Austin, TX
Austin traffic increased after state workers returned to office, but travel speeds barely changed
Traffic volumes on Austin’s highways climbed after state employees were ordered back to the office full-time March 31, according to new data obtained by KUT News. But average travel speeds during morning and afternoon rush hours were little changed on Interstate 35, MoPac and U.S. Highway 183.
City streets showed even less fluctuation in travel times, aside from some construction zones.
Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise. Government employees make up less than 2% of the 1.5 million workers in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The mixed results also reflect a complicated reality: traffic congestion is shaped by overlapping forces — everything from crashes to signal timing — not just the number of vehicles on the road.
Nathan Bernier
/
KUT News
“When you start talking about traffic, there are lots of things in play besides what you’re thinking about,” said David Schrank, senior research scientist at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. “We can look in generalities at what’s happening, but it’s very difficult to pinpoint.”
KUT News requested Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) data comparing the first week of the state’s return-to-office mandate with the first week of March to avoid muddying the numbers with the spring break slowdown.
The week of March 31, highway traffic volumes increased most on I-35 at Onion Creek Parkway. About 5% more cars and trucks traveled on weekdays in both directions, suggesting more people commuting from suburbs south of Austin.
But during the morning commute, defined as 6 to 10 a.m., average weekday travel speeds on I-35 at Onion Creek actually increased from 18 to 28 miles per hour. The afternoon commute saw a more predictable drop in southbound travel speeds from 28 to 25 miles per hour.
One factor could be that workers now have more flexibility to decide when they hit the road.
“They might take a call at the house before they leave,” Schrank said. “And then, ‘OK. I’m going to drive in now. Traffic sort of died down.’”
City traffic data — supplied by the traffic analytics company INRIX — shows little change on local streets.
That’s not to say certain pockets could be worse.
“I think the data doesn’t necessarily indicate where hotspots may be,” said Brian Craig with the city of Austin’s Transportation and Public Works Department. “So that is something that we are actively looking for.”
The city monitors intersections with cameras and adjusts traffic signal timing as needed, especially in areas where return-to-office orders might put more cars and trucks on the road.
One focus has been the TxDOT campus on Stassney Lane, where state employees returned to a site where they struggled to find parking.
“We’ve made [traffic signal] timing adjustments,” Craig said. “We know if we had not, it certainly would have become a very hot spot as far as congestion goes.”
Cesar Chavez Street to the west of I-35 was another trouble area. Construction at the Austin Convention Center slowed travel times by as much as 37%, but only during permitted working hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
One of Austin’s most reliably jammed roads didn’t change much. I-35 at Lady Bird Lake averaged about 10 miles per hour during the afternoon commute before the state’s return-to-office mandate.
The week after? Still 10 miles an hour.
AUSTIN (The Texas Tribune) — The records in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s divorce case have been unsealed.
Judge Robert Brotherton, who is presiding over the case, signed an order Friday morning allowing the records to be made public. The decision came after Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, announced that they had come to an agreement late Thursday to unseal the documents.
Tyler Bexley, an attorney for a group of media organizations fighting for the records to be released, celebrated the decision as a win for transparency.
“We’re certainly pleased with the result,” Bexley said after the hearing.
The move was an abrupt about-face for the couple, who had fought to keep the records secret. It’s unclear exactly what brought on the change.
The records were released before noon. They show the Paxtons have entered mediation, and their blind trust had doled out $20,000 to each of them to pay for their attorneys. The documents also show that earlier this month, Angela Paxton asked her husband to produce records pertinent to the case. They also show multiple judges recused themselves from the case before it was given to Brotherton, a visiting judge based in Wichita Falls.
The Texas Newsroom previously published copies of several records — including Paxton’s general denial of his wife’s divorce petition — before they were sealed.
The records did not shed more light on the couple’s financial situation, division of assets or the alleged affair that led to the divorce — but additional filings will be made as the case continues. Bexley said the media organizations agreed to redactions only of personal information like Social Security numbers and home addresses.
