Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety in Downtown Austin

Call to Action:

We have an important opportunity this week to impact the future of bicycle and pedestrian safety in downtown Austin.

TxDOT is considering several alternatives for the reconstruction of I-35 through downtown. You may have been following this discussion in the news, most recently with yesterday’s front-page story in the Austin-American Statesman.

 “Superstreets” are a key component of all of TxDOT’s alternatives. These frontage road superstreets are presented as a way to give preference to North-South through traffic; increase speed by 40%; and reduce the number of cross-streets. They describe the project in the following document: http://mobility35.org/pdfs/proposed_concepts/superstreets.pdf

But this short-term traffic solution impedes East-West connectivity and poses a threat to active commuters and residents. To read more about superstreets, visit our blog: http://reconnectaustin.wordpress.com/resources/whats-so-super-about-txdots-superstreets/

Voice your opinion on this issue at several TxDOT open houses this week, occurring from 3-7 pm at the following dates and locations. For more information, you can click here.

Tuesday (June 25): Atkins High School Cafeteria – 10701 South 1st Street

Wednesday: First United Methodist Church of Pflugerville – 500 East Pecan Street (Pflugerville)

Thursday: Kealing Middle School Cafeteria – 1607 Pennsylvania Avenue

In addition, TxDOT is hosting a “virtual open house.”

You may comment on superstreets under the “Refined Concepts” tab.

You can also provide feedback on the overall reconstruction alternatives through the urban core (segment 5) here: http://www.mobility35openhouse.com/Location/Segment5/Location.aspx

We encourage you to distribute this information to your contacts, and make it clear to TxDOT that the Austin bike community does not support superstreets.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us with comments or questions.