The change could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but transit planners vow to work it into the budget Austin voters authorized in November when they agreed to a tax increase of 8.75 […]
Posted inTransit
Cap Metro fields updates on Project Connect
During the July 19 meeting of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors, members fielded a discussion and presentation regarding Project Connect. The presentation covered prominent dates; Blue, Orange and Red rail line updates; and MetroRapid bus line updates. The Orange Line will run north and south through the center of the city, sharing […]
Posted inTransit
Austin’s downtown rail plans shifted after bill allowing transit under parks failed to pass
The crown jewel of Austin’s $7 billion transit expansion is the city’s first-ever underground light rail system through the middle of downtown, a state-of-the-art transit corridor down Fourth Street bookended by Republic Square Park on the west and Brush Square Park on the east. But local officials, who this week are outlining the most detailed vision […]
Posted inTransit
Transit partnership fields Orange Line updates for Project Connect
At the June 16 Austin Transit Partnership Board meeting, board members reviewed updates on the Project Connect Orange Line alignment. The Orange Line, which shares several stops with the Blue Line, runs north and south through the center of the city. The north section covers Tech Ridge to the Drag, while the south section covers […]
Posted inTransit
Council to adopt Project Connect TOD plans by next summer, early code fixes by year’s end
City Council on Thursday laid out its land use planning priorities for areas near Project Connect stations, passing a resolution directing city staff to help with the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (eTOD) studies. The studies will lead to station-area plans for Project Connect’s Orange and Blue light rail lines, Gold Line bus […]
Posted inTransit
Cap Metro board fields updates on Project Connect
At the May 24 Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors meeting, board members heard updates on the progress of Project Connect. Presenters displayed images of partial plans for the Blue Line – called “15 percent design drawings” – and said that they would soon receive similar plans for the Orange Line. “We’ve been working […]
Posted inPlanning
Council wants Project Connect TOD plans in place ‘pronto’
The city is set to overhaul its transit-oriented development policies to allow denser, more equitable development near future Project Connect stations as soon as possible. “We need to be ready from the word ‘go’ to let areas near our transit system be able to grow in a way that maximizes ridership potential,” Mayor Pro Tem […]
Posted inTransit
Early work happening now to build Austin’s first modern light rail lines
Austin has never had modern light rail before. It won’t for a while. The Orange and Blue lines are projected to open to the public in 2029. The rail lines are just part of a multibillion-dollar plan approved by voters in November called Project Connect. Crews already finished taking soil samples under Lady Bird Lake […]
Posted inTransit
Cap Metro details early TOD planning for areas near Project Connect stations
At last Thursday’s Mobility Committee meeting, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials previewed a key part of Project Connect – creating land-use plans for areas near stations. By guiding the development of affordable and market-rate housing, the plans aim to ensure robust ridership on the new mass transit lines while also allowing people of all means […]
Posted inHousing
Austin Transit Partnership OKs anti-displacement funding
The Austin Transit Partnership Board of Directors unanimously approved a grant agreement Wednesday to finance anti-displacement efforts using money from Project Connect’s tax revenue. The funds, totaling $300 million, will be dispersed over Project Connect’s 13-year timeline, according to ATP’s resolution. The express purpose of the money is to buy property for affordable housing along […]