Austin, TX
Texas’ Fastest-Growing City Is An Austin Suburb With Shops, Classic Barbecue, And Ample Outdoor Adventure – Islands
If it seems to Austinites like their city keeps growing year by year, they’re not wrong. Barring a minor dip from 2019 to 2020, the Texas capital not only continues to keep it weird, but also attracts more people day by day — especially from California. New residents join the nearly 2.5 million Texans within the Austin metro area (as of 2023) in enjoying Austin staple Torchy’s Tacos, pronouncing the neighborhood of Manchaca as MAN-shack, and taking a dip in Barton Springs in Zilker Park. And while the Austin metro area now spans past Round Rock in the north and the food-and-booze-infused San Marcos to the south, another Austin suburb is growing even faster than its parent city: Leander, along Route 183 about half an hour from downtown Austin.
A mere 7,600 people called little Leander home in 2000. In 2025, that number has exploded to nearly 93,000. Much of this completely bananas population growth can be attributed to the obvious, namely, Leander’s proximity to Austin. Owning a home in Austin is more expensive, making Leander an attractive alternative.
But Leander’s got a lot going for it, aside from cheaper prices. Though definitely a spread-out, decentralized suburb, Leander still has some of the same top-notch Texas barbecue places that folks can expect from Austin or anywhere else in the Lone Star State, some of which live along the gloriously-named Hero Way. Leander’s also got its fair share of independent boutiques that have absorbed some of Austin’s nearby quirk, like Wildfire Artisans, which operates out of an old train car. Then there’s Leander’s natural spaces, which are possibly its standout attraction. From the sprawling Garey Park to the picnic-perfect Devine Lake Park, Leander’s got no shortage of outdoor activities at the ready.
Dig into Leander’s extensive barbecue and shopping options
Any Texan or would-be Texan worth their salt — or sauce — will die on the hill of Texas barbecue being the greatest of barbecues. Super slow-cooked and juicy brisket stands at the forefront of Texas barbecue offerings, and a Leander barbecue joint like Stubblefield’s is no exception. Located right off Route 183, which runs all the way down the length of Leander, Stubblefield’s has a near-5.0 rating on Google. In a place like Texas, this is quite the high bar. And because we’re living near food truck heaven in Austin — a city with over 2,000 food trucks (although Hawaii takes the food truck crown) — Stubblefield’s is, naturally, a truck.
Stubblefield is also just five minutes away from two more barbecue places, Smoky Mo’s BBQ and Blue Corn Harvest Bar and Grill, on the aforementioned Hero Way. This is all on the north side of Leander, by the way. The south side has a similar barbecue strip along Whitestone Boulevard with four more barbecue places right in a row. One of them is even another Smoky Mo’s.
After swelling up with so much meat, why not poke around some of Leander’s quirky, cool, rustic, and sometimes twee shops? Leander Marketplace sits at the top of the list, an antiques-meets-oddball-goods flea market only open on the first Saturday of the month. It makes a perfect pair with the Hill Country Community Ministries Thrift Store, a short six-minute drive away. The women-focused boutique Turquoise Peacock Boutique, meanwhile, offers some beautiful, curated goods for customers, while The Hobby Shop is basically a brain-melting dream for any fan of high-quality model cars.
Explore Leander’s copious natural spaces
Leander is so festooned with natural spaces of all sizes and types that it’s almost more accurate to think of the city as Texan countryside with human habitation sprinkling within it. This is where we see the additional benefit of choosing to live in Leander rather than Austin, one enjoyed by its massive influx of residents. For potential residents who don’t mind the daily trade-off of city culture for nature (but keeping the barbecue and some of the shops, mind you), Leander is for you. And for travelers wanting a break from cities, but wanting to stay close enough to the city not to get lost in the wilderness, Leander is also for you.
Balcones Canyonland National Wildlife Refuge is one of the most prominent outdoor offerings around Leander, about 30 minutes west of the city. Around 1,000 acres of the 27,000-acre preserve are open to the public, acres that illustrate that Texas’ natural environment is way more complex than mere sand in the desert. Hiking and wildlife watching are the most obvious draws for visitors, as the park is home to 245 bird species (and brought the black-capped vireo back from being endangered). Ranger-led activities are also an option, as is limited hunting with a permit and via lottery.
