A recently regenerated plan to develop long term solutions to Austin’s transportation troubles is getting public input Tuesday evening.

The rise in tolls on Port Authority of New York and New Jersey bridges and tunnels in September may have caused many commuters to leave their cars at home and switch to public transportation, early reports from the agency show……..READ MORE.

A first round of public involvement projects is scheduled for December and APT needs to make sure we get a good and diverse turnout at these meetings scheduled for next week.

As an organization, we made sure CAMPO knew how strongly we felt about Central Texas having a discussion about how all of the potential transit projects connected to one another as well as to other transportation solutions in our region.  It is now time for APT to help get the word out about the meetings and find the not-so-usual suspects to attend and engage in this conversation.

Project Website:

http://connectcentraltexas.com/

Brief info on the meetings (open house format):

• 5-8 pm, Tuesday, December 6, 2011 – Bowie High School Cafeteria, 4103 Slaughter Lane, Austin, TX 78749

• 5-8 pm, Thursday, December 8, 2011 – Anderson High School Cafeteria, 8403 Mesa Drive Austin, TX 78759

• 11 am-1pm, Friday, December 9, 2011 – Austin City Hall Atrium, 301 W. Second Street, Austin, TX 78701

Airport Boulevard Mobility Corridor Study

Community Presentation and Open House

Tuesday, November 29 • 6–8 pm
Center61, 2921 East 17th Street, 2nd Floor
(the PeopleFund building @ the MLK MetroRail station)

Presentation: 6:15 — 6:45 pm
Open House: 6:45 — 8 pm

Come see the latest ideas for near- and long-term ways to make Airport Boulevard work better for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users. This is your opportunity to learn and provide hands-on feedback on design concepts, cross sections, intersection improvements and more before the study is finalized in early 2012.

For more information,
contact Alan Hughes
at 512-974-7186 or alan.hughes@austintexas.gov,
or visit the Corridor Study page at airportboulevard.com.

Although Lee Leffingwell all but announced it will happen at last week’s TWG meeting, Ben Wear reports today that the city is considering helping CapMetro with the costs of Friday and Saturday Red line Service.  This is a big issue.

We (APT)  have been pushing for the City to help Capital Metro with weekend service for months now.  Now that it is coming together we need to make sure and post positive comments about the virtues of GROWING ridership for a variety of reasons…….READ MORE.

Thursday afternoon a big announcement is expected concerning the boardwalk over Lady Bird Lake.

The Trail Foundation will announce it has raised $2.4 million in just eight months and is ready to uphold their commitment to the city……….READ MORE.

Capital Metro, still digging out of a financial hole and facing new costs for buses and federally mandated train controls, is considering borrowing $20 million.  A board committee approved the measure Tuesday, and the proposed loan will probably come before the agency’s board early next month…...READ MORE.

YNN is partnering with the City of Austin to bring a new weekly segment called Speak Up Austin! City leaders hope to engage the public as they move through the planning process.

Planners are seeking input from across Austin as they take steps to support redevelopment along Austin’s historic Rainey Street neighborhood. The area took off a couple years ago, when a few business owners decided to bring new life to the bungalow homes that date back to the 1890s………..READ MORE.

Several of us at APT have had an opportunity to get briefings from the City of Austin Transportation Department about the potential to improve IH 35 without changing the footprint of IH 35.  Part of the solution could include high occupancy lanes for busses and for car/van pools.  If you are interested and would like to weigh on the discussion, please attend this session or check in online and let your voice be heard:

AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN

****OPEN HOUSE REMINDER****

IH-35 Corridor Development Program

Thursday, November 17, 2011

3:00-8:00 p.m.

Austin Energy’s Town Lake Center

721 Barton Springs Road

Room 130, First Floor Meeting Room

For additional information please visit: http://www.ih35austin.org

Finding a parking space in Austin usually involves a lot of driving around for Bob Cafka, who is disabled………..Cafka said a good majority of the time, parking spaces reserved for him and other disabled drivers are taken by those who don’t need them….READ MORE.