Austin, TX
Texas' capital city visitors get parking headache under new order
Sixth Street in Austin.
Cristela JonesFinding parking in downtown Austin is not easy. Whether you pay $20+ to park in a garage or get lucky and find a spot on a metered street, this year you may not need to do either. Ride sharing may become visitors and residents’ best bet since Austin is doing away with parking restrictions for new developments in 2024.
The City of Austin has now become the biggest city in the country to eliminate its parking mandates citywide, according to an NPR report. The effort is part of several ways to make neighborhoods more walkable, ease housing costs, and combat congestion in the city.
Council member Zo Qadri, who represents Central Austin, was part of spearheading the initiative, saying,”I was proud to lead the way on eliminating parking mandates citywide here in Austin. It’s a significant step toward a more affordable, climate-friendly, and transit-oriented city.”
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Getting rid of parking requirements for the city means that developers will not have to make parking lots for buildings anymore in certain parts of the city. Before this, Austin required residential and commercial builders to include parking in their developments since the 1950s, but the amount of spots varied depending on what was being built, according to KUT. For example, usually the city required that every one-bedroom apartment be allotted 1.5 parking spots while a building for a three-bedroom home was required to build at least two parking spots.
Since 2013, Austin began to slowly minimize these requirements for new developments downtown and in 2023, the city council voted to remove parking requirements for bars. The city’s rules will still require builders to provide parking spots for those who are disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Special zoning districts within the city will still be under the city’s former parking minimum rules in neighborhoods like Hyde Park.
Austin is following the trend of dozens of other cities across the nation that have eliminated parking mandates, including Portland, Oregon, San Jose, California, and Richmond, Virginia. Although the move is meant to target parking, advocates of the decision say it may impact the city’s housing troubles as throwing out parking requirements will allow developers to build more housing.
“Downtown Austin hasn’t had parking minimums for ten years and yet developments still provide more parking than is currently needed,” Qadri said.
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In addition to making more room for housing, disgarding parking eliminates the cost of having to build spaces, which can cost a developer anywhere from $5,000 to $60,000 for one parking spot, depending on whether they’re building a surface parking lot or a concrete garage, according to the Austin city department. KUT reported that staff estimate these costs to a developer building apartments can add up to $200 a month to a tenant’s eventual rent.
Tony Jordan, President of the Parking Reform Network, a non-profit organization based in Oregon that educates the public about the impact of parking policy on climate change, equity, housing, and traffic told MySA, “The bottom line is that nothing changes immediately, but over time our cities can actually become better and do a lot better at providing equitable access to people who can’t drive.”
Despite a majority support for the elimination, some Austinites have mixed feelings about it, especially in a city that has been built around cars.
Reddit user, geezer_red, commented in the Austin subreddit about the NPR report, “What will happen is there will be a limited number of parking spots built, much lower than the units and not allocated to specific units. Then people have to separately purchase parking spots or rent from others. It’s how Brooklyn is and it sucks.”
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Another Redditor, Ecstatic-Profit8139, wrote, “we’re not getting rid of parking, we’re removing an unreasonable mandate that forces builders and business owners to provide more parking than anyone needs. there’s a sh**load of parking in this city. it’s always gonna be a chicken and egg situation, but forcing car infrastructure on every development in the city isn’t helping build a better city.”
Census data reveals that 60% of Austin workers drive alone to work, and supporters hope this new initiative will encourage drivers to make more environmentally-friendly transit decisions and if parking is harder, people will choose to take public transportation, bike or walk to their destinations.
“Getting rid of these parking mandates just removes the arbitrary hurdle to having some percentage of our cities be accommodating for people who’d rather not drive which actually is most people [who] say they want a walkable experience,” Jordan said.
Qadri added that he along with council members are working with the Urban Land Institute and local stakeholders to study what more the city can do to better utilize space in developments for uses other than parking.
Juneteenth celebrations are happening across the city this weekend. The events will mark the 161st anniversary of the day Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay to announce that more than 250,000 enslaved people in Texas were free. The announcement on June 19, 1865, came more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. June 19 — known as Juneteenth — became a federal holiday in 2021.
From historical bike rides to Austin’s annual parade, here are seven events taking place in Austin.
Annual Juneteenth FunRun, June 19
The city of Austin’s African American Cultural and Heritage Facility will host a fun run starting at 8:30 a.m. on Friday at East Martin Luther King Jr. Street and Leona Street, and concluding at Hargrave Street near the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex. Participants will have one hour to complete the course. The route is the same as the parade through the African American Historical Cultural District that will start later that morning. Runners and walkers of all ages and levels can participate.