Folks sticking directly within and around Leander will have no problem finding natural spaces, either. A small spot like Quest Village Park is basically a neighborhood park with a playground suitable for family ventures, dog walking, and so forth. Brushy Creek Lake Park, on the other hand, is a 90-acre, trail-focused, waterside park with a boat launch, exercise area, pavilions with grills, and more. Such options make it clear why Leander continues to grow so rapidly.
AUSTIN, Texas — Self-driving cars have become a common sight on Austin streets, but a new Texas law is adding tougher requirements for the companies behind the wheelless vehicles.
Senate Bill 2807 imposes stricter rules on autonomous vehicle companies operating in the state, including state authorization, emergency response plans for law enforcement, and a public portal where residents can verify operators and file safety complaints.
The changes come as Austin continues to track incidents involving autonomous vehicles. The city’s autonomous vehicle dashboard shows 75 incidents in 2026, including a collision, eight near misses, and seven incidents of ignoring police direction.
Attorney Drew Gibbs, a partner at Slingshot Law, said one crash involved a Waymo vehicle.
“There was a T-bone collision. A pretty serious T-bone collision where a Waymo just crashed into the side of my client’s vehicle,” Gibbs said.
ALSO| Waymo files voluntary software recall over flooded-lane risks on high-speed roads
KEYE
One of the incidents of ignoring police direction happened during the mass shooting on West Sixth Street back in March, when three people died, and 15 others were injured.
Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said autonomous vehicles can struggle in unusual situations.
“It didn’t impede on anything in the moment, but it’s not necessarily uncommon where these vehicles don’t quite know how to deal with these one-off scenarios,” Bullock said.
The new law requires autonomous vehicle companies to be authorized by the state, to provide an emergency response plan for law enforcement, and to participate in a public-facing portal that allows the public to verify operators and submit safety complaints.
Kara Kockelman, a professor of transportation and engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, welcomed the added oversight.
“I’m glad that the state is taking this a bit more seriously now,” she said. “It’s important not to just let others slip in without kind of meeting those basic minimums.”
Bullock said the emergency planning requirement may not make a major difference in fast-moving situations. Asked how impactful it is to have a fully laid out emergency response plan, Bullock said, “These plans are great, but it takes time to work through all of those versus the immediacy of having someone behind the wheel.”
The four autonomous vehicle companies operating in Austin — Waymo, Zoox, AV-Ride, and Tesla — are all state-authorized.
The Texas DMV said an autonomous vehicle company can lose its authorization to operate in Texas if the agency deems the vehicles are operating in a way that endangers public safety.
Waymo was contacted for comment, but had not responded.
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson said Tuesday she will leave the post next month.
What we know:
In a statement, Nelson said her resignation will be effective July 17 but did not provide a reason for the departure.
“It has been an honor to serve the people of Texas in this role,” Nelson said. “My time as Secretary came at an important moment for Texas, and I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish as an agency in under four years.”
Nelson has served in the role since 2023.
Among other things, the Secretary of State oversees elections and business filings in the state and serves as the chief diplomat of Texas.
View of Texas State Senator Jane Nelson, during the 80th Texas Legislature, on the floor of the Senate at the Texas State Capitol, Austin, Texas, January 22, 2007. (John Anderson/The Austin Chronicle / Getty Images)
What they’re saying:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott described Nelson as extraordinary.
“I am deeply grateful for her long and loyal service and outstanding leadership. She has represented our state with grace and honor across the globe, and Texas is better because of it,” Abbott said. “Cecilia and I wish her all the best in the next chapter of her distinguished career.”
Dig deeper:
According to the Secretary of State’s office, Nelson has presided over seven statewide elections during her tenure with a cumulative 27 million ballots cast and broke a record with more than 3 million active business filers.
Nelson also served three decades in the Texas Senate, where she remains the longest-serving Republican in state history.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Secretary of State’s office.
Michael Dorman
Austin, Texas, is revving up to sell $2.35 billion of debt for a convention center and a wastewater treatment plant, while a legal battle continues over bonds to help finance a light rail system.
