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(Project Connect)
Project Connect is starting to take shape, Capitol Metro announced, and officially beginning with the scoping phase that includes an environmental report set to go on from now to 2022.
<p>Although that may seem like a long process, the Project Connect, a complete overhaul of the city's public transit system, is starting a timeline of 13 years before it is complete. Capitol Metro representatives met Monday to discuss the future of the orange line, that is expected to be complete in nine year. </p><p><span></span>The orange line will connect North and South Austin, starting at Tech Ridge, with 22 stops along the way until it hits Slaughter Lane. There will be service every 10-15 minutes, according to officials.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="898" data-rm-shortcode-id="ad2c8ff862a0d910ecdb8acfb6335ab7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUzMzkxOC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjQ2Nzg0NX0.Ygxo0qUUQRlIyqDnbW3I65mT2xphZHjDDEgdaNxj-98/img.png?width=980" data-width="1600" id="6d394" type="lazy-image"/>
</p><p>The orange line is expected to be complete in nine years.<br/></p><p>Before the project moves any further, an environmental impact statement must be developed. The EIS is part of the National Environmental Policy Act and is a crucial step to beginning new developments because it scopes the surrounding area and helps engineer better ways for the project to fit into the community.</p><p>As part of the scoping period, AECOM's Orange Line project manager Jerry Smiley said they will be asking for public feedback regularly for the next several years. </p><p>Since construction of the new lines will begin at different times, some lines may be done before then, like the red line, which starts construction of two new stops and a second track this year.</p>
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Tesla has filed plans to build a 30,000-square-foot showroom and vehicle service center at The Yard, a creative business center in south Austin.
<p>The space, located at 500 E. St. Elmo Road, is currently home to Music Lab, one of Austin's most beloved recording studios which had already downsized once by closing its popular West Oltorf location in 2019. It is unclear if the recording studio is relocating or shutting down completely.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe allowfullscreen="" aria-hidden="false" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d3447.76096245339!2d-97.76380758489368!3d30.21536918182052!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x8644b49844a28147%3A0x16c545a37d3361e2!2s500%20E%20St%20Elmo%20Rd%2C%20Austin%2C%20TX%2078745!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1610725077106!5m2!1sen!2sus" style="border:0;" tabindex="0" width="600"></iframe></div><p>Tesla's filings project construction to begin by this June, and will take an estimated three months and $2.5 million to complete. This will be the third showroom in Austin. The existing locations are located off of Research Boulevard in northwest Austin and in the Domain—this will be the first showroom in South Austin.<br/></p><p>The new location will be closer to the newest Tesla gigafactory in Southeast Travis County. It was less than a year ago that Elon Musk announced the automotive company would be building its next gigafactory in the Austin area. The factory will facilitate building the new Cyber Truck, Model Y and batteries for the cars. It is projected to begin operations this year.</p>
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(Karendesuyo/CC)
After a truly impactful year on the aviation industry, Norwegian Air announced that due to COVID-19 and government advice discouraging travel, it would abandon its long haul flights to focus on its European audience for the time being.
That means Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is losing two European routes: a nonstop route to London and Austin's sole nonstop route to Paris.
<p>"The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the entire aviation industry," Norwegian Air said in a <a href="https://media.uk.norwegian.com/pressreleases/norwegian-to-focus-on-a-strong-european-network-3064682" target="_blank">press release</a>. "Travel restrictions and changing government advice continue to negatively influence demand for long haul travel, and Norwegian's entire Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet has been grounded since March 2020. Future demand remains highly uncertain. Under these circumstances, a long haul operation is not viable for Norwegian and these operations will not continue."</p>
<p>Norwegian said that instead, it will continue to offer short haul service to its Nordic customers and to key destinations around Europe. The airline said it plans to reassess opportunities in the future, as the world starts to recover from COVID-19.</p>
<p>Norwegian announced in October 2019 that it would offer nonstop service from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport—the only airline at ABIA to do so. The flights were scheduled to take off in May 2020 and were unfortunately never able to get off the ground. </p><p>British Airways will still provide a nonstop route from Austin to London, though service is temporarily suspended.</p>
<p>Norwegian Air CEO Jacob Schram said he doesn't expect customer demand for long haul flights to recover in the near future.</p>
<p>"Our focus is to rebuild a strong, profitable Norwegian so that we can safeguard as many jobs as possible," Schram said. "It is with a heavy heart that we must accept that this will impact dedicated colleagues from across the company. I would like to thank each one of our affected colleagues for their tireless dedication and contribution to Norwegian over the years."</p>
<p>The airline said it will issue refunds to customers that have been affected by the announcement.</p>
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(David Hale Smith/CC)
Even with COVID-19 keeping hundreds of people at home for the bulk of 2020, traffic deaths reached the highest point they had seen since 2015 and official sources are citing speeding as a major cause.
<p>News outlets started reporting high traffic fatality numbers in early 2020, before the pandemic even started. The year concluded with 94 traffic deaths, according to the Austin Police Department. Austin hasn't seen the death toll reach that high since it hit 102 in 2015.</p><p>Even though Austin drivers were largely off the roads—a 25-80% decrease throughout the year—the death count rose despite traffic experts expecting a decline. </p><p>What caused the deaths?</p><p>Many reports, like <a href="https://www.kut.org/austin/2021-01-08/despite-fewer-drivers-more-people-died-on-austin-roads-in-2020-than-in-the-past-five-years" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">KUT</a>, blame the increased death toll on increased speeding in the pandemic era. They reported that a person hit at 40 mph is five times more likely to be killed than someone hit at 24 mph and the roads are certainly less congested than they have been in years past. Austin Transportation Department reported that speeding is the primary contributor in 25% of accidents resulting in death.</p><p>Other reports show that police officers feel they are spread thin: the <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2020/11/13/austin-traffic-deaths-climb-despite-pandemic-keeping-drivers-home/114938316/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Austin American-Statesman</a> reported that APD priorities have shifted, pulling officers looking for drunk drivers off of highways. During an eventful year, protests gripped the police department's gaze, especially from May to July.</p><p>What is the city planning to do?</p><p>The city rolled out plans to <a href="https://austonia.com/speed-limit-changes" target="_blank">decrease speed limits</a> and add speed mitigation treatments, like speed bumps, around Austin where necessary. The change is part of ATD's Vision Zero program, which hopes to reach zero traffic deaths by 2025.</p>The changes, which were finalized before the end of the year, reduced speed limits downtown from 30 to 25 mph and reduced residential streets under a certain width to 25 mph. A complete map of speed changes can be <a href="https://austin.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Compare/index.html?appid=510ea1343a0d46ceb316dd5a08133042" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">viewed here</a>.<p><span></span><br/></p>
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