Tag: Transportation

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Say “YES” to Protected Bike Lanes and Better Train Service on East 5th Street!

Shared use path on Congress & Ramble, featuring a cyclist, as well as pedestrians walking a dog
Photo from TPW. Congress & Ramble pictured.

The Austin Transportation and Public Works Department (TPW) is proposing safety and mobility improvements that will:

  • Enhance E 5th St by repaving the road and adding protected bike and walking paths, more outdoor spaces, and connections to major trails like the Southern Walnut Creek Trail.
  • Set up for improved train service by double tracking the Red Line tracks between Navasota & E 7th St.

Most importantly, you can help support these improvements by answering the survey linked below. We’ve provided some suggestions, but please feel free to use your own language and draw on your own experience traversing these streets.

Two train tracks
Two tracks are better than one. Photo from Wikipedia. CC-BY-SA-3.0 License. No changes made.
  • What do you like about the proposed changes?
    • Double-tracking that can increase train frequency
    • Improvements and repaving will improve comfort and safety for all modes of travel
    • Connections to the nearby trail networks which greatly open up where people can get to by walking, biking, or rolling
    • Separated and protected biking and walking paths
    • More outdoor space for people and local businesses
  • What do you dislike about the proposed changes?
    • Shared street with traffic calming and less physical protection over a small section due to space constraints
    • On-street parking which blocks the view and impairs safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers
  • Please let us know your level of support for the proposed changes.
    • These are generally very good improvements over existing conditions and we would recommend you “Strongly Support” these proposed changes.

The East 5th survey is open until August 15th, 2023. Take the survey here. You can also view TPW’s full plan here.

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Say “YES” to Protected Bike Lanes on Barton Springs Road & East 12th Street

The Austin Transportation and Public Works Department (TPW) is proposing safety and mobility improvements to two major streets within the city and is soliciting public feedback on both projects.

As a general principle, we believe more space in Austin should be allocated to sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit-priority lanes, and this guide reflects that point of view.

Barton Springs Road Safety Pilot Survey Guide

TPW is proposing mobility and safety improvements on a dangerous stretch of Barton Springs Road between Stratford Drive and South Lamar Boulevard. The changes include installing wider protected bike lanes by removing one lane of traffic, creating shorter and safer pedestrian crossings, relocating bus stops to those safer pedestrian locations, and installing sidewalks on the north side of Barton Springs Road through Zilker Park.

The survey has two open-ended questions asking for feedback about the design. We have suggestions for comments below:

  • What do you like about the proposed pilot design?
    • Like the protected bike lanes
    • Like the reduction to a single lane of traffic
    • Like the pedestrian enhancements
    • Love the inclusion of a pedestrian route through Zilker Park
    • Like the overall effort to make meaningful multimodal and accessibility improvements to an important city street
  • What do you not like about the proposed pilot design?
    • Dislike widening the single lane of traffic, which will encourage faster driving and counteract the recent lowering of the speed limit to 30mph
    • Dislike flexible posts along the bike lanes – prefer stronger protection such as curbs or bollards

The Barton Springs Road Safety Pilot survey is open until June 30, 2023.

East 12th St Survey Guide

Proposed Changes to Intersection of 12th & Chicon Streets

TPW is proposing significant connectivity, mobility, and safety upgrades along a 2.5-mile stretch of East 12th Street between Navasota Street and Webberville Road. The upgrades include the installation of pedestrian crossing islands, protected bike lanes, and widened sidewalks. It would remove certain left-turn only lanes and on-street parking at intersections, and optimize bus stop locations along the route.

The survey is pretty straightforward and only allows for comments on the entirety of the project, not its individual components. Below are some examples of possible responses to the open-ended questions.

  • 3. What do you like about the proposed changes?
    • Like protected bike lanes in both directions
    • Like the removal of on-street parking at intersections
    • Like floating bus stops to protect bike lanes
    • Like installation of pedestrian island crossings
    • Like widening sidewalks – prefer wider than existing conditions
  • 4. What do you dislike about the proposed changes?
    • Dislike the preservation of on-street parking along the route
    • Dislike flexible posts along the bike lanes – prefer stronger protection such as curbs or bollards
  • 5. Please let us know your level of support for the proposed changes.
    • These are generally very good improvements over existing conditions on East 12th Street and we would recommend you “Strongly Support” these proposed changes.

The East 12th Street survey is open until July 5th, 2023.

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Give Input on Bike & Transit Lanes for Downtown Transportation Plan

Cross-section of a street with bike lanes and street trees

The City of Austin is seeking input from the community on the Austin Core Transportation (ACT) Plan. The survey is open until March 31 and asks about your preferences in allocating street space in Downtown Austin for protected bike lanes and transit-priority lanes. The survey also asks for your opinion on converting one-way streets to two-way.

Survey Link: Austin Core Transportation Plan: Phase 2

Survey Guide

We believe more space downtown should be allocated to sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit-priority lanes, and this guide reflects that point of view.

