8th April, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
I attended one of the light rail public discussions this week, which I wrote about earlier here. I went on my lunch break and didn’t have a lot of time to spend there, but it wasn’t as informative as I expected. I went to the meeting at the AT&T conference center – there were probably about 30 people there, but about half of those people were dressed in suits and mingling, talking about transportation, so I assume they were in some way expected to be there - not really the “general public” of Austin. Then there were roughly 15 city (or Cap Metro?) employees there to answer questions. And then there was myself, 3 other people who seemed like regular, non-city of Austin visitors there to fill out comment cards, and one reporter.
A small conference room was filled with large poster boards explaining the process of updating the public transportation system (such as environmental reviews the city will have to conduct), and there were several posters about different options the city was considering for improving public transportation. One option was the no-build option (basically doing nothing except minor additions to current bus system as needed), one was the better-bus option (making due with the bus system but making it “smarter” such as allowing lights to turn green as buses approach, making commute times via bus faster and more convenient) and the last option was the urban rail proposal, which would create a system of street cars mostly in the downtown area with extensions into the Mueller development and to the airport. There were also maps of different proposed station locations for the urban rail option. I didn’t learn anything about the city’s ideas that I hadn’t already learned just by reading the news and the public meeting website, so I was a little disappointed. Plus I felt like the whole meeting was somewhat pointless -I suppose if I owned a house near a potential site for a new station to be built and I didn’t want a street car driving past my house all day I could have filled out a comment card asking that the station be built elsewhere. But I don’t own a house or business downtown, so really all I could write on my comment card was which of those 3 options I thought was best. And the City already paid for a study which recommended that Austin build an urban rail to decrease congestion, so it’s not as if me and the other 3 attendees of the event had gone in there advocating for the “no-build” option, the city would decide to drop the urban rail proposal. So I suppose I felt like the public meeting was mostly a PR event for the light rail proposal. I’m still glad I was able to check it out, and I do think the city needs to improve the public transportation system (I’m anti No-build), I just wish I had gotten more out of the event.
If you’re interested in filling out a comment card, click on the above link and you can find a link to the City’s website where you can submit one online.
4th April, 2011 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
There are several opportunities to attend a public meeting this week to talk about the city’s preliminary light rail proposal:
*Monday, April 4, 2 to 5 p.m., at the Austin Convention Center (meeting room 3 on the first floor), 500 E. Cesar Chavez St.;
* Wednesday, April 6, 5 to 8 p.m., at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (first floor conference room), 4700 Mueller Blvd.;
* Thursday, April 7, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center (classroom 103 on the first floor), 1900 University Ave.;
* Thursday, April 7, 5 to 8 p.m., at the George Washington Carver Museum (museum foyer), 1165 Angelina St.; and
* Saturday, April 9, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Ruiz Branch Library (meeting rooms), 1600 Grove Blvd.
One of these is near my workplace during lunch so I may try to attend part of it.
The Statesman had this editorial in the paper over the weekend urging people to attend:
Last week, the city offered up a proposed light rail plan that includes more than 40 stations, including a possible spur heading up Red River Street from the University of Texas to Hancock Center. Among the many decisions to be made is where the rail line will cross the river.
Overall, we are talking about 16.5 miles of tracks running electric-powered trains on or alongside city streets. It would link downtown, UT, the Mueller neighborhood and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Any form of additional public transportation to our airport would be a great thing.
Estimated price tag, for now: $1.3 billion. The city is looking to a $200 million or more bond issue — to cover the project’s first phase — in November 2012. The Austin City Council this week will consider a plan to seek federal money for the project. Federal money seems crucial for this project.
There’s a lot to talk about and question –— especially financing — before we get anywhere near heading to the ballot box.
The environmental study, of which this week’s hearings are a part, hinges on three potential choices. One is “no-build.” Do nothing and stick with the current, limited transit options. We believe doing nothing is a feasible option only in the sad event that it turns out we can’t afford to do something.
The City of Austin’s website states:
Submit a written comment online, or via e-mail at transportation@ci.austin.tx.us. Written comments may also be submitted in person at the Public Scoping Meetings or by mail to Urban Rail Project, Austin Transportation Department, P.O. Box 1088, Austin, Texas 78767.
Comments should be postmarked before April 29, 2011 to be included in the public record.
The Federal Transit Administration and the City of Austin have officially begun the process of preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the city’s proposed Urban Rail system, including scheduling a series of meetings in April for the public to learn about and comment on the proposed Central Austin transit system.
If you are interested in public transportation, it should be interesting to learn more about the proposal.
21st March, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
ABJ had this article today that stated:
Austin city staff plans to start a study in spring 2013 that could clear the way for a law requiring construction and demolition companies to recycle debris and materiel at job sites.
Staff would then report back to the City Council in fall 2013, according to city records.
