Tag Archives: TxDOT

The rainbow crosswalk replacements

Posted on July 4, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

It’s something. Forced to remove rainbow crosswalks under a state edict to erase “political” messages from their streets, some Texas cities are finding new and colorful ways to celebrate Pride and their LGBTQ+ communities. In El Paso, street lamps have … Continue reading →

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How to file a robotaxi complaint in Texas

Posted on June 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just glad there’s a way to do it. Texas residents can now report safety complaints involving self-driving commercial vehicles to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles as the technology becomes more common on state roads. Texas officials have established a … Continue reading →

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MKT Bridge has reopened

Posted on June 11, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

There will be a celebration of this long-awaited event this evening. From the inbox: A Tale of Two Bridges (ATOTB), Walk & Roll Houston, the Greater Heights Super Neighborhood Council, and BikeHouston will join Houston City Council Members Mario Castillo … Continue reading →

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No Waymos this weekend

Posted on May 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

News you might be able to use. Waymo has suspended service in Houston and other Texas cities since heavy rain is expected to hit the region over Memorial Day weekend and the company’s self-driving vehicles have struggled to navigate flooded … Continue reading →

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Waymo recalls robotaxis for flood fixes

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Waymo is recalling its U.S. fleet of robotaxis after one of the autonomous vehicles was swept away when it drove into floodwaters in San Antonio. The voluntary software recall stems from an incident during severe weather April 20, when a Waymo … Continue reading →

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Waymo to resume service in San Antonio after two flooding incidents

Posted on May 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Autonomous ride-hailing company Waymo is expected to resume service in San Antonio this week after suspending operations following two flood-related incidents involving its self-driving vehicles. Operations were paused after an April 20 incident in which a Waymo vehicle … Continue reading →

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Tesla robotaxis arrive in Houston

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

And in Dallas. Tesla’s Robotaxi service has taken to the streets of Houston. In a brief statement Saturday, April 18 on its X social media account, Tesla Robotaxi says the autonomous rideshare service just launched in Texas’ two biggest metro areas — … Continue reading →

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The do-it-yourself eVTOL experience

Posted on April 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Chron columnist Chris Tomlinson got to pilot the latest thing in small electrict-powered aircraft. And soon you will be able to, too. The HEXA-U flight experience is offered by LIFT Aircraft, an Austin-based company committed to “democratizing flight.” The HEXA-U … Continue reading →

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Court blocks changes to Historically Underutilized Business Program

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Travis County district court judge granted a request for a temporary injunction to block the latest rule changes to the state’s Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program. The injunction reverts HUB program back to its original regulations, but the … Continue reading →

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Harris County files amicus brief in lawsuit over the Historically Underutilized Business Program

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Harris County filed an amicus brief supporting plaintiffs in Ipsum General Contractors, LLC, et al. v. Kelly Hancock, et al., urging the court to restore the State of Texas’s Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program and halt recent … Continue reading →

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So how do first responders handle autonomous vehicles?

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This story raised more questions than it answered for me. A viral image from the March 1 shooting in downtown Austin — an autonomous vehicle blocking an ambulance from reaching the scene where a gunman fatally wounded three people and … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over Comptroller’s anti-minority business program shenanigans

Posted on March 7, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Four business owners and a trade association sued the state of Texas on Monday, seeking to reverse acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock’s emergency rules altering a state program intended to give additional exposure to economically disadvantaged groups in government contracting. … Continue reading →

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Dallas still needs to remove its rainbow crosswalks

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve tried to delay it but are probably running out of road. The Texas Department of Transportation gave Dallas until Jan. 31 to remove its decorative crosswalks, which include LGBTQ+ rainbow and Black Lives Matter designs, according to a memo … Continue reading →

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San Antonio to install rainbow sidewalks

Posted on January 10, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t have rainbow crosswalks, so this will have to do. The City of San Antonio has started preparing the sidewalks on N. Main Avenue to be painted in rainbow colors. The decision comes after the city was forced to remove … Continue reading →

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San Antonio rainbow crosswalk appeal denied

Posted on December 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. The Texas Department of Transportation has denied the City of San Antonio’s request to keep the pride district’s rainbow crosswalks after Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to remove “any and all political ideologies” from Texas streets. In an Oct. 8 news release from … Continue reading →

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Scooter curfew update

Posted on December 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

That was quick. Houston’s new ordinance prohibiting the nighttime rental and use of electric scooters, electric skateboards and similarly powered devices has already reduced late-night riding downtown, officials told the City Council’s Quality of Life Committee on Monday. The ban … Continue reading →

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The rainbow crosswalk ban comes for student artwork