Typical Street Cross-Sections

We recommend higher scores for options with more space for protected bike lanes and sidewalks.

  • Current Great Streets design (typical): 1
  • Great Streets (Pedestrian Dominant): 5
  • Potential Option 1: 5
  • Potential Option 2: 10
  • Potential Option 3: 6

Transit Street Cross-Sections

We recommend higher scores for options with more space for protected bike lanes and sidewalks.

  • Potential Transit Street Option 1: 1
  • Potential Transit Street Option 2: 5
  • Potential Transit Street Option 3: 10
  • Please tell us what you like or do not like about the transit-priority street cross-sections.
    • This one is optional, but here are some ideas for comments:
      • Like protected bike lanes in both directions
      • Dislike drive lanes wider than 10′
      • Dislike that all the transit cross sections had 3 drive lanes and none had 2 drive lanes
  • Do you support providing transit-only lanes if it would require the removal of general-purpose vehicle lanes? 5 (strongly support)

Bicycle/Micromobility Network

Ranked best to worst:

  1. Scenario 3 (complete bicycle/micromobility network coverage)
  2. Scenario 2 (balanced bicycle/micromobility network coverage)
  3. Scenario 1 (minimal changes, maintain vehicle network)
  4. Existing conditions

One-way and two-way street conversions

The survey suggests two-way streets reduce speeding and improve mobility within downtown, so we suggest a preference for two-way conversion.

  • Level of support for existing conditions: 2 (somewhat oppose)
  • Level of support for Alternative 1: 3 (no opinion)
  • Level of support for Alternative 2: 4 (somewhat support)
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Project Connect Media Release (2020-07-20)

MEDIA ALERT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 20, 2020
AURA members identify priorities for November transportation
measure

AURA members overwhelmingly approved a set of policy preferences aimed at shaping Austin City Council’s crafting of a new transportation ballot measure for this November’s election. The specific policy planks approved by AURA members are:

  1. AURA supports the 11 cent property tax increase to pay to fund the full Project Connect plan.
  2. AURA urges City Council to require Republic Square to North Lamar Transit Center as a segment of the initial light rail project.
  3. AURA urges City Council and CapMetro to expand light rail service to Tech Ridge as soon as possible, including in the initial rail project if it is legally and financially feasible.
  4. AURA supports a historic investment in improving bus service that matches the scale of what is proposed by the Project Connect System Vision.
  5. AURA supports the construction of the “downtown tunnel” featured in the Project Connect System Vision.
  6. AURA urges City Council place a $750 million active transportation and Vision Zero bond on the November ballot.
  7. AURA urges City Council to develop a comprehensive anti-residential displacement policy approach for areas impacted by transit investment; the policy may include innovative land use, PIDs, TIFs, and new TOD below-market-housing funds.
  8. AURA supports the exclusion of new funds for roadway expansion in the package.
  9. AURA urges City Council to provide a new operations and maintenance funding stream proportional to the needs of the November package’s proposed transit capital investments.
  10. AURA urges City Council, the Austin Transportation Department and CapMetro to accelerate shovel-ready improvements in the project sequencing.

“We have an opportunity to build the infrastructure that will profoundly change how we move around our city and to do it in a way that will benefit all of us for generations to come,” said Cesar Acosta, AURA Board President. “AURA will continue to fight for transportation investments that reflect our mission of creating an Austin for Everyone. We encourage all that support our policy vision to share our positions publicly, to reach out to the Mayor and Council, and to engage our Board to find ways to work together,” concluded Acosta.

AURA is a grassroots, all-volunteer organization that advocates for an Austin that is inclusive, open to change, and welcoming to everyone.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Cesar Acosta, AURA Board President
Email: cacosta137@gmail.com

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Oppose the Burnet Road proposal

The 2016 Mobility Bond provided the City of Austin with funding “to address implementation of Corridor Mobility Reports, which identify short-, medium-, and long-term transportation improvements.”

The Corridor Mobility Report for Burnet Road proposes for the long term the addition of center-running transit lanes north of U.S. 183. It assuredly does not propose having six car-priority lanes and zero transit lanes there.

The “proposed Burnet Road project” aired by the City in recent months frames itself as carrying forward the 2016 Mobility Bond—yet it proposes having six car-priority lanes and zero transit lanes!

The document outlining this Burnet Road “project” does correctly state that its proposal for six car-priority lanes and zero transit lanes is for the moment “unfunded.” But that proposal is not merely “unfunded”—it is in direct conflict with the Corridor Mobility Report that was upheld and furthered by the Mobility Bond. Despite that, the City is already performing environmental studies related to the unfunded proposal.

If the City would like to see further improvement to Burnet Road beyond what the Mobility Bond has funded, it should further fund the implementation of the Corridor Mobility Report plans. Such funding and implementation will move Austin forward. Cavalierly discarding community-vetted, long-standing plans and returning us to square one will not.

The City is accepting comments on the “proposed Burnet Road project” until Friday, June 5, at 5 p.m., through this web form or by email to Burnet@AustinTexas.gov. Let them know what you think.