“ATX Mayor meets with US DOT over Smart City Plan“
By Rudy Koski, Fox 7 News
http://www.fox7austin.com/news/local-news/121106310-story
A delegation with the U.S. Department of Transportation met Monday with Austin’s mayor and city mobility planners. The meeting was part of a competition for a $50 million grant to become a new federal innovation center.
The Austin proposal essentially is a pitch to be a transportation idea lab for Uncle Sam. 5 areas for innovation include:
- self driving vehicles.
- electric powered fleets.
- intelligent traffic signals.
- regional park & ride hubs.
- smart phone travel applications.
“The challenge of our urban renaissance, is no long how to attract population growth or how to attract capital investment, rather our challenge is bridging the divide between those who benefit from our boom and those who are being left behind,” said Councilman Greg Casar.
“Austin Still Contender for Smart Cities Challenge“
By KLBJ Newsroom
http://www.newsradioklbj.com/news/austin-local-news/austin-still-contender-smart-cities-challenge
Austin is putting everything it’s got into winning the Smart Cities Challenge grant. Mayor Steve Adler is hosting a federal delegation today.
Only seven cities remain in the Challenge grant and Austin is still one of them. Today Adler welcomes a US Department of Transportation delegation to learn more about the challenge and make the case for Austin. “In our intractable problems and challenges associated with affordability and mobility, the things that cause that. The extreme growth in this city lie the opportunities to do something about both.”
“Mayor Adler: Improving Mobility is ‘Life and Death’ for Austin“
By Austin Business Journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2016/04/11/mayor-adler-improving-mobility-is-life-and-death.html
Austin Mayor Steve Adler, in his role as the city’s pitchman for a futuristic federal transportation grant program, told U.S. Department of Transportation officials on Monday that the city is committed to moving forward on improving mobility in the region.
“No city needs this more, and no city is better situated to take advantage of all the Smart City Challenge offers on mobility. What we can accomplish with mobility technology can provide ladders of opportunity for everyone in Austin as well as greater mobility for everyone in the country. You don’t get opportunities like this all the time, and we are going all out to win it,” Adler said in a press conference. “Simply put, mobility is a life or death issue for our city.”
“Mayor Adler to DOT Delegation: Austin Moving Ahead No Matter What“
By MayorAdler.com
http://www.mayoradler.com/mayor-adler-to-dot-delegation-austin-moving-ahead-no-matter-what/
Today Mayor Adler and officials from the Austin Transportation Department previewed their presentation to the delegation from the U.S. Department of Transportation that is in Austin for the Smart City Challenge. In his remarks, Mayor Adler promised to move ahead with the technological transformation of Austin’s mobility regardless of the outcome of the Smart City Challenge because doing so, he said, could create “an economic boom that lifted up the people who are usually left behind.”
Mayor Adler, along with ATD Director Rob Spillar and ATD Chief Karla Taylor, made the case that Austin, one of seven finalists for the $50 million competition to use technology to make mobility safer, cleaner, cheaper, and more effective for everyone, was the best choice for the Smart City Challenge