Date: Thursday, July 8, 2010
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Location: Tiniest Bar in Texas – 817 West 5th Street (map)
DANA Urban Core Happy Hour
downtown austin
Tea Embassy
Looking for a quiet place to focus and get some work done? Look no further than the Tea Embassy. Located in the heart of Original Austin, this bungalow is filled with old-world charm.
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SnappATX: Using Social Tech To Improve Influence At The City
There’s a new way to be heard and see what others are saying about transportation in Austin. Since the urban core of a large and fast growing city like Austin needs effective transportation, every Downtown Austin Blog reader should also get snapping.
SNAPPatx – Social Networking and Planning Project in Austin, TX – began with UT students sitting around a table talking about how to give students a better way get involved in transportation decisions that mean so much for the their lives in Austin. These students, the City of Austin’s Department of Transportation, and Alliance for Public Transportation coordinated with Texas Citizen Fund to applied for and won a Federal Transit Administration PTP grant to innovate the use of social media as an easier and more convenient option for engaging Austin’s Strategic Mobility Planning (ASMP).
SNAPP focuses communications specifically toward some of the population segments least likely to show up to traditional planning meetings, e.g., younger adults/students, adults with young families, and seniors.
How SNAPPatx functions
SNAPP coordinates with the City of Austin, and other information resources, to develop and push out timely information about issues and decisions related to Strategic Mobility Planning.
SNAPP actively encourages discussion by:
- Capturing comments related to transportation in Austin.
- Communication specialists who ask questions to ensure each commenter is providing clear input related to Strategic Mobility Planning.
- Hosting surveys and other unique activities.
- To promote even more conversation, all of this is displayed as transparently as possible in aggregate on the SNAPPatx website and separately, Facebook fans see Facebook comments, Twitter followers see tweets, etc.
Finally, SNAPP analyzes all of these comments for type of comment, themes, topics, trends and sentiment. Specific “gaps” identified are sent directly to the City to become part of their gaps database. A detailed report on trends, topics, and themes is provided to the Strategic Mobility Plan staff and contractors as additional input into the planning process. And, the analysis of trends, themes, and topic is pushed back out into the SNAPP conversation as well.
Start snapping today
The clock is ticking. SNAPPatx has only months to show the world that Austin figure out how to use social media as a handy way to make a difference in planning – Austin Strategic Mobility Plan to be specific. So we need you to connect with us by:
Follow us on Twitter
Become a fan on Facebook
Or just go through our website for e-mail or blog connections.
Connecting is the easiest way for you to see information as well as things your neighbors are saying about transportation, and then to contribute your own ideas and thoughts.
Downtown Austin Miscellany
Below are a few photos from the past week.
The former location of Thai Tara has been razed…
In the Rainey Street district, next door to El Naranjo…
We’re seeing progress on Icenhaur’s
The lone house on Bierce Street…
This billboard on W 5th Street is completely blocked from view by the bank building. It’s always been a curiosity to me.
New Office Tower On Congress Ave?
Jacob Dirr, with the ABJ, is reporting on a new office tower being planned for Congress Ave.
A 16-story, 88,000-square-foot office tower is being planned for the 900 block of Congress Avenue, a site currently occupied by three vacant buildings, according to city documents.
Located directly across from Little City, the derelict structures have been sporting plywood facades for years, and have been a general blight on downtown Austin. My understanding of these properties was that there was tension amongst the ownership that inhibited combining all three into a develop-able tower, until recently. According to the article, the developer, Dalton Wallace, will restore the facades as part of the building.
From the applicant’s presentation to the Design Commission…
909 Congress is a mixed use office and retail project located mid‐block on the east side of the 900 block of Congress Ave. The site measures 69’ x 160’ and is composed of three lots 907, 909 and 911 Congress, zoned CBD‐H and the allowable FAR is 88,000sf. The project will consist of retail at the ground floor along Congress with one level of parking below grade and seven levels of parking above grade plus eight levels of office space. We will be restoring the three historic two‐story building facades and setting the tower back 10’ above the historic buildings. We will also be respecting the Capital View Corridor along Congress with an additional setback and remain under the Capital Dominance Cone height restriction. The parking access will be from the alley behind the site and will be serviced by two automobile elevators and valet staff. The above ground parking will be screened from view. The building will be located between two larger office buildings at 919 Congress and 823 Congress.