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The bond boom comes as the city council voted on Thursday to pursue the development of a $390 million baseline general obligation bond package for the November ballot despite a call by Mayor Kirk Watson to wait until 2028.
“I believe we can and we should bring forward significant investments in the future,” he said. “In fact, if we restore compliance with our financial policies and we maintain the discipline we actually will have greater future capacity to do more for this community in 2028.”
A bond election would
The city, which last held a successful GO bond election in 2022 for $350 million of debt for affordable housing, had $1.03 billion of unissued voter-approved GO bond authorization as of the Sept. 30 end of fiscal 2025. Last year,
On Thursday, the city council signed off on a $34.5 million wrongful prosecution and conviction settlement with four individuals to be financed through the sale of non-voter-approved GO bonds.
The council approved up to $1.35 billion of special tax revenue bonds on May 21 for a $1.6 billion project to replace the city’s now-demolished convention center with a facility that will increase rentable event space to 620,000 square feet from 365,000 square feet.
Rich Saskal
The bonds are backed with revenue from certain city hotel occupancy taxes and incremental state tax revenue generated within a project finance zone the city established in 2024. Amounts and timings for issuing the debt are being determined, according to the city, which filed a petition with a Travis County District Court for an expedited validation of the bonds.
An ordinance approved in October
The city also plans to refund hotel occupancy tax-backed debt issued for the prior convention center in order to pledge a 4.5% hotel tax for the upcoming bonds.
“The refunding bonds are a separate, but related item to the expansion bonds and will only be secured by 2% venue HOT,” city documents said. “The 2% venue HOT will not be pledged to the expansion bonds and will cease to be collected upon final maturity or early payoff of (the refunding bonds).”
A petition drive that would have delayed the project fell 494 signatures short of a requirement for 20,000 valid signatures of registered voters, Austin City Clerk Erika Brady determined in November.
Petition backers are appealing a district court’s refusal to force validation in state appellate court after the Texas Supreme Court dismissed
The petition drive by Austin United PAC and others sought a ballot measure to stop the demolition and reconstruction of the convention center for seven years — or until the project was approved by voters — and prioritize city funding for local live music, arts, cultural, and outdoor tourism.
The Austin City Council also approved as much as $1 billion of water and wastewater system revenue bonds last month for the Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion and enhancement project. The bonds will be used to obtain a direct low-interest loan from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program.
Other financing sources for the $1.5 billion project are $59 million from the Texas Water Development Board Clean Water State Revolving Fund program and funding from Austin Water.
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The plant, which serves more than 50% of Austin and operates at a treatment capacity of 75 million gallons per day, will have its capacity increased to 100 MGD, helping meet future demand and requirements set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for Austin’s projected growth of 1.5 million by 2040, according to a city statement.
A legal logjam over a light rail system eased May 22 when the Texas Supreme Court finally ruled on a procedural issue related to an initial $150 million of bonds for the project. The high court ordered a Travis County Court judge to decide whether the bonds’ issuer, the Austin Transit Partnership, a nonprofit corporation created by the city and Capital Metro Transportation Authority, has standing to seek court validation for the debt.
City taxpayers who filed a lawsuit in 2023, along with the Texas Attorney General’s Office have been challenging the legality of the bonds, which would be paid off with a portion of Austin’s operation and maintenance property taxes
Escalating costs led ATP to downsize Project Connect to an initial less than 10-mile, 15-station system with a similar price tag. The completion of a federal environmental review in January allowed the project to continue a process
ATP said Project Connect is moving forward with construction scheduled to begin next year.
“We are confident in our case and look forward to our day in court,” ATP said in a statement. “The pending litigation has not slowed our progress advancing Austin light rail, which has hit major milestones in the federal funding process, design, and pre-construction work this year.”
Bill Aleshire, an attorney who filed the taxpayers’ lawsuit, cautioned that several issues remain before the court, including the legality of the downsized project and the ability to pay off bonds with property tax revenue that is supposed to be used for operations.
“Their federal funding is uncertain, their ability to issue bonds is uncertain, and they just stubbornly will not listen to us and say it’s time to pause Project Connect and rethink it, that maybe rail isn’t the best way to go at this time and maybe we can’t afford it at this time,” he said.
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