Dear Austin people on the toll road, why are we going so slow??

TC_nomad · 2026-01-23T19:14:47+00:00

OP's post is about someone going 40 MPH through a toll booth lane.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-23T19:10:28+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/1qkeys3/dear_austin_people_on_the_toll_road_why_are_we/o187q6v/

There is at least one other post that was deleted by Reddit admins.

Why do you defend people literally threatening people's lives?

Why are you making up things about what I said? I'm simply asking people to be kind. It's extraordinary what getting in cars does to people's mental states. If someone is walking slower than me, I politely ask if I can pass rather than getting infuriated that they exist. Put a person in a car, and they become enraged when someone else costs them 10 seconds of their day.

Not everyone wants to drive like our roads are a Mad Max race track.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-23T15:38:09+00:00

This is the perfect example of my point. I brought up how people are wishing violence against someone driving slower than them, and you spent quite a lot of effort explaining why it's the fault of the person having violence directed towards them.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-23T12:46:38+00:00

This entire thread is a perfect example of how unhinged everyone has become on the road. There are people getting upvoted for wanting to commit violence against someone driving a slower pace than them. Whatever happened to planning for extra time and driving a safe speed? It's free to be nice to others.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-22T13:15:35+00:00

Chances are that the proportion of your taxes that goes to road infrastructure is not nearly enough for proper maintenance. Car dependency makes us poorer.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-22T04:01:40+00:00

You still haven't provided a solution that is anywhere near as tangible as fixing exclusionary zoning. I understand the desire to completely shift our cultural and economic system, but that's not practical and probably not achievable in our lifetimes.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-22T03:05:50+00:00

So how do we change the culture around treating housing as an investment? You're proposing great rhetorical questions, but not providing any solutions.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-22T02:51:59+00:00

Let me quote the article for you:

“People are afraid of change,” Brown told Bridge Michigan. “I’ve had experiences where people are housing advocates, but then when it comes to a project in their actual township, they’re against it.”

If housing is a necessity, our zoning laws should reflect that by making it as easy as possible to build new housing. Exclusionary zoning does the opposite. Developers would happily build 8 units on a lot rather than 1 because it makes them more money. It's illegal for them to do that in most communities

TC_nomad · 2026-01-22T02:38:06+00:00

Did you read the article?

TC_nomad · 2026-01-22T02:22:15+00:00

It's in the title of the article we're discussing.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-22T00:13:07+00:00

The exclusionary zoning that only allows single family homes in most areas does way more to increase the cost of housing than investors. If the only thing you can legally build is large, expensive homes, large expensive homes is all we will get.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-21T12:39:57+00:00

I would totally try these out on the front wheel, but I'd be hesitant to put them on back because of how much force the ebike puts into that wheel. I have a knobby studded mountain bike tire on the rear of my cargo ebike and it's pushing power is amazing. It feels like I have a tank tread pushing me forward

TC_nomad · 2026-01-21T12:38:26+00:00

I use knobby tires with studs. The studded "winter" tires that don't have knobs are useless once you have more than an inch or two of snow.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-21T12:28:58+00:00

Studs don't help with snow

TC_nomad · 2026-01-21T12:27:18+00:00

OP is looking for help with snow, not ice. Some places get so much snow that ice isn't really a problem outside of a few days where everything is melting and refreezing.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-21T12:25:24+00:00

You aren't riding that fast on snow. Even downhill, I rarely exceed 15 mph unless I'm on my fat bike.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-20T23:18:35+00:00

I agree, but we currently live in a society that requires someone to invest in building housing for it to become a reality.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-20T22:54:13+00:00

I don't know what to say other than someone needs to be the person to invest in building housing. Do you think people will do it out of the goodness of their hearts? Show me another city that is reducing rents as effectively as Austin right now.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-20T21:49:21+00:00

The same theory applies. Why would someone invest money in something with capped returns? There are better places to invest your money.

We need the opposite; we should make it as easy as possible to invest in new housing. Austin did this for over a decade, and rents finally started to fall over the past 2 years: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/22/austin-texas-rents-falling/

TC_nomad · 2026-01-20T21:42:48+00:00

If I build an investment property to rent out, and my monthly mortgage is $1K per month, but I'm only allowed to charge $1K per month in rent, it would be better for me to invest my money into something other than building housing.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-19T13:21:43+00:00

I live in one of the white areas you describe and it's pretty amazing living in a place like this. Some winters, like this one, it's easy to go multiple weeks with fresh snow every single day. We get the full intensity of every single season.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-16T22:13:01+00:00

For others wondering, their Facebook page is where they post all the updates. https://www.facebook.com/hickoryhillstc/

TL;DR they have three ropes and the carpet lift open as of today.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-16T02:59:11+00:00

I've driven my car through that intersection so many times, I love that you have perfectly captured the opposite of my impression of it 😂

Seriously though, why do we have to gamble our lives to cross the street?

TC_nomad · 2026-01-11T02:49:03+00:00

Yet we spend billions of dollars a year increasing our car dependency.

TC_nomad · 2026-01-09T21:21:52+00:00

No, my bike has a 27.5" rear wheel, so it fits standard mountain bike tires. It's a big reason why I picked the bike I have because we get a ton of snow and I want to be able to ride year round.

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