Those of us who have braved the journey to find parking on South Congress Avenue during peak hours know it is not for the faint of heart. You might be circling, searching for an open spot for what feels like hours. Euphoria fills your spirit when you think you have finally found that perfect spot. […]
Transportation Department
This city department is responsible for municipal transportation planning including roadways and bikeways.
Posted inTransportation
Fate of the Crestview Gate could be decided today
A decadelong debate over a notorious gate in the Crestview neighborhood is likely to reach its conclusion today, with City Council set to vote on a zoning change that would get rid of the gate at Easy Wind Drive and Morrow Street once and for all. In 2011, the Crestview Neighborhood Association pushed to add […]
Posted inTransportation
Downtown Commission proposes stricter regulation of Austin’s scooter onslaught
Calls for firmer regulation of the dockless scooters, mopeds and e-bikes scattered about the city may hit the desks of City Council in coming months, as a recommendation from the Downtown Commission makes its way to the agenda. The recommendation proposes stricter requirements for providers to remove devices blocking sidewalks, crosswalks and other rights of […]
Posted inBicycles
MetroBike program gears up for 10-year expansion project
Cyclists can expect to see expanded bike-share infrastructure roll out in the next few years, as the team behind the city’s MetroBike program prepares to bring an updated interlocal agreement to City Council this summer. Since 2013, MetroBike (formerly B-cycle) has relied on nonprofit-run Bike Share of Austin to manage daily operations. Now, Capital Metropolitan […]
Posted inRoads
Nueces Street in West Campus to be converted to two-way road
The city of Austin will start work this summer to convert one-way Nueces Street between 24th and Guadalupe streets into a two-way thoroughfare, part of a long-planned project that fits with the voter-approved vision to run light rail down the Drag. The more immediate changes include installing crosswalks and a traffic signal at Nueces and […]
Posted inDevelopment
ATD reveals next steps for start of street impact fee system
The Austin Transportation Department is prepared to begin assessing its new street impact fee on developments this summer, and has prepared a rough list of 35 projects spread across the city that will be the first to get funding from the new fees. At a recent meeting of the Urban Transportation Commission, ATD staff explained […]
Posted inTransportation
Transportation Department reveals plans for federal infrastructure grant
Transportation Department Director Robert Spillar stopped by the City Council Mobility Committee meeting last Thursday to share how the department aspires to use the first round of funding from the federal bipartisan infrastructure law. The infrastructure law, passed last November, allocates money for national infrastructure investments to be released over a five-year period. Spillar told the […]
Posted inTransportation
Could Austin’s airport taxis break free from the garage?
Facing steep declines in ridership, Austin’s taxi industry was offered a glimmer of hope at the most recent City Council meeting. Earlier this month, Council unanimously approved a change that will have the city license taxis as an operating authority, ending the taxi franchise system that has been in place since 1950. Mayor Steve Adler […]
Posted inTransportation
Who will help Austin enforce its traffic laws?
Although Austin continues to address dangerous driving behaviors through engineering and educational efforts, traffic fatalities continue to happen. The issue “remains a critical one for the city to analyze and address moving forward,” according to a follow-up audit presented to the City Council Audit & Finance Committee on Wednesday. Despite the city’s efforts, the number […]
Posted inRoads
Vision Zero initiative brings second rollout of speed limit reductions
City Council slipped a number of roadway changes through its brief, sentimental meeting this past Thursday, passing several ordinances that will lower the speed limit on a number of roads in Southwest, Southeast and Northeast Austin. Prioritized sections of Convict Hill Road, Salt Springs Drive, Nuckols Crossing Road, St. Elmo Road, and West Yager Lane […]
Posted inBicycles
First phase of South Lamar bike lanes delayed nearly two years
Work on a major face-lift to South Lamar Boulevard between Riverside Drive and Barton Springs Road was supposed to have been well underway by now, but as those who frequent the stretch know, not much has changed. That’s because the “road diet” project, which will remove one lane each way to add protected bike lanes […]
Posted inPlanning
City works to resolve decadelong feud over Crestview gate
The Austin Transportation Department closed a chapter of Crestview history last Thursday, passing to City Council its recommendation to permanently remove the infamous gate blocking vehicle access from Easy Wind Drive to Morrow Street. The gate, the subject of a decade of neighborhood squabbling, dates back to a 2011 zoning change to placate residents concerned […]