Driver Charged in the May 17 Vehicular Homicide of Naisha Weems, 28, in Austin
| | 3 Comments
Five days earlier later there had been a nearly identical tragedy in Morgan Park.
Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Austin
The CPD’s “Biking While Black” Enforcement Practices Have Got to Stop
| | 27 Comments
A Chicago Tribune investigation indicates that police are much more likely to ticket people in African-American communities for bike infractions than they are to issue citations to lawbreaking cyclists in mostly white areas. This isn't just illegal and unjust. It also discourages cycling in black neighborhoods.
Austin May Cut Parking Requirements By Nearly 50 Percent
| | No Comments
Austin is in the process of overhauling its zoning code -- an initiative called CodeNext -- and one of the most promising aspects is a major reduction in parking requirements. If the current draft holds up, the effects on walkability, housing affordability, and water quality could be impressive.
Hit-and-Run Driver Killed Woman Who Had Collapsed in Austin Crosswalk
| | No Comments
The case of a 50-year-old woman who collapsed while crossing the street in Austin, and was fatally struck by a driver who fled the scene, appears to be the first pedestrian fatality of 2017.
How Unrepresentative Is Your Regional Planning Agency?
| | No Comments
Do the people who make transportation funding decisions in your region represent the people who actually live in your region? After sitting through dozens of meetings presided over by a legion of white men, Texas transportation reformer Jay Crossley wanted to find out. He recently released the first phase of a report on the Austin region’s Capital […]
West Garfield and Austin Got Divvy Bikes Last Week. Will Anyone Use Them?
| | 6 Comments
[Last November the Chicago Reader launched a weekly transportation column written by Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield. This partnership allows Streetsblog to extend the reach of our livable streets advocacy. We syndicate a portion of the column on the day it comes out online; you can read the remainder on the Reader’s website or in […]
Why Didn’t More Locals Show Up for the West-Side Bikeway Hearings?
| | 14 Comments
[The Chicago Reader recently launched a new weekly transportation column written by Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield. This partnership will allow Streetsblog to extend the reach of our livable streets advocacy. We’ll be syndicating a portion of the column on the day it comes out online; you can read the remainder on the Reader’s website […]
Police: Teen Intentionally Struck 3 Relatives With a Car, Killing His Father
| | No Comments
A 39-year-old man is dead after his teenage son intentionally struck him and two other relatives with a car in Austin, according to police. On Saturday at around 11:15 p.m., a domestic dispute took place outside in the 5400 block of West Kamerling, according to the police. After the fight, a 19-year-old man intentionally struck […]
Highway Boondoggles: Texas State Highway 45 Southwest
| | No Comments
In a new report, Highway Boondoggles 2 (the original came out in 2014), U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group teamed up to profile the most wasteful highway projects that state DOTs are building. Streetsblog will be serializing the case studies in the report. Today, we focus on a road project that risks contaminating the water supply in and around Austin, […]
Brutal Jaywalking Arrest in Austin Caught on Video
| | No Comments
Austin police were captured on video beating a group of “jaywalkers” into submission late last Wednesday in an incident that reeks of racial profiling. The arrest was recorded and shared on Facebook by Rolando Ramiro. He told the website Photography is Not a Crime that he and a group of friends were trying to cross a street that had been barricaded […]
Driver Who Killed Woman in Austin Charged With DUI, Hit-and-Run
| | 1 Comment
View Larger Map The crash site from the driver’s perspective. Maurice McDowell, 32, has been charged with fatally striking Jennie Davis, 64, on Easter Sunday and then fleeing the scene. Around 9:40 p.m., Davis was crossing the street at 5532 West North in the Austin neighborhood, a block north of her home on the 5500 […]