Municipal identification cards are a new service innovation that solve multiple problems. Several large cities successfully operate municipal ID card programs. In Austin, an ID program would use minimal resources and serve diverse constituencies.
What are municipal identification cards?
IDs typically feature the photo and address of the cardholder, serving …
[MORE]A new City budget is being debated. Here are five key points that help clarify the meaningful choices policymakers face.
1. The City is not the big property tax bill. It's AISD.
A lot of consternation about the cost of local government focuses on the City. It's certainly a major …
[MORE]November's urban rail and road package aims to "do something" as Austin clamors for transportation solutions. Sadly, as blog readers know, the proposal will not be effective at reducing congestion or promoting car-independence. It will, however, exhaust our reserves of political will and actual capital available for bold solutions. An …
[MORE]Earlier today, Project Connect released a methodology memo (PDF version) providing an overview of their approach to estimating ridership. The memo raises three major concerns, which I describe below.
1. Ridership estimates use population growth assumptions unbound from empirical reality
The Project Connect team continues to based on where our …
[MORE]Yesterday, I joined an enthusiastic group of solution-minded Austinites at a CodeNEXT community input session. There were many great pro-reform speakers. Here's the presentation I delivered. Let's turn to the main points of the presentation and some additional ideas generated from discussion with defenders of the status quo.
1. Recent …
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