Walking, biking, bus initiatives pick up speed

Motorized vehicles dominate Southwest Austin roads. Just down the street from Thayer's home, thousands of vehicles pass daily through the Y at Oak Hill intersection where Hwy. 71 and West Hwy. 290 converge.

In Austin, cyclists account for just 2 percent of the overall number of travelers using different types of transportation, said Chad Crager, acting program manager for bicycle and urban trails programs for the city of Austin. Though the city's bike culture is somewhat in its infancy, interest continues to grow, Crager said.

"If we increase the bicycle mode of transportation, that certainly adds to quality of life for people. It adds to congestion relief for the city, which in turn adds to quality of life and attracts others into Austin and makes Austin the place that everyone loves," he said.

Southwest Austin resident and architect Roger Mueller said many local residents want the area to be bikable and walkable.

"I'm very interested in the fact that there are interesting design opportunities for bike paths [and] for pedestrian paths, so that I don't necessarily have to use my car to drive around [but instead can plan] to bike to Central Market, to bike to ACC to go to a public meeting and stop and use the local businesses without leaving my neighborhood."

Many projects have been completed during the past few years to enable residents to navigate Austin without cars, including new bus routes, updating sidewalks and curb ramps to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards, and updating the city's master plan for cycling.

Thinking outside the car

Multimodal components are integral parts of long-term transportation plans of both the city and the region.

Here are some ways Austin is taking a closer look at options for pedestrians, cyclists and commuters.

Bus service

Bus service updates are planned for Southwest Austin, said Todd Hemingson, Capital Metro vice president of strategic planning and development.

"The big thing we have coming in the near term opening next year is our MetroRapid service," he said, noting two routes will take the new accordion-style buses with Wi-Fi and other upgrades through the area. (See more on Page 16.)

Construction began in August on MetroRapid stops on South Lamar Boulevard, and stops on South Congress Avenue are complete.

In June, Capital Metro added the MoPac Flyer bus, and ridership has continued to increase, Capital Metro planner Lawrence Deeter said.

Capital Metro recently met with the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority about the concept of adding a new Park & Ride station in Southwest Austin at some point along South MoPac, Hemingson said.

Project Connect moves forward

Capital Metro's final report on Project Connect—a $4 billion plan including urban, commuter and regional rail and bus services such as MetroRapid—is being finalized and will be completed by the end of September, said Todd Hemingson, Capital Metro vice president of strategic planning and development.

"The growth of Central Texas is so dramatic, and the funding shortfall and many other reasons [mean] that you can't build your way out of congestion with more roads, that we really have to think about other ways of getting around—including walking, bicycling and transit," he said.

He said the next step will be to submit the plan to the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization for approval and inclusion in its 2040 long-range plan.

Pedestrians

WalkAustin, a recently formed coalition, is establishing a pedestrian advisory council in Austin, WalkAustin founding member Robert Anderson said. In August, Councilman Chris Riley's office, in collaboration with WalkAustin, presented plans to establish the PAC to the city's Urban Transportation Commission and sought feedback. In September, Riley plans to introduce a resolution assigning a member of city staff to assist the PAC, and the PAC will first meet Oct. 21, Anderson said.

"We [want to] gather individuals with different perspectives because the pedestrian's experience is a little bit more varied than a bicyclist's," Anderson said, citing commuters, parents, children, seniors and individuals with disabilities as examples.

John Eastman, project manager with the city of Austin's Department of Public Works, said Austin uses a sidewalk master plan that includes a prioritized map with colored lines depicting where sidewalks are missing.

"We've invested approximately half a million dollars doing sidewalk repairs within Southwest Austin within the last six months," he said.

Austin also partners with Capital Metro to make Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant bus stop improvements, he said.

He said new projects in Southwest Austin include the construction that began in July on sidewalks on the west side of Euclid and Wilson streets between Cumberland Road and Oltorf Street. The project is expected to be complete by November and cost about $200,000.

Within six months, sidewalks will be added to the west side of FM 1826 from Summervale Drive to the Seton Southwest Hospital entrance, costing about $350,000.

This fall, construction is also beginning on projects that will add sidewalks to a 300-foot stretch of Davis Lane from Leo Street to Huebinger Pass and to the 3,000 feet of Davis Lane between Ovalla Drive and Brodie Lane.

Bike share program

In December, the city will launch a bike share program in Central Austin that could eventually expand to Southwest Austin, said Chad Crager, the city's acting program manager for bicycle and urban trails programs. Cyclists will be able to rent bikes from bike share stations and return them to other stations. Until the end of August, residents could suggest bike share station locations, which will be considered as part of the program's development. The above locations in Southwest Austin were among the suggestions.

Cycling

The city of Austin is preparing an urban trail master plan and cycle track update for the city's bike plan for City Council to consider for adoption in spring 2014, said Chad Crager, the city's acting program manager for bicycle and urban trails. The city will post maps online and begin to gather public input in November, he said.

The city is also launching a preliminary engineering review of adding bike lanes to Manchaca Road, Crager said.

"There's not enough room on the current roadway between the curbs to just install bike lanes whenever the road gets new pavement," he said. "This is the first step toward a design that will be implemented."

Crager said the city aims to add cycle tracks as well as buffered bike lanes, which are separated from vehicles on the street by rows of parked cars, raised medians or a painted area on the road that is more substantial than the typical line of paint. During the past year, the city has added buffered bike lanes on South Congress Avenue, South First Street and Escarpment Boulevard, Crager said.

The city and state are working on a MoPac Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge Project to improve mobility on MoPac from north of Loop 360 to Southwest Parkway. Construction will begin in November on the first phase, a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over Barton Creek, Crager said. This fall, design will begin on the "YBC"—an urban trail stretching from near the Y at Oak Hill to the planned bridge over Barton Creek.

"That allows someone at ACC Pinnacle to get all the way downtown completely off-street, which is amazing," Crager said.

Urban rail

A plan for Austin's urban rail initiative could be completed by June 2014 and put before voters in a November 2014 election, said Kyle Keahey, urban rail joint project lead for the city of Austin, Capital Metro and the Lone Star Rail District.

Evaluations in early 2014 will help identify urban rail's content, cost and timeline, he said.

"For the southwest part of town ... there's not a huge demand for high-capacity transit, but there are managed-lane opportunities that could emerge," he said, explaining one option for a managed lane might be a toll lane based on the number of people in each automobile.