#1 2020-01-22 09:43:15

pjschaub
Member
From: Austin, Texas
Registered: 2010-11-16
Posts: 22

Open House this Thurs.: Bluebonnet Ln, 1/23, 6-7 PM, Zilker Elementary

Come out and show support for bike and pedestrian improvements in the Zilker neighborhood this Thursday, January 23 from 6 to 7 PM at Zilker Elementary (1900 Bluebonnet Ln). Check out the preliminary design, talk to the people who are working on the project, and give your input in person.

Project website: https://data.austintexas.gov/stories/s/ … /ur3j-mbv2

Proposed Changes:

Bluebonnet Lane/Melridge Place (Rabb Road – Rabb Glen Street): Upgrading the protection in the existing two-way protected bikeway to concrete traffic buttons. Planters are also under consideration, pending a maintenance agreement with neighborhood partners.

Bluebonnet Lane (Rabb Glen Street – South Lamar Boulevard): New extension of the two-way protected bikeway on the west curb. This proposal would replace the existing one-way bicycle lanes, maintain one general travel lane in each direction, and consolidate parking to the east side of the street.

Bluebonnet Lane (South Lamar Boulevard – Del Curto Road): New extension of the two-way protected bikeway on the west curb across the intersection of Bluebonnet Lane and South Lamar Boulevard to Del Curto Road, where the bikeway would transition to a shared use path.

Rundell Place and Ann Arbor Avenue: Shorten crossing distances by adding curb extensions and crosswalks.

Bluebonnet Lane (midblock between South Lamar Boulevard and Del Curto Road, Arpdale Street, Meadowridge Drive, Ford Street, Anita Drive, Ashby Avenue): New pedestrian crossing islands that enable people walking to stop and scan for oncoming traffic one lane at a time, while slowing motor vehicle traffic and improving driver yielding behavior.

Bluebonnet Lane (Rabb Glen Street, midblock at Little Zilker Park, Hether Street): Improvements to existing pedestrian crossings by adding crossing islands, crosswalks, curb ramps, and/or curb extensions.

New and improved pedestrian crossings may result in minor impacts to on-street parking.

Last edited by pjschaub (2020-01-22 09:47:21)

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#2 2020-01-23 09:15:21

flatau
Member
Registered: 2013-03-03
Posts: 14

Re: Open House this Thurs.: Bluebonnet Ln, 1/23, 6-7 PM, Zilker Elementary

If we must have concrete traffic buttons, can they at least be painted florescent green or orange or some visible color.  The white (soon to be gray and/or black) ones are hard for both cyclists and car drivers to see.

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#3 2020-01-24 16:48:04

Jack
Member
Registered: 2013-03-27
Posts: 344

Re: Open House this Thurs.: Bluebonnet Ln, 1/23, 6-7 PM, Zilker Elementary

flatau wrote:

If we must have concrete traffic buttons, can they at least be painted florescent green or orange or some visible color.  The white (soon to be gray and/or black) ones are hard for both cyclists and car drivers to see.

I suppose it's too much to ask that they not be placed so that a motorist cannot properly merge to the curb before making a right turn into a parking lot or at an intersection and so that a cyclist cannot easily leave the bike lane to make a left turn into a parking lot or at an intersection.

Last edited by Jack (2020-01-24 17:06:18)

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#4 2020-01-24 16:56:03

Jack
Member
Registered: 2013-03-27
Posts: 344

Re: Open House this Thurs.: Bluebonnet Ln, 1/23, 6-7 PM, Zilker Elementary

pjschaub wrote:

Proposed Changes:

Bluebonnet Lane/Melridge Place (Rabb Road – Rabb Glen Street): Upgrading the protection in the existing two-way protected bikeway to concrete traffic buttons. Planters are also under consideration, pending a maintenance agreement with neighborhood partners.

Bluebonnet Lane (Rabb Glen Street – South Lamar Boulevard): New extension of the two-way protected bikeway on the west curb. This proposal would replace the existing one-way bicycle lanes, maintain one general travel lane in each direction, and consolidate parking to the east side of the street.

Bluebonnet Lane (South Lamar Boulevard – Del Curto Road): New extension of the two-way protected bikeway on the west curb across the intersection of Bluebonnet Lane and South Lamar Boulevard to Del Curto Road, where the bikeway would transition to a shared use path.

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/PED_BIKE/un … less19.pdf  Please see "19.5 Practices to be Avoided--two-way bike lanes"

These plans amount to beginners' mistakes in cycling infrastructure planning.

See also:  https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/08/16/ … -injuries/ 
<>new study is finding that the safest bike facilities on busy streets are Dutch-style, sidewalk-level bike lanes or protected bike lanes with no driveways or intersections, such as those on bridges.

And a surprising number of injuries are happening in two-way, street-level, protected bike lanes.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study recently analyzed 350 bike-injury cases in New York, Washington and Portland in order to determine which street designs were safest for those on two wheels. The study surveyed injured riders who were treated in hospitals.

“Two-way protected bike lanes alongside two-way vehicle traffic add … complexity as turning drivers need to monitor both oncoming vehicle traffic and two-way bicycle traffic in the bike lane,” author Jessica Cicchino and her research team wrote.

Researchers found that calm, residential streets were the safest places for riding. But even unprotected bike lanes had lower injury rates than two-way, protected street-level bike lanes, the study showed.<>

Last edited by Jack (2020-01-24 17:01:57)

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#5 2020-01-29 08:36:24

pjschaub
Member
From: Austin, Texas
Registered: 2010-11-16
Posts: 22

Re: Open House this Thurs.: Bluebonnet Ln, 1/23, 6-7 PM, Zilker Elementary

Via ATD email: "All open house materials, including a preliminary design and display boards, are available for review on AustinTexas.gov/BluebonnetLn. Please submit your feedback through the online survey, which will be open until the comment period for this project closes on Sunday, Febuarary 23."

Survey direct link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/W2JYJPZ

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#6 2020-02-19 09:58:33

pjschaub
Member
From: Austin, Texas
Registered: 2010-11-16
Posts: 22

Re: Open House this Thurs.: Bluebonnet Ln, 1/23, 6-7 PM, Zilker Elementary

Deadline for the Bluebonnet Lane survey is February 23, this Sunday: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/W2JYJPZ

Project website: https://data.austintexas.gov/stories/s/ … /ur3j-mbv2

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#7 2020-02-22 11:55:39

pjschaub
Member
From: Austin, Texas
Registered: 2010-11-16
Posts: 22

Re: Open House this Thurs.: Bluebonnet Ln, 1/23, 6-7 PM, Zilker Elementary

Reminder! Deadline for the Bluebonnet Lane survey is February 23, SUNDAY (tomorrow): https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/W2JYJPZ

Project website: https://data.austintexas.gov/stories/s/ … /ur3j-mbv2

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