1. Introductions – 6:30 to 6:35

2. Review and Approval of July Minutes – 6:35 to 6:40

3. Items from BAC – 6:40-7:00
• Sharrows at the Domain – Alan Demling/Annick Beaudet

4. Items from Staff – 7:00-8:20
• Workshop/Focus Group Activity on Bikes and Transit – John-Michael Cortez
• APD quarterly update – Sgt. David Walker
• Bikes Belong Grant – Nadia Barrera

5. Announcements/Adjourn – 8:20 – 8:30

PDF version of agenda

The ride is sponsored by Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, The Peddler Bike Shop, Tart Organic Frozen Yogurt, Easy Street Recumbents, and Shefman Law Group.

For more details, visit the ride event page at www.lobv.org/hot.

To minimize the impact on traffic and business, all construction work will be provided from 9:00a.m. to 4:00p.m., Monday through Saturday. Traffic control will be one north lane closure only, from 9:00a.m. – 4:00pm daily. Those traveling the route during this time are advised to be aware of any possible delays and to please drive carefully around construction.

The project will be split into four phases and each phase will be completed before the next begins, so no individual location should be directly affected for longer than two weeks.

The City of Austin’s Public Works Department has several objectives with the project, including construction of new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant sidewalks and curb ramps to provide a safe and accessible pedestrian route. The project aims to also continue bike lane connectivity to the west, provide additional on-street parking for local businesses, and create safer “reverse-angle” parking striping for car and cycling traffic.

A similar project for bike lanes with reverse-angle parking was recently successfully piloted on Dean Keeton Street. It was implemented and studied from 2009-2010. As during the Dean Keeton pilot program, “Parking Ambassadors” will be on hand at the 6th Street location to assist patrons and drivers with the new parking configuration once complete.

Contacts: Sara Hartley, Communications Manager, (desk) 974-1444, (cell) 560-4267

I apologize for taking so long to get this to y’all. Super busy!

-Tom

On 6/25/2010 11:27 PM, Sara Deshong-Baker wrote:

I took some notes on the questions:

There were some concerns with the legality of possibly taking the speed limit down to 25mph – Annick addressed this by saying they were re-doing speed studies regarding lowering the speed limit.

The council wanted to know if there would be an evaluation of the Rio Grande improvements before embarking on Nueces in 2012. Annick (AB) said there absolutely would be. The evaluation would include looking at ridership and motorized variabilities. UTC [Urban Transportation Commission] may do that evaluation??

Another repeatedly voiced concern from the council was if there was any conflict with the current bike plan and any need to amend the current bike plan. AB says they do want to make a formal amendment to include Rio Grande and to incorporate it into route 31, so that it may appear on formal literature and city distributed bike maps. They would like to amend it in conjunction with the AMATP [Austin Metropolitan Area Transportation Plan].

AB let the council know that there is currently an analysis being done regarding the removal of stop signs and the speed control associated with that. Expected results of the study are due Aug 15th.

Riley wanted to know of any plans north of MLK. AB says she is currently working with stakeholders in west campus to 29th st to possibly develop more “innovative” infrastructure. She also noted that she is trying to work with the Rail plans in the north venture. What a smart sexy woman.

Spelman wanted to point out that all the council recognized the difficulty this project has endured and thanked AB for all her work. He had concerns on parking removal. AB assured him that the removal would be minimal and pointed to the angled parking. She also noted that in the studies, at no time during the day or evening was every single parking space taken on the proposed routes. Also to note, they plan to paint the bike lanes burnt orange, which is pretty smart in gathering more support, although the color is putrid

At the end of the other members questions, Leffingwell wanted to reiterate that this plan would not cut into motorized vehicle capacity on those streets.

So that’s it for the council concerns part. Vince and I had to wait till f*ng 4 pm to hear them. I hope this helps.

Sara Deshong-Baker

http://lobv.org/about-us/

If you’d like to be a part of the League of Bicycling Voters, then become a member today, and let us know how you’d like to help out.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2010

CONTACTS:
Rob D’Amico, 627-1343

Bike boulevard project moves ahead

LOBV supports plan and awaits Nueces improvements after street project completion

The League of Bicycling Voters today offered its support for the final stage of the public process for the city’s “Downtown Bike Boulevard Project,” which will be presented to the City Council as a briefing this morning.

“The bicycle and pedestrian improvements on Rio Grande will make that corridor a great amenity for all Austin bicyclists, and we’re confident it will add to a network of improvements that will attract new riders,” said Tom Wald, LOBV executive director.

The project includes traffic calming on Rio Grande—such as median islands with speed cushions, traffic circles, stenciled streets and signage to promote it as a bike boulevard, and street “cutouts” for dropping off passengers at Austin Community College and Pease Elementary School. The Rio Grande improvements—intended to slow traffic and make bicycling safer—could be completed as soon as summer of 2011.

