This fall, the city marked a major milestone early – finishing the sidewalk program funded by the $720 million transportation bond approved in 2016. The project completed one year early, after constructing or repairing 56 miles of sidewalk with the $37.5 million allocated to the cause. Though Austin is nowhere close to completing its sidewalk network, with hundreds of miles still needing to be built, the work isn’t done either. Funds from 2018 and 2020 mobility bonds are being used toward the effort to complete the monumental task of filling the missing sidewalks in Austin.

For parents, it’s nearly time to start thinking ahead to summertime child care plans. One option is summer camps for ages 5 through 15 provided by City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department, including therapeutic summer programs; visual and performing arts, culture and history summer camps; and nature-based summer camps. Starting at 10 a.m. Feb. 10 until close of business on Feb. 17, Austin residents with approved financial aid and those seeking adaptive and inclusion support programs can register early in person and by phone. Registration times vary based on location, and evening and weekend times are available.

• For therapeutic summer programs, which embrace diversity and involve a team of certified therapeutic recreation specialists and inclusion aids, Austin residents can register from 10 a.m. Feb. 10 until close of business on Feb. 17. Non-Austin residents can register beginning at 2 p.m. Feb. 24.
• Austin residents can register for culture and arts summer camps beginning at 10 a.m. Feb. 24. Non-Austin residents can register beginning at 2 p.m. Feb. 24. Participants are limited to registering for no more than three weeks per child, per visual and performing arts, culture and history camp.
• For nature-based summer camps, Austin residents can register beginning at noon Feb. 24.  Non-Austin residents can register beginning at 2 p.m. Feb. 24. Participants are limited to registering for no more than three weeks per child, per nature-based summer camp.
• Community recreation center summer camps aim to enhance young people’s interests, skills and abilities.. Austin residents can register for community recreation center summer camps beginning at 1 p.m. March 2. Non-Austin residents can register beginning at 3 p.m. March 2.

For more information about summer camps, visit AustinTexas.gov/SummerCamp.

The most recent report from Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar shows that Austin’s sales tax collections rose to nearly $29.3 million for November, a 2.24 percent increase over last year. Round Rock saw a 6.23 percent increase, rising from about $9 million to $9.6 million, according to the report released Wednesday. Overall, Hegar announced he will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose districts $1.1 billion in local sales tax allocations for January, up 3.3 percent above allocations for January 2023. The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority will receive more than $32 million, an increase of about 2.5 percent, the comptroller said. Of Texas’ 20 largest cities, only Midland and Odessa saw a decline in their sales tax revenues for November. Each collected about 5 percent less than they did a year ago. Houston will receive $71.6 million, about 2 percent more than at the same time last year, and San Antonio will get $38.9 million, about 1.32 percent more than a year ago.

Pease Park Conservancy hosts its third annual MLK Day Food Drive next week in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Donations will be accepted at the picnic tables in Kingsbury Commons at Pease Park (1100 Kingsbury St.) between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 15. Suggested items include peanut butter, canned chicken breast or tuna, canned low-sodium vegetables, fruit in its juice, dry pinto beans, brown rice, dry pasta, nonfat dry milk powder, 100 percent whole grain cereal, tomato sauce, canned tomatoes and canned entrees. All items will be donated to a local food bank to be distributed throughout the community.

Efforts to reduce pedestrian fatalities on Interstate 35 have earned the Texas Department of Transportation federal recognition in the form of a 2023 National Roadway Safety Award. The Mobility35 pedestrian safety program was launched in 2017 to address the safety of those living in homeless encampments, who represented 80 percent of pedestrian fatalities in the 3.3 miles of I-35 between 51st Street and Rundberg Lane. With many of the fatalities involving pedestrians crossing the 250-foot, 15-lane section of roadway to reach stores and a fast food restaurant, state officials gave out reflective “Be Safe, Be Seen” bags to people living in the encampments to help them be seen at night by drivers. TxDOT also gave the bags to children who had to cross the highway to reach Webb Middle School. TxDOT also installed a 2-foot panel atop the highway median’s concrete barrier with “no pedestrian crossing” signs to deter people from risking death or injury by trying to make the illegal crossing. As of last summer, the same section of I-35 experienced 64 percent fewer pedestrian fatalities – and 89 percent fewer fatalities involving homeless pedestrians – compared to 2019 statistics.

