The newly stripped bike lane icon has a definitely laid back position. Are City staff subtly suggesting we should be riding recumbents?

Before this project was done where there was any bicycle infrastructure at all on this section of South Congress, it was a mishmash of bikes lanes that started then petered out within 50 feet or came to an abrupt stop feeding you into speeding traffic. The angled parking created so many blind spots for cars backing out and was such a nail bitter for cycling that during a 3 year period I commuted south on this stretch, I would ride into the Bouldin Neighborhood just to avoid it.

What a difference the new bike lanes make! Southbound there is now a bike lane that runs the entire length of South Congress from Riverside to Oltorf (where it meets up with an already existing bike lane that runs for miles south.) The car parking is now back in angled parking which means the driver looks right at you as they leave the space. At the SoCo District stretch, this is especially welcoming as the grade gets a bit steep and now you do not need to have the double worry of being buzzed by an impatient motorist while dodging cars backing out of parking spaces.

The view south from Riverside. Cars are now forced to merge out of the bike space and the bike lane now runs the length of South Congress.

At Academy, the southbound bike lane no longer has the abrupt end.

All in all, this is a great edition to South Congress, a major route to downtown for those of us south of the river. It is also good to see that City staff came up with a good solution without caving to hysterics from some local businesses that assume any concessions to those not in a car will destroy the local economy.

Back in angled parking is now the standard on South Congress from Academy to Oltorf.

Speaking of the LOBV, they are also looking for volunteer help tonight and on December 9. It’s really easy data processing work and helps the organization stay, well, organized.

From Tom Wald:

LOBV Volunteer Hours is happening again this week and next. The last session was a success, with several volunteers in attendance. Again, I’ll have some tasks on-hand to work on, such as data entry, phone calls to current members, online research, and updating web content. Bring your laptop computer, if you’ve got one. Also, this is a great opportunity for you to learn more about what unique, ongoing, volunteer opportunities are available that will have a direct impact on making Austin better for bicycling.

LOBV Volunteer Hours:
Tuesday, Nov. 30, 6:30-8:30pm: Cherrywood Coffeehouse, 1400 E 38-1/2 St @ Lafayette St

Thursday, Dec. 9, 6:30-8:30pm: Cherrywood Coffeehouse, 1400 E 38-1/2 St @ Lafayette St

RSVP if you can, or just show up — we’ll be there.

A section of the Lady Bird Lake hike and bike trail in the vicinity of and Red River Rainey Street will be closed from April 19 to 29 while an asbestos coating is removed from a pedestrian bridge over Waller Creek.  The abatement process is expected to last no more than two weeks, during which time the bridge will be closed to the public during normal business hours (8 a.m.-5p.m.). When work crews are present, the hike and bike trail will be detoured along an alternate route. Both the trail and bridge will be reopened at the end of each work day and on the weekend to minimize disruption.  The bridge is safe for public use since the asbestos is only located underneath. The handrails and decking are not affected in any way.

In fall of 2010, the bridge will be renovated as part of the Waller Creek tunnel project.  In preparation for this work, the City tested materials on the bridge to comply with state, local, and federal asbestos regulations. Test results showed that asbestos was present in a coating underneath the bridge. To follow state and federal air quality regulations, the coating must be removed before it is disturbed during the renovation project.

The abatement team will follow stringent safety measures, including EPA-mandated plastic work barriers, to protect the public and the environment.  For more information, please call 974-7139.

Please avoid this area with the recommended detour here from city staff:

The barricades are a safety precaution for cyclists.  Prior to the installation of the barricades, cyclists were riding on the rail line, compromising their safety, and ignoring the DETOUR sign placed at Red River and 4th Street.  The impetus for the additional barricades in this location was brought about by the pending arrival of the CapMetro commuter rail line.  If cyclists are riding between the rails, they could potentially be in conflict with the train.  We would like to discourage this activity as much as possible, and encourage cyclists to use 5th Street as an alternative until the bridge over Waller Creek is installed and crossing the rail line by bicycle will no longer be necessary.

Cyclists heading eastbound on 4th Street should take a left-hand turn (northbound) on Trinity and continue eastbound on 5th Street.

This Capital Metro bridge project, which was supposed to be started in February, is now slated to be started in May. We’ll let you know when the route opens again.

They have done this project in conjunction with the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and have a “Report a Problem” tool to allow you to suggest changes when the route Google produces need changing. Based on listserv and forum discussions going on today, there are already several Austin specific changes that will need to be made including most obviously the inclusion of the Hike & Bike Mopac bridge and the Shoal Creek trail system.

