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September 15, 2016 Volume 21, No. 19 Southwest Austin’s Community Newspaper Since 1995
Cap Metro plan slashes service, doubles rate for Oak Hill by Ann Fowler OAK HILL - The website for Capital Metro’s proposed plan, Connections 2025, says the plan reflects “More frequent. More reliable. More connected.” But many Oak
Hill transit riders, after reviewing the proposed changes for Oak Hill, disagree. The fare structure for the Oak Hill Flyer (route 171) and the South MoPac Flyer (route 111) will be
Bowie upends Vista Ridge ...sports, p. 12
changed from premium to express. This means a single trip doubles in price from $1.75 to $3.50—that’s $7.00 a day. A 31-day pass sees more than a 50 percent increase—from $62 to $96.25.
The 9-mile trip to downtown is significantly shorter than any of the agency’s other Express routes, including the 27-mile trip to Leander. Most of the other Express locations (except Leander and Manor) give riders a choice of at least one local bus in addition to at least one Express. In addition, the Flyers—which now each have about a dozen local
stops—will only stop at park-andride facilities before going downtown. Both Flyers currently travel through the UT campus and terminate north of it. The proposal will stop the bus routes at MLK Blvd., just short of the campus. Frequency of the South MoPac Flyer is being decreased, from every 40 minutes to every 60—although See CAP METRO on page 19
The 111 stop on Brush Country is one of the stops that would be removed under the proposal. Gazette: Ann Fowler
State Highway 45 Southwest lawsuit can move forward
- photo by J.R. Flores
by Ann Fowler A lawsuit filed in February that would stop construction of State Highway 45 Southwest (SH 45 SW) can move forward, according to a ruling by U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel. The lawsuit—by several individuals and groups, including two former Austin mayors, music legend Jerry Jeff Walker and his wife Susan, Save Barton Creek Association (SBCA), Friends of the Wildflower Center, and Save Our Springs Alliance
(SOSA)—seeks to force the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Central TexSee STATE on back page