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Davis lane while heading west, just before you get to the highway entrance seems to be routinely dangerous.
Let me start off by saying that the 35mph speed limit on Davis is not enforced. Many cars travel over 50mph on it.
So when you are cycling and approaching the 'right turn only' lane for the highway, you are left with nothing but dangerous options when there is 50mph traffic approaching from behind. Today, I was actually moving quite fast on this section on my bike, over 30mph, yet I still had this red suv closing in very fast directly behind me, because there is no bike lane on that section.
The problem with this road design is that the right lane doesn't break away from the main road quickly. It encourages drivers to race to the highway on ramp without regard for cyclists who have no where to go. Do I cut over to the left lane as soon as the road markings change to "right lane turn only" and cycle a quarter mile hoping that the 50mph traffic behind me doesn't run me over? Or do I wait until the last second to cut over, hoping that there are no cars overtaking me?
More on Davis Lane: 90% of the 'bike route' has that loose stone accumulated in the entire bike lane, giving again, only two dangerous options.
1) Ride in the loose stone and risk a flat tire, and/or having my front wheel wash out and crash.
or
2) Ride in the right travel lane, where it is clean enough, but enraging drivers who are in that lane because they see me biking outside of the 'bike lane'.
Could we PLEASE get a street sweeper to pass through Davis Latta and Escarpment every few months? That would make a WORLD of a difference for road cyclists. And how about having some speed limit enforcement? This is suppose to be a quiet, family friendly community, this southwest area of Austin, not a racetrack. Could we at least save the 50+mph driving to the highways?
Another Davis lane issue: the extremely narrow section near Brodie lane. If I happen to ride this, I hope that the car behind me is content enough to safely stay behind and no try passing me as I go 25mph in a 30mph zone I believe? I mean, afterall, the light at Brodie is about a 2 minute wait and there is usually a number of cars backed up waiting, what's a 5 or 10mph reduction to a driver?
(I've learned to take Eskew over to Plantation most of the time to avoid that east section of Davis)
Last edited by rich00 (2010-01-18 03:06:05)
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I've seen a *lot* of police activity at Davis and Mopac lately -- they've been really working that stop sign hard, and I've seen them doing speed traps on Davis several times a week as well. As for getting a street cleaner, I think a call to 311 is what makes that happen.
As for Davis and Brodie, I think you mean Deer lane rather than Davis -- it changes names. Yes, that place sucks. Really, it needs four lanes to handle the car traffic, but there's no room to add additional lanes unless they use eminent domain to take some from the north or south. Personally, I just ride it -- visibility is good, so cars can see if it's safe to pass in spite of the `no passing' zone.
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"Could we PLEASE get a street sweeper to pass through Davis Latta and Escarpment every few months? That would make a WORLD of a difference for road cyclists. And how about having some speed limit enforcement? This is suppose to be a quiet, family friendly community, this southwest area of Austin, not a racetrack. Could we at least save the 50+mph driving to the highways?"
Hi Rich,
We submitted this request last month. I hope that you have also submitted this request and all others regarding debris in the roadway via 3-1-1. (3-1-1 can also be used to report potholes, traffic lights not detecting your bicycle, non-functioning street lamps, and any other city-related issues from trash collection to water main brakes.)
The Street & Bridge Division of the Public Works Department does spot cleaning like the one you describe on Davis Lane. Unfortunately, last month both of their street sweepers were out of service. I'm sure you can imagine how much of a backlog they have after the rain, etc.
At any rate, I spoke with someone from Street & Bridge again today and reminded them about Davis Lane, and they said they would try to get out there tomorrow. I recommend following the request up with a 3-1-1 call. This way you will get a service request number and can track the progress of your request through the system.
Thank you for your interest. As far as your other requests regarding the design of the roadway, I have forwarded those comments onto Nathan Wilkes, our engineer, for consideration the next time the roadway is resurfaced and there is the opportunity to make any changes.
Nadia M. Barrera
Bicycle/Pedestrian Project Coordinator
Neighorhood Connectivity Division
Public Works Department
City of Austin
512.974.7142
Moderator edit: No email addresses, as per forum rules.
*Interesed in participating in the Bicycle Advisory Council?
Join the Google Group for updates and meeting information:
http://groups.google.com/group.austin-bac?lnk=*
HERE'S THE RESPONSE FROM NATHAN:
Rich,
In the design of the bicycle lane we were aware of the issues under Mopac and the long right turn only lane to northbound Mopac. This section is TXDOT jurisdiction and we are working with them to get a design that accommodates cyclists under Mopac.
We hadn't heard that the bike lane was filled with gravel until I was out there for a field visit and saw it myself. I agree that it is currently not suitable to ride in, but this condition should improve shortly with the street sweeping.
As for the narrow section to the east on Davis Lane close to Brodie, there is an active and funded roadway project that is nearly complete in design to realign Davis Lane so there isn't a jog at Brodie. The project will remove the bicycle facility gap near Brodie connecting bicycle lanes on Escarpment to future bicycle lanes on Brodie.
Thanks for your comments. Let me know if you have further questions.
Thanks, Nathan
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Thanks for the consideration on these issues. I did send a request on the loose stone with 311.
I won't be riding these roads as much anymore as I am moving to north Austin next week, but I know all other cyclists down here will appreciate it.
I do want to get involved with the bicycle advisory council, I'll try to make it to the next meeting!
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I passed a street sweeper that was sweeping Davis just east of Mopac this morning.
The BAC meeting is tonight, if you were planning on going ...
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Yes I just biked on part of Davis this afternoon - it was very clean! I'm really impressed, I wasn't expecting results of my actions on this.
::thumbs up::
And I think I am going to go to the meeting tonight, (driving unfortunetely since I don't have a commuter bike or lock).
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As for Davis and Brodie, I think you mean Deer lane rather than Davis -- it changes names. Yes, that place sucks. Really, it needs four lanes to handle the car traffic, but there's no room to add additional lanes unless they use eminent domain to take some from the north or south. Personally, I just ride it -- visibility is good, so cars can see if it's safe to pass in spite of the `no passing' zone.
I should mention that the CoA is actually fixing this road, and the construction has begun.
It looks like Deer lane is going away entirely, and they're instead building a new section of Davis to bridge the two Davis roads together, presumably with a four lane road.
There's a meeting about this today --
For anyone who wants information on the West Gate/Davis Lane
construction projects, Cowan Elementary School is hosting a public
meeting at the Cowan library on Thursday, Sept. 16 at 5:30 p.m.
Those in attendance will hear plans from city engineers and AISD
officials and will have an opportunity to ask any questions you
may have. As I understand it, engineers from both the
Davis/Deer/Brodie and West Gate/Davis projects will be in
attendance.
... which I just read about. I won't be there, but it could be interesting.
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