Outdoor supplies store Orvis has announced the closure of its North Austin storefront.

What to know: The location is expected to close in late December and is currently promoting its closing sale. Customers can find 40% off full price Orvis apparel with the exception of items in the hunting and fishing department. Barbour and Yeti products are also not included in the closing sale.

The backstory: The outdoor company was launched in 1856 in Vermont with products for fly fishing and wingshooting, as stated on its website. The company has since expanded to include men and women’s sportswear, gifts, home furnishings, luggage, travel accessories and dog products.

• 10000 Research Blvd., Ste. B04b, Austin

A three-week city initiative to clear public encampments and connect homeless residents with resources ended with hundreds of locations around Austin addressed and nearly 200 people moved into shelter.

What happened: The temporary surge of resources led by Austin Homeless Strategies and Operations ran Oct. 20-Nov. 8 to restore public spaces and relocate people in hard-to-reach or dangerous areas given severe weather risks and ahead of the winter season. The city-led encampment clearings took place under local and state laws that ban camping in public.

As the encampment initiative was drawing to a close this fall, City Council also approved measures to expand street outreach programs, launch a public encampment dashboard and improve resident reporting systems. Those updates will take place in the coming months.

Also of note: The recent city program was unrelated to state-led encampment cleanups around Austin announced by Gov. Greg Abbott on Oct. 21, an operation that was criticized by local officials due to a lack of coordination and shared objectives.

Wondering what’s behind recent lane changes or detours? Several road and pedestrian projects across the Austin are reshaping local traffic and enhancing safety for all road users.

Upcoming
South Lamar Boulevard mobility program
Update: Construction along roughly 3 miles of South Lamar Boulevard from Barton Springs Road to Hwy. 290 will see mobility improvements, including bike and pedestrian facilities, intermittent medians, intersection improvements and upgraded traffic signals.

• Timeline: construction expected to begin early 2026
• Cost: $60.5 million
• Funding source: 2016 Mobility Bonds

• Timeline: project expected to be completed in 2027
• Cost: $2.5 million
• Funding source: 2020 Mobility Bond and 2022 Safe Streets and Roads For All grant

Every day for the past 25 years, at least one person has died in crashes on Texas roads. Texas officials and the families of some fatal crash victims commemorated the grim anniversary with a candlelight ceremony at the Texas Capitol on Nov. 7.

The impact: Jamie White said her 2-year-old daughter, Allie, was hit and killed by a distracted driver at Round Rock’s Old Settlers Park in September 2019.

“It only takes [a few] seconds… to kill somebody,” White said Nov. 7. “Can you imagine doing this, taking somebody's child from them, and living the rest of your life knowing that you caused that?”

Following Allie’s death, her parents launched Allie’s Way, a nonprofit aimed at ending distracted driving.

More details: TxDOT data shows that speed and impaired driving are involved in the majority of deadly crashes on Texas roads.

“These are not random events,” Texas Highway Patrol Chief Bryan Rippee said Nov. 7. “These are the results of making the wrong choices on our Texas highways."