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Transit
Commission adds weight to light rail efforts
The Urban Transportation Commission has once again given a boost to advocates for light rail in Austin. At its meeting last week, the commission voted unanimously to recommend that City Council consider putting bonds for “rail options” on the November…
Transit • By Caleb Pritchard • May 16, 2016
Mobility Committee votes to explore transit priority
The City Council Mobility Committee on Wednesday put its imprimatur on an effort to enhance transit service on city roadways. With a vote of 3-0, Council members Ann Kitchen, Delia Garza and Sheri Gallo endorsed a proposed resolution that calls…
Transit • By Caleb Pritchard • Apr 7, 2016
Hays County uncouples from Lone Star Rail
After dodging a potential death blow on Monday night, the Lone Star Rail District took another hit on the chin on Tuesday. One day after the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization opted not to freeze its funding of LSTAR, the…
Hays County • By Caleb Pritchard • Mar 23, 2016
Potential train wreck ahead for Lone Star Rail
It could be the end of the line for the Lone Star Rail District. On Monday, the moribund commuter rail project could see its funding from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization frozen by that agency’s Transportation Policy Board. According…
Transit • By Caleb Pritchard • Mar 18, 2016
Plaza Saltillo project draws fire from labor advocates
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plan to redevelop 10 acres of largely empty land near downtown Austin has drawn criticism from labor advocates. The Workers Defense Project organized a rally of dozens of activists at the front door of Cap…
Transit • By Caleb Pritchard • Mar 18, 2016
Updated: Raise for Watson as Cap Metro ridership declines
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority President Linda Watson is getting a raise despite the agency’s falling ridership. Cap Metro’s board of directors voted on Monday to award Watson with a 5 percent bump in pay. According to the agency’s website, Watson’s…
Transit • By Caleb Pritchard • Feb 23, 2016
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LSTAR troubles present another snag for Project Connect
Project Connect, the ambitious vision of a multimodal transportation future in Central Texas, hit a major pothole last week with Union Pacific’s decision to walk away from negotiations with the Lone Star Rail District. In a letter to the district,…
Transit • By Caleb Pritchard • Feb 15, 2016
Lone Star Rail hits major roadblock
A top official with the Lone Star Rail District, or LSTAR, said his agency will continue chugging along despite a serious setback that puts its fundamental mission in jeopardy. On Tuesday, Jerry Wilmoth, Union Pacific’s general manager of network infrastructure,…
Transit • By Caleb Pritchard • Feb 12, 2016
Mobility Committee considers options for transportation bond
Every member of City Council, including Mayor Steve Adler, turned up Wednesday afternoon for a discussion held by the Mobility Committee on a potential transportation bond election. They heard a slate of possibilities for action on a potential transportation bond,…
Roads • By Jack Craver • Feb 4, 2016
Cap Metro board greenlights central corridor study
Project Connect is returning to Central Austin. The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors unanimously approved on Monday a contract with the engineering firm AECOM to guide a new study of transportation in the urban core dubbed the Central…
Transit • By Caleb Pritchard • Jan 26, 2016
Cap Metro CEO: Austin "not ready" for light rail
The head of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday put a wet sponge on the feverish hopes that light rail transit in Austin could become a reality sooner rather than later. “I probably echo what I’ve read (Mayor Steve…
Transit • By Caleb Pritchard • Jan 20, 2016
Cap Metro rolls out downtown MetroRail station plans
Capital Metro has scaled down its ambitions for a permanent MetroRail station in downtown Austin. The transit agency showed off at a public meeting on Friday its preferred concept for the station, a much more conventional rendering compared to the…
