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Austin Mobility News: October 24, 2022

Your weekly news update from the City of Austin Transportation Department
Red, yellow and blue icons of people traveling by different modes (car, bus, motorcycle, scooters, walking, wheelchair, bicycling and using mobility assistive devices) in front of icons depicting iconic Austin buildings (Frost Tower, the Capitol, etc).
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In this week's edition:
Para obtener más información en español, vea este correo electrónico en su navegador y haga clic en la esquina superior derecha para la traducción al español.

New Artboxes honor pioneering East Austin elementary school principal
Three artboxes are shown honoring former Blackshear Elementary School principal Friendly Rice.
Friendly Rice spent the entirety of his four-decade career fighting to give Black children access to education in Jim Crow-era Austin when discrimination was the law of the land. A new art project from Austin Transportation and nonprofit organization Creative Action aims to honor the East Austin education leader.

Rice moved to Austin in 1931 to become assistant principal at then-Gregory Elementary School, which was renamed Blackshear Elementary School in 1936. He became supervising principal a few years later and led Blackshear until his retirement in 1972.

A few years before Rice moved to Austin, the City passed its 1928 Master Plan creating a "negro district." When he retired, segregation was still prevalent in Austin schools. The district closed two all-Black schools, Kealing Junior High School and L.C. Anderson High School and started busing minority students to all-white schools in 1971 after the federal government found the district to be in violation of the Civil Rights Act.

In this environment, Rice delivered groundbreaking achievements for the students of Blackshear. In 1934, he established one of the first school libraries at an African American school in the Southwest. He also led an effort to institute a hot lunch program at schools in the district and started an outdoor garden at Blackshear.

Three new pieces of artwork on Austin Transportation's traffic signal cabinets along Airport Boulevard honor Rice and his contributions to the community. Each of the murals, part of the City's Artbox program, features images of butterflies – a nod to the coffee mug Rice carried each day with butterflies on it. The new artboxes are located at:
  • Airport Boulevard and Goodwin Avenue
  • Airport Boulevard and Oak Springs Drive
  • Airport Boulevard and 12th Street
A bike tour of murals throughout Austin, including the three artboxes, will be part of Creative Action's Homecoming event Nov. 11-13. Austin Transportation and Creative Action will also host a celebration with the Blackshear Elementary School community at a date to be announced. Explore these artboxes and more than 20 others on an interactive story map.

Busy slate of downtown events coming up on Oct. 29
A group of festival-goers are dressed up for Mexic-Arte's Viva La Vida event.
The Mexic-Arte Musuem's 39th annual Viva La Vida festival and parade takes place Saturday, Oct. 29. (Courtesy Mexic-Arte Museum) 
Downtown Austin will be buzzing with fall events on Saturday, Oct. 29 from Third Street all the way up to the Texas Capitol. 

The Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Viva la Vida festival and parade begins with a grand procession at noon, marching down Sixth Street and culminating at the intersection of Fourth Street and Congress Avenue. Meanwhile, the festivities take place into the evening at Fourth and Congress. 

The Austin Film Festival is also taking place from Oct. 27 to Nov. 3, with screenings centered around the Paramount Theatre. On Third Street, Make-A-Wish will be holding its annual Over-the-Edge fundraising event in which participants rappel from the edge of a building. And around the Texas Capitol, the Out of Darkness Austin Walk will bring together survivors of suicide loss and those with lived experience. 

The City has created a map with a timeline of Saturday's events across downtown as well as associated street closures. If you are traveling around the downtown area but do not plan to attend the events, please be aware of the detours and closures. 

If you are attending any of Saturday's events, the best way to get there is by walking, riding a bicycle or taking public transit. You can find the best CapMetro routes to get you where you need to go using the trip planner.

Don't get spooked by a potential parking ticket this Halloween weekend
A graphic shows a zombie bird crossing the street. Text: Use your braaaains. Plan a safe ride home.
If you are planning to attend any of Saturday's downtown events or a Halloween party anywhere in the city this weekend, making a plan ahead of time for a safe, car-free ride is the best way to enjoy the party. 

If you make the responsible decision to leave your vehicle in a paid parking space and instead take public transportation, a taxi or a rideshare service to get home, save that receipt for your safe ride. 

If you receive a parking ticket after taking a safe ride home, just complete a form with a copy of your ticket and a receipt from your safe ride home by the next business day following the citation. Your parking ticket could be waived, and you can get back to enjoying the rest of the spooky season. 

Calendar Corner: October 25 – 31, 2022

Mobility Authority Board of Directors

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority Board of Directors is comprised of seven local community volunteers who are responsible for setting policies, identifying priority projects and ensuring the agency is operated in an efficient and effective manner.

About Austin Transportation

The City of Austin Transportation Department works to provide a safe, efficient, innovative, cost-effective and sustainable transportation system that connects roadways, bikeways, walkways and transit systems in order to bring improved access and mobility to our community. We are taking proactive steps to engage and educate the community, which is why you received this news update. Visit AustinTexas.gov/Transportation.
Austin Transportation and Public Works Department
P.O. Box 1088
Austin, Texas 78767

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