Travis County leaders, led by Travis County Judge Andy Brown, will host a taco-rich town hall at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5. The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature community questions, conversation and free tacos at the Webberville Road location of Veracruz All Natural. Those interested in attending can RSVP for more details and submit questions  for county commissioners about Travis County services, issues, or anything else that is weighing on one’s county-focused mind.

Editor’s Note: Andy Brown is on the board of the Capital of Texas Media Foundation, which is the parent nonprofit of the Austin Monitor.

While “Spring Festival Season” is often just a code word for South by Southwest in Austin, city transportation officials are reminding residents that the festivities will continue this week. And that could mean traffic headaches without proper planning. This week features a convergence of events that all come with their own street closings: Texas Relays, the Country Music Television Awards, ABC Kite Fest at Zilker, the Urban Cultural Fest and the Longhorn Run – all of which impact portions of downtown for portions of this week. It’s a lot, as illustrated by this quick rundown detailed by the Austin Transportation Department:

• The 2023 Country Music Television Awards will feature events throughout the week with county music tapings and performances, leading to the CMT Awards show live from the Moody Center at 8 p.m. on April 2. Portions of Congress Avenue and the surrounding area will be closed from March 27 through April 3.
• The 95th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays will be held at the Mike A. Myers Track & Soccer Stadium at the University of Texas from March 29 through April 1. Extra congestion is expected on campus and Littlefield Street will be closed at Red River Street to most westbound traffic.
• The 95th annual ABC Kite Fest will take place Saturday, April 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Zilker Park. Expect traffic impacts around the park as portions of Barton Springs Road will be closed.
• Austin’s Urban Cultural Fest will take place from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, at Vic Mathias/Auditorium Shores. Park access is open only for ticketed attendees and there will be no event parking in the neighborhoods surrounding the park.
• The Longhorn Run 5K and 10K race at the University of Texas will take place at 8 a.m. on Saturday, April 1. Parts of Speedway, East 27th Street, Wichita Street and Whitis Avenue will be closed during the race. You can find the course route here.

City Council approved Austin Public Library’s strategic plan Thursday, paving the way for expansion in the future. The plan, which can be read in its entirety here, recommends construction and expansion of existing branches. In terms of expansion, the plan recommends that more than half of the existing branches be expanded to at least 30,000 square feet. In addition, the plan recommends four “net new” large library branches in each quadrant of the city. “Five and a half years ago, Austin opened a new world-class Central Library in downtown, and that building remains the crown jewel of the city,” said Library Director Roosevelt Weeks in a statement to the press. “However, our neighborhoods deserve world-class library facilities too. The plan adopted by the City Council today lays out a vision for growing and updating our entire library system to meet the needs of the rapidly changing, dynamic city we serve.” In addition to the library expansion, the 118-page plan also lays out five new strategic goals. They are:

1.  Provide community-centric programs and services
2. Design and develop spaces for community connections
3. Foster stakeholder relationships
4. Expand library access
5. Engage staff

University of Texas football star Bijan Robinson taught a swim lesson at Bartholomew Pool in East Austin last week as part of a partnership between the Parks and Recreation Department’s Aquatic Division and Tankproof, a nonprofit that offers swim lessons to underserved communities. “By teaching children how to be safe and confident in the water, and by raising awareness about the importance of swim lessons, this partnership seeks to help save lives,” the city said in a press release. Robinson “teaches kids to swim so that they learn the skills to survive and thrive in the water.” Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 years old. Robinson himself survived a nonfatal drowning when he was 5 years old. According to the press release, “Nine children have drowned in Texas already this year, but these accidents can be prevented if everyone watches children near water and learns to swim.” Register for city of Austin swim lessons and swim teams starting Monday, April 3, at 8 a.m.

Austin Pathways, which is a subsidiary of the Housing Authority of the City of Austin, announced Monday that it has received a $250,980 grant to promote affordable broadband access for low-income households. The grant comes from the  Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Program as part of nearly $5 million distributed nationally for the Your Home, Your Internet Pilot Program that offers participants $30 monthly discounts on broadband, among other things. “This is an exciting opportunity for voucher and supportive housing program participants,” said Michael Gerber, president and CEO of HACA, in a statement to the press. “Today, affordable high-speed internet is key to accessing education, healthcare, job training, and maintaining relationships with friends and loved ones. Still, too many individuals lack broadband access due to high costs, a lack of technical know-how, or simply unaware that programs like the ACP are there to help.” According to the FCC, about 104,000 households would be eligible for discounted internet but, according to a press release from the housing authority, only about 18 percent of that population is currently enrolled.

