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I'm at Oltorf and Pleasant Valley and need to get to Cesar Chavez and Waller. I know from driving that getting across Lady Bird Lake requires either taking the I35 frontage road to Holly, or the Longhorn Dam to Canterbury. Both of those are dangerous as all get out. No bike lanes, 50mph+ traffic and some insane accident rates.
Anyone have any tips?
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Uh, there's a quite nice bike/ped bridge hanging off the I-35 frontage road. Why not use that?
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Do we not advocate riding on the sidewalk when the road is dangerous?
I ride on Pleasant Valley to cross the river a few times a week, and I make use of the sidewalks when I can. I usually take Wickersham to Elmont, Elmont to Pleasant Valley -- those roads are quieter than the same stretch of Pleasant Valley -- and then use the sidewalks until they run out at Lakeshore. You can cross the street at the Lakeshore light, ride the Lady Bird Lake trail until the bridge, and then cross under Pleasant Valley through a tunnel under the street that leads to the softball fields. Or, you can ride pell-mell down Pleasant Valley from Lakeshore until the sidewalk picks up again to go over the dam, which is quicker and a yes, probably a little dangerous. But I have been trying to ride in the middle of the lane (since there's no shoulder on that part of the road), and have only been honked at once. And it's usually during evening rush hour, so I tend to think that's not a bad experience.
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I've gone over the dam on the sidewalk without incident. That part of the hike-and-bike trail has been very quiet the few times I've been out there.
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When I worked in that part of town I often crossed on Longhorn dam. If you don't feel comfortable taking the lane there's a full sidewalk on the west side and most of a sidewalk on the east. You have to dodge people fishing but otherwise it's a quick off-street way of crossing there.
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I've gone over the dam on the sidewalk without incident.
My first read of this made me think that you were joking. Then I realized that you went "over the dam" across the river, not that you went "over the dam" into the water.
My recollection is that there is a tall fence between the west sidewalk and the water. Unfortunately, there are many bridges in Austin, especially over I-35, where the height of the railing is too low. The railings are commonly lower than the center of gravity for someone while walking if they are taller than about 5'4". Riding a typical bicycle raises the center of gravity even higher.
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This route is probably most direct. The part that doesn't show up on gmaps is that after you take the right onto Edgecliff, you can take the sidewalk/hike and bike across the 35 bridge over to waller.
I wouldn't recommend biking over the longhorn dam, even on the sidewalk. The fence isn't very tall - if you're on a bike it comes up to about saddle height, which to me is kinda nerve wracking, 'cause i'm kind of a clumsy guy.
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