Our pal Austin Contrarian is reporting that at last night's City Council hearing, the councilmembers acceded to demands from the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association to deny pedestrian and bicycle access between Hyde Park and a new development on 51st Street. This means that not only will the street grid that is the basis of Hyde Park not be extended for cars, it will also not be extended for bikes and pedestrians. The street grid is the groundwork on which an urban environment is built. Urban streets form a network that allows movement in every direction via multiple modes of transportation. Suburban streets form a maze of dead ends and require every trip to use an arterial road, almost always by car....

Photo of Divali celebration courtesy of Kokeshi President Bush visits wounded soldiers at Brooke Army Medical Center, demonstrates how to "shoot the bad guys" in Iraq--on a computer game, that is A 160-pound chimp attempts a daring escape from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, prompting a sweep of the entire 381-acre campus. He was later found; authorities were careful to point out that "Jake" wasn't carrying any diseases, and was merely there for "behavioral science"......

On Thursday night, City Council preliminarily approved the first phase of a plan to create a ‘second downtown’ in the area around the Domain. The North Burnet/Gateway Master Plan aims to transform 2,330 acres north of US 183 into a pedestrian and public transportation friendly mixed-use neighborhood. The plan envisions a redesigned Burnet Road as a ‘multi-use transit boulevard carrying Austin, bicycle and future transit service throughout the area.’ It will encourage the addition of......

Kay Bailey Hutchison may be running for governor and detests your anonymous blog. Retiring Republican Reps may lead the Dems to a larger majority in the House when election time rolls 'round. Temporary pedestrian islands to go up on S. Congress Avenue, in the area between Riverside and Ben White. Live bat found at McNeil High School yesterday has tested positive for rabies. And another rabid bat was found this weekend at the Convention......

Brewster McCracken is pushing city council to create a program to build more parking garages downtown. There are already a lot of parking garages downtown, and every new development includes several floors of parking, but it is often not profitable to open these garages to the public. Similarly, it doesn't make economic sense for developers to build public parking garages. According to the Statesman, McCracken estimates that the proposed Seaholm garage would cost $3.78......

A pedestrian was killed on IH35 near Cabelas this morning. Pflugerville teen posts online a threat to blow up his high school, and is subsequently arrested. Some businesses on South Lamar having to close or move because of increased rent. And the Ginger Man has to move so more condos can go up downtown. H.E.B. will take over some recently-vacated Albertson's store locations. City releases list of ACL Fest-related road closures for this weekend.......

Think you know Austin? Austin360 isn't so sure: "There should be more to being a true Austinite than just moving here because you had a great time at South by Southwest and thought it was like that here year round. You should have to know a few basic things about Austin before you can officially refer to it as your hometown." Take their "AQ" test and find out. Another mortgage company with employees in......

As you may recall, CWS Capital Partners is trying to build a new residential development in the place of some aging condos on the shore of Lady Bird Lake between the Statesman's offices and East Bouldin Creek (where the hike and bike trail currently dead-ends). The Parks Board has voted to recommend that the Planning Commission deny CWS Capital Partners’ request for a variance that would allow it to build 150 feet from the......

Two weeks ago, Katherine Gregor's Chronicle column discussed a recent study by professors Louise Harpman and Jason Sowell from UT Architecture, sponsored by the Downtown Austin Alliance. The study concluded that Wooldridge Square Park (between Guadalupe/San Antonio and 9th/10th Street) needs more community support, event programming, and landscaping improvements. Wooldridge Square, along with Republic Square and Brush Square, was one of four public squares included in the original grid for the city of Austin......

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors I would like to believe that the top three methods of measuring a man’s true worth would be, in no particular order, but without trade or exception: 1. His ability to handily operate complex electronic devices without the aid of a directions booklet or the complete use of his left hand. 2.......

Austin has a love/hate relationship with bikes. Love Lance. Hate the Lance-wannabes cruising FM-1826, slowing down the burnt-orange pickups on their way to the Salt Lick. Love biking the Hike-and-Bike trail. Hate slaloming between kids and dogs on a busy Saturday. Love the idea of bike lanes and bike commuting. Hate actual bikers slowing down traffic and swerving into the street because of cars parked in the bike lanes. Love reducing traffic and pollution......

San Francisco rockabilly-Americana outfit Trainwreck Riders are coming for their SXSW ever, and they're doing it in grand style: apart from their Wednesday night showcase at Dirty Dog Bar, they'll be playing the free +1 House Party and NY2LON's private Saturday evening afterparty. The following are responses from three of the four lads -- Andrew (lead guitar, vocals), Pete (lead vocals, guitar), and Garritt (bass, vocals). [The Trainwreck Riders on Myspace] [The Trainwreck Riders......

Katherine Gregor has an excellent article in this week's Chronicle about Austin's move towards Vertical Mixed Use zoning on core transit corridors. It does a nice job explaining what the city's VMU overlay means (residential and office space above retail space), why it benefits developers (allows them to build more condos on a given lot), and why it benefits residents (affordability, better building design requirements, pedestrian-friendly, green, integration reduces need for car trips). The......

Seaholm Power, LLC has released new renderings of the proposed Seaholm Power Plant redevelopment, which it will present to City Council tonight. The site plan includes an extension of the city street grid, filling the gap in Third Street, connecting West Avenue to Cesar Chavez and adding a new street, Seaholm Drive, between Third Street and Cesar Chavez. Both new streets get pedestrian/bicycle crossings at their intersections with Cesar Chavez, to help integrate this......