The ABJ gets there info from a memo from the Solid Waste Services Director to City Council, which you can find by opening the ABJ article. The memo states:
“[T]he City adopted the Zero Waste Strategic Plan and established the goal of achieving a 90% reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfills by 2040. C&D (construction and demolition)recycling is a key component to achieving the City’s Zero Waste goals. According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ) 2008 approximately 20% of the waste going to local landfills consisted of C&D debris. As a result, preliminary analysis from the SWS Master Plan includes recommendations to increase C&D Recycling as means of significantly affecting the City’s diversion rate.
Read more: City study to look at mandating construction site recycling | Austin Business Journal
15th March, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Today KUT and the Statesman both have articles about the nuclear disaster in Japan and the implications it has for the use of nuclear in Texas. The Statesman article focuses in a little more detail on the financial uncertainty of Japanese investment in the South Texas Project (a nuclear power plant near Matagorda Bay that currently has two reactors, with the building of another two additional reactors under consideration) while the KUT article is more general (the KUT article states “Currently Austin gets about 27% of its power from the nuclear plant. Over the years the city has flirted with the idea of increasing nuclear power’s percentage in Austin Energy’s portfolio. Karen Hadden is executive director of the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development or SEED Coalition. Her group has been battling against nuclear expansion in Austin and Texas. She points to the earthquake as an example of what can go wrong. ‘In Texas we may not have the risk of earthquakes at least at the South Texas Project site, but we do have hurricanes and we do have droughts that could impact our ability to cool reactors,’ said Hadden.”)
Click on the above articles for more details. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, with some arguing that when all goes as planned, nuclear can be a much cleaner energy source than other options such as coal , but can obviously have very disasterous consequences when things go wrong.
3rd January, 2011 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
KUT had this short story today about a possible plastic bag ban in Austin. The City of Austin’s Solid Waste Services director states that the study will cover the cost impact of plastic bags, and has been presented to city hall, to be available to city council within “a couple of weeks.” The report hasn’t been released to the public yet. The article states:
“Reusable bags are the best option. The paper bags do decompose so they don’t have the persistent problem that the plastic bags create,” said Robin Schneider with Texas Campaign for the Environment.
Meanwhile, the City of Brownsville’s ban on plastic bags goes into effect Wednesday. Brownsville is the first city in Texas to put such a ban in place.
Go Brownsville!
Check out other postings tagged “plastic bags” for more info.
29th October, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The ABL has this article today, which says that:
Austin City Council approved a deal Thursday with the Texas Department of Transportation to build 10 miles of new bicycle lanes.
The city and the state are each cutting a check for $569,500, for a total project cost of about $1,139,000, according to city staff.
The state money came from the federally-funded Transportation Enhancement Program, officials said.
Read more: City of Austin building $1.1M in bike lanes | Austin Business Journal
20th October, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
The Statesman had an article on Monday on Proposition 1, the City of Austin’s proposed $90 million transportation bond issue which includes money for roads, the Lady Bird Lake trail, bike lanes, and sidewalks. The article covers mostly opponent’s arguments on Proposition 1. You can also read more about the bond proposal from the city’s website, here. Check them both out, get informed, and remember to vote! Voter information for Travis County can be found here.
21st September, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
photo credit
The Statesman had this article today, which says that in an effort to help prevent pharmaceuticals from being flushed into local waterways, city council may ask the city manager to set up a program under which residents could turn in unused prescription drugs:
Pharmaceuticals can enter waterways by being tossed or, after ingestion, excreted down a drain. Even though the sewage is cleaned by wastewater treatment plants before being discharged into a waterway — Austin discharges its sewage into the Colorado River — the pharmaceutical compounds are typically not screened.
A draft resolution asks the city manager to develop “an eco-friendly program that provides year-round pharmaceutical take back services easily accessible to all Austinites.”
31st August, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
There will be a public meeting tonight at city hall on the city’s trash plan. Here’s some info from the city’s website:
The City of Austin invites you to a public meeting to learn about the Integrated Solid Waste Management Master Plan (ISWMMP). This is a 50-year plan that identifies specific buildings, equipment, and finances needed to help us significantly reduce our dependence on landfills.
5:30 PM-Informal meet and greet with HDR and City Staff*
6 PM-Public Meeting Begins
*Interactive displays will be available to learn about Zero Waste, the Master Plan, and accept public feedback from 5:30 PM until 8 PM
Location: City Hall, 301 West 2nd Street
Parking: Available in City Hall parking garage
19th August, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Austin Business Journal has this article, which says that Austin energy is contracting with a California company to supply more than $2 million in solar panels. The panels will be installed installed on municipal buildings for Austin Public Library, Austin Water Utility, Austin Energy and others. The article also notes that:
The project is part of Austin Energy’s plan to increase renewable energy capacity to 200 megawatts by 2020. The energy produced by the panels is equivalent to removing an estimated 380 cars from roads annually, or planting 59,475 trees.
