Bicycle Austin forum

MichaelBluejay

Webmaster

From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-26

Posts: 1,466

Website

Manor Road re-do, red bus lanes

The City is painting some bus lanes red:  https://www.kxan.com/traffic/seeing-red … nitiative/

They're also blowing up the Manor Rd./Cherrywood area.  The bike lane in each direction will transition into a "shared use path" with pedestrians.  Me, I think I preferred the dedicated bike lanes.

https://www.austintexas.gov/CherrywoodManor

BTW, I own every property on the east side of Stafford Street, there's no sidewalk, and all the yards slope towards the street so you can't walk on the area where a sidewalk would go.  I contemplated excavating and building a retaining wall at considerable expense so there could be a path for people to walk on instead of having to walk in the street (and there's an elementary school right around the corner), but the City won't allow it unless I also spend untold thousands of dollars building an ADA approved sidewalk (200 feet long), so I won't build the path.  The City could get a free walking path, but because they're mandating a sidewalk, they (and the neighborhood) get NOTHING.  Typical CoA.

Jack

Member

Registered: 2013-03-27

Posts: 344

Re: Manor Road re-do, red bus lanes

There is good reason for your preference.  From the p.o.v. of one interested in cyclists' safety for those using Manor or Cherrywood to get around, decades of experience globally shows that this sort of shared-use side path is more dangerous than no cycling accommodation at all, and more dangerous than the current configuration as well.  From the p.o.v. of one interested in pedestrian safety, it looks like a fine plan, but only if it were modified to keep the bikes off the path.  How much is the city spending to make it worse?  What does it take to show that a cyclist is not some type of pedestrian?