Austin City Government - Circus of the Insane

[PilotsError 2314]

When driverless cars get figured out, no one will own one. You'll just order one when you need one. I'm assuming they'll have algorithms figured out so they can pick up other people on your route, unless you pay for non stop. Of course driverless cars will reduce traffic.

[smokebomb 358]

44 minutes ago, PilotsError said:

When driverless cars get figured out, no one will own one. You'll just order one when you need one. I'm assuming they'll have algorithms figured out so they can pick up other people on your route, unless you pay for non stop. Of course driverless cars will reduce traffic.

Yea, when driverless cars take off, people in cities will no longer need to own a car. Rich people will simply pick up the BMW or Mercedes app and call whatever car they want while middle class and low income people will use car pools. I still think that rural areas will dictate owning a car since the service availability of car shares in low population areas will be an issue.  

And although I agree that driverless cars will help reduce traffic a bit, i think one fact that is overlooked is that people using driverless cars won't care as much about traffic. If you aren't driving and you can sleep/work/zone-out, you are less likely to care how long the commute takes than compared to when you are driving yourself. Cities with public transit now are a perfect example of this. 

Edited April 5, 2018 by smokebomb

[Longhornfan1024 1707]

COA now considering requiring homeowners to put insect screens on their homes: http://www.austintexas.gov/article/public-input-0.  Why would they want to require homeowners to shoulder the expense and go through the process of installing insect screens on their homes?  To keep out bugs.  Fuck you, COA.  If I want to take the risk of a stray fly or mosquito getting into my house, that should be my decision.  

[TPCJ007 48]

Someone associated with the city counsel have an interest in a window / door screen company? 

[Texas Jeff 1945]

COA now considering requiring homeowners to put insect screens on their homes: http://www.austintexas.gov/article/public-input-0.  Why would they want to require homeowners to shoulder the expense and go through the process of installing insect screens on their homes?  To keep out bugs.  Fuck you, COA.  If I want to take the risk of a stray fly or mosquito getting into my house, that should be my decision.  

Take the survey at that link. Takes five minutes to say this is a dumb idea.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Longhornfan1024 1707]

7 minutes ago, Texas Jeff said:

Take the survey at that link. Takes five minutes to say this is a dumb idea.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Already did before I posted.

[LCHorn 2629]

I love how it doesn't allow you to say it's a bad idea, rather you have to state your disapproval in terms of which options for screens you prefer. 

"Do you want screens on every room or just the kitchen"

Well, I don't want to have to screen any areas, is that okay?

[wood 11231]

Wait ... a rail line to SW Austin? Holy shit. Someone must have made a mistake. 

[wood 11231]

On 4/3/2018 at 8:34 PM, Pasken said:

You mean the bridge that allowed a 3rd lane to be added for cars on that section of Mopac? Getting rid of choke points on highways should be a good thing. I would say that Ben Wear did that count very soon after the bridge opened and it takes time for people to become aware or that the entire corridor still needs pedestrian upgrades but I don't care. Really the only thing that should matter is it freed up space from mopac and added lanes to it to get rid of that awful choke point. That's worth the 7.5 million that COA paid which was joined by money from Txdot and the feds.

 

I like the library and I'm glad I voted for it. I think the city is better for it. However, they need to bet better at finishing projects on time.

I agree that freeing up choke points is a good thing, but you act like there was a bike lane on Mopac that got moved to the bridge. There was no bike lane. There was a wide, unused shoulder on the SB side that a small number of crazy people chose to ride bikes on. There was (and still is) also a very narrow strip between the wall and the stripe on the NB side that the truly demented death-wish types would occasionally ride. Now, I'm a cyclist myself, but people riding those areas are/were just stupid. I mean real morons. I guess it's good that there's a bridge there now, and we don't have crazy people endangering their lives, and really, the lives of the drivers in the traffic they were inserting themselves into, but that's a pretty damn expensive bridge for so few people to use. And if they really were holding back on utilizing that SB shoulder because a few crazy people rode their bikes on it, One Way, then that's fucking idiotic, too.

[wood 11231]

On 4/4/2018 at 3:48 PM, Pasken said:

Man what assholes. Hope the city can squeeze some money out of the company.  COA started requiring readers to take photos of the meters to prevent this in the future.

