Although the one-way bike lane won’t be protected by physical barriers, the proposal is an improvement over the mayor’s initial plan to only include sharrows on the Austin Street project.
After pushback from local bike advocates, Houston Mayor John Whitmire walked back plans to kill a protected bike lane on Heights Boulevard, indicating that the street will now receive a one-way, unprotected bike lane, reports Ryan Nickerson in the Houston Chronicle.
Construction crews had already removed “armadillo”-style barriers from Heights Boulevard and, on March 31, began removing a protected bike lane from Austin Street in Midtown. Whitmire said the new Heights Boulevard design will “improve the mobility and the access of the homeowners and certainly the fire station and it will allow the bike lane to continue.”
Mayor Whitmire has come under fire in recent months for his efforts to dismantle Houston’s bike infrastructure. “When asked whether the new lane will include a physical separation — such as a curb or an armadillo — Whitmire simply said the project would follow the Heights Boulevard model. That lane is unprotected, though it provides a dedicated space for cyclists next to vehicle traffic.” Optimistically, the change could signal that the mayor is listening to the public.
FULL STORY: Pivoting, Whitmire says Austin Street will get a dedicated bike lane, but no physical barrier
Boulder Bike Lane Barriers First in Nation
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Less Paint, More Barriers, Make for Better Urban Cycling
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Salt Lake City opens protected bike path on viaduct trail
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US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
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New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
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The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association