This article is part of a series Austin Bike Blog is doing on the recently launched Austin Bike Plan Petition. The City of Austin is preparing the first update to its Bicycle Plan in twelve years, and Austin Bike Plan Petition is an attempt to get the best plan possible. Over the next few weeks we will be covering in more detail the reasoning behind each of the points on the petition. 

1996: The Year The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air went off the air and the Austin Bike Plan left the station without timelines

Bill Clinton and Bob Dole were running for president. Mel Gibson’s Braveheart won the Acadamy award for best picture. Alanis Morissette was a brand new rock star. This new thing called the Internet went from 1 million users to 10 million in 12 months. The year was 1996, and it was the last time the City of Austin adopted a Bicycle Plan.

At the time, the City of Austin put forth a bold plan calling for a city-wide network of bike lanes and paths spaced so that no one would have to bike more than 1/2 mile to be on the network. The plan included explanations of how and where these facilities were to be built. In the 12 years since the Bicycle Plan was adopted, our city grew by over 200,000 residents, yet only one third of the projects called for in the plan have actually been implemented.

Why the delay? While the 1996 plan and its 1998 supplement included, from detailed descriptions of facilities to public input processes to specific facility locations, all the information you need to create world class bike facilities, the plan lacked the most basic requirement of any good plan: a timeline of getting from here to there.

I spend a great deal of my life doing project management. One of the first questions that comes to mind when presented with a task is “when do you want that done by?” The answer to this question is the most critical part of the planning process. Time is the one resource you can not buy more of, and how this question is answered determines whether completion of the task at hand is realistic. Once a deadline is establish, the framework of the project can begin to be filled in, and we can see if progress is being made. Without this information, projects meander without focus and rarely end in the way the planner wished.

Which brings us back to the Austin Bicycle Plan. I would say that City of Austin is not serious about achieving its objectives of building a world class cycling city until it puts real timelines in its plan. 

Now, one of the common objections heard to timelines in a plan is that it restricts that implementation of the plan by locking it into the situation on the ground at the time of the plan’s adoption. Times change, and the plan needs to change with the times. I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment; all good plans need the flexibility to adapt. But this adaptation must come based on a solid framework, and this framework will only be built if the time is taken to plan with deadlines as guideposts for evaluation. As we approach these guideposts, we can see if the plan was too ambitious (or not enough) or if the city’s development is changing and cycling resources need to be assigned to other areas. 

As an example, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) is charged with assigning how road dollars are spent in the Austin metro area. Every five years, CAMPO produces a new 25 year plan so that these dollars are not appropriated haphazardly. It also offers the citizens a chance to see how our leaders are planning for the future and express their opinion (recently, very negatively in regards to toll roads.)

Similarly, the Bicycle Plan should have a similar limit such as five years to ensure we don’t have to wait another 12 years for a review and updating. Once the plan is made, a group, such as a Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission recommended by the Street Smarts Task Force, would provide the citizen input to review the plan ensuring it is being executed and making the necessary changes to adapt to roadblocks and shifts in priorities.

So there we have it. Time-lines should be the highest priority in our plan, not an afterthought.

If you agree, I encourage you to sign the Austin Bike Plan Petition and help spread the word to others about this critical process to get the bike facilities we need to bike safely and easily.

Sign the Austin Bike Plan Petition today!