The Austin Transportation Podcast examines the issues around mobility in the ATX with a focus on how people’s everyday lives are shaped by the decisions of government. Whether you’re sitting on I-35 or MOPAC every day, using alternatives like Capital Metro and scooters, or plodding along a trail, we look at the challenges of getting from here to there in one of the fastest-growing regions of the country. The podcast features produced radio stories, interviews and audio recordings.
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Traffic – The Return!
As pandemic restrictions lesson and many feel safer traveling and gathering at homes, schools, and workplaces we’re also seeing the return of something familiar: traffic. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: May 13, 2020
What next? A new report says it’s time to think big about a post-pandemic Lone Star State. We’ll look at a just released roadmap for a more inclusive, resilient Texas. Former state senator Kirk Watson of the University of Houston and Steven Pedigo of UT unveil a joint nine point proposal for a stronger Texas after COVID-19. Also dangers in the fields of the valley where essential workers labor unprotected. And can you run a railroad with no tracks? An implausible sounding question with major implications for the Texas Bullet Train. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 17, 2018
After President Trump revokes the security clearance of a critic, a famous Texan makes a request of the white house: take mine too! We’ll have more on former UT chancellor Bill McRaven’s Texas-sized rebuke of President Trump. Meanwhile after stalled talks to renegotiate NAFTA, signs of a surprise breakthrough on a trade deal with Mexico although notably not with Canada. At least not yet. Also as cars fill up the streets of Houston, a push to fill the cars. And mandatory paid sick leave goes viral setting up another battle over state versus local control. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 6, 2018
ISIS: mostly defeated. But is the Taliban gaining ground? Military engagements may be changing overseas but the message to troops here in the US: deploy or get out. We’ll take a closer look at the situation. And a new TV series is retelling the story of the FBI siege on the Branch Davidian compound outside of Waco. Why it wasn’t filmed in Texas. Plus… What’s the deal with that proposed Dallas to Houston bullet train? We’ll check in on that and on the state of the state’s private space industry. And pinning down the shakeup that is Texas High School UIL realignment. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
The History, Mystery and Misery of MoPac
The glorified parking lot known, at least officially, as Loop 1 has given many a driver plenty of time to ponder its quirks while stuck in traffic.
I-35
Highways are supposed to let us get around local traffic, across town or to the next big city quickly. But anyone who has lived in Texas for more than a week knows that there’s one exception to the rule: Interstate 35. Locals who live along the highway itself avoid it on their daily commutes. Long-distance travelers will drive an extra two hours on backroads just to ensure they won’t have to use it. But sometimes you just have to, sometimes there’s no choice, sometimes you sigh and say, “Let’s try I-35.”