Home > Road Rash > Archives > 2009 > November > 18 > Entry
Interesting cycling stuff from the Statesman
There’s lots of interesting stuff regarding cycling in today’s American-Statesman. Here’s some brief versions with links for the complete stories. …
BICYCLE BOULEVARD
The City of Austin by late spring plans to turn Nueces Street downtown into a “bicycle boulevard,” a two-wheel haven that would have still unspecified devices to slow down or even discourage car traffic on Nueces between Third Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Those devices could include so-called bollards, short posts spaced a few feet apart that would allow bicycles to pass through but block cars. The bollards could be placed every few blocks and would serve to make the street a throughway for bicycles only, while still allowing limited car access.
For the rest of this story, click here.
MANOR CLOSING ROAD TO CYCLISTS
MANOR - Avid cyclist and Manor resident Sajeewa Chandrasoma occasionally does group rides on Brenham Street, also known as Blake Manor Road. But soon, he won’t be able to.
Chandrasoma is among the local cyclists who oppose a City of Manor ordinance that prohibits bicycles on the road, arguing that bicyclists have rights, too. City officials, meanwhile, say the ordinance addresses concerns they had about safety and liability. “To me, it’s very discriminatory,” said Chandrasoma, adding that he has been on worse roads. “They just singled out cyclist.”
Chandrasoma showed up at a city council meeting Wednesday evening to protest the ordinance, but the meeting was canceled because there was no quorum.
Other bicyclists say the ordinance sets a bad precedent and the city is moving in the wrong direction.
The right direction, said Mark Stine, of BikeTexas, would be to put in place infrastructure, signs and education so that bicycles and cars can share the road.
“It ends up treating bicyclists as second-class citizens if they don’t have access to go where they need to go,” said Tom Wald, executive director of League of Bicycling Voters. “It’s a free country. It’s a public road.”
For the rest of this story, click here.
Comments
Austinites love to be heard, and we're giving you a bullhorn. We just ask that you keep things civil. Leave out the personal attacks. Do not use profanity, ethnic or racial slurs, or take shots at anyone's sexual orientation or religion. If you can't be nice, we reserve the right to remove your material and ban users who violate our Visitor's agreement. Click here to report comment abuse.
By SaveNuecesStreet
November 20, 2009 12:21 AM | Link to this
I own a small business on Nueces Street. So imagine how shocked and apalled I was to learn about this story in the news today. If the city closes down and/or deters vehicles from using Nueces Street, this will have a catastrophic economic impact on my business and many others. Shouldn’t the city be focused on initiatives that provide economic stimulus?
Is it a coincidence that newly elected city council member and bike advocate, Chris Riley, lives a block away from the proposed bike road? Why hasn’t the city done an economic impact forecast on this proposal before taking it to the media? For that matter, why hasn’t the city discussed the proposal to the actual businesses along Nueces Street that this plan impacts?
A $350,000 bond is nothing compared to the net losses small business like mine will see if this plan materializes. Also expect to see a big dip in commercial property values along Nueces Street.
Any bike initiative must not come at the expense of small businesses!
By SaveNuecesStreet
November 20, 2009 12:22 AM | Link to this
I own a small business on Nueces Street. So imagine how shocked and apalled I was to learn about this story in the news today. If the city closes down and/or deters vehicles from using Nueces Street, this will have a catastrophic economic impact on my business and many others. Shouldn’t the city be focused on initiatives that provide economic stimulus?
Is it a coincidence that newly elected city council member and bike advocate, Chris Riley, lives a block away from the proposed bike road? Why hasn’t the city done an economic impact forecast on this proposal before taking it to the media? For that matter, why hasn’t the city discussed the proposal to the actual businesses along Nueces Street that this plan impacts?
By Doug
November 20, 2009 12:25 PM | Link to this
SaveNuecesStreet — again, the plan isn’t to deny car traffic, just to slow it down and maybe deter some of it. Maybe. The specifics are very much up in the air, and I’m sure you’ll have your chance to voice your objections to the proposal once there is a proposal to object to.
And no, the city should not be solely focused on initiatives that provide economic stimulus.
I doubt this proposal would affect Riley’s riding much. He’s an experienced cyclist, probably already comfortable on busy roads. Experienced cyclists already use this road a lot. This proposal could affect less experienced cyclists, however.
And I think you misspoke yourself — what I think you really meant to say is that “Any bike initiative must not come at the expense of MY small businesses!”
But every road has small businesses along them. Whatever change is made, anywhere, is going to affect somebody. I guess they could use eminent domain and take your land and build a new road/bike lane entirely?