Shoal Creek Frankencurbs Could Multiply, Mutate Don’t say your teary goodbyes to the Shoal Creek Boulevard Frankencurb islands just yet. Although City Council slated them for removal in September, the city may actually build the Frankencurbs some new friends, including more curb islands, chicanes and serpentines, raised curb dividers, and parking and bike lanes. Council Member Brewster McCracken made the revelation that he’d like to try out the panoply of pilot projects at last Monday’s Transportation and Land Use Subcommittee meeting – much to the befuddlement of cyclists, residents, and city staff, who expected a decision on how the thoroughfare would be striped post-Frankencurbs. In a recently completed poll of more than 800 area residents and cyclists, variations of the existing 10-foot shared bike/parking lane narrowly prevailed over car-free bike lanes – 52% to 43%. Cyclists and area residents who identified themselves as cyclists overwhelmingly chose the car-free bike lane option, which would allow parking on the street’s east side – public works staff’s consistent recommendation throughout the five-year debate. However, after talks with the Texas Transportation Institute, a state agency run through the Texas A&M system, McCracken said he realized “no other city has ever run modeling data showing the best ways to handle both slowing traffic [and] protecting bicycle facilities,” the original objectives of the project, which yielded the unpopular Frankencurbs. “If no data exists, an election may not be the best option … let’s create the data ourselves,” McCracken said. “This pilot project is about something bigger than just Shoal Creek,” he told In Fact Daily. “That is an important point to remember. This study could help people all over Austin.” The pilot plan was approved by the subcommittee as a nine-month study to begin shortly after the new year. Public works staff is expected to present a proposed process for implementation and cost estimates in February.
On the recent poll questionnaire, many people indicated that the more than $500,000 already spent on Shoal Creek is enough. Public Works Director Sondra Creighton expressed reservations about departing from council’s directive to remove the islands, questioning McCracken’s ongoing work with a small stakeholder group – including some of the same folks who fostered the Frankencurbs – since her staff was nearly lynched by neighbors for implementing the group’s last decision. Council Member Lee Leffingwell, a fellow subcommittee member, said he was skeptical of some of the pilot options, especially more curb islands, which he thought were off the table. Leffingwell said he would normally go with staff’s recommendation, but when the issue is revisited in January, he said, “Frankly, my inclination is to go with the least expensive option and leave the striping as is.” Asked about some observers’ belief that council is again catering to a vocal minority in the neighborhood, Leffingwell said, “Ultimately, the responsibility of city government staff should be safety and efficiency. Neighborhood input should be represented, but not the final word.”
Commuting cyclists still want a safe bike facility on the popular north/south route. Bike advocates demanding car-free bike lanes have long clashed with a handful of residents who are unwilling to give up on-street parking in front of their homes. Cyclist and Shoal Creek Boulevard resident Lane Wimberley said, “I think safety for the users of SCB should take precedence and I think that the experts who have now repeatedly presented to the City Council have confirmed that allowing parking in bike facilities should not be considered safe. The boulevard, like all streets, is primarily for transportation, and cycling is a fully legitimate form of transportation that deserves safe facilities.”
For more info, see “Sayonara Shoal Creek Frankencurbs,” Sept. 23, and www.cityofaustin.org/publicworks/shoalcreek.
This article appears in December 16 • 2005.