Number of vehicles in Travis jumps 50%

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The number of vehicles registered annually in Travis County jumped by almost 50 percent between 2002 and  2012, according tax officials.

The city's transportation department reported about 644,000 vehicles were registered in 2002, when the county had about 830,000 people. In 2012, about 945,000 vehicles were registered in the county, when the county had 1.06 million residents. Therefore, in just one decade the number of registered vehicles in the county grew by 47 percent.

According to Travis County officials, the rapid growth in both people and cars is causing mobility issues in the region, suggesting that even when road capacity is added, new vehicles will fill the additional space and mobility issues will remain.

"Short of tearing up neighborhoods and threatening community icons, there is no simple solution to our congested travel system," Robert Spillar, Austin transportation director, said.

To address the travel problem, the city is working with regional partners to invest in projects that enhance vehicle-moving capacity around the region, transportation department officials said.

Simultaneously, city officials are planning and developing projects and policies, such as Urban Rail and the Downtown Austin Plan, that increase people-moving capacity into the central core, primarily focused on commuter trips.