And then there were two

Austin parkland out of play for potential Major League Soccer stadium

Butler Shores is no longer being considered as a site for an Austin Major League Soccer stadium.

Rendering via Precourt Sports Ventures

What a difference a week makes. On January 19, CultureMap reported that Butler Shores remained the preferred site for a potential Major League Soccer stadium in Austin after two other sites — the Travis County Exposition Center and the former site of a Home Depot — fell out of favor. On January 26, Butler Shores fell off the short list.

The site was a controversial choice from the beginning. Some Austin City Council members and neighborhood groups felt the location was less than ideal due to existing traffic gridlock, a problem the fans of a potential MLS team would only make worse.

Precourt Sports Ventures, which owns the Columbus Crew SC team that might move to Austin, said in a statement that it heard those concerns loud and clear.

“Some in the community and the neighbors near Butler Shores have valid concerns about a possible stadium location at that site,” said PSV president Dave Greely in a release.

“Based on this feedback, we are no longer exploring this location and are continuing our due diligence on other possible locations in the urban core. As we have stated from the onset of this process, finding the right site for a soccer park is of the utmost importance as we contemplate bringing Major League Soccer (MLS) to Austin. We look forward to further community dialogue and collaboration, and we remain committed to finding the best possible stadium site for all involved.”

That leaves only two Austin options in play, as identified by the city. McKalla Place may be the path of least resistance, as it is not on city land, but Roy Guerrero Metropolitan Park is still in the running as well.

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Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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