The storm that brought Austin to a standstill continues to impact city operations this week. Services are closed across the city due to extreme weather with an expectation that more winter is on the way. City officials announced Monday that all city operations, save essential services, would be shut down on Tuesday and Wednesday. All […]
Transportation Department
This city department is responsible for municipal transportation planning including roadways and bikeways.
Posted inTransportation
Mobility Committee hears update on Proposition B plans
At Thursday’s City Council Mobility Committee meeting, city staffers described what 2021 has in store for the numerous projects funded by Proposition B, the $460 million active mobility bond that voters passed overwhelmingly in November. Staff members across several city departments will spend most of the year prioritizing and planning the projects, a huge task […]
Posted inTransportation
Mobility Committee to receive annual update on bond fund plan
At today’s meeting, the City Council Mobility Committee will discuss the Mobility Annual Plan, a document that explains how mobility bond funds are used citywide. The meeting is part of a larger annual effort to incorporate public feedback into the city’s mobility efforts. The Mobility Committee does not vote on a new MAP each year; […]
Posted inRoads
Despite fewer drivers, more people died on Austin roads in 2020 than in the past five years
The first traffic death on Aug. 26 happened just before 7 a.m. A man was making a left-hand turn out of an apartment complex in West Austin; he was killed after his car collided with a Jeep Cherokee. Later that day a bicyclist ran a red light and collided with a driver heading south on […]
Posted inRoads
Urban Transportation Commission creates working group to form I-35 recommendations
A Texas A&M Transportation Institute report recently ranked the segment of Interstate 35 that goes through Austin the most congested roadway in the state. This congestion is one of the reasons behind the I-35 Capital Express Project, a multiyear, multibillion-dollar transportation initiative that will add two non-tolled managed lanes in each direction along I-35 from […]
Posted inDevelopment
Council approves street impact fee program
Beginning in mid-2022, developers eager to contribute to Austin’s growth will need to pitch in to help pay for the transportation infrastructure costs necessitated by the new development. The street impact fee program that City Council unanimously adopted last week will require a one-time payment from developers in proportion to how much traffic their project […]
Posted inDevelopment
Council delays HealthSouth vote but OKs Red River Street fee waiver
City Council members will have one more week to think about whether they want to choose a design team made up of Aspen Heights Partners, Civilitude, Studio Balcones and STG Design to redevelop the former HealthSouth tract at 1215 Red River and 606 E. 12th St. into a modern complex with apartments, condos, a 15-story […]
Posted inCity Council
Council not yet sold on street impact fee plan
City Council passed the first of three readings for a street impact fee program on Thursday, marking a milestone in the multi-year effort to guarantee that developers help carry the cost of adding new transportation infrastructure. Council approved the first reading in a unanimous vote, but Council members raised several issues for the city to […]
Posted inTransportation
Downtown Commission defends cars on Congress
As the Austin Transportation Department continues to build out Congress Avenue’s protected bike lanes and make intersection safety improvements, the Downtown Commission wants to ensure that the changes will not result in reduced capacity – the number of cars able to get through the corridor in a given period of time. Laura Dierenfield, a division […]
Posted inTransportation
Bike Austin fights for Healthy Streets
The Austin Transportation Department removed two segments of Healthy Streets last week, and barring another wave of cases of Covid-19, will continue winding down the initiative by removing one or two street projects every couple of weeks until all eight are gone. With social distancing still a necessity, however, Bike Austin is calling on the […]
Posted inTransportation
City advances speed management projects
On the heels of an ongoing citywide speed limit reduction program, the Austin Transportation Department has launched a new traffic calming program to help retrofit Austin’s streets for an increasingly urban environment. The speed mitigation program is intended to complement speed limit reductions with street design modifications and address the fact that, while total crashes […]
Posted inTransportation
Healthy Streets inspires slow streets pilot
With cases of Covid-19 on the decline in Austin, the Transportation Department is preparing to wind down the Healthy Streets initiative, a safe mobility and social distancing program that’s been in effect since May 22. The department will start by removing the Whispering Oaks Drive and part of the Comal Street segments at the end […]