Yearly Archives: 2016

Did “Work From Home Friday” Work? Here are the stats:

When the President announced that he, along with 250,000 of his closest friends were visiting Austin on the first day of South By Southwest, people were predicting “Carmageddon.” In truth, on a regular day, traffic in Austin is pretty bad. We all know that I-35 is the most congested road in Texas. Add a presidential motorcade and a rolling blockade onto the already blocked-off streets for SXSW, and you’d have been excused for anticipating disaster. Screen Shot 2016-04-25 at 12.47.31 PM

But the Mayor had a different plan. He asked everyone who could to work from home. It was that simple. It was just an idea, a suggestion for those with the flexibility and inclination to take it. And perhaps if Adam Hammonds at KEYE hadn’t been interested in the idea, it might not have worked. But Hammonds did an interview with the Mayor about this that was shared more than 53,000 times on the Internet. The word spread. AISD and the City of Austin decided to let out at noon. Downtown business encouraged their employees to work from home. We expected the worst, so everyone did their best to avoid driving during rush hour.

If you were anywhere near Austin that day, you probably remember how great it worked. Continue reading →

Statement by Mayor Adler on Proposition 1 and the Smart City Challenge

I worked to avoid this costly election because neither choice delivers by itself the outcome Austin needs. What Austin needs are safety, TNCs, and local control.

Today, neither Prop 1 choice is best for Austin because neither delivers by itself what we need.

But because these are the only choices in front of me, I will vote “Against” on Prop 1 because I believe such a vote puts Austin and the rideshare companies constructively back at the negotiating table.

I have concluded that only an “Against” vote will allow Austin to find the right solution.

Continue reading →

What I learned in Amsterdam

 

getting onto an electric bike in AmsterdamBy Steve Adler

Our innovation exchange trip with Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx just took us through Amsterdam where we met with Dutch Mayors, non-profits (NGOs), and companies all in pursuit of the “Smart City” vision. What Diane Land, my wife, Rob Spillar, the director of our city’s transportation department, have seen is interesting and has potentially interesting applications to our mobility challenges in Austin.

First off, a Smart City is a city in which data is captured from all aspects of urban life and then that data is employed to improve its residents’ quality of life. This could take a thousand different forms, such as traffic lights that monitor traffic levels and patterns, time of day, weather, events in the area, and then which adjust synching and timing to minimize traffic delay. In other words, the kind of thing we’re working on with the Smart City Challenge.

And of course I need to explain this picture, but more on that below. Continue reading →