May 16th, 2012 by Lewis
Tags: Personal Transportation
This Friday, May 18th is Bike to Work Day. Which stations will you visit? Who will you meet? What will you eat??? Check out www.biketoworkaustin.org to plan your station-to-station route and to learn more about other Bike Month activities.
Speaking of Bike Month activities, join the energetic fun at VIVA STREETS AUSTIN! -a free festival that invites you to bicycle, play, get fit, people watch, and celebrate good health. On Sunday, May 20, over two miles of Sixth Street will become a car-free playground for thousands of Austinites from 10AM-3PM.
VIVA STREETS! Needs volunteers! Sign up to volunteer at www.vivastreetsaustin.org. Volunteers will orient participants, keep the route clean, and get a free t-shirt!
And check out another top 10 list we just made – Austin is a top cycling destination. Thanks, Reuters!
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
April 5th, 2012 by Lewis
Tags: Web and egov
The City Manager’s Office and Council Member Riley announced the City of Austin will now display Council actions in real time on AustinTexas.gov. This action allows all citizens the ability to follow City Council meetings through the web on an item-by-item basis for the first time. The link will be available on the City Council Information Center through the City Clerk’s website starting with the April 5th City Council meeting.
The City of Austin is committed to utilizing the web to provide information in an easily accessible way. Recent examples include Austin Finance Online, which contains financial documents, a contract catalogue, and the eCheckbook for the public to review the City’s finances. The Austin Data Portal is a new page that provides data in a relatively raw format so web and application developers can utilize the data in innovative ways. The City has also been working with Code for America developers and peer cities to find creative solutions to common city problems.
“As we continue to improve the new website, we want to promote the public’s ability to become a part of the City Council meeting process,” Council Member Riley said. “This new webpage will enable more citizens to participate during Council meetings as we consider particular items.”
“This is a continuation of the AustinGO initiative and the recent web redesign efforts to use online tools in order to promote government transparency,” City Manager Marc Ott stated. “The idea of offering this information to the public came at the suggestion of Council Member Riley, and I think it fits squarely with our goals for transparency,” he added.
The link will appear during City Council meetings on the City Council agenda page , just below the link to the meeting’s agenda. It will be a draft of Council actions that is updated in real time during that Council meeting, and after the meeting it will appear on the “Meeting Details” page for that Council meeting until the final minutes are approved by City Council.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
March 30th, 2012 by Leah
Our office is very excited about Dr. Shoup’s visit to Austin– hope that you can join us on Monday evening!
Through a collaboration between the City of Austin Transportation Department and Council Member Chris Riley, parking management expert Donald Shoup will be visiting Austin on Monday, April 2. Donald Shoup has been called a “parking rock star” by the Wall Street Journal and the “prophet of parking” by the L.A. Times. With followers known as “Shoupistas,” Donald Shoup has taken the urban planning and policy world by storm with his message that parking has a profound effect on our cities and communities, actually reshaping them. Shoup claims that free, unmanaged parking leads to sprawl, car-dependence, congestion, air pollution, and a lack of transportation options. “But,” he says, “it doesn’t have to be this way.” Policy changes can alleviate these issues and make parking easier and driving less necessary.
Council Member Riley remarked “Donald Shoup is a nationally recognized expert in municipal parking policy. This is a great opportunity to discuss some of Austin’s parking issues with a leader in the field. ” Austin has been on Shoup’s radar for a while now. The preface to the 2011 edition of Shoup’s book, The High Cost of Free Parking, includes a reference to the West Campus Parking Benefits district, which has been highly successful and is currently in transition from a pilot to a permanent program.
Donald Shoup’s visit has been made possible by sponsorships from the City of San Marcos, which he will also visit while here in Central Texas; The Austin Transportation Department, Council Member Chris Riley’s Office, the Urban Land Institute, Austin; the Downtown Austin Alliance; the American Institute of Architects, Austin; HBA Parking; Hospitality Parking; the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association; and Movability Austin.
Shoup will be making a public presentation on the effects of our current approach to parking and alternatives to managing parking that can help make our city a better place to live. All are welcome to attend on Monday, April 2 from 5-6:30 p.m. at St. David’s Episcopal Church, 301 E. 8th St., Austin, 78701.
RSVP: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3137814287
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 5th, 2012 by Leah
Tags: Water
Water is a precious resource, and is particularly precious since the city is currently in Stage 2 Watering Restrictions and contemplating Stage 3. Austinites need to be able to make the most out of every drop. Graywater is household water, from bathroom sinks, bathtubs, and washing machines that can be safely reused through a properly designed system for things like irrigation and foundation watering. These systems can save an average household between 40 and 90 gallons of water per day. On December 15, Council Member Riley proudly delivered a Distinguished Service Award to Rebecca Batchelder for having the only permitted residential graywater system in the City of Austin. Rebecca’s tenacity in making her way through the City’s permitting process is laudable. On January 26th, the City Council approved a resolution directing the City Manager to work with a small group of stakeholders, including Rebecca, to make recommendations on changes to the city’s plumbing code and permitting process, look at other Texas cities’ graywater ordinances, and eventually make recommendations on a technical guidance document and a program to encourage and support graywater systems in the City of Austin. Hopefully, through some improvements in the process, Austin will soon be home to many residential graywater systems. See this link (Proclamations, minute 34:30) to hear CM Riley’s words of appreciation and Rebecca’s comments upon receiving her award.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
December 30th, 2011 by Leah
Tags: Zoning and Land Use
One notable aspect of 2011 is that it was the 50th anniversary of a book that changed the course of the urban planning profession entirely; Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities was published in 1961. Though the book is somewhat dated, many of the lessons in it are still very relevant. For example, she emphasizes the importance of the desegregation of uses, ‘eyes on the street’, and diversity within urban spaces. Jacobs often refers to her experience living in Greenwich Village, which she sees as an example of a successfully functioning urban environment. She names as the biggest flaw in city planning at that time that planners plan according to how they think that cities should function, instead of how they actually do function. She discusses extensively the role of sidewalks as they relate to safety and privacy– a topic of particular interest here in Austin. Jacobs’ theories shattered conventional planning principles in the 60s, and still challenge many current land use tools being applied today.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