The city plans to include an evaluation of the project in about two years to gauge impacts, bicycle ridership and community feedback when implementing an additional phase of improvements on Nueces Street. Bike lanes on some segments, along with sharrows (shared lane markings that encourage motorists to share the lane with bicyclists) are recommended in the city plan, but no improvements can be made until a water line project with street reconstruction is completed. Completion date for the Nueces water line project could come as soon as spring 2012.

“We’re encouraged that the city is offering some flexibility on Nueces, since the bike boulevard improvements originally were planned for that street and it’s a street preferred by bicyclists,” said Rob D’Amico, LOBV president.

“With nothing able to be done for at least a couple of years on Nueces, we feel it’s important to move ahead and get these much-needed improvements in on Rio Grande now and look at the benefits before weighing in again on Nueces,” D’Amico said. “Additionally, there’s a planning effort underway for West Campus bicycle facilities, and we’d like to see where that effort goes and how connectivity will work so we know how Nueces plays into the overall picture.”

The official LOBV position has been to support the planned improvements on Rio Grande while still advocating additional improvements on Nueces above and beyond the bike lanes and sharrows now planned by the city. The Austin Cycling Association recommended the Rio Grande improvements, but also recommended that bike lanes be taken out of the plan for Nueces from MLK Blvd. to 13^th Street and replaced with traffic calming.

Wald noted that all bicyclists agree that one of the big benefits of the project will be a new bike/pedestrian bridge over Shoal Creek on Rio Grande just south of 5^th Street. “The bridge will let bicyclists connect easily to the Lance Armstrong Bikeway, Lady Bird Lake, and eventually the redevelopment projects at the former Seaholm Power Plant,” he said.

D’Amico said that the city did a good job of responding to concerns of residents and businesses on Nueces and Rio Grande about potential impacts. The process included a series of three neighborhood workshops and several city board and commission hearings. “The Rio Grande segment will show that the traffic calming proposed for the area will enhance the streets for everyone and won’t cause any negative impacts to business. And I think that the downtown community will come to see that the prospect of future development is a reason to create bicycle facilities, since city officials note that arterials serving travel in and out of downtown are at capacity.”

This month bicycle advocates led a bike tour with four city council members and aides from two other council offices to highlight the plans for the project. “It was a great show of support to have elected officials get on two wheels and look at the issues on the street,” D’Amico said. “One council member—Laura Morrison—even signed up and participated in a bike repair workshop with the Yellow Bike Project. I think that signals good things to come for bicycling in Austin.”

For more information on the bike boulevard project, visit http://www.lobv.org.

The League of Bicycling Voters is Austin’s voice for bicyclists. LOBV is a nonprofit advocacy organization promoting better transportation policy decisions, justice for bicyclists, and more resources to increase the number of bicyclists in the Austin area.
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It begins with a ride from Caffe Medici on the Drag, i.e. Guadalupe St. Meet there at 10am, and depart at 10:15am SHARP. The ride will go down the beloved (if not “boulevard”) street of Nueces. We expect the ride to arrive at City Hall with time to spare.

The Nueces/Downtown Bicycle Boulevard briefing item is on the City Council agenda on Thursday, June 24th, at 10:30am or later: Item # 104

It is scheduled to be the second of three items between 10:30am-12noon. The best estimate is that it will start just after 11am. Keep in touch via Twitter: http://twitter.com/lobvaustin

Since this is planned to be only a briefing and not a council vote, there will be no public input (at the microphone) at this meeting. However, we still need to show our support for bicycling in Austin at the City Council Chambers. We can give public input with our presence. By showing the dedication and numbers of bicyclists at City Hall, we will remind City Council that more and better bicycling facilities must continue to come to Austin. Bring your bike pin, bike shirt, and/or other bike paraphernalia, and let’s fill the room.

AFTER the City Council briefing, we’ll head over to Halcyon Coffee Bar Lounge a few blocks away at 4th & Lavaca Sts. Halcyon is offering a special happy hour for us. Just make sure you pick up a League of Bicycling Voters sticker to identify yourself for your happy hour discounts. (Look for Vince.) No, you don’t have to drink (alcohol), but it will be an opportunity to plot, plan, share, and socialize with your fellow interested cyclists.

I would have liked to have been there, but I’m currently in Copenhagen at the Velo-City Global 2010 (bicycle conference). Indeed, here there are many bike boulevards and cycletracks, and indeed, people on bikes, as well. So too in Austin, with dedication from all of us, we will create the Austin of our dreams, the Austin of our future: an Austin full of bikes and public people.