Last week I was sent an email from Austin Bike Blog reader Joseph, about new bicycle lanes from 38th to 45th on Medical Parkway. I walked this stretch of Medical Parkway on Wednesday, and took a few photos of this new bicycle route, along with sending an inquiry in to the city about them. According to the answer I got back from the staff at the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program at the City, the bike lanes were completed last week, and signage was put in on Monday.
Here’s what this stretch looks like in pictures:
Starting at 38th, the bike lane section begins, with newly installed signage.
And continues on.
There are "no parking" signs on some sections of this stretch, but not on others.
This seems like a good start, but it isn’t clear whether parking is allowed in some sections along this route, or if it is actually prohibited all the way. Nathan at the City said he would look into whether more signs should be installed along this route, and seemed to indicate that parking can be restricted along this entire stretch.
Is the route in use? Yep, although these photos were taken mid-morning, so it's likely much busier earlier in the day.
Ending at 45th street, which is part of bicycle route 32, although it is marked red, the "Low" ease of use designation.
I have to add that personally I don’t think I would ever bike along that stretch of 45th street, mainly because I probably top out at about 15mph.
The new lanes are highlighted yellow on this inset of the bicycle map.
But really, once you're at 45th and Burnet, why think about bike lanes when you can just get a nice pastry and some french roast at Upper Crust?
Overall, I think I’m really happy to see bike lanes going in all over the city and very glad that the staff at the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program are being very assertive about getting infrastructure in whenever possible. I do hope that something can be done about the end point for this stretch of bicycle lane, though, in the future, to make it safer, especially for novice and slower cyclists. With the Triangle quickly building up just northeast of that area and the heart of Hyde Park to the east, it seems that, if done correctly, this could be a terrific part of town for people wanting to live car-free or car-lite.
on Nov 20th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Seems like we’ve got some good bike momentum going in Austin lately, and thanks to a whole bunch of folks, it’s not slowing down!
Nice pictures and writeup of the new lanes.
on Nov 21st, 2008 at 11:30 am
I bike this stretch of road (between Central Market and 45th) almost every day in each direction and definitely noticed the bike lanes. They are a big improvement since the traffic along that stretch tends to be in a hurry for some reason. It’s been one of the more challenging parts of my ride but now feels safer thanks to the new lanes. Kudos to CoA for the improvement. Now if they could just smooth out the surface in the southbound bike lane in front of the taco shop (near 45th), I won’t have to swerve out of the lane to avoid rattling my kidneys.
on Nov 21st, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I noticed the newly painted lanes last week. I avoid riding on Medical parkway opting to stay on Ramsey to 42nd then cross Medical pkwy and continue south on marathon to the light at 40th. Less traffic and that intersection at 40th & Medical pkwy – I don’t like. You have to cross in front of traffic to get on a sidewalk. I noticed the 2nd picture is from the Northbound prespective- wish you had one for the southbound. I wondering if they changed anything there for that direction.
on Nov 21st, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Nice! good pics too! I’ll have to say, for mid-A-town, they are doing some good things. Now they just need to think about connectivity of existing and core infrastructure routes to the surrounding burbs.