The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors moved forward on Monday with plans to rebuild the downtown MetroRail station, but the long-planned project still has to clear several more hurdles until the shovels hit the ground. At its monthly meeting, the board unanimously voted to give CEO Linda Watson permission to execute an interlocal […]
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Posted inBicycles
Austin panel asks drive-throughs to allow ride-throughs
The Bicycle Advisory Council unanimously approved a recommendation last Tuesday that would grant bicyclists and those who are mobility impaired more accommodations at drive-through establishments in Austin. The advisory council called for an ordinance that would permit bicyclists to use the same drive-through facilities as motor vehicles, or that the establishment provide bike racks and […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Years after deadly storms, city still lacks comprehensive flood policy
In the wake of devastating flooding over Memorial Day Weekend in 2015, City Council established the 22-member Flood Mitigation Task Force to examine the city’s flood preparedness and come up with a list of recommendations for how to better prepare for the next major flood event – an eventuality in what is known as flash […]
Posted inAustin
Is Austin’s ‘economic segregation’ here to stay?
“Today you are going to find out that we are really not quite as good as we claim to be.” On that ominous note, Austin Board of Realtors CEO Paul Hilgers opened Tuesday’s luncheon hosted by the Real Estate Council of Austin. Steven Pedigo, who is the director of research for the Creative Class Group, […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Music venue owners see holes in ‘imperfect’ proposals to protect them
Music venue operators from many parts of Austin have reservations about a pair of proposals created to address friction between increasing residential development and entertainment-oriented businesses. At a summit for local music venues on Monday, operators from venues in East Austin, the Rainey Street District and the Red River Cultural District expressed their concerns over […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
Texas sues Austin, Travis County over ‘sanctuary city’ law
Texas is preemptively suing the city of Austin, Travis County and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund to enforce the state’s newly minted “sanctuary city” law, Senate Bill 4. The suit, filed on Monday, asks a federal court to declare the law constitutional. Precedent allows states to consolidate impending legal challenges to a […]
Posted inTransit
Renewed Project Connect closes in on milestone
The brain trust behind Project Connect will reveal which specific corridors have made the cut to advance to the next round of high-capacity transit planning on Friday. Last Wednesday, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Long Range Planning Director Javier Arguello told the City Council Mobility Committee that his team will present to members of the Capital […]
Posted inDevelopment
Developer accuses BoA’s King of ethics violations
The city’s Ethics Review Commission will hold a preliminary hearing next Wednesday to determine whether there are “reasonable grounds” to consider an ethics complaint filed against Board of Adjustment member Bryan King. Ross Wilson of PSW Real Estate, which is building duplexes in South Austin, filed the complaint against King. The complaint alleges that although […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
All ears on Red River as noise curfew pilot program kicks off
Today marks the official start of a six-month program that will bring later hours for live music to one of the city’s most well-regarded cultural centers. Known in city channels as the Red River pilot program, the change in city policy will provide three extra hours total on weekends for outdoor music venues to feature […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
Bills threaten Austin’s land use plans
Brie Franco, the city of Austin’s chief legislative strategist, gave City Council a brief update at Tuesday’s work session before rushing off to do some last minute lobbying. The city is facing a number of legislative attempts to curb its powers in the area of land use, Franco explained. That includes House Bill 2959 and […]
Posted inTransit
For Capital Metro, UT shuttles ground what could be high-flying ridership numbers
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s latest systemwide ridership statistics would be trending upward were it not for an unlikely population: college students. According to recently posted data, the agency gave fewer rides in March than it did over the same period last year. That was despite a significant increase in passengers on MetroRapid and small […]
Posted inCourts
Judge rejects city’s payday lender rules
Austin Municipal Court Judge Ferdinand Clervi struck down a section of Austin’s payday lending ordinance in March, ruling that the ordinance’s limits on frequency and amount of installment payments are preempted by state law. That ruling affected two separate cases in which the city charged the Money Store, which does business under the name Speedy […]