Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Austin

In Austin, Posts and Paint Bring a New Bike Bridge From Good to Great

All photos: Nathan Wilkes
pfb logo 100x22

Michael Andersen blogs for The Green Lane Project, a PeopleForBikes program that helps U.S. cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets.

Here are a few images from Austin bikeway engineer Nathan Wilkes that show how a protected lane can cheaply add a lot of value to a larger project.

The bicycle and pedestrian bridge over Little Walnut Creek, visible in the top right background above, officially opened Monday after 17 years of planning. It created a direct link between Hart Elementary School and the residential neighborhood to the north -- but the link also required pedaling on a wide street that many people would see as unsuitable for children.

Furness Drive before the new bike lanes. Image: Google Street View

The new bidirectional protected bike lane, Wilkes wrote in an email, "is on both sides of the bridge and makes seamless transitions between on and off-street infrastructure." The 1.1-mile biking improvement cost $20,000, compared to $1.2 million for the bridge itself.

Planning for the protected lane started in January, and installation took four days.

Here's what the kids' new route to school looks like:

Gaye Fisher, a nearby resident, said she had been the bike lane project's "biggest skeptic" when she heard about it, believing it would always be unsafe for elementary schoolers to bike on these streets. But after the lanes were installed last weekend, she said, she changed her mind.

"The posts that divide the bike lanes from the major traffic, they tell people to slow down and respect the space," she said. "It looks great."

You can follow The Green Lane Project on Twitter or Facebook or sign up for its weekly news digest about protected bike lanes.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Thursday’s Headlines Are Charged Up for the Fourth

The Republican megabill is bad for the electric vehicle industry, but it could be worse.

July 3, 2025

Why is the Secretary of Transportation Begging Americans to Take More Road Trips?

Instead of making America easier to see on all modes, the US Department of Transportation is encouraging U.S. residents to just get in their cars and drive.

July 3, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Are for the Children

From mothers with babies in strollers to preteens on bikes, much of the U.S. is hostile to families just trying to get around without a car.

July 2, 2025

Ambulance Data Reveals That Boston Drivers Are 4 Times More Likely to Run Over Pedestrians From Black Neighborhoods

"Overall, residents of predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods are about four times more likely than residents of predominantly white neighborhoods to be struck as a pedestrian."

July 1, 2025

Tuesday’s Sprawling Headlines

Sprawl seems to be having a moment, but it remains a very shortsighted and environmentally disastrous way to solve the housing crisis.

July 1, 2025
See all posts