Just in time for South by Southwest, the Transportation Department and Austin Energy are launching a pilot program allowing electric-assist pedicabs to operate on city streets. Though current rules allow them to rove around an area roughly bounded by 38th ½ Street and Oltorf Street to the north and south, and Mopac Expressway and Pleasant Valley Road on the west and east, most of the city’s 503 licensed pedicabs don’t stray far from downtown. Under the one-year pilot, as many as 65 of the pedal-powered vehicles could be equipped with electric motors that help drivers climb hills and cover longer distances. “This pedicab electrification pilot is one of the first in the United States, according to our research,” said Jacob Culberson, acting mobility services division manager at the department. “That’s why community feedback and the collection of pertinent data is essential to determining whether e-pedicabs will travel on Austin roads in the future.” In addition to feedback and data collected from the pedicab operators, passengers will also be able to provide input through an online survey.

Yesterday, Council Member Greg Casar joined Richard Florida’s “mutual non-agression pact” in a call to refuse subsidies for Amazon HQ2. That pact reads, in part,

We are signing onto the mutual non-aggression pact initiated by Richard Florida and signed by a diverse group of thousands of economists, academics, business leaders, and everyday people across the country to reject massive subsidies for Amazon. Amazon is using their economic and political power to push cities into a race-to-the-bottom. Major corporate subsidies for Amazon would undermine our ability as leaders to fund critical needs like education, transportation, housing, and infrastructure which make our cities attractive for investment in the first place.
When Amazon locates their new headquarters, they will place a major strain on our existing infrastructure, housing stock, and they will worsen income inequality. Instead of pressuring our cities to offer the biggest possible tax-break package, Amazon should make real commitments to our communities such as investments in affordable housing, infrastructure, and living wage jobs.

Casar joined Council Member Brad Lander from New York and Council Member Jared Evans from Indianapolis as the first elected officials from Amazon headquarters finalist cities to sign the pact (which can be read in its entirety below).

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Those who have a data-backed opinion about the potential Austin Convention Center expansion can now get in on a study that is taking a look at that proposal. The study, which was recently approved by City Council, is being conducted by the Center for Sustainable Development and the McCombs School of Business over the next few months, with a final report expected early this fall. And, according to a Feb. 26 memo from Deputy Chief Financial Officer Greg Canally, through the end of April, citizens who would like to share reports, studies or other resources that would help the study can do so using the comment form found here.

City Council told a little cafe on South First Street that currently sells gelato and coffee that the city will not prevent them from having a liquor license, in spite of its proximity to the Texas School for the Deaf. At Thursday’s Council meeting, Council members Delia Garza and Ora Houston argued that in spite of the failure of the School for the Deaf to comment on the application from the Tasty Spoon, Council should not waive the 300-foot distance requirement in city code. Kyle Hill, attorney for the Tasty Spoon, told Council the property line between the school and the cafe was fenced and was over an arroyo. Houston said, “I am concerned that the School for the Deaf takes no more consideration than they have in the past cases that have come before us – this must be the third one.” It turned out that it was the fourth case relating to alcohol and the school. “They don’t seem to want to engage in a conversation at all.” She suggested that perhaps the city was contacting the wrong people. She noted that children at the school come from all over the state. Garza said she agreed, noting that allowing one alcohol permit could encourage others to request such a permit. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo said she agreed with Houston, but that her staff had reached out to the school’s administration, and it said it didn’t want to be involved. However, she said the Tasty Spoon was not as close as other businesses whose permits she had opposed, and it is across a creek from the school. Garza and Houston both voted no on the eventual motion to allow the permit. Council Member Ellen Troxclair was off the dais and Council Member Alison Alter abstained, but the rest of Council approved waiving the restriction.

The board of directors of the Austin-based organization Pecan Street Inc. has announced that Suzanne Russo is the group’s new chief executive officer, replacing Brewster McCracken. McCracken resigned last week as he announced plans to launch an energy intelligence firm. Pecan Street, which was started in 2008, is a coalition of organizations focused on reimagining the role of electric utilities. The project was incorporated in 2009 and received more than $10 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to operate a real-world smart grid at the Mueller development. McCracken, a former City Council member, has been the organization’s CEO since 2009. Russo, the new CEO, has been chief of staff and chief operating officer of Pecan Street since she joined the organization in 2010. “We have a full suite of capabilities, from technology testing and verification to original research and technology development. I plan to fill out those categories and make sure that everyone who is wrestling with water, electricity or emission challenges understands how we can help them,” Russo said. Pecan Street’s initial research at Mueller initiated rooftop solar equipment on more than 200 homes there and sparked the highest concentration of electric vehicles in the country, the organization says. Pecan Street collects and measures electric use from more than 1,000 homes every minute. That information is used by 1,200 researchers at 400 universities around the world through Pecan Street’s data port.

The nights are warming up, and that means it’s time for Movies in the Park. The Austin Parks Foundation is presenting the free series of films in parks throughout town in partnership with Alamo Drafthouse and Whole Foods Market. BYO blankets, lawn chairs, food and (nonalcoholic) beverages. Leashed dogs are welcome in the parks as well. City law prohibits smoking, glass and styrofoam. The first movie, Disney’s “Moana,” will screen on March 8 at 7 p.m. at Ramsey Park. Movies in the Park will run through Nov. 8: Check out rest of the schedule here.

