Opponents of a reinvigorated data-driven process for urban rail route selection often highlight the planned MetroRapid bus service. As the map below shows, the initial service routes cover Guadalupe, Lamar, and Congress.
“The feds are already helping us meet the needs there” are the key lyrics to this particular siren …
[MORE]Is the Red Line Circulator (a.k.a the “Mueller” route) the only politically feasible initial urban rail sequence? Some proponents of the preliminary urban rail route generated by the Project Connect process imply this is the case.
To evaluate this we have to revisit the failed 2000 rail referendum …
[MORE]The Austin City Council is poised to make a decision on urban rail’s route based on incomplete data. At the heart of this predicament is a 2010 document entitled the “Central Austin Transit Study” (CATS). This document makes a set of fundamental assumptions about transit politics born out of …
[MORE][Originally posted at Burnt Orange Report on 1/21/13]
This past November Austinites replenished our municipal democratic practices by shifting towards geographic districts and moving elections from May to November. However, much work remains to be done to ensure that city government is truly open to the community's diverse …
[MORE]The discussion around Austin’s ‘affordability’ was perhaps the most interesting policy theme from the recent municipal election.
Unfortunately, the discussion seemed to focus on economic development subsidies. These subsidies - while they might contribute to reducing Austin’s affordability in some cases - are a tiny part of local public sector …
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