Where are cars getting backed up at then?

It's getting backed up by mind-numbed morons who just don't know how to drive and get confused and overwhelmed by the slightest imaginable thing ... something we have no shortage of here in Austin. People are just slowing way down approaching that exit ramp, even though it's not backed up.

Quote

Hmm. Well IIRC the plans for Mopac south would add a 2nd exit lane for 360 so maybe that will help get cars off the highway. It would be a thing where lane 1 is a must exist and lane 2 could either exit to 360 or keep going on mopac south and then there would be 2 straight only lanes.

Also, people from the frontage road would take a ramp over the mainlanes and enter mopac on the left side so you won't car cars entering mopac on the right and crossing 3 lanes of traffic to get to the 360 exit lane.

Yeah, that's just gonna blow the morons' minds. Shit will just be fucked up there all the time.

Quote

i think part of it is natural hesitation of a blind curve. it's not really a blind curve, but it is the same dynamic that happens on IH 35 at the riverside bend. once the first person hits the brakes, everyone is fucked

That's part of it, and it's kind of a weird curve that changes radius. I never have had a problem with it at highway speeds, but there have been a lot of bad accidents there over the years, for whatever reason.

 

Edited April 10, 2018 by wood

[Orange&White 5528]

As LCHorn pointed out, they make their surveys intentionally misleading/decieving.

This is how they define the IPMC :

"IPMC = The International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) is a model code that regulates the minimum maintenance requirements for existing residential and commercial buildings. The IPMC is intended to establish minimum standards for basics such as structural conditions, lighting, ventilation, sanitation, and fire safety. "

So they state that the code is for residential and commercial buildings.

Yet none of the answers allow the respondent to distinguish between commercial and residential buildings, and they include words like "Food Preparation Area" and "Food Service Area" to make it appear as if they are talking about restaurants.

They had a survey a few years ago where there were not any available options on any answer that would allow the respondent to be against what they were trying to push through.

Fucking horseshit.

[wood 11231]

59 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

I love how it doesn't allow you to say it's a bad idea, rather you have to state your disapproval in terms of which options for screens you prefer. 

"Do you want screens on every room or just the kitchen"

Well, I don't want to have to screen any areas, is that okay?

You can make comments at the end. Mostly, I just said it's an idiotic idea, & asked them if they're retarded.

[woohorn 1131]

That will be great when they are grouping the comments: "Retarded-2,043 responses".

[atomheartbevo 89771]

And you know that whatever company is running the polls is probably not a local company.  Probably not even a Texas company. 

[Pasken 1309]

2 hours ago, wood said:

I agree that freeing up choke points is a good thing, but you act like there was a bike lane on Mopac that got moved to the bridge. There was no bike lane. There was a wide, unused shoulder on the SB side that a small number of crazy people chose to ride bikes on. There was (and still is) also a very narrow strip between the wall and the stripe on the NB side that the truly demented death-wish types would occasionally ride. Now, I'm a cyclist myself, but people riding those areas are/were just stupid. I mean real morons. I guess it's good that there's a bridge there now, and we don't have crazy people endangering their lives, and really, the lives of the drivers in the traffic they were inserting themselves into, but that's a pretty damn expensive bridge for so few people to use. And if they really were holding back on utilizing that SB shoulder because a few crazy people rode their bikes on it, One Way, then that's fucking idiotic, too.

It wasn't a coincidence that they re-striped the highway the night before the new bike bridge opened.

 

3 hours ago, Longhornfan1024 said:

COA now considering requiring homeowners to put insect screens on their homes: http://www.austintexas.gov/article/public-input-0.  Why would they want to require homeowners to shoulder the expense and go through the process of installing insect screens on their homes?  To keep out bugs.  Fuck you, COA.  If I want to take the risk of a stray fly or mosquito getting into my house, that should be my decision.  

Hmm, the international language it cites says screens will only go on openings "required for ventilation." Does that mean windows above the stove for people that don't have vents installed? I'd be ok with that but nothing beyond it. I'm sure it would only apply to anything new that needs to get permitted so it wouldn't affect most people here unless they were building onto their house or building a new house.