State Rep. Dawnna Dukes has finally endorsed Travis County’s first proprietary affordable housing project nearly a year after her decision to back a competing development cost the county crucial tax credits. Late Thursday afternoon, Commissioner Jeff Travillion’s office announced that Dukes had submitted a letter of support for the Travis Flats project at the county’s North Campus property near Airport Boulevard and 53½ Street. Plans include as much as 60,000 square feet of space for county offices as well as 146 residential units reserved for tenants making between 30 and 80 percent of the median family income. Travillion suggested to the Austin Monitor that the county did not afford enough time last year to familiarize Dukes with its proposal before seeking her stamp of approval. Since then, however, “Commissioner Travillion’s leadership has earned my support of a project as exceptional as Travis Flats, which provides deeply affordable housing in an urban setting with robust public transportation and easy access to schools and other amenities. I will continue to promote what is best for the community I represent, despite petty politics,” Dukes said, according to the press release sent by Travillion’s office, which also noted that Dukes was “referring to Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt’s public criticism of her last spring for supporting another project over Travis Flats.” For his part, Travillion, in whose Precinct 1 Travis Flats will be built, said, “I want to thank Representative Dukes for continuing to put people before politics. Travis Flats will be a catalytic project for both Precinct 1 and (Dukes’ House District) 46.”

The Planning Commission has passed yet another updated CodeNEXT review schedule to accommodate the delayed release of the proposed Land Development Code’s third draft. The motion, which passed unanimously at the Feb. 27 meeting, sets two “mega” public hearings: one on Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the second on Tuesday, May 1, from 4 to 10 p.m. Locations for those meetings are to be determined. In addition to setting the dates, the commission also voted to limit each speaker to three minutes with no donations of time permitted, and no speaker will be allowed to speak at both hearings. Commissioners will only be allowed to comment after citizen communication has finished (on both days). It is estimated that 120 people will be able to sign up to speak at the first hearing (on a first-come, first-served basis) and 100 at the second hearing. The commission anticipates submitting its final recommendation on CodeNEXT by the end of May.

The city’s Development Services Department is looking to improve the current demolition permitting process. This upcoming Wednesday, March 7, staff will be seeking public input on the process at a public meeting, which will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex. For those unable to attend Wednesday’s meeting, a second meeting to view the draft proposal is scheduled for Wednesday, March 28, at the Waller Creek Center from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Alternatively, Austinites who are loath to leave the house or don’t wish to publicly discuss demolition safety, notification requirements and licensing requirements can do so on SpeakUpAustin.org until March 18.

On Feb. 26, the Human Rights Commission announced that Commissioner Marshall Bennett would be leaving his seat vacant beginning this week. Bennett, who has worked as an adjunct assistant professor in sociology at Austin Community College for the last six years, recently accepted a position as the director of advising services at Tacoma Community College. He has served on the commission for the last year and ran for mayor of Cedar Park in 2016. His former position as a Human Rights commissioner remains open, and his departure from the commission will leave an open seat in several working groups as well.

Now that the Austin Independent School District has officially decided to rename five schools that were named after people with ties to the Confederacy, the district has decided to let the community decide what the new names should be. The five schools in question are John T. Allan Facility, Zachary Taylor Fulmore Middle School, Sidney Lanier High School, John H. Reagan High School and Eastside Memorial High School at the Johnston Campus. AISD is accepting submissions online at www.austinisd.org/naming, by mail at Community Engagement Office, Facility Naming Team, 1111 W. Sixth St., A-230, Austin, TX, 78703, or in person. Nominations will be accepted until 5 p.m. March 16.

Travis County Democrats continue to show greater enthusiasm for early voting for the March 6 primary than Republican voters, with Democratic turnout comparable to the presidential election year 2016. Republican turnout is more similar to the turnout Travis County saw in 2014, which like 2018, was a gubernatorial election year. As of the end of voting on Wednesday, 39,520 Democrats and 14,537 Republicans had cast ballots. The Democratic turnout is more than 5 percent of registered voters and the Republican turnout is close to 2 percent. A spokesperson for the Travis County Clerk’s office, which oversees elections, said they were seeing “a really good Democratic turnout.” She noted that there is a get-out-the-vote rally scheduled for 1:30 this afternoon on the University of Texas campus. Students are expected to walk over to the Flawn Academic Center to vote after that rally. As of Wednesday night, 2,668 voters had cast ballots at that campus location. The location with the highest voter turnout so far has been the Randalls at Research Boulevard and Braker Lane with 2,677 Democratic votes cast and 1,484 Republican. As is often the case, the Ben Hur Shrine Center in Northwest Austin was a popular voting location with 2,596 ballots cast so far. However, the Travis County Tax Office in Pflugerville has been getting more than its usual share of the vote, probably indicating increased interest in the race between incumbent state Rep. Dawnna Dukes and challengers Sheryl Cole, Jose “Chito” Vela, Warren Baker, Casey McKinney and Ana Cortez. There also has been increased turnout at the Fiesta Central. Other voting locations with high turnout have been the Randalls at Ben White Boulevard and Manchaca Road with 2,566 Democrats and 511 Republicans casting ballots so far, as well as the Randalls stores at Brodie and Slaughter lanes and at MoPac Expressway and William Cannon Drive. Early voting continues today and tomorrow. There will be a mobile polling station open at City Hall for these last two days. The primary is on Tuesday. There were about 642,000 registered voters in Travis County in 2016’s joint primary, and now there are about 735,000 registered voters. Part of the increase is because of people moving to to Travis County but numerous volunteers worked very hard to make sure that everyone who wanted to register to vote got the opportunity. To see the numbers for yourself, go to the county clerk’s website.