Commuting Parking Passenger rail Railroads Transit Travel
by Hugh
Comments Off on Passenger rail in Asutin and San Antonio
Passenger rail in Asutin and San Antonio
Larry Walsh and the Austin MetroRail
My friend, Larry Walsh, and I finally found the time last Tuesday, July 27, to make a visit to Austin’s new commuter rail line, Capital MetroRail. This is what is hoped to be the first thirty miles of a city wide system. This first section runs from the city center at 4th and Trinity to Leander, a commuter colony way to the north of Austin itself. more »
Parking Roads Safety Transit: Fiesta
by Patrick
Comments Off on Five things to know before heading to Fiesta events
Five things to know before heading to Fiesta events
Soggy skies put a damper on the start of the year’s biggest party, with officials cancelling tonight’s Fiesta kickoff at Alamo Plaza and moving the opener to Market Square tomorrow. Hope you didn’t head out to Alamo Plaza.
No worries about the revelry cranking up. It will. But before joining the fun, here are some things to check on:
PARKING: Even tested downtown drivers can lose a little focus when Fiesta fills up parking lots and kicks up parking fees. The Express-News has a decent map of parking lots, but alas, doesn’t include fees. MAP
EXPRESS BUSES: Avoid parking altogether by hopping on special Fiesta express buses. VIA set up an event page with details, which includes reroutes of regular services due to street closures. FIESTA BUSES
DRINKING: If you drink, have a drinking and NOT driving plan. The easiest thing to do is assign a designated driver. In a pinch, Yellow Cab will provide up to 700 free rides for certain events, thanks to a state grant. Of course, you can always fork out your own $25 for a cab, and it’ll be a lot cheaper than a $17,000 DWI fine. CALL 222-2222
TRAFFIC: Make it easy on yourself. Just a few minutes checking TransGuide’s site for wrecks and slowdowns can save you an hour on the highway. TRANSGUIDE
WEATHER: Nuff said on that. FORECAST
Now go have a great time. And be safe.
More links:
Pay-and-display could be coming downtown
Pay-and-display station in San Francisco
The San Antonio City Council this Thursday will consider whether to approve a plan to replace most downtown parking meters with so-called “pay-and-display” systems. (UPDATE: Council approved the plan during its 3/4/10 meeting.) These systems, which originated in Europe and have become popular in US cities over the past decade, consist of a payment machine (“pay station”) located on each block, such as the one pictured to the right. After parking your vehicle, you locate the nearest pay station, pay for the time you want to park, get a receipt from the machine, then return to your vehicle and place the receipt on your dashboard. The drawback to this system, of course, is that you have to walk to the machine (which typically is located mid-block), pay, then return to your vehicle to put the receipt on the dashboard. The benefits, however, are that the machines accept credit/debit cards and dollar bills, so no more having to scrounge for loose change. Also, motorists can move their vehicle if desired without having to “feed” another meter. The City is the biggest benefactor in the form of reduced maintenance costs and collection overhead for thousands of parking meters; remote maintenance of the machines via wireless connections; and enhanced revenue, likely the result of more people opting to pay since they can use credit cards and bills. Also, unlike with parking meters where any remaining time is inherently donated to the next person who parks in the space, leftover time under pay-and-display systems is essentially forfeited to the City. Studies generally show that parking violations are reduced under pay-and-display systems, so the City would lose some revenue from parking tickets, but can, as a result, reallocate those enforcement resources to other areas.