Posted on November 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Every day and in every way, this gets dumber and dumber. Two crosswalks painted by students in Bedford will be removed this month, in line with a new Texas state policy banning “non-standard surface markings, signage, and signals that do not directly support … Continue reading →

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Scooter curfew enacted

Posted on November 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I guess I’m mostly OK with this. The Houston City Council voted Wednesday to establish a citywide curfew on electric scooter use and rentals between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., citing what officials called a growing public safety risk downtown. … Continue reading →

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The rainbow crosswalk ban comes for Buddy Holly

Posted on November 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. An order from Gov. Greg Abbott has made rainbow crosswalks celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride disappear across Texas. But Abbott’s directive also has one of Lubbock, Texas’ most famous residents catching strays. As part of Abbott and … Continue reading →

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San Antonio and Dallas to fight the rainbow crosswalk ban

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them! San Antonio has formally asked the Texas Department of Transportation to approve an exemption allowing the city to keep its rainbow-colored crosswalks at North Main Avenue and East Evergreen Street, arguing that the intersection has become safer … Continue reading →

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Metro restores signal priority to the Main Street line

Posted on November 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Thank prime. But what took them so long? Metro officials restored signal priority Wednesday to the Red Line light rail in downtown Houston following weeks of pushback from riders who complained about the sluggish pace of the route. “These adjustments … Continue reading →

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The secret plan to slow down the Main Street Line

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t believe we have to deal with this shit. Newly obtained emails show that Houston’s decision to remove signal priority for downtown MetroRail trains may have been fueled by politics, and that city officials made the change despite internal concerns about … Continue reading →

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Where the rainbow crosswalk ends

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is deeply stupid and deadly serious at the same time. At the intersection of North Main Avenue and West Evergreen Street just north of downtown San Antonio, semi-faded rainbows connect each street corner in place of standard, white crosswalks. … Continue reading →

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A different approach to Austin-San Antonio commuter rail

Posted on October 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Deeply flawed, as far as I can tell, but interesting. Travis County leaders are exploring new ways to connect Austin to San Antonio. On Tuesday morning, county commissioners approved a $124,953 study from HNTB, an engineering company, to … Continue reading →

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Metro makes its excuses

Posted on October 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Weak. Metro board chair Elizabeth Brock on Thursday stood by the agency’s decision to remove the Montrose rainbow crosswalk this week after a Houston resident asked why it was erased so quickly. “My primary concern is how quickly y’all allowed … Continue reading →

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Austin seeks waiver for its rainbow crosswalk

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

All the cool kids are doing it. The city of Austin is exploring a waiver that would allow its current street art to stay in place. In a message board post on Monday, Mayor Kirk Watson said the city plans … Continue reading →

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We could have asked!

Posted on October 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I am smacking my forehead so hard, you guys. The City of San Antonio will seek an exemption from the State of Texas in order to keep the city’s rainbow crosswalk. The decision comes after the state issued a mandate … Continue reading →

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Metro paints over the rainbow crosswalk

Posted on October 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. The Montrose rainbow crosswalk was gone Monday morning after protesters faced off with police as a construction crew started restriping the intersection overnight and some were were arrested, according to the Houston Police Department. As of 8:15 a.m., fresh … Continue reading →

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There may be a lawsuit over the rainbow crosswalk

Posted on October 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A legion of Houston’s elected officials gathered at the Taft and Westheimer rainbow crosswalk Tuesday as a show of force against Gov. Greg Abbott’s call to remove it or risk the loss of state transportation funding, and some even … Continue reading →

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A brief recap of the whole rainbow crosswalk situation

Posted on October 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Let me see if I’ve got this right: Greg Abbott gets his knickers in a twist over the recently-repainted rainbow crosswalk on Westheimer at Taft, after having been spun up about it by some online wingnuts. These crosswalks are no … Continue reading →

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The city screws with the Main Street light rail line

Posted on September 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

All done in silence, no notice and no transparency. Light rail passengers are facing longer delays while taking Metro’s Red Line route through downtown after the city adjusted the timing of traffic lights. Local officials have not responded to questions … Continue reading →

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Three perspectives on scooters

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron editorial board calls for regulation over a ban. We’re feeling a bit of whiplash. For a city that has for decades been desperate to get people out of their cars and into central neighborhoods, our leaders seem all … Continue reading →

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How’s that Trump thing been working out for us?

Posted on July 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

A brief sampling… Texans could see higher energy costs as Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ slows clean energy growth, report says Less clean energy will be built in Texas as a result of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law by President … Continue reading →

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Council to consider scooter ban

Posted on July 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not a fan. Houston may soon join a growing number of major U.S. cities that have banned electric scooters, citing increasing safety risks to pedestrians and riders. A proposal to prohibit electric scooter use in downtown, Midtown, and East … Continue reading →

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