With Downtown Austin poised for overlapping mega-projects over roughly the next decade, City Council’s Mobility Committee took a closer look last week at the draft Austin Core Transportation Plan, which aims to tie all of the projects together. Committee members broadly supported the plan’s vision, but raised concerns about implementation details, including how to balance […]
Transportation Department
This city department is responsible for municipal transportation planning including roadways and bikeways.
Posted inTransportation
Future of Georgian Acres Mobility Hub still up in the air, with final updates to come this spring
Georgian Acres, a neighborhood in far Northeast Austin, is what is known as a “transit desert.” First coined in 2013 as an extension of the concept of a food desert – an area where there is a dearth of grocery stores and healthy food options – a transit desert refers to the exact conditions Georgian […]
Posted inElections
Where do Austin’s mayoral candidates stand on transportation issues?
When Austinites cast their ballots this election, transportation will be front and center – not just because it’s a major challenge for the region, but also because voters will have just navigated their way to a polling station. Austin’s mayor plays a powerful role in shaping how we get around the city and has an influential […]
Posted inTransportation
Urban Transportation Commission to seek more action, updates to trails plan
The Urban Transportation Commission has signaled it wants the city to take a more ongoing approach to evaluating how and when to add trail segments that had been long planned but were removed from the 2023 Urban Trails Plan. Commissioners opted Tuesday to postpone a recommendation related to updating the map of the 2023 plan, […]
Posted inEnvironment
Regional EPA grant will go toward mitigating I-35 construction traffic and pollution
On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $47.9 million grant to a coalition of transportation organizations in the Austin region that could go toward mitigating the worst environmental effects of Interstate 35’s inevitable expansion. The city of Austin will lead implementation of this Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG), as both I-35 and Project Connect’s […]
Posted inTransportation
Council asked to consider ridership, access goals in revising e-scooter rules
The Urban Transportation Commission wants the city to rework some of its recent regulations of e-scooters and other micromobility devices but stopped short of spelling out what changes should be made. At its meeting this week, the commission approved a revised recommendation – crafted largely by Commissioner Spencer Schumacher – that cut several pages of […]
Posted inTransportation
Safe Routes to School Program charts course ahead as infrastructure plan turns 4 years old
With 425 projects at over 100 schools under its belt, Austin’s Transportation and Public Works Department is moving forward with plans to improve pedestrian and bike routes to elementary and middle schools throughout the city. Safe Routes to School Program Manager Coleen Gentles stopped by City Council’s Mobility Committee meeting last week for a brief […]
Posted inTransportation
Vision Zero analysis reveals drugs or alcohol involved in higher percentage of traffic fatalities than state data shows
An analysis by Austin’s Vision Zero initiative found that the presence of drugs or alcohol among Travis County traffic fatalities is higher than previously thought. Vision Zero Analytics is a series of white papers by the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department as part of the overall effort to significantly reduce fatalities and serious injuries […]
Posted inTransportation
City champions electric bike-share as mode shift trailblazer
Four years into Austin’s commitment to have half its population choose alternatives to driving by 2039, the Transportation and Public Works Department is still hopeful its growing pains will eventually pay dividends. Division Manager Kirk Scanlon visited City Council’s Mobility Committee last week for an update on the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, a framework of […]
Posted inLand Development Code
City code amendments moving slowly, including change to parking requirements
Remember all those amendments to Austin’s land use regulations that City Council directed city staff to write – ideas that seem particularly important in light of the housing shortage? They’re moving slowly. Those amendments include eliminating parking requirements from the land use regulations outside the central business district. Parking requirements have already been eliminated downtown, […]
Posted inPublic Health
Traffic fatalities surpass pre-pandemic levels in continued ‘public health crisis’
The number of people seriously injured or killed on Austin roadways over the past two years is higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to an update released late last month by the city’s Vision Zero program. The report says that 1,287 people were seriously injured or killed on Austin roadways during 2021 and 2022, compared to […]
Posted inCity Hall
Garza makes major changes to city organization
Interim City Manager Jesús Garza announced a series of major organizational changes in a press release late Friday, saying his “highest priority is to organize our people and our work so that we are operating cohesively and focused on problem-solving.” The new structure “will be conducive to reducing process redundancies and to operating at the […]