Council Gets Bike Happy

Just in time for Austin Bike Month to kick off, City Council took three decidedly pro-bicycle actions last Thursday. With a landmark project under way to update the city's 10-year-old Bicycle Plan (intended to institutionalize bicycling as a viable transportation mode), council showed its support by passing a resolution calling for efforts to elevate Aus­tin's official bike-friendliness ranking (as rated by the League of American Bicyclists) from silver to gold. Council also voted to base the bike plan's update in large part on the recently completed recommendations of the Street Smarts Task Force, another significant bike-mobility effort that responded to community demands that the city find ways to make cycling safer and more mainstream. Finally, council also passed a resolution, sponsored by Council Member Sheryl Cole, to coordinate city interdepartmental efforts to build off-road, interconnected bikeways through Austin's parks and green spaces. "As we contemplate mobility, bicycle and pedestrian considerations should be included," Cole said. Stay tuned for more bike reporting throughout the month.

For more info on the city initiatives, see www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/streetsmarts.htm and www.ci.austin.tx.us/bicycle.