The streets around Austin's schools are slowly becoming safer for the city's youngest commuters, with recent sidewalk and crosswalk improvements lighting the way for kids on two wheels or foot. The city's "Safe Routes to School" initiative, which took off in 2017, has now made headway at more than 100 educational institutions, including the recent overhaul at Mills Elementary School in South Austin taking place over spring break. According to KVUE, the improvements come with new signage, curb ramps, and bike lanes designed to shield pint-sized peddlers from traffic.
The long-term project stems from Austin's approval of a 2016 mobility bond worth $27.5 million earmarked for eradicating hazards on routes frequented by school-bound youth, based on an analysis by the city that identified 4,654 barriers requiring a variety of fixes from bike lanes to sidewalks, per reporting by KXAN. Despite an assertive start, officials acknowledge just 10% of these impediments have been dealt with, leaving the majority of work outstanding as costs balloon towards the billion-dollar mark with inflation in play.
Parents in the community offer mixed reviews, encapsulating the joys and jitters of change. Rosalind Lopez, a parent, expressed satisfaction with KVUE, stating, "We've been biking to school since the beginning of the year. Even in the 100-degree heat. But that intersection, Davis and Escarpment, has always been kind of scary in the morning." The introduction of protected bike lanes and improved crossings has provided comfort to Lopez and other parents like her. However, not all feedback radiates positivity, with some parents voicing concerns about the consequent bottlenecks and parking challenges created by road diet implementations.
"They've made the bike lane narrowed down, and the parking pockets that they're offering are very narrow. And so, it's just caused a challenge when the kids have to open the doors directly into the bike lane," Rachel Oswalt, a parent and cyclist, told KVUE. As the city marches on with its school safety crusade, Safe Routes representatives have committed to keeping an ear to the ground for community feedback and adjusting the execution of their initiatives accordingly – a pledge of patience as the kinks of progress are ironed out. The program's objective remains firmly planted: to shepherd students to school grounds without harm, whichever path they pick.
