Austin officials approve light rail

Proposal moving forward.

Steve Hawley, Jan 15, 09.

The Austin Transit Working Group voted 11-1 to approve a 15.3 mile downtown light rail system, according to ShortCuts, a transportation blog run by the Austin American-Statesman. While the vote was merely “conceptual” and the project must undertake the difficult task of finding funding, it shows that light rail has significant political support in Austin.

The article notes that “the only negative vote was cast by former Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, a long-term opponent of rail projects. Even working group member Terry Bray, who has asked many skeptical questions during the working group’s many meetings over the past year, voted yes.”