Austin has mostly been planning, designing, and engineering its streets the same way for 20 years. A new Street Design Guide would pave the way for a new era.
Syeda Hasan reports on the new draft of the Austin Street Design Guide [pdf], released earlier this week.
"The guide takes into account some key considerations to try and make Austin streets more uniform and consistent, including the community surrounding a street, the number of lanes and different modes of transportation options, like bikes and public transit," writes Hasan.
"The new guide divides each street into three sections – pedestrian zones, bicycle zones and motor vehicle and transit zones; it recommends dimensions for each of those features. It also categorizes streets by their context, like urban, suburban or industrial," adds Hasan.
The article includes soundbites provided by Annick Beaudet, a manager with the Austin Transportation Department, and Liane Miller, a project manager with the Austin Transportation Department. Both provide insight into how the guide will update the city's existing transportation plan.
Though the city's transportation plan hasn't been updated in 20 years, the city did earn acclaim for its 2014 complete streets policy.
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