Bicycle and pedestrian bridges to be built over Barton Creek and Loop 360

On March 8, the Austin City Council authorized the design and construction of bicycle and pedestrian bridges in the MoPac Expressway corridor over Barton Creek and Loop 360. The project would provide a 14-foot wide trail extending from Southwest Austin to downtown separated from MoPac.

Construction of the project's first phase, a larger bridge over Barton Creek, is slated to begin in November 2013, while construction on the second phase, a smaller bridge over Loop 360, is scheduled to begin in November 2014. The entire project's expected completion date is December 2015 at a cost of more than $10 million.

Council extends train service

On March 1, the Austin City Council approved a $5.7 million interlocal agreement with the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority to extend the hours of the MetroRail Red Line service on weekends beginning March 23.

The expanded service allows trains to run every 60 minutes between 7 p.m. and midnight on Friday, and every 30 minutes between 4 p.m. and midnight on Saturday. While service on Friday will run to the Leander station, Saturday service will start and end at the Lakeline station.

Under the agreement, the City of Austin is paying for the service up front on a quarterly basis. Capital Metro will reimburse the city and is also responsible for costs associated with rail service outside the city limits.

The deal ends Jan. 1, 2014, when the option of a second term will be available.

By mutual agreement, Capital Metro may operate additional services during special events.

City approves Trail of Lights Festival cosponsorship

The Austin City Council approved a cosponsorship deal March 1 with the RunTex Foundation for the Trail of Lights Festival. The holiday event had been canceled for the last two years due to a lack of funding. The foundation would lead a fundraising campaign to cover all aspects of the event, which it estimates will cost at least $700,000.

Paul Carrozza of the RunTex Foundation said the goal is to raise $500,000 within the next three months from major corporations, businesses and individual donors.

Block 21 ranked among most eco-friendly buildings

Block 21, the building housing the W Hotel and Residences and the Austin City Limits Live studio at 200 Lavaca St., was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification as well as a four-star rating in green building from Austin Energy on March 6. Beau Armstrong, chairman and CEO of Stratus Properties, the project's developer, said achieving LEED certification was the goal from the start of the project, which was completed in 2010.

Austin officials shift vote on utility rate hike to May

The Austin City Council set a timeline March 1 detailing 11 work sessions to examine rate increase options for Austin Energy with a vote on a final plan projected for May 24.

City Council discussed a proposed interim 3.5 percent system-wide increase targeted to begin in June. The proposal was a result of the utility's claim that if new rates were not in place by this summer, it would lose $77 million this year.

However, AE General Manager Larry Weis told City Council the proposal would not be sufficient. He said the utility actually preferred no interim increase and for council to instead focus on working on a final rate plan.

On Feb. 22, council ordered a review of AE's proposed revenue requirements. The results of the audit are expected in late April.