Austinites who have complained about the state of the city’s streets may soon see an improvement, if a proposed tax increase is approved as part of next year’s budget. In a survey conducted by the city last year, members of the public rated street maintenance among their top priorities for increased funding. As a response, […]
Public Works Department
This city department oversees major capital improvement projects; maintains the city’s trails, roadways, and bridges; and promotes safe travel on city thoroughfares.
Posted inTransportation
With funding still in question, Council approves sidewalk plan update
City Council last week gave nearly unanimous approval to an update of the 2009 Sidewalk Master Plan. The 9-0-1 vote comes in the middle of the ongoing debate over a small batch of mobility bond proposals that could go before voters this November. “Forty years ago, people were not demanding sidewalks,” Council Member Pio Renteria […]
Posted inAustin
More funds needed to finish Waller project
City Council will be considering seven items on Thursday’s agenda with a combined financial impact of $7.5 million for completing the Waller Creek Project, which has been fraught with difficulties since the discovery that the intake tunnel had been designed and built in a way that obscured a view of the Capitol. During Tuesday’s work session, […]
Posted inTransportation
City ponders giant increase in sidewalk investments
Now that Uber and Lyft have driven over the horizon, some are looking to their feet for transportation options. At the moment, the odds are good that those feet may be standing on broken or incomplete sidewalks. But if the Austin Public Works Department has its way, that could change, slowly. In line with that […]
Posted inCity Hall
Lazarus offered top job in Ann Arbor
The City Council of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has chosen Howard Lazarus, director of Austin’s Public Works Department, as its new city administrator. The Michigan Daily reported Lazarus’ selection as the city’s top manager last week. Lazarus told the Austin Monitor on Monday, “I’m excited about the potential opportunity,” but he stressed that he does not yet […]
Posted inTransportation
How should Austin fund its transportation needs?
The City Council Mobility Committee largely steered clear of discussing a potential bond election during a meeting Wednesday focused on how the city can finance its looming transportation needs. A bond election, said Council Member Ann Kitchen, who chairs the committee, “is not an inevitability.” “It’s one piece that’s part of our discussion when we […]
Posted inTransportation
Council making plans for mobility money
With the budget behind them, Austin City Council members can turn their attention to other projects – chief among them, dividing up a little more than $21 million in money from the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The funds are known as the quarter-cent money because the transportation agency collects a quarter-cent in sales tax. On […]
Posted inBudget
Zimmerman plan to “rebalance” transportation spending splits Council
City Council Member Don Zimmerman would like to see a change in Austin’s transportation infrastructure spending. His proposal, which would mandate at least $2 million per district for mobility Capital Improvement Projects, won varying levels of support from Council Members Ora Houston, Ellen Troxclair, Sheri Gallo and Ann Kitchen on Wednesday. However, it remains unclear […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Hotel construction casts a shadow over downtown music venues
This past weekend, worries that a new downtown hotel was threatening Cheer Up Charlies and the Mohawk overtook Austin’s social media. A lot of Austinites’ concerns focused on whether a parking garage for the Hyatt House hotel would destroy the iconic white cliff at Cheer Up Charlies. After some panic, it appears that is not […]
Posted inCity Council
Council to disperse quarter-cent fund “equitably”
On Thursday, City Council took the first step in a plan to disperse the $21.8 million remaining in the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Quarter-Cent Fund “equitably across all Council districts” for transportation and mobility improvement projects. In a resolution, Council directed Transportation Department and Public Works Department staff to work with each Council member and […]
Posted inParks
Austin ventures into civic crowdfunding
The Internet is replete with crowdfunding appeals for endless pet projects: help fund your college roommate’s rap EP, pitch in for your buddy’s film or donate a few dollars toward your cousin’s volunteer trip to Haiti. But what about a Kickstarter campaign to outfit a neighborhood pool with picnic tables, benches and a new pavilion? […]
Posted inTransportation
Redbud, Barton Springs bridge fixes move ahead
As Public Works Department Director Howard Lazarus said at Wednesday’s City Council Mobility Committee meeting in regard to improving the Barton Springs Road and Redbud Trail bridges, “If you never get started, you’ll never get finished.” Those projects, it appears, are one step closer to getting started. The committee recommended at that meeting that Council […]