The Bond Election Advisory Task Force got its first look Monday at how the Transportation and Public Works Department is approaching the selection and prioritization of projects for next year’s expected bond package. Task force members had plenty of questions about how those choices will be made. Among the concerns, members asked staff how transportation […]
Austin Strategic Mobility Plan
Posted inPlanning
Urban Transportation Commission recommends new strategic plan for downtown streets
The Urban Transportation Commission voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve a new strategic plan from the Department of Transportation and Public Works for the streets of Austin’s small-yet-mighty downtown, along with a list of their own recommendations regarding the plan, during a meeting on March 4. The new plan, called the Austin Core […]
Posted inTransportation
Council greenlights update to urban trails, sidewalks and bikes plan with last-minute amendments
As the city prepares for a decade of unprecedented public transportation and highway infrastructure projects, Austin’s Transportation Department is making moves to spread the love to those choosing to walk, bike or roll. Since early last year, staff has been devising updates to the 2019 Strategic Mobility Plan, a sprawling vision charting the path forward […]
Posted inBicycles
Bike parking gets support in Urban Transportation Commission’s call to end parking requirements
City Council may add changes to bike parking requirements to a November resolution that will finalize the removal of parking minimums from the Land Development Code. The Urban Transportation Commission recently voted to recommend Council adopt the ordinance changes on parking minimums called for in a May resolution, while also in most cases requiring bicycle […]
Posted inTransportation
City champions electric bike-share as mode shift trailblazer
Four years into Austin’s commitment to have half its population choose alternatives to driving by 2039, the Transportation and Public Works Department is still hopeful its growing pains will eventually pay dividends. Division Manager Kirk Scanlon visited City Council’s Mobility Committee last week for an update on the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, a framework of […]
Posted inParks
Austin misses goal of having direction signs on all urban trails
Austin failed to install directional signs, also known as wayfinding, on all urban trails by 2022, a specific target outlined in the city’s far-reaching transportation strategy. The Austin Strategic Mobility Plan was adopted unanimously by the City Council in 2019. The ASMP – two years in the making, involving the input of thousands of Austinites – is supposed to […]
Posted inEnergy
Council weighs options for 2023 Austin Energy rates
With just a month before holiday break, City Council is fighting to resolve significant disagreements among stakeholders, outside counsel and Austin Energy on changes to utility base rates effective 2023. Council began this round of deliberations with the final recommendation of the Electric Utility Commission, which endorsed a number of approaches floated to tackle rate […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission weighs in on mobility plan updates
As the city works to update the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, a 20-year transportation plan adopted in 2019, the Planning Commission was the latest body to comment on the proposed changes March 8. City staffers propose two sets of changes to the ASMP. First, they plan to add language emphasizing the need for a transportation […]
Posted inTransportation
Homeowners concerned about implications of updates to Austin Strategic Mobility Plan
The city’s Transportation Department has begun updating Austin’s Strategic Mobility Plan for the first time since its inception in 2019, but not before encountering a few snags in community feedback. “I think one of the issues we’re having is that the street level classifications are not clear about what they mean in real-life application,” Urban […]
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 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 […]
Posted inCity Council
Council approves $23 million in partial purchases for Corridor Construction Program
City Council has authorized the Office of Real Estate Services to start negotiations with landowners for $23 million in real estate acquisitions from a number of properties along the nine segments of the Corridor Construction Program. Mike Trimble, director of the Corridor Program Office, told Council on Thursday that the partial acquisitions and corridor improvements […]