Stories by Ryan Thornton
School lands generate $3.4 million for county schools
For the first time since 2014, the Travis County Commissioners Court has voted to distribute revenues from its 18,820-acre property in Throckmorton County among 14 school districts across the county. Melissa Velasquez, executive assistant for Commissioner Brigid Shea, brought the…
Travis County • By Ryan Thornton • Nov 11, 2020
TxDOT opens I-35 scoping phase
Mobility advocates are calling on the Texas Department of Transportation to reimagine its plans for the Interstate 35 corridor through Central Austin as the agency prepares to open the public scoping phase of the project this week. The Capital Express…
Roads • By Ryan Thornton • Nov 11, 2020
CAMPO offers new board structure
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is considering modifying leadership policies of the Transportation Policy Board’s bylaws to ensure broader representation from different types and sizes of jurisdictions. But some board members and transportation advocates say election week is not…
Transportation • By Ryan Thornton • Nov 6, 2020
Prop B walks, rolls, rides to victory
In addition to passing a historic mass public transit system under Proposition A, Austin voters also approved Prop B, a $460 million active mobility bond that will allow the city to make significant progress toward completing the bike lane network,…
Bonds & Propositions • By Ryan Thornton • Nov 5, 2020
Voters pass Project Connect transit plan
With the passage of Proposition A, voters have given the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority the green light to build out the core elements of the city’s first mass transit system over the coming decade as part of a $7.1 billion…
Elections • By Ryan Thornton • Nov 4, 2020
Pool reelected to District 7
In a race against sole opponent Morgan Witt, District 7 Council Member Leslie Pool earned over two-thirds of the vote in a bid for re-election. Pool received 27,255 of the 40,530 votes counted in the District 7 race as of…
Elections • By Ryan Thornton • Nov 4, 2020
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City departments may now deal with small-scale violations
City Council unanimously approved a change to city code Thursday that will allow the Office of the City Auditor to refer small-scale secondary employment misuse cases to the city manager’s office. In cases where a city employee is found using…
City Charter • By Ryan Thornton • Oct 30, 2020
Domain substation may compromise Red Line Trail
Austin Energy needs a new substation to serve the population growth around the Domain and the utility already owns a site in an ideal location for that purpose. However, the Public Works Department’s Urban Trails team has been eyeing that…
Planning • By Ryan Thornton • Oct 29, 2020
County extends small cities relief deadline
Millions of dollars in pandemic relief funds may shortly be returned to the U.S. Treasury Department due to the failure of small cities in Travis County to provide documentation for the county’s $7.3 million small cities relief program. The Commissioners…
Travis County • By Ryan Thornton • Oct 28, 2020
Cap Metro cross-charges electric buses
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority has been testing out the electric bus market this year with vehicles and charging systems from two different manufacturers. While the six Proterra and six New Flyer buses originally came with manufacturer-specific charging systems, Capital…
Transit • By Ryan Thornton • Oct 27, 2020
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…
Transportation • By Ryan Thornton • Oct 23, 2020
Commission sends back public art guidelines
The city’s Art in Public Places guidelines are being revised this year for improved legibility, formatting and a stronger focus on equity. They have not been updated since 2004 and most of the changes are uncontroversial, but the Arts Commission…
