Today Mayor Steve Adler challenged Austin commuters to find a way to work that avoided rush hour traffic on May 11. This is an attempt to recreate the traffic flow when people stayed home because the President came to town for SXSW, and Austin saw traffic times drop by half on MoPac and by about half that much on our downtown streets.

“Last time I asked you to work from home,” said Mayor Adler. “This time I’m just saying, Austin don’t rush. Figure out a different work schedule. Take the bus or the train. If you can, ride your bike into work. We did it for the President. We can do it for us. If each of us does a little, we can all do a lot.”

To relieve traffic congestion, the Mayor is asking Austinites to do anything other than drive by themselves—if possible—during morning and afternoon rush hours on May 11. Continue reading →

I worked to avoid this costly election because neither choice delivers by itself the outcome Austin needs. What Austin needs are safety, TNCs, and local control.

Today, neither Prop 1 choice is best for Austin because neither delivers by itself what we need.

But because these are the only choices in front of me, I will vote “Against” on Prop 1 because I believe such a vote puts Austin and the rideshare companies constructively back at the negotiating table.

I have concluded that only an “Against” vote will allow Austin to find the right solution.

Continue reading →