Here are some things to know about this week if you live in or near Northwest Austin.
1. Pappadeaux No. 2 opening on Research Boulevard
The
long-awaited opening of Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen's second Austin-area location happens Tuesday, a restaurant employee confirmed last week. The employee said the restaurant will initially be open only for dinner until early 2017.
Construction of the new location began in May 2015 at 11617 Research Blvd., Austin, just south of Duval Road on the northbound US 183 frontage road. Pappadeaux, a Houston-based chain, also has a location at 6303 N. I-35, Austin.
The Texas Department of Transportation is proposing $25 million worth of improvements to the intersection of I-35 and Parmer Lane.[/caption]
2. Transportation meetings to address I-35, North Austin corridor studies
State and local officials host several meetings this week regarding plans to improve I-35 in Pflugerville and North Austin as well as on Burnet Road and North Lamar Boulevard.
The Texas Department of Transportation is hosting an open house Tuesday, Dec. 6 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Walnut Creek Elementary School, 401 W. Braker Lane, Austin, near Lamar. The public will be able to hear updates to the agency’s
Mobility 35 program to improve I-35 from SH 45 N to Grand Avenue Parkway in Pflugerville as well as at the I-35 and Parmer Lane intersection.
In 2010, Austin voters approved a mobility bond that funded corridor studies on North Lamar between US 183 and I-35 and on Burnet between Koenig Lane and MoPac. Some funding for projects came from the 2012 bond, and two open house events are planned Dec. 7-8 to allow residents to hear what’s being planned for the two roadways.
Find more information here.
3. Application for proposed 11-story hotel near Bull Creek withdrawn
Local developer David Kahn, who proposed
an 11-story, 132,000-square-foot hotel with 120 rooms on Spicewood Springs Road, withdrew his site plan application Dec. 2 from the city of Austin. Kahn owns the 11.39-acre tract of land at 6315 Spicewood Springs Road, Austin, near Yaupon Drive and adjacent to Bull Creek. Kahn met with area residents last week about their concerns with the project's effect on traffic congestion and the environment.
District 10 Council Member Sheri Gallo confirmed in a Dec. 2 email to residents that Kahn withdrew the application.
4. Fight continues over federal overtime rule injunction
The
U.S. Department of Justice appealed a preliminary injunction last week that was granted Nov. 22 by a federal judge against the U.S. Department of Labor's new overtime rule that would extend overtime wage requirements to more than 4 million salaried workers nationwide. If implemented, the rule would apply to approximately 370,000 workers in Texas.
Read more about how Northwest Austin businesses are reacting to the proposed changes.
5. Early voting underway in District 10 runoff election
Early voting continues until Friday for a
runoff election to decide the Austin City Council District 10 seat. Incumbent Sheri Gallo faces Alison Alter for the position. Election Day is Dec. 13.
Gallo and Alter were the top two vote-getters in the Nov. 8 general election, but neither received more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff election. The
candidates participated in a campaign forum and answered questions about District 10's top issues on Nov. 29.
District 10 includes the 78750 and 78759 ZIP codes within
Community Impact Newspaper’s Northwest Austin coverage area.
The map below shows where early voting polling stations will be located. The red stars reflect the 19 brick-and-mortar locations voters can visit Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The blue trucks reflect the seven mobile voting locations and what days and hours they will be open.
The Texas Department of Transportation is proposing $25 million worth of improvements to the intersection of I-35 and Parmer Lane.[/caption]
2. Transportation meetings to address I-35, North Austin corridor studies
State and local officials host several meetings this week regarding plans to improve I-35 in Pflugerville and North Austin as well as on Burnet Road and North Lamar Boulevard.
The Texas Department of Transportation is hosting an open house Tuesday, Dec. 6 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Walnut Creek Elementary School, 401 W. Braker Lane, Austin, near Lamar. The public will be able to hear updates to the agency’s Mobility 35 program to improve I-35 from SH 45 N to Grand Avenue Parkway in Pflugerville as well as at the I-35 and Parmer Lane intersection.
In 2010, Austin voters approved a mobility bond that funded corridor studies on North Lamar between US 183 and I-35 and on Burnet between Koenig Lane and MoPac. Some funding for projects came from the 2012 bond, and two open house events are planned Dec. 7-8 to allow residents to hear what’s being planned for the two roadways. Find more information here.
3. Application for proposed 11-story hotel near Bull Creek withdrawn
Local developer David Kahn, who proposed an 11-story, 132,000-square-foot hotel with 120 rooms on Spicewood Springs Road, withdrew his site plan application Dec. 2 from the city of Austin. Kahn owns the 11.39-acre tract of land at 6315 Spicewood Springs Road, Austin, near Yaupon Drive and adjacent to Bull Creek. Kahn met with area residents last week about their concerns with the project's effect on traffic congestion and the environment.
District 10 Council Member Sheri Gallo confirmed in a Dec. 2 email to residents that Kahn withdrew the application.
4. Fight continues over federal overtime rule injunction
The U.S. Department of Justice appealed a preliminary injunction last week that was granted Nov. 22 by a federal judge against the U.S. Department of Labor's new overtime rule that would extend overtime wage requirements to more than 4 million salaried workers nationwide. If implemented, the rule would apply to approximately 370,000 workers in Texas.
Read more about how Northwest Austin businesses are reacting to the proposed changes.
5. Early voting underway in District 10 runoff election
Early voting continues until Friday for a runoff election to decide the Austin City Council District 10 seat. Incumbent Sheri Gallo faces Alison Alter for the position. Election Day is Dec. 13.
Gallo and Alter were the top two vote-getters in the Nov. 8 general election, but neither received more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff election. The candidates participated in a campaign forum and answered questions about District 10's top issues on Nov. 29.
District 10 includes the 78750 and 78759 ZIP codes within Community Impact Newspaper’s Northwest Austin coverage area.
The map below shows where early voting polling stations will be located. The red stars reflect the 19 brick-and-mortar locations voters can visit Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The blue trucks reflect the seven mobile voting locations and what days and hours they will be open.
