According to a new Public Policy Priorities poll commissioned b
y the Austin Monitor, the worst
thing about living in Austin is — by far — transportation. More than half of Austinites (51%) chose transportation, beating out housing (20%) by better than a 2-to-1 margin. More Austinites are frustrated at transportation than they are at all their other concerns combined.
It’s time to do something meaningful to address our frustrations with traffic options and congestion. Continue reading
Yesterday the Austin Transportation Department revealed the results of the Mobility Talks public survey and presented our options for a mobility bond in November.
We love Austin, but our traffic is among the worst in the country, and it’s getting harder and harder to be able to afford to live here. The Austin Transportation Department estimates that we have $9.5 billion in mobility needs. The good news is Senator Kirk Watson’s plan to partner with TxDOT to get I-35 done frees us up to use Austin’s bond capacity to make progress toward those mobility needs in a way that makes real progress on affordability. This is the moment for Austin to decide whether it’s serious about doing something about these problems in a new way. We know that addressing mobility on a project-by-project basis doesn’t produce the progress we need. Great cities do big things. Said another way, it’s time to go big or go home. Continue reading