Jun 10
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization has completed the first phase of a Freight Movement Study of the Austin area, which finds freight firms believe inadequate roadway capacity, poor light synchronization, accident delay, and congestion are the greatest obstacles to freight movement through Austin corridors. The report delineates a number of roads that should be included in the CAMPO 2035 Plan which would reduce fright mileage and hours drive while increasing freight speed.
The next phase of the report will consider economic impact of freight improvements, hazardous material movement, and peer analysis as well as scope and cost of the proposed road projects. CAMPO Chair Senator Kirk Watson has suggested the freight study results be integrated into the decision tree matrix.
CAMPO Freight Study Executive Summary
Apr 11
Sen. Kirk Watson has announced that Joe Cantalupo has accepted the offer to become CAMPO Executive Director and will officially start work on April 28. CATC will co-host a reception in early May (date to be announced) with the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA) and the Austin Chamber to welcome and congratulate Cantalupo.
NOTE: The April 21 CAMPO Board meeting has been cancelled. The next meeting is scheduled for May 12.
Apr 03
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Sen. Kirk Watson has proposed improvements for a dangerous segment of SH 71 using a newly-created “safety fund.” Watson wants to establish a long-term safety fund which would initially set aside $30 million of the $65 million from TXDOT’s allocation for toll road projects on SH 71 and US 290, and get matching funds from local governments. Eventually the fund could be sustained by toll revenues via the CTRMA. The plan will require approval by the CAMPO Board.
TXDOT has already implemented short-term improvements, including adding water-absorbent pavement and roughening the pavement. In addition, the Texas Transportation Commission reduced speed in the area from 65 to 60 mph.
TXDOT hopes to get environmental approval for the $850,000 barrier project by Jul 1 and have them in place by the end of the year or early 2009. A public hearing for environmental approval is scheduled for Apr 24.
Plan pitches barriers for dangerous part of 71 - Austin American-Statesman
Apr 01
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization has named Joe Cantalupo as the agency’s new Executive Director, replacing Michael Aulick who resigned in January 2008 after 15 years on the job.
Cantalupo, a senior planning manager with Parsons Brinckerhoff, was chosen out of six candidates for the position.
CAMPO names new exec dir - Austin Business Journal
Mar 20
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) is soliciting comments on requested Surface Transportation Program Metropolitan - Mobility projects (STP MM), Job Access and Reverse Commute, New Freedom, and Transportation Improvement Program amendments. Comments may be submitted via On-line Questionnaire or by email to Art Zamorano by March 21.
Comment on the following categories:
The CATC Board of Directors endorsed the Howard Lane project and the TXDOT HERO program at the Mar 20 meeting. The following comments were submitted to CAMPO by CATC Executive Director Bruce Byron:
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Capital Area Transportation Coalition, I would like to express our total support for Project FRM-4 - Howard Ln. Phase II as our first priority. Howard Lane is a critical connection from northeast Austin to a currently unutilized grade crossing and ramps in SH130. The extra cost of the grade crossing and ramps were specifically added to facilitate this connection. Moreover, it leverages $11.5 million in local funds with only $6 million in Federal Funds. It is Travis County’s first priority as well as being a major priority for the City of Austin. It is clearly a regionally significant project.
Our second priority is the support of Project OS-3 - TxDOT’s HERO program which was recently unfunded due to TxDOT’s budget shortages. The HERO program is a very cost effective way of providing assistance to motorists that otherwise would cause a traffic problem. Such incidents are believed to cause the majority of congestion delay nationally and are clearly a problem locally. The region needs to expand this program not eliminate it.
Jan 23
The second wave of proposed toll roads (sections of US 183, SH 71, US 290 in both East and SW Austin, and the SH 45 SW) were pulled from current TIP consideration until summer at the earliest. There are still too many skeptics on the Board about public acceptability of tolls to allow vote in February as planned and new CAMPO member Sen. Watson has been lobbying for the delay since late last year. Study of funding for all major projects including these toll roads was kicked to a Task Force to be led by Senator Watson.
The CAMPO Board is still scheduled to vote on other transportation projects - including
proposals for non-tolled roads, public transit projects and bike and pedestrian paths - at their February meeting.
Dec 10
CAMPO Executive Director Michael Aulick notified CAMPO Chair Kirk Watson on Friday of his intent to resign as of January 15, the day after the CAMPO Transportation Policy Board’s next meeting (the December 10 CAMPO TPB meeting has been cancelled). Aulick has served as head of the agency for 15 years.
CAMPO director Mike Aulick resigns - Austin Business Journal
Aulick to leave CAMPO after 15 years - Austin American-Statesman
CAMPO Executive Director Resigns - KXAN
Feb 16
Sen. Kirk Watson announces the filing of SB 688 - Tolls Transparency and Accountability Act, which you may have read about in today’s news (Austin American Statesman). A copy of the bill text in .pdf format is available at http://catransco.org/Documents/Legis/State/SB00668.pdf
Briefly, the bill would:
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Feb 16
An article from the Austin Chronicle comparies projections regarding the gas tax increase amount necessary to cover the projected funding gap for the eight statewide urban area transportation needs - the amount beyond those eight MPO’s constrained long-range regional plans. For the CAMPO area, the shortfall for infrastructure outside of the 2030 Plan and the Phase II toll roads is about $10 billion.
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Feb 09
In the wake of CAMPO’s decision to postpone action on the Phase II toll roads, City of Austin Council Member Jennifer Kim is conducting a poll on how to best finance roadway improvements.
Please take a minute to respond to this one question poll here.
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization has completed the first phase of a Freight Movement Study of the Austin area, which finds freight firms believe inadequate roadway capacity, poor light synchronization, accident delay, and congestion are the greatest obstacles to freight movement through Austin corridors. The report delineates a number of roads that should be included in the CAMPO 2035 Plan which would reduce fright mileage and hours drive while increasing freight speed.