State Sen. Angela Paxton filed for divorce in July alleging adultery. Soon after, she asked for the court record to be sealed. A previous judge handling the case agreed and put all of the records under seal. Ken Paxton initially supported the decision, filing a court document that accused the press of attempting to unfairly invade his personal life.
Eight media organizations and a nonpartisan nonprofit opposed the sealing. The media group argued Paxton’s divorce records should be public because he is an elected official running for office who has faced repeated allegations of corruption. The attorney general’s finances, which are a subject of the divorce case, have been central to the misconduct allegations against him. While he has been charged with multiple crimes during his decade in statewide office, Paxton has never been convicted.
Paxton is now challenging John Cornyn in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
Laura Roach, one of Ken Paxton’s lawyers, said after the Friday hearing that the attorney general had always wanted the record to be unsealed.
“Mr. Paxton has always wanted us to actually unseal it,” she said. “Attorneys get on a path and we think that that’s the right way to go and we were finally able to get everybody on the same page.”
When asked why he initially opposed it so strongly, she added, “that’s just legal stuff. … His attorneys said that.”
Angela Paxton had asked the records be sealed because doing so would “not have an adverse affect on the public health or safety.” Her representatives declined to respond on Friday.
Michael Clauw, the communications director for the nonprofit Campaign for Accountability that also sought the release of the records, said he does not believe Ken Paxton actually wanted them to be made public.
“It’s ridiculous to believe that Ken Paxton ‘always wanted’ his divorce record to be unsealed,” he said. “Only when it became apparent he likely would lose in court did he change his tune.”
Roach said she expects the case to be resolved amicably soon. Neither Ken Paxton nor Angela Paxton appeared at the court.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
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Austin, TX
Australia mass shooting: Brother of Texas rabbi injured in attack speaks at Austin ceremony
AUSTIN, Texas – In the wake of the Australia attack on Bondi Beach, Jewish community members flocked to join Governor Greg Abbott in the annual Hanukkah tradition, which looked different this year.
The traditional lighting of the menorah at the Capitol is typically held outside. However, with the recent attack, everyone piled into the Governor’s reception room for security reasons.
The backstory:
There was a weight in the air you could almost feel as members of the Jewish community gathered for the annual Texas Capitol Menorah Lighting Ceremony.
The celebration comes only days after two gunmen killed 15 people and injured about 40 others at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia.
“We have enhanced security, making sure celebrations will take place peacefully and respectfully,” said Governor Greg Abbott.
The terror attack hits home for many. One of the victims is a fellow Texan, Rabbi Liebel Lazaroff, who remains in the ICU fighting for his life.
“An attack on Jews anywhere is an attack on us.”
Rabbi Liebel Lazaroff and his father.
Liebel’s siblings drove in from College Station, and his brother, Rabbi Menachem Lazaroff, spoke about his brother’s heroic actions on Bondi Beach.
“[Liebel] saw, close by, an Australian police officer who was injured and critically bleeding,” said Rabbi Menachem Lazaroff. “He ran over to him, took the shirt off his back, and applied a tourniquet and saved the man’s life.”
Liebel was shot twice while trying to save the Australian police officer. All of this unfolded as Liebel’s boss and mentor died right next to him. He was identified as Rabbi Eli Schlanger.
“[Liebel] said, ‘I could’ve saved the rabbi,’” said Rabbi Menachem Lazaroff. “[Liebel] said ‘Rabbi Schlanger has a family, a wife and children. I’m just a young boy. I could have done something, and I wish I would’ve done more.’”
The 20-year-old rabbi has undergone several surgeries and has more ahead of him before he can begin what will be a long road to recovery.
“He’s a good man, and he’s tough, but it definitely made me emotional for sure, and I’m proud of him,” said Rabbi Menachem Lazaroff. “I’m proud of who he is and what he represents.”
During the eight days of Hanukkah, one candle is lit each night until all eight are burning. On Thursday night, the fifth candle was lit, the symbolic transition of there being more light than darkness.
The Lazaroff family is seeking donations to cover Liebel’s medical bills. Here’s a link if you would like to help.
The Source: Information from statements at the Texas Capitol Menorah Lighting Ceremony and previous FOX 7 Austin coverage
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