Editor's note: Downtown rumblings, movie screenings, and barbecue news lead this round of top stories. Read on for more of the week's most popular headlines.
1. There's a new supermarket in store for downtown Austin. If you live or work in downtown Austin, there's something exciting in store for you. A grocery store is on tap for the eastern edge of the central business district.
2. Modern Austin masterpiece hits the market with million-dollar views. A stunning West Austin abode just hit the market, and we've got a peek inside. Located at 5312 N. Scout Island Cir., the home was designed by alterstudio and is listed for $3,285,000 with Skout Real Estate.
3. Sneak peek inside Austin's new art house movie theater. On Friday, May 26, Austin Film Society opened the doors to its new art house movie theater. Ahead of the premiere, CultureMap got a first look at AFS Cinema.
4. Franklin slips from No. 1 spot on coveted list of best barbecue joints. The queen of Texas barbecue has returned to her throne. Snow’s BBQ in Lexington has vaulted over Austin’s acclaimed Franklin Barbecue as the state’s best barbecue joint.
5. Best lake getaways near Austin to beat the heat — and escape crowds. One of the best ways to beat the summer heat is to head to the lake, but it often seems that everyone has the same idea. Check out one of these nearby alternatives to Lady Bird Lake, Lake Austin, and Lake Travis that are less crowded and offer a wide variety of activities and water sports.
Self-driving Roller Coaster
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.
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