Central Texas Juneteenth Parade & Festival, June 19
The annual Juneteenth parade will take place Friday and begin at 10 a.m. at East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Leona Street and will travel down to Chicon Street before turning on Rosewood Avenue. The parade will feature floats, live music and performers.
A Very Juneteenth Comedy Jam, June 19
The Velveeta Room, Austin’s longest-running comedy club, will have shows highlighting Black voices Friday night at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. The 18+ event will feature comedians like Freddy Do Less and Roderick McDaniel. Tickets for both shows are around $23.
Sistas Walk And Talk: Juneteenth Edition, June 20
Texas Sistas Society will host a 3-mile walk and talk Saturday at 515 S. Pleasant Valley Road starting at 7:45 a.m. Texas Sistas Society is an Austin-based community created for Black women and women of color. Attendees are encouraged to wear Juneteenth colors: red, yellow, green or black, and to RSVP ahead of time.
The Carver Kickback: Juneteenth Edition, June 20
The George Washington Carver Museum in Austin is dedicated to creating a “space where the global contributions of all Black people are celebrated.” The museum is hosting a free celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday with barbecue plates, live music, vendors and activities for all ages.
Black Auteur Film Festival, June 20
The Black Auteur Film Festival, a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting Black filmmakers in Texas, is hosting its third annual film festival to showcase short films directed by Black Texans at AFS Cinema on Saturday. One filmmaker will win the $1,000 “Best of Fest” award, and attendees can enter a raffle for a chance to win Austin Film Society memberships and movie tickets. The festival runs from 2 to 5 p.m. Tickets are $14.
Juneteenth Social Ride, June 21
Black History Bike Ride, an Austin nonprofit teaching people about the city’s Black history through cycling, is hosting its seventh annual Juneteenth ride starting at the Haskell House on Saturday at 10 a.m. Austin-based historian Harrison Eppright will serve as the ride’s guide. Registration is required for all attendees. The event is free, but donations are encouraged.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Data analyst Corey Yeung created the ATX Running Guide to help runners find community across Central Texas. What started as a personal project has become one of Austin’s most comprehensive running resources.
Looking for a Run Club? There’s a Map for That
When Corey Yeung moved to Austin three years ago, he had a simple question:
“How many run clubs are actually out there?” The answer wasn’t easy to find. While several websites listed local groups, Yeung felt none offered a complete picture. So, he decided to build one himself. What started as a spreadsheet evolved into ATX Running Guide, a website and social media platform that helps runners discover clubs throughout the Austin area.
“The list would be more useful if it were a map and search tool,” Yeung said. “The Instagram page was simply a way to communicate those free resources to the community.”
Today, the guide covers running groups from San Marcos to Hutto and serves as a one-stop resource for runners looking to connect. In this episode of KXAN’S Plus Simple Health, Corey Yeung walks us through everything you need to know about the 200-plus running clubs in Austin.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Volts are off to a rough start in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, but maybe a little home cooking can help them get right.
After playing their first five games on the road, the Volts open play at Dell Diamond in Round Rock at 6 p.m. Thursday against the Utah Talons, kicking off an 8-game homestand.
It’s the first season the Volts will call Dell Diamond home. In the league’s inaugural season last year, the original four teams competed with a touring schedule that included a stop at Dell Diamond. This is the first year that the AUSL, now a 6-team league, will play in home markets.
They have a roster peppered with local stars, including 2-time NCAA national champion middle infielder Leighann Goode from the Texas Longhorns. Aliyah Binford, a New Braunfels native, played collegiately for Ole Miss and former Texas State pitcher Jessica Mullins made an appearance in the Volts’ previous series against the Carolina Blaze.
Goode said there’s been a bit of a learning curve, but she credits her teammates for helping her adjust to the league.
“This group has brought me in and taught me stuff, taken me under their wings,” she said. “They’ve done an awesome job.”
Legendary Texas pitcher Cat Osterman is the team’s general manager, and the head coach is Texas State’s Ricci Woodard.
“We’re ready to rock and roll at home,” Woodard said. “I’m anxious to see what happens now that we get to play in our own place.”
Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 draft, joined the team last weekend after a brief contract holdout.
The Volts are 1-4 this season, picking up their lone win over the Oklahoma City Spark on June 10. They’ll face the Talons in a 3-game series, the Chicago Bandits for a pair June 23-24, and finish the homestand with a 3-game set against the expansion Portland Cascade on June 26-28.
Ryan Sanders Baseball, the organization that owns and operates the Round Rock Express, is an operating partner with the Volts and an investor with the AUSL.
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