The Lance Armstrong Bikeway, proposed in 1999 by local bike crusader Eric Anderson to create a dedicated east-to-west bicycle route across Downtown, is finally under way. After years of delays, even after the project was fully funded, many people were beginning to believe it may have to be dedicated to Armstrong posthumously by the time it was completed. The 6-mile bikeway extends from Veterans Drive at Lake Austin Boulevard on the west side of town to the Montopolis Bridge at Highway 183 on the Eastside. The path consists of a combination of off-street concrete trails, on-street striped bike lanes, and on-street signed bike routes. It will intersect with the planned extension of the Pfluger bike/pedestrian bridge just north of Cesar Chavez, providing a safe passage over Town Lake to the south, as well as hook up with the Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park near 183 at its eastern terminus. The bikeway is also expected to cruise through the planned Seaholm redevelopment Downtown. “Studies show that areas with new bicycle facilities experience an increase in bicycle commuting,” said Annick Beaudet, the city’s bicycle and pedestrian project manager in a statement. “The bikeway will likely increase bicycle use to, from, and within the downtown area, helping to achieve City-wide goals such as sustainability, congestion management, and downtown vitality.”
This article appears in June 15 • 2007.