Austin pedals towards 100% completion of its cycling network
It’s no secret that Texans love their trucks. A bigger surprise might be that the capital of the Lone Star State is embarking on a major upgrade of its bicycling network, one that could make it the most bike-friendly city in the U.S. by 2025.
Between now and 2025, Austin will construct 200 miles of new urban trails, protected bike lanes, and traffic-calmed neighborhood streets. In effect, the city intends to successfully complete its All Ages and Abilities (AAA) Bicycle Network decades ahead of schedule. The city will pay particular attention to protected bike lanes on busy streets and major street crossings that connect residential neighborhoods with an expanding public transportation system of high-speed buses and trains.
The acceleration of construction began in 2018, when city leaders took action to help Austin meet its mounting transportation needs and the global urgency of climate change. The effort, funded by a voter-approved mobility bond from 2016, allowed Austin’s Transportation Department (ATD) to move the planned network beyond the pages of their plan and into reality.
In only 24 months, the Texas capital doubled the pace of construction, and by the end of 2021 had completed 115 miles of new bikeways throughout the city.
The key to Austin’s success?
A clear, transparent public engagement process provides a reliable framework for feedback, consultation, and decision-making for all stakeholders – ATD staff, elected officials, community residents, and business owners alike. The process adapts its outreach methods for every project but is consistent in its goal of achieving the best community-based outcomes, even when there is not unanimous agreement on the chosen design.
Quickly implementing street improvements meant that ATD staff had to balance multiple concerns within each community (modifying street parking, narrowing travel lanes, and new traffic patterns – to name a few), and do so in a way that provided authentic opportunities for community members to give feedback and avoid forcing projects that did not meet community needs or desires.
“There are projects with real trade-offs that are best understood with a community conversation,” says Laura Dierenfield, ATD active transportation and street design division manager. “In these cases, we may offer several options, including doing nothing, to gauge folks’ preference over one or another. And sometimes it’s best to just begin by listening without any preconceived idea of what is needed, except to offer what the various modal plans recommend. Only after listening to what the community expresses as need, do we then develop and present a proposed design.”
To help build support for this work, and drive participation in the city’s public meetings, Move ATX – a coalition of community leaders, advocates, activists, and local organizations – launched a comprehensive media campaign using social media, online videos and outdoor advertising to showcase the community benefits of mobility networks. The media campaign helped to normalize and build demand for safe street designs – like protected bike lanes – motivating hundreds of community voices to weigh in on what they wanted to see out of proposed projects.
The consistent application of the Austin’s engagement process, and the buy-in from all levels of community leadership, allowed Move ATX to motivate hundreds of representative community voices to participate in project meetings. This level of outreach and participation ultimately built support for mobility projects among residents and gave ATD the backing it needed to double the pace of implementation.
Today, Austin has completed more than half of the network mileage envisioned in its bike network plan giving six in ten residents access to a high-comfort bikeway and serving half of all bus stops in the city of more than 300 square miles. Automated bicycle counters indicate increasing numbers of riders – between 25% and 200% – in weekday and weekend use of the network.
Despite recent improvements, traveling in Austin without a car today can still feel like the wild west, with incomplete intersections, disconnected bike lanes, and streets congested with cars. Progress is accelerating, but there is still work to be done.
Austin’s leaders won’t be content until it is.
In November 2020, Austin voters approved a $460 million active transportation bond that will expand walking and biking networks throughout the city. With this funding, City officials expect that the entire planned bicycle network will be complete by 2025.
Austin is entering a new era of mobility options for U.S. cities. The speed and scale of their work is only accomplished through authentic community engagement, a transparent planning process, and strong community partnerships built on trust and accountability. These are lessons that any city can draw inspiration from, no matter their population size, political systems, or department budgets.
Austin proves that U.S. cities don’t need to wait decades to achieve their mobility goals. With careful, thoughtful planning and collaboration with community members, cities can ensure any resident can get where they need to go with the greatest safety and the least amount of hassle, regardless of the way they choose to move.
Even in truck-loving Texas.
Is your city ready to be the next Austin? Our work is built on partnerships. Let’s get to know each other, your community, and your goals. Get in touch with us today.
