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New bike lanes in Northwest Hills
I spotted this new bike lane along Far West Boulevard, between West Rim Drive and Mesa Drive in Northwest Hills.
It’s different than a lot of lanes around Austin, because it allows cars to park along the road while still leaving the bike lanes clear.
A big problem with a lot of our existing lanes is that cars block bike traffic, and those of us on two wheels are forced to ride around them, veering in and out of motor traffic lanes.
This way, cars have their parking room and bikes have their lane.
Reader Carri Crowe also sent a link to an interesting way the Dutch handling bike traffic at busy intersections.
Check it out here.
As a daily bike commuter, I’m always interested in how other countries handle traffic.
What do you think about these two examples of bike infrastructure?
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By William Hudson
October 12, 2011 6:58 AM | Link to this
Hi Pam. As a very frequent rider on Austin’s roads, I think this is an acceptable compromise. The Exposition model of bike lane with no parking on one side and bike lane + parking on the other works reasonably well. Biggest risk for cyclists is opening car doors. The Shoal Creek Blvd. model is hopeless and requires constantly moving in and out of traffic. Realistically, however, older urban residential neighborhoods will probably need on-street parking for the foreseeable future. Thanks for asking. William.