The city has set aside a total $21.7 million for alternative energy purchases.
photo credit
10th August, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
According to this Austin Business Journal article:
The city of Austin this week is installing 500 solar-powered parking meters.
The project is part of the transportation department’s comprehensive parking technology upgrade that commenced last August. The new meters accept coins and credit cards and began going in Monday with 120 posts in the University of Texas area. The project will be completed early next week.
Read more: City of Austin installs 500 solar-powered parking meters – Austin Business Journal
6th August, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
City Council approved a bond proposal for $90 million in road, bike and pedestrian projects, including $14.4 million on a boardwalk extension of the Lady Bird Lake trail (where the trail currently ends near the Statesman before continuing on the east side of 35.) The city will publish an election bond brochure listing all of the proposed projects, and the bond will be voted on this November. The bond program should not trigger an increase in 2010-11 property taxes. The Statesman notes that “The vote this fall will in effect be the warm-up act for what figures to be a much larger, comprehensive bond election in 2012 that probably will include downtown rail. Based on a city analysis of its debt situation, that later bond program is likely to require raising property taxes.” This comes after Mayor Leffingwell made his announcement in March that an urban rail proposal would not go before voters until November 2012.
3rd August, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Statesman has this update on the city’s recycling contract:
The City of Austin may soon part ways with its recycling vendor, ending a 2-year-old money-losing contract.
The City Council will consider a proposal Thursday to hire Texas Disposal Systems to process Austin’s recyclables for one year, and possibly two, at a plant the company plans to open next month in Creedmoor.
Bob Gedert , the city’s Solid Waste Services director, estimates the city will make $988,000 in the first year of the contract, but he cautions that the market for recycled goods can be volatile.
Check out the whole article for more details.
30th July, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Statesman had this article today, noting that the Save Our Springs Alliance has sued to stop work on a $500 million water treatment plant. The Save Our Springs Alliance claims that the city of Austin is violating federal law by building the treatment plant before conducting the required environmental studies. Here’s an excerpt:
“They’re building the plant while they’re doing the studies,” said Bill Bunch , Save Our Springs’ executive director. “The regulations are quite clear on this: You can’t take actions that prejudice the outcome (of environmental studies), and deciding to the build the plant first prejudices the outcome.”
City officials say the water treatment plant must be built now and is necessary to ensure that Austin avoids shortages as its population grows. The fight over the plant dates back a quarter century, but in October, a split City Council gave the key approval to proceed….Since the October vote, the city has spent tens of millions of dollars on engineering and preparation of the site, which is off Bullick Hollow Road near the Oasis restaurant.
The article notes that 4 members of city council support building the plant, and 3 oppose it.
Lake Travis
photo credit
20th July, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments
Check out this Statesman article about how East Austin is seeing an increase in environmental improvement projects like walking trails, new sewage lines, and cleaner public areas. The article states that the city will have almost doubled its expenditures on East Austin public works projects at $47.9 million annually in the 2009-11 fiscal years, up from $25.7 million annually from 1998 to 2008. The reasons for this increase include an influx of new, more affluent residents who have been communicating more with City Hall about their environmental agenda for the area. The change is not without its tensions, though, as longtime residents are hesitant about the projects, and some would prefer that money be spent elsewhere.
Wednesday night, the City will be sponsoring a meeting for people living in the Montopolis neighborhood to discuss proposed amendments to their neighborhood plan document. The meeting is at 6:30 in the auditorium of Austin Community College’s Riverside campus, 1020 Grove Blvd. For more info, call Maureen Meredith at the City of Austin at 974-2695.
28th June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Austin 360 had this story today about the increased littering that comes as the water level along Barton Creek rise. Here’s just a portion of the article (I’ve highlighted especially upsetting parts):
On a recent sunny Tuesday afternoon, 50 cars lined the road at the Gaines Creek entrance to the greenbelt, off MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) a little south of Loop 360. At Twin Falls, a 10-minute walk down the trail, a handful of twentysomethings smoked while standing in ankle-deep water. Dozens of other visitors lounged and sipped beer. A flattened inner tube lay on the rocks; snack wrappers ensnared by branches flapped in the breeze.
It takes two full-time city employees eight hours a day just to keep up with the mess left by visitors who flock to the greenbelt when the water is up. The debris ranges from little green bags of dog waste to dirty diapers, rotting food and beer cans.
If this is what it’s like during the middle of the week, I’d hate to see it during the weekend. Along with all the trash, there are also problems with drugs and alcohol:
Eight park police officers have been assigned to a Barton Creek Greenbelt Initiative that will end in mid-July, ticketing people for bringing alcohol, illegal drugs, glass containers and off-leash dogs to the greenbelt.