 

 

[wood 11231]

8 minutes ago, Pasken said:

It wasn't a coincidence that they re-striped the highway the night before the new bike bridge opened.

I'm not saying it was a coincidence, but pretending the bridge "freed up" a lane for the SB side of the Mopac bridge is bullshit. They could have done the same thing there long ago. It's always been "free" & has just been being used as a shoulder. The bike bridge didn't "free up" a fucking thing.

Edited April 10, 2018 by wood

[skipperj 377]

18 minutes ago, Pasken said:

It wasn't a coincidence that they re-striped the highway the night before the new bike bridge opened.

 

Or did they open the bridge the morning after the highway was re-striped.

Hmmmm.

[Updawg 2286]

Isn't it illegal to ride a bike on mopac anyways?  I remember there used to be a sign. But yeah, nothing was freed up adding that bike bridge

[Fico 1791]

^^ Well except, of course, for your mom

9 minutes ago, Updawg said:

Isn't it illegal to ride a bike on mopac anyways?  I remember there used to be a sign. But yeah, nothing was freed up adding that bike bridge

Except, of course, your mom.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Fico

[wood 11231]

6 hours ago, Updawg said:

Isn't it illegal to ride a bike on mopac anyways?  I remember there used to be a sign. But yeah, nothing was freed up adding that bike bridge

It definitely used to be, but I've been told in the last few years it was, amazingly, made legal.  There used to be signs that said it was illegal, but sure enough those are gone now. How fucking stupid is that? And I've actually seen people on NB Mopac approaching the merge with 290 coming in from the left, which means they had to cut across traffic there to get to the shoulder, then cross the on ramp just past Best Buy, and then ride NB on the bridge along the retaining wall in that 1-2 foot wide strip between the stripe and the wall, complete with big-ass drain grates and trash and shit. A wall on their right and a 100 foot fall beyond that. 65+ mph traffic a couple feet to their left. Brilliant.

Edited April 11, 2018 by wood

[Paco 1934]

I live outside the city limits but fuck 'em.

[Steel Shank 9430]

Pasken has got to be a troll. Nobody lacks that much common sense.

 

COMMON SENSE I TELL YOU!!!!!!!!

[skipperj 377]

He’s not a troll. Interested citizen. Although nobody is that interested and doesn’t enter into city government unless they are a pedophile.

So...which is it?

[wood 11231]

Yeah ... strikes me as a politician.

Build a massively overpriced bridge and then re-purpose a shoulder that hasn't been used for anything in for-fucking-ever, then tell everyone "Look at the new lane we gave you by building this awesome new bridge!!"

Edited April 11, 2018 by wood

[Texas_Rocks 346]

After three $800+ water bills we started to monitor the gauge out here. Turns out they were apparently pulling some similar bullshit. KXAN came out and filmed me digging three months of dirt off of the reader. Absolute lazy ass fuckers.

[AUinHsv 579]

Took 3 months to go look at the meter?

 

Also if they were just making it up like the reports said, then your actual reading should get you a large refund

Edited April 11, 2018 by AUinHsv

[hayden_horn 11365]

so, my 55 gallon trash bin has gone on walkabout. put it out on monday, came home monday, and it's gone. i have no idea. i've looked up and down the street, but cannot find it. 

so, i call the city of austin utilities to report this missing trash bin and to order a replacement. process is fine, then they drop in on me at he end "it's going to take two trash cycles to replace the trash bin."

WAT. "i'm sorry, did you say two trash cycles? so two weeks?"

"yes."

"uh, what do i do with my trash in that time?"

"set it out with a note that your trash bin is missing."

WAT

[wood 11231]

Get ready for your upcoming raccoon problem.

[bschoolprof 6271]

I've battled bitchass raccoons getting in my trash for over a year now.  I now use clamps so they can't get the lid open.  Checkmate fuckers.  

[Orange&White 5528]

I don't know that I'd call that "checkmate". That's more like a block with a rook.

 

"Checkmate" would involve a .22 round between those beady little fuckers eyes.

[Biff Tannen 45697]

48 minutes ago, Orange^White said:

I don't know that I'd call that "checkmate". That's more like a block with a rook.

