[31] The original site was narrowed to 640 acres (260 ha) that fronted the Colorado River between two creeks, Shoal Creek and Waller Creek, which was later named in his honor. What does it mean? U.S. Highway 183 runs from northwest to southeast, and State Highway 71 crosses the southern part of the city from east to west, completing a rough "box" around central and north-central Austin. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. [165] Public art and performances in the parks and on bridges are popular. Every year around the end of March and the beginning of April, Austin is home to "Texas Relay Weekend. [75] The highest ever recorded temperature was 112 °F (44 °C) occurring on September 5, 2000, and August 28, 2011. Railway segments between Austin and San Antonio have been evaluated for a proposed regional passenger rail project called "Lone Star Rail". KLRU produces several award-winning locally produced programs such as Austin City Limits. [22] With regard to education, Austin is the home of the University of Texas at Austin, which over 50,000 students attend. The University of Texas Police operate from the University of Texas. This affected Austin's districting, as U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett's district (U.S. Congressional District 25) was found to be insufficiently compact to compensate for the reduced minority influence in the southwest district; it was redrawn so that it took in most of southeastern Travis County and several counties to its south and east. Interstate 35 continues south through San Antonio to Laredo on the Texas-Mexico border. Network television stations (affiliations in parentheses) include KTBC (Fox O&O), KVUE (ABC), KXAN (NBC), KEYE-TV (CBS), KLRU (PBS), KNVA (The CW), KBVO (My Network TV), and KAKW (Univision O&O). "[149] Kolaches are a common pastry in Austin bakeries due to the large Czech and German immigrant population in Texas. Honest, "It's Snowing in Austin. By 1840, the population had risen to 856, of whom nearly half fled from Austin when Congress recessed. Weather Underground provides local & long-range weather forecasts, weatherreports, maps & tropical weather conditions for the Austin area. Sex of Workers by Means of Transportation for Workplace Geography – Universe: Workers 16 Years and Over", "Transit Mode Share Trends Looking Steady; Rail Appears to Encourage Non-Automobile Commutes", "2015 American Community Survey, 1-year estimates: Commuting Characteristics by Sex", "Car Ownership in U.S. Cities Data and Map", "Austin has some of the worst traffic congestion in the world, study finds", "Positive signs for financial future of Texas 130;", "Megabus.Com Expands Service To/From Dallas, Houston, San Antonio And Five Cities", "CAMPO Vote Derails Lone Star Rail Project", "Austin City Council puts rail bond on ballot", "Driverless shuttle pilot program coming to downtown Austin", "Capital Metro to consider self-driving buses", "Uber, Lyft Shut Down in Austin Over Fingerprint Vote. This includes the popular bluebonnets, some planted by "Lady Bird" Johnson, wife of former President Lyndon B. The overnight low drops to or below freezing 19 times per year,[74] and sinks below 45 °F (7 °C) during 88 evenings per year, including most nights between mid-December and mid-February. [26], During the 1830s, pioneers began to settle the area in central Austin along the Colorado River. Catch an outdoor live music show, run around the trails, head to the lake or just sit back on a patio and enjoy a cool drink. [51] In the early 20th century, the Texas Oil Boom took hold, creating tremendous economic opportunities in Southeast Texas and North Texas. "It's Just Different Here,", Price, Asher; Taboada, Melissa B.; Jankowski, Phillip. Hamilton Pool Preserve consists of 232 acres (0.94 km2) of protected natural habitat featuring a jade green pool into which a 50-foot (15 m) waterfall flows. [297] Turimex Internacional operates bus service from Austin to Nuevo Laredo and on to many destinations in Mexico. Austin is also the hometown of several cycling groups and the disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong. Austin has two types of relationships with other cities, sister and friendship. Austin is also emerging as a hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; the city is home to about 85 of them. In 1840, a series of conflicts between the Texas Rangers and the Comanches, known as the Council House Fight and the Battle of Plum Creek, pushed the Comanches westward, mostly ending conflicts in Central Texas. [164] The Victory Grill was a renowned venue on the Chitlin' Circuit. Typical of Central Texas, severe weather in Austin is a threat that can strike during any season. [37] The fear of Austin's proximity to the Indians and Mexico, which still considered Texas a part of their land, created an immense motive for Sam Houston, the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, to relocate the capital once again in 1841. [106] In addition to those religious groups, Austin is also home to an active secular humanist community, hosting nationwide television shows and charity work. [106] The dominant branch of Islam is Sunni Islam. The Austin Chronicle is Austin's alternative weekly, while The Daily Texan is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin. [214] Zilker Park is also home to numerous attractions, including the Zilker Botanical Garden, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden, Zilker Hillside Theater, the Austin Nature & Science Center, and the Zilker Zephyr, a 12 in (305 mm) gauge miniature railway carries passengers on a tour around the park. As the warm weather arrives and the calendars fill up with festivals, you'll find that many Austinites like to spend their spring evenings on a nice patio with a cool refreshment and a little local entertainment. "[275] In 2012, Austin became just one of a few cities in Texas to ban the sale and use of plastic bags. Averages are for Camp Mabry / Austin City, which is 4 miles from Austin. Austin is known as an enclave of liberal politics in an otherwise conservative state—so much so, that the city is sometimes sarcastically called the "People's Republic of Austin" by residents of other parts of Texas, and conservatives in the Texas Legislature. Monthly temperature, precipitation and hours of sunshine. Austin is home to more than 50 public pools and swimming holes. Sam Houston fought bitterly against Lamar's decision to establish the capital in such a remote wilderness. The entire route of State Highway 130 is now complete. 2 Best Big City in "Best Places to Live" by Money magazine in 2006, and No. In 2020, Austin was the victim of a cyberattack by the Russian group Berserk Bear, possibly related to the 2020 United States federal government data breach. Sixth Street features annual festivals such as the Pecan Street Festival and Halloween night. Watching the bat emergence is an event that is popular with locals and tourists, with more than 100,000 viewers per year. [49], In 1940, the destroyed granite dam on the Colorado River was finally replaced by a hollow concrete dam[50] that formed Lake McDonald (now called Lake Austin) and which has withstood all floods since. [93] Austin Water, the city's water utility, has the capacity to process up to 300 million gallons of water per day, but the elevated level of turbidity reduced output to only 105 million gallons per day since Austin residents consumed an average of 120 million gallons of water per day, so the infrastructure was not able to keep up with demand.[91]. [59][60] To help control this runoff and to generate hydroelectric power, the Lower Colorado River Authority operates a series of dams that form the Texas Highland Lakes. 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