August Update from the City Bike/Ped program, this time with PICTURES! PLUS, the city wants YOU to call 311!

Nadia Barrera with the CoA Bicycle Pedestrian program just forwarded me an article they wrote for the Soutwest Cycling news. I know not all of our members are ACA-affiliated or pick up a copy regularly (though they're available for free in most bike shops so why not?), but it's a great look at all the recent improvements the City Bike/Ped program staff are hard at work realizing on our streets. Read on for some really excellent progress reports:

In our last article we discussed the heightened level of activity during the summer. Well…it keeps on coming. Right now we are working on swarms of facility improvements as well as promotion and education programs.

These include the recently completed Anderson Lane bicycle lanes from Burnet Road to Lamar Boulevard. These lanes were accomplished by enacting a lane diet, i.e. modifying the width of the existing lanes to accommodate the necessary five feet of space for bicycles.

Other exciting projects include the sweeping improvements planned for the bicycle network around the University of Texas campus. The existing bicycle climbing lane on MLK Boulevard will be extended to bicycle lanes on both sides of the roadway from Pearl Street to Red River Street. We will also be improving the crossings of Guadalupe Street at MLK Boulevard by extending the bicycle lane through the intersection southbound all the way to 17th Street.

Reverse angle parking (back-in) on Dean Keaton Street will increase safety by allowing motorists pulling out of a parking spot a clear view of approaching traffic (i.e. cyclists) as well as allow for additional parking capacity. Bicycle lanes on Dean Keaton from San Jacinto Boulevard to Manor Road will improve connectivity to existing bicycle lanes on Red River Street, and Manor Road. Another unique feature of the new Dean Keaton design is the gore separated bikeway from Red River Street to Dancy Street. The gore area (essentially painted diagonal lines) is similar to a physical barrier between the travel lanes and bike lanes. Gores are preferable over physical barriers or raised pavement markers because they allow bicycle riders the freedom to leave the bike lane to make left turns, pass another cyclist, avoid debris, or avoid conflicts with turning traffic.

Gore separated bicycle lanes will also be included on the Amherst Drive Road Diet. We know that beginner and child cyclists may feel more comfortable on protected bicycles lanes and we hope that this facility will allow for increased use of the roadway by new cyclists and families in the area. The Amherst Drive Road Diet will occur between Duval Road and Parmer Lane. This project modifies the roadway to include a left-hand-turn lane and bicycle lanes. The gore separated bike lanes will be located on Amherst Lane from Adelphi Lane to Parmer Lane. With support from the Neighborhood Connectivity Division, the PTA at Summit Elementary, located on Amherst Drive, will be participating for the first time in Bike and Walk to School Day in October. If you think your school would be interested in participating in this event, please contact <>.

Another pending project is the Davis Lane bicycle lanes from Escarpment Boulevard all the way to Corran Ferry Drive.

As far as our promotional and educational program; we would like to recognize Dynamic Reprographics, a print shop in central Austin that recently had 10 members of its staff certified in Traffic Skills 101. These staff members will now be able to deliver plans and other printed materials to their clients in downtown and central Austin by bicycle; a much more sustainable, healthy, fun way to get around.

To illustrate some of the improvements, they attached a photo of the Anderson Lane road diets that allowed them to put in full bike lanes in each direction for the majority of the length of the street. For comparison, where the reflective tags are were the locations of the old stripes, minus the bike lanes:

Photo provided by the City of Austin Bicycle Pedestrian Program

The next big improvement I'm looking forward to is MLK. From the sound of things Nadia was the highest paid traffic director in town yesterday as she waved cars along while they painted the lines that marked the new lane dimensions down the length of the street. Sounds like that one's imminent, and I'm looking forward to taking advantage of it. A bike lane from Red River to Lamar through central Austin is badass.

So I'm kinda curious, what is a "gore separated bicycle lane"? To me it sounds like exactly what we're TRYING to avoid with all these new improvements. IF you know the meaning of this term, let us know in the comments section please.

Update: Nevermind, I found out what it means. Not quite as graphic as I was expecting...

In all seriousness, we all owe a big thanks to Annick, Nadia, Nathan, Jason, and all the other members of the city staff and the engineers they work with who make all these new improvements possible. Great stuff y'all.

IMPORTANT OFFICIAL CITY REQUEST UPDATE: Almost forgot, this is a request from the City Staff for all y'all bikers in town. If you come across a bike lane that needs swept or to have debris removed, CALL 311! If there's a low-hanging branch, CALL 311! Pothole? CALL 311! The only way they'll respond to these issues is if we pick up the phone. 311 is our direct line to the City's system for getting shit fixed, from a car illegally parked in a bike lane to the faded lane stripe that needs re-painted on the stretch that runs through your neighborhood. Call until they fix it. Their volumes are low and they have the resources and manpower to take care of things, so lets take advantage of their offer! Do it for the kids, do it for yourself, do it for your mom, but JUST DO IT.