Three and a half minutes in, a middle-aged, slightly overweight man leans casually against the pedestrian barrier of the Golden Gate Bridge and, without hesitation, climbs over the boundary. And then he leaps. Only after the zoom lens has captured his face-first plummet and recorded the powerful splash as body collides against water do the opening credits roll, and only after that does the viewer fully appreciate that what they've just witnessed on screen wasn't......

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary. And now, the awkward......

Despite well-organized citizen outcry and a complete lack of visible public support for the paragon of suburban retailing, the City Council decided not to attempt to stop the proposed Wal-Mart planned for NorthCross Mall. However, councilmembers urged Wal-Mart to work with neighborhood groups to modify the plan to make the development more pedestrian-friendly and add mixed uses -- presumably by adding office and residential space, as the prior setup was exclusively retail. (Pssst .........

TxDOT has decided to eliminate funding for trail, beautification and tourist projects, including federal funds distributed by the department. These projects only constituted approximately 2% of the TxDOT budget, but they have now been removed completely, despite the fact that they are mandated by the Transportation Enhancement Program, established by Congress in 1991. TxDOT will spend its entire budget on highway repair and expansion (including ad campaigns). Local projects that will not be receiving......

In 2002, Suzan-Lori Parks, one of America's most exciting modern playwrights, wrote a new play every single day. Sometimes a famous person would die, so she'd write a little play about them; then our country went to war, and Parks wrote some plays about that. "[It was] kind of like walking a pilgrimage on my knees," says Parks. Now those plays are being performed all over the country, with Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Denver,......

Wal-Mart is building a new Supercenter in Northcross Mall that thinks it's "urban." Today's article about it in the Statesman uses the word "urban" in nearly every sentence. Cute, but wrong. Selling gourmet cheese does not make you urban. Encrusting the exterior with limestone does not make you urban (they don't say it will be limestone, but it's a safe bet). Building a second story, while an improvement on single story super sprawl, does......

Halloween is Tuesday, which means this weekend is really the time for all of the –ists to celebrate. And whether they’re designing super-spooky costumes or talking about the super-spooky upcoming elections, we’d say that they’re doing a fine job of it. Austinist knows that few things in life are scarier than zombies, people with way too much money, and politicians who try too hard to be funny. Slightly less scary, depending on whom you......

This month's election really is getting dirty. This long-haired South Austin revolutionary was on The Drag today across from the university's busiest pedestrian intersection, protesting, from what we can gather, Bush's stupidity, arrogance and bitchiness.......

Since early voting began today, we're going to do a very short series of posts on the city bonds up for vote. Proposition One in ballot language: "The issuance of $103,100,000 in tax supported General Obligation Bonds and Notes for reconstructing roads and streets, constructing, reconstructing, and improving drainage facilities related to the roads and streets; constructing, reconstructing, and improving bicycle and pedestrian mobility infrastructure; improving traffic signal synchronization and controls systems, acquiring and......

Simmons Vedder, the developers who brought us the Triangle, will develop the first rental apartments at the Mueller redevelopment. The plan is for a four-story, 422 apartment complex on Aldrich Street at Airport Boulevard. It was announced last week that Bed Bath and Beyond, Best Buy and Marshalls would open stores in the Mueller retail center fronting I-35 between 51st Street and Airport Boulevard. So, Mueller, despite its incredibly awesome plan, is starting to......

An 18-wheeler struck a pedestrian at the intersection of East Ben White and the south I-35 northbound service road just over an hour ago. Understandably, traffic at that intersection is extremely congested. From the Statesman's Blotter: A news release by the Austin Police Department: At approximately 2:50 p.m., APD patrol officers responded to a collision at East Ben White Boulevard and the south I-35 northbound service road. It is believed that an 18-wheeler was......

Austin is a generally peaceful city, and we've got no issue demonstrating that we're all for it. The wars in the Middle East are serious, offering not much more than unnecessary and seemingly endless civilian casualties. Today, a rally is being organized by Instruments for Peace at the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge (the pedestrian bridge that parallells Lamar). People are encouraged to bring instruments, banners, signs, flags and costumes. The event is during rush hour so......

Whether you want to sweat-away an afternoon or take a sweet, romantic twilight stroll (and sweat), some of the best views of town can be taken in from the S. Lamar pedestrian bridge over Town Lake.......

Want to live in the hippest glass and concrete box east of I-35 with 117 of your hippest friends? Umm ... totally! You're in luck. Interurban Development LLC is following up the Bel-Air Lofts on South Congress with the Skyline Lofts on East Ninth Street, overlooking God's deadliest greatest highway. With floor-to-ceiling windows and concrete ceilings, concrete columns and concrete floors, the Skyline Lofts are a six story slice of concrete-and-glass residential heaven. Plus,......

In the north part of Austin's so-called Urban Core lies the intersection of Metric Boulevard, US-183, and MoPac. Now known collectively as the North Burnet/Gateway Planning Area, the roughly 2,300-acre section of land has grown considerably in the past few decades, from its origins as an industrial district and home of the UT Balcones Research Center (now J.J. Pickle Research Campus), built on a WWII-era magnesium plant, to the construction of various collosal highways......

We didn't have to read this report from Speed Trap Exchange to know that the Austin Police Department has a serious hard-on for speeding. We live about a block south of the river, where APD sets up shop to pull over speeders and, hopefully, a few drunk drivers. Our parking lot, as well as the hotel and burger joint next door, have become a repository for police who've pulled over said offenders. And while we......