Project Connect has been in the news recently, fueled by the hiring of a new leader, budget woes and a leak of maps showing plans have been pared down from original promises. Next week, Austinites will get the chance to sound off on new draft maps, which come with the following warning from the Austin Transit Partnership: “Facing rising costs and supply chain issues affecting communities on a global basis, the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) is developing a light rail plan to deliver the transit expansion to the community while being mindful of budgetary restrictions.” Feedback on the maps (which have yet to be revealed) kicks off on Tuesday, March 21, with an open house at Austin Central Library from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

While the slightly premature bluebonnets blooming across the city may be a welcome sight, the presence of blue-green algae at Red Bud Isle is not. The algae, which was confirmed in a tweet from the Watershed Protection Department, can be toxic to people and fatal to pets. Both groups should avoid getting in water where the algae is present, refrain from touching or ingesting it, and rinse off after being in water where algae is present. More information about cyanobacteria, including city efforts to mitigate it, can be found on the city’s website. Sampling for the presence of toxins will resume in the summer.

The 2023 Mobility Annual Plan (MAP) is ready for the eyes of Austinites, and the city is looking for feedback. The plan, implemented with the help of mobility bonds, is a citywide guide to mobility improvements. Each year, as part of the process to improve mobility infrastructure, the public is invited to weigh in. This year’s process is underway and will continue through March 26. The draft plan, as well as an interactive map of projects and feedback forms in English and Spanish, can all be found online.

The fight over traffic bollards on Barton Skyway has a new combatant, as another Change.org petition has entered the fray over the “sticks” that demarcate bicycle lanes. The second petition, which is titled “MORE bicycle/pedestrian protections on Barton Skywy 78704” had 2,060 signatures as of Monday night. In contrast to the first petition, which asked for removal of the bollards, the new petition asserts: “The Austin Transportation Department (ATD) has nominally improved safety for cyclists & pedestrians …. These additions have created a safer avenue for cyclists and pedestrians to navigate while not needing to worry as much about being run over and possibly killed.” However, like the original petition, the opposition still expresses dissatisfaction with the steps that have been taken, noting “this is not enough, and that more measures are needed to keep cyclists & pedestrians safe from drivers. … Please accept this request to employ even safer ways to allow cyclists and pedestrians to navigate these streets again with more traffic calming measures to protect against the 4000-5000lb vehicles that can easily crush human bodies. Our city is a vibrant and beautiful city, and our residents deserve to be able to appreciate it without worry of being run over by a truck or SUV.” The original petition, which demands removal of “Stick-a-geddon” had 630 signatures as of Monday night.

The Salvation Army committed on Friday to maintaining operations at its downtown shelter through the end of April. The nonprofit announced on March 2 that it intended to close the facility, but its area management faced tough questions with regard to its plan for relocating its remaining clients at City Council’s Public Health Committee meeting on March 8. In a press release, the nonprofit said it will continue to “safely exit clients” until April 30. “Despite reports to the contrary, the Salvation Army has always been committed to the safe exit of their downtown shelter brothers and sisters,” the statement reads. In a separate Friday press release, the city of Austin announced it would spend up to $100,000 to facilitate this extension.

A variety of citizens with different opinions on equitable transit-oriented developments had their say at City Council on Thursday before Council adopted a resolution to start the process for choosing policies for the eTODs. One particularly thorny problem brought up by speakers relates to how much parking will be allowed around Project Connect stations and accompanying developments. That will likely come up again throughout the planning process. Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison noted that the planning for transit has been ongoing for the past several years and thanked colleagues, past and present, for their work. She said eTODs will allow the city to be the template moving forward for equity. “I want to make sure that all types of people can live” in our city, she said. She also urged her colleagues and staff to do the work to make sure the policy is not simply a binder on a shelf but is a policy that has been implemented. Staff has estimated that it could be a year before the new policies come back to Council for adoption.

As the rest of the city prepares for a deluge of visitors for SXSW, Dell Match Play, NASCAR, Texas Relays and the CMT Awards, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has also taken steps to prepare for the March and April influx of passengers. Towanda Cordon, acting deputy chief of operations for AUS, says travelers should arrive earlier than normal and “pack their patience as our teams prepare for their arrival.”

That means arriving 2.5 hours early for domestic flights and 3 hours early for international flights. Bear in mind that the airport hosted more than 1.8 million passengers through the airport during March 2022 – making it the busiest March in airport history. Airlines are offering 10 percent more seats than last year, and airport officials are predicting that March 2023 will top March 2022.

Peak departure travel times are 5 to 8 a.m., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. During these times passengers may encounter longer waits at security checkpoints. Passengers who have TSA PreCheck will have shorter wait times, and the federal agency is offering passengers the option to sign up for the service once they have cleared the regular TSA line.

Gun owners should bear in mind that it is illegal to carry a firearm in their carry-on luggage, a fact that numerous Austin passengers have either not known or forgotten. However, guns are allowed in checked and locked luggage.

AUS also wants you to know the airport is offering a special music lineup, featuring 52 different live music performances starting Monday, March 13, and continuing through Friday. March 17. You can view a detailed schedule of the airport’s nine music stages on the Live Music in the Air at AUS program web page.