More bike, transit lanes in Austin? Council could kickstart study on proposal
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The city of Austin could kickstart a study to analyze reallocating public right of way (ROW) to support more active and mass transit initiatives.
Austin City Council will consider Thursday a resolution that, if approved, would launch a planning study on the reallocation proposal, known as CityLeap. The nonprofit Safe Streets Austin proposed the concept, which would transform some roadways to add protected bike infrastructure or dedicated transit infrastructure, according to city documents.
The CityLeap concept denoted those possible reallocations would be made on city-controlled roadways with four or more lanes, per city documents. Among those eligible roadways, one lane would be reimagined as a protected bike lane or a dedicated transit lane, with the goal of tackling these efforts within the next five years.
City documents noted recent reconfigurations to public ROW, including projects along Pleasant Valley Road at the Longhorn Dam Bridge, Barton Springs Road and Guadalupe and Lavaca streets.
"[R]ecent ROW reconfiguration projects of Austin arterials...have proven to have little to no impact on driving travel time and positive safety and mode shift benefits for biking and/or transit ridership," the draft resolution read in part.
If approved, the city manager will conduct the planning study, which is set to outline recommendations for "infrastructure improvements, estimated costs, timeline, and other relevant considerations," per documents. That process will include collaborations with CapMetro and the Austin Transit Partnership to ensure any recommendations "align with our partner agencies' transit service planning," documents added.
A report summarizing that study is expected to be presented no later than at the last council work session in May 2025, as well as to any necessary board and commissioners to solicit input.
More details on the proposal are available online.