weekly recap

Hot Clicks: The future of the South Congress trailer park, Holy Mountain takesover Beauty Bar and more

What does the future hold for America's favorite trailer park?
Photo by Rachel M
James Taylor, co-owner of Holy Mountain.
Photo by Jessica Pages
A look at what could be the future of Waller Creek.

Good festival weekend to you, Austin! Before you unplug for three days of music at Zilker Park, take a moment to join us in a recap of CultureMap's hottest stories of the week.

This edition of Hot Clicks is all about change. From the future of Austin's favorite dirt lot and Waller Creek, to new hot spots in the music and food scenes, we've got the latest news on the changing landscape of our fine city.

We still marvel that a dirt lot on Austin's most famous street has become a world-renowned tourist destination. But with new ownership, what is the future of the South Congress trailer park?

This weekend, the Red River music district welcomes a new kid to the block. Holy Mountain opens in the iconic Beauty Bar space — check out CultureMap's sneak peek inside.

What will Waller Creek look like? CultureMap explores the top five design elements from each of the finalists and asks you to pick your plan.

Chef Jason Dodge, formerly of Peche, opens new Italian spot Cherry Street with a menu influenced by his rustic summer trek through the Italian countryside.

Just around the corner, the Austin Film Festival promises movie fans an impressive list of on-screen appearances, from Bill Murray to Denzel Washington.

That's it for this week's Hot Clicks. Now go, have the best weekend ever.

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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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