“The staff recommends that both Rio Grande Street and Nueces Street together, in the northwest district of the downtown, be designated as the Downtown Bicycle Boulevard with no traffic calming tools implemented on Nueces Street.”
Two streets, rather than one, could receive improvements to facilitate the mobility of bikes and cars. City Staff heard the massive amount of discussion about Rio Grande being a better option. According to the memo to Council (pdf), Rio Grande currently carries 24% less traffic than Nueces.
After the comments by Rob D’amico and the League of Bicycle Voters, it was easy to be discouraged that the eventual proposal would be too watered down. Now, we have the actual proposal – thick with feedback from all stakeholders. As someone that lives and works downtown Austin, and having read through the draft, I’m happy with the recommended improvements. A few highlights:
Rio Grande:
- Parking in front of Wahoos would become “back in” angled parking
- New hike and bike bridge over Shoal Creek @ 4th Street
- Parking along Rio Grande remains largely unchanged
- An array of traffic circles, medians with speed cushions, speed cushions, and pedestrian curb-extensions
Nueces:
- Great Streets from 3rd to 7th on Nueces.
- Install sharrows from 7th to 13th
- Replace parking on one side of the street with enhance bicycle lanes.
The recommended speed limit through out the project is 25mph. Slower is better, IMO, and hopefully the proposed round-a-bouts on Rio Grande will help improve traffic flow, compared to the stop signs currently there.
In summary, these recommendations are light touches. This isn’t an expensive project. This will not be a promenade, and it was never intended to be that way.
-Jude