In the first month of the weekends-only initiative, which started May 8, officers wrote 232 tickets for minors in possession or consumption of alcohol. They also wrote 10 tickets for possession of drug paraphernalia or marijuana. Six citations were issued for glass containers, four for minor in possession of alcohol and 77 for off-leash dogs.
Hopefully the police presence will continue at Barton Creek until this is no longer a problem. I’m all for people having a good time, but when excessive drug and alcohol use in a public park becomes acceptable, law-abiding people who are less likely to litter decide to skip the trip to Barton Creek, and instead the Creek is only frequented by people who aren’t concerned with cleaning up after their dog or collecting their trash when they leave. (I’ve been there before and seen drunk people carelessly throwing their cans to the side of the creek, only to be washed away by the current.) Plus when behavior like that is acceptable, it’s no longer a place you can take young children. I’m not saying that it’s only hippies who are causing the trash problem, or that drug and alcohol users are incapable of cleaning up their trash, but having fewer intoxicated people along the creek can only help with the litter problem.
photo credit
28th June, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments
City Council met on Thursday and took the following green-related actions as part of its agenda:
Authorized the negotiation and execution of a one-year agreement between the City of Austin and the University of Texas at Austin’s Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to study green vegetated roofs in Austin, in the amount not to exceed $10,000.
Approved a resolution directing the City Manager to determine the cost to Austin taxpayers of processing plastic bags in the waste stream and report the information to City Council by September 2010.
Asked city staffers to negotiate contracts with Balcones Resources and Texas Disposal Systems for short-term and long-term recycling services and to negotiate with Greenstar North America to possibly extend an existing contract.
Asked city staffers to make double-sided copies, use ink-saving fonts, and look into software that can convert faxes to e-mails as part of the city’s One Green Step program.
Authorized a contract to provide document shredding services for various City departments. The amount of paper that is estimated to be recycled equates to an approximate reduction of 1,473 metric tons of carbon monoxide or removing 280 cars off the road each year.
For other actions the council took, check out the Statesman article on the meeting.
22nd June, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments
Check out this Austinist post about how City Council will vote on Thursday to consider funding research by UT and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on vegetated rooftops. This will be the first study that looks into the impact of green rooftops in a central Texas climate. Green rooftops can be cooling for a building and can clean water. Mark Simmons, a researcher at the Wildflower Center, told News 8 Austin that “Globally, there is so little research done in warm weather systems. We’ve attracted a lot of attention from around the world just because we’re looking at green roofs in hot climates.”
22nd June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
After deciding to scrap all bids for construction of a city recycling plant, council will vote on Thursday to decide which of two proposals will replace its recycling contract with Greenstar, which will expire in September. Check out the Austin Business Journal for more details. You can also check out this Statesman article, which says:
City leaders want a local recycling plant that can handle large amounts of unsorted goods so the city can stop its current practice of paying Greenstar North America to truck recyclables to that firm’s San Antonio plant.
The Greenstar contract has been a money-loser for Austin, and it ends in September, though the city could extend it another year.
Mayor Lee Leffingwell and council members Martinez, Laura Morrison, Chris Riley and Randi Shade want city staffers to negotiate short-term and long-term recycling contracts with Balcones and Texas Disposal Systems. The full council will vote on that idea Thursday.
The contracts would come back to the council for a vote, so it could sign deals with one, both or neither, or extend the Greenstar deal.
City staffers would have to present the council with the short-term options by July 29 and long-term options in three months.
Council members Sheryl Cole and Bill Spelman voted against scrapping the bids and now want the city to negotiate only with Balcones for a long-term deal and extend the Greenstar contract in the interim.
Both said they want to choose Balcones to respect the work that went into the eight-month bidding process and because that firm has an excellent environmental record. Spelman added that he’s worried about setting a precedent of negotiating with a firm that recently broke lobbying rules.
16th June, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments
Photo Credit
A few weeks ago, I lamented about how there are no places in Austin to recycle aseptic cardboard containers, also known as juice and milk cartons. After I posted that, I emailed the City of Austin to tell them I think they should provide that type of recycling. A little while later, Jessica King, Division Manager of the Solid Waste Services (SWS) Strategic Initiatives Division, sent me an email. She stated that those kinds of containers are made from complex layers of plastic, metal, and paper, and they are therefore pretty difficult and expensive to recycle. For that reason, the city’s current provider of recycling services, Greenstar, does not provide recycling for aseptic containers. She went on to say, “SWS hopes to work with Greenstar or the City’s future recycling processor to incorporate aseptic containers in the Single Stream Recycling Program in the future.” So hopefully we’ll be able to recycle these containers sometime soon! I will keep you updated if I get any more info.
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