250 miles of new bike lanes in NYC, how many in Austin?

MichaelBluejay · 2012-10-21 14:06:25

Between 2006 and 2010, NYC put in 250 miles of new bike lanes. (Gothamist)

I couldn't find yearly figures for Austin where one might expect them (on the City's Bicycle Program website), but it does have these stats:

* 1998-2008: 58 miles of bike lanes added (2009 Bicycle Plan update)

* 2012: 50 miles of lanes planned (July 2012 article)

I wonder how many miles we got from 2009-2011?

damicoaustin · 2012-10-22 09:40:41

I'm sure it's somewhere...Annick would know. Relatively recent figures are on page 99 of the Alliance benchmarking report at:
http://www.peoplepoweredmovement.org/si … ng_report/

But it only shows total and planned...I can't remember exact figures, but I do know that amount added in last 2-3 years is a lot, at least in proportion to what was there before...something like 75% of total.

Just control F to search for "Austin," and you'll get a ton of different stats.

dougmc · 2012-10-22 22:48:02

So a city 1/10th the size of New York is now putting in bike lanes at a rate that's similar to New York's ?

I wish we could get away from rating bike lanes by miles. The reality is -- not all bike lanes are equal. Putting them on residential streets with low speed limits and light traffic doesn't really have much of an opportunity cost -- especially if parking is still permitted -- but doesn't have much benefit either, and yet it boosts the mileage totals, encouraging planners to do it.

It's the bike lanes on the busier streets, especially when they ban parking, that make a difference.

MichaelBluejay · 2012-10-23 05:52:07

Austin is a similar size to NYC by geography. (272 vs. 321 square miles for NYC) And it doesn't look to me like Austin is putting in bike lanes at a similar rate. From the stats I posted, 62.5 miles per year for NYC, vs. only 9.8 miles/year for Austin. But as I said, I couldn't find Austin's figures for 2009-11.

You're right that not all bike lanes are equal. But I doubt anyone is crunching the numbers about how many miles of newly-installed bike lanes are actually "good".

But no matter how you slice it, cities across America are indeed finally starting to plan for bicycles. Much as I still bemoan the current state of cycling safety in Austin, the amount of infrastructure going in is light years away from the dark ages I lived here from 1985-1998. We're certainly headed in the right direction, but we'd got a lot of catching up to do.

damicoaustin · 2012-10-23 10:31:02

Geez, my brain is going. I forgot I got this last week from COA. Doesn't show exact numbers, but you get the picture....that we've skyrocketed from about 10 new miles per year to close to 40 this year.

http://www.damicoaustin.com/BicycleLane … 8-2012.pdf

MichaelBluejay · 2012-10-23 16:19:09

Thanks! Okay, so from page 2, and eyeballing the chart, we have:

2008: 8 miles
2009: 20 miles
2010: 24 miles
2011: 30 miles
2012: 39 miles

I see a trend. :)

Anyway, that's 24.2 miles per year added, which isn't anywhere close to NYC's 62.5 miles per year, but like I said, this is a big improvement over years past.

Bicycle Austin forum

#1 2012-10-21 14:06:25

250 miles of new bike lanes in NYC, how many in Austin?

#2 2012-10-22 09:40:41

Re: 250 miles of new bike lanes in NYC, how many in Austin?

#3 2012-10-22 22:48:02

Re: 250 miles of new bike lanes in NYC, how many in Austin?

#4 2012-10-23 05:52:07

Re: 250 miles of new bike lanes in NYC, how many in Austin?

#5 2012-10-23 10:31:02

Re: 250 miles of new bike lanes in NYC, how many in Austin?

#6 2012-10-23 16:19:09

Re: 250 miles of new bike lanes in NYC, how many in Austin?

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