Latest news with #MetroRapid
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Roundabout opens in Dove Springs area, bike lanes up next
Austin (KXAN) — The latest milestone is complete along South Pleasant Valley Road. It's part of a bigger project to improve safety and mobility along South Pleasant Valley Road from Oltorf Street to Onion Creek Drive. That's more than 15 miles of roadway. The City of Austin held a ribbon-cutting on Thursday, May 1, to celebrate the completion of the roundabout at the intersection of Teri Road and South Pleasant Valley Road. 'This area in Dove Springs, Southeast Austin, has been historically under invested in, so seeing these type of safety improvements come into our neighborhood does come a little bit of like, 'okay, what's going on?' It's a little, it takes a little bit of adjustment. But after you do it a couple of times, it becomes the norm. And this is really about normalizing safety,' said Vanessa Fuentes, Mayor Pro Tem and District 2 City Council member. The city says roundabouts typically reduce injury crashes by 75%. Plus, with the newly added bike lanes and a new MetroRapid line running through the neighborhood, city leaders say it benefits current residents and future Austinites. CapMetro celebrates launch of Dove Springs Pickup Zone 'We're bringing the necessary safety infrastructure to give people that choice, and once they have that choice, it is going to increase participation. So I think with us building out a strong bike network throughout our city is looking at what will future generations benefit from and what is the safety that current Austinites deserve,' said Fuentes. One neighbor we spoke with welcomes the change. 'We love it because we like alternative modes of transportation, I like the pedestrian crossings and the extra space. I've been out of a lot of places that the funding can go to. This is not one of the worst,' said Emmanuel Sanchez. The roundabout marks the completion of Phase 3 of the South Pleasant Valley Road project. The next phase of work will install protected bike lanes between Teri Road and Button Bend Road. From there, shared-use pathways south of Nuckols Crossing will begin construction. Funding for the South Pleasant Valley Road Corridor comes from the 2016 Mobility Bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New CapMetro MetroRapid lines officially start service on Sunday
The Brief Two new MetroRapid bus lines will start service this weekend. 800 Pleasant Valley and 837 Expo Center will start taking passengers on Sunday, Feb. 23. CapMetro says that these routes will enhance transit connectivity to areas east of I-35. AUSTIN, Texas - CapMetro says its two newest MetroRapid lines will officially go into service this weekend. What we know The 800 Pleasant Valley Line and the 837 Expo Center Line will start taking passengers on Sunday, Feb. 23. CapMetro says that these routes will enhance transit connectivity to areas east of I-35, with buses arriving every 20-to-30-minutes. Rapid Route 800 will run from Berkman/Mueller to the temporary end of the line at Vertex/Slaughter Lane in southeast Austin. The line will end at the Goodnight Ranch Park & Ride once construction is completed, says CapMetro. Rapid Route 800 will connect commuters to destinations such as: Mueller The Springdale Shopping Center ACC Eastview Austin Lighthouse for the Blind Dove Springs Easton Park Goodnight Ranch CapMetro says that Route 800 will eventually connect to the new Austin Light Rail and Green Line commuter rail. Rapid Route 837 will provide service from the temporary start of the line at Loyola Lane/Decker Lane in northeast Austin to Republic Square. The line will start at the Expo Center Park & Ride once construction is completed. Rapid Route 837 connects customers to medical, university, residential and commercial areas, including: Downtown CapMetro routes Red Line at Downton Station Rapid 801 and 803 Mueller UT Campus Decker Route 837 will eventually connect to the new Austin Light Rail. The backstory CapMetro started testing these lines in January. The new lines are part of Project Connect and an effort to improve mobility in East Austin and Southeast Austin. Project Connect MetroRapid Lines coming to East Austin next year Lawsuit filed against City of Austin seeks to stop funds being collected for Project Connect CapMetro proposes new rapid lines for 2025 CapMetro says they broke ground on the new lines in the winter of 2021-22. Transit Forward told FOX 7 Austin's Tan Radford in December that there have been two MetroRapid lines operating in Central Austin for nearly 10 years. In 2020, Austin voters approved Proposition A for the nearly $7.1 billion Project Connect Transit Plan. The MetroRapid lines are a part of the project, which has received support as well as push back. Dig deeper The transit agency is also updating its payment systems, sunsetting its existing CapMetro app and AMP cards. Riders can switch now to the Umo app, available on iPhone and Android, or choose to get the new CapMetro reloadable fare card. CapMetro says you cannot use both, you have to choose one or the other. Those who still have AMP, 31-day, 7-day or stored value cards can swap their existing cards now at the Transit Store at 1705 Guadalupe Street. The CapMetro app and AMP cards will cease working on March 1 and all plastic cards will be retired on April 1. For more information on the changes, click here. The Source Information in this report comes from CapMetro and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Here's when CapMetro's new rapid bus lines debut this year
AUSTIN (KXAN) — All aboard: CapMetro will debut its newest rapid bus lines later this month as part of the Project Connect mass transit system's expansion work. The two new MetroRapid lines are the 800 Pleasant Valley and 837 Expo Center lines. Riders will be able to begin taking those routes on Feb. 23, CapMetro officials confirmed in a Monday release. PAST COVERAGE: CapMetro gears up for new Pickup, MetroRapid bus services in 2025 Both the 800 and 837 lines focus on expanded transit access east of Interstate 35. The 800 Pleasant Valley line will transport riders between the Mueller neighborhood and Goodnight Ranch in southeast Austin, while the 837 Expo Center will operate between northeast Austin and downtown. Initially, the 800 Pleasant Valley line will stop at a temporary station at Vertex before its final expansion into the Goodnight Ranch Park & Ride. A similar temporary station endpoint is poised for the 837 Expo Centerline, which will debut with a temporary station at Decker before an end point at the Expo Center Park & Ride. In December, CapMetro officials said work was underway on both lines' park and rides, with end-of-line charging infrastructure planned for electric buses. Both the Expo Center and Pleasant Valley lines will launch operations with diesel vehicles before incorporating a 'strategic use of battery electric buses' as available, December CapMetro documents noted. The lines' full system rollouts are expected in 2026, CapMetro officials said Monday. This isn't the first of CapMetro's Project Connect enhancements to debut in 2025. Area transit leaders celebrated the introduction of the Decker Pickup Zone in late January, an on-demand service helping provide connection points to area schools, grocers, businesses, recreation sites, and other amenities. The Decker Pickup Zone marked the 12th in the CapMetro system, providing transport between the Decker Lane and Daffan Lane areas east of U.S. Hwy. 183. The CapMetro Pickup service runs as a curb-to-curb shared shuttle service, offering on-demand service within the service zone and connecting riders to other transit stops linking to the larger CapMetro system. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
