After a multi-month application process, Austin has lost the US Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge. Back in March, Austin was chosen as one of seven finalists for a $50 million grant to support technology-driven mobility solutions, electric vehicles, and other carbon-emission reduction strategies. The winning city is Columbus, Ohio.

Although Austin Mayor Steve Adler had been pushing hard for us to win this coveted award, in a blog last week he said that win or lose, the city will move forward with the projects they had proposed for the grant.

“We’re not stopping the innovative mobility projects we proposed,” Adler said in a Facebook post. “We don’t need anyone’s permission to innovate, so we’re moving forward because that’s the Austin Way.”

Some of the projects that have been proposed include installing traffic signals that auto adjust in varying weather or traffic conditions, converting city vehicles and taxis to electric cars, developing a driverless shuttle bus at the airport, and creating a mobility pass that Austinites can use on everything from Cap Metro buses to B-cycle bikes.

In his blog post, Adler said that the city is already planning to install traffic sensors on East Riverside Drive as a first step to deploying electric rapid buses from the airport to downtown Austin. He also pointed to his smart corridors bond proposal as another way to dramatically improve mobility in the city. More info>>