Editor Note: As an update to the passage of the Master Bike Plan, Annick Beaudet, the Bicycle Program Manager with the City of Austin in Department of Public Works, has provided this update on the implementation of the plan.

Colored bike lane on Dean Keaton East of IH 35.

It is my pleasure to write about my experience riding the new facilities recently installed as part of the City’s experimental bicycle facility study, in process and in partnership with the University of Texas Center for Transportation Research.

This past Sunday I headed out on an urban tour of many of our new bike lanes and of the new, experimental facilities.  I’ll note that two of my fellow riders were beginner riders, so it was a perfect opportunity for direct input on how new bicyclists would react to both the new bike lanes and the other facilities.

Sharrows being painted on Guadalupe St downtown.

We headed north from Barton Springs Road and Lamar Boulevard, through Town Lake Park, across the Pfluger Bridge, along the Town Lake Trail and the Lance Armstrong Bikeway to downtown.  In downtown, we took the new Shared Lane Markings, or Sharrows, along Lavaca Street to Martin Luther King Blvd (where there are new bicycle lanes), to Red River Street, and then to Dean Keaton Street.  On Dean Keaton, the green bicycle lanes made a positive impression on us all.  Wow, what a difference.  We headed north on Speedway to 43^rd Street, experiencing the Bike Box at the intersection of 38^th Street and Speedway (where we all made a bet of how many bicyclists travel through that intersection on a daily basis, the guesses ranged from 400 to 2750, UT will be giving us those counts at the end of the study, so stay tuned for the answer).  Like the talk on local bicycle forum web sites, we also debated a few minutes as we waited for the light, on how to use the facility. We found that we all had different riding styles and behaved differently not only as we rode along the road, but also at intersections.  It is my hope that with better facilities added to our toolbox in the United States, more bicyclists will begin riding, causing motor vehicle drivers to expect to see bicyclists in the roadway.  Eventually everyone will get better at understanding how to share the road

I’d like to give a shout out to the staff in not only the Bicycle Program, but the Transportation Department (ATD), and the Parks and Recreation Department (PARD).  Both departments have been working very hard this year to help our City to become more bicycle-friendly.  With the assistances of PARD we will be piloting a mirror at the Shoal Creek Trail and Lance Armstrong Bikeway intersection, to further ameliorate the improvement made at that location recently

One of the first bike boxes at 38th and Speedway.

In 2009 the City of Austin installed 20.7 miles of parking free bicycle facilities, more than doubling the 8.1 miles we installed in 2008.  In the third quarter of 2009 alone we installed 8.5 miles of bicycle facilities exceeding the total for any previous year.

Last, but not least, I’d like thank TXDOT staff in the North District Office  who recently  made some incredible context sensitive improvement to the Barton Springs Road and Mopac area ( they extended the City’s bicycle lanes and added sidewalk along the frontage road from Barton Springs Road to RR 2244).

Have a wonderful winter, do some long rides in the cool weather, commuter more, enjoy the holidays, be safe, and let’s continue to work together towards a Platinum Bicycle Friendly Community.

The bridge over Shoal Creek at 3rd Street will be closed from Monday 11/9/09 to Friday 11/13/09.  The project team will be providing a connection to a 72” water line that runs directly adjacent to the bridge.

Those with questions or concerns can contact Barrera at (512) 974-7142 or nadia.barrera@ci.austin.tx.us.

From today’s post:

Today was my first day to ride on Anderson Lane. They resurfaced and restriped Anderson and they put in a new bike lane! Anderson is pretty busy and traffic is fairly fast so I have never ridden on Anderson with the traffic. But I cross Anderson twice every day on my way to and from work. I had to wait and wait and wait for an opening in traffic every night (morning traffic isn’t so bad), but now I can just go to the light and ride a few blocks in the bike lane on Anderson to my turn. Cool! Thank you City of Austin!

Heather has been writing for the past couple years, but I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m just finding her blog. It’s a great write up of Heather’s training and races (she apparently competes in just about every local  triathlon) with lots of picture. Check it out.

Image Courtesy of Bike Portland.

Advocates for reverse-angle parking make several arguments:

It’s safer to pull into traffic pointing forward, with the driver getting a clear look to the left for oncoming traffic.

It’s safer for passing bicyclists. While a cyclist would lose the advantage of seeing brake lights of a car backing out, the driver in a reverse-angle parked car would be less likely to pull out and hit a bicycle.

Given the position of opened doors in a reverse-angle parked car, children or dogs exiting would be funneled toward the sidewalk rather than toward passing traffic.

A trunk adjacent to a sidewalk is safer to unload than one thta is facing traffic.

Getting the bike lane withou having to worry about getting doored is a big boon. The City will also begin charging for this previously free parking leading hopefully to more people riding.