Envisioning the Transformation of South Lamar for Pedestrians and Cyclists

As I reported on Wednesday, transportation experts from the Netherlands met with Austin city planners and residents last week to looks at ways Austin can become more accessible to cyclists of all ages. An update: The presentation from the South Lamar group--which looked at transforming South Lamar Boulevard into a safe, accessible, and attractive corridor for cyclists and pedestrians--is now up on the City's website, along with presentations from the other teams. These are fascinating to review. 

The main issue that the South Lamar team sought to tackle was how to increase transportation capacity along the South Lamar corridor via improvements to the pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, given that the roads are close to being maxed out at certain times in the day (with 35,000 vehicular trips per day and thousands of new apartments coming online). Forty percent of the car trips on South Lamar are for less than 5 miles. If part of these car trips could be converted into trips on foot or bike, then we have a win-win for drivers, neighbors, AND businesses along the corridor. Bad traffic = bad for businesses. Increased pedestrian and bike access = good for business.

Think Bike Presentation from Team Lamar Corridor