ATX PULSE 2/17-20/26 (free): ATP Approves $60M Contract for Rail Design // DPS Installs LPR’s in Austin // UT Med Center to be Located at Domain // UT Launches New School // Austin Removes Colorful Crosswalks

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2026 - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2026

Compiled by Matt Mackowiak

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TOP NEWS

"$60M design-build contract approved for first phase of Austin Light Rail construction" Community Impact | News's Brittany Anderson, Ben Thompson – Local transportation officials are making progress on the Austin Light Rail project, after the Austin Transit Partnership board advanced a $60 million design-build contract for the first phase of the project Feb. 18.

The initial agreement with Austin Rail Constructors, or ARC—a joint venture between Stacy Witbeck and Sundt Construction—represents one piece of the several billions of dollars of contracts anticipated for Austin Light Rail. The transit initiative is now on track to begin construction in 2027, ATP CEO Greg Canally said.

"We said 2026 was going to be a big year for us, hitting major milestones, and this is the second major milestone we've hit since January," he said in a Feb. 19 interview. "We're looking forward to advancing the design work and even doing some pre-construction activities out in the field, doing some testing and utility testing work. So I think people are going to see boots on the ground here in the upcoming months."

(Community Impact | News)

"DPS installs license plate reader cameras in Austin, months after city ended program" via KVUE – A spokesperson tells KVUE the cameras were installed Feb. 2 within several state rights-of-way.

AUSTIN, Texas — You may have noticed new cameras popping up along Austin roads, even though the city ended its controversial license plate reader program last summer.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) confirms it installed automatic license plate reader cameras, known as ALPRs, along several state rights-of-way on Feb. 2 after receiving approval and permits from Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

The move comes months after Austin City Council voted to end the city’s contract with Flock Safety following community pushback over privacy concerns.

One of the new cameras sits on South Lamar Boulevard near Riverside Drive, mounted above a sign saying “DPS Is Watching You.”

Michael Knight said he pulled over during his motorcycle ride around midday on Wednesday after noticing that sign and one of the cameras.

“I was kind of curious as to what it is,” Knight said. “Especially with us riding around the way we do, there’s always the ‘police are watching you’ stigma in the bike community.”

(KVUE)

"UT's new Academic Medical Center will no longer be based at Erwin Center site" Austin American-Statesman's Lily Kepner – The demolition of the Frank Erwin Center continues Monday May 20, 2024, after it was mostly flattened on Sunday. The demolition of the Erwin Center and the adjacent Denton Cooley Pavilion basketball training facility was intended to make way for a UT academic medical center.

Kevin Eltife, University of Texas System Chairman, said Wednesday that UT’s new Academic Medical Center will no longer be based downtown at the former site of the Frank Erwin Center, the historic home of UT’s basketball teams.

“As our two institutions continue to work collaboratively over the last year, it became apparent the proposed Erwin Center location would not be as conducive to the fully integrated, patient-centered approach that was being envisioned,” Eltife said at a Wednesday UT Regents board meeting. “There would be limits to future growth on that site… At the board’s request, our teams have studied and have now recommended moving the future medical complex.”

(Austin American-Statesman)

"Austin ISD exits state oversight as special education program hits compliance milestone" via KVUE – Austin ISD leaders announced that the district’s special education program is no longer under state oversight, marking a major turning point nearly three years after the Texas Education Agency (TEA) ordered sweeping improvements.

The district had been under scrutiny since 2021, when a TEA investigation found AISD had failed to properly evaluate students eligible for special education, causing a backlog that left many waiting months for support. In 2023, the state assigned monitors to oversee the district’s progress.

Superintendent Matias Segura said reaching full compliance has required extensive effort and an all‑hands‑on‑deck approach.

“Since the beginning, our focus has been on so much more than compliance,” Segura said. “It has been about fundamentally transforming the special education experience for our students.”

According to district leaders, AISD reached full compliance in December and has maintained it since.

(KVUE)

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