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The City of Austin is currently reviewing a plan that that would turn Nueces Street from W. Third Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard into a bicycle boulevard.
A bicycle boulevard is a road that caters to both cars and bikes. Recently, plans for such a road have been discussed at two open houses. The third, and possibly last, will be taking place on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at Pease Elementary School. New findings about how traffic will be altered by the bike lane will be discussed.
“It’s going to be great for ACC students,” Austin City Council member Chris Riley said. “It would be like rolling out a red carpet from West Campus to ACC.”
Currently, HDR Engineering is looking into probable traffic concerns that could be caused by unrolling such a carpet. Riley explained that the biggest problem is the area between Sixth Street and 12th Street where there is a stop sign or stoplight at each corner.
“This is not the most bike friendly place,” Riley said. “If we take out the stop signs, we have to do something to mitigate the traffic.”
Nueces Street faces some limitations as a bike boulevard, Riley said. These restraints include a fire station, the Criminal Justice Center, and a jail which has two to three busses entering and leaving every day. This could result in the bike boulevard being moved to Rio Grande Street instead.
Students who bike to RGC have mixed opinions about the bike boulevard. Student Gabriel Tellez thinks that it is a good idea, but didn’t care much about removing the stop signs.
“I usually don’t stop anyway,” Tellez said.
Fellow biking student Tamara Moyse would be more comfortable riding on a bike boulevard. Currently, she worries about getting hit by a car.
“I hardly ever ride in the street,” Moyse said. “It would be safe, and I would be safer. Also, I wouldn’t have to run over pedestrians anymore.”
Project Coordinator for the City of Austin Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Nadia Barrera explained that ACC has been part of the planning process.
“We have met with internal staff at ACC to discuss if it fits in with their current plan. There will be a representative from ACC on our working group,” Barrera said.
City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Project Manager Annick Beaudet explained that the idea for a bicycle boulevard has been around since the late 1990s. Nueces Street has been looked at as a good area because of the lack of retailers, Beudet said. The businesses currently on the street might not be hampered by a bike boulevard, many of them being law offices.
“Businesses can still thrive there with a calmer street,” Beudet said.
Beudet feels that ACC Rio Grande will be better because of the bicycle boulevard.
“Parking and mobility at the ACC campus has always had its challenges; I was once a student there,” Beudet said.
Before the bike boulevard can be built, the city council will need to take action, Riley said.
“I feel very hopeful that we will fulfill the goal set out in the bike plan, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it is a done deal,” Riley said.
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