 

"Checkmate" would involve a .22 round between those beady little fuckers eyes.

[Chet Steadman 940]

A classic CoA move.  I'd be livid if I was the developer.  The same five members who failed to show up are probably the same five who bitch about lack of housing options in the city.

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2018/04/11/more-delays-for-grove-at-shoal-creek-development.html

[Pasken 1309]

18 hours ago, wood said:

Yeah ... strikes me as a politician.

Build a massively overpriced bridge and then re-purpose a shoulder that hasn't been used for anything in for-fucking-ever, then tell everyone "Look at the new lane we gave you by building this awesome new bridge!!"

TxDot didn't contribute almost 5 million for the bridge out of the kindness of their hearts. They did it so they could off route bike and pedestrian traffic from the mopac mainlane shoulders to add another lane for traffic. If your argument is that Txdot could have just said Fuck EM and made the change lanes anyway and blocked bikes and people from using the road so there was no way for them to pass that area then....sure. They could have made the area less accessible and reduced the alternatives for car traffic. I think there was something that  legally stopped them from doing that which was why they could spend the money on the bridge but I'm not going to try to dig that up.

[Updawg 2286]

3 hours ago, Chet Steadman said:

A classic CoA move.  I'd be livid if I was the developer.  The same five members who failed to show up are probably the same five who bitch about lack of housing options in the city.

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2018/04/11/more-delays-for-grove-at-shoal-creek-development.html

Drive by there all the time and was wondering why nothing has happened. Unreal.  These delays have to be hurting developers and I'm sure that cost just gets passed on down. I know the restaurant industry is suffering from permitting from what I have read 

Hopefully it gets redeveloped into some gas stations and a Walmart

[wood 11231]

3 hours ago, Pasken said:

TxDot didn't contribute almost 5 million for the bridge out of the kindness of their hearts. They did it so they could off route bike and pedestrian traffic from the mopac mainlane shoulders to add another lane for traffic. If your argument is that Txdot could have just said Fuck EM and made the change lanes anyway and blocked bikes and people from using the road so there was no way for them to pass that area then....sure. They could have made the area less accessible and reduced the alternatives for car traffic. I think there was something that  legally stopped them from doing that which was why they could spend the money on the bridge but I'm not going to try to dig that up.

If TxDOT donated money to the project, it was probably for generally improved mobility, but to "free up" that shoulder? LOLOK. That shoulder has never needed freeing up. It's just been sitting there, being a shoulder. For fucking ever.

I've traveled that stretch multiple times damn near every day for the last 30 years, and I've never seen a soul on foot, and only a handful of folks stupid enough to ride it. Even that's been years ago, and even then almost exclusively SB. I've never seen anyone on foot or on a bike going NB on the SB side. I did see one numbnuts dumbass riding the NB side of the bridge once, causing near accidents and almost getting killed. Was that you?

Are you saying the SB shoulder was intended for both NB & SB travel by bikes and peds? There's no room for either of those on the NB side, and NB bike travel on the SB side would be illegal AF. Where was the access and egress on the SB side for bikes and peds? Where were the bike lane and pedestrian walkway markings? The shoulder on the on/off ramps is as narrow as about 4 feet from the wall to the stripe. Not much room with cars blowing by at 65+ & no barrier between you and them.. Kinda hard to believe any of that would stand up to any relevant standards.

So are you saying that the SB shoulder was intended for use by peds & bikes, despite not having adequate (any?) safeguards or being marked for either in the last 20 years ... and authorities were keeping that area as an unmarked area for cyclists to illegally ride against the flow of traffic?

That’s a bold strategy, cotton.

[skittlebrau 474]

6 hours ago, Chet Steadman said:

A classic CoA move.  I'd be livid if I was the developer.  The same five members who failed to show up are probably the same five who bitch about lack of housing options in the city.

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2018/04/11/more-delays-for-grove-at-shoal-creek-development.html

This deal is like Ground Zero for the antigrowth movement. The number of times I heard "we can't let another Grove happen" during the Bond Task Force was astounding. #1, that presupposes that I think the Grove development was a bad idea, which is a stupid supposition. #2, those people are still doing everything they can to torpedo a development that's doing everything they need to do. Good to see Commissioner Evans calling them out.

