Information from the Texas Department of Transportation as of late May shows while traffic counts along Hwy. 71 where it meets RM 620 in western Travis County have risen steadily from 2014 to 2020, the death rate on that road has also dropped substantially in that same time period.

The numbers, taken from TxDOT’s Crash Records Information System and other department databases, show in 2014, the average daily traffic count on that intersection stood at 36,788 automobiles. So far through the end of May, 2020 numbers show an average daily traffic count of 59,926.

In the same time period from 2014-20, TxDOT data shows the average death rate along the roughly 15-mile stretch of Hwy. 71 from Southwest Parkway to the Blanco County line showed gradual…

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Hamilton Pool Vineyards & Farms opened its doors at 25711 Hamilton Pool Road, Round Mountain, for the first time in May after coronavirus precautions prevented the business from its planned Easter weekend opening.

According to Chief Operating Officer Alfonso Castillo, the business's vineyard is now open and hosting wine tastings, bottle sales, pickup and delivery.

Wine tastings and other on-site services are offered in Hamilton Pool Vineyards' large indoor tasting room or in an outdoor courtyard at private tables. Both options accommodate social distancing, he said.

More features will be added to the business in the months to come, according to Castillo, including a two-acre farm that will feed into a farm-to-table restaurant on the premises. Staff…

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The Eanes Education Foundation named Dana Meserole Delorenzo as the nonprofit’s new executive director at a May 26 board meeting, during which Kathi Haralson, the outgoing director, presented a $2.65 million donation to the district.

Delorenzo has 26 years of professional and volunteer experience, according to Haralson. She is also a parent to a sixth-grade student at EISD’s West Ridge Middle School.

EEF seeks financial support and corporate donors to provide opportunities for educational excellence within the district, according to the EEF website. Each year, the majority of donations fund teacher and staff positions, with over 421 positions funded since 2004.

 

Article published by Community Impact. 

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Between 2010 and 2019, Austin went from the 14th-largest city in the U.S. to the 11th largest and added more residents than all but four American cities, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released late May 20.

Austin went from 801,829 residents on April 1, 2010, to 978,908 residents on July 1, 2019, according to the data. That increase of 177,079 residents only trailed Phoenix, Houston, San Antonio and Los Angeles as the most in the country.

Four of the six cities that added the most residents in the decade are located in Texas: Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth. Dallas added the ninth-most residents in the U.S., with an increase of 145,014.
Texas also peppered the list of the fastest-growing large cities in the U.S. through the…

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After a nearly three-hour discussion from residents, staff and officials, Bee Cave City Council approved amendments on zoning and development standards for a roughly 35-acre planned development district called The Backyard. The development in west Bee Cave will contain, among several other features, a high-capacity entertainment venue.

Approval of the amendments came during council’s May 26 meeting and follows an April 7 recommendation to adopt the changes from the Bee Cave Planning & Zoning Commission.

The Backyard will be located between Bee Cave Parkway and Hwy. 71, just west of RM 620 and Bee Cave Central Park.

Council’s last amendment to the PDD came in March 2019 and included the removal of three planned data centers and a distributed energy…

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Less than three weeks ahead of what Capital Metro Board Chair Wade Cooper called “one of the most consequential votes this board has taken in its history,” the public transportation agency refined the cost estimate for its plan to revamp Austin’s public transit network.

In May, Cap Metro staff adjusted their initial plans for the plan, called Project Connect, to add a light rail line running from Austin Community College’s Highland campus in North Central Austin to South Austin to replace what was initially planned as a bus route. Additionally, staff nixed $380 million of planned work on the existing MetroRail, the Red Line, because there would not be enough of a gain in ridership to justify the cost.

The effect of those changes on the cost estimate of…

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The city of Rollingwood has its sights set on a residential property located within city limits at 503 Vale St. for the use of a potential police department annex building.

Due to size constraints, the current police building has limited the department’s abilities, and according to Mayor Michael Dyson, the city is currently under a $1.2 million contract to obtain the property.

Council discussed a rezoning application of the property from a residential to a government site during a virtual meeting May 20. Action will be requested during a Planning and Zoning meeting scheduled for June 10.

As officials work to obtain the full scope of the community’s input, council emphasized that an official decision has not been made to utilize the building for…

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Read the latest data on area home sales in Central Texas.

DATA: Amid pandemic single-family home sales see double-digit decreases in Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hutto

Home sales saw double-digit declines in Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto this April as stay-at-home orders were in place, according to data the Austin Board of Realtors released May 19.

ABoR: April residential sales decrease in the Lake Travis-Westlake region

Austin’s real estate market is feeling the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as home sales declined throughout the area in April.

Georgetown sees decrease in home sales as impact of coronavirus felt on housing market

In April, Georgetown saw a 28.18% decrease in residential home sales—including single-family, condo and town homes—year…

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Austin’s real estate market is feeling the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as home sales declined throughout the area in April.

Residential sales reflected a 21.6% decrease in the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan statistical area, according to the Austin Board of Realtors’ April market analysis.

 

Inventory dropped as the market experienced a 7.3% decline in active listings. Simultaneously, the median sales price increased by 3.2% as homes spent fewer days on the market.

“We anticipated a sharp decline in April home sales activity, as it directly correlates with the decline in listings activity recorded in March due to government stay-at-home orders,” ABoR President Romeo Manzanilla said.

However, the drop in housing inventory is not excepted to…

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