Austin Metric

Articles by Julio Gonzalez Altamirano

Transit productivity not political trophies

Given the underwhelming ridership and cost figures estimated for the Grove to Highland rail proposal, some proponents are deploying a "political" argument on behalf of the route. Below is a real-world specimen that captures the main points of the political argument:

the_political_arg_for_bad_rail

Let’s address these points individually.

1. “Unique consensus …

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Letter to Council on Project Connect's Transparency

I sent the following note to all Council Members earlier today.

"Dear Council Members,

As of this morning, Project Connect has not publicly released the methodology or source data for the ridership and cost estimates behind its LPA recommendation.

These have been repeatedly requested by many advocates, including myself.

The …

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Rail Options

This week, the Project Connect staff and consultants are starting to put the finishing touches on their mode and alignment recommendation to the Mayor’s Central Corridor Advisory Group (CCAG).   CCAG will then stamp some version of that recommendation with its approval (the final vote will likely be on Friday …

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Endow Universal Pre-K

UPKNYCHomePageSlideCourtesy of UPKNYC

The Austin City Council is considering spending an unexpected $14 million surplus in a so-called 'midyear budget adjustment'. This is similar to their allocation of $10 million for affordable housing last year.  This time, if we are going to spend it, it should be invested in creating …

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A New Balance for Austin Transportation Policy

[This post is intended to serve as background reading for my portion of the upcoming transportation session of the 2014 Leadership Austin Engage Series. For best results, please review "Austin Transportation in 20 Slides" before diving into this post. And remember, these are my views, not those of the fine …

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