[skittlebrau 474]

On 4/10/2018 at 11:21 AM, Longhornfan1024 said:

COA now considering requiring homeowners to put insect screens on their homes: http://www.austintexas.gov/article/public-input-0.  Why would they want to require homeowners to shoulder the expense and go through the process of installing insect screens on their homes?  To keep out bugs.  Fuck you, COA.  If I want to take the risk of a stray fly or mosquito getting into my house, that should be my decision.  

So, this thing only applies to homes without air conditioning? In Austin? Good luck in forcing someone that can't afford an A/C into installing a bug screen.

*** The proposed ordinance applies to structures that do not have mechanical ventilation. If you have air conditioning, the regulation as written would not apply. Your input is being collected through April 30 and will help us shape the proposed ordinance. ***

[Pasken 1309]

16 minutes ago, wood said:

If TxDOT donated money to the project, it was probably for generally improved mobility, but to "free up" that shoulder? LOLOK. That shoulder has never needed freeing up. It's just been sitting there, being a shoulder. For fucking ever.

I've traveled that stretch multiple times damn near every day for the last 30 years, and I've never seen a soul on foot, and only a handful of folks stupid enough to ride it. Even that's been years ago, and even then almost exclusively SB. I've never seen anyone on foot or on a bike going NB on the SB side. I did see one numbnuts dumbass riding the NB side of the bridge once, causing near accidents and almost getting killed. Was that you?

Are you saying the SB shoulder was intended for both NB & SB travel by bikes and peds? There's no room for either of those on the NB side, and NB bike travel on the SB side would be illegal AF. Where was the access and egress on the SB side for bikes and peds? Where were the bike lane and pedestrian walkway markings? The shoulder on the on/off ramps is as narrow as about 4 feet from the wall to the stripe. Not much room with cars blowing by at 65+ & no barrier between you and them.. Kinda hard to believe any of that would stand up to any relevant standards.

So are you saying that the SB shoulder was intended for use by peds & bikes, despite not having adequate (any?) safeguards or being marked for either in the last 20 years ... and authorities were keeping that area as an unmarked area for cyclists to illegally ride against the flow of traffic?

That’s a bold strategy, cotton.

Here are the relevant points from an old statesman article. The logic is clear. I don't care anymore if you don't follow it. This is a very boring debate.

https://www.statesman.com/news/local/bike-bridges-help-link-southwest-austin-downtown/2EZUBxr3EMWS7uk2YeaBpO/

-TxDOT, for less than $200,000, can restripe the road to have three main southbound lanes, as well as that auxiliary lane, by eliminating a 10-foot-wide shoulder on the bridge that cyclists now use.

-TxDOT had chosen to preserve that somewhat safer bike route, at least in one direction, rather than increase car capacity. The northbound bridge lanes long ago were restriped to have four lanes and a shoulder only a few feet wide.

-That $6 million came from a TxDOT bond program backed by gas taxes that generally is meant for highway projects. Officials with CAMPO and TxDOT have said that its use on the bike project was justified because it will allow for the added lane on MoPac.

 

[wood 11231]

8 minutes ago, Pasken said:

Here are the relevant points from an old statesman article. The logic is clear. I don't care anymore if you don't follow it. This is a very boring debate.

https://www.statesman.com/news/local/bike-bridges-help-link-southwest-austin-downtown/2EZUBxr3EMWS7uk2YeaBpO/

-TxDOT, for less than $200,000, can restripe the road to have three main southbound lanes, as well as that auxiliary lane, by eliminating a 10-foot-wide shoulder on the bridge that cyclists now use.

-TxDOT had chosen to preserve that somewhat safer bike route, at least in one direction, rather than increase car capacity. The northbound bridge lanes long ago were restriped to have four lanes and a shoulder only a few feet wide.

-That $6 million came from a TxDOT bond program backed by gas taxes that generally is meant for highway projects. Officials with CAMPO and TxDOT have said that its use on the bike project was justified because it will allow for the added lane on MoPac.

 

Oh I'm not saying the politicos didn't use it as a grandiose justification for spending our tax money. They do that all the time. Every fucking day. Like I said before, I don't think the timing of the opening of that lane was a coincidence. I'm just saying it's a bullshit lie.

