An aerial view of the intersection of Barton Springs Road and South Lamar Boulevard. Image: Bing Maps
One of Austin’s worst intersections, as determined by our readers no less, is located at Barton Springs Road and South Lamar Boulevard — it’s a seven-lane nightmare for cars, bikes, and pedestrians alike, and with multiple major developments on the way in this region, those issues are only going to get worse. That’s why we’re pumped to see the City of Austin working toward significant safety and mobility improvements in this area, with City Council authorizing a construction contract at its meeting earlier today for adaptations to the stretch of South Lamar Boulevard running from north to south between West Riverside Drive and Barton Springs Road.
Here's a neato road diet for S. Lamar between Barton Springs and Riverside that Council signed off on today.https://t.co/YgHFXZyJzp pic.twitter.com/wkcrvPIo5Q
— Caleb Alan Pritchardo (@cubbie9000) December 10, 2020
Below is a map of the full stretch receiving major improvements, as funded by the successful mobility bond passed all the way back in the ancient days of 2016 — you can click for a larger view to get a better idea of the extensive upgrades planned here:
A full map of safety and mobility improvements to the South Lamar Boulevard Corridor between Barton Springs Road and West Riverside Drive. Click for a larger view. Image: City of Austin
As part of the 2016 Mobility Bond, the Corridor Program Office and sponsoring Austin Transportation Department received funding to implement critical safety and mobility improvements to the South Lamar Boulevard Corridor from Riverside Drive to Barton Springs Road to create a livable, safe, walkable, bikeable, and transit supportive corridor that aligns with the principles and metrics in the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan. This section of South Lamar Boulevard will exemplify the City of Austin’s ultimate, enhanced vision for urban corridors and support the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan goals of reducing vehicle miles traveled, increasing transit ridership and non-vehicular trips, and promoting healthy, equitable, and complete communities in support of growth as it continues to occur along this corridor and throughout the City.
— City of Austin Recommendation for Action, South Lamar Corridor
Some of the major features to be added along this stretch of the South Lamar Corridor include raised and protected two-way bike lanes on both sides of the boulevard, new sidewalks, relocated bus stops, raised medians with landscaping (and lots of new tree plantings on each side), and upgraded traffic signals at the West Riverside Drive, Toomey Road, and Barton Springs Road intersections.
A current view of conditions at the intersection of Barton Springs Road and South Lamar Boulevard.
The right-of-way for those bike lanes arrives courtesy of reducing this small section of South Lamar Boulevard to two lanes each way, rather than three, making this a “road diet” of sorts — a controversial but effective approach to reducing overall crash volumes and pedestrian-related accidents on major corridors. South Lamar Boulevard is already four lanes wide on both the bridge over Lady Bird Lake north of this site, and south of Barton Springs Road all the way to Highway 290, so this change is not as major as it might be on other streets — it’s simply making this bit of the boulevard more like the rest.
The improvements were identified based on accessibility, safety, and traffic analysis studies and various other reports, which included recommendations to reduce crash frequency and severity, improve pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, provide alternate modes of transportation, and to evaluate the impacts of improvements to the roadway level of service (traffic related delays). Improvements include the following:
- Upgraded traffic signals at Riverside Drive, Toomey Road, and Barton Springs Road
- Bus stop improvements in partnership with Capital Metro
- Pavement restoration with new curb and gutter
- Continuous accessible sidewalks on both sides of South Lamar Boulevard tying into side streets
- Two-way bicycle lanes behind the curb (separate from traffic) on both sides of South Lamar Boulevard
- Reconstruction of medians, turn lane modifications, and driveway modifications
- Drainage and water quality improvements
- Water line relocation in partnership with Austin Water
- Landscaping and streetscaping enhancements
— City of Austin Recommendation for Action, South Lamar Corridor
City of Austin research dating back to the 2016 mobility bond found that the intersections of Butler and Barton Springs Roads with South Lamar Boulevard saw some of the highest accident volumes along the corridor, and that the highest pedestrian and bicycle crossing volume in the area was located at West Riverside Drive due to its proximity to the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge and surrounding parkland — and at the time of the report, that data was from 2014 at the latest, so we can’t imagine those numbers have dropped since then, even in the current context of a pandemic.
A rendering of an upgraded South Lamar Boulevard from a study released by Austin Mobility back in 2016. Image: City of Austin
In the selection of the full improvement map we’ve highlighted below, which shows the stretch between Toomey Road and West Riverside Drive, you can see where new development is planned or in progress in this area. On the left side of the map is the former Schlotzsky’s site at 218 South Lamar Boulevard soon to become a new office building, and on the right side you’ll see the area at 211 South Lamar Boulevard already under construction for the Loren at Lady Bird Lake hotel and condo project.
Image: City of Austin
Both developments are coordinating with this plan and improving the sections directly in front of each building, as mentioned on the map — and upcoming projects like these, which will presumably increase both the number of cars and pedestrians in the area, are even more motivation to roll out area safety interventions. Fixing a street isn’t nearly as exciting as a supertall tower, but you can’t really have one without the other, so we can’t wait to see South Lamar Boulevard go on a diet.
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