FAQ

These requests are handled within the Austin Transportation Department. Please call 3-1-1 or visit the Local Area Traffic Management (LATM) webpage for more information.

These requests are handled within the Austin Transportation Department. Please call 3-1-1 or visit the Local Area Traffic Management (LATM) webpage for more information.

The City of Austin uses a Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) to track pavement inventory and performance to coordinate, plan, and forecast pavement needs. The PMIS ensures that the sealcoat method is the most cost effective program for long-term pavement maintenance. The decision to maintain a specific street is primarily based on its age and condition.

Read more about street preventative maintenance and the sealcoat process.
 

• Minor concrete repair and construction
• Street preventative maintenance
• Right-of-way maintenance (Trees + Vegetation)
• Bridge maintenance
• Street repairs
• Tree pruning and trimming
• Sidewalk Services

View our Protected Streets List (pdf).

Updated October 2021. 

Access the interactive 2021 Service Plan Map to see if your street is scheduled for preventative maintenance. To use, simply enter your address into the search field in the upper left of the map. You can zoom in and out and move the map around to see what maintenance is happening near you and all around Austin. Please call 3-1-1 to find out when a particular street is due for preventative maintenance. To hear which streets are scheduled for the following day, please call the Street Resurfacing Hotline at 512-974-9788.

The Public Works Department is raising awareness to encourage Austinites to lend a hand in clearing vegetative obstructions in an effort to create safe and accessible paths (streets, sidewalks, trails, and alleyways) for all users in the public right-of-way. The goal of the campaign is to help educate property owners of their responsibility in keeping the public right-of-way clear of excessive vegetation that is obstructing a pathway. By doing so, the City will increase the functionality of sidewalks, streets, and alleys; and increase safety for all users. People with mobility and vision impairments or distracted users might not be able to pass by the overgrown vegetative barrier.

Learn more about:

Right-of-Way Vegetation Maintenance

Frequently Asked Questions

Helpful brochure outlining Property Owners Responsibility

Just call 3-1-1 (512-974-2000 outside of Austin) or visit 311's customer service page to make your request. You can also report issues through the 311 app available on Google Play Store or iTunes Store. Users with Blackberry, Palm, Nokia and Windows Mobile devices can access it at 311.austintexas.gov.

Residential customers may be eligible for an exemption if the person who is responsible for paying the utility bill meets one of the following criteria:

• Age 65 or older; or
• Does not own or regularly use a private motor vehicle
• Property is vacant (determined automatically each month based on electric and water usage)

If you believe you are eligible for this exemption, click here to fill out the form online or download and complete the forms below and then email the form to TUFexemptions@austintexas.gov.

Click here to download the fee exemption application.

Commercial customers may be eligible for an exemption while the property is vacant. Commercial properties must notify the City when the property is no longer vacant, or evey 6 months, whichever occurs first. The Transportation User Fee will begin billing the commercial property after 6 months if a new form is not received.

Fill out the form online (Preferred), or download and complete the form below and email to TUFVacancy@AustinTexas.Gov

Download the Vacant Commercial Property Exemption form

For additional exemption information, please call (512) 974-1002 or Austin Energy Customer Care at 512-494-9400.

Check out our illustration to see how the department is organized.

The Transportation User Fee (TUF) is a fee assessed to residents and businesses based on the traffic levels generated by each dwelling unit or business. View the City of Austin Ordinance regarding the fee. 

This monthly fee funds street maintenance and repair, annual street overlay and striping, and other activities necessary for keeping Austin's roadways in good condition. City of Austin residents pay the mandatory fee to help prolong the life of city infrastructure and assets. By managing and maintaining public right of way infrastructure, the City of Austin is able to save taxpayer money by intervening before full reconstruction is needed. Full street reconstruction can be costly and time-consuming, therefore preventative maintenance provided by the fee helps reduce these costs.

Commercial customers may be eligible for an exemption while the property is vacant. Commercial properties must notify the City when the property is no longer vacant, or every 6 months, whichever occurs first. The Transportation User Fee will begin billing the commercial property after 6 months if a new form is not received.

Fill out the form online (Preferred), or download and complete the form below and email to TUFVacancy@AustinTexas.Gov
Download the Vacant Commercial Property Exemption form

Vacant properties are exempt from the fee including both residential and commercial properties.

Residential customers may be eligible for an exemption if the person who is responsible for paying the utility bill meets one of the following criteria

• Age 65 or older or 
• Does not own or regularly use a private motor vehicle
• Property is vacant (determined automatically each month based on electric and water usage)

If you believe you are eligible for this exemption, click here to fill out the form online or download and complete the forms below and then email the form to TUFexemptions@austintexas.gov.

Click here to download the fee exemption application.                               

For residential customers, the fee is a variable monthly rate. See residential rates below. 

For commercial customers the rate is $74.85 per developed acre and then multiplied by the usage category which is based on the type of business. 

For additional billing information, please call (512) 974-1002 or Austin Energy Customer Care at 512-494-9400.

View our 2016 Annual Report for funding information. 

Access Standards in pdf, AutoCAD and MicroStation format here. You can use the table of contents to locate details by name. This is a temporary location for the standards while the publisher sets up their site to provide all formats.

To access Specifications, access the publisher's website. All other Criteria Manuals and the City Code are also available on the publisher’s website.

New sidewalks are funded both by private development and through City of Austin Capital Project Delivery projects. When a new private development project is constructed, the developer is required to provide sidewalks. This requirement also applies to most redevelopment projects. City CIP projects that involve full street reconstruction also generally include pedestrian and sidewalk improvements. Want to learn more about sidewalk funding? View a helpful handout that breaks down the history of sidewalks in Austin, the state of the sidewalks, how sidewalks are funded and built, benefits and how you can get involved to make a difference.