[wood 11231]

23 minutes ago, skittlebrau said:

So, this thing only applies to homes without air conditioning? In Austin? Good luck in forcing someone that can't afford an A/C into installing a bug screen.

That seems right up the CoA's alley...

[skittlebrau 474]

Looks like CM Flannigan’s office is the one that got them on clarify. That’s my boy.

[zman13 180]

So Leslie Pool is upset about the tax rebate agreement the city has with the Domain:

https://communityimpact.com/austin/central-austin/city-county/2018/04/10/austin-city-council-member-auditors-report-on-the-domain-agreement-justifies-the-city-backing-out-early/

The article indirectly says that the Domain is complying with the agreement. So I guess she's upset that the agreement wasn't as details as it should be (a valid concern) but also wants the city to back out early, which seems idiotic.

Quote

District 7 Council Member Leslie Pool, a vocal critic of the deal, told Community Impact Newspaper Tuesday the results of the auditor’s report confirmed her prior sentiments that the city should back out of the 14-year-old economic development deal. The report was initiated by questions Pool raised about the agreement last fall.

Here's the report. I don't see anything in the report that justifies backing out of the deal:

http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Auditor/Audit_Reports/Domain_Chapter_380_Agreemment_AS18102_March_2018.pdf

So if the city backs out, the Domain can easily sue and win, using the city's own report to show compliance.

 

[Longhornfan1024 1707]

11 hours ago, skittlebrau said:

So, this thing only applies to homes without air conditioning? In Austin? Good luck in forcing someone that can't afford an A/C into installing a bug screen.

*** The proposed ordinance applies to structures that do not have mechanical ventilation. If you have air conditioning, the regulation as written would not apply. Your input is being collected through April 30 and will help us shape the proposed ordinance. ***

Ha.  I love the clarification.  FYI, that was not there when I made my post.  So not only are they trying to force those who don't have A/C into installing screens (i.e. those who can't afford A/C), but they are so bad at their jobs that they couldn't even clearly state the scope of the ordinance when they first posted the information.  

[Pasken 1309]

1 hour ago, zman13 said:

So Leslie Pool is upset about the tax rebate agreement the city has with the Domain:

https://communityimpact.com/austin/central-austin/city-county/2018/04/10/austin-city-council-member-auditors-report-on-the-domain-agreement-justifies-the-city-backing-out-early/

The article indirectly says that the Domain is complying with the agreement. So I guess she's upset that the agreement wasn't as details as it should be (a valid concern) but also wants the city to back out early, which seems idiotic.

Here's the report. I don't see anything in the report that justifies backing out of the deal:

http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Auditor/Audit_Reports/Domain_Chapter_380_Agreemment_AS18102_March_2018.pdf

So if the city backs out, the Domain can easily sue and win, using the city's own report to show compliance.

 

IT's a total Trump tactic. Just say the report justifies leaving because you know most people aren't going to read it. The domain is an example of both the city and the developer benefiting. This mentality that it's a bad deal if the other side is happy is so fucking stupid. 

[Horn of Gabriel 1660]

I turned on KLBJ the other day and caught the tail end of a conversation about Flannigan and CoA trying to strong-arm Cedar Park into joining the CapMetro shakedown err...taxing entity and extending the CapMetro "service" into Cedar Park.  Does anyone know more about this?  As a CoCP resident, WhyTF would Cedar Park even consider this? CapMetro is the capstone of incompetence in the CoA pyramid scheme.

[Pasken 1309]

3 minutes ago, Horn of Gabriel said:

I turned on KLBJ the other day and caught the tail end of a conversation about Flannigan and CoA trying to strong-arm Cedar Park into joining the CapMetro shakedown err...taxing entity and extending the CapMetro "service" into Cedar Park.  Does anyone know more about this?  As a CoCP resident, WhyTF would Cedar Park even consider this? CapMetro is the capstone of incompetence in the CoA pyramid scheme.

