Do the Locomotion

Austin Transit Partnership gives approval for the light rail plan to embark on the first stage of its journey

The organization that will Austin's light rail plan, Project Connect, says it's time to put things in motion.

Photo courtesy of KVUE

To link people to jobs, invest in underserved areas and connect to affordable housing options, it is clear to the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP): there must be light rail from 38th Street to Oltorf Street to Yellow Jacket Lane.

"This option actually serves the greatest share of Black, indigenous and people of color, as well as the most affordable housing units," said Lindsay Wood, the executive vice president of engineering and construction for the ATP.

This will be the first phase of the Austin Light Rail implementation plan. It is almost 10 miles of new light rail across 15 stations. ATP leaders estimate it will serve 28,500 daily riders by 2040, and the anticipated capital cost of the project ranges between $4.5 to $4.8 billion.

So, how will this be financed?

Voters approved to build and fund the operations of the light rail three years ago as part of Project Connect. The ATP will also use federal grants.

"We don't need any additional revenue," said Greg Canally, executive director of the ATP.

The ATP estimates the light rail will serve more than 20,000 affordable housing units and bring access to more than 136,000 current jobs and more than 200,000 future jobs.

Now that the U.S. Census Bureau has ranked Austin as one of the top 10 largest cities by population, Wood believes Austinites like herself can use this light rail as a chance to "reclaim" their city.

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

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More Foraging

Free 'food forest' in East Austin expands with thousands of new plants

Angelina Alanis at Festival Beach Food Forest

Photo courtesy of KVUE

Angelina Alanis gives a tour of the garden, which is open to anyone.

In East Austin, there is an edible forest garden called Festival Beach Food Forest where anyone can walk around and harvest free produce, nuts, medicinal plant leaves and herbs. And over the summer, it grew to several times its size.

The forest has fig trees, peach trees, grapevines, asparagus and more that's not in season right now. You can grab passionfruit and plants like yaupon holly, with leaves that can make a caffeinated tea, rosemary and lemon balm.

"[Lemon balm] is part of the mint family," said Angelina Alanis, communication and partnership coordinator for Festival Beach Food Forest. "It has a lemony taste but it's good for a nervous stomach. I'm prone to anxiety so I always grab a hunk."

The food forest is located right next to Interstate 35 and Lady Bird Lake on 29 Waller St., near a part of town that's known for being a food desert, lacking grocery stores.

"There's as much as a 20-year life expectancy difference between parts of East and West Austin, and a lot of that comes down to food access, health care access and also access to nature."

Alanis said for the past nine years, the volunteer-based grassroots project been helping with the issue and just recently expanded in the summer from two-thirds of an acre of city parkland to over 3.5 acres.

"We're going to have hundreds of new trees," said Alanis. "We've already planted 150 new trees in the area and then thousands of plants on the ground."

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They also plan to add a community kitchen and a pavilion to do things like cooking classes or informational sessions.

Read the full story at KVUE.com.

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