In addition the City CIP program, there are also standalone Sidewalk construction and rehabilitation projects. These projects are typically funded through voter-approved bonds, but also receive funding from state and federal grants and from the City of Austin sidewalk fee-in-lieu program.

The City of Austin Sidewalk Master Plan has a prioritization matrix for new sidewalk projects that includes the following factors:

• How far are the nearby schools, major employers, transit stops, government offices, public accommodations and public housing?
• How many people live in the area?
• Are there already existing sidewalks in the area?
• How busy is the street?
• Has a request been made? (Has the request been made by the ADA task force, as part of an Adopted Neighborhood Plan, or by a neighborhood resident?)
• Have there been reported pedestrian safety concerns?

Using this decision matrix, the Sidewalk Program’s limited budget is used to achieve maximum benefits.

Submit your request by calling Austin 3-1-1 or by entering it online or by using the Austin 3-1-1 app. Please provide the location and extent of the requested improvements. If you provide your contact information, City of Austin staff will follow up and provide feedback about funding availability.

Yes. There are a couple of different ways you can look further into upcoming and current sidewalk projects:

1 | Sidewalk Improvement Projects can be viewed through a quarterly report map that shows you where sidewalk improvement projects are active, completed and planned as part of the Sidewalk Master Plan and ADA Transition Plan. Within the report, the map highlights where bus stop improvements are complete.

2 | You can view a map-based display through the new CIVIC website which provides information on current projects funded in whole or in part by the bond programs from 2013, 2012, 2010, 2006 and earlier. 

Want more information on how sidewalks are funded, built, facts about the current state of sidewalks in Austin and more? View our helpful handout.

Let's take a walk: A look at Sidewalks in Austin. View a helpful handout that breaks down the history of sidewalks in Austin, the state of the sidewalks, how sidewalks are funded and built, benefits and how you can get involved to make a difference. 

The sidewalk fee in lieu allows for developers to pay a fee in lieu of building sidewalks if the project meets a certain criteria within the Land Development Code, Chapter 25-6-354. Should the criteria be met, the developer pays the fee. The money collected, is then set-aside in a fund for future sidewalk construction in the area. The City of Austin will then notify the Neighborhood Contact Team in the area if an application for fee-in-lieu is approved as part of a new subdivision, site plan, or building permit.

Learn more about sidewalk fee in lieu.

View the 2009 Sidewalk Master Plan here (pdf).  For additional resources and information about City of Austin sidewalks, visit austintexas.gov/sidewalks. 

View the approved 2016 Sidewalk Master Plan here (pdf).  For additional resources and information about City of Austin sidewalks, visit our Sidewalk Program page.

The Safe Routes to School's team of Safety Trainers is available to provide training free of charge to interested schools in Austin. They are also available to assist with holding a bike rodeo for your school. To schedule a training or rodeo, contact Rhonda Bolick, Education Program Coordinator, at (512) 974-5633.

All requests for crossing guards should be supported by the Campus Advisory Council (CAC) for the school. With CAC approval, call Austin 3-1-1 or submit a request online citing the specific intersection for the proposed crossing guard.

The request will be received by the Safe Routes to School Program, which will conduct a pedestrian and bicycle count on an unannounced, fair-weather day to determine an accurate average count. A minimum of twenty children crossing during school zone hours is the usual standard to warrant a crossing guard.

To be considered by the Austin Transportation Department, all requests for infrastructure or engineering changes near a school, such as school zones, must be coordinated and approved by the Campus Advisory Council (CAC) for the school. If the CAC is supportive of changes, the first step is to submit a 311 request with the specific location of the desired school zone.

This request will be received by Safe Routes to School, which will evaluate the request, seek additional information if necessary, and pass it along to the appropriate ATD Traffic Engineer with a recommendation. The Traffic Engineer will then make an assessment, and if the engineer believes a new school zone or change to the existing school zone is necessary, he or she will seek appropriate approval for the changes.

Safe Routes to School is an international movement with two basic goals: improve the safety conditions of routes to school and encourage more children and families to bike or walk to school. Locally, Safe Routes to School is an initiative of the Child Safety Program. Our goal: To enable and encourage all children to choose a health-enhancing, physically-active mode of transportation to and from school.
 
The Child Safety Program partners with schools to help them develop their own individualized Safe Routes to School Program and Plan. Program elements can include Walking School Buses, Bike Rodeos, classroom walking contests, and much more. Contact our Safe Routes to School Program Coordinator, Amir Emamian, to see how to get your school involved, or check out our quick-start guide.

BOW WOW (Bike on Wednesday – Walk on Wednesday) is an encouragement program promoted by the Safe Routes to School Program to motivate more children to bike or walk to school. The month-long program runs each Wednesday, when children who bike or walk are able to enter their names into a raffle. At the end of the month, two bicycles (one for a boy, one for a girl) and ten pedometers are distributed to raffle winners.

To learn when your school will be scheduled or for assistance in starting your own BOW WOW encouragement campaign, contact Rhonda Bolick, Education Program Coordinator, at (512) 974-5633.

Motorists who receive a moving violation in a school zone for speeding or cell phone use may be offered a Deferred Disposition by the City of Austin Municipal Court Prosecutors.

If the deferral is offered, the defendant may participate in the Safe Routes to School Deferred Disposition Program which consists of two shifts with a crossing guard and the Program Coordinator or one of our supervisors. In exchange for successfully completing the program, the offense does not go on their driving record and is not reported to their car insurance provider. The program is intended to raise school zone speeding and distracted driving awareness. We enjoy a 99+ percent positive feedback rating and have had only one repeat offender.