 

I think what everyone wants is a way for areas like Cedar Park to be able to join the system but at a reduced rate which isn't possible under state law.  How do you see them as incompetent? I think the biggest problem is peoples expectations vs the funding/ROW they have. The buses can't go faster if they are stuck in traffic with cars.  I think the biggest blemish is the difficulty in figuring out how to get the Red Line up and running. I think it took over a year to figure out the metal was the problem in the track signals but they worked it out and the Red Line has been a huge success as a commuter line and taken traffic off 183,mopac, and 35. The expansion work they are doing will allow the line to develop from just a commuter line to more urban use once the transit orientated development at Salitto opens as well as Broadmore at the Domain. Further expansion work will allow another station at Hancock too.

I'll say that everyone should be hopeful for Cap Metro regardless of what you think about it because the dude they hired (Clark) to run it is legit. They will be in the best position they can be but the realities of state and federal policies are really going to impact the ability to build out the system.  He specifically removed the designations of "light rail" and "bus rapid" from the debut of their plan because he realizes how distract we get talking about the type when the conversation needs to be about dedicated ROW for public transit. In all honesty, Austin doesn't need light rail at all. We don't have the density and won't based on Code Next watering down. Austin would have an amazing bus system if the only thing we had was dedicated ROWs in the corridors that were identified. Elevated would be even better. That needs to be the discussion. 

[Pasken 1309]

13 hours ago, skittlebrau said:

Looks like CM Flannigan’s office is the one that got them on clarify. That’s my boy.

He made me laugh pretty hard when I was reading the transcript from the work session. Ora Houston was being incompetent and complaining about how she didn't know about something and he just burned out, "I knew it."

I'm dead serious when I say that Ora Houston might be going senile or maybe she just doesn't give a fuck. City Staff was at the session to discuss the corridor construction program which is a very long and complex issue and Houston starts to ask them about a potential commuter train from downtown to Manor/Elgin (aka The Green Line).  That's a Cap Metro project on cap metro owned land and has nothing to do with city staff. It's like Mark Zuckerberg going to Congress and someone asking him about Twitter. Now, that is a totally understandable mistake for a normal person to make but for someone in city government to not understand how city government works???? She's clueless. Very happy to vote for the new chick running in District 1. I wouldn't be surprised if Houston doesn't run again. 

 

 

 

[Samson's Wig 3194]

All this discussion and no one has mentioned the Bike Mafia?  Let's see, a ridiculous and expensive project which benefits only a handful of idiots, all of whom ride bikes.  It's not difficult to see where the pressure is coming from.  What a coup.  I guess forcing bike lanes on residential streets that no one has ever commuted by bike through was getting boring for them.

And someone above asked if someone on the city council has an interest in a window screen manufacturer/installer.  You think?

We choose, through inaction, to let the nuttiest and the most corrupt run our cities.

[wood 11231]

30 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

We choose, through inaction, to let the nuttiest and the most corrupt run our cities.

Not that I necessarily disagree, but our council has been nutty and corrupt in all its previous iterations since forever. Politicians are evil pieces of shit who serve only themselves. Every motherfucking last one of 'em.

 

Edited April 12, 2018 by wood

[Horn of Gabriel 1660]

2 hours ago, Pasken said:

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I think what everyone wants is a way for areas like Cedar Park to be able to join the system but at a reduced rate which isn't possible under state law.  How do you see them as incompetent?

 

Really?  Are you new here?  I never thought I'd have to justify CapMetro's incompetence; to me that has been a truism for Austin in my 25 years here, like "sky is blue" and "water is wet."  

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I'll say that everyone should be hopeful for Cap Metro regardless of what you think about it because the dude they hired (Clark) to run it is legit. They will be in the best position they can be but the realities of state and federal policies are really going to impact the ability to build out the system.  He specifically removed the designations of "light rail" and "bus rapid" from the debut of their plan because he realizes how distract we get talking about the type when the conversation needs to be about dedicated ROW for public transit. In all honesty, Austin doesn't need light rail at all. We don't have the density and won't based on Code Next watering down. Austin would have an amazing bus system if the only thing we had was dedicated ROWs in the corridors that were identified. Elevated would be even better. That needs to be the discussion. 

I sincerely hope that CapMetro cleans up their act.  And yes, part of their problem is that we as a society are dumb and have no ability to think beyond "herp derp rail" or "herp derp more car lanes!"