Rudy Garza, president and CEO of GarzaEMC, has been selected as the board chair for Austin Chamber for 2024, with Mark Ramseur, managing principal of Pape-Dawson Engineers, named as chair elect for 2025. Garza also serves on multiple boards throughout the city, including the Real Estate Council of Austin, Leadership Austin and Salvation Army, and served as Austin’s assistant city manager from 2000 to 2011. Ramseur volunteers for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas, and he and his wife, Lori, received the 2023 Ice VII Award in recognition of their Fund A Friendship donations. The board also has 12 new members serving terms that will run through the end of 2026. They are:

• Mason Ayer, chief executive officer, Kerbey Lane Cafe
• Denise Bradley, vice president of communication and community affairs, St. David’s HealthCare
• Daniel Brooks, principal; managing director, Page
• Jason Buechel, chief executive officer, Whole Foods
• Denise Davis, partner, Davis Kaufman PLLC
• Kerry Hall, director, Susser Bank
• Scott Haywood, central division president, HNTB Corporation
• David Jabour, president, Twin Liquors
• Bobby Jenkins, owner, ABC Home & Commercial Services
• Joseph Llamas, president, Generational Commercial Properties
• Pamela Madere, partner, Jackson Walker LLP
• Jenny Whittemore, chief operating officer, Endeavor Real Estate Group

Austin renters still have more competition for finding a new home than their peers across the nation, but data from a leading rental technology company shows the increases to the local housing supply are having an effect on the market. A report from RentCafe found that in 2023, apartments in Austin were leased two days faster than the national average, but the company attributed the growth of apartment supply to the city’s drop out of the top three most-competitive markets. Each Austin apartment has seven potential renters competing for it, compared to a national average of nine would-be occupants. RentCafe also found Austin’s occupancy rate was lower than the national average of 94 percent – most local research puts the number at 90 percent or less – and noted that 55 percent of local renters renewed their leases.

Affordable Central Texas, which manages the Austin Housing Conservancy middle-income housing group, has announced changes to its board. Former Chair Steve LeBlanc has retired from the board, with CEO David Steinwedell taking over the chair position. Shar Kassam, who has previously served as an investment officer for Employees Retirement System of Texas, has joined the board and will serve on the audit committee. A spokesperson for the group said the board changes will help with its expansion into Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. To date, the conservancy has deployed $41 million to acquire 14 properties with a value of more than $400 million and 2,150 units, with a capacity to serve more than 4,000 residents. It expects to have more than 10,000 units by 2030.

City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly is offering another Community Emergency Response Team training course this weekend at the Jollyville Fire Department on Anderson Mill Road. The classes will take place at 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12; 8 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13; and 8 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 14. Participants will be learning CERT responsibilities, including disaster preparedness, fire suppression, disaster medical aid, and light search and rescue techniques. Kelly, who has extensive training in emergency management, helped facilitate the course with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the Emergency Management Institute. Information and registration is available online.

According to a federal lawsuit filed in late December, an inmate of the Travis County jail who was on suicide watch killed himself in the jail in 2022. Attorney Dean Malone filed suit against Travis County on behalf of the family of Jared “J.J.” Bell, who was taken from a hospital to jail on outstanding warrants, according to a news release from Malone. Jared’s brother had taken him to the hospital to get help because Jared was “experiencing psychosis and self-harm tendencies.” The man was on suicide watch at the jail but requested to use a telephone. The news release says Bell “was left alone for nearly an hour to use a phone that had a lengthy cord. Jared used the lengthy metal phone cord as a ligature and died by suicide.”

The Austin Parks Foundation has partnered with the Parks and Recreation Department to create the city’s first all-abilities playground at Onion Creek Metropolitan Park. The two entities will spend this year gathering public input on the plan for the park, with the first virtual session scheduled for Jan. 18. Supporters expect the park to be universally accessible, with specific attention given to providing resources for children with disabilities and special needs. Early plans call for an inclusive play area and restroom facilities, picnic pavilions for shade, pedestrian trails and ample accessible parking. The park will be funded in part by the Powell Foundation, APF, Austin Community Foundation and the Garrison Family Foundation. The project team includes architecture firm TBG; community engagement specialist Cultural Strategies; architect Jobe Corral; and civil engineering firm Malone/Wheeler.

Austin was named a leader in the area of digital inclusion in 2023, in part because of its efforts to address the digital divide that many residents face. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance awarded the city one of its Digital Inclusion Trailblazer awards, which recognized access to affordable high-speed internet, devices and digital skills training as the area emerged from Covid-19 quarantine. Among the initiatives recognized were the funds provided for nonprofits addressing digital equity, assistance to reuse and refurbish devices across the city and digital literacy training programs. “We are honored to be recognized by NDIA for this award for the third year in a row,” Rondella Hawkins, Austin’s telecommunications and regulatory affairs officer, said in a prepared statement. “I’m proud of our team for championing leading practices towards digital equity. These efforts would not be possible without the unwavering support from City management, elected officials, and community partners to foster a digitally inclusive Austin for all.”