Austin: Dumb With The Money

Austin usually ranks pretty high on the annual list of "worst traffic in the country" and driving downtown really stinks. Austin is $18M in the hole, depending on how you add up next year's budget.

Combine these to vortices of suck with a city council openly hostile to private automobiles: You get an upcoming ballot measure where the taxpayers of Austin put themselves in debt for 30 years for road work that will be worn out before it is paid for. A $90M bond package including REMOVING AUTOMOBILE LANES from downtown streets to add bike lanes and widen sidewalks.

Unfortunately for those who think this is a horrible idea, the 99.9% sure-fire way to get a bond measure passed in Austin is to get it on the ballot. It's there, and it's almost certain to pass. I shake my head in the general direction of Austin from my lower-taxed home in the suburbs.