Poll:
Do you support turning Nueces Street into a bike boulevard?
The City of Austin is hoping to balance the needs of downtown cyclists with the needs of businesses. A task force from the Public Works Departments believes it has found a compromise.
On Tuesday, it released a plan for a downtown bicycle boulevard. The plan makes changes along Rio Grande and Nueces, between West 3rd and Martin Luther King Boulevard.
“I would say that the changes are significant but respectful to the needs and operations of the neighborhood,” said Annick Beaudet with the City of Austin.
Rio Grande would see physical changes like small speed bumps and the re-routing of Capital Metro bus #3. Nueces would see fewer stop signs, new lane markings for bikes, and parking in one section restricted to one side of the street.
The plan also calls for a new bridge over Shoal Creek that would connect to the Lance Armstrong Bikeway.
Some local business owners call the changes unnecessary.
“The status quo works,” said Bert Pence, investor. “It it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
Cyclists have pushed for years to see changes like center islands and circles that would slow down traffic and make roads safer for bikes.
The total cost for the plan is $670,000 and would be paid for through bond-specific funding. The changes could begin as soon as this summer, pending a decision by the Austin City Council next month.
